I need no apology

[]

Quite for long, I need no apology,
For how you think things ought to be,
I am striving, giving you the best that I got,
For who we are is what we have brought,
To this sunny picnic amongst the flowers.

When this trip and adventure did start
Neither you nor I knew but only the heart,
We followed through for all we dared,
From that has come the moments shared,
On this sunny picnic with butterflies.

You and I have met our vulnerable,
For which there could be regret available,
I am energised with the sure and bold,
Not in the many sorry words that leave me cold,
At this sunny picnic let’s be quiet.

The love I see leaves me with smiles so wide,
In you, I have more than just a pride,
That ahead a future can be glowing bright,
We only need to get things right,
From this sunny picnic we skip back home.

Apology 001

Village rag of ruse

This morning, I came upon a malicious false accusation that was made against a friend on Twitter to the effect that he was allegedly recorded on video assaulting a woman and swearing at her.

On observing the video, it was clear that neither the man assaulting the woman nor the voice of the perpetrator was my friend, the accent was American, his is British-Nigerian. That this video appeared on one of the more odious vehicles of invective and the worst of Nigerian journalistic standards was at first instructive, the text dripped with malice, it could not be overlooked.

As it transpired, Nigeria being a country in the rat race of keeping and settling scores, someone decided to publish this malign atrocity and then continued with commentary that excoriated my friend in the most uncharitable terms before proceeding to church.

Malicious and atrocious

Meanwhile, anyone who had any idea of who my friend was had already seen this hatchet job for what it was, the antecedents of the village rag masquerading as an online newspaper indicated that the act was deliberate to cause injury and harm to the name and reputation of my friend.

Whilst, engagement on Twitter can both be robust and virulent, there are times when even my friend might have exceeded the bounds of decency. In the snake pit of Nigerian commentary, the search for gentlemen can be futile as to be impossible. However, that should not excuse the abuse of platforms and expression to denigrate anyone, that applies to both my friend and anyone else.

Address the issue at hand

I am not here to keep the record of longstanding conflicts between personalities on Social Media, however, I can as occasion allows when I am observing my timeline on Twitter engage in the discourse or the debate as the opportunity comes. This morning presented such an opportunity and for that particular act, I walked in with the clear intention of defending my friend from that particular smear and address all who colluded in propagating the odium.

For some people, they might seek moral equivalences to justify that atrocity, it does not excuse this particular one I decided to address and the forum is open for others to address grievances they might have with other issues they feel so strongly about. The idea that one should help them fly their own flags, whilst understandable is neither a duty nor an obligation.

I have on many occasions called out friend, acquaintance, stranger and worse on general issues, I am nobody’s surrogate, I work as an independent mind on the matters I choose to address and never as a policeman seeking to impute offence at every possible opportunity.

It was a hatchet job

The backlash was fierce and unrelenting, with that came a conditionally grudging apology which some considered a full-hearted apology, I was having none of it. Eventually, the village rag pulled down that rotten hatchet job, which it was and appeared to apologise. The apologies were an apology of an apology in and of themselves.

I say it was a rotten hatchet job, because if it wasn’t, the story would have been edited to address the matter of Violence Against Women, which one of the protagonists tried to use to deflect the opprobrium for his perfidy. It got to a point that I found myself having to write an Idiot’s Guide to Apology and I labelled it Apology 001 because to have given it Apology 101 would have made it impossible for some to understand as a very advanced course in appropriate restitution.

The Idiot’s Guide: Apology 001

The Idiot’s Guide appears below and I have really not seen anything that resembles an apology on the matter. Just because you dislike a person does not mean you cannot stand for right in support of that person, that is what constitutes having a value system and principles. It is left to us to decide if past hurt is an excuse for allowing injustice and worse to thrive in our midst.

Apology 001: A regretful acknowledgement of an offence or failure.

Apology 001: An apology requires first an expression of regret; that expression cannot be conditional.

Apology 001: An expression of regret cannot be prefaced with the conditional if, because that invalidates the acknowledgement of error.

Apology 001: An apology must stand on its own, it must be full, unreserved, sincere, honest and final.

Apology 001: An apology must fully repudiate all the errors and claims that caused offence. For example; I am sorry for falsely accusing ...

Apology 001: If an apology is not grudging and deemed honest, it will be obvious to all and the offended will receive it gracefully.

Apology 001: Until we grasp the fundamentals of giving a good apology, we cannot advance to the Apology 101 course. :)

Nigeria: Mrs Joy Ifije, the widow, visits Governor Oshiomhole

As things turn

On Saturday, I wrote, Nigeria: How Humanity Lost Oshiomhole and Gained a Widow and waited to see how things would pan out. The concerns in that blog remain valid much as the governor has now addressed the particular; the general is in need of action too.

Probably, the consensus is that Adams Oshiomhole, the Edo State governor, has dramatically redeemed himself after the video of the excoriation of the widow on Benin-City streets where he told her to, “Go and die!”

The widow, Mrs Joy Ifije was sought out by the governor, and after extraneous attempts to justify his intemperate expression, employed her as an activist for the cause of chasing street hawkers off the roads, presented he with a large brown parcel of cash totally NGN 2 million ($12,620) and a scholarship for her son.

The governor’s advice was that she put it first in the bank and eventually use it to setup shop to trade on legal trading premises – it would appear all’s well, ends well.

The viral video did it

However, if we must review this situation properly, the event where the Mrs Joy Ifije was dehumanised was recorded over a fortnight ago, but the video when viral last week, the consequences of which must have forced the governor to address a serious public relations gaffe.

The governor himself said his daughters had asked him to attend to the issue too, it had become too much of an embarrassment as some even found to make political capital out of her misery to doubly embarrass the governor.

Walk a mile in her shoes

Much as one cannot suggest that beyond the direct apology to Mrs Joy Ifije, the compensation she got was state money, some Utopian idealists would have preferred she spurn the governor and reject his gift.

My answer to them was that they walk a mile in Mrs Joy Ifije’s shoes and it is very probable that from their gilded cages of privilege and opportunity they would never have understood to any degree the situation of her widowhood. That, along with the pressures to meet the needs of her immediate family and other societal demands that placed her in the situation she found herself in the first encounter with the governor.

Sadly, some were keen to limit the outpouring of goodwill and sympathy that followed the publication of that video to make the point of ridiculing the governor whilst for a second time making an example of Mrs Joy Ifije.

For the greater social good

There is the particular of what happened between the governor and the widow and there is the general of what the social consequences of driving street hawkers off the roads without providing safe, adequate, affordable or subsidised trading places for their wares.

Street hawking is the source of many livelihoods, people resort to this because they cannot access the formal market areas for many reasons too many to mention. It is unlikely that any would resort to the streets if they had the means to rent market stall spaces and fill those stores with wares and goods to ensure the business thrives beyond breaking even to profitability.

That should become the bigger welfarist goal of the governor.

A wonderful change has come for her

Nevertheless, one thing must not be lost on us, the fact that if that video did not go viral, it is unlikely Mrs Joy Ifije’s circumstances would have been altered.

Certain eagle-eyed observers noted that Mrs Joy Ifije did not seem to have changed her clothes from her first encounter; one cannot read too much into that as much as it probably tells a deeper story of her situation.

We can only hope that what she got along with other generous contributions will put her on the right path to sufficiency and success. Along with the two children who accompanied her, I wish her the very best and that her sorrows and hardships become things of a long distant memory.

Much as Adams Oshiomhole appears to have acquitted himself well in being responsive and understanding of his unfortunate folly, it is yet to be seen if whether on or off record, after he became governor he was ever a nicer man than what obtain in the “Go and die!” video – time will tell.

Plagiarism: An apology from someone with a stake in The Nigerian Telegraph

A result of sorts – An apology

After a long day of making the case about my blog being plagiarised by The Nigerian Telegraph, I finally got someone with a stake in the newspaper to engage me and chat about the issue.

The apology for ‘our mess’ is what makes the apology worth its weight.

@TunjiAndrews Before I accept this apology, do you have a vested interest in @TelegraphNG to arrogate that responsibility?
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

The apology came from the Finance Editor of the Nigerian Telegraph.

@forakin @TelegraphNG :-) Yes, you may want to view my profile. I may not know who did it, but, its our mess
— Tunji Andrews (@TunjiAndrews) November 4, 2013

Our Twitter exchange appears below, and though I asked to use our conversation in a blog, his view was if I must. I guess I should because if I make an accusation of plagiarism and receive an apology, it is only right to blog about it.

Obviously, along the lines of Do The Needful when it comes to plagiarism, I do expect The Nigerian Telegraph to take down that article. I created a Storify of some of the tweets, titled, Closing the loop on plagiarism.

It is serious

Along the way, I was admonished, maybe that is a strong word, advised to forgive and forget – No, you do not forgive plagiarism and it is very difficult to forget because this goes to the heart of the principles that underpin and undergird an organisation and the personalities that run it; it is a matter of honour and of integrity.

However, I am ready to accept the apology and the promise that it never happen again because the person who made the apology is someone I respect for his views and opinions on Twitter. He is the Finance Editor of The Nigerian Telegraph; I believe he also appreciates the reputational risk of being associated, albeit remotely with an organisation tainted with the proven allegation of plagiarism.

The Twitter Conversation

I believe I used the word ‘Plagiarism’ fairly and justly, and I am ready to move on. The Twitter trail of that event appears below.

My first observation

I cannot believe my eyes, my news reader just picked up something from a Nigerian newspaper, I've been plagiarised but it's disappeared.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

Then I asked

Why would anyone choose to plagiarise Akin Akintayo? Don't they know him?
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

After which I wrote this blog and asked for an apology

Plagiarism: The Unforgivable Face of Nigerian Journalism http://t.co/gPtfkCShUn Dear @TelegraphNG I expect an apology.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

Then I broadcast the tweet

I rarely do this, but if we are to get standards to matter more in Nigerian journalism, we have to start somewhere.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

@IfeanyiUddin The media is probably the most public forum of interaction, if change starts there, the information gets to it the audience.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

@IfeanyiUddin It does, but even a little voice in the wilderness has some purpose, I hope.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

@IfeanyiUddin I mean, we should give voice to the change we want regardless of how small our voices are.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

@forakin No problem there. But we must see the limits of the possible!
— Ifeanyi UDDIN (@IfeanyiUddin) November 4, 2013

When I originally wrote the blog, I thought is was written for The Nigerian Telegraph by a Chidi Okoye, but later found that it was signed by the Editor and online at this URL http://telegraphng.com/2013/11/culture-impunity/

This is just reprehensible, I left a comment on @TelegraphNG about their plagiarism and they have refused to publish it.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

Then it became a cause

.@TelegraphNG Should not let their newspaper become a cause, I have been blogging for 10 years, I have a good Internet footprint.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

Many hours later, after posting a comment on that article, which they moderated but never published, I returned to make my case.

I accused @TelegraphNg of plagiarism this morning with proofs, they are still tweeting but I have still not been acknowledged.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

This represents the societal malaise in Nigeria. The powerful act with impunity and the masses cry themselves hoarse getting no justice.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

Then I got this response - What is the issue?

@TunjiAndrews This is the issue http://t.co/gPtfkCShUn They lifted parts of my blog and presented it as theirs. @TelegraphNG
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

It got an apology, but I needed to know who it was coming from.

@TunjiAndrews Before I accept this apology, do you have a vested interest in @TelegraphNG to arrogate that responsibility?
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

He is the Finance Editor for the Nigerian Telegraph, I do consider him a friend on Twitter.

@forakin @TelegraphNG :-) Yes, you may want to view my profile. I may not know who did it, but, its our mess
— Tunji Andrews (@TunjiAndrews) November 4, 2013

@TunjiAndrews I see, I had not checked your profile recently. Am I allowed to use your responses in a blog? @TelegraphNG
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

I then asked to use the exchanges we had in a blog, at least to say I have received an apology.

@forakin @TelegraphNG If you must.
— Tunji Andrews (@TunjiAndrews) November 4, 2013

@TunjiAndrews Well, if I make an accusation and have received communication, I guess it is best to close the circle. @TelegraphNG
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

@TunjiAndrews My investigation fingers a Chidi Okoye. I don't know if he is a @TelegraphNG engagement.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

We concluded the conversation thus:

@TunjiAndrews That is fine by me, I consider you a friend, I asked for an apology, that is the least I wanted from @TelegraphNG
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

Do The Needful; That means after the apology, restitute by taking that article down.

This is a promise.

@forakin @TelegraphNG Thank you for this. I will see to it that it doesn't ever happen again with you or any one else
— Tunji Andrews (@TunjiAndrews) November 4, 2013

@forakin @TelegraphNG Big word sir. What does this word mean 'Plagiarsm'? :-)
— Tunji Andrews (@TunjiAndrews) November 4, 2013

I use the word 'Plagiarism' fairly and justly.

@TunjiAndrews I don't use the word 'Plagiarism' lightly, but I use it fairly and justly. :-) @TelegraphNG
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) November 4, 2013

Don't name the teddy bear

Emotional religious agitation

This is sometimes a minefield in which a minesweeper would be blown to smithereens. The standards and rules that govern the interpretation of religious norms or in this case whims.

So suddenly in the last few years the sensibilities of certain old Middle-Eastern religions have been so easily bruised that our modern and civilised world is dragged back to the middle-ages of hysteria and histrionics fuelled by unscrupulous leaders of thought who test their influence by inflaming the mob.

This was evidenced in the cartoon riots of last year where I wrote a series of blogs starting with one which seeks a humorous God, a God that can laugh and sometimes laughs at the delusions of puny human-beings.

Flags in wrong places?

One nation belies a readiness for controversy and contempt by having symbols of God on its flag; they condone the trampling and burning of other nation’s flags and it would be unthinkable the outrage that would be mustered if the same action is meted out on their flag.

The mob was then gathered to protest the presence of the Saudi Arabian flag amongst all other world flags painted on footballs donated to Afghan kids. One would think the anger should have been directed at the Saudis for creating a situation where the symbols of faith might be denigrated in unintended and benign circumstances.

Naming a teddy

However, nowhere has this religiosity taken on a more bizarre twist than when a teddy bear named after a child in a class which by happenstance is the name of the prophet – the teacher of that class is now in danger of a fine, corporal punishment and jail.

The charge sheet reads like we have a terrorist on the loose; insulting religion – in the 21^st Century? Showing contempt for religious beliefs – one wonders what is more contemptible the reaction or the lack of a global authority on the core elements of Islam apart from reading the biorhythms of the local imam who feels to excite his people to insurrection rather than exhort them to peaceful co-existence in a global village?

Obviously, we can ignore the sentiment that the said teacher had left the enlightenment of the West to help children in a war-torn region realise a place in our global village – but that is of no significance – enlightenment in an educational setting takes second-place to religious temperament which is never subject to logic, common-sense or reason – it is the supreme fount of discord.

Taking apologies for God

Whilst international condemnation has been made of this absurd tendency to be offended in general without being essentially committed to the real tenets of the faith, the idea that an apology can be made to assuage tension is interesting.

Someone somewhere seems to be able to take apologies for God or the prophet – it reminds me of one story in the Bible where the people took so much offence at the breaking down of the altar to their symbol of worship; reason seeped into the reckoning and the people were persuaded that if that god was so angered, the god might as well visit wrath on the offender - thereby people can still be at peace with each other and that very powerful god can show strength that would bring enemies to their knees in worship and obeisance.

It might be so easy to say that these mobs are technically taking on themselves personification of God or the prophet for the self-aggrandisement – it does nothing to promote their religion; rather it heaps opprobrium from possible adherents on their faith, beliefs, convictions, integrity and allows all to question their sanity.

The NOT dogma

What we have is a simplistic dogma codified in – see not, touch not, feel not, hear not, read not, think not, write not, draw not and speak not – obviously, this means no one gets offended and surely no progress in humanity and we recede to the stone age from whence we came – it does not augur well at all.

Are we on the path to true religion when we pander to such dark-age inquisitions masquerading as holy anger that simply is public insurrection by those too idle to do worthwhile things in their communities and for humanity at large?

Addendum

That Bible story (Judges 6:28-32) The Message version.

28 Early in the morning, the people in town were shocked to find Baal's altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it chopped down, and the prime bull burning away on the altar that had been built.

29 They kept asking, "Who did this?"

Questions and more questions, and then the answer: "Gideon son of Joash did it."

30 The men of the town demanded of Joash: "Bring out your son! He must die! Why, he tore down the Baal altar and chopped down the Asherah tree!"

31 But Joash stood up to the crowd pressing in on him, "Are you going to fight Baal's battles for him? Are you going to save him? Anyone who takes Baal's side will be dead by morning. If Baal is a god in fact, let him fight his own battles and defend his own altar."

32 They nicknamed Gideon that day Jerub-Baal because after he had torn down the Baal altar, he had said, "Let Baal fight his own battles."

My reading of this is simple, someone caused great religious offence that the adherents were ready to go out and kill the offender - reason intervened – let that religious entity fight its own battles if it feels so offended.

Sometimes, we need to let God, Mohammed, Jesus or whoever else we dare to worship fight their own battles rather than allow ourselves to become instruments of riot, death and discord.

Naijalive: Apology accepted but ...

NBA down again?

As one writes this, the Nigerian Bloggers Aggregator (NBA) brings more grist to the mill of the Naijalive Project which goes by the name of The Nigerian Super Blog (TNSB), such is life in the cut and thrust of Internet businesses or services.

A click on the NBA link from my blog presents this error

Failed to execute the SQL query

update item set unread = unread & 30

Error 1194: Table 'item' is marked as crashed and should be repaired

It makes you wonder what is going on in the Web 2.0 world of NBA that in less than a month we have had two major failures that are taking days to clear up.

Given that the proprietors are busy, this has become a service that cannot be managed with levity anymore, it is a non-profit thing and it is time that the owner got other people involved in some voluntary and community service role to ensure the service continues to function lest these operational lapses contribute to ruining the reputation of otherwise resourceful minds.

Apology accepted

After my last blog on the Naijalive comments , I received another message from the Project Co-ordinator of Naijalive, which summarily was an apology along with an explanation as to why the quality of exchanges had developed into a kind of confrontation.

I accept the apology wholeheartedly, I also reserve the right to use my forum to address the concerns I still have with the Naijalive Project, I might yet ask to be registered in that service sometime in the future, but for now, I have serious concerns.

Cached material or stale material

First, I do not fully understand how their system of aggregation works because it is either caching or saving separately blogs published by others - inconclusive, but the permanent link does not return to source.

We are all aware of how the Web 2.0 phenomenon has exposed people to unfortunate circumstances like universities trawling the web to find ill-disciplined students, employers sanctioning staff for sailing close to the wind with their opinions and so on.

On the 23^rd of July 2007, Chxta posted an article on his blog titled Some UK varsities in critical condition? [Post now removed on TNSB but a link to the captured graphic appears below]. After a few comments, he decided to take it down with a notice Post Goes Down, we, his readers remonstrated strongly about this action and left it at that.

It would appear whilst the post is already down, at least not available for public viewing on Chxta's World , it is quite available on the TNSB but only without the comments that lead to Chxta taking down the blog in the first place, this really bothers me.

Relinquishing control

This presents serious issues of control and informs my concerns on the quality of aggregation, if an item disappears from public viewing at a source, should it not reflect at the aggregator after a refresh of feeds?

Now, I would not know if Chxta moved that post into a draft repository which hopefully is not set to publish feeds or deleted it entirely.

Google does have a feature for caching websites such that the data is viewable long after the source has completely disappeared, but that is a service that should be inherent in sophisticated search engines not aggregators.

Serious legal implications

The more serious implication of this observation is where a legal requirement arises for a post to be taken down completely from a blog site and the litigant still finds traces of the grievance matter linked to the source even though the originator has no control over that "duplicated" material.

Now, I am not sure of full technical scenario of this observation, but it means Chxta either has to do something about it or TNSB needs to introduce some sophisticated code to rid their site of material that has been archived when the source has withdrawn an article.

Now, archiving is another matter but it is important the originators retain control of their material, if we must publish, so be it, but definitely not be damned by the actions of others.

Addendum: Added after Naijalive comment

Naijalive have commented on this matter and this is what they say.

Chxta's post is still showing up because feeds imported into the SuperBlog are automatically cached and archived and unless we remove them manually, they remain there.

They are working on ensuring that posts removed at source are automatically removed on TNSB, I commend them for looking seriously into this, but would having symbolic links to the source not be better than the additional management of cached and archived material?

I worry, I really do worry, but would patiently wait for their solution, I suppose I would be addressing the interface, navigation and user-friendliness when i next touch the topic of Naijalive. They are learning and improving.

References

I love this website

The truncated part of the Chxta's article as it appeared on TNSB - Captured from viewing TNSB as evidence supporting my observation.

AIDS PEOPLE - The heart of prejudice - The Genevieve Magazine fallout

Social Responsibility irritates Socialite Reporting

I would never have thought I would be responding in any way to an article that appears on NaijaGal (Opulent and Edgy), her material which has by-lines that jump out on the Nigerian Blogs Aggregator hardly inspire me, but everyone has their niche contribution to the Blogging World and she fulfils a need of sorts.

However, she has waded into an area in which her contribution to the matter implies she has no expertise, knowledge or even hazard, an idea, about the furore that has come up about the insensitive coverage of HIV/AIDS in the so popular Genevieve Magazine, and for that, I would not hold my peace.

She ends her piece with - I say, "Please, let it be". She has apologised! Let's all work together.

My response - fleshed out.

This is how I began my response as a comment, but then I decided it was best to expose it as a blog than have it hidden in some comment and lost from required viewing.

I very well appreciate the time you have taken to highlight Betty Irabor's apology but I do not agree that she has completed the service of righting her unfortunate wrongs. I would, however, be the first to commend her for responding the way she has, for starters.

The fact is her article opened up a Pandora's Box, highlighting a number of issues when it comes to HIV/AIDS and how people and probably seeming enlightened Nigerians react to the issue of HIV and AIDS - prejudice, bigotry, apathy, ignorance, indifference and insensitivity.

AIDS People - the heart of prejudice

Her magazine being the popular organ that it is would have to go one further and start educating people about the facts about HIV/AIDS in terms of the dangers of exposure, the need for testing and the humanity of what she called "AIDS People".

There probably is a danger of exposure to HIV in beauty parlours and barber's shops due to the use of sharp instruments; reusable instruments should be hygienically sterilised after each use and disposable instruments must be unwrapped in the presence of the customer, used only once and properly discarded, but this should be regardless of whether an HIV-infected person is in the vicinity or not - that is just common sense.

Rather than getting hysterical she could have calmly asked for a newly unwrapped blade in the first instance and definitely going for an immediate HIV exposure or AIDS test would not have yielded any results to calm her anxiety, you need as least 3 months of incubation for the antibodies to be recognised by any tests.

What is not lost on readers of this article is the full caps and quoted hysteria expressed in the phrase "Suddenly images of my life as one of those "AIDS PEOPLE" flashed before me. Oh God. No!" That is as graphic as you will get the prejudice against HIV/AIDS and Betty Irabor's writing talent does not fail her here.

AIDS People or able people?

Here in Europe where the so-called AIDS PEOPLE live amongst us as productive members of society rather than stigmatised, ostracised, emaciated mendicants in need of false sympathy and that so-called ground-breaking cover-girl approach, Betty Irabor would have had to had to step down from her very public position on her own magazine and then embark on a serious educational and peace-making mission as mandatory community service.

This is a rough road she must travel and it would not be cut short with a measly apology and seemingly contrite self-flagellation (To say that the tone of her article would have been better but for editorial time constraints is disingenuous at best and almost dishonest having been caught in a maelstrom she has little control over.)

Social Responsibility and consequences

It is time for Nigerians to step up to the plate in social responsibility, also time to deal with uncomfortable issues with an honest and persuadable perspective - unfortunately for some, a few pages of essential fashion and tittle-tattle would be lost to this social responsibility crusade - it would be the best thing Genevieve magazine can embark on, it might even win them more commendable awards than one for being good advertisement fodder.

A Google search for "Genevieve magazine AIDS education" does not yield much in the context of the magazine that is supposed to cover women and social issues, it is a poor reflection that is in need of a radical redress.

Have we taught Genevieve magazine how to care again? No, not until the magazine goes beyond platitudes if Mrs Irabor thinks the people most offended and in need of an apology are just the Jegede-Ekpe's, she needs to read her public again - Was it a mix-up? That would be a gross understatement, it was an outright error of judgement and someone has to own up to that, at the very least.

This time, it would not be swept under the carpet for the sake of Naijagal's "Work Together".

References

The morning Dew article that caused the rumpus - Courtesy - NaijaBlog

NaijaBlog and commentary on the matter

NaijaBlog and commentary on the apology

2Plus2 on the Nigeria Village Square on the Genevieve article

BellaNaija's tidbits

The gates of Sony shall not stand

Traditional games for me

Should we call it righteous indignation or holy anger?

Now, I am no fan of what others might call serious computer games that try to imitate reality, simulating the most gruesome aspects of evil committed by human-beings in the quest for some cheap thrill.

The most I have done with computer games is Chess, I did try Monopoly many years ago as graphics resolutions switched from EGA to VGA - that was real come-alive stuff, if you had ever worked with CGA on those now antique IBM monitors that weighed a tonne.

Nowadays, I play Sudoku on my PDA phone, I am climbing up the levels, I enjoy having my brain ticking away on things like that.

A new game has had a major entertainment company incur the wrath of the church - The Anglican Church - that is, in Manchester . The game called - Resistance: Fall of Man uses the backdrop of the interior of the Manchester Cathedral for a shoot-‘em-up game - Do these people have no restraint, are they so inured to the sensitivity of digging up this kind of seemingly sacrilegious act?

License to kill in church

Sony would have us know that all the necessary permission to use the setting of the church in their game was granted. Presumably, they met up with the Bishop and said, we are planning this seriously violent game that we believe would make it to number 1 in the gaming charts, the church can have a percentage of the takings as we use the altar for a bullet-to-heart sacrifice - I think NOT!

Cynically, one can say that Sony did plan to cause this uproar to drum up essential patronage for their game considering the travails of battery recalls they had last year as well as the late launch of their latest games console.

The title - Fall of Man - is ironically the Genesis of the concepts of Christianity; Sony cannot now pretend it was not their intention to seek a respectable religious establishment to exhibit their computerised art of unrestrained murder, it is not reality but it is engaging enough.

Utterly insensitive

The insensitivity of the matter stems from the fact that there have been a number of violent murders in Manchester recently, the cathedral then served as a meeting place to remember and honour the victims, the cathedral in a sense has both been denuded and desecrated by Philistines - uncircumcised in ethical comportment.

As the church leaders demand an apology and a withdrawal of church depictions from the game, one wonders if as a Japanese company, Sony would have had the temerity to depict a Shinto Shrine in this manner when one of the things you should not do there is to engage in activities that makes great noise - Quick! Fit the silencers.

Like Jesus said then, the Church has been built on a rock and the gates of Sony would not stand against it - In fact, this might just be the allegory for the Fall of Sony - Can they repent? I think not; can they be redeemed? Not with filthy lucre - by their acts have they begun to bring on their own downfall - No, I shall not cry - To Hell! They scream and I am not in a pulpit yet.

NB: Wanted! Developers to craft Judgement day - New game by the Church of England featuring the demise of Sony.

Need a good joke to bury - give it to John Kerry

Education or possible cremation

Sometimes the truth is too bitter a pill to swallow. As the electioneering for the US Congress hots up and gets deep down dirty.

Senator John Kerry, the failed presidential candidate in 2004 was out campaigning and happened to be in a school where he deftly mangled what would have been a perfect criticism of the President by saying – “You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.”

Well, that does cut both ways depending on the sword and who you allow to take advantage of that weapon.

Ouch! Swing it the other way

For now, the cut which was supposed to cut down the President as being stuck in Iraq because of his inane policies is looking like the blunter edge, whilst that which portends to show soldiers being stuck in Iraq as cannon fodder because they have not been smart and well educated seems to deliver a mortal blow.

So, it has gotten downright emotive as John Kerry is getting disparaged for denigrating the service and patriotism of people serving America in an unholy war that they are not winning that has generated over 2,000 body bags and much more of the native Iraqis.

We are on the verge of trying to pull out but without the graceful means of extricating ourselves from the quagmire we willingly and consciously offered to wallow in.

Smart soldiers? Give me a break. Just a few of these smart soldiers have done well to secure the reputation and safety of our men in Iraq with Abu Ghraib and many other human rights abuses that cannot be tried by independent international courts.

The albatross of Vietnam

Well, it would appear John Kerry is not going to run into a corner and hide; he has come out firing all guns and ‘Vietnamised’ the retort.

Having expressed disgust about “Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country” [Meow!!!], now, Kerry who has served his country in uniform, with distinction and honours, he goes on to say, it is Bush and Cheney the draft ‘dodger’ who “owe our troops an apology having misled America into war”.

It is going to get awful, and it appears the first cut would probably not be the deepest, at all.

References

Bush on Kerry remark: U.S. troops are 'plenty smart'

U.S. is recruiting misfits for army / Felons, racists, gang members fill in the ranks

Politicking with straight talk

Scrawny politicians

Sometimes, I think Dutch politicians, especially those who have had the providence of patronage to become ministers are such touchy people who assume airs and have delusions of grandeur.

They are so quick to take offence, go to court and make so much about they possibly questionable honour, integrity and definite lack of charisma.

The Prime Minister for example has been to court at least four times for situations where he has been parodied as a porn star or a person snatching a feeder from a baby – we cannot explore satire, talk less ridicule without some cellophane skinned lion heart boo-hooing back to mummy.

Needing a reality check

These people really need to be brought back down to earth, they are no demigods of any particular status, nor are they any more special than the man in the street, the opportunity to serve the people is becoming the opportunity to play feudal lord over others – it is patently un-Dutch and nowhere near the egalitarian society we are supposed to espouse.

So, one of the so many stuck-up ministers comes to the rescue of an even more stuck-up minister – my blog favourite Mrs. Verdonk or Lady Oddjob as she is known as on my blog.

She happened to find herself in a situation where she was accused of taking political advantage of the murder of the film producer Theo van Gogh – well, they all did and anyone who says they did not is a bare-faced liar.

Then someone else suggested the deportation of failed asylum seekers as akin to Nazi war crimes – now, I would be hurt if anyone said my actions could be compared to the Nazis.

An apologist seeks an apology

However, this is how it pans out, Mrs Verdonk is demanding an apology for the politicking allegation but none for the Nazi smear.

Let s look at that again, the politicking allegation can from an alderman, an elected council official, but the Nazi jibe came from a member of parliament.

The Member of Parliament is absolved because of her status for the alderman is supposedly infra dignitatem – the cheek of it all.

It goes without saying that the alderman – Ahmed Aboutaleb is probably one of the best integrated Muslims in the Netherlands; well educated with sharp and commonsense opinions – that obviously cannot be the reason why he is under fire.

What is annoying is the fact that the Dutch are known to be straight talkers, but it appears some people only allow straight talking if they can talk down to people but we all should hands behind our backs, heads bowed step backwards mouthing ‘Yes ma’am.

Whose apology is it anyway?

Religion of peace allowing violent protests?

An article on the Times Online site today expressed my sentiments in words I probably cannot better.

Just like we saw during the carton riots, one really has to try and reason out the paradox or irony that excites Muslim protests.

Anyone from Mars would be at pains to understand the oft held belief that Islam is a religion of peace only to see that the adherents when aggrieved about the infraction of one the bastions of their faith, take to the streets in rowdy, violent protest in a kind of mass hysteria of rage that shows nothing of the peace we have been schooled to expect.

The whole logic escapes me, in a world that is moving to a stage where conversation and dialogue should resolve disagreements and grievances; we find no intelligent debate to press those grievances rather than the blackmail of “offenders” who are forced to recant their views for the fear that the street violence would go out of hand. Imagine, protests concerning the cartoons lead to the loss of dozens of lives.

This ought not to be so.

Whose apology is it anyway?

The demand for an apology is facetious in the least, like I did say during the cartoon riots, if the name of Mohammed or some Islamic principle is besmirched, who really stands up to absolve the offender when an apology is made?

Who is the figure-head leader of Muslims around the globe who would take supplications and offerings of penance when the good name of the Prophet or the God of Islam is insensitively debased?

What really constitutes an apology, a recantation, self-flagellation or even worse and by whose standard is the offer of an apology judged to be sufficient enough to assuage and placate the offended?

Is there anyone who would lead a new civilization in Islam that would say, we have a religion of peace and rather than call people into the streets would we lead a debate that reasons out the issues and convinces the offenders of their faults?

Invest in raising literacy rates

It is time for the Mullahs, the Clerics, the Imams, the Sheiks and princes of Islam to take a commanding and leadership role to excite edifying and constructive debate on what is turning out to be a clash of civilisations.

There is no way we can reach a place of understanding if one side seeks erudite discourse and the other excites mass hysteria in street demonstrations – that results in a communication breakdown – it also means that certain sides should invest more in the education of their people rather than subduing them by allowing illiteracy to thrive such that they do not have minds to make reasonable and rational decisions.

We seek an age of enlightenment that raises not just literacy rates but creates skills meet for community is evolving in response to the juggernaut of globalisation, it is unlikely that people gainfully oiling the engines of globalisation would be on the streets burning effigies – however, that is a debatable generalisation.

References

Global Literacy

Literacy rates in Islamic Countries

Integrate Modern and Islamic Education