Thick Skin and the Colour of Pain

A Familiar Ethnicity Pain Gap

It comes as no surprise to me to read that in the UK, women from Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and black Caribbean backgrounds were less likely than white women to receive an epidural whilst having a vaginal birth. [The Guardian: “Women from minority backgrounds in UK less likely to receive epidurals, research finds”]

The ideas, conceptions, perceptions, or prejudices that feed the narrative that non-white people, especially from the aforementioned backgrounds, do not need adequate pain medication to arrest high levels of discomfort and distress have appeared in studies for decades.

This situation, termed the "ethnicity pain gap", is quite concerning, and it might persuade one to surmise that there is a seething racialised disadvantage in the public health system, one that ascribes thick skin to the Black population and precious delicateness to the Asian cohort.

My Own Experience

My experience of this in late 2009 came as a result of cancer pain in its enduring intensity. I was on multiple regimens of pain medication, with Fentanyl dispensed as a transdermal patch being the most critical palliative, yet I was in pain.

When I informed my consultant that I was still in pain, and this was in the Netherlands rather than in the United Kingdom, he did not acknowledge my distress or seek to address it. Instead, his response was that the pain medication I was on should be enough. An ill-informed perception that I should have a higher pain threshold.

I remonstrated that it was not, and he then sought to double the dose from 12.5 micrograms to 25 micrograms. This made all the difference because it tackled the pain, and I got much-needed relief. Why I was not also told that transdermal patches could fall off, and that they could be held in place on the skin with an adhesive film, escapes me.

Knowledge Withheld

Returning from church, one Sunday, a few weeks after I had the new prescription, I was in a lot more pain than usual, and then I saw that the patch had fallen off.

I laughed myself to delirium to produce endorphins as pain relief whilst the new patch took hold. It was only when I told the nurse who came to dress the lesions on my foot daily that he told me I could get an adhesive film to keep the patch in place.

The knowledge was there all along, but it was never shared. As a race, in our encounters with the medical establishment, we are constantly pathologised, and this is characterised by either not being listened to or being ignored, because the medical personnel assume they know and understand our bodies more than we do with the intimate experience of our own skins.

Asserting Our Reality

That Caucasians are immediately responded to and given palliative succour on demand speaks volumes, without suggesting something untoward. Whether it is bias, prejudice, or indifference, we need to be better equipped to ask pertinent questions and persuade our doctors of our reality, without having to jump through hoops, trapped in suffering until it becomes unbearable.

It is not just in matters of pain, but in decisions being made about diagnostic and treatment regimes without explanation or rationale, delay in action when the full knowledge of a condition is evident, the lack of respect, courtesy, and the according of dignity to your personhood and humanity, or the use of the wrong indicators based on race for decision trees towards useful outcomes.

I approach the medical establishment on the premise of “It is my body first, before it is your guinea pig.” This need never be the default, because you are then preparing for a fight instead of fully trusting someone who took the Hippocratic Oath to do you no harm. Yet you find you need to assert yourself and manage the egos to ensure that you, at the very least, leave the hospital better than when you went in.

A Google NotebookLM AI Podcast on this blog

The truth in another story

The way we see things

The pieces that make up the story are fragments of personal experiences, some individual and strange and others are interactions with people known, barely known, or unknown. The circumstances and contexts of encounters are ones of perspective, reflective of the owner of the narrative.

Some of that narrative might be kind or unkind, pertinent or irrelevant, the dispute arises where what is honest and true becomes inconvenient to others, either because they would rather than was not known or it paints them in some rather poor light.

Between the truth and what is told

The question then becomes what is the purpose of the truth and in whose hands should it conveyed without kneading or moulding? For the truth of one might well be the nightmare of another. Then to differentiate between the truth as a matter of perception from the facts as a matter of record from recall if there is no congruence between them.

How will one welcome a peremptory requirement to redact, to obfuscate, to rewrite, or to withdraw from publication the story as it is written? It is funny that in an episode of Murder, She Wrote, one of the protagonists that became a victim of a murder,  said to his stepdaughter, “Your play was amazingly written, but to have trashed your mother like that is unforgiveable.” By that, he disowned her. She wrote an inconvenient story and I know many of us have stories that touch raw nerves too. Would we dare tell them?

The art of taking a hint

The cues are always clear

Taking a hint is probably something we get to learn over time and understanding the situations and people we are with. What we probably do not want to exhaust in not realising the best way to react, is the patience and the tolerance of the people we care for.

There are times people just want to be left alone to be consumed in their thoughts, they do not want to talk, they do not want to be pitied, and most importantly, in their vulnerability, that is not what they want to be told of even if that is the truth.

That is the hint, to step away, to give way and to give time; do not make assumptions or place encumbrances of time or place on the person, for the crossover from concern to infuriating is thinner than a gossamer film.

Don’t flood the ears

In other cases, silence is more considerate than trying to find words to express anything that might suggest that you know how the other feels when you are entirely clueless. We can all have the completely same circumstances to relate to and yet find out that how it affects others will never ever be the same. It is a common mistake to even offer the idea that you know how they feel, even if you had cancer compared to the discomfort of their headache.

Space is a premium, people need lots of it at certain times and when that space is asked for, do not wait to asked again, make way, and patiently wait to be invited back into that space that you probably know by right you occupy but have to let go of, just to help the other manage their turmoil better.

It is respectful too

I guess there are no lessons on taking the hint, but if for whatever reason it is not learnt well, more than a breakdown is in store. Everything you notice does not need to be voiced, backing off serves more than stepping completely in.

Stop talking, start listening, there is no need to affirm or reiterate anything, let your silence become a better counsel. In it, you inadvertently show respect for the other person and ultimately, it will be more than appreciated. It is probably what helps any kind of relationship work too before anyone is forced to walk out slamming the doors behind themselves.

Christmas eve even event

Closing close

The day was easy, nothing planned just a few things to do, only to find that many shops had already closed early for the day, Christmas Eve being a bit more special this time. We cannot have a midnight service because of a curfew due to the pandemic, so, it will be happening in the evening, though we are not attending.

One food shop will be closed until the 5^th of January, I guess they decided to have a holiday. By the time we visited the main supermarkets in town, they had closed, and it was only 5 o’clock. There was no other choice but to go to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront where the shops at least stayed open another couple of hours.

Knowing nose

On my unaided and slow walk there, I met my 10,000-step quota and found some inspiration I hope would be pleasant. Windbreakers or breakers of the wind give scent to the air, and with that, we at least know we have not lost our sense of smell if we are not regaling with the wafting glories of flowers or culinary expertise.

We might just make Christmas a wonderful time, we did not get all we wanted but what we got will suffice with a bit of improvisation and the proficiency of some kitchen literacy. Have yourselves a very merry Christmas and we look towards better ones ahead.

Thought Picnic: My perception made me choose South Africa

Probably the blog I wanted to write

When I began to write the blog about the 28 years since I last left Nigeria, I had another blog in mind, but as blogs go in my world, the narrative takes on a life of its own as each idea and construct begins to find attribute and reference to other ideas, events or people, by which time I have digressed to the point of writing an entirely different story.

Blog - My last 4 weeks in Nigeria, 28 years ago (The business angle)

Even as I have a concept I want to write about here, I am beginning to see deviations from the main topic, yet, I would rather let a blog take a freeform than shoehorning it into the strictures of an academic paper, which it is not.

Indeed, I like South Africa

I have just returned to Johannesburg from spending the New Year in Cape Town. It was my intention to visit South Africa for about 3 months, but a number of events concerning my health meant I could not plan so far ahead due to restrictions and advice regarding my medication and a procedure I had in November.

I got quite perturbed about the thoughts of South Africa to the point of self-flagellation, I was already regretting that I had let myself down in realising what had become an earnest desire. Then, whilst I was yet in Germany on a business trip, just 11 days to when I had planned to travel, I made the decision, booked my flights and hotel accommodation, and that was done.

Normally, I would have gone to Gran Canaria for some winter sun, though the last time I had winter warmth and sunshine was when I was out in India in 2011. I spent the Christmas Day visiting the Taj Mahal for the second time and what an experience it was.

No fuss consular services

The choice of South Africa was simple for me, I had been twice before, three years ago and I had a general idea of how to get around. When I travel, holding a British passport confers many privileges to certain countries, I do not have to apply for a visa, fill in odious forms and join incessant queues at consulates or embassies to visit the country, time is precious.

My visit to India for a month-long course was fraught with all sorts of officialdom and difficulty, I had to visit the visa office thrice, paid the higher price because my parents were Nigerian, even though I had lived 21 years without break in Europe, but I was in the Netherlands. Basically, I was not being treated as a European once I was resident outside my home country.

If I were in the UK, the visa would have been issued within 2 days, but living in the Netherlands could have my passport with the Indian visa processors any time from 5 days to 8 weeks. I was beside myself in anxious contemplation, unsure of what would be the case, it was eventually issued within 5 days.

Colonial hangovers that endure

India like Nigeria has a colonial carry-over of an unwieldy civil service, the sector is a leviathan, untamed, unreformed and completely inscrutable. Every requirement from the government institution is laden with red tape and unnecessary paperwork that exacerbates inefficiencies and inconveniences. The system serves prebendalism, neopatrimonialism, corruption, graft and malfeasance with no consequence or recourse for redress.

Though I would like for the need to visit countries to be hassle-free, if not visa-free, I appreciate that the UK and Europe do not necessarily grant the privileges to many of the countries I desire to have easy access to.

I remember when leaving Nigeria, my passport was seized by a heavily pregnant lady for no reason than to attempt to extort money from me. I cannot say I was street-wise enough to appreciate what she required of me as she walked away with my passport with probably the view of distressing me until I came to the kind of senses, she expected me to have.

Thankfully, there was a friend with me who knew how to work the system, and some 30 minutes later I was reunited with my passport after I believe a bribe had been extracted from my friend.

People doing their jobs

When I travel, I have expectations and requirements, I hate the fuss, I like officials to be honest, diligent and forthright, doing their jobs as opposed to doing their bellies and that is why I carefully choose where I want to visit and sadly Nigeria has not appeared on my itinerary because I probably would have cause to turn back at the airport and board a plane back to my home in the UK.

When visiting South Africa, I am not accosted by touts or dealers, there is usually someone to pick me up from the airport to my hotel. No one is trying to inveigle their way into my confidences and burden me with life stories that are no concern of mine.

For good service, I would tip generously and be on my way without getting badgered.

Nigeria is not South Africa

Despite the concerns about xenophobia that have arisen in recent times in South Africa, I have carefully chosen where to stay. In Johannesburg and in Cape Town, these places are conveniently exclusive and offer good quality safety. I am smart enough not to venture out to strange places without escorts and I would use the Gautrain in Gauteng for the major stations and to the airport. Uber always comes to the rescue, to take you anywhere and extricate you from strange places.

I am not of the opinion that Nigeria works that way, you read too much of egregious abuse by officials ready to take advantage of you at every turn from when you access the consular services abroad, through passport control, the customs and the journey to your overpriced hotel which is priced for access rather than for quality.

There is no doubt I have lived too long in Europe to begin the consider the prospect of inconveniences, especially with travel. Yet, I doubt Nigeria would be fixed enough to suit the standard of customer service I have grown accustomed to for almost 30 years.

Nigeria really is not South Africa

Furthermore, it goes without dispute that South Africa on the surface is a more emancipated and organised society, the institutions appear to work, the checks and balances are robust and when tested, they endure. I have my rights, the freedom of will, of beliefs and the kinds of engagement I choose, are protected.

In the months that I was about to leave Nigeria, I was being blackmailed, I refused to pay up and told the blackmailer to do his worst. I guess him having to explain how he came upon the information he planned to use against me kept him guarded. Unusually, I was also ready to have him rumbled if he attempted to besmirch my name. I probably would not have been able to sustain this for a long time, but it worked then.

There are other anxieties that bother me about Nigeria, it comes with a sense of foreboding like that feeling I used to had when I saw our house from the top of our street. A sickening and debilitating gut feeling, almost paralysing in function. I just faced it when it would have been more comforting to flee. I have promised myself, I would never put myself in a situation that appeared to overwhelm my rationality out of purpose, duty, commission or omission.

Yet, on any planned visit to Nigeria, I guess one would have to dare to be a Daniel and just do it. For since my father got on Facebook, each publication of my travel exploits has had him comment asking when I would include Nigeria in my itinerary. If only Nigeria were another place, it just is not and that, I am sorry, is a shame. Perceptions matter always, it would take a lot to change my perception that visiting Nigeria is just as easy as planning to visit South Africa.

Your comments on a postcard. Thank you.

Essential Snobbery 101: Devoid of Perception

He walked away from danger

This is a blog I started almost two months ago, but never got to finish because, like some blogs that I have posted before, the ideas might be pertinent, though the time and occasion are not ripe for publication.

A tweet I read this morning allows me the opportunity to finish this blog and hopefully get to post it. The tweet concerns a man who suggests he nearly got killed by a cop. He was returning from the gym, and he entered a shop to buy some things before he was accosted by the police with guns drawn, shouting at him to respond to some commands.

Here’s a story about how I nearly just got killed by this cop. pic.twitter.com/3IYZFM9Ggh

— Ziggy (@TheHipsterRebbe) January 3, 2018

He did not hear the commotion surrounding and directed at him because he had noise-cancelling headphones on; it was a matter of luck and fortitude, if not some restraint from the cops, that meant that he walked away from that encounter unharmed.

Shutting out the world

It transpired that the shop assistant had called the police about some criminal activity going on in the shop, and somehow that was read to be an armed robbery, with this man the supposed perpetrator. There is much to comment on about this, but that is of no particular concern to me.

My issue is with the headphones and noise-cancelling ones at that. The man says in a tweet, “Sometimes I like to shut the world out and listen to music.” That is the problem, you are in a public place, and you shut the world out, just imagine if he had walked into the shop and without that isolation bubble of his headphones blocking out the world, he might have seen and acknowledged the shopkeeper, who then, with that interaction, would not have suspected him of being up to no good.

I can comment on a lot of things in this thread, the one I am most concerned about is how headphones covering both ears limit your spatial awareness and sensory perception, not just in this instance but in many other situations. https://t.co/7U1bGeuaoX

— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) January 4, 2018

For all the commentary that followed his narrative, no one picked on the fact that the situation is as much his own fault in the first place, and it could then be that of others. When you shut off any of your working senses to external stimuli in the world around you, you place the responsibility on others either to look out for you or the anxiety on others to consider you a threat.

Devoid of perception of others

The same goes for people who ride their bicycles in the streets with headphones on so that they are unaware of the sounds and movements necessary for them to anticipate and avoid danger. It is just irresponsible at best and without doubt selfish and reckless.

The other day, I got on the train, but could not get to a free seat because a lady was standing in the way. Thrice, I said 'Excuse me, please', and she neither heard me nor budged; she was too engrossed in her mobile phone to be bothered or aware of her surroundings. It took me poking her with a finger for her to respond and reluctantly step out of the way for me to pass.

This is becoming the norm, a lack of awareness and the absence of perception that reduces our humanity from that of being social beings to the exemplar of being wild animals, uncivilised, inconsiderate, unconcerned and apathetic.

Just selfish and inconsiderate

Then, on a Sunday night, in a hotel full of business guests, the fire alarm went off at 4:20 AM, because some restless and noisy young men decided to smoke in non-smoking rooms. To cover the evidence, they broke the window and lied to the night concierge about the deed. I doubt they suffered any other consequence for waking everyone up in the hotel.

For them, nothing and no one else mattered in their selfish quest for self-satisfaction at the expense of everyone else. Sitting in a railway station waiting room, a passenger thinks it is socially responsible to play their music loud to the hearing of others, unafraid of being asked to behave.

In many cases, you cannot ask them to be considerate because that infuriates them, and it could lead to violent acts committed against you, as such a challenge to their antisocial behaviour is taken as an act of disrespect.

Why does it happen?

Meanwhile, another brings a can of alcoholic beverage onto the tram platform as we await the next one. He finishes the drink, drops the can to the floor and walks away as if it had nothing to do with him. This is despite the fact that there is a wastebasket 10 yards away. Then you imagine if everyone dropped their litter without any consideration, whether we would have anywhere to walk without running the gauntlet of refuse heaps.

Too many episodes and events I observe of carefree and careless people lacking in consideration or social skill, devoid of spatial awareness and the useful utility of their senses to do the right thing.

Unschooled, uncouth, untamed, uncultured to the point of stupid existence, upsetting everyone without any sense of offence caused or bad behaviour, you do wonder if it is a deliberate act of self-expression or just the absence of social graces, breeding, tutelage and much else.

Acceptance takes you beyond coping

Broadening perspectives

One morning not long after the witching hours I found myself in an interesting discussion about sexuality and the issues around understanding the concept from which I gained some insight.

I never majored in humanities, but I have a keen sense of my humanity, this is not to belabour a point, rather it is to suggest that the broadening of perspective is an essential quality of a teachable spirit. It is as if I process too much in my interactions that listening informs and enlightens in ways I cannot properly describe.

I would attend interviews and just through the conversation I find many of the questions I am expected to ask already answered, I cannot then persuade myself to give voice to confirm what I have elicited from the conversation, though expectations following routine almost always demands a pattern for interviews. I digressed.

Limiting perceptions

In that conversation, I found myself drawing a clear distinction between perception and reality. Perception is a limitation acquired from a narrow spectrum of observation and reality is covers the whole spectrum of things, too many of which have never been considered.

For instance, the subject was on coping and it would normally be phrased in a variety of ways, but not far off from, ‘How do you cope with your situation?’

Cope, in this context is a verb, it involves activity. The Free Dictionary offers a number of definitions for this particular context.

To contend or strive, especially on even terms or with success.

To contend with difficulties and act to overcome them.

The many stages of cope

Whilst I will not provide an exegesis on this topic, people have degrees of 'coping' from not coping at all to coping very well, maybe too well, sometimes. Yet, I see others who have reached another level beyond the contending and the striving, those who are no more in doubt or concern, those who have negotiated the Kübler-Ross model to a state of bliss.

Situations excite all sorts of emotions and reactions, from denial, through anger, bargaining, and depression, waves of guilt and inadequacies, low self-esteem, addiction and self-harm, worry and anxiety causing stress or worse. Coping is finding ways to manage these myriad expressions without being toppled into blank hopelessness.

Then channelling the Kübler-Ross model, having either negotiated or escaped the travails of striving to make sense of or find purpose, acceptance becomes a portal. The freedom that comes with acceptance is in my view beyond having coped.

Acceptance begetting release

For instance, and I wrote about this when I was in the hospital, the moment I moved beyond just coping with the pain with no respite from the agony to the point where I said to myself, “Akin, you’ve got cancer, what are we going to do about it?”

Blog - Getting off the pain train

It did not stop the pain, I hadn’t even begun any significant treatment to manage either the onslaught of AIDS or the fungating tumours. The treatment for the former started a day later and I went on my first session of chemotherapy six days later. I was already in the hospital a week.

However, once my state of mind had occupied the sanctuary of acceptance, I knew I was going to survive. Invariably, whilst I cannot create a parallel universe of my own reality, I can suggest that with the state of mind, it is unlikely I would have been prepared to tolerate the aggressive treatment that followed for 5 months of chemotherapy and all the attendant side effects.

Forgive yourself more

Maybe, I had found a coping mechanism of sorts, but it is very likely that without having accepted my situation and then used that as a springboard to an uncertain but very possible future, I might well have expired in the five weeks that was the original prognosis for my rather debilitating situation and health in September 2009.

We cope, then we begin to understand our reality, accept our reality, embrace ourselves, forgive ourselves, love ourselves and by so doing, we advance from striving and break through the portal of acceptance into thriving. It is a process, for some, it is a lifetime, to others there is grace that shortens the journey.

That I have been that fortunate is a blessing, not that one is perfect, but that energies are not dissipated in the want for recognising who I am despite the angsts and struggles of the past. I feel that I have been redeemed for the joy of living and the pursuit of happiness. It is a good place to be.

 

Thought Picnic: What parents rarely learn

Home calling

It was one of those innocuous Christmas moments when we remember to call home and chat to our parents, and this I witnessed.

He had called to chat to the matriarch who happened to be with his brother for Christmas as the conversation developed she was informed that she would definitely know me as his brother quipped that I was one of those friends of his brother that she had chased away from their home almost 30 years before.

I did not get her response, but it appeared contrite in some way, yet quite interesting to me because it revealed two very particular points about parents, children, relationships and friendships.

Give the kids some credit

The first being, children are more perceptive than we give them credit for, besides the fact that they have memories of events and experiences we never realise they have perceptively and cognitively retained.

The idea that parents think they can shield a child from tension, attitude, behaviour, event, crisis, success, circumstance, grief or any perceptible human experience where the child has all faculties is silly, children are not stupid, even if they have no voice, decision-making or participation in that setting.

Memory is memory

Yet, in shielding children from some of the essential parts of life in their development, the result can be scarring as it can be emotionally damaging. There are events I witnessed in my home as far back as the age of 3 that I have had playback in my consciousness like I am watching a film, it is like total recall.

This is what my friend’s brother had hidden in the recesses of his memory almost 30 years ago, a single event he witnessed that came out of the annals of his memory bank because conversation and opportunity met, facilitated the need for that information to be shared of what he saw then.

If you do not want your children to recall events you’ll rather not be reminded of, moderate your temperament or extricate them completely from that environment, the former is easier than the latter.

Too good, she said

Secondly, it is the matter of friends and I have had a few in my younger days that my mother had in a very English phrase had said were too good for her liking. I will agree that she was perceptive enough to see through some of those friends.

It so happens that I have come to understand why those people were probably not the best people to develop lasting relationships with.

Beyond their views

Then again, there are other friends our parents frowned upon then who have through time have remained friends and developed into closer productive rewarding relationships beyond the preconceptions and prejudices of our parents.

Generally, I am persuaded that despite whatever influences, adverse or helpful, we will cultivate friendships based on our own terms eventually and everyone else including our parents and other influential people will just have to accept that.

Switzerland: A misunderstanding of racist proportions - Great for tourism

I know what I want

When I bought my home about 12 years ago, one of the things I went shopping for was a bed, a good sturdy bed that will stand the test of use and time that I sought advice from my estate agent where best to go.

It was on the other side of town, in Amsterdam, so I mounted my bicycle and was outside the shop in about 25 minutes. The shop owner walked up to me and asked what I wanted and I told him, I was somewhat immediately profiled and he thought what I needed was the ordinary box spring variety, I allowed him his spiel before I specifically told him what I really wanted, it was deeper in the store.

I strode in and immediately saw what I was looking for, wooden, carved, polished and really sturdy to the touch, the feel and the hold apart from it being quite heavy – I pointed at it and immediately he said it was too expensive – maybe it was, but that was what I wanted.

Means-profiling

He remonstrated until I snapped back at him, “Who told you I can't pay for it? That is the bed I want and let’s be done with it.” With that came grudging respect, an offer to deliver the bed at any time of my convenience into the late evening and the service I should have had from the moment I showed up as a customer – Courtesy, respect, friendliness and helpfulness.

What had happened to me was I was ‘means-profiled’ by reason of some subjective quality, probably race, in the mind of the shop owner, he had thought – “I have seen many shoppers come here and this chap cannot afford the best goods I have in my store, I will not waste my time with him window shopping, I’ll just show him what belongs to the affordable profile of his type.”

We all suffer it

I am sure many of us have been ‘means-profiled’, belittled, patronised and basically disrespected on the premise of some subjective and prejudicial perception of another and in those circumstances have had to endure a looming humiliation from people who honestly think they are doing us some good or as a shop attendant said to Oprah Winfrey in Zurich recently, “I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”

In the narration Oprah Winfrey gave and one should not have to introduce her, she was in Switzerland to attend TinaTurner’s wedding when she decided to go shopping without an entourage or posse. [The Oprah Interview with CBS ET – The story has since been edited after I first read it.]

A clear perception

She walked into one of the Trois Pomme luxury shops in Zurich on Bahnhofstrasse, probably with the name Prada Donna and a conversation ensued where she wanted a particular bag and the shop attendant refused thrice to obtain the bag for her with a clear statement that it was too expensive.

It is not that the attendant, did not want to serve Oprah, but the attendant concentrated on showing Oprah bags she did not want, as Oprah pressed thrice to have a look at the $40,000 bag before she left the shop having been pitied, sympathised with, belittled and patronised, with a lovely statement from the attendant, “Oh, I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”

In fact, Oprah delivered that line with a mock-Swiss accent, highlighting occasions of subtle racism that she has encountered as a self-made billionaire, successful and powerful global media figure who just happens to be African-American.

No, she didn’t say that

As the backlash began to grow against the store, then, Zurich and possibly might even engulf Switzerland and create a seething animosity to any encounter with the Swiss from here on, the shop owner, Trudie Goetz, so lacking in nuance and perception of the grave situation that had been triggered, first apologised for the “misunderstanding” and then palmed it off with, "We don't have any facial recognition here.”

You have to ask, what can be so misunderstood with a simple request as, “Please can I see that bag?”? Especially, when that request was made thrice, giving time to exercise the utmost patience and avoid the need to flare up like a diva that you are probably in your rights to do, if you needed to.

The one about facial recognition is beneath contempt, it is lower than a rotten snake’s belly. Why should a shop have to have face recognition to determine whether a stranger is of means or a pauper to decide what service they should get?

Strike off Switzerland?

No, but the smarter heads in charge of tourism for Zurich and Switzerland are in crisis and damage-limitation overdrive because the last thing any city that thrives on the rich and tourism needs is this kind of publicity – not in a million years, the cost will be unquantifiable.

The worst part of this is, if such rotten treatment can be meted out to a global personality like Oprah Winfrey, we the lesser personalities who are striving to be popular in the smallest sphere of influence with might have numbering on just the fingers of one hand, have no chance.

Now, I have been to Switzerland twice before, to Zurich and Geneva – these are supposed to be global cities of renown, I had a wonderful time, I met good and friendly people, I loved the place, I love the lakes, but if this kind of attitude lurks in the underbelly of some of the people one might encounter, it is easy to keep Switzerland off one’s itinerary without much effort.

Nigeria: On Child Marriage, The Perception Drives the Debate

Between numbers and mumblers

A few weeks ago, we read about a survey conducted for the Royal Statistical Society and King’s College London by Ipsos MORI and it pertained to how public perception differed from the reality of issues and statistics with regards to crime, benefit fraud and immigration in the UK.

What made this survey all the more pertinent was when a country is hit by economic problems combined with a right-of-centre government, it is easy to play on public perception to formulate policy thereby giving the impression that serious issues of the day are being tackled with the prospect of radical and useful change, whereas nothing could be farther from the truth.

The perils of perception

In the survey, official statistics suggested only 0.6% teenage girls got pregnant in a year, whilst the public thought it was closer to 16%, in the process, the government ministers have rolled out ideas about making it harder for the girls to find welfare support for accommodation and other needs.

Benefit fraud statistically amounts to £0.70 of every £100 but with all the coverage of that minuscule criminality, the public have be led to believe it is £24 of every £100 spent and with that the government have been able to roll out sweeping benefit changes that seem to satisfy the public view but yields very little in savings on the whole.

Formulating policy on perception

In that survey, there are 10 indices where the public perception has grossly over- or under-estimated the reality for crime, religion (this FactCheck on the UK having a Muslim majority by 2050 makes interesting reading), for voting and any other issue that allows the government to roll out lop-sided policies pandering to sentiment, perception and populism with the public being none the wiser.

It colours our views of Europe in terms of the currency, the regulations and the justice system much as an exhaustive debate cannot be had on serious policy issues once they are hijacked by statistics plucked out of the air to push a programme and sound bites that make great headlines allowing for agenda-setting platforms amongst other things.

For the politician it is useful as much as it is perilous for the public, but the fundamental is that perception begins to matter regardless of the truth of the situation and it is unlikely that the truth of the situation will gain critical mass no matter how much the knowledgeable and the influential attempt to make this known – the urban myth has more currency than the real numbers.

The reading from the reality

I have found that the issue of public perception against academic interpretation is pervasive and universal, like for instance, in the United State, the matter of the 2^nd Amendment to the US Constitution which I cover here; the simple English reading will suggest the right to bear arms is a function of a well-regulated militia with the view of securing a free state but the debate and perception has been argued and it has radically changed to mean the individual’s right to own arms and by absurd extension, anyone can constitute a well-regulated militia of one. More on that on Wikipedia.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Perception matters

It got to a point where I jocularly suggested, someone just chose the 4-letter words in the amendment and made a constitutional law out of it.

However, the point is, people perception weighs heavily on the politics and the policies of the day that it cannot be ignored even if the reality as posited by the academics and other experts suggest otherwise, they can pooh-pooh all they like but it is perception that gets the crowd, fills the streets and excites the mob, the good knowledge, if there is anything like that will only reside with a minority and that expert cohort will do well to recognise the fundamental difference between public perception and academic interpretation giving due consideration to both.

Legalising Child Marriage

Which brings me to the #ChildNotBride Twitter hashtag that invaded the Nigerian Twitterverse recently. The Nigerian Senate were making constitutional amendments that pertained to the renunciation of citizenship, in Section 29 of the Nigerian Constitution when a muddle of senate procedures coupled with a religiously charged disavowal led by a man notorious for marrying under aged girls turned the whole focus to child marriage and basically, the rest is history.

By academic and expert interpretation and the broad spectrum of opinions covered by the links I will provide below, this section is quite particular and has no bearing on constitutionally legitimising Child Marriage in Nigeria, the subsection has been in the constitution since 1999, but with the actors, the procedures and the wording of the subsection being expunged – Section 29 (4)(b) any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age. – Public perception has overtaken the issue and it has become a cause that needs to be addressed.

Misguided outcry over the girl child – Egghead Odewale – The Nigerian Telegraph – Covers the extant laws covering the protections of the child.

Now That Your Ten Year Old Girl Is Of Marriageable Age | An Appraisal by Ayo Sogunro – Paints a scenario for granting rights to the married.

“Senator Yerima and Constitutional Review” By Maryam Uwais – Tackles more underlying issues to do with culture, religion and opportunity.

Still on Child Bride: The big yawn, By Cheta Nwanze – How lethargy sets in on our campaigns.

Senator Yerima and the marriage age controversy – Tolu Ogunlesi – It is a controversy.

#ChildNotBride: The Real Issues. – Dr. Henry Olamiju – Why it is a cause we should all take up.

An urgent need for review

The jumble of laws, acts, codes and statutes that give and take protection to and from the Nigerian child needs to be streamlined to effectively provide universal human rights fully protected to ensure the child has every opportunity to reach their full potential rather than be sacrificed on the altar of accepted beliefs that are somewhat inimical to development.

The commentators above have done well to paint out the broadest scenarios to cover most of the interpretations this subsection might extend to unwittingly and consequentially; it is also important that we address the core issue of child marriage separate from the personalities involved, that a clear delineation be made to ensure the secularity of the state and that those with an ulterior agenda are not allowed usurp the debate with religious blackmail which in this case is what seems to have happened.

The Senate has offered to revisit the clause and hopefully it would be to refine all the related provisions exhaustively to protect the girl-child from marriage, abuse and exploitation whilst radically addressing the educational crisis that has over 10 million children of school age out of mainstream education in Nigeria.

Perception matters, Always

When I addressed this matter 3 years ago, it was evident that whilst it was morally reprehensible the said Senator had broken no laws, but his religious stance made his position untenable and it formed the basis for my argument that we need a strict and clear separation of religion from the State with the view to making civil law and the Constitution the supreme text to which all Nigerians find equality and must be answerable to such that no one ends up being or acting above the law.

In all, as I have been wont to say on Twitter, Perception matters, Always – it is immaterial if people got it right or wrong; if the public perception is that child marriage has been legalised, then anyone who has the power needs to act to rid us of that perception – it is perilous but it is not without precedence, as it stands, because of public perception, Section 29(4)(b) constitutionally legalises child marriage, fix it and address it with the utmost alacrity.

Opinion: Nigerians paying to suffer great indignities

It is global no matter how local

The Nigerian Twitterverse was overrun with trending topics earlier today to do with a major concert that featured international artistes at a somewhat exclusive venue in Lagos.

I will not delve into the particular for there is much more to address with regards to the general which pertains to a Nigeria we will do well to divorce ourselves from if we are to make any progress as a people and as a country.

One is concerned that many do not realise that events in Nigeria now have a global audience and are subject to global scrutiny for the better or for the worse that it is important that those who identify as Nigerians both at home and abroad need to be aware of the responsibilities they bear along with the burden of duty that comes with being worthy and commendable ambassadors of our great land.

The concert was streamed live from the venue but that did not seem to compare in any way to the experiences the patrons had.

Oversold and under-prepared

The event would have had extensive publicity and garnered much interest with the sterling list of celebrities invited to compere and perform, it would appear the exclusive tickets labelled for VIPs and VVIPs were oversubscribed and sold but no adequate provision was made to accommodate the egos that thought they had bought exclusivity, comfort and class – nothing could have been further from the truth.

The reality was that the logistics were poor for accessing the venue that the patrons had to walk kilometres to the venue only to be bustled and jostled by bouncers at entry and then having inadequate seating or basic liquid refreshment.

Not what they paid for

To add insult to injury, the host appeared to be nonchalant about the ensuing chaos and like a typical Nigerian he would have attempted to bluff his way through the inadequacies to the extent that the patrons would have grumbled but accepted the indignities meted out to them.

Besides, the internationally renowned actor who was supposed to host the event that ran for hours was apparently only on stage for a grand total of less than 30 minutes.

Things ought not be so, people who have in their quest to sate their hedonistic tendencies by shelling out fortunes for access to glitterati should expect to be treated with dignity, respect, decorum and definitely not shabbily.

The insults we tolerate

But then, it goes without saying that if you are invited to an event you are probably a Very Important Person but if you have to pay to be seen with celebrities, you are anything but a VIP – access does not confer class; you are at best an interloper seeking to belong – I am not particularly sympathetic to people who assume airs of self-importance thinking their money can buy influence and thereby entitlement.

However, that said, Nigerians are in the majority mug-fodder (for mug, Nigerians will understand mugu better) to be exploited by the unscrupulous who trade on the low self-esteem or inferiority complex of the 'successful' but serious wanting in strength of character and demeanour.

It is not so important

There probably is a salutary lesson to be learnt, you do not have to be there if you have not been asked to be there by those who can smooth all the access required for you and remove the inconvenience I dare say rich plebs and wannabes suffer.

But in a country where we all troop like a stampeding herd usually uninvited to pay homage and burnish the egos of the powerful whilst wearing the most expensive watches but are so unschooled in keeping time, only a few of those who complained and fulminated vociferously will decline the opportunity to be treated with disdain if another event is staged at twice the ticket price and even less organisational preparation – we never learn.

His banker is laughing

If however any redress can be sought for the host to first apologise publicly and then offer compensation with the promise to do better, much progress will have been made. Reputations, perception and integrity should become front and centre of public life in Nigeria – crooks and confidence tricksters have held sway for too long.

Sadly, the age-old saying still finds true as it did at the very first time it fell from the lips of the original wise head – a fool and his money are soon parted.

Nigeria: Politics, Prophecy and Perceptions of Tunde Bakare

Perceptions or propaganda

The Nigerian public space sometimes affords the opportunity to postulate, proselytise, propagate, preach, prophesy, pronounce, predict, pander or pillory.

That list is hardly exhaustive as people who believe they have a voice find easy platforms, lecterns, pulpits, organs and media to make their strong views known.

There is the truth out there and there are shades of the truth, people can subscribe to speak the truth but the whole truth in a society as diverse and multifarious as Nigeria cannot be in the exclusive possession of singular persons, communities, regions, states or particular interests no matter how altruistic, honest and laudable their aims might be.

We must however grant everyone the opportunity to relay and convey their version of the truth and those who hear must exercise the greatest and utmost meticulous means to assess, challenge, verify, discuss and ascertain with all objective resource the sum and product of all these versions to arrive at the truth, debunk the fallacies, contemn the lies and in all expressions of disagreement strive to avoid disagreeableness.

As we stand in Nigeria

This afternoon, I came upon a sermon delivered by Pastor Tunde Bakare who recently was the presidential running mate of Retired General Mohammadu Buhari of the CPC, which in the Presidential elections of April the 16^th literally swept the majority in the North but hardly made an impact in the South.

I am of the conviction that the CPC was never a party that had the requisite national representative cachet to take the spoils from both their poor showings in all the elections apart from the presidential one, which meant even if they did pull the miracle of winning the race to head the executive arm of government, it would have been impossible for them to implement their agenda with a minuscule number of representatives in the legislature.

In fact, I would have expected the Machiavellian nature of Nigerian politics to have inspired the legislature to make the impeachment of the CPC stalwarts their one and only aim until they put a ruling party stooge in charge, but that is speculation.

The backstories are many

Now, Pastor Bakare is a passionate man, he is most probably a very religious man and as a preacher he can put together a very compelling case that would rank with the legal prowess of Perry Mason or some other amazing legal luminary however in a court the case is heard for both the appellant and the defendant with sometimes the use of expert witnesses, the moderation of a judge and the attentiveness of a jury before a decision is arrived at.

I will contend that despite the many facts, truths, analogies, allegories, inferences, proverbs and riddles, we have only heard a side of a bigger story which appears on deeper scrutiny to be a proxy feud between families intent on laying claim to some crown of leadership of a community.

There are many backstories to the claims being made and it is important that beyond the sensationalist headlines that newspapers will gravitate to in the quest for grandiose speculation and vile vituperations it behoves all that are fair and just to listen to the good 1:45 hours of this message.

To enter the discourse

It is probably best reviewed in Internet Explorer where you can adjust the slider, in Google Chrome, you are forced to listen to the whole lot and using Mozilla Firefox you will need to have the Apple Quicktime plugin installed.

An open mind is required and you probably want to take notes, the last thing you want to do is jump to conclusions or make assertions that were not volubly and directly made by the speaker.

The admissible evidence

It started from Feyi Fawehinmi’s status on Facebook where over a 100 comments and exchanges have clashed with passion. Depending on his security settings you might be able to view the exchanges, have to login in to Facebook or become his friend on Facebook.

Bakare: A bastard can’t be Yoruba leader: The National Compass Newspaper scores a tabloid style news scoop courting controversy with some excerpts of the sermon.

The sermon – It’s time to speak – Tunde Bakare, best reviewed in Internet Explorer or through Mozilla Firefox on systems where Apple QuickTime is installed.

Nigeria: Ministers' perception of bad image

Perceptions of image

Nothing gets me so irked than to read half-truths and sometimes untruths upon which the principals have entered into a determined scheme of denial whilst pasting every external element in sight with blame.

The Nigerian Guardian reports that the Nigerian Ministers of Finance and Information blame the media and human trafficking for Nigeria’s bad image [1].

I quote liberally from that news story acknowledging the source to be the Guardian Newspapers.

Whilst the plight of human trafficking is a very serious issue that has hit our screens over time, I would be hard pressed to find any recent material on that matter as compared to the Niger Delta crisis and the way it imparts on the oil infrastructure and oil markets, the inability to conduct decent elections and the sometimes unfavourably slanted reference to Nigeria when it comes to scam letters.

The West has people in Nigeria too

Let us examine the premise put forward by these esteemed servants of the Federation of Nigerian, the Finance Minister, Dr. Mansur Muhtar revealed, “there was a lot of negative reports from the local media and these in turn shaped what the Western media and investors think about the country.”

Interesting insight suggesting the Western media do not have liaison offices and personnel in major cities of Africa’s largest “democracy” and one time its biggest oil producer. Investors would come from countries that probably have embassies plugged into Nigeria and its environment for business and Nigeria belongs to many trade and bilateral organisations that would have representatives in the country and there are international conglomerates operating in Nigeria already.

It is a bit far-fetched to suggest that it is the local media that serves as the main news feed for the International press thus the main source of the bad image of Nigeria.

Credit comes with noticeable impact

The same minister went on to say, “the public seemed not to be giving enough credit to government for what was being achieved.”

Whilst Nigerians might like to hire praise-singers they are not effusive in praise for situations that impact on them negatively. Unlike in the West where we desire and demand small government; where infrastructure, power, transport, health, education and water resources do not seem to be available to the common man, that country needs big government.

The minister must understand that to gain any credit, the activities of government must touch people’s lives – roads for their business activities, power that meets the needs for a developing nation, integrated transport with focus on railways, hospitals that have qualified personnel and unadulterated drugs accessible to the majority, schools that have materials and can stay open the whole year round and really potable water.

Unfortunately, the ministers live in the exclusive decadence of opulence called Abuja almost oblivious of the realities that meet everyday lives such that they expect praise from postulation rather than action that really changes lives for the better.

The enormity of the challenges

I suppose what really puts it all in perspective comes from this further statement; “... government's efforts are not being given enough recognition and coupled with the enormity of the challenges not being appreciated.”

Nigerians know the challenges they face every day, the need to survive, the need to keep a roof over their heads, the need to put food on their tables and the undying optimism that things would improve.

What they expect of their government is first of all competence, the statement the minister made cuts the other way which questions whether the government has ever appreciated the enormity of the challenge of steering the ship of state called Nigeria.

10 years is some time

Blaming previous governments for our problems today is becoming an unforgivable excuse, the same party has been in power for 10 years, a fifth of the time that Nigeria has been independent, 10 years is a long time to turn a country round if the leaders can exhibit a modicum of competence.

I am happy that the Minister of Information has also recognised the negative element of human trafficking and child abuse, however, it does not go far enough as a matter of the Nigerian image abroad if it does not also address the more controversial issue of child sexual abuse within Nigeria itself.

Deliver and trust will follow

If the “people no longer had trust in the government to deliver its promises,” it would appear no tangible promises have yet been delivered on because like I said earlier in my blog; impact would bring recognition, Nigerians would no more stand for the voluble, loquacious and vacuous politician with promises by the truckload – I am sorry, we are looking for results not the thought and ceremony about actions.

Let us see ceremonies at completed projects not stupid foundation-laying ceremonies for white elephants.

In all, I think the ministers are looking for sycophants to sing their praises in vacuity and publish lies and vague achievements to give the government credit for nothing and hoodwink Nigerians with statistics and platitudes without showing real results.

Methinks, the ministers are in deep denial.

Sources

[1] Guardian Newspapers: Muhtar, Akunyili blame Nigeria's bad image on media, human trafficking