olaoluwatomi

I'm reading my favourite book for the umpteenth time and even though I know all the stories I still can't help laughing and chuckling when I read the pages again. I am at work and since I don't have much to do I can read but I have had to stifle my laughter so those around me don't begin to wonder if there is something wrong with me. Childhood stories are wonderful especially if they are told by an expert story teller. My favourite stories are about Lè-moo, the Wash-hand basin caused habit, Paa Adatan who boasted about defeating the 'jamani' soldiers sent by Hitler but was defeated by the 'bote' soldiers,and of course my favourite- You-Mean-Mayself. This story just about crowns all the others told in the book for me. For those of you who have read it I'm sure you'll be laughing just as I am, for those of you who haven't, you better go grab yourself a copy, Have a great 'Aké' filled weekend!

My status on facebook reads Tomi is 'looking forward to a family reunion at Christmas'. These days with the harmattan in the air (for those of you who have harmattan where you are) I can't help thinking about Christmases in the past! Talk of the ghost of Christmas past! I'm no Scrooge but I tell you I can't but wish that I was a child again. Christmas holidays were always spent in my home town, it was not Christmas if we were not in the 'village'. You woke up in the morning to the mist of harmattan in the air. The hill behind the house was hid by the clouds and the weather was cold. I still remember the morning baths and the big jar of Vaseline which we applied generously if not you looked as white as a 'naija' snow man! Christmas was a period of many celebrations in my family for there were many anniversaries, there were two wedding anniversaries and two birthday celebrations which were closely interspersed over the holiday period. All the turkeys, ...

Over the last few days I have done more sitting at my desk than moving around, I have been more or less a couch potato! I miss the hustle and bustle of the emergency room, wards and all but like every one around me says, enjoy the quiet while it lasts for soon the hurricane of work will begin to blow. So right now I'm no longer complaining, like the true daughter of my father I will make use of this time to prepare for the approaching storm, for it will surely come and I must not be caught unawares!

I have seen only two cases of polio, one as a medical student and one last month. Going by all the effort that has been put into its eradication, I should not have ever seen a single case of Polio, I should just have read about it like I read about the eradication of small pox, a deadly killer that has been wiped off the surface of the earth (thank God), maybe if Polio was as deadly as smallpox the same might hold true for its eradication efforts! I saw my second case of polio while I was on one of my many trips round this great country of ours a few weeks ago. Its sad to note that despite the many campaigns, advertisements on every conceivable news medium, announcements in places of worship, market places, announcements by village heads, heads of families, there are many people who believe strange things about vaccination. This child was brought by both parents to a health clinic in a rural area complaining that she could not walk for one day. She had been treated two weeks before on...

Its strange that many of us take the simple discourtesies meted out to us daily by people whose services we pay for. I'm talking about the clerk at the local supermarket who would rather finish a conversation with her colleague than serve you, and not even apologise for keeping you standing or the petrol attendant who keeps your change and when you demand for it grudgingly gives you your ten naira like it was his! I went for an exam yesterday at a centre in Abuja, its an examination you write on-line. I was at the centre an hour before the exam was to start we were told to arrive 30mins before the exam but I decided to be extra careful ( I know I get no points for coming early). The first person to arrive came to open the office 12mins before my exam was to start. I greeted him and asked why we were told to come in 30mins before an exam if the centre was not opened until a few mins to the beginning of the exam. For my efforts to enquire why I had been kept waiting I did not get any...

My world has been much richer because of my friends and the post below is dedicated to my first and best friend. My first friend is someone who I came into the world with. I shared the same room with her nine months before I was born and grew up sharing my first few rooms on earth with her. We have gone through a lifetime of experiences together. The stories of our early years are not amongst my earliest memories but they are tales that have been recounted over and over again. We were said to have our own special language which no one but ourselves understood and it was with mock horror that I was observed to speak to her in our language and she would go and get my shoes for me or pick up our toys while I stood by watching! I was some friend wasn't I? Later our friendship proceeded to the fighting stage, we fought over books, household chores, clothes ('that is my dress, no its mine' how could we know for sure since we had exactly the same set of clothes).I can still remem...

Yes I know you know Senator Barack Obama is the President-Elect of the United States of America. For millions of black men all over the world this is a crowning moment and brings to mind the words of the Late Martin Luther King who dreamt of a day when black men would no longer be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their hearts. Senator Obama has shown that dreams can come true and I can only imagine that Martin Luther King is up there rejoicing that his dream for a UNITED states has come true after all these years. I rejoice with Senator Obama, Michelle Obama and their two daughters. Here's wishing you a most successful stay in the white house! May your shadow never grow dim!

I rarely like to mention the names of places where I work as I sometimes have to write unpleasant things about the place but for this post of mine I have decided to make an exception. For those of you who are familiar with the slogans for each state usually written on licence plates of cars or on the first few pages of diaries you would have already been able to name the place I visited during my 'johnny walker' stunts around this wonderful country. It took us about seven hours by road from the Federal Capital Territory to this state located in the north eastern part of Nigeria. I had heard a lot about this state from a friend of mine who is an indigene of the state and whom I met during the service year. She had painted a picture that made me want to change location to that state after my NYSC. The road leading to the state capital from a neighbouring state has on the left an International airport, that was the first of many surprises. The roads in the state capital were very ...

I remember my childhood with nostalgia, I wish those days were here again but I can distinctly remember my wishing as a child to hurry up grow and become an adult. How did I start wishing I was a child again? On Sunday I was sitting with friends and all of a sudden the topic of conversation turned to how the children of nowadays are missing out on so many important things. One friend complained about how every year she was harassed by her children's class teachers just before Christmas to buy decorations for their classrooms. She says she has repeatedly refused to do so despite her child's pleas insisting that the fun in Xmas is to allow the children make their own baubles. Of course we all began to reminisce about the hand made decorations we used to make the chains of rings we would have all so carefully coloured, the awards for the best decorated classroom. Even if we used store bought decorations it was just an add on to those we had so carefully created. I even remember th...