nigeria burning

unless you've been blinded by the new hampshire primaries in the states, and mitt romney's mitt, you probably have heard some sort of news about nigeria this week. while boko haram is burning up the north with threats and gunfire, protests are burning up the rest of the country. i want to spend some time considering the protests. since monday, the labour unions and other organisations including #OccupyNigeria have taken to the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Ife (even London, Atlanta...), etc to protest the governments decision to remove fuel subsidies that have been hampering economic growth, depleting the national budget,  and further enabling corruption. at the same time, these subsidies have allowed nigerians, ordinary nigerians, to benefit in one aspect from the god-given natural deposits of oil. that priviliedge (or is it a right) was taken away by the jonathan administration on january 1, 2012. happy new year!

admittedly the minute i heard about the fuel subsidy removal, i was elated. from an economics point of view, the subsidy never made any sense. it was eating into at least 25% of the budget and the rest of the budget was used for recurring costs. if any developmental projects are meant to happen, the subsidies needed to go. i looked at the subsidies, as well, as a hamper on downstream economic growth in the oil industry. its a national shame that nigeria produces and exports some of the largest amounts of crude oil in the world, yet still has to import oil for its population because it has no (zero, zilch) facilities to in which to refine oil. the subsidies do not help bring in that beneficiation investment however. think about it: what incentive does a company have to set up a refining plant in nigeria and hire nigerians, if it can set up a plant in another country (perhaps a neighboring country...), buy its oil in nigeria for the subsidised amount, ship (or smuggle...) the oil outside the country to where the refinement plant is, refine the oil and then turn around and sell it back to the nigerian government at the much higher market prices? no incentive whatsoever. hence i was for the removal of the fuel subsidy.

as i debated with my friends and with the majority of the online community about the subsidy, i started to understand the arguments that i was missing. [big side note here: i still and will continue to vehemently disagree with those that demonise the current administration (i.e. the presidency and the cabinet) and prefer to overlook the good things that sanusi, okonjo iweala and others have done in nigeria and to side with the cracked-up, crooked-up, more-blatantly-corrupt-than-400-bernie-madoffs-put-together congress (house of reps and senators). how that makes sense in people's heads is beyond me. i typically have a rule of thumb: whatever side nigerian representatives and senators are on any issue, run (dash, flee) to the other side, and fast!]

what i do understand more clearly than ever is how this affects the ordinary nigerian. they have been discarded and lied to for most of their lives (if not all). promises turning into lies. lifestyles destroyed. hopes dashed. people are poorer now in nigeria than they were 30 years ago. there is no reason to trust the government. i get that! now government has made it harder to live, to go to work/school, to go shopping, to buy food, etc. i really do empathise. empathising for the people does not however mean that i am against the fuel subsidy removal. however, i think it could have been implemented in a different way (i'll get to that later).

this was not the first time time that fuel prices have been hiked. our buddy president, obasanjo, during his eight years hiked fuel prices about 9 times, including 2 days before leaving office, a move that would later be reversed by his successor, Yar'Adua. In all, the price of fuel was 275% more expensive when OBJ left office in 2007 (N75) than when he came in in 1999 (N20). Thats, Two hundred and seventy five percent!! the current price hikes are a little over 100% of the previous price. we all praised okonjo-iweala when she came to nigeria (then went around the world) saying that they were going to make the nigerian budget and spending very lean, given the tough economic times and nigeria's history of wastage and corruption. what did we think she meant? removing subsidies is simply part 1 of that plan, no?

so with the president claiming there is no going back on the subsidies and the organised protests threatening to halt the economy, what gives? who do we expect to blink first. i believe there will be a compromise between the president and labour, if the president can play his cards right. throughout all of OBJ's price hikes, labour threatened to halt the economy and did organise several strikes. one was  effective in getting the president the reverse the hike, but most were effective in getting the two sides to compromise on a less daunting price hike. so i believe there is room for compromise. in fact, the govt should have looked to phase out the subsidy removal, instead of removing it all in one go.

so then what happens when there is a compromise. this is where i see the value of the strike action and movements such as #OccupyNigeria (thanks to BTC-Africa for pointing out). To further compromise with the protestors, the government ought to have a clear plan of action that will ensure removal of the subsidy (which we all agree is needed) as well as removal of corrupt elements in government (which we all agree is needed) and improvements in education, employment and industry development (which we all agree is needed). There ought to be benchmarks and checkpoints that are required before we can move on to the next phase of the fuel subsidy removal. If, for instance, the government says, we will remove 25% of the subsidy now and couple that with developing refineries, privatising the electricity sector, and prosecuting corrupt politicians. If then targets are set to prosecute 1 high ranking politician, or bring in 1 private investor to begin operations in the electricity sector by the end of the year, then they can remove another 25% of the subsidy. Targets and milestones should be no stranger to the finance-heavy reform team in the cabinet! This shows not only a give and take attitude, but a government that is serious about making a social contract with the people and getting back the trust that has been severely eroded over the last 50years.

the government is asking nigerians to trust them to do the right thing without much basis for this trust. its time to wake up, president jonathan! nigerians have woken up in all corners and your credibility and livelihood is fearfully at stake. i have been on board with this administration and continue to be because i believe they've got the right ideas and the right people and the right processes. obviously they could use more people and process, and a bit of common sense. nigerian people are demanding accountability by the government. show us you're serious about development, about jobs, about schools, about roads, then we can trust you more when it comes to raising prices of everything. and to the nigerian people, lets try to be constructive and stop with the demonisation of the presidency and the name calling; its un-becoming of this nation. lets be better than chavez, than south africa, than the US. lets come together in building a better nigeria and not a worse, more fragmented one. that's the spirit of revolution.

the day after christmas - nigeria on my mind

yesterday was december 25th, christmas day. This day used to be known as a day for family, a day for giving, sharing and, for many, a day of celebration of the birth of Christ. instead, yesterday, in nigeria will be known as yet another day of brutal massacres by cowardly murderers. today, december 26th, used to be known as boxing day. gone are the days when today was used for gathering up the trash from shredded gift wrappers and taking down the christmas tree, or collecting gifts for those less fortunate (UK), or going crazy at shopping malls (Aussie), or sitting in front of the tv set all day to watch sports (US), or performing general acts of kindness/goodwill (SA). today, for nigerians, is a day of sorrow and despair, a day to literally sort out and bury the dead, a day to ask more questions and seek more answers.

3 bomb attacks rocked northern nigeria and the capital city, abuja yesterday and left at least 40 people dead (in nigeria, counting the dead is a highly politicised exercise, so to get the exact number remains a tiring exercise). the christmas day attacks targeted churches, seeking to further provoke religious sentiments and divide the country along those lines (don't be so easily fooled). the group claiming responsibility for the attacks, as with several other bomb attacks in nigeria this year is boko haram (meaning western, or non-islamic, education is a sin/forbidden). this minority extremist group, so far out of the main stream of its own stated religion and despite having been denounced by islamic leaders worldwide, have wrecked so much havoc in nigeria this year.

so what makes yesterday's attacks so special? judging by the outcries on online news media as well as social media, one wouldn't be blamed for thinking this latest bombing cleared whole villages the way the violence immediately following elections in april did in northern nigeria (in kaduna, zaria...), or the way floods cleared entire communities and structures in western nigeria (in lagos, ibadan...). perhaps it was special because it happened on a sacred holiday or it was carried so prominently by international news outlets. however, to those of us who have been following events in nigeria, this was only one of at least 26 attacks or bombings that has been carried out by boko haram this year alone! while each one is touching and heartbreaking and we must never forget that these are individual lives being lost, we must also put it in its proper perspective.

scouring the social media spots yesterday, i became increasingly annoyed, agitated, and worried, as i saw where the conversations were headed. my nigerian friends have often listened to me question the true identity of a nigerian ("what makes you nigerian" is my favourite question). but i think they all know that i ask this not out of disdain, but rather out of genuine curiosity, in a way to make nigerians start to think of what unites us and not what divides us. for some reason that i can't explain adversity, pain, disaster, tragedy seem to unite a nation more than most things. however, yesterday, instead of seeing signs of unity, coming together as one nation in remembering the innocent lives that were lost (lives that did not know why they had been taken so abruptly), i saw mostly signs of division. not usually one to back off of political discussion, i found it inappropriate to turn a tragedy into a political game of who's more to blame (the president or the people) and, even more worrying, why nigeria is still one country and when it will be split. This was the most tragic outcome of the day. instead of speaking of unity, we, nigerians, cower under the clock of the boko haram cowards, and scream out for division, and division now.

a group has already been set up on facebook with over a thousand members calling for a national conference. this same call was made years ago under obasanjo's reign and he brushed it aside as yet another talk soup which would come up with no real actionable solutions and only seek to divide the country more than make it a more cohesive union. when violence and tragedy strike, instead of calling for justice, including the prosecution of perpetrators of crime as well as addressing the causes behind the spates of violence, we call for division. and how exactly would we divide? into the 3 main cultural groups (hausa-fulani, igbo, and yoruba)? the ijaw people (4th largest people group) might have something to say about that. then what about the tiv, the nupe, the ekoi, or the rest of the 370 or so diverse ethnic groups? even within a people like the yoruba kingdom, there are so many diverse groups that rarely get along, for example the people from ife and those from modakeke, living literally next to each other but in conflict for the past several centuries. so then do we split up the yoruba kingdom to avoid conflict? in that case, i would need a visa or be outright denied entry to visit my grandmother who speaks a language completely different from mine, but is considered, at the moment at least, yoruba. where do we stop with the divisions? when do we begin to forget about the arbitrary lines that were drawn in 1886 and begin to build a nation?

nigeria has tried to divide once in 1967 during the biafra war. one of the main factors that led to the end of the war, amongst many other factors, was the inability of biafra to get even all of south-east nigeria to go along with it. this cry for division at the close of 2011 is an issue that should have been put to rest a long time ago. nigeria is not the first or only nation to be fighting terrorism within its borders. spain has been fighting a terrorist group, the ETA, in the basque region in northern spain for more than 45 years. The FARC guerrilla organisation has terrorised colombia for more than 50 years and controls large amounts of its land as well as the drug trade. These two groups have almost become a fact of life in these countries. every successive government seeks to stamp them out one way or another. yet, despite its ongoing war, these countries are not falling apart because of security concerns, there is no national conference on whether to split or to remain one. yes, spain is under-going tough economic times, but that is as a result of irresponsible borrowing and not due to ETA. a few years ago, spain was one of the economic hotspots of europe. colombia has seen steady economic growth and is being billed as the next growth spot in south america.

nigerians cannot allow an extremist group to dictate the future of the country- its identity, society, economy, politics, etc. yes, the government must act swiftly to prosecute and address the underlying issues of corruption, lack of education, lack of basic services, etc... but are we not playing into the hands of the terrorists when we seek to divide the country due to insensible and tragic acts? should we not rather show a sign of solidarity in the face of opposition and despair?

lessons from momsie and popsie

so the parents just left and what a week and some. before i say much else, i just want to say how much i really admire those guys, their marriage, their faith, their love for people, and their resilience. popsie always says that their dream and hope is for their children to surpass them in all areas. to be honest, at this point, if i manage to be even with them (esp marriage-wise), i'll be happy!

they're so cute!

speaking of parents, they came from the US after a brief stop in Nigeria. Which leads me, sort of, to what i want to discuss. lately, i've been on a self-proclaimed 'journey of hope' - to find things about nigeria that make me hopeful and which spell signs of development and improvement. before then, i had been all too often chastised for being a pessimist after being the eternal (and naive) idealist in my university days.

because the last time i was in nigeria was about 6 years ago and, since then, i've read and heard some postive things, i was looking forward to hearing my parents perspective and their experience in naija. well, i must say it took all the optimism in me to keep the faith after listening to my parents lament the sorry state of the country. these are die-hard nigerians (my parents, i.e.) who have been investing and building for decades, dreaming of their early retirement back to nigeria. the feeling they had was not simply sorrow, but even anger, at the waste, corruption, and under-development of nigeria. seeing the roads in south africa, even the small potholes, they couldn't stop complaining and marveling at why the nigerian government cannot do something as simple as fix the roads that are in such disrepair that if left alone will render nigeria un-travel-able. when i took them through the shacks and impoverished areas of cape town and johannesburg, they were surprised that this sort of poverty still existed in south africa; however, the next thought that came to them was how even the poor, mostly, still have access to good (and relatively clean!) roads, water, electricity (sometimes). This meant that the poorest of south africans were still likely several levels richer than the poor nigerian.

sure, south africa cannot begin to compare itself against nigeria and thus celebrate being far and away more developed. but, on the flip side, nigeria certainly has to consider its journey in comparison with south africa's and be much ashamed. what have we done with so many riches - within the soils, the waters and brains of nigeria? and what about all those positive reports of nigeria improving? the improved banking environment? the cleaner lagos? the housing boom? perhaps my parents didn't go to those parts? or perhaps changes in the macro- and micro-level factors have yet to reach the average nigerian?

this reminds me a bit of 2009, when i spent the year working in botswana. no offense, and all love, to my batswana friends, but i gotta call y'all out! going to bots, i had read all the glowing reviews of the country. least corrupt african country, most developed, best cinderella story, going from very poor to high middle income country in ~40years, boomin economy, booming middle class, etc. well, this wasn't exactly the case. In fact, the capital city, Gaborone, was a little more than a glorified village. However, this is about where the comparisons b/w nigeria and botswana end. Personal bias aside, the policy level changes in botswana were actually being felt among the average batswana. I do not recall seeing one beggar in all of Gaborone. People were being put to work, mostly. The average guy in 2009 felt better off than the average guy in 1970. My parents lived in Nigeria in the 1970s and they and many others certainly felt richer, prouder, and more hopeful then than now. theres shame in that.

so the million naira question remains: what is wrong with nigeria and how do you fix it? my parents have many theories; one being that nigerians are simply not patriotic enough and do not own up to their country enough to want to fix things without waiting for the nebulous govt to act. im not so sold on that theory. but the idea of patriotism got me thinking about solidarity. what makes nigerians nigerian? its certainly not language, culture, or a shared sense of identity and belonging. rather, its a bit more modern than that. and perhaps gives some glimpses into what the problem is. if you ask any nigerian on the streets of lagos or elsewhere how they're doing, they will not answer "fine", like the rest of the world. No, the most common response to that question is simply: "i'm struggling". so perhaps, its a shared sense of struggle that makes nigerians nigerian? its this sense of struggle that makes nigerians get up in the morning and drive through none moving traffic, board well worn, torn, and overcrowded buses, navigate the crater-sized pot-holes on every street and highway. perhaps, also, its this sense of struggle that keeps the nigerian from taking ownership of things such as neighborhood crime, cleanliness, roads, water provision, and infrastructure development and maintenance. to me, these are easy wins for local governments. is it this sense of struggle that gives corrupt politicians (that's almost a pleonasm) a free pass - allowing them to endlessly steal taxpayer money with less than nothing to show for it?

my parents have never stopped dreaming about retiring back to nigeria, and in fact have been building and investing in anticipation for that. however, one could almost hear a doubt in their voices as they lamented over the increasing negative trajectory of development in the country, contrary to a lot of the news one reads about these days. even if were able to diagnose what the problem was - patriotism, corruption, sense of struggle or otherwise - how do we go about fixing it? what am i doing or can i do to address it? that, my friends, is the 2 million naira question.

catching up

sincere apologies to my die hard fans (all million and a half of you) who haven't heard from me in a while! i know i've been MIA for a realllly long time, but you can blame that on my work that has kept me locked in (literally sometimes) and has captured my soul. i wish i could say that its been fun, but it hasnt. at all. enough about the soul-devouring employer and on to a recap. sort of a cop out, yes, but so many things have happened since the last time i posted an i didn't just want to pick one. so here are a couple highlights!

Goodluck Jonathan Wins Nigerian Elections
I know this probably seems like old news now, but its still a great achievement that should be celebrated. I think in most places other than Nigeria, the achievements of the latest elections and its significance would have been celebrated much more than it was. Yes, many people are aware that relative to other Nigerian elections, this was probably more credible, free and fair. To be sure, there were lots of irregularities and politicians attempted to incite their paid thugs by crying foul and watching as looting, fighting, and murders ravaged on unhinged. But as we nigerians like to say (and those who follow Nigeria) relative to other nigerian polls this was a pretty darn good election period. Kudo's to the election commission chair Professor Attahiru Jega for assembling a good (enough) staff, instilling good (enough) practices, taking on the backlash after delaying the start of the elections due to irregualrities and still pulling off a good (enough) election over 3 weekends.

So what makes this election so special? in order to answer that, we have to look at who President Jonathan is and where he's from, as much as where Nigeria has come from. 1st, the president, by admission of his own name, has been truly lucky the last few years. Without coming from a lineage of rainmakers or politically savvy gentlemen and women, he was pulled from obscurity to be the deputy governor of his state, Bayelsa. Within a couple years, the sitting governor was indicted for corruption charges, fled and was detained in London where he fled embarrassingly disguised as a woman (wtf!). After his impeachment, he was succeeded by Mr. Goodluck Jonathan. Then barely a couple years after, Mr. Goodluck was chosen to be the running mate of to-be President Yar'Adua to bring a north-south balance to the ticket. The ticket won the presidential elections and 2 years later the sick Yar'Adua croaked and after a brief vacuum of confusion, mr Goodluck assumed the office of President of the Republic of Nigeria. This means, in essence, the only election that Mr. Goodluck has won was the 2011 Presidential election. Congrats, Mr. Goodluck!

2nd, Mr. Goodluck hails from a region known as the south south, the Niger Delta. This is a region where the vast majority of the wealth of the nation comes from. Interestingly (or not), this is also one of the poorest regions in the country with no infrastructure, no good educational system, no jobs (besides the lucrative business of kidnapping, cutting oil pipes and stealing some oil (causing violent fires) and other gang related activities). Additionally, the people of the Niger delta can be considered a sort of minority group (one of legions) as they do not form one of the 3 major groups (Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo). so for the 1st time in Nigeria's history (I think), we have a president that hails from a minority group - one that has been marginalised and neglected since Nigeria became Nigeria!

3rd, check this out:

that would be the electoral map of nigeria. Goodluck managed to capture the south of the country, but the north remains anti-Goodluck. he must find a way to win the hearts and minds of those guys (not an easy task at all), in order to maintain any sense of peace and security in the country. Already, in addition to the unsettled Niger Delta, terrorist cells have been springing up and causing frequent deaths in many parts of the country.

I don't wish you goodluck, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan, I truly wish you Gods-speed and guidance! and i'm pulling for your unhindered success in addressing the true needs of Nigerians and bringing real and lasting development.

MBA graduation
This weekend was my graduation weekend. Luckily I was able to come and more importantly, my parents were able to come down (on route from US via nigeria). I didn't have much time to think about this event before I left for cape town on thursday, but as I saw old classmates and lecturers dressed in their finest and got to catch up with some i hadnt seen in so long, i began to realise just how fine of an occasion this was. i met some really amazing people during my studies last year that i plan on doing my best not to let get away (even if it means stalking!!)! a few people saw so many sides of me that i typically dont let out often; those same people were with me through good and bad, tough and rough, and i hope i can be as invaluable friends to them as they have been to me.

My parents brought some gifts from Nigeria and the states for me, including an awesome shirt that i was all too pleased to wear. They also wore their traditional nigeria outfits to the grad, which i must say, brought some much needed colour to the event. im so very proud of my parents and to see them proud of me was quite a awesome experience as well. check it out:

I'm for sure glad to be over and done with the MBA, and def ready to start reaping its benefits! I had some amazing lecturers who opened my eyes in ways i didnt realise they could open. I learned a great deal and can't wait to start imparting my knowledge on the world. watch out!

there's lots more that have happened in the last month, but this post has been long enough. plus i know i've kept you from weiner-gate long enough. more life-questioning, thought-searching views in the posts to come...

nigeria votes 2011: big day

in a few hours, nigerians go to to polls to vote in a new president and governors. so many things have happened since the start (or almost start) of the elections. there was the postponement, and then the 2nd postponement. the shellacking (in nigerian terms) of the ruling party in the parliamentary elections, and theres the collapse of one of the opposition party presidential candidates who many young people initially believed could bring about change. this was ribadu, the former chair of the anti-corruption agency. as i've mentioned in an earlier post, this guy completely turned me off when i watched him debate. i'm still impressed with the party and its organisation and seeming desire to deliver services in areas they control (like lagos), but im not at all convinced in the candidacy of mr ribadu. and apparently neither was he, as he and his party tried had to merge with another opposition, as theyve tried many times in the past. its all politics folks!

so at this moment, im feeling very proud and hopeful that things are happening in nigeria. im so inspired, not by politicians or empty promises, but the committed activity by ordinary nigerians who tweet and blog endlessly, given people like me a feeling like we were actually there. another journalist widely respected, christian purefoy, has set up a site and uploads videos and reports on whats happening. ive known about this guy for some time now and he's covered nigeria for several years and im constantly impressed with the way he covers nigeria and the sorts of stories he tells. stories that are not always the mainstream. i think i have a man-crush! keep up the good work. check out his site: http://christianpurefoy.tumblr.com/.

good luck nigeria. let change and development reign!

meet kristy and tayo

move over kate and william. theres a new hot royal couple! really, they're hot! and they're royalty!

stunning!

last weekend, i was honoured to be asked to be the best man at my brother's wedding. and it was a completely beautiful affair. the wedding was full of laughter, crying (quite a bit), some very pleasant surprises, some not so nice moments, more laughter, lots of emotions, and lots of love. leading up to the wedding, i actually tried not to think about it too much, because for those of you who know, it was a pretty emotional thing for me. I wasn't sure what to expect. Even trying to write and practice my best man toast was such a mission and emotionally draining that i put that off as well until the very last moment!

hole in 1? more like 100...

but alas, the wedding was totally beautiful. we had an amazing time. the mix of cultures with roots in africa, north america, asia, europe, etc was really an awesome sight and setting. i even played golf for the first time. ever. as my brother thought it would be a good idea to hit the course the morning of the wedding. it was. lots of fun. and the day couldnt have been more beautiful. oh, and the church was stunning, the photographer amazing, bridesmaids beautiful, the guests lovely, and on...

so, even though I've done some toasting of the couple already, I wanna do it again publicly. Here's to tayo and kristy! my big bro has always been a mentor, a guide, and a great example for me to emulate. I can see exactly what kristy sees in him and what he sees in her. they match. i can understand the countless people that came up to them to tell them what an inspiration they, individually and collectively, have been in their lives. I pray, and i know!, that you guys will continue to be more of an inspiration and light to those that are around you. I can't wait to watch you as you grow in your love and marriage. And please please please dont feel like you have to wait for those pikin's to start poppin' out! I want little nieces and nephews already! and i promise ill babysit - as long as you bring them over to SA first! 

she's really nigerian now!

keep livin, lovin, & laughin. here! here!

 

chillaxin'. too school for cool!

  

those kids can move!

nigeria votes 2011: bad start?

foremost, and with extreme jubilation, i can now announce that this blog has received an audience (a couple actually) in nigeria for the 1st time! what an achievement.

secondmost, and also with extreme jubilation, i just arrived in the us of A and spent an amazing 2 days in chicago. i really love this place! looking forward to the rest of my trip elsewhere and my foray into best-man-ing!

thirdmost, and not-so-jubil-ious, nigerian elections! so the 3 part elections were set to start on saturday, april 2. however, due to some ballot boxes not being received in certain locations, the decision was made to postpone the elections by a week. the new dates: parliamentary elections will be held on the 9th, presidential on the 16th, gubernatorial on the 22nd. about 15million people had already voted before the elections were postponed.

for the past couple of days and hrs, i've been gauging people's reactions to this on cyberspace and it aint pretty. granted, the sheer mention of postponement or hint of annulment or malpractice brings back ghost of past botched elections and stolen votes and disappointments. i get that. but, as i mentioned in my previous post, the chairman of the election commission is a widely respected man . based on that, i can't help but think he's a bit embarrased by how this has all started. that being said, it seems he would only postpone this if he was witnessing already some malpractices and things that were simply not right. the whole world is watching. nigerians are on the edge. he needs to get this right. im i being overly optimistic?

i think we, nigerians, should chill for a moment and give this some thought. yes, some say a developed country would have had a plan b and would not have allowed such a thing to happen. well, guess what?. nigeria aint a developed country. some say that we should expect more from our country already and stop lowering our expectations. well guess what? our expectations should be pretty low, seeing as nigeria has rarely held a valid and credible election, ever! lets take things a step at a time. in the US, hundreds if not more lawsuits get filed on and after election day citing malpractices. in the US, millions of people get disenfranchised and turned away from voting when they shouldve cast their votes. this is supposed to be the most matured democracy in our time. so lets face it shit always happens. elections will never be smooth. taking an extra week to get things righted is no problem for me. in fact take a month or so. whatever you need Dr. jega!

this site is awesome for following the latest: http://elections.234next.com/

soo impressed by this site: http://www.reclaimnaija.net/

and read about it here: http://blog.ushahidi.com/index.php/2011/03/30/using-the-ushahidi-platform-to-monitor-the-nigeria-elections-2011/comment-page-1/#comment-8522

and fourthmost, i will unfortunately/fortunately be following the nigerian elections for the next month. likely more so on my twitter page, so people are more than welcome to follow me on twitter. for those that care little about politics, i apologise in advance (again) and promise to return to the regularly scheduled programme in may! :)

nigerian votes 2011: fool me once, twice...

the nigerian elections are less than 2 weeks away. and of course we've begun to see the tell tale signs that people are ready to vote and votes are ready to be counted. those signs include pre-election violence (read: a bunch of hooligans, some paid by political parties, decide to reak havoc for their own good and hide under the cloak of fighting for democracy) and lots of ridiculous promises by politicians. so i wanted to briefly explore those promises and some hopes that make nigerians so hopeful that this time, this year, change is in the air!

i was watching a not-so-great debate of the top candidates - minus the top-est candidate, mr. goodluck - the other day and just noticed how completely full of hot air these politicians were. OK thats not really earth shattering news, politicians have never been known for substance anywhere in the world. But this was just to another level. I really believe that these men believed that they can fool nigerians over and over by their empty words and we would simply grin and take it, stick our asses in the air and ask for more. one was asked what he would do about the crisis in the energy industry and what specifically he would do. he responded something to the effect of "specifically, he would look into the problem"! are we nigerians that dumb to believe this sht? or is he that dumb to think we can be easily fooled? another said he would investigate the misuses of the past administrations. while admirable, id much rather a government thats forward looking that one that obsessively looks backwards and blames everyone from military, to the british, to the sun and the moon for all that ills nigeria. another does not know the difference between military dictatorships and democracy. yet another commented that he would set up committees upon committees to get to the root of the problem. ok. committees are nice and fact finding. wait. this is nigeria we're talking about. committees are yet another excuse to party and squander tax payers money.

i was very critical of mr. goodluck jonathan's - the noted academic - failure to join in the debate, but his actions seem to speak louder than a words on a stage can. that's the other tell tale sign of nigerian elections: the legislation and presidency begin (and i stress begin) to take action. for example, the year's budget was finally passed! never mind that every expert, nonexpert, reasonably minded and nonthinker knows that there's no way in heaven, hell or earth that that budget will be implemented or is even implementable. not to mention the gross domestic deficit it calls for. in other news, the government is finally planning on rolling out a gas policy that will allow the country to take advantage of the massive potential of gas generation and export. the govt also made a big hoopla about the train project which is nearing its end and would allow people to travel effortlessly around the country (and why dont we start with moving goods and providing enabling infrastructure for the necessary and free movement of goods??). the revised oil bill, due ages ago, looks like it might pass soon. the prez has promised millions of jobs within the next couple of years. etc. etc. the president, mr. goodluck himself, however, has not explained why the external reserves which he controls have dipped ridiculously low. but hey, we can't ask for a saint can we?

needless to say i'm completely uninspired by the candidates rolled out to lead this great conundrum of a country. but rather the devil you know than the devil you don't right? i'm starting to think a goodluck presidency (a legitimate one) could be good for the country. he would inspire a lot of youth from the south-south region - a region from where no president has ever hailed, even as it is largely responsible for the vast wealth of nigeria today. perhaps he would get some backbone and stop trying to please the granddaddies of politics and focus on the people. hey, one can only hope.

now back to the reason for most people's hope. the independent national electoral commission national chairman, mr jega. hand picked by mr goodluck. the good news is that unlike his immediate and past predecessors, mr. jega is widely respected and acknowledged as an honest, well meaning, hard working man of action. and he's shown that so far. i honestly have not heard 2 bad words about this man. nigerians, election observers (already in the country), and the international community are all up on this man's jock. so he must be doing something right. at times i worry tho, that the problems are so grave and ingrained (and largely beyond his control), and the expectations so high. he cannot stop people from engaging in violent acts. he cannot stop political parties from employing thugs to vandalise and intimidate. but he has set up his organisation to represent his values. he's set up special courts for election cases to be resolved faster than normal. he's fired those within inec that are not in line with his values, he's run a successful voter registration. etc. etc. i wish this man the best. but i also caution against unreasonably high expectations for one man (see: b-obama).

ultimately, im left asking what will be considered success for nigeria's elections? ive admittedly lowered my expectations in all areas regarding my country. i dont expect much and i enjoy being pleasantly surprised when something good happens. so what are the election observers looking for to call this election good, free, or fair? will it be relative to other failed elections in nigeria? or compared against the beeming electioneering experts of our good neghbour, cote d'ivoire? will nigerians stand up and refuse to be fooled or taking as fools one more time? will we take after ken saro wiwa and wole soyinka and take to the streets? its all coming up in the days of our nigeria! this should be a good one. stay tuned!

the english, american, and nigerian

so you've heard the one about the english guy, american, and nigerian at the bar, right? what is that? you haven't? well allow me to tell you. there was a english guy, an american and a nigerian sitting having a beer at a bar in london on election night. the english lad turns to the other two and says, "mates, you're really watching true democracy in action. our system is so good, that we're having the elections now and in just a couple days, we will know who the winners are, barring run-offs." the american just smiled and said, "man, y'all have some stuff to learn. we hold our elections in america and that same night, we know who the president is!" meanwhile, the nigerian bloke is just having the time of his life, laughing at these two okes. takes a break from his laughter and says, "guys, our system in nigerian beats all others. even though we are having elections today, we've already decided on the winner months ago!"

I read this recently: "Nigerians are incurable optimists and believe the ballot is the way to effect change. This will clearly not go on forever. As it is said, if you fool a person once you are a fool, but if you fool that person twice then for sure that person is a fool. I don’t think the Nigerian youth is a fool."

nigerian elections are coming up in a little over a month, on 9th april. so i'll be writing about that quite a bit from now. but of course i'll try to write about other things as well. and i promise, to those that are not into politics and government, i will write very shortly about something much more personal. watch this space...

for now, back to nigerian elections. Everywhere you go, you're bound to run into nigerians. and everytime i to talk to nigerians about the upcoming elections, they are always so optimistic. there's a reason nigerians have won the prize for most optimistic people 3 years running. anyway, im one nigerian who's doing his best to hold back any measure of optimism. don't get me wrong, i would love nothing else than to be optimistic, but a wise prof once told me "a cynic is simply someone who used to be an optimist and has just been knocked down too many times." ive been disappointed in nigeria too many times, ive ached for nigerian too many times, ive rejoiced in nigeria too many times and then watched it take 14 steps back after 1/2 a step forward, ive sobbed for nigeria too many times. i also deeply respect my friends who remain optimists and hope that i can one day regain that same sense.

This nigerian election is different only for one reason. There is no clear frontrunner. Yes, the sitting president will likely win, because thats how they roll, but he's not a given, as the aforementioned joke alludes. Mr. goodluck, if he wins this election, will finally be able to claim that for the first time in his life, he's actually won an election (although he's been deputy governor, governor, vice president, then president). he will also accomplish another first in being the first president from the so-called "south-south" - the oil rich part of the country. the part of the country that makes the nation one of the richest in the continent, but a region which remains one of the poorest in the world. His major competition, a man i truly respect, is mr. ribadu, former and exiled chairman of the anti-corruption body under the former president OBJ. This man has vision, and he's young and vibrant and a hope-monger. im a sucker for hope-mongers! i very much doubt he'll win tho as he belongs to a much smaller party than the ruling party, but i like the hope he's instilling in young nigerians. the other competitor is mr buhari, who is past his prime and his time, but whom many nigerians respect for good reason.

I don't really have a fovourite for the election, but what im hoping is that more than any other election in the history of this young nation, the electorate wakes up and begins to demand action and progress. i doubt anything like egypt or tunisia will happen in nigeria, for good reason (tho i wouldnt be completely opposed to it), but instead, what nigeria needs are politicians that begin to debate policy, issues, and outcomes. tell me what youve done or what you plan to do and exactly how you will do it and you get my vote. the current lagos governor for example was accused by the opposition of corruption and while people knew he had shady dealings, no one gave a flying saucer, because what he's been doing for the last several years in lagos has had real and positive effects on the lives of ordinary lagosians. signs of progress are visible and continuous. is it not time we began to demand such from all our politicians? starting with our president? how many times must we listen to empty promises of reform in energy? or end to blackouts? no one even talks jobs or employment anymore, while the related issues of crime and gangsterism are increasingly on the rise. what about progressive issues of renewable energy that the economy is well positioned to take advantage of? what about health care and mortality rates? tourism? or an economy that encourages and harbours small and medium sized start-ups instead of frustrating them? "Nigeria's election commission has already deployed 240,000 people-more than all armies of west africa's 16 countries put together-and 132,000 data capture machines, which if lined up edge-to-edge, would cover over 80km." surely, change is in the air, no?

a friend of mine set up a day of prayer for nigeria and the elections tomorrow on facebook. i admire that. but firmly believe that faith without action is DEAD. nigerians should stop being a "hopefully" country, praying and longing for that one day when things may get better. and begin making changes now! im not talking of revolutions and uprisings. im talking of rejecting corruption as a way of life. being whistle blowers, starting impact business defying the difficulties that come with it, empowering children and youth, eduating. nigerians are smart and resiliant and we believe we're a special breed. we are. and if others can make change happen - the kind of change that impacts the ordinary citizen and brings about meaningful development - nigerians certainly can as well. in fact we should be leading the pack.

post-post: i think i write a fair bit about nigeria in this space. but im quite disappointed that i dont have the kind of following from nigeria that would be expected. so thats my goal now! interestingly, i have a sizeable following from the Ukraine! I know approximately no one in or from the Ukraine, but somehow, last week, the highest traffic i got was from the Ukraine. This week, Japan is threatening their position. go figure! anyway, nigeria is now on my watch list.

post-post #2: what leaders that remain in power despite election laws, or african leaders who refuse to recognise the power of democratically casted votes (looking at u zuma, goodluck, dos santos, etc), are saying is that they, as a sole individual, are more enlightened than the masses. while at times the masses may get things wrong, i reject that notion as firmly against the institution of democracy, the same institution that they purport to be champion. i also reject the notion that they are smarter than me. ur not.

Happy 50th, Nigeria (better late than never, so shut up!)

I've often been accused of being a bit slow (u know...up there...) and this post does nothing to de-bunk that. anyway, i've been meaning to post lately and specifically about nigeria's independence party or celebration of its 50th year of independence. so i'm gonna do just that; whether late or not.

when i told a colleague that i was going to a nigerian independence day celebration, he suddenly burst out laughing and demanded to know what in fact we have to celebrate. you should be crying, he jested, not celebrating. at the time, i was a bit offended; afterall, he's from cameroon. how much better are they at governance? this is my country he's making light of! but secretly i could not agree with him more. the half century mark should be something special within any context, most particularly the difficult task of nation building. moreover, by all accounts, this hastily amalgamated country of multiple nations should have failed a long time ago. admittedly, i found very little to celebrate on october 1.

but i kept digging for something, anything, to cling to - to celebrate. as i sat at that independence day ceremony and listened to the guest speaker remind us that the challenges facing nigeria are not unique and the solutions are neither impossible nor new, as i listened to a non-yoruba speaking south africa singing a yoruba song, and as i pondered over the words of the recited poem by a young nigerian girl saying "na dis be nigeria, nothin lesss dan de best..." i started to get it. "it" in this context was what it meant to be nigerian. certainly, arbitrarily drawn lines don't define the country (if it were so, we should have split into hundreds of clans a long time ago). what i got was that what really defines the country are its people. an article in cnn contended that "the real wealth of a country lies in its people and people is one resource that Nigeria has in abundance". i couldn't agree more.

so i decided i was not going to celebrate the country as an entity for lasting 50 years; rather, i would celebrate (and encourage others to celebrate) her people, for thriving for 50 years. Nigeria has produced so many great people that the moment these people, collectively, begin to use their abilities and capabilities in a utilitarian way, the progress of the country will be off the charts. I chose (and choose) to celebrate the Chimamanda Ngozis and Wole Soyinkas and Chinua Achebes for their literary genius, the Obafemi Awolowos and the Nnamdi Azikiwes for their revolutionary and thoughtful political leadership, the Nuhu Ribadus and Babatunde Fasholas for their unabashed political leadership, risking their lives to go against the flow and deliver for the nigerian people, the Chris Abanis for his inspirational leadership, the Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealas and Charles Soludos and Lamido Sanusis for their economic and visionary strength and the list goes on...In virtually all areas of society (academia, civil service, politics, private sector), there has been an influential nigerian making a difference. these are the people i celebrate on independence day - the brilliant, resilient, thriving, passionate, change-seeking, driven people of nigeria. i am proud to be a nigerian.

post-post: i know that there a lots of other nigerian doing lots of great things around the world, in their individual communities. I would like to actually get a database going to keep track of those. If anyone reads this and knows some personal stories about nigerians doing good and doing well anywhere in the world, please email me or leave their names in comments.

53 frustrating hours

i just went through 53 (or so) hours that i don't particularly want to encounter ever again. i'm taking a break from my top10 lists, because i just couldnt help but recount how hectic the last couple days have been. i dont think i've had the consecutive set of events rain down on me like they did. not to say that i didn't necessarily deserve some of these things or even bring some of them upon myself, but anyway, like all things...lessons learned! my interesting experiences started on sunday.

sun, 1:15pm: picked up to go to airport. everything seems normal. looking forward to the nice botswana sun.

sun, 1:55pm: at the airport. get out of the shuttle, newspaper on my lap still on the same page it was when we left. negotiate with guy at start of the queue to let me in the shorter line. it works. things appear normal.

sun, 2:02pm: the cheeky lady at the counter asks me where my passport is. thinking she means my visa into botswana, i proceed to show her my exemption visa for bots. no, she says, wheres ur passport. again i translated her misguided english to mean: "where's the extension on my passport" (sometimes they miss the little stamp). no, she repeats, ur passport is out of pages to stamp. i cant let u travel with this. she explained to me that i need at least 3 empty pages in my passport to fly. since i fly to and from bots almost every week i was currently left with about 1.5 empty pages.

sun, 2:15pm: same cheeky lady. now trying to call bots to see if theyll let me through without charging the airline. no go. then calling the nigerian embassy (ha!). no go. solution (for now): i had to postpone my trip for a couple days, go to the nigerian consulate and see if they can issue me an emergency travel document.

sun, 2:55pm: after a sandwich, get a cab back home for a ridiculous amt of money.

sun, 8pm: woke up from a short nap, thinking i should be freaking out. but nah, everything should work out just fine, right??

mon, 7:50am: put on my monday best and head for the nigerian consulate so i can be there before they open and be one of the first in.

mon, 8:40am: arrive at consulate. theres already a queue of about 20 people, including some dear acquaintances. we chat. we wish each other the best of luck.

mon, 9:17am: lady asks if im here for collection or drop off. neither i say, but i have a very important question. she looks at me like im crazy. i recount the whole story from sunday and ask if i can get some sort of emergency travel document while i wait for the new passport. she looks at me like im crazy. transfers me over to the boss.

mon, 9:25am: i hunt down boss, who's trying desperately to escape me and leave the premises, recount my story and plead for sympathy. boss man says, but theres no such thing as an emergency travel document, and sorry i have to leave now, have a very important meeting to get to in pretoria.

mon, 9:27am: back to lady at the front: plead some more. she says, look ive told u all that i know, the only people that would be able to do anything different are my bosses (yea, loads of effing help they are). so btw, what is the normal process if i were to do it? heh, get this: fill out online application. submit and print. but before u submit and print u must print the page entry page, cuz u wont be able to get back to it once u submit. in order to complete the app, u must find a nigerian address to put as ur permanent address, and find a next of kin also with a nigerian address. after submitting, you must find a guarantor and have them fill out a couple forms with their ID photos. this guarantor must have a valid nigerian drivers license and all docs must be certified. after completing apps, u must hand all the docs in physically to the consulate (whats the point of online apps then??) and then u go home. after 3 wks theyll call u to take a photo. it takes at least one full day to take a photo. then u go home. if you're one of the lucky few, you'll get a call in 2 wks to come and collect. and if you're lucky, your passport will actually be ready on the day they say it is (have yet to see that happen).

mon, 9:35am: am starting to freak out now at the parking lot. what do i do? i need to be in bots this wk for training and we go-live the next monday and we've got presentations, etc...

mon, 9:45am: after a couple calls to friends, i decided that best bet is to try to drive to bots and try my luck at the border control instead. i'd submit my app for a new passport and then start driving first thing tues morn.

mon, 12:15pm: I finish the app and submit. i arrange to meet someone with a nigerian drivers license to complete the guarantors part at 430pm.

mon, 12:30pm: (actually this started a couple hours before). i begin calling car rental places to find a car to drive to bots. nothing available yet, but theyll call me back shortly. i call my car dealership, where my car has been for the past 1+wks. get the news that they think theyve figured out whats wrong with my car. gonna cost me the equivalent of $2000. i say go ahead and do it. oh and btw, will it be ready by first thing tomorrow morning? doubtful. so back to my rental car options.

mon, 4pm: i drive to the mall, where i'm supposed to meet the guarantor with the nigerian drivers license. still, dont have a car for the next day.

mon, 4:35pm: while tryin to sit down at a cafe, my flatmate calls me. the house is flooded. especially my room. books, bags, clothes, shoes...all drenched. from water from the toilet. toilet water. listen, i tell roomy, i cant deal with this right now; pls deal with it. i give him the landlords number to help sort things out.

mon, 5:15pm: guarantor shows up. we chat. she signs the forms. we go to an internet cafe. she prints some more necessary forms and signs them. we walk over to the police station (not too short of a walk) to have them certified. no hassles at the police station, surprisingly. everything ready to go, i thot.

mon, 6:01pm: i call back the only car place that said they might have a car available, she tells me she has a citi golf w/ no air con or power steering but i have to pick it up now as shes on her way out. as i was across town there was no way i could get to her fast. as i like a bit of comfort (esp driving long distances), i wasnt about to drive a non-power steering vehicle with no air con to hot and stinky botswana and keep this car for 2.5 wks before driving it back (i had decided that if i made it into botswana i couldnt leave till i was ready to leave for the year, to minimize the number of times they would need to stamp my passport). i decide ill try my luck again with all the car rental companies first thing tomorrow.

mon, 7:14pm: i drop the application at a friends who was also going for a new passport. we chat. i rest.

mon, 9:37pm: i have dinner with a friend. jollof rice and beef stew and fried plantain/dodo. not bad.

mon, around 12am: i get back to my appartment. hear the dripping sounds of water downstairs. feel the wet floor. walk upstairs to me room. the carpet is just soaked. my feet drenched in water as i walk the swampy jungle that is my room. i notice everything is wet. my roomy tried and got some stuff off the floor. problem is he put the stuff on top of my bed, so now my bed and sheets are also wet. with toilet water.

mon, 12:16am: disgusted, i take some dry sheets that were not on the bed and head downstairs to sleep.

tues, 6am: i'm wide awake after an uncomfortable night. do some reading while waiting for others to wake up so i can start calling.

tues, 7:30am: start calling car rental places again. again, nothing available. earliest lunchtime some say.

tues, 9am: remembered that theyre was one part of my app for passport that was missing. i need to print, sign, scan, and email this thing before 11am.

tues, 9:24am: find an internet cafe. all computers booked.

tues, 10am: got tired of calling car rental places with no response, so drop by one of the ones ive been calling. she's flustered. apparently she doesnt have enough cars either. anyway, eventually she finds me another car at another branch that will be ready at noon. phew.

tues, 10:30am: back to the internet cafe. now they have a computer. get on my gmail. need to prnt the doc. now u can only print be first saving on a memory stick. didnt have mine with, but no worries, they have loan ones. 2 of them. their both in use. wait 15 minutes. no joke. finally grabbed one of the guys with one of the memory sticks ask him if i could also put my doc there and we could go print it together. plan works.

tues, 11:15am: doc is finally scanned and emailed. heading back home to get my stuff, then off to pick up the car.

tues, 1145am: call my friend whose car im borrowing to work out how im going to leave the car. we sketch out a sketchy plan. eventually decided i would leave it in a mall and give the keys to his bro-in-law somewhere else. (eventually decided to just keep the keys with me)

tues, 1pm: i finally find this car rental place, but now i cant find a place to park.

tues, 1:40pm: we finish all the paper work and the keys are finally handed to me. now i have to figure out how to get to bots. i start driving and calling friends.

tues, 2-7pm: i eventually make my way with some sketchy and not-so-sketchy directions. didnt miss my way too much. nice adventure. nice scenery, to look on the bright side. said a prayer about every 2 minutes that i'd be allowed to cross the border. got to the border and snuck in between a large group. produced my passport, even declared my laptop. and in the end they stamped my passport. I Was Home Free!

tues, 430pm: i learn that the nigerian consulate rejected my application. whatever. maybe ill try it again. maybe i wont.

all that was much more hassle than i want to go through in the short amount of time again. i still dunno what happened to my flooded room, but hopefully thats been sorted. the day ended with great news tho. im here in bots now (and not leaving till i leave for good in a couple weeks!), i opened my email and i found out that ive been accepted into the university of cape town full time mba programme starting in january. the funny thing is when things like this happen to me, esp the good things, i remember my parents and close family. reason is that i know theyre tru prayer warriors and i can almost feel that theyve been praying for me. so i emailed my parents to recount the events, and surely they had been praying for me regarding these things the same day. my parents are amazing. anyway, extremely stressful day(s) turned into extremely happy night/morning/week. lessons learned!

independence schm-indepedence. potential my foot.

a long time ago, i swore to slit my throat if i hear another person usher the words potential and nigeria in the same sentence. ok, i didn't really swear to it. and happily, i haven't carried it out. but this past week saw a lot of nigeria and potential talk.

it was nigeria's independence last thursday and the annual parade of articles and op-eds began, lamenting the fact that there's hardly anything to celebrate, while tirade-ing on the vast potential that lies in the future for the country, ready to be tapped. brief tangent: i've been a baseball fan for some time now, and whenever scouts and coaches start talking of potential of a player, you should run away, quickly. for some reason or another, potential seems to underlie something that others think they see in someone/some entity that somehow rarely ever seems to materialise. this counldnt be more true in the case of nigeria.

since i can remember, people have been talking about this ubiquitous potential that will be untapped at any moment now. most people my parents generation will look forward to the days when the current generation dies away and paves the way to newer set of leaders my age (conveniently forgetting that people my age tend to learn from people their age, while perfecting the art of taking as much from the country for themselves and giving back the absolute bare minimum). honestly, i once fell into this trap as well, professing that change was on its way! and even writing an op-ed piece in a local newspaper about how/why nigeria continues to fly when all indicators suggest it should have collapsed a long time ago (like a bumblebee). nowadays, i must admit i'm not so hopeful, but all hope is not yet lost. it cannot be. without hope what is there?

independence day meant little to me this year. besides so good naija cooking and a chance to catch up with some friends, it didnt really mean that much to me. in a sense, i think i didnt want to celebrate the day because it would make me truly assess the situation of the country. and that, my friends, is not pretty. from violence in the niger delta, to militants laying down their arms somehow (also suspicious...why would they do this? whats the government giving them in return? what closed door deals are going on to keep ordinary nigerians begging for food at the end of the day?), to the normalcy of power cuts and blackouts, to the smog generating from generators, to universities striking for the 30975623rd time (ensuring that my age mates are still struggling to finish university), to the stock market devaluing by nearly 60% over the last year and a half...things arent pretty. of course, theres always signs that optimists point to to argue for nigeria's come back, like the brain gain thats continuing with educated and successful people moving back to nigeria to start or run businesses or the laying down of arms by militants (tho with unknown pre-conditions), but i fail to see how these alone will turn a country like nigeria around.

but i love nigerians. as one independence day article that my mom sent me stated: if theres one thing to celebrate, its the achievement and the perseverance of nigerians. this cannot be denied. ex: i got an email from a friend of mine in nigeria, one of those age mates still stuck in the smelly cesspit known as nigerian universities. after going on a tirade about how bad and hopeless things are at the moment, he ends the email saying that we must be happy, hopeful and responsible. 2 things that nigerians cannot be faulted for are being enterprising and hopeful! i don't get it sometimes, but when all is hopeless nigerians keep hoping and actually making the best out of situations. the article my mom sent me listed countless nigerians that have ventured to win several awards and accolades for the work theyre doing in several fields from literature to science research to government and on and on.

so i guess there is something to celebrate afterall as nigeria turns 49. and its not its potential. rather the heights that have been reached by numerous nigerians. now why cant we have a government that reflects our best citizens and our best ambitions (i'll even settle for average), instead of one that fights to reach new lows on a daily basis. in the words of chicago-ans: theres always next year.

post-post: ever had a clogged sink or tub? maybe it wasnt fully clogged, just enough so that when u ran the water, it drained very slowly. not to mention u kept adding to the clog by shaving or bathing. ever bought the wrong solution to clear up the clog? u pour the entire bottle in the sink/tub and run lots of water and nothing happens. more clog. now the water soaks up even slower than before. then u ask someone at the store to give u advice on the right solution/brand to use. u get home, do the drill and it works. water flows like it used to. better than it used to. ever bled? your blood says everything.