Nkemakonam

I never heard of the Word ' CrossDresser' while growing up until few Months ago.  It was on one of the Social media, Some people were discussing a 'Risky' guy who dresses like a 'girl' & puts on Makeup (it takes him close to 1hour to complete his Makeup Routine). Before Now it has never occurred to me that there's any word like 'Cross Dresser' , infact I have see people cross dress while growing up but we didn't Call them Cross dressers, We call them other Names.
Nkemakonam leaves down my Street and She's a Friend to my Elder brother. Nkem as we fondly call her is almost friend with Every Boy in the Neighbourhood. She looked after me like an older Sister which I never had. If I had crush on a girl, I will ask Nkem's Opinion. She taught me how to Ride a Bicycle and often when I lose my grip on the Bicycle and trip off she will tease me  and say 'Come on! You're a Man'. We played Computer Games together and she's very good in Soccer. She's an Athlete.
The kind of Trousers my Elder brother will put on are yhe same Nkem will put on Every other day. She just hate feminine and chic clothes the same way she hates Makeup,  High heel and house chores. Her Mother is never bothered, She often tell us the Story of how Nkem took after her  Father (she was birthed 3 days after the Man's demise). Mama Nkem often referred to Nkem as 'Agbala Nwanyi' while the Children in my Neighbourhood (including me)  referred to her as 'Tomboy'; there was actually Nothing like CrossDresser in our Innocent Vocabulary then.
Now for Non-Igbos, Agbala Nwanyi can be used in different Contest; When a Woman does anything that is not expected of her by the Society then we can call her Agbala Nwanyi. If a Woman becomes the Leader of a Nation, we can call her Agbala Nwanyi (I disagree with this tho because I think female Achievements should be treated  merely as a Male Achievements) and so on. So in African we associate Female cross dressing with Strength but that's not the same for an African Male Cross Dresser.
In Igbo, we expect too much from the Male Child and as such we raise boys to be Afraid of Fears and Mistakes. Being a Male CrossDresser in African will not tell too much of one's 'Masculinity' and as such its too Much of a Luxury for the Males. Most Africans don't like the sight of a Male CrossDresser, it comes with too many baggage than the Society can contain. If a female CrossDresser walks into a Hall, she's hardly Noticed but if a Male CrossDresser walks into the Hall, he's sure to get enough comments (not positive comments ). For the Male CrossDresser,the Society Mostly associated them with Sexuality(I can't tell) but for Female Cross dressers it's mostly associated with Strength.
While I was growing up my Mother always disapprove my habit of Chewing gum not because it might lead to Headache but because she thinks that gums were made for just Female gender and me Chewing gum makes me less of a Man (Ridiculous right? ). Not just my Mum but many other Africans have this issue of Stereotype. My Secondary school Teacher will punish boys she caught 'chewing gum like a girl'. And now Blue Colour is for Boys while Pink and other bright Colours is for Girls.
This has got me thinking about so many things the Society has made us to Internalise(consciously or unconsciously) which might be True and might not be True. We should Never be Afraid to Question the things we are Confused about and the we don't Agree with, we shouldn't internalise.
Nkemakonam means 'I will not Lack my Own'. As you Live your life always Remember not to 'lack your own' and if Cross dressing is your thing then don't lack your own style. Am in a Process of Unlearning some of the Secular Virtue the Society has taught me and one of the is not to link Cross dressing with Strength or Sexuality . People can do whatever they like so far its not hurting others.
By the way I like wearing lip gloss during Harmattan season...Am I a Cross Dresser?

Disability Optimization.

My name is Ejimnkeonye...
So I decided to travel a #500 distance from my School (Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka) to my Hometown in Nnewi. I took a bus from my Hostel to the Bus stop at Unizik Junction. Before the Driver arrived we had to wait for Other Passengers to join us . While we were waiting for Other passengers to join the bus, we were occasionally entertained by different sets of 'beggars' asking for alms using 'soulful' Christian songs as their Background beats and touching already seated passengers saying 'Biko ye Mummy m aka'. I was slightly irritated because while growing up the only people that beg for alms at Bus Stands were Mainly 'disabled' People but the Beggars here are just Sound . We left the Bus stop in Awka at about 16:23 and we headed towards Nnewi. I bought a can of Lacasera drink for #120 and 2 Sausages for #100 (before the Recession,I used to buy Lacasera drink for #100).
We prayed to God for Ijeawele and we went on to Cover the Major Roads and HighWays with the 'Thick' Blood of Jesus. The Roads were Smooth and the Traffic was less than Anticipated and Finally we got to the Nnewi Park. I bowed my Head to Thank God for Granting us a Successful Journey as we've Prayed. I finished Praying only to Raise my Head to see a Man with one Leg,the other one was Amputated. What struck me Most was not his Crushes nor his Beautiful trousers that doesn't fit perfectly but it was the Load he was carrying on his Neck and biding on us to come and buy goods . I was stunned and at the same time I was Struck at this Man Courage and Strength.
A man who has the Perfect Badge of a Beggar decided not to Beg and about an Hour ago I saw able bodied Humans doing what this Man is expected of Society to do.
Disability Optimization comes in two Forms; either you Maximise it or you Allow it to Minimise you. I was happy to know that we still have Igbo Brethren who are still Hardworking despise all Odds until they Achieve their Goal. Some People always have excuses for Failure but I don't think that's the case of this Man. Despise all Physical Odds he never saw a Disability but an Ability to Market.
I wasn't able to Chat with the Man but before I leave from my #IjeUlo I was make sure I know this Man Personally. And to my Igbo people Ndi biara #IjeUlo please try and Patronise this Man .
Thanks. Ogadiligima.

Never Settle for Less.

It is very natural to be self conservative and it's not natural for one to self criticise but its good to always self criticise because in criticising ourselves we checkmate our success and also know if we are really making progress. So it's good to Criticise a government but if one must criticise a Government it should be Constructive Criticism. I must say that am not writing this post for speculation but because there is an urgent issue that needs attention.
Before posting this I was tempted to believe that this post is out of contest of my blog Niche but what then is the Niche of a Blog that talks about Africanism without talking about the Full Humanity of the African Race? Then there is an imbalance.
Awka is located in Anambra state(the light of the Nation) and its the Capital of the state.To a great extent its a good Metropolis of Igbo people and there's a Federal Government University located in Awka. I wouldn't say that it's a very beautiful City, its a developing Town.The pictures shown below were take from Ifite road ( one of the minor Roads that lead to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University ) and as you can see the road has deteriorated for years now and Contracts have been Awarded to so many Contractors but still yet the Road is still in bad shape for years and the Local Government is doing barely nothing to Fix the Road. About two weeks ago when I saw a tractor working on the road I felt happy but on a second glance at the Road its easy for one to tell that there's no positive work on going(the tractor was sand filling the Drainages). In a bid of Operation ' light up the state '  all the Drainages on the Road are being sandfilled so that they can easily install the Street lights ( or I don't know the reason for the sandfill ).Now because of the Blocked Drainages ' used water ' which are meant for the Drainages now floods the Road that's why even in this dry season the Road is still flooded . This really pose a great threat to Motorists and Students as it has lead to Minor Accidents.
It's a good thing for a Government to provide Street Lights for its citizens but in doing so people's life should not be endangered. The Ifite Road is too small to be called a Standard ' one lane ' and inasmuch as motorists are struggling to keep in the lane I think there shouldn't be any Obstructions like Refuse Bins and bad pot holes on the Road. Am not writing to Condemn the present Government but to point to them a problem in the State.
I believe in telling a Honest and Balanced story & so I try not to always tell a one sided story because it Creates Stereotype. To be honest and have a balanced story we shouldn't forget to Appreciate the Governor of Anambra state for the many Good Works he has done for his people but inasmuch as we are appreciative we shouldn't also settle for less.
We shouldn't just Criticise the Governor about the Ifite Road without Commending him for the good works that the State Waste Management is doing to keep the State Clean.
We shouldn't just Criticise the Governor about the Nice Flyovers in the state without commending him for his wonderful works and how he is making plans for the state to have its own Airport. The Success of a Democratic Government is not in the Rule of the Majority but the Protection of the Rights of the Minorities and these Minorities include the Civil servants who can't afford to buy big Jeeps that can comfortably jump pot holes, low income earners who use public transport to go to their work place and Most especially Students. Am calling on every well meaning citizens and the Local Government and the State Government to look into the issue and provide immediate solution. Thank you.

ColoMentality!

I was about 15years old when I came across the word Africanist. I was arguing with my Friends about Music and other things. I have a great taste for African Music & Fela Music is my Pick. My friends talked about their Great love for Hip hop and Rap Music which I really don't find interesting but I think Everyone has their own Choice and people's choice should be respected.
My friends tried to Convince me about changing my taste of Music which I really don't like. So I decided to Quote a line from one of my favourite Fela songs which says ' the thing way black nor Good na Foreign things them dey like! It's ColoMentality! ' My well meaning friend Obiajulu looked at me and said ' Well do you know you're an Africanist '. I smiled & pretended to know the Meaning of Africanist and  brushed the topic aside and the discussion continued on and on. I was bordered, because the inflection my friend placed on the word ' Africanist ' is not a very good one. He said it with a funny face and made it sound like the Word ' Africanist ' is a bad thing.
The Anecdote I told above wasn't my first discovery of the Word ' ColoMentality ' but if not for Anything its just an Ode to Africanism. Well for Non - Nigerians and Africans in diaspora; When Fela talked about ColoMentality he was referring to Blacks who are not comfortable with their Skin Colour, the texture of their Hair and even the Colour of their Eyes amongst other things.  ColoMentality literally translate into Colonial Mentality and it's no News that Majority of the African Nation was Colonized by the 'british master'.
ColoMentality is actually a Mentality created by Blacks that Supports White Supremacy and as such Blacks must try their best to be 'white' and in an Attempt we(Blacks) bleach our skin to suit their sight and we relax our hair in a limp attempt to make it straight. The funny thing is that ColoMentality has being the order of the day. We no longer bear our African Names, We  now have 'English ' name in place of our African names.
Being Black comes with Lots of Baggage ( both positive and negative baggage), and to make issues worst, the word 'Black' has always been used to portray Negativity ranging from Black Mail,Black list, Black Market and even Black Friday which I really find demeaning. I have since come to appreciate the BlackBerry smartphone because its the only word that portrays anything ' smart ' about the word ' Black '. Now is the time for us to fight against ColoMentality! We should accept ourselves just the way God created us. Life on Earth is very short and anytime we pretend not to be our truest self,anytime we pretend to be 'white'  then it's a gross waste of time. Am not fighting against Technology or Kicking against Whites but it's just a call for Blacks to accept themselves and as such carry every baggage that comes with Being Black.
I went home that day and I checked the Meaning of Africanist and it wasn't a Bad thing. It was a very good thing and it delighted me then to know that am an Africanist and I choose to be identified as one.
Thanks.