ZAMFARA UNVEILED... a little

Headlines: C.Sweet Will Be “Removing Head-Dress” For Good in Two Weeks’ Time! (never mind that her fine cap flew out of a bus without her knowledge one fateful day. Sulks). The CD days, as well as Head Count days have come to an end. This here is a brief interview with her, about the ins and outs of serving in Zamfara State. (Loud applause pls)

{Coughs} Good day.
Like you know, most of us posted here wondered, along with our loved ones, about how we would cope in a State shrouded in so much (bad) mystery. A lot of shock, horror and disappointment was translated into fits of rage, victim complexes, disinterest in any news lacking ‘Shari’a’, ‘North-West’ or ‘Redeployment’ themes, occasional “zoning out”, excessive nail-biting, and so on.
But the story is different now.
We’ve tasted eleven months of the State’s tranquility, relatively friendly people, inexpensive living, grains n’ sugarcane fala-fala (good); the heat, mosquitoes and flies(ah! bad); and evil principals that want to deal with you ever so severely for five months(definitely ugly).
The past eleven months have been an experience, wallahi (15 seconds of silence).

Now let’s have a quick look at some of the things They told C.Sweet & Co. about ZM:

They told us: “That place is extremely hot and dry! You go black, you go suffer… in fact you go redeploy if you like yourself!”

And we’re telling you: Yes, it’s hot and it’s dry, and you need to see the dust storms! Ikon Allah! The heat from March to May is truly… and actually, you guys forgot to mention the flies that rule by day and mosquitoes by night. Gaskiya, I’m darker, BUT
I certainly did not suffer. Accomodation was free and spacious, food wasn’t expensive, the place was nice and quiet (the people serving in Gusau have a slightly different story sha).
While it is challenging for very active, hustling people to adapt to a place as laidback as Zamfara, it is unfair to label it ‘The Ultimate Punishment’.

They told us: Ladies to the left; Gents to the right.

And we’re telling you: Well… somewhat.
Shari’a is not strict here, probably because the present Gov. is not that interested in it. Or probably because truly enforcing it would be an expensive venture. Whatever the case, this is what we’ve seen:
-Men and women share the same taxis and buses, though women stay on one side and men stay on the other (ie. collection of like-terms). For example, if you have three women and three men, the three women must sit at the backseat (and oh! the poor man unfortunate enough to be the one seated next to the women!) while the other two sit in front.
-The men are the ones you’d find selling oranges, tomatoes, beans, etc in the market. It is rare to find female traders, and when you do, they’re either old or divorcees (so I’m told). Women come to the market to buy the goods though.
-Men are also responsible for fetching water, farming, etc while their wives are usually indoors with the children.

They told us: “Shaa, Corpers get kudi/allowi barkatai.”

And we’re telling you: No, we don’t.
Corpers were getting a fantastic N10,000 State allowance in the regime of the ’99 – ’03 Governor, His Ex. Ahmed Sani Yerima, but in the regime of the present Gov., His Excellency Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi (MAS), we’re getting seven thousand less.

Eyah, ‘The Difference Is Clear’.

Mm.
The 07/08 Batch were paid N2,000 till he raised it to N3,000 in our time. Maybe he’ll raise it by another one thousand this year… and maybe it’ll be N5,000 by 2010; N6,000 by 2011… and MORE if he gets re-elected, so let corpers join the Zamfara PR people in raising two fingers up and screaming “MAS Two Terms!” Madalla! (Note: Insider pun. MAS started campaigning for 2011 a year ago. No comment).

They told us: Mosques? Yes. Churches? Um...

And we’re telling you: In Gusau, the State Capital, you can attend First Baptist Church, Living Faith, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Anglican Church, The Kingdom Hall/Family House (Jehovah Witness), and others. Some LGAs also have churches. (In Kotorkoshi, there are two churches- St. Mary’s Anglican Church and a new ECWA church).

They told us: “Girl, get your Ninja gear ready… haha, just joking. But seriously…Be. Very. Careful.”

And we’re telling you: Thank you very much for this advice.
We female corpers have learnt to be very careful around almajirai.
They are young boys, sent away from home to other States in order to learn how to fend for themselves, and they are usually full of hunger, mischief and an insatiable desire to grope the female body. Our Local Govt. Officers have often advised us to walk with guys because of this.

We have also discovered that tank tops and three-quarter trousers are allowed, but these are likely to attract lewd stares from the men and scalding ones from the women. Conservative clothes are better.

They told us: “Sha, God has a reason for sending you to ZM, so don’t grumble”

It would have been nicer to serve in That-Tek-Company-That-Pays-Well, or That-Secondary-School-With-Parents-You-Can-Get-A-Referral-From, rather than Frustration-Began-Here-Primary-School or No-English-Secondary-School. Yet… we learnt to handle self-pity like exposed 3-day old Viju Milk because:

- We value the power of friendship; ZM has people you can network with too. Seek and you shall find.

- We value the power of correct positive thinking:

“… you can think positively all you like, yet negative things will still happen to you. You will get caught in traffic, you will spill coffee on your new outfit, you will lose a sale, and you will get cheated or be disappointed from time to time…
Being positive is not about creating a positive expectancy through willpower. Rather it’s about taking personal power and raising self-esteem through controlling, not the outcome of an event, but the way you respond to that outcome… it’s about understanding that sometimes you’ll be given a lemon, and positive thinking begins and ends with your initiative in turning that lemon into lemonade.”
- Brian Sher, What Rich People Know & Desperately Want To Keep Secret


And so, in conclusion…

I’ve only had a glance at ZM, and though I will not miss Zamfara State, I will miss the people I met here. Those who offered their friendship from the first instant we met, as well as those who initially didn’t; those who taught me to say no to excessive Golden Morn and Nice biscuit :- ); those who gave me tomatoes, yams, dubino (dates) at giveaway prices just because I could speak Hausa; my fiery Ex-Princi who was dedicated to threatening my fellow bro. Matti and I (I will not miss you, but I stand my ground a lot more because of you. Thank you); my friendly, animated students; those who reminded me of the good sides of making mistakes (onstage and in life generally); the ones who taught me Yoruba, better Hausa, Ibo, a little Kwale; those who persistently blasted me about my shyness; those who made me laugh with a comical stare or silly comment… so many of them who have added value to my life this past year. Most of their reward is in heaven.

The days are numbered for phrases like
“Ajuwaya Babe”
“Banga banga!”
“Gym gym the body”
“Baggas! God punish your Local Govt. Chairman!”
“Eeevil Spirit!”
And of course:
“OTONDO!!”

And for our NCCF Ajuwaya Song:
Baba we thank You
For all you have done
We remove head-dress O
Ajuwaya, praise the Lord!

Youth, obey the clarion’s call
Let us lift our nation high
Under the sun or in the rain
With dedication and selflessness
Nigeria’s ours; Nigeria we serve

This reminds me: I learnt one song here. Zamfarans love this song so much; their students sing it most Sundays. It has a pleasant, catchy tune. The chorus:

Rayuwa tana faruwa
Wucewa take
Kamar ba’a yi ba

Life is happening/proceeding
Passing by
(like a river)
As though It never was

(A kind of depressing message but it’s a nice song, really).

Life continues indeed, and it is my time to say fare well to Kotorkoshi/Kwatarkwashi, Bungudu LGA, Zamfara State.

It’s been a good experience.




P.S: In Thousands of Words I’ll be posting some of my ZM pics. Thanks for reading.

NCCF Style!

My ZM tales would never be complete if I didn’t include the wonderful experience of Rural Rugged.

NCCF, Nigerian Christian Corpers’ Fellowship, is a wonderful body of Christ.
I never thought I’d have anything to do with NCCF, because my pre-NYSC vibes about it were… unflattering.

Those vibes were incorrect, and made me miss out on one year of high-quality service to God, but I’ve been forgiven, and most importantly, I’ve learnt my lesson. (In fact, it is January’s Lesson for me).

What I have to say about NCCF is incapable of doing them justice, but I’ll still speak/write:
In the 40s, a man of God, Sir Elton, foretold a time when Nigerian youth would be paid to preach the Gospel of Christ in all parts of the country. In 1973, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was established, and in their different locations, Christian Corpers began to meet. Corpers serving in Lagos thought, ‘Ya kamata mu dinga saduwa don mu yabi Yesu, ko ba haka ba?’ and began to meet together as a fellowship. So did Corpers in Abia, Gongola, Bendel, Sokoto… but each chapter was unaware of the other until they began to swap NYSC tales with each other.
“Mm! Those people make us farm for them on CD days oh!”
“Oga oh! It’s not only you guys. And the weather there is so strange! See their scary forests!”
“Mm! But sha, our fellowship activities made us feel better about everything. We did a lot of community evangelism.”
“Wait! You mean you guys had a fellowship that did that too?! Amazing!”

And in 1984, NCCF, a fellowship made up of Christians of different denominations, was officially established.

What makes NCCF different from other Corps Member fellowships is Rural Rugged. And herein lies the Man of God’s prophecy:
Rural Rugged is an outreach/evangelism programme aimed at the communities in the corpers’ place of primary assignment. Every NCCF State chapter has at least two Ruggeds per Service Year.
The mode of operation differs with each State, but the aim is the same: To tell people about Jesus Christ. Last week, NCCF Zamfara had its first Rural Rugged for the year (or the last Rugged for Batch As though). The target area was Nasarawa Godel, a community in Birnin Magagi LGA. Two-and-a-half hours away from Gusau, the State capital, some say it is only N150 away from Niger Republic.

I thought that, being a Jos gal, my Otondo (NYSC khaki) jacket would suffice for the rumored cold weather there. I was extremely wrong. (Don’t take any chances next time, ‘Josite’).
Aside from the cold, it was a fantastic opportunity to SERVE.

We gave them clothes, bathed and brushed the children’s teeth (people who couldn’t stand the sight of blood vamoosed though), gave free meds to their people and livestock, did two dramas -which the children liked- and on the last night, we took the bull by the horns and showed them the Jesus film in Hausa. The Aduras (Prayer Coordinators) who had been serious at work throughout the programme were even more so during the filmshow. I think all of us prayed fervently in our hearts too. Everyone was fully aware of the fact that anything could spark a religious riot in The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, ZM. Thank God for His supervision and protection.
As ZM is a Muslim State, we didn’t do an “alter call” per se. We just asked if anyone had any “questions”. Some did, ranging from “why is Isa (Jesus) different in your own account (Bible)?” to “why do you call Isa God as well as Son of God?” But the question that had the counselors on red alert was “why did you people show us this Jesus film?” BOING BOING BOING!

Yes, Rural Rugged was great.

The community was wary of us at first, but became comfortable after a while and even gave us seven goats and a lot of sugar cane.
In our estimation, we’ve prepared the way for more Good News to the people of Nasarawa Godel, Zamfara State. And wasn’t this the best way to convey God’s message?

“Unselfish service is still acknowledged as a very powerful moral good in our societies. People in the street will listen to those whom they perceive to be unselfish, humble, genuine and caring.
Service is most effective when it comes before proclamation. Jesus served before He preached. He continued to serve after He preached. Service was the ongoing focus of His ministry and mission. All people are touched by unselfish service.”
– Adventist World, Feb. 2007

Those totally committed to NCCF will reveal to you that even NYSC’s regular Community Development Service(CDS) is their chance to let their host community know about The One True God (John 17:3).

"I slept and dreamed that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted, and behold, service was joy."
- Rabindranath Tagore



NYSC’s motto is Service and Humility.
To God. To country.

The "Late News" With C.Sweet

-“MAS 2 Terms!”
Traffic in Zamfara State was heavier than normal on Thursday, the 8th of January 2009. Vehicles from several parts of the country were driving in, but it was the convoy consisting of thirty-plus cars that interested C.Sweet the most.
It is true that they blew a good amount of dust into her eyes, but she did not mind too much, because in one of those cars sat the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, His Excellency Umaru Musa Yaradu’a. In an interview with C.Sweet, she discloses: “Not to brag, but… I’m the only corper from Kotorkoshi that came closest to President U.M.Y.! Forget the fact that I was a trekking onlooker with hands full of stuff from the Tudun Wada market and didn’t actually see him but sha I was the closest. Nmeeee!” :- )

He and thirty(?) of the Nigeria’s State Governors paid a visit to Zamfara State to in order to officially welcome the current Governor, His Excellency Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi (MAS), to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). He was formerly in the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP), but switched parties due to some events C.Sweet is yet to verify.

-The Winner of the Batch ‘A’ 2008/2009 Personal Community Develpoment Project, Zamfara State

This particular news is not late; In fact it is ‘prophetic’:

The person that will take the 1st place in the Batch ‘A’ 2008/2009 Personal CD Project will be a lady, and her name is Hajiya Mariya M. Aliyu.

How do I know?

• She has been one busy lady corper indeed, commissioning one project after the other, and her most impressive has been HAMMASEI, an education-focused project aimed at the less privileged males and females, “complementing the good intents and efforts of the State Government to uplift the educational standard in Zamfara.” (Zamfara Cofa, Nov. 2008).
  
  And here’s something that makes her stand out even more:
  
  
• She is the wife of the current Governor of Zamfara State, His Excellency, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi. Mm-hm. (Imagine! I’m just discovering that she’s in my batch and stream (A2). The Late News, readers).
  
  A graduate of Accounting from the University of Abuja, Hajiya Mariya M.A.S. is serving in the Government House, Gusau (naturally) and will be passing out this February.
  HAMMASEI stands for Hajiya Mariya Mahmud Aliyu Shikafi Education Initiative, and its inspirational motto reads:
  
  “Education is leading out the inborn potentialities of the individuals. It is reforming the uninformed mind by informing it. Reforming the human mind is reforming the society. Informing the human society is transforming the society.”
  
  For more information on HAMMASEI please visit http://mariyamasinitiatives.com/
  
  I think you now agree with me that this lady is our winner.
  
  This has been The Late News with C.Sweet.
  PS: In two weeks’ time I’ll be rounding up my ZM jist in “Zamfara Unveiled… a little”
  Godbless!

Professor Bullallah

Teaching is an amazing profession.

As most fresh graduates lamented over the fact that they’d be posted to schools to teach for the Service year, I was delighted because I’d always wished for an opportunity to teach. An opportunity to impart knowledge in fresh, exciting ways. No need for cramming, people; just come into class with your unfilled heads and I’ll fill them up with easy-to-understand knowledge… (Picture Smiegle of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ saying the ‘easy-to-understand knowledge’ part and you’ll get how crazy I am about uncomplicated knowledge… my precioussss).
I had always imagined my students listening to me, absolutely captivated, as I gently opened up their minds to new ideas; as I carefully laid block upon block on a solid foundation… In my mind’s eye, I was the perfect, enjoyable teacher- ready with a key joke or analogy that would not only make the students laugh, but serve as a link between The Everyday and The Abstract.

This is what I experienced instead:


"When an acid and a base react, they form salt and water only. Kun gane ko?"
"Ee!"
"Ok, that’s good. So if I have an acid like HCl reacting with a base like NaOH, what products am I going to get?"

Silence.

"What two products will I get?"

Silence.

"I’ll get a salt and…."

Silence."A salt and water naaa! Weren’t you girls listening? When an acid and a base react, you get salt and water"

"Aunty, ee!"

"Ok, what if I have an acid like H2SO4 reacting with a base like NaOH?"

Silence.

"Acid and base equals salt and water. Zainab, what did I just say?"

Silence, then: "Aunty, ban ji ba"/"Aunty I didn’t hear"

Hm. Is it that I’m talking too fast? Not using enough examples? Too boring? What???


BUILT-ON-SAND VERSUS BUILT-ON-ROCK

Most students will be excited and relatively well-behaved in the presence of a new Malam or Malama, but novelty can only take you as far as two weeks, tops. After that, you’re on your own. It’s now time to think of creative ways to motivate the students to pay attention and learn. Teaching tactics are now employed, like using everyday examples to introduce new concepts, (because learning is really just a process of building on a foundation that has already been laid); like giving assignments and quizzes to make the students serious; like injecting educational games to lighten the atmosphere a bit; like rewarding good performance, and many other tactics.


But WHAT IF the foundation that has been laid is horribly flawed?


After a short while I began to experience what the older Corpers had often complained about: very low morale.
I wasn’t transferring much knowledge… and was it my imagination that Hussaina, Shamsiyya, Jamila and Aisha were always falling asleep (or falling ill) the moment I walked into their class??
I complained about this to the HOD so he followed me to class one morning. He pointed out that I sometimes explained while the students were busy writing, which is wrong. I took correction, but didn’t get much better results, so I was back to my initial questions- what was I doing wrong? Abi these young ladies were really hopeless?
Another teacher shed more light on the issue: He said most of the students in the school are suffering from Ba Turanci Syndrome(that is, No English Syndrome). Why? Because they never attended Primary School! They were admitted into Secondary School straight from Islamic School or even from home (and in Islamic School, they are taught in Hausa). The result is what you see in class:

-they cannot speak English, or just manage to string words together. To get through to them, you need to speak Hausa to them (the new students coming in are improving though)

-they mostly show interest in Hausa, Arabic, etc. (Not surprising. I only liked the subjects that "made sense")

-they hate reading and doing assignments (No excuse for this one; it really vexes me)

- they are permitted to dubb during tests and exams, but the strangest thing is that with all that 'xeroxing' they still fail (WAEC and NECO are the worst; they write the answers on the board for them to copy)-they doze in class. Tell them to sit up, stand up, kneel down… posh’ti ka fan! (heehee, that’s my language for they don’t hear)

Good and fine. While this was vexing news to me, I knew it didn’t apply to my case, because most of my students often impressed me with their good command of English. So in which area lay the problem, Mr. Holmes?


CAUTION: Northern Mentality in Progress!

Auren Soyayya!

In the extreme North, there must be three allotropes of oxygen- normal oxygen, ozone and marriage oxygen. So how do you expect a core Northern girl to withstand the great pressure to marry early when she’s been breathing m-oxygen since birth? Or more importantly, why should she withstand it? Isn’t marriage a beautiful thing? Who is to say that being married to that elderly Alhaji is not the very purpose for which she was born? Who says all this boring, abstract education thing is really necessary for a good future? Besides, even the Mallams are checking her out during free periods (some don’t even go to class to teach because they are waiting for her). Wallahi, it’s not easy to be hot cake. So please, all that matters is the Alhaji- he likes her enough to want her to be his latest amarya. Aiyiriiiiiiiii!

And couldn’t the POOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES have something to do with it?

This week, I enjoyed my classes very much. Why? Because the girls were moved out of their ‘containers’ and into impressive new classrooms. Let us now wave bye-bye to the following bad rubbish:
Bye bye excessive heat! Hello spacious, learning-friendly rooms! We even have fans! 11:10 to 1:45pm lessons may not be sooo bad afterall!

Bye bye tables with ‘collapsible’ tops and chairs that we fall off when one of us stands up too fast. We have solid desks now, and our chairs dey kampe!

Bye bye dim containers; hello well-lit rooms. Maybe I’ll pay more attention to what’s on the board afterall. Teacher, you’ve got an extra ten minutes to "bring it" before I tune out, okay?

The students in the school I’m serving are fortunate enough to have such classrooms. They are fortunate to have a Princi that is concerned and connected enough to upgrade their facilities. Imagine what other students are going through. The Government school in Tsafe Local Govt., (which also serves as the temporary NYSC Orientation Camp) is a perfect example of what bad facilities can do to the human psyche. Those students are something else: ruffians, thieves, and…. I lack words to describe them in fact. Now when a human being starts to behave like an animal, you must either help get him back on the road to humanity or…


…Send in Bullallah (Ph.D)

Students who refuse to behave are flogged regularly. It seems to be the only thing the students will respect. A dozing student threatened with being sent to the Mallam specially employed for lashing gives immediate results. I’m not against lashing (it showed me the light when I was unserious) but the manner, rate and purpose of lashing matters. We were going for CD one day, and met an ex-student in a taxi. He complained about the lashings he received in his school. He said there was this boy who was given 100 lashes, straight up. No way I can confirm that story, so let’s just leave it as "them-say".

I wonder whether we are trying to correct negative behaviour, or (unconsciously) trying to encourage the animal within the students to grow... it's not really a mystery, anywayz.

So, you’ve read my little bit on the educational system in ZM. I’ll conclude by saying there’s certainly room for improvement. I know that I sat tall on my high horse a few times, and I apologise for that. Thanks for reading!

Safety First

Case One: Labai, Let’s Go Bowlin’!

The Driver sighted the man in his well-known brown Road Safety gear from afar and cursed. He swore even more violently as the man began to flag down his car:

“Ga wancan shegen banza *$#@#@! Zan nuna mishi wani abu, wallahi!”

“See that bastard * * *! I’ll show him something, wallahi!”

Having said this, the man put his foot down hard on the accelerator and smiled a wicked smile.

Impact Time = 10 seconds.

The passengers watched; some with rising excitement, others with trepidation. What was about to happen very fast was a joke, shebi? As in, the Driver had good brakes ko? And the Road Safety official. He had quick reflexes… ko?

Impact time = 5 seconds.

The official began to understand the crazy driver’s intent.

Impact Time = 3 seconds

Joke or not, the official didn’t wait to find out. Twas a case of “safety first”, as his instructors had drilled deeply into his head. He flew off the road at the same instant the Driver swerved violently to the left to dodge hitting him.

“Hahahaha! Shegen b*#@*&! kawai” he whooped happily as he sped away. The “shege” had been taught a lesson. Some of the passengers congratulated him, laughing with him over this accomplishment. All looked back to catch glimpses of the dazed Road Safety official gathering his wits about him. Allah ya isa! God it is enough! The hazards of this job are too much he was probably thinking crossly. Well, at least he lived to tell the story. A true story.

Case Two: Wrestling Match In Front Seat

You know how Police/NURTW/VI officers sometimes stop drivers who park wrongly (or overload the vehicle) and insist on taking the driver to the station to pay a fine? Well this was a similar case, but dealing with this guy was going to be more difficult than anyone assumed.

The officer had succeeded in stopping the driver and seating himself in the front seat with a friend of mine. He told the driver to start driving. The driver obeyed. Good. The driver and official then began to argue hotly, (my friend understands Hausa small-small, so he didn’t know what the argument was about). Finally, the officer had had enough. He grabbed the gear stick roughly and the car swerved to the side as the driver glared at him. He too grabbed the gear and the wrestling began.

My friend was stunned at the turn of events, but he recovered sharply as he noticed the car swerving dangerously to the left and right. Ha! On a busy Federal road?! Babu babu! No time for staring; time for action. He grabbed the wheel and began to control the car while the two men struggled and the other passengers screamed and begged. Seconds later, he was in control of the car while the two Who Is More Thoughtless? contestants slowly came to their senses.
Fortunately no one was injured, but unfortunately, it is yet another true story.

[I apologise for being MIA for so long. I have been having a few issues lately. I’m back to tell you about the peaceful State that is called Zamfara. Today’s post is about ZM drivers’ attitudes, and it doesn’t flatter the State at all.]

Most ZM drivers do not respect road laws, and they know how to speed… recklessly. E don’ pass “be careful” stage, as my ex-roomate would say.

As the Commander-in-Charge of the Federal Road Safety Corporation (FRSC) said during our last Community Development mtg, “it seems like the drivers wake up everyday and ask themselves, 'how many people am I going to injure today?'” It is disturbing. Most do not have a clue about road laws (neither do I but that’s why I joined the FRSC :-)) - they overtake carelessly and kill so many people as a result. But don’t take my word for it; it has been said that ZM has the highest car accident mortality rates in Nigeria. (I'll do some research on it soonest).

Because of this poor understanding of road safety, instead of passengers telling the drivers to slow down, they encourage them (by their silence – “shuru ma amsa”) to keep it up. While I’m on this topic, I might as well add that I have also noticed a Boot-Riding thing here: you can find up to three passengers riding happily in the boots of taxis or buses. No wonder Northerners are often referred to as animals.

There is plenty room for improvement, that’s the summary. FRSC, NURTW, VIO, Cofas... we all need to work together to change these trends. Address/re-educate the drivers, pedestrians (and even NURTW and Road Safety workers) regularly, make road signs, speed bumps, enforce strict laws… and so on. It’s just that Nigeria is so corrupt. (Not a pretty way to end a post, so lemme sing the Nigeria Go Better song: “Nigeria will survive; my people will survive. Nigeria go survive O, Nigeria go better!” It starts… with YOU :-)

PS: Next week I’ll be talking about ZM’s educational system in Professor Bullallah. Till then, have v. good days!

Muna Lahiya Lau

Kudi

This bit about ZM falls in the “trivial” category. However, I’m yet to experiment with this in places other than Kotorkoshi, so you can take this one with a grain of salt:

The ZM populace willingly accept Nigerian notes regardless of the state of the notes. As in, they can accept a torn, squeezed and generally maltreated naira note very willingly. Me ya same shi? they’ll ask in puzzlement when you ask them if they’ll accept your brown, tired, super-delicate, tissue paper-soft N50. HOW-EVER, THIS BENEVOLENCE DOES NOT EXTEND TO THE N20! It’s almost an insult to offer them a partly torn N20. A-a! Bazan karbi wancan ba/No! I won’t accept that they will tell you strongly. After that they’ll most likely face the other side and mutter/sulk. End of story. Hmm…

Weather Status
The much-talked about harmattan is finally upon us, and indeed our lips are testifying to this! Moisturizers, Vaseline and Chapet have come out of their hiding place. Our jackets, sweaters, and mufflers are about to find and fulfill the central purpose of their ‘lives’ (that’s the title of a deep book by Os Guinness sha). We have heard that the cold here is intense, but I secretly doubt that it’s colder than Jos. If it is indeed colder, it’ll probably be because of the desert-like characteristics ZM has. In any case, I’m about to find out for sure. Yay!

… and a little bit on dressing:

You can always tell a Corper (and most non-indigenes of ZM) by their dress:

- Of course there’s the obvious green khaki, jungle boots and other abunga, but that counts only on CD/PCD days or when you want to collect a query from the NYSC Secretariat :-)

- Indigenes wear hijabs of varying lengths. (Most) Corpers love no such thing.

- Indigenes can wear trousers, but only as long as it’s accompanied by classy kaftans. Corpers can wear such a fashionable piece, but mostly they prefer to wear trousers with t-shirts, tame body hugs, etc.

- Male indigenes hardly wear jeans. Corpers wear jeans fala-fala.

- You can never see an indigene exposing her hair in public (a-ah, babu babu). Corpers? Well, there’s the spiky weave-on, million braids, feather braids, Anita Baker cut… take your pick, or better still, come up with something more chic.

Welcome to Zamfara State: Farming Is Our Pride

Oh Lord! Time’s up for me again.
My two-week sick leave from ZM has sadly come to an end (and I didn’t even get the chance to put on some weight :-( ) I’ll be going back on Sunday, and 5 days later I’m going to win the battle over tears as I wave my roommates g’bye. (Heck, maybe I’ll remember all the not-so-nice things they said/did and then scream “good riddance” as I push them out… fat chance). Another 5 days from then, I shall wave my new flat mates hello. Ahhh… I wonder what they’ll be like. Will they gel with us the way we did with the outgoing batch? Will they like singing (like some two flatmates I know)? And wait till they see our huge and famous Kotorkoshi rock.

In any case, they are very welcome.

pic.fromhttp://human.cc.hirosakiu.ac.jp/philips/gallery.htm

I realise that I haven’t described Zamfara State in this blog at all, which is very bad of me. Regardless of how the State tries to make people see that it’s a peaceful, live-able place, eyes and mouths still pop wide open before me as I tell them I'm serving there (involuntary movement, I think they call it in Biology). It therefore makes sense that I should take some time out of my {cough} busy schedule to describe the place to you... but the problem is, I live the famous “triangular life”- class to lodge to church. Sight-seeing for me is a trip to the capital, Gusau, when I want to buy food, make my hair, browse, etc. I wish I could say that this very interesting lifestyle of mine is going to change as soon as I get back but kai, no need. I’ll be sure to ferret out the useful, trivial, “insider” information about ZM, though. For instance, under the “trivial” category, I bet you didn’t know that Zamfara State takes its slogan, Farming Is Our Pride, to heart by planting okro as well as millet on the median (I mean that middle strip of road where the street lamps are situated) of some roads. Mm-hm. And I’ll probably be fapping information from zamfarastate.net too.

Well I have to go now. It’ll probably be a while before my next post. Discovering new blogs has been fun. Keep living, laughing, learning and loving.

Kurungus!

"Je je je they dey go-o!!"

Athletic and Natural.
She plays football with the guys, is a great volley ball player and loves to ride bicycles. Her hair is long and brown and suits her fair complexion.

Oh yes... she also loves to laugh.

Her favorite(and I mean favorite) phrase before erupting in happy laughter is "okereleee!"
This Imo State girl who has a tomboy exterior has a soft side too, of course. When she talks about the love of her life, her eyes (and entire countenance, actually) light up. (Sometimes you're even tempted to blush by her very candid display of emotion). If I'm to choose the one thing I'll miss her dearly for, it's her laughter. NYSC, you did good in making our paths cross, but it's time to say goodbye (sighs sadly). Well, when I think of her I can always yell:

"Okereleeee!"

Super Cook, Super Mama!
This Rivers State lady can cook (as the subtitle implies, duh). She can transform a regular, everyday meal into a delightful, more-that-Maggi-Family-Menu meal. Wow. Time will not permit me to elaborate (I'm extremely hungry too, truth be told. We just finished this month's clearance, and thinking about food isn't helping my shaking hands).

Her favorite words, right before she eats is "I'm going to enjoyyy myself veeeery well." She says this so calmly I cannot help but giggle and join her. Aside from being a great cook, she's an encourager, very practical and you can always count on her to be "Mama".

Kai, I'll miss you O!

Lively, life, alive, exuberant!!
"OGHENE BI KO OOOOO!"
Chai, the lodge is going to be so empty and so, so quiet without this Edo lady! Ha! There's the popular saying, "never a dull moment with you" and she embodies it. Mehn she's so much fun. Her voice is loud, and it doesn't take a lot of effort to get her laughing. It's lovely being in her company, playing Whot, eating, jisting about.. well, lots of stuff :-)
I will miss her loud, lively, lovely self. I will miss these three amazing sistas who have helped me gather my wits about me. For making me laugh, for advicing me, and yes... for teasing me.

My lovely roommates, you dey go-oooo! Come September 11 2008, you'll head back to Lag, PH, Edo State... chai! I must savour every moment that I can. I must live, laugh and love like you three.

Je je je we dey go-o,

Ajuwaya praise the Lord O,

We remove head-dress O,

Ajuwaya, praise the Lord!

"What Did She Say?"

Last Saturday felt like a real, useful/meaningful, fun NYSC day for me.

We went deep into the interiors of Kotorkoshi, to a village called Chediya, in order to teach the women (young and old) to become more independent. In other words, my fellow Corper girls and I went on a Women Empowerment mission. We taught them the fine art of making buns, puffpuff, pancakes, cakes... Twas fun. My role as English-to-Hausa interpreter was scary but cool. I loved looking into their eyes and seeing them sparkle. I just pray that they take their time to really learn and become self-reliant (like me ;-))

Next week we'll be teaching them how to make soap and vaseline. Wow! I can hardly wait.

Good Afternoon, Malama!

The second day of teaching for me was scary.

Not only was I unprepared for the lesson that day, I was also very very unsettled by a visit from someone I never expected to see ( at least not for a long time, if I stayed undercover for long enough). This very hot-tempered man had practically sworn to make my life in Zamfara a living nightmare.

Am I being melodramatic? Erm... just a little.

Rewind to two weeks ago:

On seeing my place of primary assignment, I was devastated. I was thinking, 'So this is the place God had in mind for me? A far, remote, rural, terrible place? Now I KNOW I have offended Him. This one is a confirmation. What is left now is this: I am not going to serve again. I'm sure I'm just overreacting, because Daddy and Mummy will eat me alive if they see me coming home with my box, telling them I'm not interested in NYSC again, but right now... I'm-

Before I could finish the irrational thought, I was introduced to the principal of the school. I greeted him politely, and went over the conversation I was to have in my head:

Excuse me Sir, I was hoping you would, em... reject me. Please Sir

I considered this request from different angles, but every time I knew he was never going to agree to reject me. He had too many students and too few teachers. Female teachers all the more desirable. Connclusion: Acceptance.

I and an older corper begged hard for days. The man was still refusing to reject me. What made matters worse was that he had learnt that the other female that was posted there was trying to redeploy. (And there was one guy too, who was doing 'underground' runs to change his posting, but none of us were aware of this new wahala at that point).

So the LGOs came to my rescue. They agreed to repost me to another school, still within that local govt., and I was at peace because this new school was amazing. But there was one little problem: the acceptance letter from the principal of the school I was posted to. I had to retrieve it from him, and to cut the story short, he refused to give it to me, until I presented an official letter requesting for it. (Never mind the phone call the LGO had made to him). Fine, I thought. These office matters deal with paperwork, so he does have a point.

I got the letter, photocopied one for myself (to be safe), and showed him. I'm sure you can guess what happened, but I'll tell ya: He found another loophole. I was frustra-ted! I will now fast-forward to the day before I left ZM for my less than 2 week break:

"If they succeed in removing you from this school, I tell you I will reject all the corpers sent here. And I will report you and the LGOs to the State Coordinator, and you-will-see..."

Those were the parting words the princi gave me, and trust me, I was adequately scared. The State Coord. is known to be a.... em... how do I put it? let's go with no nonsense. He is a no-nonsense man that can repost an individual to a place worse off if he feels like, and Gummi (another local govt. in ZM which is FOUR hours away from the state capital and rumored to have camels as the dominant mode of transport, didn't sound too good to me). While I quaked, everyone assured me that the princi was just riding on hot air. He was jus' talking. Fashi him jare! So I cooled down and registered under the new school. I was adviced to keep a very low profile "till the wahala blows over", simple and short.

Well hahaha, surprise surprise. Not so simple and not so short.

I jammed him in the new school yesterday, and as our eyes jammed, his body was filled (filled to the brim) with r-a-g-e.

"You! You!! So you have resumed eh?! You!"

Jesus is my saviour. I was speechless. Other corpers around me advised me to come back and sit down (I didn't know when I had stood up and walked towards the man). They told me the man was just talking and all, and that I should cool down naaa, etc. This was 10 mins to my second class (my first class, the day before was quite cool, by the way. If you take away the initial fear I experienced when I realised that in 10mins I was through with what I had prepared for a 75 min lesson, it was cool. The girls are fun).

So, back to the issue at hand: He sent two 'delegates' from his school to the princi of my new school, and I am about to see something called trouble. But I'm not alone. The LGO is behind me. And maybe God, too.