We all worry sometimes!

If not for the decline of humanity, I will say it is cold-blooded insensitivity to be disobliging and so difficult to someone in a state; to call a reasonably worrying person irrational or half-baked rather than doing what you can to help him be calm and composed in that situation of his life.

Matter of fact! If worrying means to be concerned, anxious, to lose sleep, get worked up or get in a state, then who doesn't worry; I mean with IMMUNITY to the CRIPPLED HEART? Tell me who doesn't worry about their health or the unpleasant state of health-care, high tuition fees and degrading school grades, ailing jobs, approaching targets, shrinking finances, changeableness of relationships, ridiculousness of kids, etc?

I am not saying worrying is good or can accomplish anything, what I am trying to say is that there is hardly going to be any form of discomfort that will occur in the heart of man and not be evident in his face and behaviour, that is naturally natural

Some will claim not to want to pressure no one with theirs, they will try to keep the pain inside and make believe that they’re happy, even though those who can perceive will know they aren't; I don’t know, perhaps it is a matter of having faith in themselves and in their instincts.

Others will have their cups filled, sometimes even overflowing, but will perhaps on the odd occasion have a very trusted friend to vent to. This way they get the issues off their chest, but that is if the friend is not already a BIG MOUTH, the type that will instead energize the negativity by passing on endless pessimistic ‘what ifs’.

The worst-case scenario is set by those who will make everyone an emotional toilet, they’ll repeatedly bitch, nag and spout almost everything from their uncertainties to their bedroom dilemmas and hindrances; not even a space to themselves, and often times what they pour out, spews out and they will complain all over again. Concisely, they’ll make their horns sound louder to make up for the broken brakes...LOL Now that's bad, but they still need help anyway!

Who Isn't Judgmental?

SEE, at the end of the day, whatever someone says or does is based on its intentions, our individual objectives may be subject to different notions and interpretations, but that's what’s up... Don’t people these days only see what they’re prepared to see in what other people say or do?

I have observed that whenever issues of ethics, morals and principles come up in discussions, some of us perhaps due to our culpability tend to put up with the opposites, and the argument we press forward is that none of us has the right to prescribe what another person does with his life, for it is judgmental to do so.

…now fair enough, but isn’t it in point of fact judgmental that their same arguments are relatively laying down how other people should perceive? Isn’t it then very hard these days to not be judgmental?

Me, my position is, even if you’re gonna be labeled ‘close minded’ and Judgmental, but if you can in the process bring about goodness, fruitfulness and productiveness, then God help you, but if by being ‘open minded’ you’re only just going to be tossing negative energy at people you don’t really know, and at the end of the day bring about nothing much, then may God deter you.

Mindset!

If you think people don’t like you, isn’t it natural that not everybody can get on with everyone every time? If someone talks to you today about business, should you take it that y’all are now sociably coming along? What if tomorrow he is not that friendly, will you call him a hater?

If you’re at a hangout, isn’t it normal for certain issues to arise that do not concern everyone? Should that mean that the ones concerned are being choosy and picky? If someone you always chat with, today doesn't react well, should you conclude on his arrogance? Couldn’t he not just be in the mood to chat? Couldn’t he be dealing with a personal trouble that you cannot be solution to?

If you had sent someone an SMS or called him, and he didn’t pick, call or text back at that instant, odds are he may have been so busy and perhaps forgot to call back; wouldn’t you be stupid to conclude that he didn’t want to talk to you?... if you attempt to stop someone in a speeding traffic for a lift and he didn’t/couldn’t stop; couldn’t it be that he didn’t see you or it was perhaps not convenient to stop? Why will you decide on being in his bad books?

If someone didn’t make it to your ‘Ngainteh’ or whatever programme, but said sorry for not making it because of some exigency, shouldn’t that suffice? Will you still tag him ‘Nyaka Ajor’? Couldn’t you have also measured your programme to coincide with his spare time; what if he also labels you ’Nyaka-Timing’?

SEE, times are too serious man, everyone is too busy with their own lives and struggles; it will be silly of me or anyone to quickly take every vague act by another person to mean lack of enthusiasm or hatred? It is foolishness to get overly downhearted because you think people are not keen on you; when in point of fact, people have a lot more important stuff to take care of…

INFERIORITY COMPLEX

Perhaps this very long piece is going to be a recipe for trouble, but I will say it anyway; because on my mind right now is that if there is one BIG misery of a situation that has overcome [or is engulfing] the consciousness of the average Gambian, that misery will surely be INFERIORITY COMPLEX and the weird behaviour in its compensation.

I believe I have read widely and fairly traveled at length, but there is almost not a place where neediness is as blissful as this ‘Trying Coast’ of ours; where we [broke people] keenly fritter away cash and no one appears to see anything wrong with that; is like we don’t even know how serious times are; these times that even bigger people are making the most of austerity… Can’t we think!

Don’t get me wrong, I am attracted to people who make it obvious [I mean those who flaunt it] provided they have it, and that’s perhaps the reason I’m a fan of William Leonard Roberts II [Rick Ross]…but I am also easily incensed about people who will complain daily about their undue cost of living, about their evident hand-to-mouth salaries and all that, yet turn out to live lives they cannot afford… it doesn’t make sense, does it?

How unsound is it that one cannot afford her kid’s tuition fees, but can donate ‘Aji Ndella’ a cool D25, 000 simply because she gave her 20Gs during her own ‘Xew’; is like reciprocating nonsense? How hopeless is it that one cannot afford a balanced diet, but willingly be a ‘loyal patron’ for Samsung and Apple’s newest editions? One cannot afford to miss a free ride to school, but can find the money for town-trips and entrance tickets to every “Birthday Bash” in town?

You said you haven’t saved much for a proper wedding or naming ceremony, so you settle for a ‘Taki-Gorr’ or ‘Nyambor’, which ‘low-key’ mostly turns out to be more wasteful than Dennis Rodman’s 1992 week-long birthday? You can ditch Alagie Morr’s adjacent cosmetics store, but waste time, money and energy to go and buy the same piece of shit at ‘XYZ Chicly Boutique’, just so you can flaunt the branded plastic bag to work or school the next day?

Sometimes even a sound breakfast can be a BIG problem, but a Bredda can afford three times 25Dalasi-joint a day? You find it exhausting not to take a taxi between American Embassy and the Sankung Sillah Building, which walk could’ve been good exercise, but you’ll rather pay a fortune for gym membership?

You claim that your reputation cannot allow you to politely say no to a ‘Chief Patron’ invitation, but you can in respect of that same reputation, get down to begging and borrowing for what to put in the envelop? …I can go on Man; these things cyaan done!

And sadly when things get really twisted, you blame it on people, on your rich uncle or your semester sibling’s lack of assistance. Some will even say their parents have not tried enough or outrageously accuse the evil hands of their innocent aunts, half siblings, their mothers' co-wives etc; does that really make sense? Can’t people just think these days? SMDHHard!

I want my childhood back!

What if I say I want my childhood back, that adulthood sucks; that I want to be like the two kids I saw around the Pipeline Mosque last evening, heartily doing the ‘Hunting/Devil’ dance, with neither drums nor the masquerade, just clapping and hopping and using their mouths as percussion, beatboxing it like they just don’t care 

My boy and I looked at them with warmhearted memories, obviously not expecting them to know what time it is, or to care if Viber is working or blocked.

They won't wish that time will speed up for the next pay-cheque, except if there’s an upcoming feast; they don’t overstand how the food in the house came about; they don’t have to worry about pay-less jobs, endless bills, pricey necessities, senseless ceremonies, unspeakable employers, frustrating relationships, friendships so green with envy…etc

AND unlike us, they don’t have to worry about not being able to be selfish; their whole world is just them and them alone.

BUT since no one can escape adulthood; we can only pray that ours will reasonably be free from undue stress, from stupid demands and hassles; from preventable downpression, from extreme dislike for one another, from redundancy, neediness and even self imposed hardships....Amen!

Slavery It Is!

They said slavery took men who were strong in their physical features to do series of repetitive, menial, and sometimes unsafe tasks for their slave masters. The incentives I overstand were food, somewhere to stay and perhaps bonus if they were able to procreate new slave kids 

Now in this free world, employers take men who’re smart enough to satisfy their need for manpower, but take heed, you also have to be dumb enough to finish off whatever they feed you, otherwise you won’t stay long.

They’ll wittingly take your social and family time, your individuality and even your creativeness for a ride. So you’ll be there working clueless and some of us do it with style; for a “salary” that always reminds you of a bad joke; doesn't reflect the true value of what you put in; not to speak of how short it is at reconciling your bills. Shit’s like taking up one trouble to solve other troubles…. 

Don’t get me wrong, if you’re working to make a living, just do it, I respect that. As a matter of fact a job is what all of us wish to have after graduation; and sometimes it sucks to find one, because employers will either bend on hiring experienced people or set the qualification requirements way to high.

In spite of that, I’ll have to ask…How’s slavery different from today’s free world employment; if all that the employee does is to dutifully help the employer build his empire for an ‘offering’ in return, just like the slave?

Oh! Hold on a second, maybe there is a difference. The slave was forced into it, but the employee labours of his own free will …..? Me, I don’t want that, in fact I just don’t want to own a small amount of Benjamins, I want to be self-made like Benjamin Franklin himself; and if anyone of my facebook friends have dreams and wishes like that, may they come true..

'Fakemous' or Famous?

Do y’all remember ‘Love Don't Cost a Thing’? do you remember how Alvin Johnson (Nick Cannon) dreamed of hanging out with the popular kids, how he ditched his fellow ‘Nerd’ friends to deviously hangout with Paris Morgan (Christina Milian), do you remember how he got busted?

One moral I picked from that movie is that [YES] popularity is pretty cool, but it’s not the only route to social acceptance, and that the biggest challenge after being popular is the conservation of your new standing.

Another moral from it is that no one can become or can attempt to become famous through indecent and ungainly means; that one should be able to mature beyond fleeting-fame, it often terminates in lack of esteem and demise of one’s privacy – just let it come with ease!

So if you’re a person who will stop at nothing to achieve popularity, if you can deceivingly tag along people, kiss arse or suck up to have cooler friends of high social status, to get attention or to know famous people, do not put out of your mind that Karma comes back around – in fact some people say “karma's a bitch”.

Be You!

Bill Gates is a very wise man, he said: “Don't compare yourself with anyone in this world; if you do so, you are insulting yourself”

Do you think Mr. Gates is right?

Then why are you allowing your desire to look like ‘Miss. Trendy’ and ‘Mr. Stylish’ awfully steal your valuable time and resources? If cuteness and grace are relative, why can’t you just settle for what suits your natural appearance?

If others seem to have nicer hair or greater eyes than you, couldn't you possibly have height or structure or even skin tone that appeals to them too? What if those people that you want to emulate also wish they were like you? And usually that’s the case; ‘one size fits all’ doesn't work at all times.

Or do you prefer to move your life in the direction they've fashioned for you; can’t you set trend yourself? AND if you tell me NO, then my friend you’re not emancipated; you’re psychologically caged; your life’s on autopilot and that’s serious!

Me, I am of the opinion that any person whose ways are always determined by the ways of others is not necessarily being modest or humble, but conceivably going/gone nuts. I believe each one of us has his/her uniqueness and exclusivity, and holding such qualities in high regard is not lack of consideration for what others claim to be fashionable, but an endorsement of who you truly are.

Be you and base your life on a true story! ‘Hanna Kai’ if being you is what has been stopping you from doing something useful

Just Another Rant!

Like seriously, if this world was a moving motorcade, which can just take a stop so I could get off, I would have disembarked a long time ago. Serious!

Maybe I'm being me again, or maybe it is the wrong history notes I read, but I was educated to overstand that this world used to be amazing, full of great vibes and wonders; the Great Pyramid, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis, Statue of Zeus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Even to the Chichen Itza, Christ the Redeemer, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Petra, Taj Mahal, and Colosseum. Now is like those celebrated wonders are no longer treasured 

One good thing though; we are able to generate a bank of information and as readily available as it never were, but we take everything for granted. Ancient people never had sophisticated stuff, but made the most of what they had. They had no immunization or antibiotics, but lived longer than us. We gave rise to all these things and make them either too pricey or blend them with side effects.

I just cant prove that yet, but I am suspicious. In fact most of our necessities are either high-priced or useless, synthetic or shallow originals, imitations or superficial stuff, provided under very impolite, selfish and rigid conditions.

Despite the tedious occupations of the ancient folks, parents used to make time to prepare their children for adulthood, now we dump them at day care centers, under the care of nannies who do not know the meaning of ‘guardianship’, or spoil them with folly-generating apparatus.No one seems to give a rat’s behind as regards the crumbling and decomposing circumstances caused by humanity’s blatant laxity.

After the Edisons, Newtons, the Alexander Graham Bells, Galileos, Naismiths, Einsteins, Copernicus, etc, tell me what didn’t our current scientists and philosophers replicate other than FB, IG, Twitter, ‘(not)smartphones’, ‘I-Phony’ and the like, which are primarily why our social knack is dead and we had to resort to this traumatic ambiance

Where are the heroes of our time that we can adore? Don’t tell those fortune 500 owning celebrities whose prominence evaporates after one big scandal; or men in comfy offices spending needlessly on young troops and machines to fight for their reputation; I mean REAL HEROES where are they?

End of Rant!

“Toubabou-Jahateh”

I can bear witness that it will be a BLOODY LIE for any one race of people to feel that they are more significant than the others, but I can also state under oath that given our pessimistic, negative and fatalistic conducts, it may not be long before this LIE turns out to be a TRUTH.

TELL ME! How many of us cannot bear witness to some of us roundly condemning some of you, simply because some of you prefer to be progressive black people; because you prefer to uphold a gracious conduct in society, with elders and among members of your line of ‘thing’.

How many of us cannot bear witness to some of us labeling some of you #Toubabeh [wannabe white], simply because of your fondness for saying "please", "thank you", "you are welcome", or "excuse me" where and when necessary?

“Toubabou-Jahateh”! Isn’t that what they call some of you who hold the door for your ladies to allow them to enter or exit first? Isn’t that the label you’re given when you respect time, when you don’t like keeping others waiting; when some of you demonstrate that even tables have manners; when you display awareness of the purpose of restrooms, probably not too unbecoming by picking, scratching, combing and constantly opening your majestic shoulder bags to redo your makeup in public, not to speak of hammering instead of chewing gum, and blowing it into bubbles all over the place?

Aren’t some of you called #Toubabs because you know it is polite to put your cell phone to rest or on vibrate when in decorous gatherings; because some of you know that yelling and speaking sharply, or using vulgarity is not cool? Now if all these protocols and good manners are TOUBABEH, aren’t we in some way admitting that being TOUBABEH is in fact the way to go? Aren’t we trying to make it obvious that we’re at ease with our low-grade and second-rate mentality? Tell me!

I Think I Can Rap!

Yo! Where’s the beat at – I so badly need to take a hit!

I am the Lyrical Marvel! Why should I sleep with a book or shit!

Party poopers hating this status, but drools don’t dare

No! I ain’t cruel; I’m tellin what you need to hear

Gut it, cut it or stuff it, why should I care

I’m high off humanity and lyrics I cannot spare

Keep reading my posts, even with a defiant stare

Why give a damn, cuz shit’s just online anyway

I verbally molest; words are my second alleyway

A line a day I believe can keep the devil away

Better that way else they’ll drive the kids astray

Eloquence is mine, not purchasable on eBay

I’m straight up about things, but largely about ‘ships

I talk relationships, friendships and citizenships

From slave-ships to hardships even dictatorships

Your thoughts I’ll represent from shore to ship

OUTTRO

Haha! I remind me of Grandmaster Flash back in the day! It pays to be remarkably poetic! Matter of fact, if spitting it was a crime I’ll spend 10 years in the joint for verbal attack! Y’all Emcees better step up before I’ll render y’all hopeless… LOL

Civil Society Nonsense

So on my break, I refreshed my facebook browser and saw “Unique Solutions Co. Ltd & RLG training centre launched at Basse, to provide training for mobile phone repairs to young Gambians up country”, and I overstand they have also erected 10 sample kiosks that will be used to provide jobs for those to be trained”…. Brilliant Uniqueness!

Okay! A lil later, I went for my usual lunch walk; ‘Delicious Restaurant’ is the place baby  and happened upon what seemed to be a company in performance, drumming, clapping and chanting, apparently marketing something; ‘road-show’ to be exact.

But who cares? As a matter of fact, I have nothing against their cheerfulness, but since I’m entitled to my opinion and seeing that their style is the same piece of 'thing' with even some of our so-called civil society campaigns, I can’t but ask; ‘What is their true public significance’

I am confused! I don’t know how can a set of people wearing straight fit jeans and T-Shirts displaying some slogan help in fighting some social ill, or create awareness about something.

Let us be reasonable here; how can drumming and dancing rehabilitate junkies or help some impoverished child begging along Kairaba Avenue to go back to school; how can it help stop the occurrence of rape, stigmatisation, and the rest?

How? If all what they do is hire a means of transportation, load it with loud music, parading our streets and expressing carefree amusement, chuckling and giggling and cackling with each other? Can’t we do it differently, since the old traditions do not seem to bring any newness into being? #JustAsking

ALERT!

BE READY TO ACT!

In next to no time, it will be declared more indecent and unacceptable to go out without doing your hair, nails, eyes and lips than it will be going around completely naked. In a little while, being someone will be of a greater consequence than being something 

Soon fingers will be pointed at successful people, accusing them of worshiping the devil, by unsuccessful people whose cluelessness deterred them from profiting from their own God-given common sense. Very soon the richest people will be those who manufacture things, because humanity’s source of happiness will be reduced to only shopping and buying hopeless gadgets.

Very soon it will be easier to climb the social ladder by your looks than by your books. Very soon it will be a lot more laudable for your woman to demand another cell phone instead of welfare; folks will hesitate to satisfy their needs, but will stand up for their greed. In next to no time, money will no longer be our servant but our master 

Very soon, humankind will worship God not as our Creator and Redeemer worthy of worship, but as a generous character who’s up there to merely provide our worldly wants. Soon humankind will concur that if it had not been for our obsession with class and things, living would’ve been heavenly.

I’m not trying to be sarcastic or something, I can feel this!

Gross Intellectual Product (GIP) - Negative!

I am very sorry to say this, but I think I am getting the scent of a ‘downturn’. I mean an Academic Recession; a very undesirable decline in our Gross Intellectual Product (GIP); LOL! I made that up, but that’s what I observe. I see could-have-been-thinkers acting like 'kiss-arse-creeps' and it makes me sad. I don’t know if they’re being stingy or just lacking in intelligence?

I swear to God, if they were worth their salt, my category wouldn’t have come here thinking we have an opinion or perhaps have everything figured out; from existence, faith, affairs of state, culture, procreation etc.

You see, my dad doesn’t need Wikipedia + Microsoft Word + Copy & Paste to write a strongly worded piece; but that is because my dad is an intellectual

If it had not been for the slowness of today’s scholars, #HighSchoolProducts like me wouldn’t have had leeway coming here and saying all these or attempting to flex intellect; but what else do you expect? If the dog cannot fright the thief away, the house parrot will, but then the dog better be sorry

Y’all are the reason I’m not excited about going to university. Y’all can’t seem to stop directing your intellectualism towards pointless directions. Is like y’all go to your Englands and Americas and Russias only to come back with decorated IDs, kill meritocracy, feeling intellectually superior to hardworking people, but forgetting that all you have is a piece of paper, you left the tangible qualifications behind; at Heathrow, JFK or Sheremetyevo Airports perhaps 

Be sincere and look at all the instruments and reference materials y’all are using at your places of work; your Service Rules, you Financial Instructions, HR Policies etc, who developed them? Weren’t they all products of people prior to you, some of whose education stopped at Standard 4, 5 or 6, they had no university degrees?

Some of these instruments should’ve been outmoded a long time ago, but you’re still using them. What have y’all discovered, invented or even innovated? Maybe spending all your time 'roundtabling' on roundtables, at 'talk-shops' and 'work-chops', saying the same piece of thing you’ve been saying since 19 O’long; why can’t you take a more practical route, since I didn't say it, but according to the grapevine your current flow sucks! 

Don’t y’all sit and ask why some of you are easily thrown away; why your employers don’t take you seriously; why you are easily decapitated? Don’t think! The answer is because all you needed was a job, and you thought having one means going by predetermined routines of unending paperwork, you do not see the need to exercise your intelligent judgement— feeling seriously disenchanted!