TECH THIS, TECH THAT...THREAT TO TECH

Indeed "Tech" and everything that it encompasses has taken the world by storm.

A random scroll through your Linkedin feed, and you'd be harassed by a barrage of Tech this, and Tech That.
Tech companies are springing up by the millisecond.
Everyone including yours truly is going after one Tech certification or another.
Global education institutions are skewing every academic discipline to have a huge dose of Tech flavour...and they are offering these courses to everyone and everybody.
Learning platforms 'free and paid' are not left out in the frenzy
Internet service suppliers are making sh*tloads of cash from selling data, as that is what is needed to effectively navigate the world of 'Tech'.


All the above are good. They are needed to put us as a people on the advantageous mounds of the global terrain.

But, while we are all striving and speaking in the same direction, the Nigerian economy is giving us the bombastic side-eye.


For 'Tech' to remain lucrative and much sourced, it must as a matter of necessity piggy back on a productive economy-one that takes domestic manufacturing of tangible commodities seriously.

Now, let's take a cursory look at our economy; the strength of our Naira; the purchasing power of the average Nigeria amongst other positive indices, it is clear that Tech will not have any base to anchor its growth.

Tech is like icing on the cake. The cake here being a productive economy. However, what is happening to the "cake"? What will the icing of Tech add beauty and taste to?

A Yoruba proverb says"Owo ti o ba si, jedijedi kan o le gba'a". Literally, this means that dysentery cannot consume unavailable money.
What this means in the context of this writeup is that where tangible commodities(including services) are not been produced, what 'Teching' would 'Tech' do?

The 'Fin' in Fintech will determine whether Fintech will swim or drown.
The 'Agric' in Agrictech will be the fertile soil from which the flowers of Agrictech would bloom.
The 'Edu' in Edutech' is what will make 'Edutech' make sense.

Tech in itself is good, but without a productive economy...this sweet, colourful icing may not reach its full potentials.

Let's fix the cake, and this icing will take care of itself.

I troway salute!

SHE'S BORN SHARP AND NEEDS NO BLADES (A POEM)

 

Mama, am I a roasted sausage,
that you scrape off a burnt part of me?

Papa, am I an orange,
that you have to peel me to make me appealing?

Grandma, am I an onion,
that has to be sliced to make the stew taste better?

My village people, am I a tree,
that you have to cut down to make a pillar for dead traditions?

Why bring a razor to wound my today and scar my future?

Leave your sharp objects in the past and let my innocence live.


*stop female genital mutilation
*stop crimes against women

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation Feb 6
hashtag#HerVoiceMatters
hashtag#endfgm

IMMINENT SAPA, INEVITABLE JAPA

 **IMMINENT SAPA, INEVITABLE JAPA **

the day dawns

the night dusks

time travels into tomorrow

and Naija gets emptier

because Sapa is imminent

Japa is inevitable

brains melt and seep out

through the pages of visas

only to freeze on the colder side

to be preserved and put to use

because Sapa is imminent

Japa is inevitable

children are evicted from their homes

by the barbed hands of hunger

shoved out like bastards

into the arms of strangers

because Sapa is imminent

Japa is inevitable

OSHODI

 

One morning, 15yrs ago, I looked down from Oshodi bridge, and I saw a sea of heads.

Over a thousand humans. Some going, some coming.

Traders with wares on the heads. Artisans with their tools in their hands or slung over their shoulders. Office workers with ties around their necks.

They were all in a hurry. Sweating faces, impatient smiles. Different

destinations, one mission- the daily bread.

It occurred to me that every one of them had their own stories, which we may never get to know.

For some, it is betrayal; hunger; abuse; hope denied; a cheating spouse; a dying parent; a sick child; a new contract; a mission to kill; a koboless wallet; a new job; a sack letter waiting;

different faces,

different stories,

different realities.

The train deafens the atmosphere as it rumbles past, causing the earth to quake slightly.

Men sit on the moving train as they journey to their respective hustles.

One man chews on an oily puff puff. The oil froths at the corner of his lips. The wind blows off the oil and spittle right into the yawning mouth of another hustler who is looking straight ahead, lost in his own story.

The puff puff eater crumples up the soaked newspaper wrapper, tosses it away, and then proceeds to wipe his hand clean as he runs it through his uncombed Afro hair.

From on top of the refuse dump sandwiched bridge, I look with pity...but the clouds do not.

Thunder claps aloud. Lightning like stretch marks streak across the skies in the distance.

Rain comes pouring down.

Thousands of humans scamper in search of non-existent shelters.

Half an hour later, the rain is gone just like it came.

And in their thousands, they all came crawling out of their corners. Their hearts heavy with their stories. Their eyes, hopeful for a better tomorrow.

 

Hands

 

STAY ALIVE

 

Stay alive

to see the flowers bloom

to watch the sun rise

to see the rainbow

after this torturous storm.

 

Stay alive

to hear the birds sing

and to wince at the roaring markets

to hear your lover whisper

the words, "I love you".

 

Stay alive

to smell the sea

and the sweet fragrance

of a baby's powdered skin

to inhale the sweet aroma

of freshly cooked stew.

 

Stay alive

to taste the sour-sweet nectar

of agbalumo come next season.

to relish ofe onugbo, ofe nsala

and obe gbegiri and ewedu

 

Stay alive

to feel the gentle touch of the wind

the fingers of a friend

upon your cheeks.

to feel the warm embrace of life.

 

Stay indoors

Wash your hands regularly

Corona will leave soon.

Stay alive, my friends.

We shall overcome!

 

THEY'LL COME AGAIN

 

They'll come again

Like death with a sickle

Like a plague with pus

They'll come asking

For a chance to ruin your dreams.

They'll come with sweet words,

Words like candy-coated venom

The Tempters will come in 2023

But when you are about to fall

Remember the fallen of 2020

They'll come again

Like termites with steel mandibles

Like a scorpion with a thousand tails

They'll smile and wink at you

But their lips hide lethal fangs

And their winks are but triggers

That will open fire on your future

The Tempters will come in 2023

Just when you are about to fall

Remember the fallen of 2020