Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Elebele, a home to all

Like a diamond streaked with earth
Whose beauty is concealed beneath
Like a tiny twinkling star
Whose greatness is above par
Like a ship that dots the sea
Loaded with treasures only few see
Such and more is Elebele
Having a history beyond a ballet
Though with a size that shrinks a town
Yet has a most humbling brawn
Like a city set on a hidden hill
And from within others look small
The hometown of many great men
Men whose lives make them a gem
A big heart, and to strangers well psyched
Playing host to strangers and companies alike
And like a dream waiting to be born
Is very peaceful with hardly a turn
Everyone knows everyone like a joint
Even an awkward description will hit the point
Here everyday is a new day
No one's got time for yesterday
Everyone lives in a fluid harmony
Whether you have too little or too much money
Even the clouds and rain do testify
Though at a rather alarming frequency
And through the heart of the town is a stream
That flows right through the back of every home
And unknown to the many that travel through the town
Who do not see beyond the structures and busy crowd
Nor beyond the Shell, Bayelsa Palm, AIT and plastic industry
Nor the numerous stores and small scale retail industry
Is that this is a land flowing with milk and honey
Though in ways unusual and yet lovely
The milk of friendliness and opportunities
And the honey of dreams and pleasant realities

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

My adventure to Nembe and Brass Islands in Bayelsa state

As you'll most likely know (if you have read my previous posts) I am currently running my compulsory one year NYSC scheme in Bayelsa state as a Mathematics teacher in a community school, Elebele. Well, towards the end of the month of July, the school rounded up for the session we (both teachers and students) were given a two months holiday. Though, I spent the majority of the days in those two months in my lodge, I managed to summon enough courage to withdraw all my allowee for the month of August and go for a daring adventure across rivers and sea to Nembe and Brass Islands in Bayelsa state.
So in this essay of mine, I am only going to focus on the 10 days out of the two months that I spent on this adventure. I am not going to bore you with lots of words but with pictures.

DAY 1
It was a Sunday, after service I took the life jacket I had borrowed for the adventure and a small bag containing a trouser, 2 undershirts, shirts, phone chargers for my 2 phones, two combs, over 10 batteries and my Samsung S630 point-and-shoot camera, and headed for the dock. I took a speedboat to Ogbolomabiri, Nembe Island. The journey was one hour across a very might river, during the journey we had to move from one speedboat to another right in the middle of the river! I slept over at the corpers lodge.
















DAY 2
I hard arrived at Ogbolomabiri in Nembe a day before (Day 1), so in the morning I headed for Bassambiri, Nembe. I slept over at the corpers lodge there.








DAY 3
In the morning I headed for Twon-Brass in Brass, I decided to rest and prepare for the next day. So I didn't snap much pictures.


DAY 4
I stayed indoors chatting with fellow corpers and watching movies


DAY 5
I attended their community development service (CDS) programme for the week. Then, I went to the much talked about AGIP terminal where Corpers are given free daily meals morning, afternoon and evening.


DAY 6
I went to the fishing community in Imbikiri town. I was told if I come back in October, I will eat lots of fish to the extent that I will loathe fish. And I was amazed to see a white garment church where the sermon is conducted in Yoruba language. Most of the fishermen are from Ilaje, Ondo state.




DAY 7
I went to the popular Okpoama, the hometown of the current Bayelsa state governor (Timipre Silva). It is also popular because it has a very wide beach where parties hold every Sunday night. I slept over at the corpers lodge in the police barrack (the lodge is actually one of the blocks in the police barrack).





DAY 8
I went for church service at St. Paul Anglican Church, Okpoama. After service, I went to see the beach club, it was been cleaned and decorated for the party that will happen that night. Later in the evening, I went back to Twon Brass. I also made up my mind to go back to Elebele (where I am serving and my lodge is) in order to stop living on the fellow corpers like me who don't even earn up to me ('cos I do a lot of small businesses and private teaching) but are feeding me heavily.



DAY 9
I had a tough time convincing my hosts that I had to travel the next day.

DAY 10
I finally prevailed over them to let me go back to Elebele. They all followed me out of the lodge, we snapped pictures on the way and also at the dock.




It was actually my first time across water on a boat and I ended up spending about 3 hours aggregate onboard the speedboat. I also experienced the sea waves splashing against the boat as we journeyed to and fro Brass Island.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Can this really be me?

I know that I am a bunch of surprises
Surprises that leave my friends dazed for days
I know that I am quite unpredictable
Though majorly in ways quite desirable
I know very well that I'm a change freak
With a mind that flutters with each clock tick
I'm convinced my mind has its own mind
Though now I do not seem to mind
As long has it stays within its bounds
And is quick to perceive the outer sounds
I know I think way to much
Though with efforts not much
And my thoughts daily shape me
Into the man I desire to be
Though the changes occur very slowly
In ways observable to me only
But today as I looked myself in the mirror
Examining the last six months and more
My exclamation couldn't help but be
Can this really be me?

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

A dream come true

My life is fraught with dreams
Collections of well coordinated stray thoughts
Aspirations made more fluid than streams
Wishes in the fjord of reality caught
Desires seeking expression in my future
Dreams I daily run through in my mind
Constituting my second most valued treasure
And to the world have they made me blind
But surprisingly, I discovered today
During my daily meditation routine
After thinking back several days
Analyzing my life and looking within
That one of my dreams, a weird one
A really funny self-aggrandizing dream
That makes me feel nobler than King John
But has a chance of fulfillment that's slim
And now it has come true
Even truer than in the dream
Giving me hope of seeing more dreams come true

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

How I spent my mid-Term-break

How I spent my mid Term break First. In the morning when I was asleep my mom wake me up and told me to go and take my baet and I woke up and took my baet and I woke up and took my baet dress up and my father and mom tuok me and go to yenegia. First thing I sour is Children dancing. Not only that I sour my friends. So day told me to dance. So I danced and win a prise. called Clock I was so happy I have fun and I see more than that my mom also took me to misstabiss I eat and drink with my friends many many fun that I have I sweem in sweeming pull God I so much love my perence because day give The best thing in life I have much fun. I sour father Crissmass two mony things. that is How I spend my MID TERM BREAK,
God buy

A very funny essay by one of my students

My name is eluina Afuga I am in J.S.S.1B I am writing on How I SPENT my MID-TERM Break. I went to Church on Sunday on Saturday I went to the market to buy somethings and on Thursday I went to Lagos and sent my children day on Thursday 27 of may we went to misser Beans in lagos and in paperoni I eat Chicking and fieaded rice and we dance in lagos we saw ninienia in lagos she sing a song I like are vioce and we went home on firday we eat rice and beans I went to visit my friend her name is mary she like me we play to gether and eat together in lagos I Like lagos because I have many of my momin friend they buy me a doll too. the childre play and dance I saw my friend Ruth Naomi and franka Joselin I se sailas I went to the Zoo I saw a elephat, horses, chimpaze and lions monkeys and griffe

Monday, May 3, 2010

NYSC PLATOON THREE MEDITATION: JEALOUSY

Jealousy, it is best described as a cancer
It starts small and grows big overtime
It is simply the bad side of envy
That seeks to destroy what it does not have
Jealousy is as old as mankind
It made Abel kill his brother Cain
It destroys nations, families, friends and all in its path
The cause of the bloodiest war in heaven among the angels
The cause of Hitler's hatred for the prosperous jews
The reason for France, Portugal and Britain's colonization
The driving force of Napoleon's mission
The foundation of Nigeria's recurrent internal crisis
That nearly cost us our nationhood in 1967
Leaving a big crack in our wall of unity
It is the cause of many political assassinations
Robbing us of the brightest and most willing minds
It is the source of man's most  cruel hatred
Leaving families and friends irreparably damaged
Ruining lives and unborn generations in ways untold
Though nothing is immune to its corrosive touch
It relies heavily on lack of understanding
And cannot exist where there is love and hope
So as our nation's hope and future leaders
We must avoid the mistakes of our predecessors
We must deny Jealousy the environment it seeks
We must develop healthy interpersonal relationships
And in all ways eschew this evil called Jealousy
                     GOD BLESS NIGERIA!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

I have never been this confused

The past three months were unusual
I was very bothered about my NYSC
About where my posting will be
Where my state of deployment will be
I knew what I do not want
But was confused about what I want
I got a plum job offer at NSN
A job worth maneuvering for
I felt like lobbying for Lagos state
That was the beginning of my confusion
“Is it right or wrong to influence my posting?”
Though I felt it's not very very right
But I concluded that it's not wrong
As long has I do not bribe anyone for it
But will my desperate parents know that limit
“What does God think about all these?”
Have faith and do only the right thing
Now this led to the peak of my confusion
I believe influencing is not wrong
And so must be right
And doing the right thing is not being faithless
Not influencing is more right
But folding my arms is very hard
Having faith is of many levels
One is to abandon everything to God
Another is to submit everything to God
But both involves God taking control
Not influencing will be abandoning
That I won't even bother about the posting
Influencing will be submitting
That regardless of my efforts only God's will be done
And in my opinion both are alright
But I prefer the later
The later will involve my parents and other people
Whom I have little control over their actions
And they all have high tendency to bribe on my behalf
This makes the option I prefer
Most likely not what God will desire me to choose
And now I am most confused about everything

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

My greatest treasure

There is one thing I treasure greatly
Far more than all other things
The only thing I cling to closely
Its joy in my heart daily rings
My life without is unimaginable
It is the essence of my life
Its importance is simply indescribable
The source of innumerable repreive
The hope I daily walk in
The comfort I never lack
The fortress I live in
The strength beyond my back
In it lies my aspirations
The dreams of who I ought to be
The reward for my perspirations
The assurance of who I will be
My light in every tunnel
My map in every wilderness
Though in it we quarrel
We are quick to seek redress
It might not be the best it can be
But its the best I've ever had
To be so dear in another's plan
The closeness that makes me glad
And it is my relationship with God

Thursday, January 14, 2010

NEVER BEEN THIS CLOSE TO CHANGE

The last eight months have been change filled for me
I've been experiencing changes at a rate that dazes me
My entire belief system has been almost totally restructured
My perception of what is Right and Wrong has been altered
I seem detached from my world in a rather more intimate way
A little happy and a little sad are the extremes of my mood sway
I am more concerned with what happens around me than within me
The me I see in my dreams of the future is sometimes uneviable to me
I try to bridge the gap between who I am and who I want to be
I am more moved by what I read and hear than what I see
I constantly neglect the promptings of my emotion
To always enable me make sound and reasonable decision
Though I know cannot keep neglecting it forever
I just don't know if it will be the same me or another
Even my mind seems to have a mind of its own
stealing me away with its unique thoughts and tone
The world seems larger and larger each day
And I become more insignificant in its way
Though I like the man I am growing into
But I do not like the world I am moving into
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