Friday, March 23, 2012
Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: Pictures from Funmi Iyanda's Climb to Mountain Kil...
Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: Pictures from Funmi Iyanda's Climb to Mountain Kil...: The award winning producer and broadcast journalist joined other climbers from 32 different countries on a 5day UN advocacy trek up Mountai...
Friday, February 17, 2012
In memory of Occupy Nigeria
I have always been fascinated by movie quotes and how they strike true in day to day facets of our life.
Take the movie 'Troy' for instance,where the following conversation transpired between the movies anti hero and a servant :
Messenger Boy: Are the stories true? They say your mother was an immortal goddess. They say you can't be killed.
Achilles: I wouldn't be bothering with the shield then, would I?
Messenger Boy: The Thessalonian you're fighting... he's the biggest man I've ever seen. I wouldn't want to fight him.
Achilles: That's why no-one will remember your name.
How could something which started out as a potential juggernaut for much needed change end up like a faulty fire cracker,which, after so much anticipation and sparks, fizzled out without so much as a pop?
Like in the movie quoted, the Occupy Nigeria movement came compete with its own heroes, traitors, cowards, allegations of bribery etc,but the main problem?Fear.Fear of the giant been faced.Fear of death.Fear of repercussions.
Till we eliminate the messenger boy paradigm of fear and embrace the 'Achilles school of thought',i say RIP Occupy Nigeria.
- " If you stay in Larissa, you will find peace. You will find a wonderful woman, and you will have sons and daughters, who will have children. And they'll all love you and remember your name. But when your children are dead, and their children after them, your name will be forgotten... If you go to Troy, glory will be yours. They will write stories about your victories in thousands of years! And the world will remember your name. But if you go to Troy, you will never come back... for your glory walks hand-in-hand with your doom. And I shall never see you again"
- " If you stay in Larissa, you will find peace. You will find a wonderful woman, and you will have sons and daughters, who will have children. And they'll all love you and remember your name. But when your children are dead, and their children after them, your name will be forgotten... If you go to Troy, glory will be yours. They will write stories about your victories in thousands of years! And the world will remember your name. But if you go to Troy, you will never come back... for your glory walks hand-in-hand with your doom. And I shall never see you again"
Saturday, April 2, 2011
0ur politics and lessons from the movies
Vote wisely they say,but the reality of life is that no matter how wise we vote,a clean body surrounded by oily elements will eventually be contaminated if not filtered 100%.
Sad but true,it is now glaring that our votes will not determine the winner of the now postponed election but our voices can and will start a chain reaction of revolution that will bring change eventually.
The actions that toppled government in the Northern parts of Africa did not happen in a day, but as a result of determination and mobilisation through the spreading of messages. In war,not everyone will carry a gun,or is expected to ,but even the passing of 'telegrams' and messages can bring out the soldiers that God will use to fight on the forefront of the battle. It is clear that our political parties and electoral bodies are all part of a cancer that have eaten into the country..Voting for any of them is tantamount to choosing which part of the body we prefer to be infected in.
I refuse to choose cancer of the lungs over the cancer of the throat,as at the end of the day i would have still died of cancer. I choose life and will cast my support and vote to anyone or anything that will purge us of this cancer plague. There is nothing like choosing a lesser evil as evil will always mean evil which will only grow if it is nurtured.
The time for fear is over. It is time for mobilisation. The time for 'siddon look' is done with. Degeneration began the moment our fathers and forefathers became too cowardly or greedy to fight for our future hence were we are today. Are we ready to betray our children by doing the same?
Look carefully people,everyone that is making noise and clamouring for certain parties has a stake(personal,relative,friend etc)that might benefit 'them' and them only directly by getting them a slice of the 'national cake'.
All the happenings in our country today bring to mind some notable quotes from some great movies of our time. Whether true or not,the logic behind the thinking is quite interesting and worth putting into thought. In the movie BRAVEHEART,Sir William Wallace,in response to his kins men refusing to go to battle against the english,said,"you are so content with the scraps from Long shanks table that you have missed your God given chance to something better. For the love of God,help me. If we win then we will have what none of us ever had,a country of our own".
Nigerian's let's help ourselves. We are been too content with the scraps of minimal power supply and poor infrastructure that we cannot see the feast ahead if we start having a voice that is feared. From the same movie,William Wallace refused to fight till he eventually got affected directly via the lose of his wife. Will we wait for that to happen?Can I afford for that to happen? it is also of interest to note that the war Wallace eventually 'started' actually began before he was born.
Another amazing recent occurrence in our nation ,which also reminds me of a great movie quote is the news that is making the rounds about youths been offered N200Million entertainment by a presidential candidate. When I heard that,the movie 'GLADIATOR' quickly came to mind,the scene been the one where the new emperor Commodus offers the people of Rome a 100 days of games to honour is father Marcus Aurelio(whom he incidentally murdered).Two senators,Graccus and Falco (I think) have a discussion in which Falco complains about the suffering of the people and instead what they get are games,to which Senator Graccus says,"Commodus knows the mob ,he will give them death and they will love him for it".A master stroke if you ask me because a youth system that is busy celebrating and partying cannot fight or win a war .A nation with a drunk ,partying back bone has already lost the plot. Who,I might ask is the strength of a nation?Enough of distractions
Napoleone Bornaparte,on conquering Elba stated,"able was i,err i saw Elba".How able are we to see and conquer our own Elba?
Finally,on the issue of taking action,one of the greatest quotes comes from a highly underrated movie "V FOR VENDETTA" in explaining what needs to be done to achieve fulfilment. The lead character,simply known as 'V' is been repeatedly shot at point blank by the corrupt government officials in the brilliant finale to the movie.On noticing that he is not falling,the head of police asks,"why don't you die"?,to which 'V' answers by saying,"Underneath this mask there is more than flesh. Underneath this mask,there is an idea,and ideas are bullet proof".Man will die,but if ideas are set in motion and made to manifest,they will never die.
The idea is to spread and instill a vision of fighting ill's that we have started viewing as normal,the idea is to fight selfish bigotted leaders who are only interested in their own future.The idea is to make the terrain clean for genuine leaders to have a chance.
The idea is to fight for a course,a belief,a future,a destiny,our children,our country,our life.
God bless Nigeria!!!
Sad but true,it is now glaring that our votes will not determine the winner of the now postponed election but our voices can and will start a chain reaction of revolution that will bring change eventually.
The actions that toppled government in the Northern parts of Africa did not happen in a day, but as a result of determination and mobilisation through the spreading of messages. In war,not everyone will carry a gun,or is expected to ,but even the passing of 'telegrams' and messages can bring out the soldiers that God will use to fight on the forefront of the battle. It is clear that our political parties and electoral bodies are all part of a cancer that have eaten into the country..Voting for any of them is tantamount to choosing which part of the body we prefer to be infected in.
I refuse to choose cancer of the lungs over the cancer of the throat,as at the end of the day i would have still died of cancer. I choose life and will cast my support and vote to anyone or anything that will purge us of this cancer plague. There is nothing like choosing a lesser evil as evil will always mean evil which will only grow if it is nurtured.
The time for fear is over. It is time for mobilisation. The time for 'siddon look' is done with. Degeneration began the moment our fathers and forefathers became too cowardly or greedy to fight for our future hence were we are today. Are we ready to betray our children by doing the same?
Look carefully people,everyone that is making noise and clamouring for certain parties has a stake(personal,relative,friend etc)that might benefit 'them' and them only directly by getting them a slice of the 'national cake'.
All the happenings in our country today bring to mind some notable quotes from some great movies of our time. Whether true or not,the logic behind the thinking is quite interesting and worth putting into thought. In the movie BRAVEHEART,Sir William Wallace,in response to his kins men refusing to go to battle against the english,said,"you are so content with the scraps from Long shanks table that you have missed your God given chance to something better. For the love of God,help me. If we win then we will have what none of us ever had,a country of our own".
Nigerian's let's help ourselves. We are been too content with the scraps of minimal power supply and poor infrastructure that we cannot see the feast ahead if we start having a voice that is feared. From the same movie,William Wallace refused to fight till he eventually got affected directly via the lose of his wife. Will we wait for that to happen?Can I afford for that to happen? it is also of interest to note that the war Wallace eventually 'started' actually began before he was born.
Another amazing recent occurrence in our nation ,which also reminds me of a great movie quote is the news that is making the rounds about youths been offered N200Million entertainment by a presidential candidate. When I heard that,the movie 'GLADIATOR' quickly came to mind,the scene been the one where the new emperor Commodus offers the people of Rome a 100 days of games to honour is father Marcus Aurelio(whom he incidentally murdered).Two senators,Graccus and Falco (I think) have a discussion in which Falco complains about the suffering of the people and instead what they get are games,to which Senator Graccus says,"Commodus knows the mob ,he will give them death and they will love him for it".A master stroke if you ask me because a youth system that is busy celebrating and partying cannot fight or win a war .A nation with a drunk ,partying back bone has already lost the plot. Who,I might ask is the strength of a nation?Enough of distractions
Napoleone Bornaparte,on conquering Elba stated,"able was i,err i saw Elba".How able are we to see and conquer our own Elba?
Finally,on the issue of taking action,one of the greatest quotes comes from a highly underrated movie "V FOR VENDETTA" in explaining what needs to be done to achieve fulfilment. The lead character,simply known as 'V' is been repeatedly shot at point blank by the corrupt government officials in the brilliant finale to the movie.On noticing that he is not falling,the head of police asks,"why don't you die"?,to which 'V' answers by saying,"Underneath this mask there is more than flesh. Underneath this mask,there is an idea,and ideas are bullet proof".Man will die,but if ideas are set in motion and made to manifest,they will never die.
The idea is to spread and instill a vision of fighting ill's that we have started viewing as normal,the idea is to fight selfish bigotted leaders who are only interested in their own future.The idea is to make the terrain clean for genuine leaders to have a chance.
The idea is to fight for a course,a belief,a future,a destiny,our children,our country,our life.
God bless Nigeria!!!
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