remember the time

In my hotel room in Manchester, I hear that Michael Jackson is in hospital... suffering from cardiac arrest...within minutes Sky News changes it breaking news to say there is an unconfirmed report from TMZ that he is dead.

I sit up in disbelief. I'm feeling weak... sick to my stomach... just like the time I found out that Princess Diana had died; another person whose end was tragic... in my mind both gave so much in life.

My phone rings... it's Niata calling from Nigeria, crying.

My blackberry starts singing again... and again... and again... I check... more new messages about Michael Jackson...

On facebook I see only one new status update... then I see another... then another... I add my own status update to facebook... more and more are updated as each minute passes.... many saying RIP MJ... some saying MJ is just in hospital... others saying don't kill him with your mouth... and one saying he's not dead until CNN says so... so I start to hope again... why? because it is the quintessentially human.

Then LA Times confirm he is gone...and finally CNN do too.

I keep watching the news; then memories of him...HIStory... his songs... come flooding into my mind...

I remember watching Thriller through my fingers as a child and being scared shitless... I remember Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna be Starting Something... I remember trying to do the moonwalk after watching Motown 25 and failing miserably. To be honest, one of the actual reasons I started learning ballet at the age of 9 was because I wanted to be an En Pointe dancer... there was nothing cooler than being able to stand up on your toes... it was MJ's signature move!!!

I remember Bad... especially, how badly I wanted to be like Tatiana Thumbtzen who featured in his music video for The Way You Make Me Feel. I remember trying to spot the stars/celebrities littered in his Liberian Girl music video... all the time forgetting that I hadn't seen Micheal Jackson until the very end. I remember his other songs like Man in the Mirror, Dirty Diana, I Just Can't Stop Loving You and of course that famous anti gravity lean in the music video for Smooth Criminal...

Please who can forget his epic song We Are the World?... not me... never me...

What about his songs from the Dangerous Album?... Black or White ... OMG, I remember Maizah trying to teach a whole bunch of us at boarding school the dance moves in the music video Remember the Time. I remember Naomi Campbell in In the Closet as well as Michael Jordon in Jam... I remember waiting endlessly to watch the UK music video exlcusive of Who Is It on TV and then thinking chai... na wa for billionaire's boys club escort agency o!!!... I remember re-playing his song Will You Be There… I played that song over and over again in my dorm room in school so I could learn the lyrics.

I remember crying to his Heal the World song... I remember his song Gone Too Soon. *sighs* ... at only 50 years old... isn't that just the truth?!

I remember the amazing visual effects in the Scream music video when it was released... just watching Janet Jackson and her older brother left me in complete awe... funnily enough, I only just watched that same video on some music channel about 2 weeks ago and still thought it to be awesome.

I remember smiling as I watched Michael Jackson's Scarecrow Ease on down the Road with Diana Ross's Dorothy in the film 'The Wiz'.

I will always remember the time I found out that Michael Jackson died.

RIP Michael Jackson... your legacy lives on... know your music was the greatest... it touched so many... the man in the mirror made that change... I'm forever your fan... even though you are gone and I can no longer Rock With You... know still... You Rock My World.

Read more...

mãe

Thinking of what to write as a tribute to you I realised that I had no idea what I could say that would express my love for you.

I wanted to write something that told you of how much I have valued your contribution to my life but nothing I thought of seemed fitting enough because words are insufficient to describe all that you have done for me.

I have watched you suffer through so much.
I have watched you sacrifice so much.
You did all this not because you had to but because you chose to for the sake of your children.
As I read Ephesians 6:10-20, I prayed that your spirit is forever fortified with the whole Armour of God.

I want you to know that your children are okay because of you.
I want you to know that I am okay because of you.
I pray that you are now able to do as it says in the bible when you turn to 1 Peter 5:7.
It says that you should ‘cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you.’

You are the mother that taught me early that great people sometimes fail but become great by acknowledging and learning from their failures. Most importantly I learnt from you that I should never let my failures get to me because I could remedy mistakes and shortcomings if I faced them head on with courage and compassion.

I grew up hearing directly from you about rights and wrongs. Like many daughters I grew up first seeking your approval, then trying to prove my independence. Now I am a little older, I realise the immense strength of character and humility you hold within you to put up with so much.

I can say whole heartedly that I am proud to be your daughter.
I can say I am truly blessed to be your child.

Today is your birthday.
Today I am jubilant with joy as I celebrate.
Today I sing the words of Psalm 95 as I give thanks to God for you.

‘O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.’

When God thought of you as a Mother, it was a thought so rich, so deep, so divine and so full of soul; one that caused your beauty and power to be concieved.

As our mother you have shed our tears and feared our fears.
As our mother you have cared for our cares and laughed our laughs.
As our mother you have lived our joys and shared in all our hopes and dreams.

All that I am,
All that I hope to be,
I owe to you.

‘Happy 60th Birthday Mummy’.

p.s
Special thanks to Jaycee and Naapali. Albeit for different reasons... Hugs :-)

Read more...

miss independence

Arise, O compatriots
Nigeria's call obey
To serve our Fatherland
With love and strength and faith
The labour of our heroes past
Shall never be in vain
To serve with heart and might
One nation bound in freedom
Peace and unity.

I haven't sang that in so very long.

I remember once as a child we had to go to a ceremony. My dad told my mother that all his children must know the words to the national anthem off by heart.

I must have been a bit older than 5 years old.

Even though I am not there anymore,
I still know those words now,
Simply because they are etched in my heart.

To your 48 years
I hear that you've been taking care of people since at least 9000 BC
To the fact that you look after about 148 million people now
Within your 36 states
Apparently you are the 8th most populous country
So when I think of all how long and how many you have nurtured
I am filled with pride.

You survived the Portuguese explorers
You survived the colonial rule of the British Empire
You survived the disequilibrium of military rule
You are silent even now as you cope with crippling corruption
Still yours is a land fueled with resources and rich in its traditions
But when I think of all the egocentricities you’ve borne
I am filled with sadness.

Apparently you are the 32nd largest country
They say your regional power cannot be ignored
That you are one of the Next Eleven
A country with an economy with great potential
So what, that China may get there before us?
Our progress is not a race but we will get there
‘Slow and steady’ my mother used to say
I hope we can help you realise your potential
I hope that in doing so we will realise ours
So when I think of what we could achieve in solidarity
I am filled with hope.

Happy Independence Day

God willing, I shall see my beloved Nigeria at Christmas.

Read more...