Last Post for the Year 2011

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Saturday, December 31, 2011

Today marks the last day of the year 2011. Its been a totally awesome year of unlimited breakthroughs for me. Its been most memorable for a number of things most importantly the following:

1. The arrival of my first son and second child, A.Y.

 With elder sister Timi @ 3 months

With his elder sister Timi @ 7 months

2. My Kid brother's wedding

3. My Dad's ordination as a Deacon in church. 

4. My Bro-in-law gains admission into Landmark University
and becomes an outstanding student

There are many others which can't be pictorially represented. I had been bugging my mind over what to make of this last post and entry for the year until I came across this video by google seems like the best way to sum it all up. Though it may not have covered exactly everything, but the major fact here is that We made it through 2011...and for that I'm so grateful to God.

See you in 2012!

Driving in Lagos 101

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Every Nigerian who's ever lived in Lagos knows the streets and motorists are CRAZY. So I got this hilarious list some time back which I never remembered to post. Well...the holiday season seems like a good time for this to be put up! Get educated...and LOL your head off.

 

 
1. When in doubt, accelerate!


2. Be prepared to ram anything stoping you wearing uniform in Lagos (police, traffic warden,FRSC, Kai brigade, fire brigade, VIO, lastma, lamata, laswa, even lawma sef)


3. If you get caught by any chance, DO NOT allow them to enter your car, if they happen to get in DO NOT drive from that spot (vere off traffic & settle 5hun), and if they don’t agree, form calling your uncle who is in the army (believe me it always works), never follow them to ANY sort of office except you wanna pay X10


4. Never give police or VIO your original particulars (whether expired or up to date)

5. Danfo drivers believe they are immortal. NEVER yield to the temptation to teach them otherwise.


6. Okada riders have a pact with suicide, avoid them like a plaque


7. Avoid BRT buses in all ramifications, they have NO brakes


8. Taxi cabs (oko asewo) should always have the right of way, all of them have been driving in Lagos for 25yrs.


9. Never, ever, stop for a pedestrian unless he flings himself under the wheels of your car.


10. The first parking space you see will be the last parking space you see. Grab it. Survival of the fittest you may say!


11. Learn to swerve abruptly. In Lagos, potholes (and sometimes car-holes) are put in key locations to test drivers’ reflexes and shock absorbers,( I saw one man fishing in one of the potholes last week).

12. There is no such thing as “one-way”in Lagos. Expect traffic from any direction at all times. The okada riders are the experts in this area.


13. Never get in the way of a car that needs extensive bodywork, except you want to spend ur whole saturday @ the panel beater’s place.


14. Morning rush-hours are equivalent to Lagos grand prix (who gets to the junction first)

15. There is no such thing as a short-cut during rush-hour traffic in Lagos. Everybody might be inclined to take that ’short-cut’.


16. When asking for directions, always ask at least 3 people. Lagosians ALWAYS claim to know every inch of the city – even areas they’ve never been to.


17. Use extreme caution when pulling into service lanes. Service lanes are not for breaking down the traffic, but for speeding, especially during rush hour.


18. Never use directional signals, since they only confound and distract other Lagos drivers, who are not used to them.

19. Similarly, never attempt to give hand signals. Lagos drivers, unused to such courtesies, will think you are making obscene gestures to them. This could be very bad for you in Lagos.


20. Hazard lights (popularly called “double pointer”) is not, (as commonly supposed) used to indicate a hazard. It is a warning to you that he is a bona fide Lagos driver, he’s headed ’straight’ and as such, will not stop under any circumstance. Take him extremely seriously especially if he backs it up with a continuous blast from his “horn”.


21. At any given time, do not stand on the zebra crossing expecting traffic to yield to you, or else you will have to explain to the on coming traffic whether you look like a zebra.


22. Speed limits are arbitrary figures posted only to make you feel guilty.

23. Remember that the goal of every driver is to get there first by whatever means necessary.


24. In Las Gidi every spot is a potential bus stop. FRSC and LASTMA know that too. It is in their constitution.


25. Above all, keep moving. Even with a flat tire!!!


26. HORNING IN LAGOS

- ‘Horn’ when someone executes a dangerous manoeuvre.

- ‘Horn’ when you’re about to move off.

- ‘Horn’ when you’re about to overtake.

- ‘Horn’ when someone is about to overtake you.

- ‘Horn’ when turning into a road.

- ‘Horn’ when emerging from a road.

- ‘Horn’ back when someone horns at you. It’s considered good etiquette.

- ‘Horn’ when you hear a chorus of horns. Don’t worry if you don’t know what all the ‘horning’ is about.

- ‘Horn’ when you’re happy.

- ‘Horn’ to the beat when you’re playing music in your car.


27. Don't take everything on this list too seriously!






Images Sources
Toonpool.com
Jamaicanpolice.com
Davegranlund.com
nigeriaplus.com
cartoonaday.com



5 Similarities Between Beer And Football

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Warning! You might find this post offensive if you are a soccer or beer lover!

So don't blast me for airing my opinion...lol!

People seemed to be under the spell of these two subject matters. I remember the day some guys invited me to drink with them and when I told them I don't drink they looked at me as if i had committed abomination and affirmed that I was not a 'guy'. (What ever the hell that meant!)

Then one day I'm seated at my desk and someone walks in and on seeing a match playing on the office TV asks me what I think about the match played between 'this team' and 'that team'. I told him I'm not into football and he looked at me as if I had made a sacriledgious statement. He even proded another guy to tell him 'Can you believe that he's not into football?'

That pissed me off. Seriously...what is the big deal with football? Why is it a do or die affair?

It got me thinking strongly. Eventually I came to the conclusion that soccer was just as pointless as alcohol with this list.

1. Both have ‘shrines’ where they are worshipped by loyalists. Visit beer parlours after work hours and you’re bound to see devotees of the green and brown bottles sitting at tables and engaging in the periodic ritual of alcohol consumption. Visit any soccer viewing centre during any Nigerian match or during the leagues or premierships, or just check out any shop that has a TV on display showing the match, you’ll find people glued to the screen and chattering over facts of the game like nothing mattered more in the world.


2. Both have nasty consequences when taken to the extreme. What is likely to happen when a disagreement or hot argument breaks out between fans of opposing football teams? And what happens when a beer drinker has had too much beer than he can take – especially if he has to drive home? I leave the rest to your imagination.

3. Both are addictive. I’ve seen the way some of my colleagues are anxious for the closing hours to draw near because they have urgent appointments at bars or beer parlours; I’ve seen how when someone is doing his or her birthday and shares soft drinks round, a number of guys feel insulted that no beer was offered as an option. And I’ve seen how a match that’s starting on TV can make guys in the office gather round a screen, forgetting where they are, forgetting who’s Oga and who’s junior. Place three or four guys that like soccer together in a room and give one of them a sports magazine, soon the room will turn into a football analysis and discussion arena.

4. Both are a waste of time that people don’t see as a waste of time. I think this is better understood if we were to define soccer and beer from another truthful point of view. So what is Soccer? It is an event where people pay to go and watch 20 or more grown men kick a piece of leather ball about. The players get paid for kicking the ball about. The fans don’t get paid for dancing, screaming and supporting. And beer? Beer is just water mixed with some extracts that is bottled and sold to people who think they need it. And while the breweries, bars and parlours are making good money, the drinkers are paying good money to get…well nothing, just drunken with disorders and pot-bellied.

5. Both are partners in crime. Seen the latest Naija Harp beer TV ad where three guys supporting a certain football club enter a bar filled with supporters of the opposing team watching the match on TV? The opposing team supporters look menacingly at them as they come in. Then they also order for a Harp which everyone happens to be drinking and that’s when they all break into smiles. It’s amazing how football too can make enemies unite together to achieve one aim – scream their heads off over how grown men kicking a leather ball can make some ‘meaningful’ impact. Picture this familiar scene: A match is about to start in a guy’s house. Friends come over to gather in the living room to watch…what else? Beer surfaces and they all settle down...usual huh?

Well...with these few yarns of mine I hope I've been able to confirm and not confuse you that beer and football get strange similarities!

10 Ways to avoid Naija Police from holding you up at a Checkpoint

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, November 29, 2011

If you’ve ever driven about Lagos (Nigeria) a lot, chances are you’ve come across our ‘ambitious’ law enforcement officers in black who mount road blocks in different places on our highways and spend time doing what they call ‘stop and search’ routine – even when it was banned some time ago by their ‘Oga’.


There’s actually nothing wrong in stopping and searching motorists. But it would make more sense if this routine was because of some security threat or so.

Well, most times there are no security reasons for mounting a road block. As a matter of fact most police checkpoints are no different from illegally located kiosks hustling to make some cash.

And when you happen to be a motorist with all your documents complete, they look for a way to still peg an offence on you. The whole aim is to get you to bribe your way out of the unnecessary predicament. And even if they don’t succeed in pegging you down, they sure know how to waste your precious time over senseless issues.


So how can you stop police from stopping you at any checkpoint? Here are some tried tips that may work!

1. When approaching a checkpoint and you happen to have your girlfriend or spouse next to you, the two of you should deliberately start an argument and make sure its heated such that you’re yelling at each other. When the cops see you, they don’t bother stopping you. They don’t like being in the middle of domestic issues.



2. If you can afford to carry a kid or kids along on your trip, do so. They work like magic. Each time I carry little Timi and A.Y along, they dare not stop me. Children seem to charm them or maybe make them feel too guilty to stop a Parent and harass a bribe out of him or her.



3. This one works for you if you’re a Christian. Pop in a powerful message tape or CD by a powerful Pastor and get spiritual. If you get waved to stop, smile at the officer and say something like; ‘Good day my brother. How is work? You are blessed in Jesus name!’ and then offer him a tract of flier. You ask why? It’s because they see ‘men of God’ as ‘bad market’ because they will never give bribe since it is forbidden by God.







4. This one is similar to No. 2. When you’re with a heavily pregnant woman, they don’t waste time with you. Did I mention something earlier about staying away from personal domestic issues? This one sort of amplifies it, especially when you’re checking on the pregnant lady now and again to be sure that she’s okay. You might cut the picture that you’re hurrying someone in labour to the hospital.



5. If you have car that’s black or dark blue in color, stick a small flag on your dashboard or antenna or any other conspicuous place and wear a stern face when you drive. They’re usually apprehensive about stopping cars that might turn out to be a top ranking Police or military officer or a highly placed government official.

6. If you have a driver, always make sure you sit at the ‘owner’s corner’. This either creates the same effect as No. 5 or just creates the assumption that anyone who has a driver would probably make sure vehicle papers are updated because the driver would have complained about it.



7. If you have access to new model vehicle, drive it more often. Police love to target ‘tokuboh cars’ (imported used cars) since most of them are usually smuggled and would lack one paper or the other. Oh...and did you know that the Police have a way of knowing when you've just bought a 'tokunboh'? Yes...the secret lies in the numbers on your number plate.A brand new vehicle is just ‘bad market’ as it would come with everything needed to be documented. And then if you’re driving a new model that’s actually a ‘tokunboh’ then you're one lucky son of a gun!

8. Have some nicely grilled suya or something edible in the car and the moment the Police stops you, start eating it, greet him politely and offer him some. Don’t forget to say something like, ‘Well done oh officer! Please join me oh. I can’t finish this suya.’ He might laugh and have some or just wave you to go after just peeping your boot.



9. Just as you are about approaching a checkpoint, stop your car a few metres away, come down and walk towards the checkpoint to make inquiries from the officer about a road or area that you are trying to locate. After the officer(s) has finished giving you directions thank him or them wholeheartedly, get back into your car and drive off. They wouldn’t think of stopping you after you’ve appreciated them and made them so significant.



10. Once stopped at a checkpoint, smile politely at the officer and say, ‘Good day officer. Would you like to see my papers or should I drop something for the boys?’ Hey, it’s not a bribe, just you offering to drop a tip so they can leave you on time. Besides, it’s an offer that a hungry policeman can’t refuse.



I’ll still advise that you have all your papers complete should in case any of these tips fail. I’m not advocating for breaking the law oh. And I’m not guaranteeing that all of them will work all the time. See them just as strategies to get through time-wasting checkpoints.

Have any other strategies you use to keep the cops at bay at checkpoints? Let’s hear ‘em in your comments!



Images courtesy:
Kayode Ogundamisi
hrw.org
Associated Press

LASTMA Drives Bus Driver Nuts (NSFW!)

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, November 14, 2011

If you've ever lived in Lagos and driven round the city,

chances are you've encountered road forces such as

the Nigerian Police, LASTMA, FRSC, VIOs amongst others.

Falling into the hands of these people can be hell, especially when

they ask you for unecessary and irrelevant documents all with the 

aim of making you part with some cash. To the corrupt ones, 

every offender guilty or not is an opportunity. 

 I'm not saying Naija motorists don't break laws, infact we are notorious

for breaking them, especially those crazy drivers of yellow commuter buses.

But even when we wise up and decide to be law-abiding,

these road forces will always be there to drive you nuts!

Bus drivers have suffered a lot in their hands. This bus driver lost it

when he encountered LASTMA after loosing cash to FRSC officials

who stopped him earlier. I don't know if he broke the rules

but after going nuts over being pulled over and displaying raw vexation 

by shedding his clothes in rage and planting his big butt before his bus,

you can't help but pity the poor guy.

WARNING!: Graphic Video

This is definitely a proven fact that LASTMA can drive you NUTS!

Welcome to Lagos - the home of traffic madness!



Water Pass Garri for Police Officer

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, November 11, 2011

I've got this video on my phone and it just never fails to crack me up whenever I watch it again and again.
If you're feeling down, this just might be something to split your sides. Can't figure out which movie it's from.



Honestly...this Nkem guy dey craze!

Misyarning by accident

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, October 31, 2011

Somewhere around Lagos an old woman is waiting to board a bus. A bus pulls up and the conductor begins to yell out its destination.

‘Amukoko! Amukoko! Enter with your change oh!’

The old woman suddenly charges at the conductor and admonishes him to keep quiet and stop shouting ‘Amukoko’.

The confused conductor avoids her thinking she must be a mad person. He jumps his bus and orders the driver to take off.

Another bus pulls up and this conductor calls out in a more husky voice thickened by massive consumption of ogogoro.

‘Aaamukokooo! Aaamukokoo!’

The elderly woman suddenly becomes incensed and launches out angrily at the conductor.

‘Shut up! Na Amukoko go kill you!’

The conductor was dumbfounded. He looked at his driver, the bewildered passengers and back at the old woman.

‘Ah ha…Mama wetin I do now?’

‘You dey shout Amukoko, you still dey ask me wetin you do?’

By now a crowd gathered to find out what the commotion was about. Apparently the word ‘Amukoko’ according to the old woman meant ‘T*t* water’ (Vagina secretion) in her own language!



In a country like ours with such a vast diversity of tribes, one word in one place could mean another thing elsewhere which probably means we should be careful how we say words and where we say them.

I was watching TV last week and saw the video of a Naija artiste called Jaywon. When I saw the title of the song (Tinko Angel) I burst into laughter. Maybe the title was meant to be a cool reference to the chick he was singing about but it got me wondering if he knew what ‘Tinko’ meant or he actually just thought it sounded cool.

As far as I was concerned, he shouldn’t have used that as the title because ‘Tinko’ is the name given to small pieces of goat meat that’s preserved in a dried up state. So is Jaywon calling his babe a small piece of dried-up goat meat?

What of the popular story of a Hausa man telling a Yoruba friend in Yoruba that he is grateful to the friend’s wife for giving him corn to eat – which because of the Hausa man’s accent sounded he was grateful to the friend’s wife for having sex? Unless you never went to a Nigerian secondary school you probably have never heard that story.

I could say we should watch what we say and know what they mean before we say it but what about the case of locations like ‘Amukoko’ ?

Myne's Birthday Photoshop!

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, October 28, 2011

How man ways can we say Happy Birthday to woman that's marking time in the sands of Naija's literary world? Okay...I missed the birthday by a day but I still decided to wish Myne a happy birthday by giving her a gift...so Kimson and I got together and started thinking what to do. We could have done a portrait for her but that would take time and birthday fever might expire by the time we finished.

So we thought of something else - why don't we do different photoshops of Myne's pic for her birthday?

I present to you our 'lazy effort' - the Myne Whitman Birthday Photoshop series...

This is the original photo of Myne

We call this the glitter version

We call this the pencil version

This is the charcoal version

Diffused version

Water Colored version

The 'pencil version' is our favourite.

Happy (belated) Birthday Myne Whitman!

From Kush & Kimson

Building Collapses in Maryland, Lagos.

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, October 27, 2011

A Building located in Maryland opposite Channels TV station Collapsed Yesterday.

Nobody was confirmed trapped in the building.

I've always seen this building and had never suspected

that it wasn't strong. Looks can surely decieve.

Images courtesy Edgal Enahoro. (Saharareporters)

British Comedy predicted Gadaffi's Death in 1987

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, October 24, 2011

It definitely looks like a coincidence but I seriously doubt it. This is not the first time that a movie or sitcom would predict something that would happen later on in the annals of history. There have been many instances of these 'strange coincidences' like the TV action drama titled 'The Lone Gunmen' which predicted the World Trade Centre bombing, a 50 year old cartoon which predicted the economic depression that happened a few years back, Stanley Kubrick's 1968 movie '2001, A Space Odyssey' which showcased the Ipad years before Steve Jobs made it happen, the 1989 sci-fi blockbuster 'Back to the Future 2' amazingly predicted a vast number of things currently existing today.

That Moammar Gadaffi is dead today is no longer news and everywhere people are talking about it. Strangely, an old British Sitcom in 1987 predicted Gadaffi's death! Though it missed the month, it still got the year - 2011! Another strange coincidence. And from the way St. Peter spoke, it sounded as if there was a plan to eliminate him at the arranged date...'Colonel Gadaffi...dead at last!'

Check it out in the video below...




Creepy isn't it?

Anniversaary!

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Hooray! Today marks my WHITE WEDDING ANIVERSARY.

I'm so grateful to the most high for giving me the best wife a man can have

and for blessing it with the most georgeous kids a father can have.

Oh...and that pix is the actual pic taken at our wedding and not a library photo

...that is to say, you are actually seeing my hand and wifey's hand in blissful matrimony right there.

3 years and it just gets sweeter!

The Pastor with a...purpose

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, October 10, 2011

Been busy as heck this month and the last. That's why my blog has been on partial hiatus...However, I never forgot this precious place.

I came across this video that got me cracking. Seriously, this is the kind of show I would love to start in Naija; a whole new kind of comedy involving spoofing puppets...lol!



Okay, God's work is a serious matter and I don't joke with it but when you come across fakes, you can't help laffing at how mugu people can be!

KAI causes accident on Sanitation day

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, September 26, 2011

Day before yesterday was the last saturday of the month which in Lagos was supposed to be environmental sanitation day. But it had been announced on news that sanitation would not hold. Despite that, people did not come out and the streets were kind of deserted. However, the paramilitary group know as KAI (Kick Against Indiscipline), stationed between Obanikoro and Savoil bus stop still came out to enforce the rule for people not to go out. 

Ikorodu Road on Sanitation day

KAI officials harrassing a street trader.
Image courtesy: sharpedgenews.com

They went about placing sticks and tires to block the Ikorodu expressway despite the fact that sanitation had been called off and that some cars had started moving.

Along comes this Lexus driven by a young Naval officer in mufti along the expressway. The man failed to notice the iron rod placed across the road...his car climbs it...it bursts his tyre and the car goes into multiple sommersault!

It eventually came to rest across the BRT lane. Instantly the KAI guys beat a hasty retreat and quickly disappeared from the spot. Fortunately, the driver was unhurt but badly shaken.

Navy colleagues who heard of what happened reacted and attacked the nearby office of KAI. They smashed the windscreen of the KAI truck and set one of the staff's cars on fire. All the KAI personnel had already vamoosed from the scene so the office was empty.

I was able to capture footage of the aftermath of the accident on camera phone...sorry for the bad quality.  

This is not the first time KAI people would be the cause of some crisis. There have been several incidents of which the most recent involved a clash at Yaba market forcing the government to close it down.

Are the KAI guys getting out of hand?

The Cartoonist...3

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, September 22, 2011

Whew! What a hiatus! I've been so busy it kept me away from blogging for September! Anyways...I just decided to post this last installment of my old cartoons which as I've said earlier were drawn by crude means(pencil, pen and color pencils then scanned). This set I drew as a parody of some notable Nigerian celebrities as at the time. Well...some are still there in the limelight today. What do you think?

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The Cartoonist...2

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, August 29, 2011

More toons attempted by me from my archive....My tools where a HB pencil, black bic biro, color pencils - crude bunch. Thanks to my inability to use photoshop at that time!

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The Scary Price of Fame?

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, August 12, 2011

Check out the lyrics of this song by Jojo.
What do understand by this song and what do you think??
I'd ike to get people's opinion on this.



Recently a colleague was telling me of the rumoured story of a popular Nigerian gospel artiste who was said to have sacrificed his beloved mum for fame.

Another of a popular Nigerian rapper who involved himself in occultic moves to stay ahead in the rap game.

Is this happening everywhere? If so, I wonder how many Naija artistes have ventured into the dark side...

The Cartoonist...To return or not? 1

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Someone once asked me if there was anything that I couldn't do simply because I was exhibiting all manner of skills - what people would refer to as multi-talent. I never saw myself as that; I rather saw myself as being adventurous and trying out all manner of things. To my surprise, I've found out that there are things I could do that I never thought would be as good as some people claim it to be.

I decided to go down memory lane and take a look at things I had ventured into in the past. A good one was cartooning. I had always wanted to be an artist but my Dad felt artists were hungry people (well, as at that time it seemed so.) So I veered away from the fine arts and went after the literary arts.

But it was hard to stay away from some aspects of fine art. I delved into drawing and explored mostly the aspect of cartooning. It was during that period I came up with these cartoons which I drew way back. I didn't know how to use drawing software to create these. So I just drew on paper and scanned it onto the PC, did a little brush-up with photoshop and I was done.

I has developed a drawing style and was becoming consistent. But I somehow stopped because I wasn't sure if it was going anywhere. Now looking at these drawings I did way back, I'm begining to wonder...do I go back to drawing cartoons...and even if I did, is there a point to keeping on with it?

I guess I need reasons to keep on or just forget it.

Suggestions anyone?

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