Bring Back Our Girls - Across the Globe [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, May 08, 2014

One of my readers asked me why I haven't done anything on the missing school girls of Chibok and I tolk her I hadn't thought of what to actually do concerning that. This is because I usually want to do something that's not usual but just couldn't think of anything. Besides, the whole world is already making the noise so I was thinking was there any use of me doing likewise too?

While there is an campaign that's crying out and spreading across the globe like wildfire, there are still questions that bug me about the missing girls...questions that poke holes in the stories surrounding their disappearance. It is loopholes like this that makes some people wonder the authenticity of the story but then a lot of other things have confirmed that the girls were really abducted. Out of the numerous questions asked, there is one that I'll always echo..

Why are there no photos displayed of the missing girls yet?

I guess we may never know why...

Ibrahim Abdullahi

The #BringBackOurGirls campaign was started by Ibrahim Abdullahi who was part of the audience for a speech in Port Harcourt by Obiageli Ezekwesili - a Nigerian former minister who called for the government to take action to "bring back our daughters".

The statement caught on and tweets calling for the government to #BringBackOurDaughters emerged but Ibrahim had a brainwave and thought that not everyone may have a daughter and that the afore hashtagged statement may limit people expressing it across. According to him "we may all not have daughters but everyone has a girl". Thus he made the modification which he reflected in his tweet that began the trend.

Later human rights activists and organisations began to thread along and gradually it spread across the globe till it gathered a life of its own. It was not a campaign that was marshaled for others to rise up and do the same; it just became a phenomenon that was further helped by Nigerians and sympathizers based abroad who also staged protests.

Across the world, its buzzing and the photos are numerous....

Celebrities such as the US first lady and hollywood stars and artistes also joined 'chorus' by instagramming or tweeting pictures in solidarity call for the girls to be found. 

This is probably the most trended pic for the campaign...Michelle Obama carrying her own card

Leona Lewis

P Diddy

Actors and artistes like Ashtom Kutcher, Drake, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Jamie Fox, Ludacriss etc...focused mainly on hitting back at the Boko Haram leader's threat to sell the girls. They all waded into a campaign that was an offshoot of the #bringbackourgirls trend which said, 'Real Men Don't Buy Girls'. I guess that was targeted at discouraging anyone from purchasing the girls.

More pictures from Nigeria and across the globe...

Sierra Leone Rally

Nigerian women rally be-crying the girls

  

South African Rally

Ogilvy one Africa 

The campaign is on her shirt

The campaign has been yielding results as the World Powers are standing up to help Nigeria with the situation. Social media helped herald the information with the likes of tweets from John Kerry of the US

And as we speak, the forces from the US are already arriving in Naija.

Let's all hope and pray that this marks the end for the Boko Haram menace and the safe rescue and return of the girls.

My February Testimony....

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, February 28, 2014

Just 10.00pm on the dot last night, yours truly became a Dad for the third time with the arrival of a big bouncing baby boy. Unlike his elder siblings, Timi and A.Y who weighed 2.8kg and 3.5 kg respectively, this little dude weighed 4.5kg at birth. No wonder...that pregnancy belle was huge!

I was poised to snap the photo as he came out of his mother's womb but then I thought of it that some of you might be having lunch or dinner when you viewed this post so I decided not to...make una no begin puke at the raw sight of delivery.

But I did manage to snap him immediately he was brought out.

My baby boy...just fresh out of his mother's womb.

After being cleaned, oiled and put in a diaper.

Finally after he took his bath this morning.

 

Welcome little man!

This is probably one of the reasons why I have been erratic on the blog these past few days; yes, that's my excuse...I hope it is accepted. 

I thank God for this unspeakable gift!  

And to the Almighty God I say 'Thank you Lord for this unspeakable girft

The Last Job

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Saturday, November 23, 2013

My guest writer for today is Harsh Tag who wrote this very short yet powerful piece of flash fiction titled 'Last Job'. This story is so poignant that I began to doubt whether it actually is fiction or something that really happened. In fact, just reading it alone makes me want to shoot a short movie on it. Its a touching story with a strong lesson of depth to learn from.

Enjoy!

By the time you’re done reading this, I want you to remember this saying:

“Every saint has a past; every sinner has a future.”

***
My future is long-begun, and when I look at the past, I’m not trying to find absolution. Instead, I hope to find understanding of how the past has led me to this place of love for children; this place of peace; this place of hard work; this place of integrity; this place of piety, where I pray for people – and not judge them.

Armed robbers stormed a home one night, and ordered everybody:

‘Face to the floor! Close your eyes!’

Among the victims were two children – a boy and a girl – whose estimated ages were 3 and 4, respectively.

The job was almost over when one of the robbers felt a hand tugging at his left trouser. He looked down into two bright eyes full of innocence, not fear. The little girl spoke, and her voice shot this robber in the heart:

‘Uncle Thief, Uncle Thief…’

Her parents gasped, sure that their daughter was going to be shot in the mouth. But the little girl, pointing to the little boy, continued:

‘Uncle Thief, see, this one did not close his eyes.’

The macho man with the gun smiled, patted the girl on the head, and walked out of the home spotting two trails of contrite tears.

And that was his last job.

***

God has many voices.

Harsh Tag writes for fun, to stay sane, to stay alive, to laugh, to cry, to impress, to express, to win, to be relevant, to live. He has won a contest or two, have lost many. loves writing, though he studied geophysics, and has worked in a bank, he is presently into IT. He loves to write. You can check out his blog here.

A.Y. Joins Timi in School [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, September 27, 2013

School's back in and the kids have all picked up their back-packs to storm the classrooms.

This Term, A.Y. resumes in Timi's School after concluding his days at the creche.

First we took the little fella for a haircut. He has this stubborn hair 

which likes to stiffen up in curls even after combing or brushing through.

A.Y. has the hair type that would result into dreadlocks if uncombed for days.

And on the day he sports his new uniform, 

he takes photos with Timi to mark a new begining.

These kids can pose! I didn't even tell them what to do. 

All I just said was 'say cheese!'

Maybe I should include them in my models' list 

when arranging a childrens' shoot sometime. 

They're so natural in front of the camera...lol.

Abusing The Future [Photo Art]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Saturday, August 17, 2013

I came across this heart-wrenching work of art with an deep expose on horrible truths surrounding the different types of abuse children across the world have been subjected to. The photography clearly depicts each situation with startling symbolism. 

Image 1 - Refers to the Vatican pedophilia. 

Image 2 - Refers to the child sexual abuse in tourism in Thailand. 

Image 3 - Refers to the war in Syria. 

Image 4 - Refers to trafficking in organs on the black market, where most of the victims are children of poor countries. 

Image 5 - Refers to free U.S. weapons.

Image 6 - Refers to obesity, blaming the big fast food companies

Amazing Baby Swimmer [Video]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, July 05, 2013

I've come to learn some amazing things about Babies...amazing stuff like their cries prompt their Mother's breast to start lactating milk, their bones are structured intricately to accommodate their passage through their Mother's birth canal into the world - like the skull being collapsible for the squeezing through during birth.

The most amazing thing for me is the ability of babies to swim in water without help and with ease. This is due to the fact that they lived in a similar manner in the womb surrounded by water (the one that breaks before delivery). Babies find it easy to respire inside water or control their breathing.

Thus its not a bad idea to introduce your child to swimming at an early age. I wanted so much to introduce my kids to this but Wifey happened to be just too traditional and didn't want any of it. I'm an avid lover of swimming and would have loved my kids to have followed suit. I'm sure they'd probably end up like this amazing baby girl in this video; she swims with ease and without assistance. I can't even determine what kind of swim stroke she's using. She just wades through the water kicking her chubby legs and synchronizing with the water. And she does a smooth job of even holding her breath for so long! You'd think she was specially taught but that's not really the case - she was just introduced to swimming very early.

Its just amazing watching her swim and she even seems to know when to pop up her head once she reaches the edge of the pool. You could even hear the parent in the background expressing his surprise at how deftly she moved across the pool while holding her breath. This is a pointer that the baby wasn't taught but re-acquired the skill once she came in contact with the water,

Timi Got Scribbling Skills

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Yep. I was surprised. She won an award badge for the best handwriting in class. I guess all that wanting to scribble something somewhere paid off; you can see evidences of Timi's graphiti skills on our walls, the deep freezer, on some of my books, on tissue rolls...

I usually get pissed at her scribblings all over the place. I guess it was a cool handwriting on its way to become a reality...lol! Congrats to my baby girl.