Your eyes

are like the sparkling stars in the sky at nights.

They are like the sunlight at day

when the sun decides not to be up there.

Those eyes of yours seem to look at my thoughts

whenever you place them on me.

And your smile?

Just like the early morning dew.

I doubt not, those lips of yours

must have taken extra time to be well made

by the finest Artist in heaven!

No love lost between food and I

But with you around me,

I could eat the whole world.

Give me nothing but you!

Taste like honey.

Good is the taste.

How right? “I know not”.

The sweetest,

yet so bitter.

The ripest,

yet so sad.

The more Forbidden,

the more the urge!

Whenever the wind whispers,

let it whisper you in my ears.

Whenever the mountains echo,

let them echo you to me.

Whenever the sun shines,

let it be on you.

Let the moon smile on you.

And the stars in the sky?

at nights, let you be what they see,

so you may sparkle as the diamond,

and be the only light in the dark.

Today at about 3:00pm on an African television station based in London I saw a Nigerian television programme called “Inside out with Agatha”, the topic of discussion for today’s episode was ‘Do men gossip?’ After seeing this television show, it got me thinking about ‘Gossip’ how truly peculiar is it to women? For long I have always heard this popular saying that “Men discuss/gist while women gossip!” but come to think of it, is gossip peculiar to women or do men just say this for them to feel good about themselves?

I wonder why a reasonable percentage of people think that gossip is peculiar to women, from my personal experience I think both men and women are guilty of this offence it is just unfortunate that women are “notorious” for gossip while men who spend a lot of time to gossip go unnoticed! For instance based on what I have seen in Belgium, some of the African(particularly Nigerian) guys spend important part of their time gossiping and it is really sad that I have to say this. I get so pissed off to see the amount of energy and time they invest in gossiping, wasting their precious time away. Or have they forgotten that there is more to life than just sit down there and gossip about their fellow Nigerians? I have witnessed where these gossips among “my Nigerian brothers” have led to serious conflicts.

So, it is a fallacy to think that gossip is peculiar to women, the bitter truth is that men turn out to be deadlier at times when it comes to gossip. Due to ego, men do not like to acknowledge the fact that they gossip, they prefer to use euphemism like “discuss” or “gist” thereby they say men “discuss/gist” just to make themselves feel good and also pretend that they don’t involve in a “woman’s business”.

Uncountable situations have shown that gossip is not just a “woman’s business”, it is everybody’s business almost everybody is somehow guilty of this. A man once said that one of the secrets to a successful marriage is gossip! When the man was trying to explain this, he said it is good for a man and his wife to gossip once in while when they are together because this can strengthen their love. Can this really be true? Well I strongly doubt it but this is the man’s belief.

On a final note, whoever can eat the flesh of his brother should go on gossiping! See you next time.

It’s been so, so, so, long! I never knew I could stay away for so long! Guys…a lot has really happened all this while I was away, a lot that I don’ t even think I can talk about everything right now. I am sorry that I went away for too long, I know this is not the first time I would be apologizing for being away. Honestly I just can’t help it, for the past few months I have been having several divided attentions, and this has somehow affected my motivation to write. Also I have been really busy with my studies, I think I need to put in more efforts.

Guys, right from my high school and university days I have always liked to sit at the back of the class, even now that I have gone back to study more at the university, I still take the back seat. Though I may have been taking the back seat in class, this is just a ‘physical thing’, I mean my taking the back seat does not really mean I have been at the back, my mind or focus has always been in front of the class. So, psychologically I have always been at the front. I strongly believe that sitting at the back gives me some kind of “control” and I think I like this feeling of control whenever I am in class! Also, sitting at the back gives me the opportunity to…it gives me the opportunity to…never mind!

But unfortunately, this my “taking the back seat” attitude which I have always thought to be just a “physical thing” is struggling to move to the psychological realm of my “activities” outside the class. What I am trying to say is that, ever since I came to Belgium, I have been really humbled by my personal experiences in this heart of Europe. For instance I think I now understand better what it means for someone to be alone in his own world despite being in the midst of millions of people, I now understand what it means to just watch what is going on around you and not be a part of  it even though you may want to. I am not only watching but also wondering and this is very unlike me! However I see this whole thing  as a “rite of passage” for me, I know I will get over it, it’s just a matter of time, I will definitely touch the sky, though the sky may look faraway but I know it’s very close!

There are so many things I will like to talk to you about, but it’s not possible to talk about everything now, don’t you think so? I hope to tell you more things as time goes…that’s if  my motivation is not killed by events. I hope this will be the last time I will apologize for staying away for too long, I want to believe this time around that no matter the “watching and wondering” situation I may find myself, I will not be discouraged to come back here to tell you about my life in Belgium. And as time goes on, this site may get crazy, I am serious, you just watch out. If the wind does not blow me away before our next meeting, then we will meet again.

]]> http://africanprince.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/29/feed/ 0 africanprince http://africanprince.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/27/ http://africanprince.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/27/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:40:02 +0000 africanprince http://africanprince.wordpress.com/?p=27 ]]> I COULD FEEL

When I saw you,

I could feel your loneliness,

I felt I was looking into your eyes full of boredom.

Your long hair dancing from left to right in depression,

I could feel dejection in you like a goddess deserted by her worshippers.

And I could almost hear the sound of excitement

every time your body was touched.

Worry not my love for your lonely days will soon be over!

I don’t really know why i have been feeling uninspired for some time now, and this is becoming so annoying but i know it will soon be over. You won’t believe that as i’m writing this entry,i feel so empty, i don’t really know what i’m actually writing about but i know for sure something is going to come up! In other words i’m seemingly writing in emptiness! What? You think i can’t be serious or maybe i’m crazy. To be candid i think something like this happens to people atimes, the important thing is that one has to be careful so that it doesn’t lead to depression. And believe it or not it is sometimes possible to write within the space of empitiness, it’s only that one risks sounding pointless and real crazy if you know what i mean.

I hope you are not thinking that i’m depressed,i’m not in anyway depressed, i’m just feeling empty and this is making me act lazy,i wake up tired and lazy these days, and not that i was so busy in my dreams (busy in anyway you can think of). It’s embarrassing that i have been working on my start report for my thesis for  over a month now, this is something i should have been through with, but hopefully it will be submitted this week after going about it in an annoyingly lazy way!

I think…I think…never mind, do you know life is strange and funny, it’s full of paradox. Something that works for one person, i mean something that contributes positively to one person’s life may end up destroying another person’s life! Don’t you think so? So i think there is no manual on how to live a fulfilled life, just keep living, try things out and if they don’t work, try other things,just don’t stop believing in something. It really annoys me when i see people who pose arround as if they have the manual of living a perfect life. What are they really thinking?

As i’m writing this entry,i’m watching musical videos on Trace music channel and occassionally getting up to check the rice i’m cooking, also i get up to look outside from my apartment. I like the location of my apartment in Brussels, i think it’s at the centre of the area where it is located, it gives me the opportunity to see things from my apartment,i stay on the third floor. From this floor i see people going about there business, i see real couples who are in love, i also see couples who pretend to be in love, i see many things, some i cannot share now maybe i will share them some other time.

Please don’t feel empty like i’m now because it may not be fun. Don’t do what i won’t do(don’t ask me what it is),have a nice week.

Earlier in the week i went to an interior decoration company in Antwerpen,the company’s name is kadirelli owned by a turkish guy named Omar,this Omar is my younger brother’s (Afeez) business partner.So my brother told me to come with him because he had some business to handle there,it was not the first time i would go with him but my visit this week was different.

During the course of our stay at kadirelli,Omar excused himself for some minutes and when he came back he told us it was time for lunch that we should come with him. At first i didn’t know what to say but i reluctantly followed my brother and Omar to where we were supposed to have the lunch. At the table,there were other turkish guys, this table was decorated with different fruits,bread,vegetables and cheese etc (these are just what i could remember as at the time of writing this entry).Guys, what really fascinated me was not the food but the culture of ‘Communalism’ which i have not seen for a long time and i have missed so much!

My lunch (earlier in the week) with the turkish at Antwerpen really reminded me of who i am and where i’m coming from. At the table,we were about 10 or 11,two of the Turkish guys are from London,i remember telling the guy(one of the turkish guys from London)sitting next to me that i have not found myself in a gathering like this for a long time and the guy responded to me by saying that life is about sharing. It was as if i had never eaten for long,i knew this was not so,it was because of the gathering that made me feel that way.

There was nothing special about the food i ate at kadirelli,but there was everything UNIQUE about the atmosphere of the lunch,and that i will never forget. Guys i’m talking this way because i’m presently living in an environment where the culture is individualistic-every man to himself. Though almost everywhere you go in Belgium people smile at you when your eyes ‘accidentally’ meet theirs,i think Belgians have a good culture of smiling even though these smiles may not be from the heart or genuine! In anthropology this kind of smile can be seen as ‘Civil inattention rule’, it’s a way of trying to be polite to people.

What I experinced at the turkish company in Antwerpen was religion fused with culture, my brother told me that was not the first time he would be having that experience at kadirelli.

I think i have truly been reminded that life is worthless without sharing with people around you! See you next time

When I see the man with cutlass,

i fear not.

The man with gun,

i fear not.

As long as wisdom directs him to use his weapons,i’m okay.

But fear grips me to the bone

when i see the man with no wisdom and knowledge

though he possesses not weapons,

yet he is venom!

Worry not my Hero,

for your death will not be in vain.

Let them keep killing,

change is inevitable.

You may be young and gone but your name lives on,

your name they cannot kill.

Sleep well HERO

for you still bother them even in your sleep!