Thursday, June 26, 2008
It's hard out there for a girl...
For the last five months, I have been job hunting in Abj and it hasn't been easy. Is it me or are the recruiters getting younger, more smug and arrogant. There is a general condescending attitude towards applicants by these upstarts but we have to grin and bear it cos, of course, a beggar cannot be a chooser. I will blog in detail about my experiences. Now, I have good news and bad news... the good news being I got me a job that I think I'm going to like; the bad news is from Monday June 30th, I have to be in Lagos for two weeks training and orientation...aaargh!!! I am getting too old to be 'suffering and smiling'. Anyway, wish me luck. I hope to blow the trainers away with my intellect, charm, efficiency, good looks, comportment etc so that I can rise to the executive cadre in, say 2 years....A girls got to reach for the sky...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
My neighbours from hell...
HELP!!! My neighbours are driving me crazy. Every night, I say a prayer to the God of Oil Companies to transfer Mr Oil & Gas (O & G) back to PortHarcourt. Please join me in this prayer. It is for a most important cause; my sanity. Let me start from the beginning. Our family moved from Kano to Abuja in August (although I moved in January). My husband found a nice four bedroom flat in a secluded part of Wuse. The flat was in a block of four (Block A), with another block of four (Block B) in the same compound. Our flat on the second floor is opposite that of a couple which for this piece I will call O & G which incidently are their initials. When I finally joined the family in January, my husband and I went around all eight flats introducing our family and so I met O & G formally. By this time, my nine year old son and their nine year old, Daminabo, were best friends. It did concern me that their two sons (9 & 7 yrs) were in my house every freaking day immediately after school until about 6.30pm. They intrude on us even on Saturdays. I understand the addiction of my kids Nintendo WII video games and other toys in my house but I came to realise that I had in essence become their baby sitter. The kids would come straight to my house IN THEIR SCHOOL UNIFORMS and their housemaid would follow them in with their lunch. I soon put a stop to that. I insisted that they go home, change, eat lunch and do their homework first. Another inkling I had that things might become uncomfortable is when my son said that Tonye the younger son said my whole family will go to hell because we were muslims. He told my son that his mother said so. The couple are staunch members of the 'church of mountain, fire and brimstone' or something of that nature. I did not say anything but filed the incident under 'hmmm?'
About two weeks after that, their second car was involved in a crash and was a total right-off. The driver survived, thank God. Since my childrens school is near their childrens school, we offered our driver to drop off their kids and then mine and at the close of school, pick up my kids then theirs. That was early February. We naively thought that they will quickly make other arrangements. We were still doing school runs for them three months later and not once, did they ever offer to fuel our car or even give our driver a tip. I finally put my foot down when my kids midterm did not coincide with that of her kids and she still expected my driver to ferry her kids. That morning when she realised that my children were not going to school and that my driver was out on an errand, she had the audacity to say to me, 'a'ah I will be late for work if I take them to school now and who will pick them up?'. As Madonna sings (amazing, I am quoting Madonna), 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. I suddenly realised that the line had been drawn in the sand. I calmly told her that it really was not my concern and also told her that they have to make alternative arrangements for their school runs. She looked amazed but left. After work, my husband told me that O, the husband called him to tell him what I said. Imagine, they reported me to my husband! This was a couple who constantly and relentlessly called my husband on the Saturday that I was rushed to the hospital, to complain that they wanted to go out and were still waiting for my husband to pick up my kids from their house ( the first time since I moved to Abuja). My husband left me in the hospital, picked up the kids and took them to another family in Block B.
Now the final straw! They suddenly started hosting noisy night vigils in their home Friday nights. Singing, clapping, spewing in tongues and shouting. I honestly respect everyones right to freedom of religion but I believe with rights come responsibilities. 'Your right to swing your arm stops where my nose starts'. Our parking lot would be filled with about 25 cars, right onto the street. The tenants would not even find spaces to park. The landlord did not allocate parking because there is ample parking spaces. After the second vigil, the three other tenants in Block A agreed that a representation would be made to them to complain. Mrs Adegoke and I volunteered to talk to G but the men insisted on handling it. So the three husbands (Buttri, Indian muslim, Adegoke, Yoruba muslim and my better half, Hausa muslim) went to see them. I only mention the religion and tribe to put what happenned in the proper context. O & G, mostly G, blew up. They accused the three of 'religious persecution' and ganging up to run them out of the flats. They said that even before moving to Abuja, they had been told that all Northerners wanted to destroy Christianity. I wish I has been there to see the priceless look of shock on the faces of Buttri and Adegoke accused of being part of the Northern conspiracy. Adegoke, perhaps if one squints, closes one eye and looks through a blindfold, just might pass, by the skin of his teeth, for a Sokoto man (that is if you disregard his tribal marks) but Buttri, no stretch of the imagination can make him pass. He is the most indian looking Indian I have ever seen. If you look in Websters dictionary, under Indian, you will find Buttri's picture. G then brought up the fact that no one had complained about the Muslim call to prayer that can be heard faintly in the background in the neighbourhood disregarding the fact that (1) it is not on the property in question (2) it comes from somewhere way behind the property (3) if they feel so strongly, the onus is on them to find the mosque and complain accordingly!!!(...they would NOT dare, I'm willing to bet the family farm). Anyway, needless to say, the meeting was not productive at all and the next Friday night, they were even louder and it went on later that usual. The good thing about Abuja, is that there is a noise ordinance and it is usually adhered to. Without telling my husband, I wrote a complaint letter and personally delivered it on Monday to the Abuja Environmental Protection Agency (AEPB). I was extra polite to the Asst. Director and he promised to take it up immediately. On Wednesday, O & G were served with the AEPB equivilent of a cease and desist letter. Their kids still came to our flat to play. On Thursday, we met outside. I said Good Morning, O replied but G glared at me, then ignored me. However, their kids still came to play. And so they did on Friday. Then came Friday night. SILENCE!!! Victory!!! My husband still believes that O & G must have had a change of heart after their conversation. He said 'y'know, people mostly make the right decision after they have had a chance to calm down and think'. I smiled and nodded. I will just let him live in that world while I live in the real 'dog-eat-dog' world of surviving by the flexing of official muscles to get people to do the right thing.
About two weeks after that, their second car was involved in a crash and was a total right-off. The driver survived, thank God. Since my childrens school is near their childrens school, we offered our driver to drop off their kids and then mine and at the close of school, pick up my kids then theirs. That was early February. We naively thought that they will quickly make other arrangements. We were still doing school runs for them three months later and not once, did they ever offer to fuel our car or even give our driver a tip. I finally put my foot down when my kids midterm did not coincide with that of her kids and she still expected my driver to ferry her kids. That morning when she realised that my children were not going to school and that my driver was out on an errand, she had the audacity to say to me, 'a'ah I will be late for work if I take them to school now and who will pick them up?'. As Madonna sings (amazing, I am quoting Madonna), 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. I suddenly realised that the line had been drawn in the sand. I calmly told her that it really was not my concern and also told her that they have to make alternative arrangements for their school runs. She looked amazed but left. After work, my husband told me that O, the husband called him to tell him what I said. Imagine, they reported me to my husband! This was a couple who constantly and relentlessly called my husband on the Saturday that I was rushed to the hospital, to complain that they wanted to go out and were still waiting for my husband to pick up my kids from their house ( the first time since I moved to Abuja). My husband left me in the hospital, picked up the kids and took them to another family in Block B.
Now the final straw! They suddenly started hosting noisy night vigils in their home Friday nights. Singing, clapping, spewing in tongues and shouting. I honestly respect everyones right to freedom of religion but I believe with rights come responsibilities. 'Your right to swing your arm stops where my nose starts'. Our parking lot would be filled with about 25 cars, right onto the street. The tenants would not even find spaces to park. The landlord did not allocate parking because there is ample parking spaces. After the second vigil, the three other tenants in Block A agreed that a representation would be made to them to complain. Mrs Adegoke and I volunteered to talk to G but the men insisted on handling it. So the three husbands (Buttri, Indian muslim, Adegoke, Yoruba muslim and my better half, Hausa muslim) went to see them. I only mention the religion and tribe to put what happenned in the proper context. O & G, mostly G, blew up. They accused the three of 'religious persecution' and ganging up to run them out of the flats. They said that even before moving to Abuja, they had been told that all Northerners wanted to destroy Christianity. I wish I has been there to see the priceless look of shock on the faces of Buttri and Adegoke accused of being part of the Northern conspiracy. Adegoke, perhaps if one squints, closes one eye and looks through a blindfold, just might pass, by the skin of his teeth, for a Sokoto man (that is if you disregard his tribal marks) but Buttri, no stretch of the imagination can make him pass. He is the most indian looking Indian I have ever seen. If you look in Websters dictionary, under Indian, you will find Buttri's picture. G then brought up the fact that no one had complained about the Muslim call to prayer that can be heard faintly in the background in the neighbourhood disregarding the fact that (1) it is not on the property in question (2) it comes from somewhere way behind the property (3) if they feel so strongly, the onus is on them to find the mosque and complain accordingly!!!(...they would NOT dare, I'm willing to bet the family farm). Anyway, needless to say, the meeting was not productive at all and the next Friday night, they were even louder and it went on later that usual. The good thing about Abuja, is that there is a noise ordinance and it is usually adhered to. Without telling my husband, I wrote a complaint letter and personally delivered it on Monday to the Abuja Environmental Protection Agency (AEPB). I was extra polite to the Asst. Director and he promised to take it up immediately. On Wednesday, O & G were served with the AEPB equivilent of a cease and desist letter. Their kids still came to our flat to play. On Thursday, we met outside. I said Good Morning, O replied but G glared at me, then ignored me. However, their kids still came to play. And so they did on Friday. Then came Friday night. SILENCE!!! Victory!!! My husband still believes that O & G must have had a change of heart after their conversation. He said 'y'know, people mostly make the right decision after they have had a chance to calm down and think'. I smiled and nodded. I will just let him live in that world while I live in the real 'dog-eat-dog' world of surviving by the flexing of official muscles to get people to do the right thing.
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