Skip to main content

Happy Easter


let's do the right thing again, happy easter
 

after pioneering happy valentines, the polish remains for easter
 

Happy Easter

Easter happens just in between of two rounds of elections: between national presidential and local governorates which is scheduled to take place on April 11th. This was, as in the past New Year and Valentine's day, used by inspired candidates.

Thanks God, the presidential election turned out peacefully...

... as the president Jonathan gracefully accepted the results announced by INEC (independent body managing the election) which gave victory to Mahummadu Buhari. Tensions disappeared and the next day things were business as usual in the city - no need to hide or fear - some of my colleagues excelled in the precautionary zeal to be at home before the afternoon had really started.
Results were announced painfully slowly over 48 hours, giving everyone plenty of time to get accustomed with the shaping of numbers which ineluctably gave Buhari a lead. Perhaps that was a good thing, providing all sides to make a deal for a peaceful transition. One PDP ex minister tried to ask elections to be cancelled because of alleged fraud - which might have happened, but was kindly reminded by the president of INEC that monopolizing the microphone and screaming as he did for nearly half an hour was not a decent attitude for a man of his caliber. He swallowed the slap in the face and results announcement resumed as slowly as before.
On that day we had a meeting at 10am with another team who cancelled the meeting on the ground that things being the way they were, they could not focus and thus were ready to flee home any minute, their drivers were on standby.
We actually stayed in the office until the announcement of the victor was clear and went for a drink in a place close by. The city was empty. Everyone already home.

Mercedes-Benz retirement "rien ne se perd, tout se transforme"

duty is not yet over
after probably many kilometers and a long career, this Mercedes is now serving as a storage place for a street restaurant. one can't miss it!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Benin City, at the heart of the Benin Kingdom and its great past

Benin City's popular fashion Benin City is one of the largest cities in Nigeria. It is the capital of Edo state. It probably shines less than it used to a few centuries ago when it was a powerful and advanced kingdom, lauded for its administrative and military strengths by the first Europeans who came to trade in the 15th century. Nowadays modern Europeans hear more about Benin City because Edo's gangs export girls for prostitution and compete with the mafia in Sicily on some markets. Traces of the past are very present, for instance the Oba's palace is still surrounded by a large mud wall. The city has sprawled in all directions. Trading buildings, administration buildings are among the tallest, most of them worn out by time, dusty winters and strong rainy seasons. Large avenues are running through the city, but as soon as one leave them to adjacent roads, potholes and dirt roads slow down navigation. Easier for motorbikes. Market areas are usually buzzing with peopl...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ogiamien family in Benin City: about wood and history

Roland Ogiamien in his wood-carving workshop Wood Roland Ogiamien is a renown wood carver. He is now retired in his home town of Benin City and is now in his 80s. We met him in his simple workshop, a barn opened on the surrounding greenery. A part of the studio is used to store wood pieces and make sure they are well dried. He is using a collection of german ustensils to carve and polish the wood. He spent most of his career working out of Lagos before relocating to Benin. Roland was explaining that the wood he uses today is different that the one he worked on in his early days. Ebony has become rare and wood carvers have had to switch to other types of wood. Traditional heritage is a large part of his inspiration which he translates on wood with his own particular style, exploring various techniques for the finish of his pieces. Roland Ogiamien and two of his favourite masks History Ogiamien is the name of an important royal family in Benin Kingdom. Towards the end of the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The mysterious stones images of Esie

turned into Stones Chief J. Agbo Ooye had been waiting in the shade of a large tree, in front of the National Museum of Esie, dressed in ceremonial costume with a velvet hat incrusted with crystal beads sown in the shape of his title and his name. He was sitting next to his wife on a bench, expecting our arrival. His wife, he would tell us later, was his best friend and she was actually demonstrating it by guiding his frail body from one place to another and guiding his hand when it came to sign autographs of his books. Chief Agbo Ooye is the author of two booklets on the Esie Stones. The first one, called A Personal Account of the Esie Stones is giving an overview of the differences between the scientific and the traditional interpretation of the Esie Stones. The second one is called the History of Esie and gives a brief account of Esie's history from the early settlement of Yorubas in various groups (Esie, Oro, Eku Apa, Igbonla, Edidi, Igbesi, etc...) to the present...
2 comments
Read more