₦airaland Forum

Uche2nna:
Children are prohibited from hawking, but cares to enforce that sef?

Hawking in general is prohibited in Lagos State. Maybe I should say STREET TRADING is prohibited for all categories of people. I insist, he should be arrested for breaking the law.

I think he should be arrested for breaking the laws of Lagos. Hawking is prohibited.

American Hawks Gala In Lagos
June 16, 2009 14:53 (1 hour ago), 93 views

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

An American, Mr. Sean Alsilski, was seen hawking gala sausage rolls yesterday, at the Ojota area of Lagos state.

He easily drew a large crowd as Lagosians laughed and wondered what could have made him to hawk gala in Lagos, and on a sunny day too.

But, Alsilski, unperturbed by the people watching and giggling at him, continued to sell his stuff to motorists and passersby who were eager to buy from him, some just for the fun of it.

He rebuffed people trying to ask him why he was out in the streets selling gala, saying he was too busy to talk to anyone. After much prompting by this reporter, he opened up on why he was out selling gala on Lagos streets. Alsilski said he came to Lagos to carry out a six-month research project on hawking and street trading in Lagos, and the best way to get the answers that he wants was to get involved in the real business rather than be an observer.

He said he had already spent five months in Lagos, hawking gala at different parts of the state. “I am here to do a research on hawking and street trading. I was billed to be in Nigeria for six months as part of the Fullbright exchange programme. “I have been here for five months now, hawking. I have one month to go. I am going to give a presentation to the United States Embassy about my research,” said Alsilski. Born in the city of New York, the United States, Alsilski lamented that from what he has observed, government was harsh on hawkers and street traders.

“Hawkers here are under stress right now from the government and I am studying what the government is doing right now. We can make some recommendations. “Government is harsh on them. Some of them have had their goods taken away. I am not sure that is the best way to go about it. “In some cities, hawkers and traders are given licenses and allowed to go to certain areas to hawk. But hawkers should not be allowed to hawk in places like Oshodi,” he stated. Alsilski’s hawking business has taken him to Yaba, Ojuelegba, Mushin, Ojota, Mile 2, Apapa, Lagos Island and Agege.

Source: PM News

archangel1:
who paid Moneygurl for this wonderful job. mr. man your arsenal is not enough  to tarnish peter obi's  image. your job and research  is professional. i wish you put in a right and objective direction

You are spot-on! Tis an hatchet job sponsored by political bucaneers from that state. The same people that have been sponsoring robberies, kidnappings and all sorts of crime to undermine Obi for cheap political gains.

However, Pete may just be a demystified thief like others, who knows?

So so sad

when did u do your final interview and for what position?

Dem dey do am everywhere! ain't u heard of technology transfer? Americans invented scam, we perfected it .

you can't eat your cake and have it

lovetessy:
Hello.
My name is Tessy, It is my pleasure writing you this mail as I saw your profile, I believe that we can be good friends partners or more in life I wish you can write an email through my email address then I can give you my pictures and tell you more about me below is my email address for further comunications. tessy608@yahoo.com

I believe we can move from here! Awaiting for your mail to my email address above Tessy


I Love been with my Friends and I Love Friendship. I believe that ` Friend is a Gift of God`.I am very honest, caring , sensitive, loving, straight forward person. I like honest,sincere,creative mind, brilliant having transparent personality.I believe strongly in peace,and animal rights,love art/graffiti music,films,reading,holidays,cafes and more.
> If I sound like your kind of friend please email and tell me about yourself.some time we r alone and we r feel boring then we miss a friend a sincere friend, i need it join me alone and sincere, I love music reading, traveling, seeing friends, watching movies, and relaxing. I love animals, I'm quite open-minded and I love to learn about other people and their cultures.I possess a good personality, having good sense of humour,and I have various interests.

This dim-wit posted this shit all about, Lord have mercy!

fashola FASHOLA

Your job will come, surely it will.

Remained focus on your dream of getting a good job. Do not let fear distract you. Fear destroys the inner calm.

Guy, u also do not need a G-father to get a good job. I know of a bloke dt studied Chemical Engineering at Ife; it took him 3 years before he could land a job in the oil sector.

He did eventually without the benefit of a foreign Msc. Petroleum which u have to your name.

Be of good cheer and great faith! Your harvest is here.

Nairalanders are going to resist the new interface, cos we are all used to the old. And also because of the in-born resistant to change.

Me? I have no opinion. If the homepage must change, it will, and it certainly must.

Change is the only constant thing.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

[quote author=~Lady~ link=topic=265072.msg3771229#msg3771229 date=1240503290]so bcus ppl say it's dangerous, it means it must be?[/quote]Spot on

mazaje:
people usually dream about what pre occupies their minds. . . if you are hungry before you go to bed you will dream about eating. . . if you are pre-occupied with a football match or a girl/boy you will dream about it when you go to bed nothing there. . . stop believing in myths. . .

End of discussion.

[quote author=~Lady~ link=topic=265072.msg3771229#msg3771229 date=1240503290]so bcus ppl say it's dangerous, it means it must be?[/quote]Spot on

mazaje:
people usually dream about what pre occupies their minds. . . if you are hungry before you go to bed you will dream about eating. . . if you are pre-occupied with a football match or a girl/boy you will dream about it when you go to bed nothing there. . . stop believing in myths. . .

End of discussion.

@Kemisuga
Eyo is socio-cultural, religious and political at the same time.

Socio-cultural - the songs, dance steps, social stratification etc.

Religious - the Osugbo Fraternity are strongly involved in the decisoons and rituals surrounding the Eyo Festival.

Political - It is usually celebrated in honour of an illustrious son of the soil (this edition is in honour of TOS Benson).

EYO time in Lagos

By Pelu Awofeso


April 21, 2009 08:28AMT
print email





“Please, bear with the law,” the Secretary repeats the warning for the umpteenth time. He is reemphasising the point of the state government’s new, stricter rules for the conduct of this year’s Eyo Festival, billed for April 25. “Anyone who is caught going against these guidelines is headed straight for the Black Maria. I beg of you, keep this in mind. It is most important.”

The caution, needless to say, is very necessary. Much as the Eyo Festival is the soul of Lagos and attracts huge crowds, a larger part of the fun of previous outings had been spoiled by the misconduct and tendency for injurious behaviour on the part of a few.

Thus many Lagosians, women especially, who would love to attend the grand finale, stay away, preferring to watch highlights on television.

The Secretary, a hefty and mustachioed man in his fifties, is addressing a bi-weekly meeting in the backyard of the Onimole Court on Iga Iduganran Street, less than a minute’s walk from the palace of the Oba of Lagos.

He has hung the buba of his yellow-patterned lace on a hook nearby and is wearing only the trousers. Twenty odd individuals listen with concentrated interest as he reels out point after point of important information.

Of everyone seated here this evening, I am the only outsider of sorts. I am not a potential Eyo masquerader but a silent observer documenting a very important stage in the making of an Eyo masquerade.

The Onimole Court is a focal point of nearly all traditional functions in Central Lagos—including the coronation of a new king—and the Eyo festival itself.

Among other things, it houses a symbolic shrine (Ojubo Yewa), where a newly-crowned king must pay obeisance immediately after being enthroned at Enu Owa at the head of Iga Iduganran Street; it is also where the top five Eyos - Adimu, Laba, Oniko, Ologede, Angere - generally called the Eyo Oshas (deities), must stop over to dance in the early hours of the festival day as they proceed to the Oba’s palace.

Though not too large a compound, tourists who plant themselves here (as early as 6am) are sure to catch the energetic display that somehow signals the start of the festival.

Once the actual date for the festival is decided by the Eyo Adimu (the most senior of the lot) and made public, other activities tied to the event unfold in a predetermined pattern.

That singular act automatically sets off a series of actions that not only prepare the ground for the ultimate spectacle but also prepare the tens of thousands of indigenes who will take part in the festival.

To borrow a time-worn cliché: The Eyo is made, not born. Though the festival is indigenous to persons born in the Isale Eko area of Lagos, wearing that flowing white poplin (Aropale) and the decorated broad-rimmed hat (Aga) on D-day is by no means an automatic right.

Getting to that exalted state is preceded by a whole gamut of activities, nearly all of them strict regimes that are observed to the letter. Discipline is a major tenet of the Eyo festival and it is one every aspiring participant imbibes in the early stages of preparation.

In a sense the training sessions are similar in nature to that which cadets go through in the military. Bottom line: anyone wishing to be a part of the grand finale either ships in or ships out.

The Secretary whispers something to Dehinde Onimole, another senior member of the family and whose permission I have to sit in for this evening’s meeting. The meeting is taking place exactly 15 days to the festival proper, a point which the Secretary repeats over and over.

From the look of things, there is still much to be done. Members, old and new, are yet to perfect their lines (praise poetry and incantations); the skills required to tie the Aropale; brush up on how to wield the iconic staff and also choreograph the dance routines.

This is not helped by the fact that a meeting called for 4pm, starts 80 minutes late and with only ten people seated. It clearly leaves less time for these essential routines. Yet everyone must be prepared come April 25.

“This year is going to be different in every way—I won’t tolerate nonsense,” the Secretary threatens as he scans the gathering, which now has some 15 people present. He has identified some unfamiliar faces.

“Have you participated in Eyo before?” he questions one young man seated two spaces to my left. Response: negative.

“Oh, you haven’t and you sit there with confidence! Who did you come with?” His friend, next to him, raises a hand.

“You came with a guest and you don’t know you should inform us first?” There is an unsettling silence as the men search for words to defend their actions. “If you family members behave like this, how do you expect us to discipline outsiders who behave in this way?”

All intending members of any Eyo family must pay an enrolment fee (N500 in this case), before they are allowed to join in the weekly deliberations. The defaulters are remorseful and promptly apologise, promising in the same breath to come with the fee at the next meeting.

The Secretary has touched on this issue to drive home a point. He has chaired this type of meetings over the years, and it has dawned on him that he must prepare a younger generation to carry on with the tradition whenever the festival is around the corner. To leave a lapse like this unaddressed would only harm future preparations.

“We are going to leave sooner or later. Death can come today or tomorrow,” he says matter-of-factly. “We keep telling you. You should listen.”

A meeting of this nature is probably going on in at least a hundred other compounds in the neighbourhood, though days and timings may vary.

Eyo is a bit of a competitive ‘sport’, though outsiders hardly know this. Families (Iga) are forever plotting ways and means to secure an edge over other participating families, and this includes the outfit design, overall comportment and membership strength; and as has become a statute, whatever is discussed among families and within the respective compounds stays a secret that must not be shared with other families.

This time around the state government has introduced a prize that may well rev up the competitive spirit the more. “The government informed us at a meeting early today that the family that wins the parade (at the Tafawa Balewa Square) this year will be awarded the sum of one million naira.

The second prize is N750, 000, while the third prize is N500, 000,” Dehinde Onimole, clarifies when it is his turn to address the meeting.

“Who says our family cannot win that prize?”

‘Family’ in Eyo lingo is a generic term. It embraces the nuclear as well as the extended members, and any person or group of persons who though have no filial link to the family in question, chooses to join them for the purpose of the festival.

There are five of such individuals here tonight and that is a cause for concern for the family elders present. Being newcomers to the Onimole family, the first timers have no clue about the way and manner the family conducts its affairs in preparing for the fest. And with the state authorities issuing new rules of engagement (as a way to make this year’s outing a memorable tourist event) rascally behaviour from any family member will put an end to the family’s participation.

For the record, the Secretary vouches that the Onimole family has never been involved in any act of violence in the history of Eyo.

They wouldn’t want any blot on that record. Not now and clearly not in the future. “If you have any issue with any of your friends or girlfriends, don’t choose the festival day to pick on them or take revenge,” Secretary warns, “Hooliganism is the reason why the government has stepped in to participate on a large scale in organising this festival this time around. It has promised to deploy security personnel to keep the peace on that day.” For ease of identification, the government is introducing an identity tag to be tacked to every masquerade’s hat. Plus there is likely going to be no less than a hundred ‘Black Maria’ deployed across the procession routes to check violent incidents.

“There will also be refreshment points along the way,” Mr. Onimole adds, a revelation that the members receive with smiles. “But when you get to those places, don’t rush. There will be enough drinks to go round.”


http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/5402626-146/story.csp

The Eyo Festival
by Pelu Awofeso

What Samba is to Brazil the Eyo is to Lagos.


You may have journied to the former Nigerian capital of Lagos a hundred times over, but can’t have seen the Adamu Orisha play or Eyo (pronounced err-your) festival—the soul of the city’s traditional life—that many times. The truth is no one person has. In fact, from its original appearance in 1750, spectators have seen it a simple 80 times previously. And since it happens so infrequently, sometimes four or eight years apart, each occasion it does it is a must-see ‘exhibition’ for several thousands; and to observe one is enough to leave the culture tourist reminiscing for a lifetime.

One came along last August. Only this time around, it would be the paramount activity that marks the final rights of passage for the deceased immediate past king of Lagos, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan 2, who passed on early in March. “If this is not done the chosen successor can’t be crowned king,” says a member of the royal family inside the palace premises to. When it isn’t to royal ends, though, the honorary version is exclusively done for visiting VIPs (international or indigenous) to the city or any late individual who had improved the lot of Lagos while he lived.

News of this year’s go round and the citizens of Central Lagos prepare for another time of their lives. What Samba is to Brazil the Eyo is to Lagos; it is one of the very few popular local customs not yet effaced by religions introduced from outside the African continent. If that has not happened already then it may never do, as the participants are practicing Christians and Muslims. Besides, “It is so intrinsically synonymous with Lagos that it can never fade out.” Importantly, the natives take the festival and their faiths as one would two opposite pages of a book. One leads to the next, and no one book—life in this case—can be complete without both.

So when indigenous Lagosians speak of the Eyo tradition, they do so with affecting pride and relish. Everyone—from the most elderly to the five-year-olds—spend quality time preparing for the big day; and when the day does finally come a major milestone is achieved.

“This is about the only tradition we still cherish as natives,” a blue blood and deputy secretary to one of the core eyo groups, the Laba Ekun, tells me. “Our people believe that each time the festival holds the barren will conceive and a variety of private problems get solved.” Little wonder then that others resident overseas return to join in the festivities. And then spend: The obligatory appeasements alone may run into six-digit figures. “Though it is just a day’s programme, it costs so much in Naira and Kobo to be practically involved”

A full week before the festival (always a Sunday), the ‘senior’ eyo group, the Adimu (identified by a black broad-rimmed hat), goes public with a staff (“when this happens nothing on earth can stop the festival from taking place the coming Saturday”). Each of the four other ‘important’ ones—Laba (Red), Oniko (yellow), Ologede (Green), Agere (Purple)— in this very order takes their turns from Monday to Thursday without fail. This strictness with cadre and other old established rules before, during and after the celebration is what perhaps appeals the most about the eyo heritage.

That leaves Friday, the eve, free for tourists seeking the true thrill of the fanfare to come. On this night, the Iga Iduganran, the permanent residence of the Monarch as well as whole areas surrounding it, become an open-sky party: heavy-duty speakers boom with every kind of music—traditional (adults) and western (youths). Both sides of every street, by now chocked with expectant peoples, throb with tireless traders and meticulous merchandising. Beer, bread (toast), wooden fences and lots more compete for space with hordes of shuffling feet.

Fifty meters from the palace, workmen carry on with spirited renovation on a bungalow in brown colours; a few feet from them a young man adds a final touch of oil to the painting on the walls of Ojubo Yewa, a single-room memorial of sorts, within the all-important Onimole Court. The place must look good for the occasion. The painting is of a pair of drummers and five eyos. Rarely opened, this particular room is key to the entire festival, because come the little hours of Saturday, the superior five (note the constancy of the figure) of the eyo groups (starting with the Adimu), plus some ten more MUST come into the premises to pay homage. This particular rite is considered with committed adherence.

An experienced hand tells me “none of the eyos (they number several thousands individually) dare stroll the streets [on the set date] until after this ritual is done.” He has been involved with these ceremonies for more than half a Century. And what are the consequences, if it happens otherwise? Someone else described an incident that took place in a previous year. The Adimu traditionally ends the day’s procession with a symbolic performance: It dismantles at dusk a temporary construction called Agodo, inside which every eyo must come, dance and depart two times in the day. But this particular year the Laba Ekun (next in hierarchy) went ahead to do it! “There was chaos.” Not since has that been repeated.

Popular history has it that the eyo is not original to Lagos. Two persons who had come down from a locale called Ibefun (northern wards from Lagos) introduced it as interment rites for the king of the time Oba Ado, married to their cousin Olugbani. “Inhabitants of the time loved the spectacle of the first appearance and have modified it over time; and whereas the early ‘masquerades’ wore a print cloth called Ankara (local name), varieties of [three-piece] white garment are the vogue now.”

Meanwhile, aiming to make the most of it’s unique tourist product, the State governor Bola Tinubu has said his government “will review the festival’s cultural and commercial aspects,” and in due course tailor it to attract a lot more international tourists than witness this year’s edition.


http://www.travelintelligence.com/travel-writing/2919/africa-and-middle-east/nigeria/lagos-region/lagos/the-eyo-festival.html

ibedun:
Why do most Nigerian girls upon seeing, meeting or just running into a man they know on the street, they suddenly get hungry?

Did I once hear someone say "dont date poor girls"

dotsa:
Hooked?

No way. I guess I should do whatever I got to do anyway though I dont think I love her anymore.

"Truth is the touchstone of itself"

Pataki:
@ Thoniaslim,

Sleeping together is a figurative term for them having sex.

In my opinion, I think she is cheating on the dude. This is based on my own personal experience though.

Seconded!

dotsa:
Meaning more than one guy?

Well only one guy
It says "let me sleep tunde .stop it, "

u know.

She is making out with Dotsa, and calling Tunde's name

Tradition is actually an institution that favours a society at large or some clique. But most often, if u dig deep enough, you will realise that most of our time-honoured norms is actually for the benefit of a few i.e the male folks, priests, council of elders, royal family etc.

Let tradition give way to the principles of natural justice (a higher moral law) which abhors human sacrifice, blood letting etc., or utilitarian principle which guarantees the happiness of the greates number.

Chikenah.

Barron:
young gilrs, do they open their legs for money or they get freely from men.

Both of the above!

This issue will remain a recurring decimal in your relationship with your boyfy and his extended family.

Major gbege if u ask me?

@Thoniaslim

What happened after u slapped the asshole?

Just curious, cos men of that ilk are

May be he wants to be encouraged to SHAG her!

@poster

dotsa:
other guys name.

Meaning more than one guy?

Auto dealers in the house, I need your take on this.

The coaster bus

Please who has a 15 seater Ford Bus and Toyota Coaster Bus for sale and how much?

I am looking at Grade A Tokunbo,

Being owed six months salary is small deal for the AIT Veterans.

What do you say to being owed 13 or 14 months salary? This happened in the past. Very recent past.

Owing salaries is not peculiar to Daar Communications alone; it is an endemic problem facing the mass media as a whole. It accounts for why corruption continues to thrive in the country because all you need do is grease the poor unpaid reporters' palms with some few thousands to get away with blue murder.

A lot of AIT Staff live in grotesque opulence in spite of unpaid meagre salaries. Same for a lot of other media practitioners.

The only media company that pays a living wage and frowns totally on corruption is Timbuktu Media, publishers of Next (see www.234next.com). This is obvious by their gutsy editorial slant. See their recent story on Oyinlola and present editorial on PDP and the state of the nation to get a feel of what I am talking about.

You will be surprised at the number of media practitioners that may desire a career at AIT in spite of the irregular meagre salary because it is a platform for taking big fat brown envelopes.

I pity Nigeria. I pray for Next to survive.

Where are the pictures