Secret Santa

Awwhh...looks like am not going to get my very own Secret-Santa gift after all.
What a shame! Let me tell you all about it....

Well, I am a Santa-Elf (and don’t ask me how I got recruited by Santa, I just did) as the Secret -Santa idea came from my department at work. We had it all planned out. We will ask around and if everyone was down with it, we will proceed to do it for christmas. Emails were sent out and responses started flooding in....yes, am in! ............Of Course! Count me in............Oh, I hate Christmas but what the heck I’ll do it!
Even colleagues who worked outside the boundaries of the city where the headquarters of the company is located couldn’t resist the urge to be part of the Secret -Santa fun and so they all opted in as they were given the special treatment of being assigned a name picker to pick a name for them from the ‘Mystery Santa Hat’.

Names were collated, printed, cut-out, folded and put in the ‘Mystery Santa Hat’.
Some rules were laid out as you would know if you do this every year (It’s not like I am suggesting that you do not have better things to do with your time every christmas and I do appreciate that some people do actually get some work done at their place of work while some do not...and I am not referring to the Santa Department...hehehehe).
*Each person gets to pick a name from the Hat
*If you pick your name, return it and pick another
*Do not disclose the name you have picked.
*Get a gift of no more than £5
*Gifts will be put into Santa’s sack and will then be distributed at the Christmas party we will be having.

Everyone was excited and even more excited when the name-picking day came around. With just a phone call to notify people of the arrival of Santa’s elves with the mystery hat, people trooped in to pick names out of the hat and whilst some left with huge grins on their faces, others left uttering swear words under their breaths. Need I say that not everyone was pleased with their name pick as people picked names of a person who they had never spoken to but is that no the very essence? Just buy a gift and forget it and guess what? The person doesn’t even have to know you bought it....hahahaha (I am happy about that)

As for me...hmmm, I wasn’t too bothered with the name I picked. I was a bit bothered about what to get this person (Were you waiting for me to say him or her) but after a few trips to the shops, I finally got something. I could only wish someone like Jeremy had picked my name though as he said he was going to just pop into a shop and get a gift within the £10 region. I can only but wait till the Christmas party to find out what my Secret Santa person had gotten me.

Finally, today is the Christmas party and I all I have been thinking about is my Secret Santa gift. I checked on Santa’s sack and it was obviously bulging. I was still wondering about what I would be getting when my manger came in and gave me this very sad news.

Ahem....Stella....I have bad news. Your Secret Santa will not be able to make it to the Christmas party because of the disruptions to the roads (this is due to snow as it’s been snowing since yesterday like the end of the world has come).

I was absolutely gutted. He went ahead to say that I would get the gift somebody else had put in the sack for my Secret Santa and if I do not like it, anytime this person comes around, I can then get my real gift. Well, what can I say....???
I can only but wait to open a Secret Santa gift this evening that wasn’t actually meant to be mine. All of a sudden, the christmas party has lost its allure to me. I will let you know about this gift once it arrives so stay tuned.

Sulia Kan, Aiyetoro Kan

Anyone that has seen the movie “Jenifa” will definitely have no trouble whatsoever with the slogan above 'Sulia Kan, Aiyetoro Kan'. Prior to yesterday, I had never heard about this spectacular movie until my friend called me and said it’s a must watch. She said I would laugh from the beginning to the end of it. Without wasting time, I set out to watch the said movie. It was completely hilarious. To also think that I watched the first part while at work- now don’t even go there; do you work in your office at all? How come you can watch a movie? Na u sabi o but truth is I do work and I still have fun. Got a problem with that? – I could not help but laugh out loud. Though I tried to stifle it as much as possible, I just could not and if you have seen this movie I bet you do know what I am talking about.

Anyway, as funny and as entertaining as the movie was, I got the message. It was a clear message. HIV/AIDS is still real; Promiscuous behaviours will definitely not go unpunished. I was left wondering about how people still go on living their lives in the view of ‘living large’ yet being so careless as to forget what’s lying in wait for them in the long run. It’s unbelievable.

Nigerian girls, African girls and girls at large, it’s another call for us all. How are we living our lives? What do we do when no one is watching? How do we make use of our freedom? How much do we value our chastity? Are we ready to lay down everything, and I mean everything just to be a ‘bigs girl’? These are very important questions we need to ask ourselves.

Nigerian guys, African guys and all guys in general, you are also concerned and I am glad that Funke Akindele (she wrote the script for the movie) found a way of bringing this as well into the picture. I know the girls do not give room for themselves to be respected but are we taking advantage of this at every given opportunity? How are we also living our lives away from the watchful eyes of people? How free is our freedom? How do we present ourselves to the public?Are we out to impress the female gender and intimidate the less privileged? Do we feel so powerful that human lives mean nothing to us? We really need to ponder on these things.

A Yoruba adage says ‘Aabo oro la nso fun omo luabi, toba de inu re a di odindi’ meaning, it is totally left to a responsible individual to heed a wise warning. If you are no longer who you are meant to be, you could still retrace your steps. It would also do you good to come closer to God. Draw near unto Him, and he will draw near unto you.

I definitely have to say a big well done to Funke Akindele and everyone that helped in making ‘Jenifa’ a success. God bless you all.

Remember, if you have not seen ‘Jenifa’, you need to do so pronto.
'Sulia 1, turned Jenifa 1'

A belated new year note

'As soon as I get home, I would update my blog'. This was the same thing I kept telling myself everyday but I never did. Anyway, here I am finally updating it with my belated New Year message and here it is:

2008 has come and gone.
Resolutions were made and forgotten.
For some, it brought joy, happiness, peace and prosperity. But for some, it brought pain, sorrow, tears and death.
For some it was the start of a new career but for some the end of a career.
Some got married, while some lost their spouses either through divorce or death.
Some gave birth, while some were born.
Life changing decisions were made.
Some earned more, while some could barely manage.
The credit crunch really hit hard. It made a lot of people jobless and financially crushed.There was a clash of authority and power.

For me, 2008 was another year which unfolded with new surprises as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months.
It was a year of staying close to my family.
It was not a year of total accomplishment but close enough.
It wasn’t all smooth and rosy obviously but the difference was that I decided to make the best use of my opportunities.

Anyway, enough about 2008 and let’s focus on the New Year.
2009, what has it got to offer? Would you rather sit and watch things go wrong without you standing up to it? Would you rather sit and let 2009 dictate it's events in your life? We are into the year already and many "resolutions" have long been forgotten.

For me, I intend to do my best with the help of God to get the best from this year. I know man proposes and God disposes but still, we’ve all got our parts to play. We need to pray for guidance in taking key steps that will propel us to our greater heights and a step closer to fulfilling destiny.
At the end of the year, I pray that when we look back and speak about this year, it shall be all good news.
Enjoy the year as it brings forth all its surprises.

It's me
--Damsel from the Villa