Strike Ended

The strike ended like a week ago,

I've been super busy trying to code my new video game and making some new comic strips and STOPPING A THIEF (more on this later), but here's the thing: the strike came and went. And NOTHING changed. At all. The fuel subsidy wasn't brought back, and people didn't really get what they wanted. Everyone thought that this was it: the end of corruption in Nigeria as the rebels overthrew the Government. But then like only a few days after the whole thing started suddenly, the strikers, the noble rebels, say "okay. That's it. We're done. Everyone, we're gonna give in so go and work for the Government that we were so against a few days ago." I know, makes no sense, right? Well, my Dad believes that the rebels who were so against the corruption, the gas, everything actually got paid off by the Government to shut up and be subservient. It was pretty sad, and honestly I really can't take the public Nigerian force very seriously anymore. When I tell this to other Nigerians who were so charged up a couple of seconds ago they just laugh and shrug and say, "oh well! We'll survive!" No, I think it's a more serious issue than just shrugging the whole thing off. I'm really beginning to think that now there will be even more corruption and stealing from the public because now the Government knows that Nigerians aren't going to do anything to stop them! So in other words, Nigerians might have lost the little power that they had once had just because they decided to give in. Or maybe I'm wrong, maybe there's going to come a day when Nigeria is once again for the hundredth time forced under new government (this has happened a lot in the past 50 years of the country). My Dad said things didn't used to be like this, that the people had a lot more power, that the places were cleaner, that even Naira had twice more value than United States Dollars. I think that these "golden years" was actually the country coasting off of the wealth and scraps that the British nation left behind when Nigeria became an independent country. I really don't wanna think that, I kinda want to believe that old Nigeria would be like how my Dad describes it even if Britain hadn't colonized it. I don't know. I really don't. But, there's still (hopefully) a long, loong way to go for this country. It's only been around for 50 years! A lot of empires started badly, and then steadied out. Worse case scenario, there's going to come a time when this country is so absolutely horrible that the people will not take it anymore, and they will revolt angrily. They're already angry, but not angry enough, even though their politicians steal money from their pockets, become multibillionaires (in Naira), go overseas to the US and stay there while their homeland is crumbling. It's gotten to a point when if you're talking about a governor, you don't say, "so what have they done for the country?" You say, "so how much have they stolen?" Here's the really sad part: most Nigerians complain complain complain about this, but I'll tell you something; if they were in the same position as the stealing politicians they would do the EXACT. SAME. THING. Because everyone wants to be like that, everyone wants to have power and money like this crazy billionaires have. To tell you how bad it gets, some politicians get so rich they honestly don't know what to do with the money. I've heard of one who sent their kids or something in the USA and let them take private jet rides. And then they'll be taking pictures of themselves waving bundles full of hundred dollar bills in the camera. They even do their weekend shopping in Dubai, more than 3 countries away! And they barely invest it in research organizations or anything like that. They don't do anything worthwhile with it! I mean, you can only buy so many Lamborghinis. It's absolutely ridiculous, and the most maddening part is that nobody does anything to stop it.

Signing off,
The Traveler

The Strike

The whole nation's on strike,

And we are completely fine. Thanks for asking. The whole of Nigeria is completely shut down! Every shop, restaurant, everything is closed indefinitely until the strike is over. The problem is that the President decided to take away fuel subsidies. Lemme explain. For a while Nigeria's gas prices have stayed around a steady-ish 65 Naira. The original price of the gas is much higher, so the government pays for most of it so that the people can afford it. But the problem now is that Nigeria's broke like every other country in the world so they can't afford to pay for part of the gas. So now, the gas price has risen to 156 Naira. Riots and everything are running crazy in the streets of Lagos and Ibadan, but not in Ife! We're safe. But it's getting really bad. People are beginning to get violent, and mobs and thieves are coming out and taking advantage of the few people on the street. Shops are getting robbed all over the place, and the police are trying to handle the situation but are pretty much failing. It's getting so bad, that a senator's wife was driving to Abuja with an armed entourage and everything and the rioters and thugs completely ripped apart the car and stopped her from going anywhere. The reason why people are fighting used to be because of the fuel subsidy removal, but now it's become more of a "we're tired of the corruption in the government" sorta thing. The President can't back down with his decision anymore either. The reason is because if he does then nobody will listen to him anymore. Everybody will just say if he tries to pass anything else, "you're too weak! If we just riot again, you'll fold and we'll do whatever we want." So the situations is just bad. We have to stay in the house in the daytime and then go about after 5:00 because the riots and stuff happen between 8:00 and 5:00. They're getting really violent in Lagos and Ibadan. Don't worry, we're fine.

Signing off,
The Traveler

Monkeys!

You heard right,

We saw tons of them at this sacred forest in Osogbo. You don't see monkeys anywhere else in Nigeria. I've been here for two years now and this is the first time that I've ever seen any in Nigeria. They were all eating and relaxing everywhere, and the people that worked there were just walking by them like nothing. Unlike in zoos, these monkeys are allowed to go wherever they want! Crazy, right? Some are just lounging around, eating fruits from a bag and nobody blinks an eye. Except us. Of course. The reason why there were so many of them everywhere is because they're considered sacred in that forest so you better not kill them, or you might find yourself in your own funeral too soon. And there were so many shrines there. We went on a trail, and on it were all of these beautiful clay statues, and they twisted and turned and melded with each other. There are a few cottages, too that were like the statues except house version. And there was this super creepy suspension bridge that looked like it was about to fall at any second. We went over it, cuz it was the only way to cross a river. The river is actually the centerpiece of the whole place, as it's the sacred river that one of the Yoruba Goddesses is the spirit of. So there were a lot of offerings of food in front of the statues near the river, to the goddess. I can't remember her name right now, but I'll edit this post when I figure it out. Like I was saying, we went on a small forest trail, but it was a pretty short one. The reason is because even though there's a lot of space dedicated to the forest, it's around the river, not in the forests themselves. And we took a trail that went a little into the forest and ended there. We almost walked into somebody's farmland before we realized!

Signing off,
The Traveler