Marry Me a Little-Steven Songheim

(true talk! )
Marry me a little,
Love me just enough.
Cry, but not too often,
Play, but not too rough.
Keep a tender distance
so we'll both be free.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!
Marry me a little,
Do it with a will.
Make a few demands
I'm able to fulfill.
Want me more than others,
Not exclusively.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!
You can be my best friend,
I can be your right arm.
We'll go through a fight or two--
No harm, no harm.
We'll look not too deep,
We'll go not too far.
We won't have to give up a thing,
We'll stay who we are.
Right?
Okay, then.
I'm ready!
Someone--
Marry me a little,
Love me just enough.
Warm and sweet and easy,
Just the simple stuff.
Keep a tender distance
So we'll both be free.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!
Marry me a little,
Body, heart, and soul.
Passionate as hell
But always in control.
Want me first and foremost,
Keep me company.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!
Oh, how gently we'll talk,
Oh, how softly we'll tread.
All the stings,
The ugly things
We'll keep unsaid.
We'll build a cocoon
Of love and respect.
You promise whatever you like,
I'll never collect.
Right?
Okay, then.
I'm ready.
I'm ready now.

Branding Africa: Misplaced Priority?

A friend of mine invited me to a book signing event last month. Book Title:

The Invisible People: How the U.S. Has Slept Through the Global AIDS Pandemic.

As the author of the book walked into the cozy room that was packed with inquisitive developing nation enthusiast, I was almost surprised at his appearance: A lazy brown suede jacket to match curls of golden hair and a definitive listerine-blue shirt underneath. I was curious to know how he became empathic to AIDS issues.

I snapped back to the topic at hand when he began to feed us some sobering facts:

"Over the past two decades, 65 million people have become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Approximately 25 million people -- more than the aggregate battle deaths of the twentieth century combined -- have lost their lives to this plague. More than 40 million are currently infected. Every day, 8,000 people (nearly three times 9/11's death toll)
die of AIDS."

He went on to talk about the early stages of the pandemic, the reaction of the world at large and the consequences of their actions (or lack thereof). It turned out to be an extremely enlightening session. By the end of the talk, I could understand the dangers of relying on public policy for public reform. I understood that hedging a bet on a public policy is just as deterministic as trying to guess what direction the wind will blow next week.

I stayed around to talk to some interesting people and naturally since most of us were African, the conversation sneaked it's way to African issues. We all groaned about the way Africa is being perceived around the world. We complained about the perception that the world has about Africa. The usual comments that we get when we reveal our ancestory. "oh you are African?!..I just saw a documentary on PBS about the Rwanda'n genocide..how heartwrenching". "Wow you are African.... I read an article about the Ebola... God, how unimaginable". When I told my story of a lady I met that congratulated me on "making it out of there" on how "fortunate you are to have been able to leave" it elicited an appropriate balance of humor and sacarsm.
We had just completed a very informative session on the AIDS pandemic and its possible future impact on Africa and here we were, four young Africans, whining about 'appearances'. I even chipped in a bit about 'brading Africa' ... if it works for the US advertising industry, why not us.
There was more talk about documentaries to tell the truth about Africa. "Dang" we echoed, we are not all about war, hunger and sickness.

Ok, time out folks. This is all true. Granted, I spent almost 20 years in Nigeria and never saw starvation and war as portrayed on TV. In many parts of Africa the devastation is experienced only through images on TV and newspapers and is usually shrugged off as another country's wahala.

My question- are we spending too much time thinking about ihe edere na moto? Why are we worrying about the condition of the priest's mustache when his entire body is engulfed in fire?

The author of a new book"The world is flat" seems to be in a constant state of excitement about the changes that are going on around the world. China and India are getting their act together. The rest of the world is changing for the better. As their reliance on the so called 'chosen nations' reduces, they are becoming more and more empowered. Gone are the days when a Chinese student needed a world class education in England or America. He has all he needs right there at his door step. So much so that Americans like Microsoft are moving their intellectual resources over there.

Why not us?

While I fully support dispelling the negative publicity that we get, I believe that we must focus more on making changes that will strengthen our participation in the world marketplace. Let our efforts speak for themselves. No matter how you look at it, it is plain wrong to waste natural, human and intellectual capital that Africa is so rich in. Those images of war and starvation are not digitally enhanced. They are all true. African economies are not progressing quickly enough.

It is daunting just thinking about ways to deal with all the issues that we face, but for all of us, a good place to start is by taking responsibility for our problems and taking it upon ourselves work on them. Maybe someday, with enough focus on the pressing issues, our progress will reveal all the beautiful aspects of our magneficient continent.