Return to Zamunda.

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Oo

 

lagos 

Photo credit

In less than 20 hours, I will be back  to my dear country Nigeria. It will be one month short of two years since I left home. Well, sort of.. I left from the intern house (the Nigerian version of the Apprentice).

What has really surprised me this period is the response I have got from people when I said I was going home. It was all “.. Finally?” “.. Are you going for good?” with a look of pity on their faces. Well, I am not going finally and it is for good.  My dream has always to get the Nigerian startup scene integrated with the global startup ecosystem and being away from Nigeria for 2 years is not the best way to go about it. I am going back home before I loose touch of my roots. I will be home for a while.

I am really looking forward to meeting all the dudes running the start up scene there. Loy, Sherriff, Mayowa, Seyi and co.  Looking forward to getting Nigerian Internet Entrepreneurs off the ground. Most of all  I am looking forward to having a cold bottle of star  this evening with my cousin and mentor Namo.

Being away for so long has made me long for a lot of things. Gala, pure water, Akamu, Fufu, but most of all

I’ve missed…

  1. Sincerity: People smiling at you only when they mean it.
  2. Community: Knowing the name of your neighbours after 6 months of  sharing a corridor.

…But Dear God

  1. Let there be light. Not “I pass my neighbour”, not UPS (The only UPS known here is the United Parcel Service)
  2. Let the Internet be fast. I have not seen “buffering..” in two years. I cannot survive without the internet, period.

I have one fear though

I do not have a Blackberry, will I be allowed to enter the country? Will I be regarded as a true citizen?

Anyhow,  Lagos, wey you? Lets go!*

*After sorting out this 30 kg overload :(

Share
Posted in Self | Tagged , , | View Comments

For the first time in my life someone called me…

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Oo

A nigger. I was about to cross the road when the lad yelled  the  ‘racist term’ and zoomed off in his car. For a few seconds, I did not know what to make of it so I did the peace sign then continued my walk home. I am confused about what to make of it since I do not now in what context he said it. I am definitely not angry.

At the TEDx conference in Warwick last year I was speaking to a Pakistani man who was eating bananas and he said something like “have one, you will/must like it”. I looked at him deciding weather I should accept the offer. I do not know what he saw in my face but he immediately said “I did not mean it like that, I was just asking….I meant….   he started babbling. I smiled and immediately understood where he was coming from.  I think it was about the time Prince Charles was call racist for calling his friend Sooty so he must have been extra cautious. We went on and discussed it all.

Back to what happened today. Can words alone be racist?

In the intro of this post, I consciously put racist term in quotation marks because I truly believe intentions and actions not words are racist. Rappers use the word nigger all the time in songs and I find it hilarious when I see my white friends miming 50 Cents and mumble anytime the word Nigger comes up. Are they racist?

I  could actually consider inaction racist. For example, if the Pakistani man thought it would be better not to offer me a banana because I might take it to mean something else. Therefore he would have made a decision based on my colour.

But then again, it would have been a decision made in good faith.

If a black men yelled nigger at me, would I have even written this blog post? Of course not.

So am I being racist?

Some things are just fucking confusing. I’ll just define racism as an action taken in bad faith based on a persons colour.

PS: Forgive my mumble jumble post. I thought rather than talk to myself, I should just blog about it.

Share
Posted in Self | Tagged , | View Comments

My Android problem and a case for proprietary over opensource. (UPDATED: With solution)

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Oo

Update: My good friend (Dan Monsieurle Aka Mled) commented with the solution. Just try signing into the YouTube app with the account you want to sync and  it will automatically add it to the list of your accounts. Kapish!

The best solution is almost always the easiest.

Omachonu Ogali, I guess it was Google’s problem after all. (For those that don’t understand, see comments below :)

Update ended.

I got my Motorola android phone a little while ago and I am encountering my first problem which is making me really really angry and here is why.

I just launched my new startup Lotaar which has brought with it the need to create my new email address. I tried doing the sensible thing of adding the email account to my Motorola milestone and it gave me an error.

“Can’t establish a reliable data connection to the server.  This could be a temporary problem or your SIM card may not be provisioned  for data services. If it continues, call Customer Care.”

Ha! call Google customer care? I have a better chance of grabbing launch with Barack Obama than getting anyone at Google on the phone.

So I did the sensible thing and Googled for a solution. To my chagrin I discovered that the problem I am having has been around for about a year and more annoying is the fact that the scores of complaints  on the Android forum have gone ignored!

OpenSource vs. Proprietary Software.

Although I really really value open source but this problem I am having is the strongest argument proprietary software has against open source. When there is a problem, there is no one to hold responsible! Now, I do not know how open source Android is, but I know there are too many people that are in charge. So now I have this problem, who do I turn to? Motorola? Google? Android Foundation?My Telecoms provider? (in my case I did not by from a mobile service provider but many people complaining did.)

So for the next few days, I will be cut off using email with my mobile while I ponder a way out. If I was in a large organization the costs will be greater. I now appreciate much more the value of Microsoft and their proprietary software. If it was a problem with them, it would have been solved by now.

As Windows Mobile 7 comes out, they should make  strong selling point out of, “If you have a problem, you know where to turn to”

Share
Posted in Technology | Tagged , | View Comments

Introducing Lotaar – A TV and Radio guide for the social web

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Oo

The Logo of Lotaar

As you might know, some weeks ago I left OnePage which was a hard but necessary decision.  I was supposed to take a little break before starting anything new. But you see, this Internet thing dey sweet well well. I am back!

I would like to introduce my new venture Lotaar which I am co-founding with my good friend Roland Ukor.  Lotaar is built to remind you when your favourite programs are about to start so you can tune in.  It will be useful to discover new cool programs. Broadcasters will love it too.

We just put on a holding page to collect early feedback (Lean Startup Stuff).  so pardon the ugliness.

So go on, check it out and  Please fill the form, it is very important.

Like always, I count on your support.

Share
Posted in Self, Technology | View Comments