My friend, sisi Remi, late, was 11 years older and often exasperating wise.
Once, after a brutal protest clampdown, l shouted myself hoarse about the evil doers, the back bitters and the sell outs. I lamented that nothing had and can change....
She laughed and said but Funmi, it’s your ego talking nah. I’m like did this aunty just insult me? Seeing like my eye was turning red a bit, she continued . What you are trying to do is move matter, that takes time and many elements. Look at that rock Funmi, do you know how ...
long it’ll take for drops of water to break through it or for its form to change. An external force could generate supreme energy to shatter it but then it’s no longer a rock abi? Do you think it’s only the water that‘ll make a difference? What about the role of air sun, wind..
and other micro organisms who chip, drip, claw and dig away at it? Do you think each even knows that the other forces are at work when each one keeps doing its own bit? Why do you think each element does it’s bit? I’m thinking na wetin be all this story nah? She’s like, each does
it because it’s in its’ nature, its’ purpose, part of how to actualise its’ being. Do you think the water knows when enough pressure will crack the stone? So if a particular droplet drops at the point the stone is weakened enough by the collective of elements and time, does that
make the droplet a hero or part of a continuum? Divorce your ego from what you do Funmi and you’ll see and appreciate the changes already happening which’ll energise you to do it better whilst recognising that other things are happening to support that process you cannot fully
see or understand.
I thought, she has come now with all this Buddhist minini and promptly forgot. Years later life reminded me. So today and to whoever may need it. I repeat that story.
Matter is moving even if you can’t see it. Keep chipping away at it.
I’ll leave you
with her favourite refrain to me when l hit a seemingly impossible obstacle.
Funmi, let’s just be going. The king may die, the horse may fly.
People can sniff disdain, elitism and opportunism a mile off and will turn destructively opportunistic because they have no trust in either oppressors or liberators.
I’m pleased to announce the @BFI London Film Festival world premiere of Walking With Shadows, an adaptation of @JudeDibia’s award-winning novel. This is the first in a slate of films my team and l will be making.
I left news and current affairs because I was tragedy fatigued and could see the trauma-denying, post-shock culture emerging in Nigeria. My purpose for being a journalist was to use media as to provide information and knowledge for building better societies. Corn, but l like corn
As information and knowledge became more and more manipulated, l decided to move on to contributing to perspective and understanding especially around the complexities of human darkness using long form stories, art and culture as a means of investigating how we organise society.