It is barely two months into the New Year and I am tired. Certain things are threatening my sanity this early in the year. I wish that they could wait until at least the third quarter of the year, but they are starting very early this year. I do not want to end up with a brain aneurysm so I will try to breathe through it all and hope for the best.
Town planning violators
While I appreciate that land is a limited commodity and people have a right to own their own little piece and put up on it whatever structures they desire, there is a reason we have town planning laws. These laws set out what one should find in different parts of a town or city. They segment the towns and cities for residential areas, business and industrial districts, green areas, etc. What is happening now is that some people are violating these laws and getting away with it. Worse for me are those who build shopping complexes or large commercial buildings with no consideration for parking. I question how they get planning permits from the authorities to go ahead with their projects. Residential areas are no longer just that. A dear uncle of mine who is an octogenarian lives next door to a night club. The purpose of the night club building has changed over the years but it ceased being a residence over 15 years ago. How does one get a licence to operate a night club in a residential area?
In Gwarimpa Estate in the Federal Capital Territory, supposedly the largest housing estate in West Africa, the housing authority seems selective about what parts of the master plan it wants to implement. You will see the words, ‘Change of Use. Revert,’ and other such words indicating a violation of planning laws, yet spaces that were reserved as green areas in the master plan have largely been sold off for commercial purposes.
Parking is such a big issue for me and I think that one of the biggest parking scams is in Lagos Island where people use open expanses of land and charge exorbitant fees for a chance to slot your car somewhere in the expanse of land and if necessary (because you have to park in a way that makes it impossible for other cars to get through) drop your car keys with strangers. I have had no bad experiences so far but it does not seem like that kind of thing that should exist in a centre of excellence. I often wonder why only a few investors have been interested in setting up multilevel parking in more places in Lagos and other metropolitan cities.
Argumentative people
There are people you meet who just want to argue with someone for no good reason. They either want to intimidate or rubbish you, or prove their intelligence to you and any spectators in the vicinity. I have to warn that I do not argue too much when I am not being paid to argue. I do not even like to talk much. I live with a six-year old pocket lawyer who puts me under gruelling examination and cross-examination daily. By the time I get to you, I am tired. I do not have the energy to argue. But my energy can be charged if you are coming with a cheque that will pay school fees, or replace some of the money I had to sacrifice to get my law qualifications.
Fake news et al
There are some things that you see, whether live or otherwise, that you cannot un-see. With social media, rumours spread with the speed of light, and because we are not a very litigious society, the rumour mongers get away with tarnishing the image of innocent people and/or ruining their businesses. There is little restraint in sharing information that comes their way. Be aware that when you participate in defaming a person or sharing fake news, you will be caught in any legal net that is cast, whether you generated the information or not. Be careful.
Ntel service
Ntel is probably the greatest source of my aggravation so far this year. It seems that there is a strong desire to uphold the reputation of incompetence of their predecessor, NITEL. They are not ready for business in a digital world. After paying to renew my Internet subscription last week, as I type this, I still have no service, one week later. All I have heard since the issue came up is that, ‘the issue has been escalated’, ‘the matter will be resolved within the next 24 hours’, and so on. And yet, here I am, with no Internet service. Mind you, the customer bears the cost of calls to ntel’s customer care. As soon as I have reliable service, I shall be lodging complaints to all the relevant regulatory bodies.
Discoveries
I just discovered that I am living with a budding dictator. The revelation came last week when I asked him to do something for me and he refused. When I insisted, he said, ‘I am government, no lawyer can tell me what to do!’ What? I do not know where he got that from but we are going to have to nip that in the bud.
For years, I have watched with disgust as people chomped on the head of a chicken. I could not imagine what it would taste like and I had no desire to try it. Then 2019 came along and I decided to be brave. How I managed to live for over 40 years without tasting a chicken is something I will have to forgive myself for. Now I only wish that chicken processors could do as they do with gizzards and do packs of only chicken heads. That way I will always have ready chicken head to make myself happy when these aggravations threaten my mental health.
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