The Riddle of Here

We're looking. For something so simple.

So simple, that we can't hold it in
our hands. Or in our heads.

So we look to him. To her.
To them. To there.

We look to everywhere but here.
To when. To then. But not to now.

It's hidden just beyond our cleverness.

So we presume it's out there.

But perhaps it's in here.


© Nic Askew

UN CORPS EN EXIL

« UN CORPS EN EXIL » Entretien par DAGARA DAKIN, traduit de l'anglais par Latifa Aït Naceur.

Article issu du N°1286-1287 (numéro double), juillet-octobre 2010 : Les migrations subsahariennes
Rubrique : Article de dossier

« L’exil, s’il constitue étrangement un sujet de réflexion fascinant, est terrible à vivre. C’est la fissure à jamais creusée entre l’être humain et sa terre natale, entre l’individu et son vrai foyer, et la tristesse qu’il implique n’est pas surmontable. » Edward W. Said, Réflexions sur l’exil, éd. Actes Sud, p. 241

Diplômé du Centre National des Arts du Cirque (CNAC) de Châlons-en-Champagne, en tant que danseur acrobate, Qudus Onikeku a été interprète pendant plus de dix ans sur la scène chorégraphique de la capitale nigériane Lagos. Il est, entre autre, à l’initiative - au printemps 2008 - d’un projet au titre évocateur « Do we need Cola Cola to dance ? » qu’il a mené avec une équipe composée d’un photographe, d’une danseuse et d’un vidéaste. Ce projet de danse dans la rue l’a conduit dans sept villes du continent africain. Interprète dans les créations de Heddy Maalem, notamment Le sacre du printemps en 2009, il a tourné en Europe, aux Etats-Unis et au Brésil.

De décembre 2009 à mai 2010, il était en résidence au 104 à Paris, nous l’avons interroger son approche de la notion d’exil, thème qui sous-tend son spectacle intitulé « My Exile is in my head »

Dagara Dakin : Pouvez-vous nous raconter en quelques mots votre parcours, comment vous êtes devenu danseur ?

Qudus Onikeku : J’ai grandi en faisant des acrobaties, en voyant autour de moi les gens faire des « flips », j’ai surtout vu faire des flips arrières। Alors j’ai commencé à les imiter. Je faisais des séries de cinquante à la suite. Je le faisais surtout à l’extérieur car au domicile familial c’était difficile. Je suis le dernier d’une famille de treize enfants et tous me sommaient de m’arrêter de peur que je ne me fasse mal. C’était leur façon de me protéger. J’étais le plus jeune et cela me frustrait car j’avais très envie de faire des acrobaties chez moi. Alors à la moindre occasion, quand on m’envoyait faire des courses, sur le chemin de l’école, je m’exprimais à travers les acrobaties.

D. D : Quelle place a pris la danse dans votre scolarité ?

Q. Onikeku : À l’école, il y avait ce qu’on appelle « les clubs », des lieux d’expression en quelque sorte। Des membres du « clubs » dédié à la culture « Cultural club » étaient venus dans ma classe et m’avaient proposé de les rejoindre. Ils recherchaient des individus qui aient un don artistique du type chant, danse etc. et lorsqu’ils m’ont parlé d’acrobatie, alors j’ai tout de suite souhaité participer. Au sein de ce « Cultural club », je me suis petit à petit intéressé à la danse et j’ai décidé de m’impliquer aussi dans cette discipline.

D. D : Vous avez donc très tôt fait le choix d’une filière artistique…

Q. Onikeku : J’ai été plutôt surpris, car étant inscrit à l’école dans une filière plutôt scientifique j’avais l’impression que des disciplines telles que la danse n’étaient peut-être pas compatible avec ma filière d’origine। Mes parents pensaient d’ailleurs la même chose et jusqu’à la fin du lycée ils m’ont surtout demandé de me focaliser sur les études scientifiques. Je me suis donc beaucoup moins impliqué dans la danse que je considérais comme un divertissement. A 16 ans, j’ai quitté le lycée et là, j’ai pu reprendre la danse plus sérieusement. C’est à ce moment là que j’ai décidé de devenir danseur professionnel.

D. D : Vous venez de clore une résidence de 6 mois au 104 comment vous êtes vous retrouvé dans ce lieu ? Pouvez-vous nous dire comment est né le projet « My Exile is in my head » ?

Q. Onikeku : Le 104 a fait un appel à projet et j’ai postulé. C’était en 2008, année d’ouverture de ce lieu culturel, je finissais mes études au CNAC. Je pensais à ce moment là à traiter de la question des Sans-abri et de la notion de « homeless », d’être sans domicile fixe, le fait d’être toujours un nomade, à la recherche d’un lieu. C’est de là qu’a émergé le projet.

Le titre m’est venu au cours des mois d’avril, mai 2009। Je pensais à cette chose que l’on nomme « Home », la maison. Je me suis posé la question de savoir ce qu’était mon chez-moi. Et en pensant à mon enfance, au caractère polygame de la famille au sein de laquelle j’ai évolué, je me suis rendu compte que très jeune je cherchais déjà ma place.

D. D : Qu’est-ce que l’Exil dont parle le titre de votre spectacle et comment traduire ce concept dans la discipline qu’est la votre?

Q. Onikeku : L’Exil que j’évoque n’a pas seulement à voir avec le fait de voyager, en réalité il a plus trait à un questionnement sur soi, une recherche pour aller à la rencontre de soi, pour se créer selon l’image qui convient à soi-même, de définir ce que l’on veut pour soi-même. L’Exil est selon moi, un passage obligé pour tout artiste. Ça correspond parfois à cette période de la vie où l’on commence à être incompris des gens qui nous entourent, alors commence parfois le genre d’Exil dont je parle.

De nos jours nous vivons dans une société qui nous oblige à nous positionner par rapport à tel ou tel courant politique, religieux etc।, à savoir dire à quel pays nous appartenons. Alors, j’ai moi-même ressenti le besoin de définir d’où je venais ; Mais cette idée me perturbe, je n’aime pas l’idée de devoir appartenir à tel ou tel groupe, qu’il soit ethnique, religieux, politique, etc.

D. D : Votre approche est donc très personnelle même si vous vous êtes nourri de la lecture d’auteurs tels que Wole Sonika, Olu Oguibe ou encore Edward Saïd.

Q. Onikeku : Je ne suis pas à l’aise avec cette idée de définir le reste de l’humanité qui m’entoure comme « les autres »। Voilà, pour moi l’idée de l’exil, c’est de n’appartenir réellement à aucun groupe. Mais attention, je ne souhaite pas que l’on assimile cela à une sorte de « crise existentielle » car ce n’est vraiment pas le cas ici. Je suis, disons, dans une dynamique qui va me permettre de porter attention à la moindre partie de ce qui fait mon « MOI ». Je suis nigérian, je suis yorouba, je suis africain, je suis hétérosexuel, je suis musulman, je suis danseur, je suis tout ça à la fois, aussi pour moi ça ne fait pas sens de ne m’attacher qu’à un seul aspect de ma personnalité. Je ne veux pas avoir à choisir un aspect au détriment des autres. Evidemment, à un moment donné on est obligé de choisir, par la force des choses, de se définir par rapport aux « autres ». Je veux être dans la vie à part entière.

D. D : Il n’est donc pas question d’un exil politique ...

Q. Onikeku : Souvent, le thème de l’exil est associé à une idée politique – évidemment, on ne peut pas nier cet aspect – mais j’ai souhaité lui donner une autre dimension। En tant que danseur j’avoue que j’éprouve une certaine difficulté à m’exprimer avec les mots, et mon corps est pour moi le meilleur outil d’expression. Via la danse j’exprime ce que je suis. On pourra distinguer dans ma danse des éléments de hip-hop, de capoeira, de buto, de danse contemporaine. Ce corps est ce que j’appelle « un corps incarné » parce qu’il s’alimente de différentes choses, différents styles pour finalement n’en faire qu’un.

D. D : La danse vous paraît donc être approprié pour traiter ce thème ?

Q. Onikeku : Le thème de l’Exil pourrait d’après moi, se décliner en une multitude d’expression artistique, autre que la danse, si je voulais aller plus loin dans la réflexion. Je pourrais utiliser l’écriture, la vidéo, la musique, les jeux de lumière mais je ne tiens pas à enfermer le public dans mon exil, je veux qu’il vienne me voir performer et qu’il se divertisse devant mon spectacle. Je ne pourrais dire dans un livre, tout ce que je pense sur la question de l’Exil.

Dance Umbrella: My exile is in my head

By Moira de Swardt: The only international piece in the Dance Umbrella is superb.

Nigerian choreographer/dancer Qudus Onikeku who is now living in France, effectively in “exile” from the country of his birth, brought a beautiful work to Africa's largest and most important dance festival. Entitled “My exile is in my head” this work is sophisticated, slick and wonderfully enjoyable. The choreographer's intention was to deal with personal questions of home, belonging, non-belonging and exile. In a country where we have both a big expatriate community and xenophobia runs riot, literally and figuratively, through our society it is interesting psychologically to go on this journey with him.

While the use of video projections of shadow work and “words” is not new to Dance Umbrella audiences, this one is particularly well done. The lighting can only be described in superlatives and it combined to work with the video projections so well that I was somewhat surprised, on checking my programme, to discover that they were done by different people. Video conception was by Isaak Lartey and lighting by Guillaume Fesneau. The opening scene particularly, was eerie and mystic and it was the lighting which gave the work its neo-nascent appeal.

The use of the dance space was fascinating. The front left of the stage (to the right of the audience) was reserved for the musician (Charles Amblard) who performed original music on a Hawaiian lap steel guitar. The musician and dancer worked in dialogue style, the way Spanish dance accompanists do with their dancers, and Amblard never took his eyes off Onikeku. It was beautiful to watch.

The dance was filled with angst, beauty, resignation, acrobatic moves, deeply controlled moves, high energy and a spirituality that was summed up in the voice over “When I dance I am closer to God”. I know this was true because when Onikeku danced I, too, was closer to God.

The Dance Umbrella runs at various venues around Johannesburg until 6 March 2011. This performance was at The Dance Factory.

Moira de Swardt
Freelance Journalist
moirads@wol.co.za

The Artiste, His art and His audience!

ME and MysELF
The Artiste, His art and His audience!

MysELF: Bro, after the show last night, I realized that I have actually missed performing in
theatres, before formal audience.

ME: Yeah, I know you've always wanted to perform before those who are only interested in
using your performance to upgrade their hierarchy as 'high audience' now that they consider
you as 'high artiste'

MysELF: ...you see you will never cease to amaze me with your presumptions, what gives you the impression that those coming to the theatre are only interested in intellectual masturbation.

ME: Have i said that?

MysELF: the fact that we have ventured into non-conventional space performances should not nullify the existence of the beauty that still surrounds the conventional four walls of the theatre.

ME: I guess you are not suggesting a pursuit of beauty in art?

MysELF: I don't think 'beauty' is the right word.

ME: but you just used it...

MysELF: lol, yes beauty for me means 'not ugly' because what we strive for in our art is what is honest, what's natural, what's sometimes organic to an extreme or sometimes inorganic to an extreme, that it moves us.

ME: Have you ever questioned what we have to offer our audience, when they come to see
us in the theatre.

MysELF: what do you mean?

ME: ...is it about beauty? Is that what they lack through their addiction to the garbage of the
mass media?

MysELF: NO. That’s not what they lack, even though their notion of beauty has been
fundamentally tainted by the media and other dictionary meanings.

ME: so why are we so pretentious with our attempt to bring life into those artificial walls we
call theatre.

MysELF: No, cool down bro, for me there is no question about beauty in life, beauty in art or
beauty in existence, when our audience experiences a performance that is entirely what it is - then they might be brought back to the natural order of things that is not trying to be beautiful.

ME: yeah, 'natural order of things' you begin to touch the essential now, because I am
persuaded that there is no way nature can be (re)produced in a formal setting, otherwise, how come we lose our audience when things slow down and become a little more like nature?

MysELF: but bros, this is connected to the state of the world now, and the destruction of
nature. It’s impatient with things that create boredom.

ME: Exactly my point, how we artists begin to feel subjected to the pressure of what viewers
feel is beautiful or exciting that it forces us to respond to their utilitarian need from art. On the converse, I think a good art should be capable of showing to his audience 'what is not beautiful'

MysELF: Now as a dancer, how do you put that together; is it something that lacks perfection
and sophistication, or that is crassly money-making?

ME: well...

MysELF: ...it's not that our audiences have no more channels or ability to perceive and experience pure art. They are ready, in the same way that we are ready to experiment with what is captivating and real and engaging.

ME: well... I just think there is a fundamental deficiency associated with those theatre walls, there is something very artificial about It, not to talk of the politics and the bureaucracy of the
determiners of what is a good or a bad show.

MysELF: so, are all of these about your strong believe in public space performances over pieces created for the theatre space?

ME: Bro, I know that you know that we both know that, non-conventional spaces are where things still exist in their natural habitat, unaffected with filthy political games and after-effects.

MysELF: Inasmuch as I might want to agree with you, but again and again it strikes me that our purpose cannot be exclusively fulfilled by performing solely in public spaces, the economy of our art will lack if...

ME: ...oh, now I see, you are selling out.

MysELF: Hahahaha... there you go again.

ME: Since when did you began to consider the commercial significance of our art, so I was right when I opposed the making of books out of our projects, all your ideas these days seek to exclude the basic right of the common man.

MysELF: ok you have started again......Mr. Common man, so what will it be if not books,
Internet? It all depends on their level of interest bro.

ME: See you, interest? Ok now it’s your turn to make me laugh, how do you create interest

MysELF: I mean those who are interested.

ME: bro, there is nothing like interested, are we interested in seeing all those bill boards and
adverts we are bombarded with everyday.

MysELF: well, there are lots of people who don’t see it...

ME: bill boards? Are they blind? hahahaha.

MysELF: Mad man.

ME: Well, TV or YouTube or facebook, for me they are of the new media I’m talking about and it is just to tell you that I think we need to start focusing on alternative measures in all the routes that leads to the meeting point with our audience.

MysELF: what I am saying is that, what we are doing will be taking the interest of those who
could be interested in such things, but who do not have access to it due to class difference and other fundamental differences... but to convert people's interest is really a hard thing to do... that’s what I learnt with our public space performances.

ME: No, I disagree.

MysELF: well it is normal that you disagree to agree, just let me say this...

ME: how do they even know if they are interested?

MysELF: lol...

ME: how do those guys that saw our performance for the first time know they are interested in this kind of dance? Bro have u forgotten 'seeing is believing'

MysELF: well, the truth is that we can never tell who is interested in what, but wait let me say
something...

ME: ...then, that is not my preoccupation, when we go out on the street, I’m interested In being
in a particular space at a particular time, for sure people will gather and watch. Most of them had no idea what they were watching.

MysELF: Yes, but see...

ME: ...I'm not trying to do something to or for them; I’m just there. Opening up the organic and
expressive side of a particular dance to the audiences is what I am concerned with. People
actually can experience the beauty, the realness, and the truth of the nature of dance in
whatever form it comes...

MysELF: you are bombarding me!!!!!!,

ME: not to start searching who is interested or not...

MysELF: let me talk!!!!!!!!!!! Or how many exclamation marks should I put before you realise
that you are bombarding me.

ME: lwkmd, hahahahaha

MysELF: Nonsense! We are saying the same thing!!!!!!! Can I talk s'il vous plait?

ME: talk Mumu!!!

MysELF: lol, see, after setting up our gadget; cameras, laptop, sound system and so on, to perform in some poor neighborhoods, I heard with my own ears some people saying, "instead of building infrastructures, and giving money for food, you people are wasting all the money in these things"....

ME: hmm, they may be right...

MysELF: Yes, but also those saying that do not understand that we have not come to build
bridges or give money for food... otherwise that money would have been in our account while
we also eat and buy things with it... Just like their governments.

ME: They didn’t even understand that we used most part of our personal money for those
performances.

MysELF: but there were others who saw it for what it was... they were interested even though
they know that the roads have not been rebuilt or people are dying of hunger, they did not
compare the two situations as such...

ME: exactly, the same reaction we get from the those audience, who are always in search of
narratives In contemporary dance, always in search of that utilitarian purpose in art, but as I
always tell them, 'you will never understand art until you understand that some art cannot be
understood but appreciated or not'

MysELF: so what I am saying in essence, is that no matter what we do, there are those who will not be interested because they don’t think it will benefit them, even in that common man

ME: Especially the common man,

MysELF: So...?

ME: but bros we are talking about how to get it to their face, those guys who talk about hunger and infrastructure are not who we are out there for, we address a crowd and any out there who understands our language, who are open to new languages and mode of expressions, those are the ones we are talking to, and those are the ones we need to take with us

MysELF: Good!!! So you see, you are not the one converting their interest, they either have this interest or not.

ME: it's just that we don’t know, they don’t know, because they have not seen, even those who are going to be "interested" they need to mature into that level of interest that will make them dip their hands into their pocket to come see us at the theatre or buy our catalogues, if they so wish, those are the guys we need to take with us.

MysELF: yes for sure... but the basics is that you did not convert them... when we say we want
to increase the public, it does not mean that we can get everyone on the boat, it means we are looking for those who share the same interest with us, but we do not know them...

ME: yes I have said that too, be YoursELF and stop repeating ME. Shit.

MysELF: lol

ME: and we will only increase such "interest" by making it better accessible,

MysELF: not by coming down to their level in our works.

ME: but coming to their level in the path that leads to such realisation, so making a book I think is too secondary. That is why the mode of diffusion is more important than the content of creation in this strategy.

MysELF: Exactly... but bro, making a book can be important in terms of preservation of the
documents.

ME: Well yes, but if we look deep down we will see that we are still following a tradition laid by the west.

MysELF: whether we like it or not, if we will have to teach the young artists really about what
art is in Africa, in our own terms, we will have to rely on our own preserved literatures, our
books, our documents, and how do you preserve that?

ME: Sincerely I think the new media is the best way and better accessible

MysELF: Ok that is an argument for another day.

The texts in this dialogue are partly inspired by real life characters, research based, online
chatting or a real life conversation.

ME and MYsELF is a series of soliloquy brought to you by the collective consortium of "MY
Schizophrenic Thoughts"
The MST refuse to be responsible for any damage or whatsoever injury caused by the content of this dialogue.

Qudus on Global Nomad blog.

Originally from Lagos, Nigeria and now residing in Paris, France, Qudus Onikeku is a Dancer, Acrobat, Choreographer, avid Blogger, first time documentary film maker and some would say, a Cultural Activist.

Why are you a global nomad?

For we are in the age of global tribe, that’s the only way to be an active part of the future and able to tame the panther from whatever stand point. N.E.W is the future (Nomadism. Exile and Worldliness) Exile being a permanent state of being, rather than a condition.

What made you start this venture? Why are you doing this?

Questions, seeking for answers and because I know that I will never get the answers I seek, it leaves me endlessly stupid, endlessly poor. The will to endlessly get out of my stupidity and poverty is what leads to my many projects. Man’s journey can not be predetermined by his parents or his wishes, series of overlapping events and coincidence is what becomes our destiny, it’s not a human calculation. I’m naturally curious, adventurous, with a genuine love for the world and a strong compassion for its inhabitants.

What do you hope to achieve?

I am a glutton for a world of peace, for a world where what drives men is not opportunism and greed, a world where people of power and authority don’t despise us and enslave us, regiment our lives, tells us what to think and what to feel! Stop to drill us - diet us - treat us like cattle, use us as cannon fodder. Turn us to unnatural men - But teaches us the love of humanity and strive to build an empathic civilization.


How long have you been working on this?

This kind of project is a project of the heart, and since i realized that I have a tender heart for such subject matter, even before I realized my talent as an artiste I have been working on this.

What is the most interesting discovery you have made since starting this project?

For me that will be the initiation of my non-conventional space dance project that I titled “Do we need cola cola to dance?” It brought me to the realization of the powerful connection between artists of all kinds and human rights. Artist and activist sometimes stand up against the establishment to say what needs to be said in the name of humanity. The need to break bounds and refusal to hegemony brought about this project. This artwork communicates across boundaries of geography, politics, gender, race, cross all divides and belong to every individual in those public spaces. Freedom of expression is vital for an artist’s work and we work to protect that very right and in the end the relationship is more fundamental. We experienced art together with our audience, it makes us feel human, and moves us to protect the human rights of others. Everyone has a voice and should use it… No one sees the world in exactly the same way, no one sees the world through the same eyes as I do, nobody will see how I think and feel about the world unless I express it in some ways. The interactive moments we shared with our audience was another means of getting closer to them, I was ready to hear their stories as much as they might like to hear mine. This can awaken their consciousness in a way politics or radical activism may not, this on the other hand inspires both fellow artistes and our audience, give self-confidence to people who believe in something but feel that they are alone.

Where do you see this project in 10 years?

After the African tour in 2007, we made a movie with the same title in 2008, in 2009 I did a similar project in Sao Paulo, in 2010 I returned to Brazil for a tour in Londrinas, Campinas, Joao Passoa and Recife. All these tours proved to me that this is where my heart is, as I continue to create for conventional theaters to feed my secondary needs, I will as well continue to do this project all over the world, to feed my basic need.

When did you start traveling?

2001, it was the very first time I left Lagos my city of birth.

How and why did you travel for the first time?

I traveled by air and it was for the purpose of performance in Madagascar.

In what places have you lived and what languages do you speak?

I have lived in Lagos, Ibadan, Chalons en Champagne and Paris. and I speak Yoruba, Nigerian Pigin, English, French and a bit of Portuguese.

What’s your favorite city so far?

I’ll pick Lagos, for so many obvious reasons, but I felt a similar vibe in Sao Paulo, Johannesburg and New York.

If you could only take one item with you to travel the world (other than your passport), what would it be?

My Quran.

Give us your global nomad profile:

window or aisle? Window. I can’t just stop admiring the work of God.

boat or plane? I can only swim in a pool. So I go for Plane.

train or bus? I love fast Train.

walk or bike? Bike for sure, Okada like we call it in Lagos

metro or trolley? Metro, but it depends where, if it is in a dirty and disorganized metro like in Paris, no thanks, I prefer a trolley.

tropical, temperate, polar? Tropical

hotel, hostel or local’s apartment? Local Apartment for sure. Even in the most dangerous favela, the locals will show you their survival technique, being in a five star hotel in a very safe neighborhood doesn’t guarantee your security.

must have fashion piece when traveling? Ma ALL STAR, My ever ready to dance partner in any condition.

explore/map or tour guide? Explore without Map. I’m an African. My mother told me if you cultivate the habit of asking people your way, you will never get lost. And I also feel its a very social thing to do.

My Exile... at Parc de la Villette

A Message To Journalists

DEAR JOURNALISTS OF THE WORLD,

You were intrigued by us when we took on the financial sector by attacking Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal as part of Operation Payback. Many of you became enamoured with us during Operation Tunisia and applauded our efforts. Some of you are now paying close attention to Operation Algeria. We know that we have gained support from even a few of you. Those few are hoping against hope that our unconventional methods will continue to have an effect on people, perhaps even the world. Those few admire us, if for no other reason than the fact that, in a world full of apathy, a world filled with people who don't even bother to read the information you painstakingly present, we are trying to do something. This intrigues you. At the very least, it inspires you to keep an eye on us, hoping we continue to take newsworthy actions.

You know that, whether you are risking your own safety - perhaps even your own life - to share the truth, or whether you are beholden to your dictators or your advertisers, unable to write anything they do not approve, we, Anonymous, are on your side and are fighting for you and your freedoms. You, the journalists, reporters, and bloggers. You, the newspapers, television networks and websites who hunt down and disseminate information. We are fighting for you.

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Here is where we need your help. We ask you, the journalists, to bring to the rest of the world the humanity of these revolutions. What we are witnessing are not extremist acts that are committed by misled, ignorant people. Indeed, they are committed by intelligent, but desperate people - people willing to sacrifice themselves in order to inspire their fellow citizens to rally against their oppressors. The world needs human news. The world needs to know who it is that needs their support, and not just the number of casualties or the politics involved.

What we ask is simple. There are people protesting in Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Albania, Libya, and many other countries at this very moment. Tell us who they are and what it is they want for their country and their people, for now and in the future. So many voices are raised in protest right now and all the world can hear is the noise. Tell us what the people are saying.

Some of you will ignore this message. It announces no new operations, as we are still focusing our efforts on Operation Algeria. This message issues no threats, as you are the press and are always safe from us. If you heed our request, however, it could make all the difference in the world, as it made a difference for the Tunisians to know that they were speaking and the world was hearing their message. Help us do this for Algeria, Egypt, and other countries where the people are imploring to be heard.

Signed,


Anonymous.

We are Anonymous.
We do not forgive the denial of basic human rights.
We do not forget those who assist the oppressed.
To the Tyrannical governments of the world... Expect us.

Charles Chaplin. The Great Dictator - speech

Human conception in the context of the modern world is debased by violence in many layers, which is a fair justification that the modern man is very much conditioned by two fundamental characters. Opportunism and greed. There is no such thing as society, but a bunch of individual people, making individual choices to promote their individual well being.

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness - not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there's room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate - has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man - cries for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say: 'Do not despair.' The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you and enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate, only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural!

Soldiers! Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St Luke, it is written the kingdom of God is within man not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power - the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful - to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work - that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason - a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us unite!

Sources: 'My Autobiography' by Charles Chaplin.

Disney's African Diary

After an uneventful voyage, we sighted Africa. The dark continent. Land of adventure. Africa the unknown. Black, foreboding, mysterious Africa.

“FRENCH ARROGANCE” : Showing tonight at the French Cultural Center – Africa.

Let the image of Africa that sweets your mind correlate with the one that troubles my heart. The projection of your World on me, threatens the one i aspire to see and live in. Your Africa is a certain human condition while the one i carry in my heart is a HUMANITY.

Qudus ONIKEKU

It was the 19 November 2010, in Cotonou. It’s almost two weeks that we’ve been on this very badly organised and traumatic tour. Travelling by road, by air and most especially by the rivers of the French Babylon. We are fourteen in all, from four different nationalities, apart from me with a west African passport, visa issues had been a major headache for the French, the Congolese and particularly the Mozambicans amongst us, as most of the countries toured are West African nations. As if that’s not enough, we still perform in impossible technical conditions. Just a day before today we’ve had a major brush with the management of the French cultural centre, who were supposed to welcome us into Cotonou, due to their bad-mannered attitude, imposing an hostel upon us for an hotel, and most especially for refusing to honour the fact that we deserve a better treatment, even if one could understand the question of low budget.

Flashback: Yesterday the 18^th of November, our day began at about 5am, to get ready for the airport; we had our last show in Dakar on the 17^th so it can be easily imagined, how difficult it was to get up at 5am. But we must, our flight to Cotonou was scheduled for around 7am. After the whole rush, we were already in the plane when we got the announcement that the plane had developed some technical faults, so the flight was delayed for another 9 hours. We were supposed to arrive in Cotonou at about 4pm, but that’s the exact time we left Dakar. However, the only contact person we have is Mr Amadou Sene of the CCF Dakar, the regional coordinator of the tour, and he happens to be in Paris at the moment, all the mails we had sent to Cotonou earlier, none did we get a reply, so we have no one to contact in Cotonou, but we believed in miracle.

At about 10pm we landed in Cotonou. Here comes the first conflict. Without hesitation, the immigration officers threatened to deport the French and the Mozambicans because they had no visas. As we tried to delay such horrible process of repatriation, Florent quickly dashed to the CCF to get those who are supposed to receive us, a while after Florent returned, they arrived. Jacqueline, the accountant, Mr Noel the assistant director and another lady. Rather than approaching us to know where we are and what the situation was like, they stood few meters away, formed a little caucus with their heads facing one another. That already made me wonder if we were in the right place. After a while trying to settle things ourselves, now we are supposed to go to the ministry of internal affairs to get the visas tomorrow, but we have no idea of where that was. Here is when our rage began to gradually grow towards our supposed hosts, everyone was quite curious as to why they could ever think that it was our responsibility to settle visa issues. But we kept our cool.

Jaqueline eventually took the initiative to come closer, ahh finally, they are not totally blind, only to come ask us “Est ce que vous avez fini?” we all looked at each other in disbelieve, “si vous avez fini les bus sont dehor” Isaak my French video artiste, could not probably take any of their bad manners “maybe we should start by introduction first or don’t courtesy demands that” “no” she replied “on fais ça a l’hotel”. Getting to the cars, we realised that there were only two normal cars with four available seats and a jeep, equally with four seats, so a quick arithmetic tells us that the cars they brought are only enough for twelve people, “madam but we are fourteen, this cars won’t be enough” i told her “we don’t have a bus, so let’s manage it.” Why not? sometimes i tend to forget that we are Africans. It’s normal “This is Africa”.

Arriving at the supposed hotel, the cars parked in a quiet neighbourhood with very little luminosity, I looked across the street to see if there is a sign of a hotel, but i couldn’t see any, so i remained seated, perhaps, they stopped for another purpose, until one of the Congolese dancers came to me from the other car, “Qudus, welcome to your no star hotel” with a very ridiculous laughter, i said which one? And he pointed to a sign on the gate “chants des oiseaux.” and another engraved on the wall "Institut des artisanat." Apparently, we’ve been parked right in front of the “hotel” but my subconscious was not just ready to reconcile with the taught that, any human faeces can even imagine to lodge foreign guests, and to top it all, a group of artistes that they consider ‘the best of Africa’ in a similar junk-yard. Florent, Horacio and myself decided to see the rooms, to give them a benefit of doubt, maybe it was just the superficial appearance that seem like the remains of an underground eruption, but few points made the room a total match with the outside; two bed aligned vertically due to lack of space, mosquito nets drawn across the beds, a fan rather than AC, instead of a running water, we had a bucket of water. We didn’t bother seeing the toilet before we made up our mind. “We’d rather sleep on the street than accept this pile of rubbish.” It was a tough night...

End of flashback.

I got into this little auditorium of about 100 seats and a small stage; a “high” table with three chairs set on it, looking down upon the 100 remaining seats. We were supposed to have a meeting to “resolve” the issue at hand, so i wondered who was to be on the “high” table. Prior to this meeting, i had tried to clear my mind of possible impatience that might suddenly jab my bad humour, and i was quite serious about that. Just as we were called in for the meeting at about 3pm, simultaneously, the Mozambicans and the French had to go to the ministry to go pick up their visas. Horacio can obviously not be in two places at a time, so I andFlorent intended to retard the meeting for about 30 minutes tillHoracioreturns, since we are three representatives on this tour.

The first blow of this meeting hit me when this director of the cultural service of the French embassy in Cotonou came in, I didn’t quite know who he was but something told me he would definitely be someone much taller – than every other person we’ve seen – in hierarchy. He reminded me of a scene in last king of Scotland, if only he was black and bulky, i would have easily mistaken him for Indi Amin. As soon as he came in, i immediately left the room, for two reasons; one for strategy and the other for precaution. I ran out of the building to get the voice recorder from Charles, but he already left with the bus. Awww ! Still i wanted to remain a bit out there. Breathe in... and out, remember don’t pant for you are not running from nothing and nothing is running after you.

Just as i envisaged, an office assistant came out “C’est qui Outus?” the first call entered a voice mail, again “...c’est qui outus?” “You mean Qudus?” i replied. "Oui” well i thought as much.“Ok c’est moi j’arrive, i’ll be there,” but i guessed he has been given an order as well, as what tend to drive people in this establishment is orders, he refused to go and seeing the way he tries so hard to pace me up already gave me a clear picture of how it will all go in there. When i got back to the auditorium, obviously they’ve all been waiting for me. That for me was the first gesture of a counter intimidation, for i know that, intimidation will be the main missile that will be used in destroying our egos.Guillaume the graphic designer was sitting on the first row, right wing of the auditorium seat, beside him was Mr Noel the assistant director, and on the tip of the stage, sat the accountant, Jaqcueline – the most rude last night – and indi amin. Florent was sitting also in the auditorium but on the left wing on the second row, so i decided to sit on the third row behind him. Shake! Check! But no handshakes - French or English? a little “bonjour” from far will do.

That i accepted to speak in French will be my first effort towards diplomacy, however, in moments like this i thank my star for making it so effortless for me to have learnt and spoke French fluently in just three years, for i have understood that it requires a certain spoon length to dine with the devil, for you have to be accustomed with the menu list even without looking. For the benefit of writing, the whole of the meeting that happened in French will be translated in English, just as all words passes through an English screen in my head, before i digest them in Yoruba, my mother tongue.

Can we start the meeting now...” it sound to me like a question.

“Horacio is supposed to be in this meeting, he said we should w...”

Here goes the first interruption, i was wrong, it wasn’t a question “No no no, we cannot spend the whole day waiting, we have to clear this issues on ground as soon as possible, My name is Monsieur LEROI ” Yes i could have guessed, his name has something to do with ‘The King’, he went on with his plenty titles.

"...i am the So so and so of the French embassy in Benin, i have been told about all that happened last night, i was told that you refused to go into the accommodation arranged for you at the chants desoiseaux, and that some of you said some very strong words to my colleagues, that is very very uncalled for, i don’t at all appreciate such attitude, they told me that you wanted another hotel or you will remain on the street, lucky you that i was not there last night, because you would have actually slept out there, for i wouldn’t have arranged for another hotel for you...”

That was how he went on with an admonishing lecture that lasted for almost ten minutes, as he spoke i made sure that my eyes never at any moment left his eye balls, looking straight into his eyes, my hand placed below my jaw in order not to show how astounded i was, for if i let it go, it will drop and my mouth will most definitely go wide in awe. In just two minutes, his ego and arrogance became bigger than the auditorium.

“...Let me tell you guys, you need to bring your feet to the earth, yes, you won an important competition, good for you guys, but before you begin to feel like stars, remember that is not the end of the world, my wife is a dancer too, so don’t think that i don’t know what it means to be artists and to be on tour, i can understand that there was fatigue, you’ve travelled all day, but you should as well be appreciative, people here are doing everything for you, you need to know how much effort and how much money has gone into your coming here, it was not in the program, they had to look for a way to make this happen, and you really need to recognise all that effort...”

At this point, my blood pressure was rising abnormally. Breath in, breath out, start all over again... and again. Wished i had recorded his speech and able to transcribe all that was said, eventually he concluded

... normally we from the SCAC don’t intervene in the affairs of the CCF, only at rare cases, now the director is not around, so i need to find a solution to this, all of these just has to stop, for all i have heard don’t make me any happy at all, the condition defined for you is to go back to the hostel arranged for you or nothing else, our budget cannot afford anything above that, so i’m ready to listen to you. What have you got to say?”

When things get to this point, something very influential and significant has to be done to avoid decay, there was a very stagnant silence in the room, but not in my head, in there, there was a traffic of questions necessary to establish an algorithm for a counter reaction, should this silence go on like that? Who should speak first in such situation? The Nigerian part of me or the francophone? The Muslim or the activist? The poet or the martial artist? But i was certain, there is no room for Diplomacy? ...No he didn’t bring that, an ebb and flow; our response must be recurrent and rhythmical with the pattern already established. Let’s have a valse.

‘The king’ has displayed a kind of arrogance that breeds nothing but aggressiveness even in his most apathetic resolve. The psychological trick bags were all too evident even in his supposedly neutral tones of coming to “intervene” and arriving at a solution. Now i wonder what he really thinks, is he thinking that we will deny all the ridiculous scrap of information he has been fed with? Or he sees this as his celestial right to treat us as subhuman, unworthy of a point of view. Ignorant about why, about what purpose his harassment will eventually serve if he has a the slightest idea of how much i know about the French politics and their so called ‘soft power policy’, about how many times my Nigerian passport had been stamped with an entry and exit stamp in various airports of this world. I know too well that the most prestigious overseas address which he can offer is any address in republique francaise, where i have had a residents permit for the past five years. These were merely useful preparations for me

Just before i finished my mathematical process, i guessed Florent had picked up the relay baton, in order to break the silence, "My name is Florent Mahoku, i am the choreographer for studio maho, and i would like to start by correcting an impression that we are feeling like stars...”

Precisely that word – STAR – that word was what gave me the key. The password. I already saw the tone. Florent was heading towards diplomacy, but NO! I quickly tapped Florent by the shoulders and immediately broke in, which might appear rude to mr ‘The King’

...Yes we are STARS” he probably didn’t believe his ears or didn’t hear me properly, i repeated myself two more times, then

“...Yes, i said we are celebrities, celebrated by many more than you can imagine, and we are actually flying in the sky right now with the vultures...”

There was no need for introduction or similar formalities, for i sensed that we are not in a United Nations sitting.

"Good for you” he replied,

but i was just beginning. “...in my mother tongue, there is..."

“Your mother tongue is English no?”

“In Yoruba, there is a proverb which say ‘the elder who comes in to separate two kids fighting, and based his judgement only on one side of the story, he is the real problem.”

He seemed a bit confused “I can’t hear you, what do you mean? Come closer, i have a problem with my ears.” That i don’t doubt. Perhaps my Yoruba proverb, that was initially translated into English then to French, had lost its sagacity in the pipeline, so i moved to the front row now, and the distance between Mr ‘The king’ and myself is less than one meter, I rephrased and my words were composed.

“I mean, since you have decided to listen to one side of the story and basing your judgement on that, now, you are my problem...”

"I am not making a judgement, and when i say you i don’t mean you in singular, i was told one of you said...”

“Excuse me, we allowed you talk for ten minutes without breaking you...”

no i didn’t talk for ten minute, i know my counts, it was 3 minutes 20 seconds...”

“...will you allow me? ... You weren’t there last night, you don’t know who we are, you have no idea of where we are coming from, and you sit us down here, talking as though we are your kids or a set of students you need to teach some moral values. I am very disappointed at you, you are supposed to be a diplomat i imagine, no matter how small we might seem to you, we still represent a certain authority different from yours, so this is still a diplomatic relationship and if you are proficient enough, you should have known that there are some manners at which you don’t address another diplomat, is this all France can afford?...”

I could see right in his face that he didn’t see that coming, one of the disadvantages of what we refer to as the “white skin” is that its physiology easily reflects whatever turmoil threatening its entire biology. That was an assurance that my words were very well received. My many experience in France and my understanding of the French language, as a very aggressive language, which i have encountered in different forms while i was in school, made me realise that the impotence that comes from this kind of encounter can easily be crippling and mind-scattering when allowed to dock. The knowledge that one individual has the monopoly of words and for no individual can hold the power to limit me in my movements, all in his own right, without the need to justify his actions to me or to the society of which we are both a part of, that such power has been revealed in ‘the king’. I will however not allow him to muffle my private life by circumscribing my movements and jeopardizing my dance-trade, so i went further.

“...I can see that you are really getting comfortable in Benin. Sitting on the idea of the hand that give stays up above, so obviously you see this as one of those humanitarian aid reliefs you give to Africans, but let me make something clear, apart from the fact that i am an artist, i am also a social entrepreneur, i have my company registered in Lagos and in Paris, and the dance piece that brings you and i together is ‘the product’ at stake, i created this work with 45,000€, my company invested a lot in this work and none of that has to do with you and the height at which you stand to talk down on me. I am not here today because i won a competition, mind you, i am here because i created a piece, an art work that is worthy of its success, a property of Yk Projects, whose value is worth more than whatever you can propose. Now i sell this work to you with certain conditions, if you can’t respect such condition as a normal hotel, where normal human beings can sleep comfortably, then you have bridged a contract and we have the right to ask for what was initially agreed upon...”

It will be a scandal if this day ends in the direction at which i chose to valse, so i guess he was also preparing his algorithm to get another access key, as it seemed quite clear that i have succeeded in sending his ego out of the room. He sprang up again.

“There is nothing wrong with chants des oiseaux, a lot of artistes had been here, even few months ago, a troupe was on a similar tour as yours from Senegal, we lodged them there without any problem, so how is your case so different, dancers come in here from France, missionaries and polytechnicians, we put them all there.”

“Of what use are all these analogies that doesn’t just correlate. Six years ago i was as well on a similar regional tour with Heddy maalem’s company, maybe because it was a French company, i never slept in such hostel, but four years ago i was invited to perform in Fitheb festival, and i was still not lodged as such, and now i think i still don’t deserve such treatment.”

“Like i said my wife is a dancer and i know how difficult it is, you just have to face the reality of your profession, many a time, they have to pay to even perform in places like festival d’avignon, and you still don’t...”

“Maybe ten years ago i would have done that”

“My wife is not a kid...”

That i understood.

“It’s not about age it’s about ones journey in life, i performed in Avignon four years ago and i was paid a professional fee in a decent apartment”

“Good for you, that’s their budget, but we don’t have such budget and can’t invent it from nowhere.”

“Exactly my point, if you don’t have such budget and you are not prepared, and you don’t know how to welcome artistes at the airport, why accept to program them? What gave you the impression that we are that hungry for a show in Cotonou? It doesn’t bother us to tour around six countries – instead of twelve – if that’s all that is ready and competent enough to accommodate our professional needs. You are the head of a cultural sector, and i am an artiste, and this suggests that we are both bind by this department of the humanities, but how humane are we now in our dealings with each other? Don’t you think that our business dealings should have a human face? It really seems to me that in all we have said so far, all you cared about truly is ‘the budget’ so for all you care we can be lodged in hostels where we become susceptible to mosquitoes and sleeping in such unhealthy condition during this entire tour, horrifying forty days with agonizing forty nights. For sure we shall all get back to our various homes smiling in good health.”

‘The king’ was as furious as Sango the king of koso, I made sure that my antagonism was as calm as possible, it might appear that i was very furious too, but inside of me i kept my cool and trying as much to enjoy this tango, what i wanted was to get him even more irritated till his stupidity fill up the entire auditorium. At some point he began to scream and i made sure that each time he did that, i tried as much as possible to scream two times higher than he did. Then i guessed he couldn’t take it any longer, for we were so close that he might be tempted to hit me, but i guess he was telling himself the same thing. CAUTION! To avoid other specials that was not scheduled to appear in the menu. He stood up. So angry, grumbling as he dashed out of the auditorium. A door was slammed!

Everyone was quiet. Guillaume – who had spent the whole of the time trying to make eye contact with me, but i have constantly ignored – he tries to break the mood.

“I think we should stop all these now, if not there will be no way forward”

Florent added to it “This man should stop all this child’s play, his intervention is even making things worse, an issue as little as the issue of accommodation is what the cause of all this is...” Jaqueline who had been muttering blurred words and adding one or two nods to show her support for The king, cuts in. “but we don’t have that budget...”

Florent replied out of irritation “if that’s really your problem, pay us our fee by cash and we shall pay for it if that will make you happy...” At this point i have heard and said enough, i sat back and i withdrew from the conversation between Florent and Jacqueline, i pulled myself out from the entire scene as i try to make further sense of this whole insanity i find myself.

Communication between two human beings – not to talk of two different authorities – can be difficult. Misrepresentation and misinterpretation have been the cause of numerous wars and crises in history. Guillaume, the youngest of them appears to be the only one who arrives at understanding this. “Qudus you see i do understand your plight, but please see it from our angle as well, your coming here has been a real headache for us all, it has been badly planned from the unset, from three days, to eight days, lack of information from France, and the absence of the director, all these are important clause that you need to see.”

After a long period of argument with Jacqueline and Mr Noel last night, it was this same Guillaume that was called, and he managed to be diplomatic in his approach, he it was who eventually found the solution of giving us a better hotel for the night, while we find other solutions for the next day, because the only hotel we could get at that time of the day was as expensive as an appointment with a psychoanalyst.

“you see Guillaume, if you were the one who came to the airport last night, i am very certain that we wouldn’t have gotten to this point, because you are more diplomatic. See, we are artists, and art still falls under the humanities, and that “humanity” is what is gradually being denied. We don’t joke with that. We understand all these issues of bad organisation that Culturesfrance has placed us all, in which you are also a prey to, but don’t try to make our kids suffer the sins of your fathers. We aren’t asking for much, just do the right thing.”

Little i wonder if i myself knew what the right thing was apart from a “normal hotel.” I was however, most times ready to go into explanation and analyses, for my rational mind tells me that my argument has substance, but their refusal to accept that fact, makes me worry about their stance, and their reactions kept coming in such an aggressive manner, that only a similar pride could harmonize.

The King came back into the room unreformed; clearly his ego seemed exhausted for there was no space left for the power excitement of his triumph and fulfilment over me. Perhaps his next tactic will be to frizzle me in the rising embers of his righteous anger, with speed at which he yanked the door open and barely taking a step before the next, perhaps he intend to soften me with a disorientating tactics of sudden hurricane violence. Or at worst, to prove his superiority, he could just hand us keys to some five star hotels in Cotonou. All these possibilities were there present in his abrupt entrance. The apparition was fear-provoking in its suddenness; he was indeed like a creature that escaped from a nearby zoo. Certainly some forces whirled him towards my direction and it was difficult to imagine that his speed was unaided.

“This boy is so arrogant and there is certain way i treat your type...”

My involuntary response could not be brought under control, i had no chance but to speak right back at him, no need to antagonise this wild king, since i have continually encountered only venom from him, with an abrupt change to some moods which i presume registered acceptance of whatever challenge he came back to pose. With an equal abruptness i replied him.

“Do you want to know who is arrogant? People like you and the entire French politics in Africa. That is what i define as arrogance.”

“You are in my home here and i define things”

“Just like i said you are becoming too comfortable here, go out a bit to see reality, we are in Africa, your home is miles away...” from now on i began to talk with a very clear withdrawal from the conversation; i became very nonchalant to his venom.

“No, this territory is a French territory and if you don’t behave yourself i will call the Interpol to repatriate you from this country.”

This was when i realised that this king must be unofficially high on some mushrooms, i couldn’t fake this one, and the laughter came just as sincere as I was with him.

“You are still stuck with your political science classes, a French want to deport a Nigerian from Benin republic, did i here you right?”

“If you think i can’t do that, you just wait and see”

“No you can’t be serious, for your information, i am a Nigerian, i don’t need a visa in this country, if i take a bike now i will be home in one hour or two, but do you know how far you are from home, and you permit yourself to exercise such arrogance on me here”

“I brought you to my home and i am capable of sending you out...”

It was then i stood up and walked to the back of the auditorium, the talk was getting nowhere, and i began to get fed up. Florent took the relay baton

“All these will not get us anywhere, i...”

The King cuts in “I just want to prove to him that i know what i am doing, what is this in my hand?” he showed them a piece of paper “i thought he said i have made up my mind before coming here, here are the hotel reservations that we just got now”

“so you finally have some hotels for us” said Florent. I thought to myself – finally we are getting somewhere – before Jacqueline cuts in again.

“But Florent said they can pay the hotel with their own money if we pay them in cash...”

It was as if i didn’t hear clearly, and The King was also interested in that solution

“If you want to do that that is also possible” i came back with my intervention

“No, you guys can’t be for real; you want us to pay our hotel? And you are not ashamed about that? amazing. Well we will agree to pay for the hotel, but you can be sure that no one is performing here.”

Eventually after two hours of talks and energy wasted, they arrived with two or three options,

“The driver will take the three representatives to visit these hotels and see which of them is OK for you.” The options A, B and C that we had were all of the same, a relatively two star hotel, mostly used for “short time” as we call it in Lagos, those sort of hotels where they hardly have people lodged there, but for young boys who need a place to dis-virgin their girl friends, or even worse a ready room where prostitutes takes their customers regularly.

We have been travelling since yesterday early morning, from Dakar, to eventually check-in in a Hotel room at 7pm today, and we have a show tomorrow. This treatment is not an exclusive one. During the entire tour we were constantly literally teaching the personnel of the French Institutes their jobs. Cotonou just happened to be the most shocking. By the time we got to the hotel, our body fluid was beginning to dry off, talking all day to get a two star hotel, if we need anything better perhaps we will have to talk for another few weeks for the hotel to add one more star. We all agreed that it’s not really important to defeat the giant, but to hit him always that he doesn’t feel too comfortable.

(c) DIARY OF A MODERN TUAREG.