House to Rep

I'm now referred to as the 'Ambassador' back home. Living away from everything, in a land I'm supposed to know, I've been thrust into this role & I think I'm doing a good job thus far. I grew up on the notion of being a representative of my family name, christianity & what have you, every time I stepped out of the house. That included acting the stereotypical way a preacher's kid would at University, but that's a different story for another day. So here I am, living...as an ambassador in a foreign country that actually isn't foreign at all.

Dress : Boohoo | Shirt : Blanco (Gran Canaria) | Pumps : Primark

I've been afforded the opportunity to really be a part of a great movement in Sub-Saharan Africa, attending events focusing on new government initiatives & mingling with Commissioners & the like in their [not so humble] abodes. This week, I was fortunate enough to tag along with the Programme Director to be a distinguished guest at Fashola, the Governor of Lagos State's, launch event at the Governor's House. As I sat among the who's who of Lagos, my mind jogged back to the word Ambassador. To be an Ambassador of something means you take on the role as a representative of said thing i.e. to be a Christian means to embody the Christian values & live your life like Jesus would (remember those horrendous threaded WWJD bracelets??) Yet, there I was among the creme de la creme of Nigerian politics and I failed to see what exactly was being represented.

Enroute to the Governor's House for the 'Lagos HOMS Launch Event'

Was it the fact that if one played their cards right for long enough, they just might land the role that affords them to live a life of luxury at the misfortune of others? Or perhaps they were representing the notion that while in power, cement all that one could in time so your money, power & influence was guaranteed to last past your reign? Oh dear, there goes the realist pessimist in me again. Sorry, but during my time here, I've been forced to see things as they truly are. From the outside looking in, we can sit there in our cushy homes & criticise the media for depicting Nigeria as it does. The sad fact of the matter is, it is what it is. The minority live in lavish homes on the Island, far away from the majority's reality, lapping up their generator-powered air conditioning while blasting non-stop Western media content from their western promulgated technological devices. What do they represent? 

I struggle to understand how people can comfortably live as they do when there is such a drastic disparity between the classes? I got in a heated debate with a Redeemed worshipper the other day for that same reason. I aired my confusion at a pauper of a preacher promulgating the wealth of their Church's founder, as the climax for all to aspire to. In the words of the Pastor "He is a man that sees the best & exceeds it. Whether it be private jets or the latest jeep". I am in no way condemning his discipleship, their beliefs or their good works, merely begging the question "how can he fly over his poor followers so lavishly and do nothing?" To me, as a representative of The Word & an Ambassador of the faith, surely that money could be better spent on enriching the masses of followers he glosses over every time he opens up a new branch. I don't hnow him personally, neither can I speak for every politician in Nigeria, but the reality is that the few at the top are not-so-blindly robbing the masses at the bottom. Not just of wealth, but opportunities, positions and hope.

Onyxsta says...BLEURGH!! What house do you represent?