Whitney Houston: Of A Wasted Talent and the Freedom We Seek.

She was naturally gifted. Intensely beautiful and with a perfect body shape that any lady could ask for from God. She came from a good home. Brought up in a good home. And surrounded by gifted and well-respected gospel singers. And she was groomed and nurtured to superstardom by the legendary Clive Davis, the President of Columbia Records. She couldn't have asked for more. And no artist in her generation had a better support system. Then came Mr. Bobby Brown. Would she still be alive today if she had married someone more mature, sophisticated, and urbane? We may never know. But death wouldn't have been an easy call. That I do know. And that's what this story is about.

Bobby Brown was wild, but he wasn't a drug addict. Whitney was. That the story of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown getting married came as a rude shock to the entertainment community was an understatement. How? No one could tell. They didn't have anything in common, even though they were reputed singers and performers. 

Musically, one made it to stardom on a shoestring, while the other had it all laid out - she was born into it. One was into weed, and the other was on hard substances. But most people thought the reverse was the case. No, it was the angel that was hardcore who, in fact, introduced the so-called wild one into a world of hard substances. 

So, why Bobby as a husband, out of all the eligible superstars and megastars? Simple. To be able to live her pastime and passion uncensored. Bobby couldn't control her, and he moved on. 

What would have happened if she had married grown-up guys in the category of Mr. Eddy Murphy or a college-educated guy like Wesley Snipes, Terrence Howard, Taye Diggs, or Big Dreamers like Baby Face, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis? We may never know. But what I do know is that, at least, a grown-up and more mature, sophisticated man in the house would have been able to straighten her up, seek outside help and not abandon her in the cold to cherish her passion unhinged. 

Her only daughter died exactly the same way that she died. She brought the boy home as a teenager from the same school to live with her and her Mom. And when Whitney died, the boy who ought to be a Big Brother to the lonely child became her Mr. Lover Man. Today, both the girl and the boy are dead. And I do not want to go into details about the circumstances of her death. 

Much as I am not willing to hold Mr. Bobby Brown responsible for the death of Whitney Houston, I am unwilling to excuse him of responsibility for the death of the only child they had together. Knowing the circumstances that surrounded the death of her mother, the best Bobby could have done was take custody of their only child or arrange for her to live with her grandmother. He didn't. The little girl was allowed to be used and abused, and abandoned by a once-upon-a-time suffering friend in her class, but she was brought home to enjoy the riches and love of her lovely Mother.

I know it is a free world that we live in America, and any child or teenager can make a choice about where he or she wants to live or whose company he or she wants to keep. Be that as it may, a more disciplined and mature voice would have made a huge difference in the circumstances. Maybe, just maybe, Whitney and her only daughter would still be alive today. It wasn't about love for Bobby, but the opportunity to be free and uncensored in the satisfaction of passion. Who knows! But what I do know is that you guys had nothing in common. 

Northern Politicians and the Making of Bandits.

Some Nigerians are groomed into a culture where, for instance, traversing the Sahara Desert on foot and daring the deadly current of the Mediterranean Sea are worth a risk as long as they can check out of Nigeria for a better life in Europe. Those who succeeded are working around the clock, doing every job to be able to send money home to their parents and loved ones.

On the other hand, it is not the same story with the Northern Youths. First of all, the majority of them are not educated. And they are nurtured into a culture where the celebration of illiteracy, AK/47, IED, Killing, kidnapping, and raping are existential normal. And that's what explains the video you're watching below - the delivery of weapons to either Bandits, Kidnappers, or Killer Herders in the forest by the sponsors and enablers.

The term "Boko Haram" did not originate from the leadership of the present-day Boko Haram sect. It was termed by Northern Technocrats and intellectuals to defeat a proposal for nationwide and federally funded Free Education at all levels. They argued that Free Education at all Levels is not in the best interest of Northerners because of Northern aversion to Western Education. They also argued that the proposed policy will widen the existing educational gaps between Northern and Southern Nigeria, based on the assumption that Southern families are more likely to embrace the program.

Well argued. But where are their children today? Attending prestigious High Schools and Universities in Europe and America, and coming home after graduation to start from where their privileged parents stop at the NNPC, CBN, and Federal Parastatals.

But the Talakawas, the Abokis, and the Almajiris are the ones you're seeing in the videos that are playing below. And that's the tragedy of the Nigerian North/South socio-economic Divide.

I am not saying this or writing this because I hate Northerners, but there's something abhorrent about most Northern Political leaders and Technocrats that they can't get rid of: SENSE OF DOMINANCE. "It is either our way or no way." And that is why bloodshed has overwhelmed the Nigerian landscape today.

While we are cascading dangerously toward extinction as a nation-state, they are there at Abuja, confused, issuing empty threats against those inciting ethnic intolerance. Who are the architects of the intolerance? Not me. Northern political leaders and their enabling Technocrats are the enemies of the state.

They are sitting on top of Nigerian crude oil wealth, has pocketed the NNPC, sending their children and wives to live abroad, while they are arming the Abokis and the Talakawas to go about kidnapping, killing, raping, and destroying private businesses all over Nigeria.

There is nothing Kanu Nnamdi is saying that is not true. Amotekun was not born out of hatred. Northern political leaders are the enemies of the Nigerian nation-state and the architects and sole beneficiaries of the North/South political divide.

The Gresham's Theory of Bad Money vs Good Money.

Bad Money Drives Out Good Money Meaning

Definition: If both low-quality and high-quality currencies exist in an area or market together, people will keep the high-quality currency for themselves and only use the low-quality currency with each other.

A good way to think about this proverb is to think about counterfeit and legal currency. If there is a counterfeit or inflated currency in circulation, people will hoard their genuine currency and only use the counterfeits in order to preserve the thing of true value.

Another way this idiom can be used is in the case of two legal forms of currency that are recognized to have the same value by a government. If one of these two forms is considered to be of higher value by the general public, the “higher” value currency will be hoarded, and only the “lower” value currency will be circulated.

For example, if a gold coin and a paper bill are both valued at $100, the public will save the gold to keep for themselves and use the paper money to buy commodities. This phenomenon is also known as Gresham’s law.

The expression bad money drives out good money can also be used metaphorically for any object, product, or skill that eliminates more valuable counterparts. For example, now that many products are produced cheaply, higher-quality versions of those same products are hard to find.

What Does Bad Money Drive Out Good Money Mean? - Writing Explained