Thanksgiving in U.S., Bombing and Politics in Nigeria

Family Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving table

At the table. Kelvin pouring wine for my husband. My tie-dyed tablecloth barely shows underneath all the food!

With snow forecast for Wednesday, we decided to wait until Thursday to drive to our daughter’s near Philadelphia. Hundreds of other people from New England and New York had made a similar decision, so the Thanksgiving day traffic was heavy. We left Westport at 10:30 a.m. and reached Bryn Mawr and our daughter Beth’s house about 3:30 in the afternoon.

Beth’s mother-in-law Elouise and her sister Marion had come several days before. They had been up since 4:30 on Thursday morning cooking and supervising the food preparation.

When we arrived I pulled out the tablecloth, napkins, gravy bowls, serving dishes, and serving spoons I’d brought. I also contributed Mama Stamberg’s cranberry relish which I’d made the day before.

Beth’s daughter Nkiru and I set the table quickly while Beth and Kelvin brought platters and bowls of food out. By 4:30 we were ready. Elouise said grace, Kelvin poured wine, and we enjoyed one delicious dish after another. The dressing and candied sweet potatoes were my favorites.

More than the food, I loved having family around us and sharing the meal together.

Ikem enjoying Thanksgiving dinnerIkem enjoying Brussels Sprouts during Thanksgiving dinner

Ikem, now sixteen months old, ate Brussels Sprouts, ham, turkey, and corn muffin bits. He is happy and curious and keeps us smiling.

He’s easy to photograph. I wanted to get a photo of Kelvin’s mom and me, the two grandmas, together, but we forgot! Next time we’re together I’ll do it right away.

Yesterday I fried the plantain I’d brought and made turkey stew to go with it. Aunt Marion loved both. She said she’ll buy and fry plantain herself when she gets home; she had no idea it was so easy.

Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? If so, what is your favorite Thanksgiving food? Did you cook? Did you share the meal with friends or family?

Okey Ndibe Reports from Nigeria

Okey Ndibe, Nigerian friend and author of Foreign Gods, Inc., just spent a week in Nigeria where he spoke at the Ake Book Festival in Abeokuta.

On his return he wrote in Sahara Reporters that he was puzzled to find that although friends and colleagues in Nigeria are completely disenchanted with the two major political parties, they are making little effort to seek alternatives.

“In conversation after frustrating conversation, one had a hard time nudging Nigerians to release themselves from their binary entrapment in order to see a third way.”

He gives examples of things that don’t work in Nigeria. He says the two parties are made up of politicians who are out to enrich themselves, not to help the country. “I say let’s go beyond this facile notion that we must choose only between the PDP and the APC. There are lots of other parties out there, some of them founded by progressive and visionary Nigerians.”

I wonder if his words will have any effect. The barriers to change are so high. Can some of these progressive and visionary Nigerians succeed in bringing new and better leadership to the country? I can hope.

Mosque Bombed

great-mosque-of-kano-in-nigeria-01-300x198

Great mosque of Kano

The mosque in Kano was bombed yesterday just as people were gathering for Friday prayers. According to one news report, sixty-four people died and another 126 were injured. This is not the first attack in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria and the seat of the second most powerful Muslim cleric, the Emir of Kano.

The news makes me so sad. Kano is a beautiful ancient city which I described in my memoir. I even included a picture of it in Nigeria Revisited.

A few weeks ago I gave you an excerpt from my memoir where I talked about my trip with John Harris in 1963 and our visit to Kano.

I read in Dawn.com, “The Emir of Kano last week told worshippers at the same mosque that northerners should take up arms against Boko Haram, which has been fighting for a hardline Islamic state since 2009. He also cast doubt on Nigerian troops’ ability to protect civilians and end the insurgency, in rare public comments by a cleric on political and military affairs.”

Harsh words from the Emir, the former governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank. Was the bombing in Kano retaliation for his comments? Or was it already planned?

Thanks to Professor Ferraro for leading me to this news source.

Ferguson Protests

Protests over the failure to indict Michael Brown’s shooter continue.

I wonder what my cousin in St. Louis is thinking about this. Maybe I am afraid to ask.

 

Author: Catherine Onyemelukwe

Author, blogger, speaker. Born in New York, grew up in mid west United States, lived in Nigeria for 24 years, back in U.S. since 1986. Advocate for racial justice.

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