Two days ago I received a message on my Blackberry stating that Eddie Murphy was the unfortunate victim of a fatal skiing accident. Let’s just stop right there. Have you ever heard of a black/Afro-American man skiing? I can tell you for free that as a black/African man I don’t like freezing temperatures but I do like air-conditioners (big difference!). My concern is for the unknown number of blackberry users who would have received the ‘broadcasted message’ like I did. At least 2 of my contacts who went out on a ‘forwarding spree’ sent me the hoax message and expected me to spread the word…Imagine that 😉

If that isn’t bad enough there was a widely circulated rumor that Owen Wilson is dead (who starts these sick jokes!). I wonder if somebody somewhere is getting rich as a result of manufacturing this fat lie…the media? The public are quite vulnerable and sometimes fail to confirm facts before taking the bait hook, line and sinker; which brings me to the recent comment that I found on my WordPress Dashboard:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am Kolade Olakorede, Minister of Environment for the country of Nigeria. Due to recent weather events, our government has come into possession of five hundred million (500,000,000) gallons, or 1,538 acre-feet, of acid rain. The Nigerian Ministries of Health and of Environmental Protection refuse to allow this rain to be used to irrigate crops or to be used for household purposes. It is not permitted even to run into the sea due to fears, fanned by radical environmental extremists, of dissolving the fish in the ocean.

In the San Joaquine valley of California, water has been purchased for US$ 38 per acre-foot for agricultural use, and sold for
municipal household use for US$ 5500 per acre-foot. In California, it is normal for this water to consist of acid rain. Due to your known perspicacity in business matters, and your American US Citizenship, I have selected you to join me in a joint venture of mutual benefit.

I will sell all of this acid rain to you for $20 per acre-foot.  You will have to send a cashier’s check to me for $30,720 which will be deposited with the Nigerian government in a standard overseas sale. At this point I will send you the acid rain by confidential courier.  You will then sell the acid rain for $8,461,538.46 and remit 30% back to me, keeping the remaining $5,923,076.92 as your fee.

I urge you to hold this matter in the strictest confidence. I look forward to your reply to come at your earliest convenience.

Most Sincerely,

Rt. Hon. Kolade Olakorede
Minister of Environment

^^Some people, eh? So far I’ve also had 4 different phone calls from supposed contacts who work in Oil companies and required similar ‘mutually beneficial services’. Desperate people fall victim. Ignorant people equally fall victim. All I can say in my case is that they’re messing with the wrong Nigerian.