*Stages in Madness*

Madness doesn't happen overnight. There are stages I observed as a kid back then in Awka:

*The person begins to misyan. The family observes.
*The misyan increases and the family gets really worried. The person may start getting destructive this time. He may also start "commoting cloth".
*The family consults and agrees that things are now getting out of hand.
*Then.  *The Ikpo Iga* stage - the person is chained.
*The chains are to hold him down so he wouldn't hit the streets and bring disgrace to the family. At this stage, efforts are made, including consulting the oracles, or handing the person over to local psychiatrist homes. I cannot remember any govt run psychiatrist home around then. It might have existed.
*Then the last stage if not handled well. *The mad person "afuo afvia"(enter market). It was generally believed that it was all over. The person would be mad for life*

We also believed that *igwotagodi onye ala, imannapunwia ntamu* - even when you cure a mad man,  you can never cure him from talking to himself. In Geology and Earthquakes, this sounds like *aftershocks*

As we grew up, an average family then, that was progressive, would either have a *Peugeot car (403, 404, 504, 505)* and/or a *VW beetle* (usually for rich wives and young graduates).

The rich homes would typically own a *Mercedes Benz* or a *Volvo* in order of wealth. Someone with a Mercedes was obviously richer than someone with a Volvo or so we thought in our tiny little heads then. You didn't get to have many opportunities, if at all, to enter a Mercedes or Volvo cars. They were for the *nouveau rich*

Mercedes is still very much with us. *Volvo has almost faded out.*

All these *Toyota, Nissan* were later day vehicles. I even remember *Mazda* hit it before Nissan. Remember *Mazda 929?* Ultimate!

*Kadet* was in then. Then *Lada* for teachers doing well🤣

All those *Cherry* and *Daewoo Racer*, very popular later along the line from the mid 80s, came with *IBB* and his *1,001 Finance Houses and Banks*  At this stage *VW Santana* was for the upper *Middle Class* and business men and women announcing their arrival. *Toyota Crown* didn't do badly for aspiring rich men or to complement the fleet of the rich. It trailed *Toyota Corolla* which I remember also sighting for the first time around 1974 - 1976. Some of these vehicles are all gone now. Gone with the winds! I think our super sports cars then were *Renault Fuego*, proudly driven by a Governor's niece then in my University, as we begged for meal coupons. Not forgetting *Toyota Celica* or *Honda Prelude* which *Chris Okotie* used to oppress us in the University then as a young musician. Stars are always stars. I recall sighting *Chris Okotie* driving in from *Enugu Campus of UNN* occasionally, to check out his "half caste/mulato) babe, *Tina* who would later be his wife. I recall sighting him dressed like a Star in his Honda Prelude (I think red color then) without a shirt but just a towel hung on his neck🤣

Do we still have any *Subaru* around?

Forget this and forget anything: *Citreon* was the *status symbol* for *Governors/Administrators* and *Commissioners* then in the 70s. When Commissioners were Commissioners and not reporting to SAs and SSAs as they do today.

*uwa nkea leeeee!* - This world sef😊. Change is a constant thing in life.

But Volvo is still powering overseas. Check this out!

*Volvo's safety goal: No deaths by 2020*

*Volvo promises deathproof cars by 2020*

By Peter Valdes-Dapena January 21, 2016

Volvo has made a shocking pledge: *By 2020, no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car or SUV.*

Seriously.

"If you meet Swedish engineers, they're pretty genuine," said Lex Kerssemakers, CEO of Volvo Cars North America. "They don't say things when they don't believe in it."

*There is one big caveat. If someone really wants to hurt themselves, or is just really, really stupid... well, Volvo can't do anything about that.* But, assuming you're not a suicidal maniac or a total idiot, in four years, you'll be safer driving a new Volvo than you are climbing a ladder to screw in a light bulb.

*Fatality-free vehicles are not unprecedented. In fact, there already are some, and they're not just Volvos.* According to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, *there are nine vehicle models -- including the Volvo XC90 -- in which no one in the United States died in the four years from 2009 to 2012,* the most recent period for which data is available.

*Volvo, still based in Sweden but now owned by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (GELYY),* wants to make this the case for its entire vehicle line up throughout the world. The automaker already tracks how many people die in its vehicles in order to monitor safety. That way, engineers can tell how much safer their vehicles become each time they roll out a new crash-prevention technology. That also helps Volvo predict how much safer its vehicles will be with each new advancement....... *CNN Business*

Can you see above the new owners of Volvo?

Then sets in the initial madness stages of Volvo!

Stage 1: Volvo is "misyaning" - *We now lack components* The components must be from China.
Stage 2: The family members are worried - *Volvo shares slumped 9% after warning of lack of components: Bloomberg*

Stage 3: has not arrived but may get to *ikpo iga* stage - reduce staff strength, partial production etc.

Then, the final stage will be *to commot cloth enter market* - shut down🤣

We hope it won't get to that.

But would you know what the issues are? Do you think it has anything to do with this China - US trade impasse and wars?

Brace for a major impact!

I remain Sam