The secret of goal settings by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Inspirational and motivational teachers will always advise that you should write your vision. I used to take it as one of those common sayings until I decided to try it out sometimes in 2016 and it worked perfectly for me. At the risk of telling you what you must have heard before, if you have never done it before, I’m going to tell you today again that you should please write your vision where you can be seeing it often. Your vision may be crystal clear in your mind, you may be saying it often but please write it somewhere. Many visions die for want of expression under the pretext of busyness.
Next and closely related is to set goals. There is a secret to goal setting that works with the psychology of the human mind. An average human being does not like doing difficult things. Please break your vision down to achievable goals to enable you track your progress and measure performance. You probably don’t want to limit yourself by setting goals exactly at par with your vision. You must create enough room for growth by setting goals that are taller and bigger than you. If your goal is to be on top of the tree, aim for the sky. Please note, it is not humility to discount your achievements, however little. At every step on the way to achieving your dreams, acknowledge your progress, praise yourself even if no one notices and keep encouraging yourself as you climb the ladder. If you think you can, indeed you will. Make it simple. The top is where you belong. ©️akinjnr 2020
never say never by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
An adage says that where you sit determines where you stand on an issue. Just one piece of information that you were not privy to could change your earlier position completely. Some half-truths can give you a false premise upon which you rest your hard stance. You don’t want to start struggling with a trap that you set for yourself just because you want to prove a point that you are a man of your words. Ego is an enemy of man. Who says you cannot swallow your pride and take your words back? Someone said that you can eat your vomit if it is delicious and I think I agree. The more reason you should taste your word before you say it, just in case you need to take it back. Never say never. A simple prayer for you. May God give you the serenity to accept what you cannot change, the courage to change the ones you can and the wisdom to know the difference. ©️akinjnr 2020
Make it Simple by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Professor Sola Fajana is a world renowned expert in Labour, Employment Relations and Human Resource Management. He has this to say about simplicity. He asked – “What is the impact of simplicity in the art of communication? Simplicity is simply a virtue”. Yes, that was his description of simplicity. That simple.
Communication is an art. Many times we make simple things simply difficult when we choose big words to impress but end up losing our audience. Honourable Patrick Obahiagbon is a typical example. He entertains more than he communicates because simplicity is lacking in his communication. What about a name? You must have heard of the football legend, Pele of Brazil. Many people don’t know that his real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. There is a man called the king of comedy, Ali Baba is a household name in Nigeria. Only a few know his real names as Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome. Both men chose to make it simple. An average human being avoids things that are complex. It does not need to be jaw breaking before it makes sense. Are you thinking of a business name? Or you want to pass a message? Make it simple. Simplicity is a virtue. ©️akinjnr 2020
The Platinum Rule by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Argument is not entirely bad in communication if it is done in an ordinate manner to pass knowledge or to exchange ideas. However, at the root of most arguments is an attempt by one to lord his idea over the other with less willingness to take any information from the opposing view. Many times we delude by thinking we won an argument just because the other party decides to let go. A man convinced against his will is still of the same opinion.
Some people are vocal, they have the gift of verbal expression and sometimes they can be forceful in propagating their ideas. Some have short temperament and they quickly react when they don’t agree. This category of people are easier to deal with because it is easy to know their stand on issues without guessing. Some other people talk less not because they are short of words but because they are tolerant or so it seems. They can tolerate your excesses over and over without expressing displeasure and you will think they have your back. This category of people are more difficult to deal with. They move on without you and leave you guessing what went wrong. Relationship managers know better. Some arguments are needless if only you can admit that you can also be wrong. This will make the opposing party to have a fair and broad minded view that he too can be wrong and both of you can learn both ways. Beautiful as your choice is, I have the right not to like it and that doesn’t make me a bad person, neither does it make me your enemy. The golden rule posits that you should do unto others as you want them to do unto you. Fair as this rule is, the dynamic nature of man has picked a hole in it. Some people don’t want you to treat them the way you want them to treat you. They want you to treat them just the way they want to be treated. Call it the platinum rule. ©️akinjnr 2020
Mental Conditioning by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Your mind is powerful but only to the extent of the control you exercise. The same way a magnet drags every nearby metal object is the same way the human mind attracts all sorts of thoughts but it is unsafe to allow your mind to operate freely without control lest your mind consigns you to the passenger’s seat when you should actually be on the driver’s seat. You have to be conscious of what you allow your mind to accept to ward off the risk of settling for anything life throws at you. Leaving it to chance for your mind to decide for you at all times is very dangerous.
The same way you train your child is the same way you should train your mind. The human mind is like a tabula rasa, a clean slate having no innate ideas. Like a child’s mind, whatever you plant in your mind gets magnified over time just like the ideals that is inbuilt in a child will grow with the child to form his person later in life. There are times when your reality may not totally agree with your desire, it’s not abnormal if you admit it but please don’t accept it. To admit your reality is to be true to yourself but to accept your reality when it does not conform with your desire is to give up hope. The only thing that sustains us to keep trying is the hope that things will get better. Good is not good enough when better is possible. Be mindful of what you call normal. You have to be a master of your mind. ©️akinjnr 2020
the highs in low moments by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Someone asked me how I manage to write weekly in spite of my routine and I said to him that it is a product of one of my lowest moments in life. That was a moment when I got lost in thoughts and I struggled to conscientiously match my sojourn on earth with my purpose. Life is best defined when you live your dreams. You hardly have time to think anew when everything is working for you. Your creativity is best put to test when your best judgement of yesterday fails to produce good result today. My new book is due to be released this week, I’m so excited about it. The book launch is slated for early January. My profound thanks to all my encouragers who have signified interest to have copies. I will soon avail details of the link through which preorders could be made and it will surely be at a discount. I will give free electronic copies of my first book (My thoughts) to the first 20 buyers to preorder my new book. Please don’t despise your low moments. Those who win are not afraid of low moments, they are able to discern even when life appears to be at the lowest ebb. Some see the thorn in the thistle but I beseech you to consciously seek the thistle in the thorn. I will be right back. ©️akinjnr 2020
The Leader in you by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
When the leader is being led there is bound to be a disconnect. Sometimes we define leadership in abstract terms when we complain of leadership or lack of it. Which one came first? The hen or the egg? This is one mystery that no one has been able to unravel. Which one comes first? The leader or the follower? I’ve heard it before that some leaders are born while some are made. I once asked myself if a born leader naturally evolves to a good leader. Put differently, if truly some are born leaders, can a born leader transform to a good leader without the right tutelage? One thing I know is that leaders don’t drop from heaven, they evolve from followers over time. Why do we isolate leadership to blame when things go wrong and speak less about how leadership became?
This leadership thing starts from self. You have to be able to lead yourself before you can lead others. The problem we have collectively created is when we define leadership only by politics and public office holders and many supposed leaders separate themselves from the failure of leadership because they are not political office holders. Leadership suffers in every facet of our national life but everyone is quick to point accusing fingers at political leadership. In my early years I was told that our major problem in Nigeria was lack of good leadership, as I grew to adolescence I was reminded that our problem remained lack of good leadership, now I am an adult and I am still looking for a leader to blame for the hydra headed problems bedeviling my beloved country. Who is this leader? Who is a leader? Is it Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who told us in 2007 that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was the best man for the job but turned round in 2011 to tell us that AA was no longer fit? Is it Baba Obasanjo who told us in 2007 that AA should be feared but remembered in 2019 that he made a mistake in his judgement? Or Comrade Adams Oshiomole who told Edo electorate in 2016 that Pastor Ize-Iyamu was a serial liar and potential treasury looter but jumped on the soapbox in 2020 to correct the verbal errors he made in the past if only it will help to railroad his reconciled political foe to the pot of soup? It’s been a while I delved into politics, it’s not my intention to stir the hornet’s net today. My simple message is to the extent that until we all take collective responsibility for the failure of leadership, until you and I begin to see the leader in ourselves, until we all decide to breed a discerning followership that knows what good leadership entails, it will continue to be all motion no movement. A people deserve the leader they get. It’s all in our hands. ©️akinjnr 2020
Active listening by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Listening is an integral part of communication. Easy as it sounds, many people struggle to listen even when there is no distraction. I could read your lips without taking a word from our dialogue if all I do is hear you speak but fail to listen. I have heard about attentive listening but I think we mistake attentive listening for active listening sometimes but I don’t think they mean the same thing. You could be attentive without listening, being attentive in my view is to avoid distractions but to listen actively demands body and soul. Tough isn’t it? But many times we dissipate energy on things that are avoidable just because we listened passively but not actively.
Have you ever had this experience before where you met with a stranger, exchanged pleasantries with detailed introduction and immediately you parted with the stranger you could not even remember his name? I have experienced it a few times before when I thought I had a dialogue with a familiar person and not even a stranger but few minutes later, I could not remember the topic of discussion not to talk of the details. You may be in a conversation but you are not listening, talk of conversation without communication. The cycle of communication becomes complete from end to end only when the receiver listened actively. There could be many reasons for you to be in a conversation without listening, it could be that you are not interested in the person, you may find the topic uninteresting or you may not be bothered about the person or the topic. It could also be that you have formed an opinion even before the other party concludes. In all these scenarios, listening becomes a victim and many times words are said without a trace. Sometimes the receiver may need to listen to what is not being said to be an active listener. Some hidden truths about a conversation are hidden in body language, it takes an active listener to decipher. Active listening is a skill worthy of mastering. There is one important aspect of listening I love to emphasise that applies to those with knowledge. Anytime I see the adjective “expert” used to describe someone my interest in the person doubles because of the high level of respect I have for experts but sometimes I feel that the word “expert” is overrated. Maybe it’s only me but sometimes I tend to equate an expert to someone who cannot be wrong in his specialty. There is a common saying that in the mind of a beginner there are limitless possibilities but in the mind of an expert there are limited possibilities. It will take an expert extra humility and inquisitiveness to listen to a conversation in the area of his specialty particularly if it’s coming from someone of assumed limited knowledge in the field but sometimes the most useful idea can come from a greenhorn. Someone said that there is sense in nonsense, I checked and I realised that sense has a domineering impact on the eight letter word “nonsense” but if you don’t listen you cannot pick the sense from non-sense Have you ever wondered why children ask more questions? It is because they listen more actively even when they choose not to do what they heard and we think that they did not listen. Children don’t assume that they know, they are not strong willed to form an opinion like an expert or an adult because in their mind the possibilities know no bounds. Sometimes you may need to assume that you could also be wrong before you can actively listen to an opinion different from yours. The field of knowledge is so broad than for you to close your mind to endless possibilities in a world where things are changing with the speed of light. Listening is an art. ©️akinjnr 2020
WHEN LIE RULES by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
…and so the American Senate acquitted former President Donald J. Trump by 43 to 57 votes, with 7 GOP Senators convicting the former president. For his assumed role in the insurrection of the Capitol on January 6th, minimum of 67 votes was needed to convict President Trump and possibly disqualify him from contesting for public office in future. Followers of American politics knew that it was going to be a tough one to garner 67 votes to convict President Trump in a senate that is equally split between the Democrats and the Republicans. It is no news then that former President Trump was acquitted. It was expected.
My interest in this topic is how lies are beginning to rule the world. Happenings in America only reinforces the behavioural pattern of man irrespective of race or colour. Of particular note is the former majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, who convicted President Trump in his ‘acquittal speech’ but acquitted him with his vote. What an irony.
It is an auspicious moment for the “Lori iro” jingle in my home country by the trending Evangelist. Lies, lies and lies are gradually overpowering truth and half-truth is becoming a convention that rules the affairs of man. What a tragedy.
Does anyone wonder why a good number of the GOP legislators faulted President Trump for his ignoble role in the Capitol insurrection but saved him with their votes? Self-preservation. With the kind of cult followership that President Trump enjoys, the legislators would rather vote for lie than embrace truth because they want to keep enjoying the spoils in their offices. The Senators would rather keep enjoying free parking spaces at the airports by retaining their seats in the chamber. What a clash of self versus public service.
All strata of the society have been infiltrated by lies. Even the houses of God are not spared as abominable scandals ooze out from the sanctuary by pretenders who claim holiness at sunrise but exhibit multiple identities at sunset.
It is becoming the nature of man to see truth but embrace lie for self-preservation even without threat to life. Any wonder why truth in public office is shrinking? I used to wonder why public office holders in my country would defend apparent lies for reason of political correctness but the reason stares me in the face daily and I cannot but sigh and ask, where lies the future when lie rules today?
- akinjnr 2021
ESCAPADES by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Sometimes I like to get unserious. As I observed my leisure time this last weekend, I threw my thoughts way back into my childhood and young adult life. I had a good laugh when I remembered the events that characterised my early life. Today, please indulge me to be unserious, particularly because I learn under the most unusual circumstances. You may pick a lesson too, even in my unseriousness.
My late mum did all she could to keep me away from the street. She was just doing her job as a good mother and clergy’s wife but it didn’t take me long to know that in addition to her prayers, the street wisdom that would sustain me when she’s not there was not in her closet. I found out that the real lessons that would bring the man out of me were there on the street. Call it street credibility, according to Nice.
I tried the best I could to be the mission-house boy that my mum hoped for. I was disciplined, I was obedient, I was focused but I was incomplete. I told this story in an article I wrote, titled “Inspirational living, not inspirational speaking” which I published in my first book. Being the child of a clergyman myself, I had the privilege of free access to the vicarage in my early life, albeit occasionally because my dad was no more.
I saw a lot of pretence from the children raised in the vicarage. Call it dual identity. I related freely with fellow mission-house children. They saw me as one of them by virtue of my father’s status before he died but I discovered that many of them had one identity at home and another away from home. Besides, I found out that their parents were not exactly what they made the outside world believe. Conversely, I realised that out there on the street, people live their lives genuinely, without pretence and with no intention to impress anyone. I pitched my tent with my street friends without losing my identity.
Which of the experiences will I share? Countless to choose from but let me share this one that was almost like a taboo. It was very strange to see the child of a clergyman following a masquerade in my early life but I did occasionally without my mother’s knowledge. It was fun, without any dent on my inner man because it was just a moment to feed my thrills and enjoy my childhood. Nothing more.
On one of those my unlucky days, I ran into my mum on the street while following a masquerade around town. I leave you to imagine what befell me on returning home after “feeding my thrills”.
Weeks after I had served my punishment, I came home one day with my friends, including my mission-house friend. My mum used that opportunity to counsel us like a good mother would do. She faced my mission-house friend and requested him to prevail on me to stop following masquerade because it did not befit my status as the child of a clergyman.
Please pay attention to this part. My friend promised my mum to talk me out of the act but my mum did not know that my mission-house friend was the masquerade that I followed. The fear of who I am (the son of a late clergyman) would not even allow me to be close to where the masquerade was dressed but my friend from the vicarage was the masquerade that my mum thought I should model as the good child. What an irony of life.
My mum saw my other friends and me behind the masquerade but she did not see the person inside the masquerade. She simply assumed that the good one wouldn’t be seen following a masquerade. How I wished my mum knew who the masquerade was. How I wished we had the courage to tell my mum that we were just innocent children catching some fun without having to pretend.
Our society is replete with men and women of dual identity. Any wonder why truth is shrinking? Sometimes I wish I could be a child again, so I could associate freely with my street friends who would live life true to their hearts and not because they want to make someone elsewhere feel good.
As I write this, I ask myself. Would the home lessons alone have made me a complete man? I’m glad I went on the street to have a balanced life view.
The best lessons in life are picked on the street. Be street wise.
- akinjnr 2021
STREET CREDIBILITY by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Behind each story I tell is a hidden message for my reader. I feel more confident to share my stories for reason of originality. If I am the principal witness it is unlikely the story is twisted. If the story is mine, then you can trust the source without any iota of doubt. Of the many stories I could share, the story of the masquerade and the vicarage are two extreme comparisons but it was carefully chosen to provoke expected reactions. I was deeply enriched by the various thoughts shared in reaction to the story. My core message in the “escapades” article was actually immersed in the concluding part that spoke to veiled identity but the comic relief in the masquerade story submerged the message for some commentators, pleasantly so.
Some commentators got the core message while some dwelt more on the safety or otherwise of the street. We cannot throw away any of the lessons and admonition from the various commentators. This provides me a solid foundation for touching on my core message today.
The masquerade story speaks to a fundamental ill in our society. Lies and fake postures are becoming acceptable norms as it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate real people from those who live on lies and inflated ego. The society ails where lies are dressed in white robe.
My childhood experience taught me that lies rule in many households that claim to be models of good upbringing. Maybe I was not conscious enough to know that I would be a writer and coach someday but through my adventure as a growing child, I was discerning enough to identify lessons from different homes which spoke to falsehood that was made to look like truth.
The reality today is not far from my childhood experience. A friend told me that he would rather deal with a known drunkard and measure his risk accurately and mitigate it than a chameleonic Christian or self acclaimed moralist, with a masked identity, who shows different colours for different weathers.
Some children are raised to please the ego of their parents and answer to the dictates of the society. The result is pretentious children who are saints at home to fulfill all righteousness but exhibit their true character at the slightest breath of freedom. Pretentious children are more difficult to raise because of the likelihood of applying a wrong medication to a silent ailment. Successful parents are often tempted to replicate their interest in their children, even including their mistakes. Oftentimes they forget that their children are different human beings whose interest may be completely different from theirs Every child needs proper home training to lay a good foundation. In-between, he needs a good dose of street sense to connect the foundation to a formidable adulthood. One is not complete without the other. The latter is called Street Credibility.
akinjnr 2021
DEPARTURE BREEDS DISCOVERY by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Some days are more unusual than others but no Monday is too unusual without a word. A life that will be purposeful must be impactful. You need an identity to forge a meaningful life. To build an identity requires discoveries but not without some departures from the norm.
You must have experienced it before when you have so much to take in your hands but you are short of space just because you are holding on to so much that you can actually do without.
Some things you hold so dearly appear so indispensable that you may think that your life depends on them. Some of these things qualify as treasures but there are times that you may have to close your eyes and let them go so you can see clearly and make new discoveries capable of forging a meaning to reveal your true identity.
A counselor once told me that when things don’t seem to add up, that is the perfect time to start subtracting. Departure from the norm is not always easy. It may be more complex than it sounds. This space is too small to exhaust the topic but suffice to say that departure will always lead to discoveries.
akinjnr 2021
BE ANGRY by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
I beseech you to manage a smile before you read this piece and please be slow to question my sanity, even if my posture does not reflect the weirdness of my chosen topic. I know you are smiling.
We all desire to be happy. If possible, I want to be happy all the time but I fear that it is unsafe to be happy at all times. Happiness depicts the expression of pleasantness which every human desires but true life scenarios do not accord man the luxury of all round pleasure. If you check, most life changing decisions are not made when you are in your happiest mood. Think about it.
One is tempted to spontaneously think that the opposite of being angry is to be happy but teachers of English language will quickly remind us that the other side of happiness is not anger but sadness. To not be angry is to be calm and peaceful. To not be angry is to be pleased with all situation at all times. Who is that man or woman who is pleased with all situation at all times?
Good as it is to be calm, a moment of anger once in a while is not out of place. Leaving your mood in a state of rest and calmness all the time may be unproductive, if not even dangerous. Just like a foreign object stirs settled water in a jar to bubbles before it settles, sometimes, externally induced anger stirs your emotions to action before it settles for calmness to enable you think.
The relevant question should be, how do you manage your anger? You are angry about that situation you find unpleasant? What are you doing about it? Some types of anger are productive while some are not. Define your own anger when it comes but don’t be totally resentful to unpleasant situations capable of producing anger.
Anger could be a recipe for peace and calmness, only if you are vigilant. You can also choose to remain calm and restful while the world around you moves and leaves you behind. It’s your choice.
My country, Nigeria, presents a very complex scenario where almost everyone is angry about the status quo but the greater majority do nothing beyond talking about it. We all have the solution to the problem but we decorate the landscape with beautiful ideas for nothing.
The Bible says that you should be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6.
Drawing from that source, what if I say, be angry, but not for nothing. Uncoordinated anger only drains your energy and produces nothing. Sometimes, anger breeds pains but not all pains produce unassuaged hurtful feelings. A woman labours in pains but soon after comes the joy of a baby. Just like childbirth, some pains birth purpose, only if you allow your anger to produce results. Don’t waste your anger. Be angry, but not for nothing.
- akinjnr2021
ILLOGICAL REASONING by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
Some things don’t just make sense. God’s directive, sometimes, is one of them. The more you try to rationalise God’s instruction, the more the likelihood of doing your will against His own. Smart people speak to logical reasoning but sometimes everything that matters to you will sound illogical. That it sounds illogical does not make it unreasonable but you may need a third eye to see the reason behind the illogic.
Puzzle game sometimes describes life at its best. There was this game we used to play when I was younger. I can’t remember the particular name it’s called now but you can play it alone without a partner. It has a small board with alphabets or drawings meant to arrange given words or images until they are formed. This game is available as computer game of different shapes in this jet age of information technology.
There is something about the puzzle game. Sometimes when you think you are close to finishing, you may get stuck and you will find out that you have to scatter and undo all that you have done and start rearranging all over again to get to your destination faster.
Still on the puzzle game, sometimes you may be strong willed and refuse to scatter and begin again. It is an option but the journey to your destination may be prolonged because you may have built on a wrong foundation incapable of sustaining your edifice. Those who have played this game before know what I’m talking about. It may not make sense to start again but continuing on a wrong path will lead you to nowhere.
Logical reasoning is an attribute of the learned. They analyse and juxtapose to propound theories but sometimes, mere listening to the inner voice will do for you what logical reasoning fails to do.
I got a new name for God. He’s the extraordinary strategist. When He speaks, listen, even when it doesn’t make sense to your logical reasoning.
- akinjnr 2021
WE TOOK LIFE FOR GRANTED by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
We took life for granted because Someone laid down His life so we could live.
We took life for granted until death became so cheap and news of death ceased to qualify for breaking news.
We took smile for granted until it dawned on us that an invisible intruder could birth the story that touches the heart through our generous but unprotected smile.
We took play for granted until we found out that our liberty has limitations, even when we choose to live life to the fullest.
We took work for granted until it became unfashionable to show strength by numbers. That was when productivity became a function of quality but not quantity of input.
We took leisure for granted until holidays became a product of legislation, when you do not have the freedom to do what you wish when you want.
We took our liberty for granted. Little did we know that our freedom is not absolute, except the assurance we have in the crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Hallelujah, Christ is risen.
Happy Easter folks.
- akinjnr 2021
THIS SHIP IS SINKING by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
There is nothing as dangerous as a ship without a captain. It is more fearful when you have a captain whose authority is borrowed by hawks that pose like patriots. Rudderless they call it for experts in the English language. Where we sit today is what they call the edge. This ship is sailing fast in the wrong direction. Just a little slip we may all be gone. Detour we must if we will still have a country. What Nigeria needs now is more than silence.
We are a religious people and so we know, that our God has always been good He’s not about to fail. If not for God how deeply would we have sunk? Many a-times we get reminded by the grand commander we chose to lead, that his coming was a favour we long desired. Our C-in-C has said repeatedly and so aloud, that our help is nigh and not in his hands. That prayer will do what his command has failed to do. Good enough our access to the Author of life is not by ballot, lest we get rebuffed that our vote was wasted for those that lost. Faithful are you Lord, we confess your Lordship.
North or south the tunes are so discordant. Just a few speak the truth like the patriots we need. Realignment of forces for the spoils of office is what we see. The things they spew are hard to swallow. The points we hear them canvass leave us utterly bemused. Sometimes we wonder if their conscience is still with them. What kind of leaders they are we are wont to ask, who play to the gallery at the expense of the lives of those they lead.
If we do not fix politics we joke a lot. I’m sure you know that politics controls everything. These guys have an agenda different from what they preach. Their idea of unity is the one that serves their greed. No matter how we pontificate we are simply begging the question. It will still continue to be a dance around the circle. The point we are is that of a precipice. Just a little slip and this ship will sink. We know the answer except we choose to pretend. Nothing I say here will sound anew, same has been said in sounds that sound unpleasant.
The man or woman Nigeria needs will not depend on aides before he governs. The one we need will be a product of our collective frustration, a revolutionary thinker who knows what to do, even before accepting the urge to bid for the baton. The time is ripe it’s all in our hands, what we make of it is for you and I to bear.
The other alternative is too expensive, but this conspiratorial silence is just a license, that can lead us to the point of no return. The future of Nigeria can be decided today, depending on the mood of the man we put in power. This country can still be great but people are tired.
Not once, not twice have I bore my mind in an open letter, Mr President. The ship of state is not afloat. This unity is fractured it calls for surgery. The things you hear are not in sync. There’s a truth untold by those you trust. Nigerians are dying in tens and scores. You leave us confused where to place your allegiance. This ship is sinking it needs redemption. God bless my country and fellow compatriots.
- akinjnr 2021
OUR NEW NORMAL by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
The other day my friend challenged his friend who is now in government why things are the way they are. My friend’s friend practically called my friend blind for him not to have seen the giant strides that this government is making. He reminded my friend that progressives are now in power, in case he has forgotten. My friend narrated his dilemma to me and needed my opinion but I reminded him that he will do well to understand that we are in a new normal where things are not seen the way they used to be because the progressives are now in power.
My friend told me he read in the news that the CBN Governor said that Naira has been officially devalued to N410/$ from N305/$. He wanted to be sure if I heard the news but I reminded him that Naira has been devalued long before the official pronouncement for those whose trade involve foreign currency. My friend wondered why no one is talking about the massive loss of value that our local currency has suffered but I reminded him that our attitude to production and consumption will also have to change if we are serious about any change that we seek.
My friend drove in to a filling station to fill his tank but he noticed a pump price of N170/litre of petrol. He sent his driver to buy diesel to power his generating set but the jerry can was half filled. When he asked question, he was told that a litre of diesel now sells for N250. My friend wondered why but I reminded him that subsidy has been removed and petroleum products have been fully deregulated.
My friend recalled that he was among those who occupied Ojota in 2012 to protest an attempt by Jonathan’s government to remove subsidy and fully deregulate petroleum products but I told him that the people who led the occupation of Ojota in 2012 are now the progressives in power. I asked him if he can possibly protest against himself and I think he understood.
I quickly reminded my friend that respite is on the way as we earnestly look forward to the commencement of crude oil refining at Dangote Refinery in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos. Alhaji Aliko Dangote has assured us that his refined crude will be sold to us in Naira thus conserving scarce FX. Good news.
My friend was alarmed at an all time high inflation rate of 16.47% as at February, 2021 as published but I reminded him that we exited economic recession as soon as we entered and the Minister of Finance has given credit to the right fiscal policies of the government. My friend wondered why the man on the street is not feeling the impact of these right fiscal policies but I admonished him to be mindful of how unsafe it is to believe common street economics when we have renowned experts manning our economy.
My friend is feeling pity for Nigerian workers who are still battling with the government at different levels for the implementation of the minimum wage in the face of a raging inflation but I reminded him that many round table discussions are required for salary increase but it is the law of demand and supply, among other things, that determine the rate of inflation, in case he has forgotten.
My friend seems to be losing count of how many school children have been abducted in 2021 alone under the progressives government but I reminded him that some Chibok Girls are still in captivity and that didn’t happen under this government. In anger, my friend reminded me that the progressives in opposition then chided President Jonathan for his cluelessness in tackling the security problem but I retaliated with anger at how my friend pretends not to know that the present day abductors are not strangers, they are known and invited to government houses where they trade their weapons for cash in exchange for the release of the captured school children. That is our new normal.
My friend retorted at me, I guess in frustration – since you have answer to all the questions, are you one of them? I told my friend that I am a progressive. He said how do I mean? I said I am a lover of progress, is that not what it means to be a progressive? My friend said no, a group of politicians call themselves progressives. I see. Then I asked, what differentiates a progressive politician in Nigeria from the rest? I think I heard someone whisper to my friend that the difference we seek should be in competence and clear cut ideology more than the slogan
I asked my friend if he voted in the last election. He told me he doesn’t have time because the votes don’t count. I asked further if he has a voter card, he said he’s too busy to go and queue for one. I asked my friend if he is normal. If he is, he should stop complaining about our new normal.
akinjnr 2021
THE TWELVE SPIES by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
You must have heard this before but there is power in repetition. The results you get are very unlikely to be at variance with your thoughts. Your mind controls your thought. Your thought has power over your tongue and what you say is most likely to attract your energy to cause the action that produces the result you get, favourable or unfavourable. Be mindful of what you say.
Joshua and Caleb chose to use the power of their tongues to describe a damning revelation. They did not follow the bandwagon, they chose to be different. Ten out of twelve spies saw giants too huge to defeat but Joshua and Caleb saw giants too huge for their swords to miss. Ten spies saw a land that devours its inhabitants but two saw an exceedingly good land, a land that flows with milk and honey.
Numbers 13 and 14 in the Holy Bible has a detailed account of this story. You have heard it before but there is power in repetition. What you hear often dominates your thought. I choose to remind you, in case you have forgotten.
There is a perfect way to summarise this topic. “Some see the thorn in the thistle but I see the thistle in the thorn”. What do you see?
- akinjnr 2021
STOP THE CRIME by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
A lot has been said about International Women’s Day (IWD) that was marked this past week. Closely on its heels was the occasion of Mothering Sunday in orthodox churches parlance. I join all men of goodwill to wish all women across the globe happy International Women’s Day and happy Mother’s Day.
Crime rate in Nigeria has never been in alarming proportion as we have witnessed in recent times. Hardly does any news bulletin end without a report of crime, so much that we are almost becoming used to reportage of crime as a way of life.
Sadly, the female gender is a soft target of different types of crime, from rape to kidnapping, ritual killing and other forms of violence. Awareness is growing, rightly so, for the education of the girl child. What needs to be emphasised is that a trained girl child in an environment harbouring an untrained boy child is a danger waiting to happen. In other words, there is no alternative to education for all as a deliberate policy.
Education is on the concurrent list in Nigeria. Question we should be asking our policy makers is the priority we place on education. UNESCO prescribes a minimum of 26% of total budget of any member country on education. What has been the budget of successive federal and state governments on education in Nigeria over the years? It has always been below 10%, sometimes as low as 6%. The money we save on education we must spend on security without any guarantee of success. Maybe that defines our present predicament.
Is crime limited to Nigeria? The answer is no but ours is peculiar because the cankerworm we battle today in the name of crime of many colours is a direct result of our response of yesteryears to education or lack of it. Consciously or unconsciously, we breed idle hands who become willing tools for crime because of blurred vision or total lack of it. Crimes happen everywhere in the world but in other places, people commit crime because they want to and not because they are left with no choice but to resort to crime.
The greatest crime against humanity is when public office holders corner the common wealth for personal gains at the expense of liberating people from lack of vision because of absence of education. You and I aid and abet the crime when we vote incompetent people to office by our reluctance to partake in the electoral process. We all have a role to stop the crime against humanity.
Happy Mother’s Day.
- akinjnr 2021
NOTHING JUST HAPPENS by Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
It’s been a while I shared a story. I have a story to share but for want of time today, I’ll just drop this short message in lieu of the big story.
Have you ever gotten to a point when it seems nothing is adding up? It happens not only to you but many. It gets to a point sometimes when it would appear as if nothing is making sense. If you ever find yourself at that point, it is not a stage to ignore. It is not only a stage of deep reflection, it is also a call to action stage.
Remember Newton’s first law of motion which says that every object remains in a state of rest unless acted upon by an external force. Sometimes, you are that external force (even if subtle) to make things happen.
Here is what Med Robbins says – “When you get stuck and find things uninteresting about you, it is a sign that some needs are not being met. You need some force”.
Med Robbins is right, some things won’t just happen unless you make them happen. You cannot wish for too long. Wishing is not a strategy.
Look forward to the big story sometimes soon.
- akinjnr 2021