Nobody Really knows

Its being a while since I posted anything. I've not been too busy or working on any project; I've not just had that so called inspiration to write. I wasn't even worried that I wasn't writing and honestly, that scared me a bit. However,I'm writing this now but with worry in my heart. Its my first post this year and its not one of pleasantry. People tend to fear more in situations they have no control over and that's why Nigeria and nigerians are in a state of unrest at the moment. My goal this year was to work towards things I always dreamed of and, so far, I have treaded that path well over the last few months. But the frequent condolences and mourning caught my attention like every other person with a conscience. When I wrote "My Condolence" for Abra I thought I had seen it all but when I heard of the death of Mrs Ogunbanwo and Mr Odunlami, vice principals of my used to be secondary school, I almost had a break down. I asked myself that forbidden question: "WHY?" before I remembered HIS wishes can't be questioned and HE knows all. But as a human I can only grieve. I've learnt that only family members or people affected directly can truly understand the hurt that comes with death. Nigeria and its leadership problems is no longer news, as seem to be some unnecessary problems and unrest in the country at the moment. But today june 3rd, 2012 in Nigeria will be put down in the history books as a dark day in the country as residents of Lagos and Bauchi states and the entire Nigerian populace will sleep with heavy hearts for the loss of over 150 people, that's over 150 deprived families, starved of breadwinners, mothers, sisters, brothers... Whether caused by accident, sickness or old age, death is inevitable and cannot be predetermined. It takes what ever form it wants to. We can only pray that when it eventually happens it doesn't cause problems for the living and attain the highest position which is Heaven. Please mind what you say on social networks and bbm when unfortunate situations like this occur. If you don't know the right thing to say just grief in silence. May God console the Odunlami's , Ogunbanwo's and every other family that lost relatives or friends during this period, may HE comfort you.

My Condolence

My posts usually seem like a cry for Change, but the truth is i never believed
my tiny voice will ever be heard.
I know how i sound right now but it’s the truth. What possible change can my unpopular
blog bring to the world. That was the realist in me talking.
But this particular post, I wrote to bring a little hope
to someone, someone very dear to me “Abra Dangnan”.
I probably should have asked her if it was ok before
I published this post, but i have feelings to and i had to let them out somehow.
2011 should have been Abra's perfect year. She graduated
From the not so friendly university of benin, she's an ‘efiko’ so I like to call her, so trust me when
i say she did in flying colours, with the best friends anyone could ask for.
Everything was good she even got a bold 5 just cos she told her uncle she
had dreamt about it yes things where that good.
The but of the story comes in when Abra lost a brother and a cousin in
the space of three months, if u still think it’s not worth writing about, you
should read the next two lines.
Her cousin was shot!
A final yeah law student of the same school some days before his final paper.
I meet Abra only once in my life and almost did a second time, but
she's still my closest girlfriend we tell each other almost everything
we can chat for a whole day and not run out of small talk, so you know i mean it
when i say i love her very much and feel what she's feeling now.
She's the funniest girl I ever met, the reason i could easily feel the sadness in her
voice when she told me it had happened again on the 24th of December, her brother
died what a Christmas it was for her.
She says she has to be strong for her mum but who will be strong for her? her brother
just died just as she was getting over her cousin!
Abra always edits my post before everybody else read them, now I don’t even know
how to talk to her anymore the sadness in her voice and text kills the mood every time.
What am i talking about she just lost two close relatives she always said her
Cousin was like a brother to her.
Its Wednesday 28th December 2011, and i don’t know how to console my friend
even though she's acting all tough saying she's just fine.
I wanted to make it a R.I.P ending maybe put their names in the post, but i couldn’t
bring myself to ask her for their full names so I’ll just end this with this
quote I love so much "your finger print will never fade from the lives
you touch". I hope they are both looking down smiling cos their in a
better place, and I pray God gives Abra's family the strength to deal with
their loss.
Death is inevitable no one knows when its going to happen, but really sad when it
Comes prematurely. I know she'll get through this ok I pray this sad experience
Makes her family stronger.

Misplaced Priorities

Same sex marriage, gay rights, bla bla... That’s all I hear when I
turn on the TV, it even takes newspaper headlines.
Students have being in and out of school about 5 times in the last 3 years
and are at it again no one seems 2 be interested, the media
are probably too use 2 it they don't see it as news worthy anymore. Are the youths
no longer important in our so called great nation?, the oil subsidy
issue also affects all Nigerians but gays seem to be getting all
the spot light no offence to you'll transgendered and homosexual
what not, for a government who claim 2 care about its future generation
they sure have their way of showing it. I see
no reason why so much fuss should surround the same sex issue.
With all the problems plaguing the country i don't think the sexually
Disoriented would be thinking of marriage as it is.
Who can blame them anyways?, politicians, governors, senators with their big fancy
pay cheques make sure their children don’t taste the quack education their
administration offers.
Foreign schools and private institutions get their share of the “National Cake” this way,
So the greedy culture of not caring about anything that doesn't affect you directly
applies. The masses which has become a term to classify the
poor and affected are always at the receiving end.
Hypocrites that’s what they are, they seem to narrow everything down to
morality "what will Jesus do?" i think moralities to do list will have
“Meet ASUU's Demand” as its headline, the gay rights issue doesn't even
make the list as there are too many unresolved and more important matters
in Nigeria.
I should think Nigerian university's not making the top 300 best varsity list should
bother our leaders to question the education sector but as they say “birds of the same
feather flock together” they seem
more concerned in putting the motorcycle riders out of work, I wonder how that
will reduce the fuel price or put students back in the
classrooms, the government should tackle pressing issues
as pressing and leave the desert till after the meal.

Chasing Dreams

I call my younger sister my baby sister. She's not actually a baby, infact she's in
her late teens. It just gives me the feeling that I can protect her no matter what.
Saying I love her at this point will be stating the obvious 'don’t tell her i said that
by the way' Lets just say i have shy issues.
She entered the labour market some time ago. Ok, not to be conceded, it’s an
industrial attachment programme with all the fancy that comes with working
with experienced minds and being part of a team. She also has to bear with the
heavy Lagos traffic to and from work.
She came home this evening after a hard days job, "shina people are suffering." "That’s
old news" was the first thought that came to my head, but her eyes still had the
reflection of the harsh reality she had seen: a mother barely clothed with
her naked baby crying by the side of the road, catching a cold is the least
of her worries because she knows starvation will kill them long before she catches a cold.
A girl under age 7 hawking in the dangerous Lagos traffic. she survives an average of 4
accidents each day, molested before she's even a teen by her drunk stepfather, she
gets pregnant 6years later and doesn’t even know who the father is because she was
raped again two weeks ago, ironical cos this was her mother 15 years ago.
Luckily for her, the AIDS kills her before the cycle continues.
Things that make you think of your not so perfect life and still be grateful.
Changing the world at this point is impossible from my point of view.
Good leaders, morality, and every other thing with a DNA that says change for the better
can't stop the suffering. I guess that’s the balance of nature: life and death, rich and poor,
night and day, you get the picture?
If not having a car at 18 or gadgets that can feed a family of 4 for a year
is the cause of your depression you, should probably get a gun and get it over
with because there are people whose only worry about cars is not getting hit by one
making their daily bread. Live life enjoying the little things you have. There’s no wrong
in wanting more in life because the word progression wasn't coined just to fill a space
in the dictionary but spend more time appreciating what you do have than you do
chasing dreams.

Everything Is Beautiful In The Dark

Criticism, the pillar of a successful wise man and the cause of the misfortune
of the not so wise. So before the end of this read, make a decision do I want
peoples opinion to destroy or build me? I bet we all choose the obvious
with out second guessing, but don't just decide work on it.
Walking into a room spot light on you what's the first thing People notice,
what catches their attention, what repulses them the next minute.
"I don’t care what people think of me" no matter how fancy those
words sound, all i hear is a lie or as i like to put it a fancy excuse to
get through an embarrassing situation. Forgive my judgement but
why does a lady improve her catwalk when she approaches that boy
she secretly admires and why does the boy feel the need to talk with
that distinct low tone when she's on the other end of the line.
..Its human nature to care about what people think...
It’s also human nature to pass judgement on others.
Everything is beautiful in the dark means no criticism, no judgement,
little details don’t matter anymore, because the critics are blind for the moment
but you should remember the light eventually comes on, and it’s open season for
judgement once again.
The only mistake we make is allowing the menace that comes with the
light get us down. If you let the judgement of others get to you, be sure to
use it to improve yourself and don’t give them the satisfaction of another laugh
when the light comes back on.

Ashes To Ashes

Do you ever think about dying? What will be said about you when you're gone?, who will be at your funeral?, will the experience hurt?, how much time have you got left? .......... Silence........ What do you expect when everyone is asking the same question so let's just call it rhetorical and move on.
The thought of dying is a very scary one, even when we all know we don't get to skip out on it, it's inevitable. All the power, fame, riches, all fade away with that last breath. I guess it's even worse when you actually know when you're going to die it's like waiting for an alarm to go off but without the waking up to the lovely sunny morning part. Leaving behind the loved ones is another scary part, and after it all no amount of tears and love can make you even sneeze again, it just makes the exit more painful.
Death is just death, there are too many reasons why people die and still not enough to answer the question "why do we have to die?" But at the end of it all life goes on at least for the people still living what matters then are the memories, what you'll be remembered for, this is not a question of good or bad but if your life had any effect on anyone and if the effect will make such person sing good praises of you.
If you're reading this you certainly are not dead yet so there's still time to make things right, remember it's the memory that lives on......

April 20th, 2011

Woke up this morning to a friend's blog and I realised I hadn't really blogged about myself, so the plan was to ramble a little about Me. But a very unfortunate circumstance is taking over the body of this post.
My regular random day was altered when I passed the scene of an accident very early this morning, a boy definitely under age 10 was knocked down by a car his little body was laying lifeless by the side of the road surrounded by people filled with grief. A million an one different thoughts ran through my head and an immediate feeling of weakness overwhelmed me, there was a strong pain in my chest "literally". I never knew I was that emotional but who wouldn't be at a sight like that? "This minor who hadn't even lived life just died in a very unnatural manner".
I felt worse when I imagined how the boy's mother and other family members would feel when they hear the news, when an ordinary passerby like me could feel the way I felt. Only God can comfort her in this period of grief. The thought that life can be taking away just like that is a very scary one, 'Things like this are inevitable', a friend said to me ‎​"Such things do happen, painful realities of life, that's why its an accident". Just as I was about to publish this post I received the good news that my uncle's wife had a baby boy, I have a new nephew. Good news for some people sad ones for some, a life was taken and a new life was giving. It is my friend's birthday today too 'Happy birthday Lola Odunlami'.
At the end of the day I'm in-between sad and happy, but I'll just say May the Almighty God guide and protect us all AMEN!