Akin Ibitoye

What to Write when you don't Know What to Write

2020-01-22T09:28:00.001+01:00

It has been a hazy couple of years, and like a dripping faucet, the energy I usually derive from putting my thoughts into words have leaked away into the great unknown.
What joy is there in sharing my most intimate thoughts with complete strangers? Is there a point to us humans just curious about what is going on in other people’s lives?
No matter the color of your skin, or the society that produced you, connection, not isolation is woven into our DNA, and we thrive or otherwise in direct proportion to the quality of our association, or more specifically, the people closest to us, the people we spend majority of our time with.

Like sponges, we gradually absorb the mannerisms, behaviors, and biases of the people closest to us, and like perfect mirrors, reflect the same with near perfection.
Take a good look at your closest associates today, and ask yourself if you can achieve your life goals with the same set of minds. While it is not black and white, you can begin by making small changes, reach out and make new connections, learn something new, stretch beyond your comfort zone.

In the words of C.S Lewis, “You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

The Spark

2020-01-22T09:16:00.000+01:00

At this point, I should give you a bit of background information into how I got to that point.

My earliest memory of getting interested in technology was early 1993 and I had just witnessed my dad bring out a huge device out of our stereo system. I was so upset I began to cry, telling him how he has damaged the equipment (I loved listening to the radio), unfazed, he coupled the stereo as it was and turned it on. My bewilderment turned into amazement as the radio crackled back to life. Stupefied, I asked him, what happened?

How could it continue to work after removing such a huge thing from inside it. It was the rotor (motor) that was bad, and that is why it stopped playing cassettes, but the radio part was untouched. From that day, I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life (not so much repairing stereos, but learning the inner workings of electronics and much later, computers).

Fast forward another 5 years to late 1998, I was so dissatisfied with not being able to watch TV after there was a cut in electricity supply (for my Nigerian readers, Generators were virtually non-existent in those days), so much was the disquiet within me that I finally thought up a solution. A mobile TV set; drew the sketch, with 2 knobs, one for volume, and another for frequency tuning. I expected it would be battery-powered, and somehow, I figured the CRT would be too bulky to make it portable enough to fit the pocket, and that was it. I got stuck, and never went back to it.

The following year 1999, I attended a 2-week training organized by an NGO and that was my first encounter with a Laptop. The trainer had an IBM laptop that was running Windows 98 Operating System. I was so mesmerized that I would spend as much time as I could just staring at the beautiful piece of technology. I stared to much I must have burned the image into my mind. That was another initiation into the world of technology, but it would not be until 2 years later, in late 2001 that I would fully delve in to that world of infinite possibilities - The Internet.

Highly Indebted

2020-01-20T11:02:00.003+01:00

There is no self-made human being anywhere, we are all products of the people in our lives, a reflection of who they are. More often than not, we turn out just like the people closest to us, and we perpetuate or if at all possible, re-invent ourselves to chart a new course. I would like to appreciate some of those people who shared their knowledge with me.

Sometime in December of the year 2000, my friend Bukola had told the class to expect someone who would come to teach us some science subjects after closing hours. I couldn't have imagined that the trajectory of my life would be altered forever.

He sauntered in about a full-hour behind schedule, said simply "my name is Franklyn Eze, you can call me FRC" and after apologizing asked the about a dozen of us left in the class the question "what makes tomato red?" I was taken aback, not only because it had never crossed my mind, but because I had been asked by someone who was about the same age as me or a couple of years ahead of me at best.

After waiting a few minutes and being apparent that we were all clueless what he was talking about, he said "the substance that makes tomato red is Lycopene, and the IUPAC name is 1-cyclo propyl, 2-methyl cyclo butane". The whole class (all dozen of us) erupted into shouts of excitement. That was a mouthful, I thought. How can someone know this? He continued, "do you know Citric acid?" We answered in the affirmative, feeling cool with ourselves that we were not total ignoramuses. "The IUPAC name for Citric acid is 2, 3, di-hidroxyl butyric acid", another bout of screams. I was hooked already.

He went on to take the class on the dispersion of light, using the VIGBYOR and ROYGBIV interchangeably, and the entire 2 hours he spent exploding our brains, he didn't look at a single book! I was mesmerized, and totally in love with this brainiac. I wanted in on the action. Whatever he was doing to know this much, I wanted to do it too.

A couple of months later, my confidence levels were through the roof and I would go to the junior classes to teach some of my favorite subjects, and I got good feedback, and all the while, kept receiving lectures from Franklyn. He had expanded his reach at that point, so, the classes were no longer holding at our school, so, a couple of us would band together to travel down to the school where the lectures were holding.

There was a day when he didn't show up though, and everyone else left for home one after another, but for whatever reason, I waited at the bus stop for a good 4 hours until it was getting dark. All sorts of scenarios were running through my mind, (those were the days before Internet, mobile phones, etc) and even I reached my limit and went home, all the while replaying the preceding events in my mind, checking to see if I had missed him in the bus while waiting.

I did see him on the next meeting day, and turns out he was held up somewhere else, I was too focused on what new thing he was going to teach, and the hunger for a whole new world of information had just been re-awakened in me.

Growing Up in the 90s

2016-01-28T13:15:00.001+01:00

I remember rapping in primary school for uncle Sola, my teacher who also raps. We would rap together and he would let me have the second verse after he took the first verse. Somehow, we would rehearse every day during break time and sometimes after school hours. It got to a point he told me that if I practiced and got so good, he would take me to the United States of America.

I was about nine years old then and I believed him. I remember getting home all excited and telling my parents that uncle Sola was going to take me to the United States of America because we rap together. I don't remember what response they gave then, but I think I remember they shrug and the concern in their face, a deep desire for it to be true, even though they knew it was a bucket load of crapware.

What did I know? I was just a kid who didn't know what puberty was yet and grew up on the outskirts of Lagos. In those days, the only bank I had ever been in was LBIC and I remember queueing up for hours on end just to make a deposit into my father's account and there were no computers, so, the cashier had to write the amount deposited in a ledger and on the customer's passbook.

In those days, I had never seen a mobile phone, a computer, a flat screen TV or cell tower. There were a couple of phone booths scattered around the largest residential estate in Nigeria but never muster the course to enter into one, for what na? In those days, power supply was guaranteed for at least 18 hours a day, unless of course there is a major fault that would require NEPA official to come and fix or replace as the case may be. In those days, our past time included flying kites, making paper planes, a game called sure, catcher, after round one, tic tac toe, and messing.

TV had programs for children from 4pm and there was no 24-hour station. Only those who were considered rich back then (now realize they were the middle class), had cable TV and the rest are condemned to whatever was dished out by NTA2 Channel 5, NTA Channel 10, NTA Channel 12, NTA Channel 7, LTV, OGTV, and the newest kid on the block, AIT.

Those days, the Walkman was a dream gadget for young boys everywhere. Nintendo's Gameboy, Brick Game, gaming consoles like Famicom, NES, SNES, Sega were the order of the day and the defacto business for young entrepreneurs was opening a gaming center where boys of various backgrounds could come and show their skills in Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Killer Instinct, and the popular Super Mario.

Those were the days of Okin biscuit, short cake, crackers biscuit and the huge cabin biscuit which was the default birthday celebration snack. Condense was the name of the homemade popsicle, and lolly was the name of the industrial one. Balewa was the name of the local candy that came in a variety of colors. Baba Dudu was another local candy that was packaged differently.

Football competitions were called form, and the organizer was called association. The trophy is an ingenious contraption.

Newton's Second Law of Motion in Life

2015-12-02T12:38:00.000+01:00

Newton's Second Law of Motion says, "The rate of change of Momentum is directly proportional to the force applied".

This implies that to get to the point where you achieve your goals, you will have to work very hard at the beginning.

Remember Newton's First Law, you are starting from Zero. The force of inertia (the reluctance to leave a state of rest) is your biggest enemy. You will need reserve energy to continue applying force in order to activate big MO.

What is big MO?

Momentum is the Eldorado when motion is the subject. This is the reason why the rich gets richer, and you guessed it, the poor gets poorer. Momentum favors those who have something going on, and of course, it doesn't manufacture anything, it only reallocates resources from those who don't have anything going on to restore balance in the world.

Once upon a time, a man got lost and ended up in a desert. After days of wandering and near exhaustion, he saw a shack (shed) and half-heartedly wobbled towards it, hoping it wasn't another mirage. On getting there, he found a pump. I'm saved!!! He thought. He pumped frantically with renewed vigor that he had no idea where it came from. Zilch. No water. He pumped some more, still nothing. He let out a deep groan and his heart sank.

He looked around and saw a bucket of water. Why didn't I think of that? He kicked himself mentally. Beside the bucket lay a note, it read "If you would like unlimited water supply, you have to pour the contents of this bucket into the pump to prime it. Every last drop must be poured in. Then pump like your life depends on it"

His internal turmoil began, should he drink the bucket of water (security) and go on his way (uncertainty), or should he follow the instructions (insecurity), take a chance and hope it works (uncertainty). After what seemed like an eternity, he made the most unlikely decision.

He poured the entire content of the bucket into the pump and began his fight for survival.

After a few minutes, which could very well pass for a few hours, it started in trickles. The glimmer of hope became a flood of sunlight and he pumped harder. It soon started gushing and with little efforts, the water kept gushing (that is the Big MO). He drank to his heart's content, filled the bucket and wrote underneath the note "Trust Me, it really works! You have to pour it all in"

Anything worth doing will first get harder before it gets easier. Only those who keep at it get to activate Big MO. That is the leverage employed by the Wealthy and it validates the principle" the rich gets richer, the poor gets poorer"

This is the end of 2015. Unless there is a change in your thinking (still your fundamental human right), your realities by December 31st, 2015 may not be very different from the present.

Yours in Service of Humanity,
@aibitoye (twitter, Instagram)

LIF101 - POST NO BILL

2015-04-21T19:57:00.001+01:00

I want to tell you a story, and in the next couple of minutes, I would appreciate if you could loan me your undivided attention. I promise to return it with interest;

A child was born in an urban area in the heart of Lagos state almost 3 decades ago, attended about 5 primary schools, finally obtained a first school leaving certificate, from there on to just 1 secondary school, being a very brilliant and apt student, he obtained the necessary 5 O'Level credits in senior school certificate exams and got an average score in the university and tertiary matriculations exam. He got admitted to study Physics because they just had to put him somewhere because he knows somebody who knows somebody. Even though in his heart, he wanted to study Electronics and Computer Engineering because that's where his strength is, mechanization and electronics.
The result? Instead of the standard 4 years, he ended up spending 8 years and still did not graduate. For those wondering how come, here it is. Through no fault of the university, he kept failing the mathematical courses over and over again! Had 3 extra years! That's right! 3 solid extra years, before being told that the allowed number of extra years is 2. That ended his quest for a B.Sc. in Physics and freed him up to pursue his passion - Computers!

By the time he realized he was coming back for an extra year in second semester of 300 level, he was determined not to come back, his thoughts were to just bail out and escape. However, he had a coach who sat him down and showed him the big picture "that LASU was just a minute phase in the story of his life, and he should see it to the end, then move on with his life". That was exactly what he did!
Here is the good part, since his 100 level days, he had known that he had no future in Physics and as such decided to enroll for another course in Information Technology on the internet (Note: in 2002, there were no online Universities or Open Courseware/MOOCs; there was w3schools.org). He spent all his pocket money on over-night browsing twice a week, learning about Website Design using HTML, CSS, DHTML, Javascript and Flash; then Graphic Design using Photoshop, CorelDraw and 2D animations using CorelRAVE. Since he had spent all his money to pay for the overnight browsing, there was no money left to print. So, would write out all he had to print and in so doing, was assimilating a whole new world of information that he can still remember to this day!

Do not let this society define you, it will set you up to fail and ruin your life. As a fish, do not wear yourself out trying to fly. There are some specie of fish that actually fly for a few seconds and if that's what you want, you can have it. A flash in the pan, that's the idiom for it. Dolphins and Whales do jump out of the water briefly and go back under to continue life as usual. However, if you spend your time actually swimming, you would have made considerable progress.

I am the one in that story, I was admitted to study physics, but I spent most of my time and money in cyber cafes, a decade later, it has paid off.
I will not tow the path of countless others and tell you that's the end of the story, let's sing kumbayah and you're good to go. It takes guts, moments of doubts, loneliness, and depression; desperation and regrets will overshadow your heart along the way, but if you stick with what you love doing, you will flow right to the top. Don't deceive yourself and think you will be successful in 6 - 9 months, it will take as long as it takes if and only if you do not give up. History is laden with those who got phenomenal ideas and nearly implemented them.

The educational system of this society is amoebic at best, at the same time, it is a cookie-cutter, churning out hundreds of thousands of job hunters per annum. You need to decide NOW if you want to be a part of the 10,000 applicants queuing up to write an aptitude test for a job that has only 2 slots! If not, it is time to rise above the inhibiting factors that is prevalent all around you and stick with your guns!

Let's go back to the beginning!
If you have no idea what you want to do with your life, now is the time to find out. You are protected to an extent while you're within these walls; once you step outside, you are on your own!
I haven't mentioned career much thus far because you need to find out who you are first, then you will know what career path is best suited for you. For those who choose a career path because "there is money there", they soon discover that it is short lived. Jobs are springing up now that didn't exist 5, 10 years ago! Life is too short to spend it chasing money, and miss out on the good things of life.

Three Decades On

2014-04-21T22:17:00.001+01:00

Its been almost 9 months since my last post and looking back now, I had been drifting gradually from writing and focused more on joining the race that over 2 million individuals before me had run faithfully.

I was born on a cool Saturday morning somewhere in Lagos Nigeria, back when the military junta was making a comeback and the Naira was stronger than the US Dollar (yes, that time existed in our history).

Fast forward ten years, and my most dominant thoughts were how I was going to prepare and scale through my common entrance and G2 examinations in order to gain admission into a secondary (high) school. I was bummed though as I was not allowed to write that year and had to wait another year before I could prove my mettle against other brainiacs in the state.

Two decades on, my life revolved around getting my grades up in the university, flexing my public speaking vocal chords and chasing the girl of my dreams. I got my heart broken for the first time and was depressed for about 6 months, got better towards the end of the year and had a couple other heartbreaks in the ensuing years (that is another blog post)

Taking stock on the day commemorating the third decade spent on God's green earth, I am married to the love of my life, sit on the board of a couple of companies (www.itooknow.com, www.mugusguide.com, www.wawradio.com, www.dedgedigital.com) consult for a couple of organizations (www.goldelsh.com, www.fifthgearplus.com), host a couple of technology shows on radio (www.digitalspaceng.com, www.facebook.com/pcfixnigeria3)

I have learned a whole lot, but some of the lessons that stood out are as follows;
* Somethings can be thought, others can only be caught (you have to go through it)
* No matter what you do, people will talk. Do it anyways.
* Life is all about stewardship. We find fulfillment for our lives ONLY when we live for others.
* No matter how bad your luck is, someone else has it worse. Be thankful.
* Life is a gift. Use your time wisely.

Thank you for reading, hope to write another soon.

#ChildNotBride

2013-07-23T08:32:00.001+01:00

#ChildNotBride was the major rallying cry over the weekend and it brought to the fore, our innate feelings of love and compassion for our fellow humans, especially our children.

Let us borrow a leaf from the reaction generated by this debased form of thinking (inferred or not) and extend that same anger to the paraplegic educational system, the hostile business environment, the derogatory lyrics and plots in the entertainment industry, the slaughter houses that serve as our healthcare facilities, the cauldrons that have overtaken what used to be roads, the power sector that has gulped more money than the whole of Djibouti, the railway system that will fall miserably short when compared to the World War II museum artifacts and setup petition signing centers all around to force a change in the policies and impel them to action.

HOPE + FUL - LESS = HOPE

2012-11-22T11:32:00.001+01:00

#OccupyNigeria #FuelSubsidy #ABSURAPE #ALUU4 #MUBI #BOKOHARAM #PLANECRASH #FESTACRAPE #UNBOMBING #KIDNAPPING #PILEUPS #BUILDINGCOLLAPSE #FIREDISASTER

It is evident that we live in a broken world and nothing we do will fix the predicament we the inhabitants find ourselves because we ourselves are imperfect and there is no way we can create a perfect system out of an imperfect mind.

The mere fact that we go from one tragedy to the other shows that the change we seek has to start with us, otherwise, we will remain in the same dysfunctional state where things seem to work, only to take turns for the worse and degenerate into terrible situations which jolts us back to reality.

That some of the tragedies we have witnessed in recent times are man-made and preventable is enough reason for us to realize that we need to consciously work on renewing our minds. Where's the love gone? Love for self precedes love for others and this will breed fore-thought and help your decision-making process such that you consider the consequences of our actions or the lack of it.

When you choose to live our lives by your own rules, you tend to sink to record lows every single time; and over time, you suppress, all to the point of silence your conscience such that you become numb, with no feeling, stone-cold, callous and selfish. You make decisions with only yourself in mind, this, as history has shown, is a recipe for disaster.

What can you do? While the losses that resulted from the tragedies are real and caused countless pain and suffering, it can cause you to lose faith in humanity when you focus all your attention on everything going wrong. There is hope, when we reach for something more, and in the face of hate, pour out LOVE like rain.

Studies have shown that humans can survive,

40 days without food,

4 days without water,

4 minutes without air,

and all but

4 seconds without HOPE.

Hopelessness is a state where there is nothing left and the proverbial silver-lining is not visible; the foreboding, overwhelming, almost horrific feeling that all is lost, gone and there is no reason to live.

The families of the countless hundreds that have lost their lives are still mourning and for years to come will carry the pain, the shattered dreams, and a life of hardship awaits some of them. You can make your voice count towards a significant change in preventing future occurrences of the man-made tragedies that claimed those precious lives, cutting short their dreams and aspirations.

We have a larger platform in this age than all of history put together, with this platform comes a massive responsibility - use it as an instrument for change. Life is too short to live for yourself alone; when you are all wrapped up in yourself, you make a very small package, making a difference in nobody's life.

When you get a novel idea and are about to post, ask yourself this; will this touch anybody's heart and compel it to action? If the answer is no, you may want to review it and make changes. Won't this make you uptight and serious? It will make you accountable for every word you say/write because they have the potential to bring about a turn-around in someone's life and the reverse holds true as well.

Carelessly-placed words have the potential to tear someone down emotionally and cause more damage than physical injuries do. More importantly, we need to ACT; go beyond talking into taking necessary steps to lend a hand, give time, resources and thoughts to make a change, no matter how insignificant it seems.

Forgiveness 2.0 – Can you go back?

2012-11-04T04:25:00.000+01:00

Forgiveness, just like Love, has definitions to varying degrees or like an onion—layers. I always thought I had the forgiveness thing locked down, yeah right! Just like the proverbial out of the blue, it hit me that I had just erased that part from memory and decided the type of forgiveness I wanted to extend. I found out that I couldn’t (or at least that’s what I had subconsciously agreed) go back if I had the chance.
On my way home, it became evident that this sealed can of worms had been in the basement and it is already stinking. It took an interviewer’s probing questions for me to shed light on that chapter in my life’s story.
Forgiveness is absolute, but just like everything else, we make it relative and as such varying standards abound. This means what I call forgiveness may not cut it for someone else. While my version of forgiveness may be shallow and warped, yours may be brutally honest.
Ultimately, we are responsible for our versions of forgiveness, while it is in our best interest to forgive and let go; it is not as easy as it sounds. You need to decide first of all which version of forgiveness you would like to exhibit, partial or complete.
While we may grapple back and forth in our minds about how badly we’ve been hurt and tabulate cogent reasons why we can’t let go, let us remember that they are humans after all and we are all greatly flawed.
Sometimes, we have unrealistic, astronomical expectations of our mere mortal neighbors and more often than not, you get disappointed. I have discovered (all be it painfully) that our pride gets in the way of our forgiving those who have wronged us. We subconsciously want to stand for our perceived right, and forgiving feels like we are positioning ourselves to being run roughshod, but on the long run, we do ourselves a great disservice by refusing to give allowance for human weakness.
What you can do is ask yourself if you have given the person who hurt you yet another chance, with no guarantees that they will not go down the same race track and cause you another bout of heartache.
There is a balance however, but I hope you see the underlying principle.

Spotlight

2012-10-27T08:25:00.000+01:00

Something we all shy away from, well at least most of us do, but we secretly crave it and would do anything to get it. As with everything on earth, it comes with both good and not so good sides. Once you break into the spotlight, center of attention, even if it is for twenty-four hours, you have gone down into the history books and your every move becomes an interest to everyone around you.

Then you have media houses like hawks hovering above your life, waiting for a slip up from you so they can sell their stories through their papers, ads, or whatever their means of transmission.

While you may be oblivious to the consequences or the burden that accompanies fame, it is in your best interest to look beyond the popularity and perks that it alluringly promises, the responsibilities are equal and can sometimes outweigh what you stand to gain from becoming famous. Also, you should have in mind why exactly you want to be in the spotlight, so that when the time (your time) comes, you will not be carried away with its mostly subtle tempting offers.

It is worthy of note that empty fame or popularity or time in the spotlight is why many a celebrity feel all alone in the midst of all the attention, money, and popularity. When there is a purpose for your fame, you can channel all the clout to the cause you set out to start or support.

While the spotlight is not for everybody, many an individual have been thrust into the same without ever dreaming of it, and while that is not as common-place, it does happen, and could happen to you reading this piece as well, then what? Nothing! There is no one-size-fits-all rule about prepping for fame, but common sense applies.

Most humans worship and adore people in the spotlight and often to a god-like reverence, they look up to them as role models (often as a replacement for failed authority figures in their lives) and take in their every word and actions. This is by far the heaviest burden celebrities are laden with, and while most ignore it and say they are not directly responsible for what people believe or do, it doesn’t change the fact that they have knowingly or otherwise enrolled an audience more than all their previous generations ever saw in all their lifetimes combines.

I suggest you sit for a while and decide what you want to do with your time in the spotlight, because just like a play, it has acts and scenes, and as soon as the curtain falls, your time in the spotlight is over and you will be replaced by a younger, more contemporary version of you. What will you be remembered for?

Breaking News

2012-09-27T16:33:00.000+01:00

My heart breaks when we seem not to care about what happens immediately after a tragedy. We have a knack for wanting to be the first to ‘break’ the news, the drive erodes our sensibilities and we post words, photos or videos we regret later on. If we had our heads screwed on properly, and our faculties are in good working order, we will empathize with the families of victims and allow the appropriate authorities to break the gut-wrenching news of the loss of their loved ones.

We need to exercise restraint when we are faced with very sensitive information and consider the lives that would be potentially altered drastically as a result of what you know. Also, it is highly insensitive, grossly irresponsible and reeks of utter disregard for the feelings of the affected families, when we keep posting and reposting gory photos of mangled, dismembered and charred human remains on social media outlets after the tragic events have occurred.

Let the dead rest and circulating such traumatic images will not do anything to alleviate the pain and suffering of the affected families or prevent future occurrences. We have all become information junkies, inadvertently throwing caution to the wind before ‘breaking’ the next big story and in the process; we lose ourselves, our sense of human feeling and compassion.

We can tell ourselves that we are informing people and are doing what is right, just and true or even our jobs, but there is that deep-seated subconscious feeling to be the first, the one with the exclusive. If we don’t decide ahead of time, what we’re going to do when we have access to highly sensitive and often-traumatic information, we will continue to blurt them out as we have been doing beforehand.

I know for certain, that these disasters will not abate, they will keep coming, just take a look at the news filtering in from all over the green globe, and you will see reason and by inference, there are no sacred cows, as it is happening in third world nations, its hitting the first and second with equal and sometimes greater ferocity. We see earthquakes, floods, typhoons, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and the ever-present nuclear threat, bio-weapons and the like.

The world seems to be breaking at the seams, but don’t be overwhelmed, the end is near. This is not the end; it’s only the beginning! He that reads let him understand.

Falling Out of Love

2012-09-24T05:40:00.000+01:00

It is very easy for me to change my mind, based on prevailing circumstances, so as to minimize exposure/vulnerability. However, it appears He is always in love with me and all the junk I have allowed into the room of my heart have blocked the ray of God's love from illuminating my heart and thus, the warmth I have been accustomed to is glaringly missing, hence, the gloom, depression, constant feeling of loneliness and lone-ranger attitude while maintaining the outward appearance of keeping it together all the while feeling like crap every day.

Someone said “loneliness is not a loss of someone, but a loss of direction and vision for your life” I couldn't have put it better myself, we are usually tunnel-vision-minded that we pay so much attention to the physical that we ignore the most important and yet invisible parts of our lives. A saying goes thus “the most important things in life are free”, and while you may find reasons to dispute it, the fact remains, you can’t see love, hope, joy, and the like physically, but you do feel their effects.

When Determination Fails

2012-09-23T04:54:00.001+01:00

The proverbial moment of decision on which the real purpose of the whole story hinges on is here in this chapter of the story. All I have learned prior are turning out to be more than was summarized in those books. Looking back now, I think I would have rubbed minds directly with the authors to have a firsthand knowledge of what they went through, how they held on (if they did) who/what changed their minds and convinced them to stay the course, plus, when did it all change and when did they notice it?

I know I have written in earlier times that I have reached the lowest ebb, but the definition keeps getting redefined for me and the record keeps being broken by none other than yours truly.

For years, I have pride myself in my ability to choose to do something and stick with it, unwavering. Of late, it seems every decision I have ever made is being revisited and my determination does not seem to be able to help, it may be nothing, but no, it is definitely everything. If my determination has shown me one thing, it is that it is completely useless in the face of invisible/intangible matters.

I can determine not to eat, and that can work, until my body can no longer do without. However, for more intangible things like thoughts and physiological responses seem intense and overwhelming for all of 150 – 300 seconds after which a ton of head-bowing and raw feelings have their field day. It is obvious who is in charge, the rudder has gone completely out of control and no matter how skilled or emotionally intelligent you get, it will take something/someone beyond you to help you take back the reigns of power and steer your life back on track.

You are very special; hence the problems/oppositions you will face are of equal magnitude. All you have to do is recognize you need help, and then ask for it. Also, you need to stop digging your own grave. Continuing to feed your vices, you increase the recovery time.

Man In New Dimension Series (BRAIN, MIND & CONSCIENCE)

2012-06-13T14:47:00.000+01:00

So, you know how you have always wanted to write a book but never got around to writing it? Well, this is one of those things you write instead. It is a very hard thing to sit, organize your thoughts, research, and dig/maneuver through billions of memory units in your brain to find the best-fit scenarios to drive home your point.

When you are doing something worthwhile and requires using your mind, time is irrelevant but it sure does move slowly simply because you are engaged in tasks more grueling than physical laborers who earn wages. Your brain uses up more energy than most of your daily activities combined.

Your brain is physical and can be seen (via scan while you’re alive, via touch when you’re dead and taken for autopsy) but your mind is invisible. Occasionally, we would point to our head when referring to our mind, technically, that may not be correct, but hey, who cares where it is, as long as it works.

Then there is what we call heart (not the muscle) or conscience, which is supposed to be resident in our mind (which we can’t locate yet), our moral compass if you will, but it keeps us in touch with our humanity, there resides all of human emotions—love, hate, joy, sadness, faith, hope, jealousy, envy, strife, et al. These emotions, depending on if they are constructive or destructive, drive our minds to come up with thoughts, ideas, and schemes to interact with others positively or negatively.

A phrase is apt, which says, “what goes into a mind comes out in a life”, yet another one says “watch your thoughts, they become actions, watch your actions, they become habits, watch your habits, they become lifestyle, watch your lifestyle, it reflect your character”. The above is clear on the function(s) of your mind; it is a processor, making use of the data made available to it. You however, have a choice what you feed your mind, because that is exactly what it will work with.

Once we configure our minds to certain dispositions, beliefs, orientations, we become biased, see everything else through that colored glass we’ve put on.

Prejudice is born out of these predispositions to persons of certain race, age, sex and does not help us give or get the best out of others. In this day and age, the best way to live is to unlearn and relearn all the ideas that formed our thinking for the major part of our growing up years. The word mindset is apt at this juncture because just like you have concrete being set in a cast but not used until after it is dry, that is how our mindsets form over the years but don’t come into full usage/effect until after they are set and we are thus stereotyped.

Rushing to Nolandia

2012-05-08T09:59:00.001+01:00

Where are you going in such a hurry? That is the question I keep asking myself anytime someone walks past me on the pedestrian bridge. Those who use the bridge (yes, there are some folks who believe it is too much work) know that it is just wide enough to accommodate two people, in opposite directions. It seems some individuals always have emergencies, and do not have time to wait a couple of seconds.

If the above is a bit vague, why do we rev our engines when we have seen that there is a traffic light ahead and its is already on amber, a precursor to the dreaded red light? Why do we become aggressive when we see a learner driving in front of us in traffic? Why do we honk our horns when the car ahead of us does not start in time when the light goes green?

The truth is that we do not know exactly why we are impatient, there is nothing really that our impatience does to speed up the process (especially when it is caused by others). Sometimes, our impatience brings out our irrational self and we do or say things we would not have said or done under normal circumstances.

Next time you are impatient and bordering on getting overly worked up over nothing, ask yourself this question “by the end of today, would this few seconds, minutes really matter” and if you are honest with yourself, the answer will most likely be no, more often than not. The fact that we are not in control, even for the briefest of seconds or minutes scares the living daylight out of us all.

We need to learn however, that we are not really in control of anything. Our lives are interconnected in ways we cannot begin to fathom or calculate, hence, it makes more sense to live each day to the fullest, making allowances for the frailty of the human race. This will help us live free of the baggage of holding grudges, prejudices, envy, strife and lots of other negative emotions.

Life is short, don’t spend it mad and angry at everybody else, because, face it, humans will never measure up to your expectations. We will always fall short of your ideals, so, suck it up and make the best of today. Those who are terminally sick and near death wish they could have even a fraction of the time and freedom you have, do not take that for granted by being in a hurry, thereby throwing caution to the wind.

Someone said to me a while back, after we both witnessed a reckless motorcycle rider do something reserved for the movies; I said “it seems this guy has a spare life at home, hence his recklessness”, he answered and said “won’t he have to go home to pick up the spare, if this one expires as a result of his stupidity?”

One more scenario, have you found yourself tapping your feet while on a queue? It doesn’t have any direct impact on the queue, but it does on us, I suppose. We are letting out our pent-up anxiety, frustration, impatience et al by tapping away, or fiddling with our phone, or engage in daydreaming to while away the time until it reaches our turn.

Olomi! (Water Tanker)

2012-04-19T08:46:00.000+01:00

Olomi! Olomi!! Olomi!!! (translated: Water Vendor) We screamed at the top of our lungs as we raced after the water tanker that came by our community a couple of times a week in the early nineties, he didn’t stop though and we gave up after doing about a hundred meters; either he was out of water to sell or he didn’t hear our ruckus which is highly unlikely.

You see, the reason for that bizarre scenario is the bane of our country today, lack of planning! There was no municipal water system in place in what is regarded as the largest housing estate in Africa! If there was one in place, in less than a decade after its inception, we moved in and after a while, a small group of residents decided to concert efforts and dug a well, got a pumping machine, a storage tank and life went on.

Fast forward two decades, a new municipal water system is built, but the downer is this, with almost a thousand housing blocks of six or eight flats each, you are looking at over two hundred wells and bore holes dug and sunk over the years. How the municipal water system intends to integrate is yet another headache because it means further digging of the already collapsed road network.

My heart for Nigeria transcends the current state of limbo where we have lingered for over half a century now. I say again for the umpteenth time, my children will not go to school for eight hours, only to come home and find a private tutor waiting to dump extra dosage of theoretical misnomers in their tiny little brains. School is not a pace to dump kids while parents are at work making money to pay for the same school. If you do not have time to raise your kids, then don’t give birth to them, there are enough kids in orphanages looking for loving families already.

Electricity supply has been on a steady decline in the two decades I spent in that community, that is to be expected when you have a surge in population, consequently, a greater demand on the electricity but no increase in the generated or distributed from the national grid. Yet another anomaly in this part of the world; with a weak central government, efforts are frustrated at the state and municipal levels such that all the good intentions (if any) and projects all get watered down and truncated (on several occasions) before they reach the populace.

With our vast resources, permutation shows that we have almost limitless avenues to generate electricity and have enough in reserve to give us uninterrupted power supply for half a century, and sell the excess to neighboring countries. When a system is not working, there are individuals that profit from that anomaly; these same individuals over time become principalities that ensure that the anomalies are not corrected. They will fight tooth and nail to make sure the status quo is maintained; that has so far been our reality in this part of the world.

You hear of dizzying amounts of money injected into the power sector that have experienced sublimation (process where solid turns to gas without melting to liquid first, yes its possible) and you can’t help but wonder if there are saboteurs at work to ensure that in over five decades, we cannot generate and maintain as much electricity as the state of California in the United States. When you have tried a process and it doesn’t work even though it has worked for others, it might be time to employ another process or change the personnel who are implementing the process.

With all the environmentalist campaigns and the move to go green, Nigeria will soon go belly up and declare bankruptcy because the crude oil we so much believe in and hang the fate of a hundred and fifty million people on will soon experience a market crash in prices. A careful observation of trends in history will see to the confirmation of the previous sentence. We are so focused on crude oil that we are not actively engaging Bio-Diesel, Wind, Solar, Heat, Nuclear and others on a massive scale that will successfully take over from the age-old tradition of the dam electricity.

Thinking that this piece is about elementary education, politics or electricity is to have missed the whole point, which is to fan the embers of our anger towards the imbroglio having a field day in our community without a care in the world. A proverb says “the flood means business, and that is to bring down the house, it is the owner of the house that will not allow it”. If we sit and do nothing, our children will suffer for it. Even if we ship them out of the country, unless they do not come back or do not have friends and families here, it will still affect them adversely, one way or another.

I do not concern myself so much about my generation anymore because it took us a long time to know that it was abnormal for electricity not to be constant, for roads to be filled with more holes than roads, for schools to not be opened because of strikes, for the faucet in the kitchen not to have running water, for politicians to appear once in four years to solicit your votes, and so much more; but we can fight all these anomalies with our lives and be proud that our children will be fighting other battles, and not these inane matters that their contemporaries in the developed world have never heard of.

The Stone Age had its ups and downs, so did the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and subsequently the Information Age. Unless we want to kid ourselves, the challenges that our children will face will be unprecedented and the best we can do for them is ensure they do not start by taking care of all the crazy problems we inherited, then they can start with a clean slate, encounter and solve their problems and make life better for their children and the cycle can continue for generations to come.

How to become a World Shaker

2012-04-05T05:51:00.002+01:00

Question // Sunday, March 27^th 2005

You have been telling people “you are a world shaker” and you don’t say how. How does an average youth become a world shaker?

Answer // Wednesday, March 30^th 2005

An average youth can become a world shaker that (s)he is by discovering who (s)he is! Discovering the “why” purpose for which (s)he is created at all. Discovery of self and purpose will put one on the road to the fulfillment.

Commitment to the purpose will keep you on that road, because as you keep your eyes on the end result--which can include you discussing with world leaders, presidents, statesmen, leaders of industries, et al dictating their economic, political and social affairs, the idea should keep you on track.

If you check very well, your future is not one faraway place that you are trying to get information about, your future is here, how today is treated readily transcends to your future. Your today was yesterday’s future.

When the question “why” has been answered, the future takes shape and you will already know which path to take and which not to. If the average youth can set his/her mind on serving others, helping others, making lives better, (s)he will be shot to the top quite steadily. A wonderful quote captures the thought superbly

“if you jump up, you will come right back down, but if you grow up, you stay up”.

Once you solve a problem, you are entitled to get paid, that is where your money is, not in government contracts, and appointments. Solve problems for people and they will be willing to part with their hard-earned money.

You are a World Shaker.

It’s Impossible? For Your Level Maybe!

2012-04-05T05:30:00.002+01:00

The word "impossible" is used when we get to the limit of our abilities, when we know better, the word fades away and it becomes "I’m possible".

I remember vividly in elementary school, we were taught that

1+2=3, but

1-2=impossible.

You can imagine my shock when I got into high school and we were taught that

1-2=-1,

I was like, are you kidding me? Then it was time for the square roots, cube roots, exponential factors, quadratic equations and one we aptly labeled "almighty formula". We were taught that

The square root of 4 is 2, but that

The square root of -1 is impossible.

Off to college and in the very first class, learned that

The square root of -1 is i.

Then discovered that

1= Cos^2 # + Sin^2 # (where # is theta, from the Greek alphabet)

It was becoming ridiculous for me, but then I thought, maybe they (whoever was in charge of the curriculum) thought that it is better to give it to us in bits and pieces, like in unveiling a new product or service.

You can't fault the thought though, it was a lot to take on at that time and they really expanded our thought processes, especially the word problems.

Looking back now, impossible was possible for my small mind back in elementary school, and as it expanded, the word gradually slipped out, until the next big thing. My thought, we will always face impossible situations until we become bigger, wiser, smarter, more knowledgeable to successfully execute the challenge.

One advantage we have is that our mind is like a rubber band, once expanded and released, returns, but not to its original state, it retains some of the stretch due to the stress that it was subjected to. The longer a rubber band is subjected to a stretch, the more likely it is to retain a greater portion of the stretch after the stress has been removed.

With the above in mind, you can take on challenges that you deem impossible, if only to gain the experience,

City of Flying Helmets

2012-03-31T10:31:00.001+01:00

When I first wrote the script about the helmet wars, I left a cliff-hanger. Well, here is the concluding part.
Two years into the helmet wars, we are almost back to square one. I cannot say for certain how many lives have been saved as a result of the usage of crash helmets, but one thing is certain, the authorities that are supposed to enforce the law have since turned it into another source of income.
Riders who do not wear or even possess crash helmets are supposed to have their motorcycles seized, but for a token (bribe), they escape the arm of the law (at least until the next police officer 'catches' them) and the cycle continues.
Being a superstitious environment, some passengers don't wear helmets because there have been rumors of people disappearing as soon as they adorn the crash helmet. Hence, it is not uncommon to see individuals holding the crash helmet a couple of inches from their head; which is supposed to be a dumb attempt to fool the authorities. Who is fooling who?
Isn't the crash helmet supposed to have a lifespan? Many of the crash helmets have seen better or is it worse days? They have lost whatever was supposed to protect the human skull in case of a crash, what you have left are plastic bowls with a rope as the harness or something in that category.
On a daily basis, you see crash helmets flying off the head of either the rider or the passenger; surprised? Don't be. Like I mentioned earlier, most of the helmets have reached the end of their lifespan and have not been made to retire yet. So, without the latch to secure it firmly on the head, the wind is very efficient in lifting the substandard contraption from whoever and whenever.
Imagine you're driving and suddenly, out of nowhere, a crash helmet did just that...crash into your windshield...you slam on the brakes? Swerve? Don't forget there are other drivers on the road, if not well managed, you are looking at a pile up and a very long day ahead or night.
The purpose of the helmet is to protect the rider and the passenger, it now poses a grave danger to drivers and other riders if it is not properly used. The case of flying helmets should be addressed by the relevant authorities because government sank billions of tax-payers Naira into the project nationwide.
As far as this goes, it is best imagined than experienced. The number of commercial motorcycles in Lagos alone is well over 295,000. Using that as a benchmark, we should be looking at some 600,000 new helmets every 18 months. But as far as reality goes, the last 30 months have seen the same bowls being used by the riders to get the better of law enforcement agencies.
Way forward? Let us think long-term when proffering solutions. Quick fixes will not get us anywhere and we will be worse off than we were before the quick fix.

Memoir: Paul Marcus 1

2012-03-28T05:35:00.000+01:00

I woke up in the morning and as if on cue, my digital surround home theatre system plays my favorite selection of gospel classics, enter the bathroom cum toilet with Jacuzzi for a personal hygiene session; my closet holds my sportswear and my iPod ready for a wonderful time of cycling because it is a Saturday! As I cycle out of my garage door, I couldn't help but appreciate God's grace in the procurement of the twin duplex my wife and I now live in. As I cycle away, the valley unfolded before me like a carpet. Despite my earphones, I could hear the birds singing praises to God at the top of their tiny lungs. The plants are not taking it lying low either because their flowers are in full bloom and their leaves moving rhythmically with the cool and gentle mountain morning breeze. Oh the freshness of the morning! I take a deep breath and hold it for as long as I could. It’s a much needed break from the smoke, dust, and exhaust gases from automobiles, generators and factories of the city. Oh that this moment will last forever.

Nay, life must continue and I must not remain stagnant. A sharp contrasting odor to the woods jerked me back from my fantasyland and it took me but a few seconds to realize it was the salt air from the sea, as I cleared the last line of trees, the ocean came into view. I parked my bike and stood by the shoreline. The old trick came into play again as the water and the clouds appear to be no more than a couple of meters from each other. The clouds appear to be animated versions from video games and the whole experience causes my eyes to turn misty. A high-pitched tone jerked me from my fantasy—my mobile phone, and it can only be one person—my wife; and indeed it was her just waking up and wondering where I have been. I couldn't believe that it’s been three hours already since I left home. Now it’s time to return but my return route is three miles which brings my total sojourn to five miles. I look forward to a delicious breakfast with my wife and a very intimate one at that; know what I mean don't you? I bet you do!

Then I look forward to finding out what’s trending on twitter and much later join the guys for the big football match in the English Premier League- Chelsea vs. Arsenal. This has been a very interesting memoir-writing time for me; I look forward to us doing it again sometime. As I cycle closer to home, I was greeted by the chaotic sight of the hustling and bustling of city life, various colours of smoke mixed with dust and layered with the endless cacophony of unpleasant sounds from generators, sirens, horns, trains and humans. When I think of where I am coming from, I cannot help but thank the creator for making sanctuaries that would ensure we keep our sanity. Finally, my house is in view and I reflect on what I have achieved with today's expedition. Snapping out of my reverie, I saw my wife on the porch and I knew that am gonna get it this morning. Next time I will be more conscious about time. Thank you for your time, please return for the next edition of this memoir sometime in the future.

LIF101 Quotes

2012-03-28T05:14:00.002+01:00

*We do NOT See people the way they are, we See them the way we ARE. Our past distorts our outlook to Life, let go of the hurts.

*Ultimately, revenge leaves the avenger worse off than the initial wrong that was meted out. Learn to let go, for your own good.

*When everyone around you seems to be doing or saying the wrong things and is irritating, check your attitude. It may be stinking.

*Your predominant thoughts will ultimately become your reality, so, why not engage productive thinking and be better off later on.

*We are social beings and our success is defined by how much we help the people around us succeed.

*We all have our place in this world; don't let anyone trivialize your role. None is more important than the other, puzzle pieces we.

*What happened to you is not news, it has happened to others before; how you happened to it is news because it’s unique.

*While some are pilots, some are aeronautical engineers. People see the pilot but forget the man behind the scene, equally important.

Purpose

2012-03-27T05:48:00.000+01:00

A plane without a compass is destined for the mountains to be doomed, likewise a ship without a lighthouse is destined for the rocks and a ship without a compass will only sail in circles, subjected to the elements and will not get anywhere. The purpose of an airplane is to fly, a ship is to float on water, a car is to travel on the ground, a train is made to move on its rail. A space shuttle is designed to move out of the earth’s orbit, a chair is made for sitting, a pen is meant for writing, the nose is made for breathing, and the legs are made for walking.

All the above examples have simple yet defined purposes. Trying to go or do otherwise i.e. contrary to their design will always spell frustration. When we don’t know why we are created, we can afford to sit and do nothing. Someone said, ‘when purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable’. When we are going anywhere, any road will take us there. The only person who can best describe what a particular thing is made for is the manufacturer, we as humans are not exempted.

Imagine! If the petrol that is supposed to be in the gas tank of a car is transferred into the radiator and the liquid meant for the radiator is poured into the gas tank. The engine oil swapped for the brake oil and vice versa. What do you think will happen? No movement! If you miss your place, get out of God’s will or purpose for your life and function in someone else’s calling, there will be distortion in the body and there will be no movement. All this because the whole body will be missing a part—you!

If you want to know why you were created, go and ask your creator (unless of course you agree that you happened by some random big bang in the universe and you evolved from monkeys). He knows all you can be and all you were made to be. You are not a statistic, or a logistic object, you are a unique person, a champion, a world shaker, a leader (in your own right), a trail blazer (in the making), a pioneer, a success with massive potentials.

True success is not defined by what is visible; it is measured by the fulfillment of your purpose. Materially rich folks who are yet to discover their purpose are really miserable, and it leaves a gaping hole in their perceived success. When you were created, your creator did not have only you in mind, He had the whole world on His mind and He designed you to fit in the puzzle and bless the people of the world with your uniqueness.

When God finished creating you, the scriptures recorded that ‘you were fearfully and wonderfully made’ i.e. you were designed in such a way that if anything bad happens to you, millions of lives will be affected, and when you succeed by fulfilling your purpose, millions of lives will be directly impacted for the good and betterment of the billions of mortals on the surface of the earth.

The fulfillment of purpose is the greatest thing that can happen to you both now and beyond!

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Original Poem: Irony of Memory

2012-03-27T05:42:00.002+01:00

Not all that is said,
Is understood by humans.
For down in our dens,
We try to store it all up here.
Not for anything but to tell the story,
And at the end of it all,
It causes some to fall.
While for a few others,
It is less of a bother.

Original Poem: Irony of Words

2012-03-27T05:40:00.000+01:00

Everybody has something to say,
Sadly, some will go astray.
The ones that affect us,
Will all come in our mouth bus.
Usually there is no restraint,
But normally brings complaint.
All we are and all we will ever be,
Will be determined by the ones we allow to be.