Showing posts with label Edition 197. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edition 197. Show all posts
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Solving money challenges (2)
(Biz tool Kids)
BY BRIDGET OLOTU
THE result of my research indicates that financial intelligence is much more important than formal education. Examples of very successful and wealthy men who had little education and those who dropped out of the university abound in history. Henry Ford, Benjamin Franklin, Henry George, Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Paul Allen, Larry Ellison, Cosmas Maduka, Prince Samuel Adedoyin, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and a host of others are a testimony to what the human spirit can do when it possesses vision, drive, commitment and financial intelligence.
I am not downplaying the importance of education; only emphasising the importance of financial education for wealth creation and as an escape from poverty!
Moses’ Experience: Moses started business at the age of 13, several years ago. His entrepreneurial energy was really put into the business as he worked hard to grow the business. His business grew to such a level that he was making close to what his mother made as a trader. At a point, he could afford to buy a big TV at the age of 14. He could afford to add some money and buy a big stereo system. Business was really booming for him. However, just few years after then, his business crashed. Why? He lacked financial intelligence. He could only make money; he couldn’t budget, manage, protect or leverage it. He had no bank account. He didn’t invest excess cash. He kept the entire bulk of his money at home, which sometimes was stolen. He lacked financial literacy. He just kept spending his capital on things that didn’t and couldn’t help the business grow. His business eventually fell. If that business was sustained, by now it would have been worth over N4,000,000 or more.
Dave’s Story: Dave belonged to a middle-class family. His father was already a top management staff in the late seventies in one of the blue-chip manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Dave’s father started early in teaching his children financial intelligence. He taught them to imbibe a savings culture whereby they saved their monies in kolo, i.e. wooden bank or piggy bank, and at the end of the year, he added money to it and bought stocks for them. Later, his father was retired from his company unexpectedly and things became pretty difficult for them. Meanwhile, Dave’s entrepreneurial instinct was already honed. He started raising livestock like rabbits, guinea pigs, pigeons, and poultry in his father’s big compound and sold them to make some money. Dave was an entrepreneur as well as an investor. Financial intelligence saw him through his secondary school in style and financial buoyancy. With the dividends and returns generated from his numerous stock investments, Dave and his younger ones didn’t have any cause to fear due to their Dad’s sudden change of financial position. Dave later joined the Nigerian Army as a non-commissioned officer but shortly after proceeded to the university on a self-financed basis, employing to the fullest his entrepreneurial potentials to make money. At one time, he was even selling clothes to his fellow schoolmates, and from there was able to buy a car. After his degree, he was later commissioned as an officer. He still engages heavily in income generating assets today. He is currently a Major in the Nigerian Army.
THESE two stories teach us the importance of financial literacy for wealth creation and for a quality lifestyle. Your financial destiny is dependent on your financial intelligence.
When you combine entrepreneurship with investing, you become a possessor of great wealth.
Financial intelligence is very important; in fact, it is unavoidable if you want to make, manage and multiply your money for wealth creation.
You can do better than Major Dave did and avoid Moses’ past financial blunders if you sharpen your financial intelligence today!
Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DEAIM Innovative Resources Ltd.
bridgetolotu@gmail.com
Digital health print
(PANORAMA)
BY REBECCA AKINMOLAYAN
THE first cell phone was used by the Swedish Police way back in 1946. The past decade saw the upsurge of mobile phones with almost everyone having a cell phone. Even now, cell phones are more than people are!
These phones have become part of our dressing; it is nearly impossible to leave them behind while going out. With the considerable time spent with them, it is wise to ask if they pose a problem to our health. There are conflicting conclusions on this. The industries say that they are relatively safe while the medical field maintains that they are dangerous.
There are speculations that because phones transmit radiowaves, they increase the susceptibility of developing brain damage in the future. These phones were not really pre-tested before being released into the market, as they are not drugs.
For now the jury is yet to decide finally whether they are completely dangerous or not, so research continues.
But for now, except you decide not to use phones at all, you have to take measures to protect ourselves of the potential hazards that arise while using phones.
We all know the convenience our cell phones gives us: the ease of communication, the fun, the music, the videos, the browsing and the freebies. We virtually cannot do without them. We only need to learn how to protect ourselves form the risks by:
• Not using them for too long (warning to the awuf midnight call customers). If you are making long calls, use a landline instead.
• Putting them away from the body as the waves emitted are said to destroy the white blood cells. It is better on the table or stuffed in the bag.
• Picking calls using the hands-free while driving. In the absence of that, park and receive your call, for safety reasons.
For those working at base stations or living around the masts, reduce level of exposure to such areas.
On the other hand, cell phones are very invaluable especially in times of grave danger. You may be unaware but your phone could save your life. Check this out:
• In times of emergency, dial 112. It does not matter if your phone is locked or there is no network.
• For those with cars that use remote keyless entry, cell phones come handy when you lock your keys mistakenly in the car. Just call someone at home. All you have to do is to hold the phone about a foot away from the car door. Have the person at home put the other remote close to their mobile phone. Once they press the unlock button at their end, the car door will automatically open. It even works for the trunk too!
• If you are ever forced to withdraw money from ATM at gunpoint, just type your PIN in the reverse. The money will be disbursed, but not without alerting the police.
As it is, all good things are half-bad and all bad things are half-good, it all depends on how you see it. Your cell phone could be a curse or blessing to you.
Do it now habit
(LIFE COACH)
BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE
AY Stainless is a client of mine who has told me about her dreams. She wants to be a musician. She was stunned when I asked her, ‘Why do you procrastinate?’
Procrastination is a major complain I get from clients who are not determined enough to achieve their dreams against all odds. Often times, they complain of time, money, resources, or enough contacts, what they don’t know is that excuses don’t change the outcome.
In some cases, clients blame others for their woes and failures. The government has not provided an enabling environment where businesses can thrive. Banks do not give loans to start-up entrepreneurs.
These I confess, are some of the reasons some people don’t succeed. But some succeed in this same condition. The difference between the successful and the failures in this scenario is based on their thoughts and actions.
Think positively. At times, the reason people procrastinate is negative self-talk.
In karate, you need to defeat your opponent in your mind before you lift your fist, otherwise, you may be defeated. For a moment, see yourself accomplishing that task that you have been postponing. You can do it, if you think you can.
Make the law of inertia work for you. A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will continues to move. Learn to take the first step. A Chinese proverb says that “A journey of 10 000 miles begins with a step.”
Move that move. Stand on the cliff and jump. If your dream is to be a musician, go to the studio and do some recording. In most cases, producers will like to see your ‘demo.’ Make that call, send that text message. Just take the first step and you will be forced to keep moving.
Have a red-hot desire. One of the basics of becoming successful is thedesire to become successful. How ‘bad’ do you want to be a comedian,
or a make up artiste? How ‘bad’ do you want to be a celebrity or a superstar? If you don’t really desire to achieve that dream, then look for something else that fascinates you. Dr. Myles Munroe advises, “The proof of desire is pursuit.”
Ditch your fears. We all have faith and fears. Feed your faith and your fears will be starved. It is normal to fear failure. You may be wondering, “What if my music does not sell?” or “What if I loose the lump sum of money I will invest in that business?” Remember that most of your fears never happen.
Fail forward. When one fails at a project, it shapes his/her perspective. You can begin to fear that anything you do might probably fail. When you stretch yourself, you become a different person. It is not the goal that you achieve that counts, who you become while pursing that goal also matters. Christopher Columbus discovered America when he was looking for red Indians.
Feed your faith. Surprisingly, some people dread success. If you become successful, you will have more influence on the people around you. You could come up with an orphanage, or something worthwhile. You will be able to, in the words of Michael Jackson, “heal the world and make it a better place, for me and for you and the entire human race.”
Follow your heart. Don’t pursue a dream that doesn’t inspire you. At imes, you might be tempted to do what others are doing. Something like “My friend is a presenter, so I have to be a presenter. Some people do not really know what they want. Don’t live the life of another person. Live your own life.
Focus on one thing only. You cannot do 10 things in a day, but you can do one thing everyday for 10 days. When you procrastinate, activities may pile up, and become difficult to handle. Don’t be overwhelmed by all the things you want to do. Take a step at a time.
Divide and conquer. How do you eat an elephant? You cut into pieces. When you are faced with a complex task, you might get confused, because of the complexity. Break that task into small, manageable tasks. Make it easy for yourself to achieve your dreams. Life is too short to overlabour yourself.
These are tips I shared with my client. In conclusion, I advised her to strike when the iron is hot. Take two steps today that will take you closer to your dreams.
Criticism
(GOOD MANNERS)
BY MIKE EKUNNO
CRITICISM is cheap. So goes the popular saying. As an etiquette issue, criticism is an interesting subject. The matter recently came to the national front burner following the new CBN governor’s comments at his Senate viva voce.
At that forum, Malam Lamido Sanusi advised the President to rationalise the Seven-Point Agenda into something more manageable.
The media went to town on that note. The President was teased and goaded to move against his own candidate. Malam Sanusi Lamido (which one exactly is his surname?) had delivered without knowing it, a missile that the media had been lunching without hitting target.
How far his criticism riled the presidency we may never know. It only issued a tame explanation. The rest would have been sorted out between Kano and Katsina.
What is it about criticism that makes most people recoil from it? Why is criticism often taken in bad faith even when everyone says it is needed to keep leaders on their toes?
Once a man assumes responsibility for more than himself, criticism should be expected as occupational hazard. It only begins to get rude when it is personalised. This is where manners come in.
Criticism should focus on some action by saying what is wrong with it and proffering a solution or alternative.
Personalising criticism means going beyond the person’s action to extrapolate on his personality.
For example, you may have been served bad food in a restaurant and you complain. Fair enough. But if you now start talking about the chef as coming from a people known for bad cooking, you are going personal.
THE other mannerism issue with criticism relates to criticising a team mate or your boss in situations of collective responsibility.
If you are a member of an executive council or team where decisions have been reached democratically, you have no choice in the matter except to “shape up or ship out.”
It is in bad taste to single out yourself for good conduct and condemn others. Parents, judges, bosses and umpires occupy special positions in the affairs of men.
Some people believe they should not be criticised. I was reared on the Protestant Ethic and I’d rather go with subjecting every human action to critical evaluation.
How you go about doing this is up to you. You may choose the Didier Drogba approach if you can take the rap or you whine in the privacy of your closet.
Most times, our leaders pretend they can take constructive criticism. By this they imply they only quarrel with the destructive genre. In reality they are often not ready for any critical appraisal.
This is a pity. Criticizing badly is not as bad as not receiving critical attention in good faith. The range of comments that are deemed critical continues to expand with the times and the climes.
Now in Western societies, if in describing somebody you mention that she is fat, it is taken for rudeness. But if you describe someone as slim, it’s cool. What baffles me is why merely describing reality should be deemed rude.
The attitude of not taking criticism in good faith has made people not to criticize openly.
Even somebody as rich and powerful as Donald Trump believes “it’s best to avoid criticising anyone.”
In his book, Think Like A Billionaire, he posits: “Most people are one way streets, and it’s better not to spend your time dodging head-on traffic. If you stay silent, people will eventually make fools of themselves without your help at all. It’s revenge the easy way.”
chudiekunno@yahoo.com
BY BRIDGET OLOTU
THE result of my research indicates that financial intelligence is much more important than formal education. Examples of very successful and wealthy men who had little education and those who dropped out of the university abound in history. Henry Ford, Benjamin Franklin, Henry George, Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Paul Allen, Larry Ellison, Cosmas Maduka, Prince Samuel Adedoyin, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and a host of others are a testimony to what the human spirit can do when it possesses vision, drive, commitment and financial intelligence.
I am not downplaying the importance of education; only emphasising the importance of financial education for wealth creation and as an escape from poverty!
Moses’ Experience: Moses started business at the age of 13, several years ago. His entrepreneurial energy was really put into the business as he worked hard to grow the business. His business grew to such a level that he was making close to what his mother made as a trader. At a point, he could afford to buy a big TV at the age of 14. He could afford to add some money and buy a big stereo system. Business was really booming for him. However, just few years after then, his business crashed. Why? He lacked financial intelligence. He could only make money; he couldn’t budget, manage, protect or leverage it. He had no bank account. He didn’t invest excess cash. He kept the entire bulk of his money at home, which sometimes was stolen. He lacked financial literacy. He just kept spending his capital on things that didn’t and couldn’t help the business grow. His business eventually fell. If that business was sustained, by now it would have been worth over N4,000,000 or more.
Dave’s Story: Dave belonged to a middle-class family. His father was already a top management staff in the late seventies in one of the blue-chip manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Dave’s father started early in teaching his children financial intelligence. He taught them to imbibe a savings culture whereby they saved their monies in kolo, i.e. wooden bank or piggy bank, and at the end of the year, he added money to it and bought stocks for them. Later, his father was retired from his company unexpectedly and things became pretty difficult for them. Meanwhile, Dave’s entrepreneurial instinct was already honed. He started raising livestock like rabbits, guinea pigs, pigeons, and poultry in his father’s big compound and sold them to make some money. Dave was an entrepreneur as well as an investor. Financial intelligence saw him through his secondary school in style and financial buoyancy. With the dividends and returns generated from his numerous stock investments, Dave and his younger ones didn’t have any cause to fear due to their Dad’s sudden change of financial position. Dave later joined the Nigerian Army as a non-commissioned officer but shortly after proceeded to the university on a self-financed basis, employing to the fullest his entrepreneurial potentials to make money. At one time, he was even selling clothes to his fellow schoolmates, and from there was able to buy a car. After his degree, he was later commissioned as an officer. He still engages heavily in income generating assets today. He is currently a Major in the Nigerian Army.
THESE two stories teach us the importance of financial literacy for wealth creation and for a quality lifestyle. Your financial destiny is dependent on your financial intelligence.
When you combine entrepreneurship with investing, you become a possessor of great wealth.
Financial intelligence is very important; in fact, it is unavoidable if you want to make, manage and multiply your money for wealth creation.
You can do better than Major Dave did and avoid Moses’ past financial blunders if you sharpen your financial intelligence today!
Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DEAIM Innovative Resources Ltd.
bridgetolotu@gmail.com
Digital health print
(PANORAMA)
BY REBECCA AKINMOLAYAN
THE first cell phone was used by the Swedish Police way back in 1946. The past decade saw the upsurge of mobile phones with almost everyone having a cell phone. Even now, cell phones are more than people are!
These phones have become part of our dressing; it is nearly impossible to leave them behind while going out. With the considerable time spent with them, it is wise to ask if they pose a problem to our health. There are conflicting conclusions on this. The industries say that they are relatively safe while the medical field maintains that they are dangerous.
There are speculations that because phones transmit radiowaves, they increase the susceptibility of developing brain damage in the future. These phones were not really pre-tested before being released into the market, as they are not drugs.
For now the jury is yet to decide finally whether they are completely dangerous or not, so research continues.
But for now, except you decide not to use phones at all, you have to take measures to protect ourselves of the potential hazards that arise while using phones.
We all know the convenience our cell phones gives us: the ease of communication, the fun, the music, the videos, the browsing and the freebies. We virtually cannot do without them. We only need to learn how to protect ourselves form the risks by:
• Not using them for too long (warning to the awuf midnight call customers). If you are making long calls, use a landline instead.
• Putting them away from the body as the waves emitted are said to destroy the white blood cells. It is better on the table or stuffed in the bag.
• Picking calls using the hands-free while driving. In the absence of that, park and receive your call, for safety reasons.
For those working at base stations or living around the masts, reduce level of exposure to such areas.
On the other hand, cell phones are very invaluable especially in times of grave danger. You may be unaware but your phone could save your life. Check this out:
• In times of emergency, dial 112. It does not matter if your phone is locked or there is no network.
• For those with cars that use remote keyless entry, cell phones come handy when you lock your keys mistakenly in the car. Just call someone at home. All you have to do is to hold the phone about a foot away from the car door. Have the person at home put the other remote close to their mobile phone. Once they press the unlock button at their end, the car door will automatically open. It even works for the trunk too!
• If you are ever forced to withdraw money from ATM at gunpoint, just type your PIN in the reverse. The money will be disbursed, but not without alerting the police.
As it is, all good things are half-bad and all bad things are half-good, it all depends on how you see it. Your cell phone could be a curse or blessing to you.
Do it now habit
(LIFE COACH)
BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE
AY Stainless is a client of mine who has told me about her dreams. She wants to be a musician. She was stunned when I asked her, ‘Why do you procrastinate?’
Procrastination is a major complain I get from clients who are not determined enough to achieve their dreams against all odds. Often times, they complain of time, money, resources, or enough contacts, what they don’t know is that excuses don’t change the outcome.
In some cases, clients blame others for their woes and failures. The government has not provided an enabling environment where businesses can thrive. Banks do not give loans to start-up entrepreneurs.
These I confess, are some of the reasons some people don’t succeed. But some succeed in this same condition. The difference between the successful and the failures in this scenario is based on their thoughts and actions.
Think positively. At times, the reason people procrastinate is negative self-talk.
In karate, you need to defeat your opponent in your mind before you lift your fist, otherwise, you may be defeated. For a moment, see yourself accomplishing that task that you have been postponing. You can do it, if you think you can.
Make the law of inertia work for you. A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will continues to move. Learn to take the first step. A Chinese proverb says that “A journey of 10 000 miles begins with a step.”
Move that move. Stand on the cliff and jump. If your dream is to be a musician, go to the studio and do some recording. In most cases, producers will like to see your ‘demo.’ Make that call, send that text message. Just take the first step and you will be forced to keep moving.
Have a red-hot desire. One of the basics of becoming successful is thedesire to become successful. How ‘bad’ do you want to be a comedian,
or a make up artiste? How ‘bad’ do you want to be a celebrity or a superstar? If you don’t really desire to achieve that dream, then look for something else that fascinates you. Dr. Myles Munroe advises, “The proof of desire is pursuit.”
Ditch your fears. We all have faith and fears. Feed your faith and your fears will be starved. It is normal to fear failure. You may be wondering, “What if my music does not sell?” or “What if I loose the lump sum of money I will invest in that business?” Remember that most of your fears never happen.
Fail forward. When one fails at a project, it shapes his/her perspective. You can begin to fear that anything you do might probably fail. When you stretch yourself, you become a different person. It is not the goal that you achieve that counts, who you become while pursing that goal also matters. Christopher Columbus discovered America when he was looking for red Indians.
Feed your faith. Surprisingly, some people dread success. If you become successful, you will have more influence on the people around you. You could come up with an orphanage, or something worthwhile. You will be able to, in the words of Michael Jackson, “heal the world and make it a better place, for me and for you and the entire human race.”
Follow your heart. Don’t pursue a dream that doesn’t inspire you. At imes, you might be tempted to do what others are doing. Something like “My friend is a presenter, so I have to be a presenter. Some people do not really know what they want. Don’t live the life of another person. Live your own life.
Focus on one thing only. You cannot do 10 things in a day, but you can do one thing everyday for 10 days. When you procrastinate, activities may pile up, and become difficult to handle. Don’t be overwhelmed by all the things you want to do. Take a step at a time.
Divide and conquer. How do you eat an elephant? You cut into pieces. When you are faced with a complex task, you might get confused, because of the complexity. Break that task into small, manageable tasks. Make it easy for yourself to achieve your dreams. Life is too short to overlabour yourself.
These are tips I shared with my client. In conclusion, I advised her to strike when the iron is hot. Take two steps today that will take you closer to your dreams.
Criticism
(GOOD MANNERS)
BY MIKE EKUNNO
CRITICISM is cheap. So goes the popular saying. As an etiquette issue, criticism is an interesting subject. The matter recently came to the national front burner following the new CBN governor’s comments at his Senate viva voce.
At that forum, Malam Lamido Sanusi advised the President to rationalise the Seven-Point Agenda into something more manageable.
The media went to town on that note. The President was teased and goaded to move against his own candidate. Malam Sanusi Lamido (which one exactly is his surname?) had delivered without knowing it, a missile that the media had been lunching without hitting target.
How far his criticism riled the presidency we may never know. It only issued a tame explanation. The rest would have been sorted out between Kano and Katsina.
What is it about criticism that makes most people recoil from it? Why is criticism often taken in bad faith even when everyone says it is needed to keep leaders on their toes?
Once a man assumes responsibility for more than himself, criticism should be expected as occupational hazard. It only begins to get rude when it is personalised. This is where manners come in.
Criticism should focus on some action by saying what is wrong with it and proffering a solution or alternative.
Personalising criticism means going beyond the person’s action to extrapolate on his personality.
For example, you may have been served bad food in a restaurant and you complain. Fair enough. But if you now start talking about the chef as coming from a people known for bad cooking, you are going personal.
THE other mannerism issue with criticism relates to criticising a team mate or your boss in situations of collective responsibility.
If you are a member of an executive council or team where decisions have been reached democratically, you have no choice in the matter except to “shape up or ship out.”
It is in bad taste to single out yourself for good conduct and condemn others. Parents, judges, bosses and umpires occupy special positions in the affairs of men.
Some people believe they should not be criticised. I was reared on the Protestant Ethic and I’d rather go with subjecting every human action to critical evaluation.
How you go about doing this is up to you. You may choose the Didier Drogba approach if you can take the rap or you whine in the privacy of your closet.
Most times, our leaders pretend they can take constructive criticism. By this they imply they only quarrel with the destructive genre. In reality they are often not ready for any critical appraisal.
This is a pity. Criticizing badly is not as bad as not receiving critical attention in good faith. The range of comments that are deemed critical continues to expand with the times and the climes.
Now in Western societies, if in describing somebody you mention that she is fat, it is taken for rudeness. But if you describe someone as slim, it’s cool. What baffles me is why merely describing reality should be deemed rude.
The attitude of not taking criticism in good faith has made people not to criticize openly.
Even somebody as rich and powerful as Donald Trump believes “it’s best to avoid criticising anyone.”
In his book, Think Like A Billionaire, he posits: “Most people are one way streets, and it’s better not to spend your time dodging head-on traffic. If you stay silent, people will eventually make fools of themselves without your help at all. It’s revenge the easy way.”
chudiekunno@yahoo.com
Feasting the best of the bunch
BY TOPE TEMPLER OLAIYA
TOLU Ogunlesi and Adeyemi Ayodeji, 2009 CNN/Multichoice African Journalists award winners, had for many years crossed each other’s path without either one acknowledging the presence of the other until fate brought them together again on their night of glory at the Southern Sun Hotel in Durban, South Africa. Not until they met at the pre-award activities that marked the CNN/Multichoice award ceremony and they exchanged knowing glances, did it dawn on them how close they had come into each other’s world. While Tolu was admitted into the University of Ibadan to study Pharmacy, Ayodeji made his stride in the department of Economics, with both graduating from the premier institution in 2004. For five years, they strayed apart but each consistently pursued his passion – writing. Ayodeji found a safe haven with the Tell Magazine and in three years rose to become a business correspondent. Tolu made his glide entry into a private sector organisation but never lost touch with his first love. He was working with Visafone when he wrote the award-winning story as a contributing editor of Glide Magazine. During the week, they were brought together on stage again as the new toast of Nigerian journalism when they were hosted to a private lunch with family members, friends and media executives by Coca-Cola, sponsor of the Business and Economy category of the CNN award to celebrate their achievements. Ayodeji won the Sports award with his story, Game of Gold, which narrates how some Nigerians have been exploiting the English Premier League to better their economic lot. His winning ace, according to the judges was the refreshing dimension that he brought to sports reporting; and the depth of his investigation, which dwelt on facts and actualities. Ogunlesi, who was specially celebrated for the power of his language and prose, won the Arts and Culture award for his story What The Truck? A narrative on Lagos eclectic living culture and the psychological comportment of Lagosians through the prisms of the graffiti on the city notorious means of transportation, the Molue alias ‘Funky Train’. AT the lunch reception held at the Jade Chinese Restaurant in Ikeja, both continental prizewinners recounted the thrill of their moment of fame. Ayodeji said, “I submitted four business stories and was surprised to know I was nominated for the sports category. I was so nervous, they said a lot of things I was sure I didn’t hear before they said and the winner is … I didn’t hear the first name but the surname sounded like mine, so I stood up and ran to the stage. I was overjoyed, I have just been in journalism for three years and I thank God I have won the most prestigious award on the continent.” For Tolu, nervousness didn’t get the hold of him until the eve of the award presentation when all the 25 finalists were going through the rehearsals for the awards. “We were taken to the venue at the International Conference Centre and were taken through how we would come up stage and receive the award, but at the end of the rehearsal, we were told that by tomorrow, not everyone of us would climb on the stage; that was when anxiety gripped me. We had stayed together for one week but at that stage the fright caught everybody with the fact that only 16 out of 25 finalists who win an award. “Ayodeji was lucky the sports category was the third that was called. In my case, I was on the edge of restlessness until they got to last category. Because it was the last category, I was the only person who knew before the award that I was a winner. And how did I know? By the time they got to the Arts and Culture category, there was no award left and only one name that hadn’t been called, which was my name. Without waiting to be announced, I jumped out of my seat to the aisle. It is a great honour for me to have been a finalist because I see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity, about 1000 journalist entered for this award and submitted close to 1,500 stories and 26 finalists were chosen.” Public Affairs Director for Coca Cola Nigeria, Mrs. Irene Ubah, said the idea of the maiden lunch for Nigerian journalists was to recognise the great honour Tolu and Ayodeji brought to the country by winning the award referred to as the Oscars of African journalism. “Here are Nigerians who are winning awards on an international level and immediately after that, everybody just falls back into their little space and carry on as if nothing has happened, which is why we are celebrating these illustrious Nigerians that have brought such great honour to this country. Nigerians have won the overall prize of the CNN Journalist of the Year a record of three times in 1995, 2003 and 2006 in addition to winning 20 category awards since inception.
Melody… On a mission to save
BY CHUKS NWANNE
THE very first brief I got on Melody Unuakpor simply described the Abia State native as an artiste, whose debut album would be launched today at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos. So, through our telephone conversation, I had concluded that our meeting would purely focus on her yet to be released album. Minutes after I had arrived, her SUV rolled into the Surulere venue, where we had scheduled to meet; she was a bit late. “I’m very sorry, the traffic was much this morning, I’ve been struggling to get here,” she says putting her bag on the centre table and dropping into a seat. However, the meeting, which I though would last for few minutes ran into hours. By the time we were through, it was obvious that Melody’s plan is beyond the usual album launch. How come the name, Melody? “Melody is my real name though many people have asked if it’s my stage name. My father actually gave me that name.” …As if he knew you would end up in music? “Well, my Dad said the way I cried when I was born, sounded like a sweet melody to his ear; that’s the explanation he gives. But he’s really very glad today that I’ve taken after that name,” she enthuses. THINGS were moving on fine for Melody and her husband, Henry after their wedding in 2002, until few months later she became pregnant. Along the line, her blood pressure started rising. The couple tried their best to manage the situation, but with the pregnancy, things got out of hand around the fifth month. “I remember that day we were trying to move into another accommodation; I was going to the market to buy some things for the house. On my way, I stopped over at the hospital to check my blood pressure. The doctor looked at it and complained that it was on the high side. In fact, he insisted I stay back in the hospital for proper attention.” However, what was expected to be a day or two of treatment, turned to two months on the hospital bed. According to the doctor, Melody had developed a condition in pregnancy called preeclampsia, which kills a lot of pregnant women. “Most pregnant women don’t even know when it starts. For instance, if I hadn’t gone to the hospital that day, I wouldn’t have known that something like that had started. They tried to manage the situation, but they did not do that well, because not all hospitals know about that.” As a way of checking the situation, Melody was on medicament that was supposed to gradually be bring down the blood pressure. But unfortunately, it was going up and down and as a result of this, she started retaining fluid, blowing up by the minute. “I was not passing out urine anymore. At that point, it has got to preeclampsia stage. I became so big, filled with water to the extent that when I stepped my legs, I could hear the sound of water in my body.” And your husband? “Actually, my husband was very courageous; not all men could stand such situation. Many people could not look at me without crying or shaking their heads; I was moved to a personal room, where I stayed alone. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I knew the situation had gone very bad, despite my pregnancy. At that point, we were trying to move the baby to seven months.” According to medical experts, the only way things could things will only normalise was when the baby is born. But in Melody’s case, her baby wasn’t yet full term; she still has two more months to go. “What the doctor did was to give me some injections to help the lungs of the baby mature, so, that if anything happens, they could bring out the baby through operation. Unfortunately, some of our hospitals don’t have equipment that could be used to monitor the heartbeat of the child. I had to travel all the way from FESTAC Town, to Surulere to use the machine. By the time the woman was checking, the heartbeat was hiccuping. I did a bit of health in school, so, most of the things they were doing were not new to me. With the heartbeat of the baby slowing down minute by minute, Melody was instructed to return to the hospital, but due to the usual Lagos traffic, she couldn’t make it back on time. “The doctor was waiting when we came back, but after a scan, we discovered that the baby had died. It was painful, but after then, I was inducted to bring out the dead baby. If that machine had been there, the child may have survived.” NOW with three kids, Melody is partnering with Centre for Women’s Health and Information (a non-governmental organisation) on a mission to sensitise women, especially those in rural areas, on the dangers of preeclampsia, and possible ways of managing the situation. “The concert is tagged Reality of Divine Dialogue. The basic thing about this programme is that, I looked back and asked myself, ‘what can I really do? How can I give back to the society?’ I approached them (the NGO) and I made it clear that I don’t have any money for now, but that part of the proceeds from my album launch will be given to them to start up a campaign on preeclampsia. The idea is that through the campaign, women, who don’t have access to this information in big hospitals, could get it. I’ve seen a lot of women go through this; they don’t even know how it starts. I believe that all women, especially those that are still giving birth, to have a BP machine at home, because preeclampsia does not ring a bell. There are other sicknesses that affect pregnant women, but I chose this one because I’ve been there before.” Aside Melody and her band, the charity concert will also feature other artistes such as Cobhams Asuquo, The Chord, Extreme Crew, Ige, Sankay and others. THE title track of the new work, according to the mother of three, was written for her by a friend, Femi Adewunmi. “The song talks about different hardships people pass through in life. But in all, God still helps us out. While I was in the hospital, I knew the child had gone. It could have been me! I cried unto God to let me live, so that, I can tell the world about what I’ve been through and what I know now.” Asked if she intends running an NGO in future, Melody says, “somebody had actually suggested that to me, but for now, I don’t have that plan. Basically, I love to sing; I’ve been singing for more than 10 years. I sing gospel quite all right, but my music is the type that touches people; I always sing with a message. Getting an NGO is not on my mind now, that’s why I had to reach out for my partners. But I will really follow up with them; I will be part of their campaign. Many people had gone through the situation, but they’ve not said anything about it.” MEANWHILE, the campaign billed to start in September, will take off in Ibeju Lekki and Makoko areas, with radio programmes and leaflets to back up the campaign. “I’ve been able to get in touch with the Lagos State Commissioner for Health and he has promised to support the initiative. For now, we are funding the show on our own. We’ve actually been looking for sponsorship, but whether it comes or not, the show must go on and we would still give them what we had promised; that’s what we want to do.” THOUGH a talented singer, as she proved in the album, Melody has always been skeptical about making music. “I was more interested in singing at events. Meanwhile, I do more of cool songs, so, I never thought that people would patronise my kind of music; I write cool songs. But I think God has allowed it, so, this is the right time to release the album. Over the years, I’ve been writing songs and storing them, hoping to put them together someday. I just want to share it with the world now.” FROM all indications, an hour seems inadequate for Melody to describe her husband. “Words can’t describe my husband oh,” she says with laughter. “Before I married him, I saw a young man full of ideas; somebody that can help me get the best I can ever be in life. He’s somebody that supports his family all the time; with him, I don’t miss anything. After God, I think he’s next. He’s one in a million; I’m yet to see someone like him,” she sings.
Monday, 24 August 2009
Back to basics
TOLA Sunmonu is a student of Stanford High who is concerned about the economic growth of her country, Nigeria. Not waiting till she finishes school to return home before she can start to contribute her quota, she kicked off the Nigerian arm for Harambe. A youth development initiative set to highlight opportunities in the agricultural sector and to encourage young entrepreneurs.
What does Harambe Nigeria focus on?
Harambe Nigeria is an NGO in which Nigerian students in the Diaspora engage with their counterpart in the country to develop innovative solutions to the problems hindering the nation’s development. Our current project involves youths and agriculture. Our main aim is to provide training, resources and capital to university students studying Agriculture, to enable them to proffer and implement solutions to the problems facing agricultural in their local communities. To meet this goal we have designed a programme called the Harambe Incubator for Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (HISARD); we are partnering with OAU alongside others such as LEAP and the Songhai center to train 10 to12 students to be Agro-entrepreneurs that will make positive impact in Ife community.
Why are you encouraging the youths to go into agriculture?
It is more than just encouraging the youths to go into agriculture. It’s a way of drawing attention to a problem that is often neglected; because the agricultural sector is always the backbone of any developing economy. People often do not realise that agriculture goes beyond the provision of food; they do not know that the sector can play multi-facet roles in economic development and poverty reduction, not to mention improving the standard of living of the people.
Secondly, it is about giving students an opportunity. We are not taking students with interest in entertainment or oil or engineering and forcing them to be agro-entrepreneurs, but those already interested in agriculture. Students tell us that it disheartens them to see their colleagues having graduated with Agricultural degrees are forced into other professions because of scarcity of good jobs in the sector; they said It makes sense to use the degree one has invested about 25 years pursuing. Nigerians have to accept the fact that to develop, we need to diversify our economy and equip the youths with the right skills.
What have you discovered about Nigeria and its Agriculture?
The most shocking or rather disappointing thing I have discovered is that Nigeria was very good at Agriculture before crude oil was found in our soil. We even taught countries such as Malaysia, how to maximise output from palm tree. Now Malaysia has used that as a driving force in improving their Agriculture and economy while Nigeria lags behind. In fact, we now import products from Malaysia, which shows that we have a lot of untapped potentials in the sector.
What motivated you to go into projects like this?
First of all, to make people know that agriculture is a business, in the same way as the Internet, entertainment and banking. And to let them know, it goes beyond subsistence farming; and that it involves science, engineering, marketing, manufacturing and other disciplines.
However, I am motivated by the drive to see Nigeria advance economically. I have lived in many countries in the world and quite frankly I get extremely frustrated when I see other countries progressing and Nigeria retrogressing. We have the potentials to make this country great, and I can’t stand to see them waste away.
How do you manage schooling in Stanford and the project?
I have always balanced schoolwork with extra-curricular activities. I think they both complement one another, to be honest. I apply the things I learn in school to Harambe. For instance, this quarter I am taking a class on world food economy, and another on social entrepreneurship; which are directly relevant to Harambe. I do not compromise one for the other except my sleep that suffers it.
How often do you keep in touch with home?
My parents still live in Nigeria; so, I am bound to come home. I visit home at least once a year, and while I am abroad I still connect with my Nigerian people.
Why not have fun and live your life like any normal student instead of engaging in Harambe?
Harambe is fun to me, and being able to apply my education to real life situation makes me a better student. Don’t get me wrong, I act like a generic student, I go to parties, movies and all that, but at the end of the day Harambe is what makes me happy and I often give it more. Besides, it’s hard to find students who are not engaged in other activities outside schoolwork these days.
What’s life like for you as a young Nigerian in Stanford?
Well Nigerians are more than other African countries in Stanford, so, I feel right at home most of the time; but to be honest in general life, it doesn’t really make much meaning to me. Stanford is a pretty diverse place, which is probably why being a Nigerian doesn’t mean much to me.
Do you ever experience the Nigerian 419 stigma?
Not at all. Stanford is a bubbling place, it does not in anyway reflect the general American attitude. Africans and Nigerians here are doing well and we hold a lot of responsible positions in various academic and non-academic fields in campus and outside it. Such stigma has not come up here, and I am yet to hear of any.
How would you compare life and opportunities abroad with Nigeria?
That’s a hard question. There are clear differences of course, but I would still pick Nigeria any day. The way I see things here, opportunities are not very easy to come by. Nigeria represents a whole new scope of exciting opportunities given the fact that it is a growing economy with its own set of unique challenges.
Life in Stanford is easy boring, to be honest, without challenges. I like solving problems and I think Nigeria is the perfect ground for me to do so. I don’t mean to sound idealistic, of course there are times I sit in Lagos traffic frustrated and vexed, but then the vibrancy that you see in Lagos cannot be captured anywhere else.
However, the educational system abroad gives more room for student growth beyond the four walls of the classroom. As someone who schooled both in Nigeria and abroad, I can speak of the range of opportunities for service learning offered abroad that are lacking in the Nigerian system. However, while our peers at home may not have had the opportunities; it must be stated that they are living in the real life situations that we study in school, which gives them an upper hand in truly understanding issues and having a more intuitive sense of how to solve varied problems. This is where Harambe comes in; we try to exploit this comparative advantage that both groups have to create innovative and effective solutions.
Will you move back?
Is that really a question? Of course I am moving back.
Why do you think Nigerian youths abroad are beginning to be interested in coming back home these days?
There are so many reasons Nigerians may want to move back. I think a lot of people move the feeling that that life is better abroad, which is nothing but a myth. Yes, there might be better infrastructure and a more ‘comfortable’ way of living, but Nigerians in the Diaspora face their own set of challenges. As an international student, for instance, the chances of getting into good schools and having good jobs is significantly lower, there is also the problem of prejudice, adjusting to a new society and culture among others. For those of us, who are ready to spread our wings we know that home provides the most opportunity. Nigeria is a destination point especially for those of us who are business minded. In Nigeria there are sectors that are virtually untouched, or have such little competition would encourage new entrant, which you will never find in countries such as the US and the UK, where intense competition leaves little room for any new person. The current economic crisis has also woken a lot of people up and destroyed the myth of paradise often placed upon the ideal of living abroad. People have seen that it is becoming increasingly harder to get jobs, and that room for growth is less unlike Nigeria.
For me, moving back just makes the perfect sense, I think it would be using my education negatively if I were to stay in the US and actively engage in aiding their development while my own country trail behind. I believe the opportunities I have, are privileges for me to make positive contributions to my country.
Distance learners grab prizes in competition
BY ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO
WHILE regular students of the University of Ibadan – and their colleagues in other public Nigerian varsities – continue to groan under the grueling implications of the nationwide industrial actions by the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Senior Staff Association of Universities (SSANU), their Distance Learning counterparts have grown considerably in intellect, at least within the last three weeks, courtesy of a three-prong competition the students participated in.
Between July 7 and 17, a total of 218 pre-degree students took part in preliminary sessions to determine finalists for the quiz, essay and oratory competitions. Of the 63 students who participated in the quiz, nine from nine different groups qualified for the final, as winners of their respective groups. In the oratory category, 10 out of 56 students made the final, after each student had spoken for five minutes on a topic of their choice; the 10 finalists were later to select their topics from the theme: Good People, Great Nation: The Role of the Youth.
The essay, the only one-off of the contests, was judged in a two-stage review process that saw nine writers emerge as the finalists, after writing on one of four topics that bordered on two themes – Social Vices, and Challenges Confronting Nigerian Tertiary Education. The topics, from which the students chose one to write a maximum of 700 words were: Post UME Examination: A Failed Attempt at Barring Cheats from Entry into Universities? Abolishment of the 6-3-3-4 Education System, A Step in the Right direction? Niger Delta Militancy: A Youth Approach to
Lasting Peace; and Nigerian Youths, Internet Fraud and the Challenge of Combating a National Disgrace.
On Friday July 24, nine winners smiled home with various electronic gifts, in the intellectually engaging finals that climaxed the competitions. Martins Oluseye, Ogunmola Oluwawemimo and Owolabi Femi emerged 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of the quiz respectively; Awosanya Tope, Aderemi Damilola and Oluyemi Tolu placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the oratory contest; while Kuforiji David’s great piece fetched him the coveted 1st position, leaving Akinsulie Lekan and Lawal Bukola to pick 2nd and 3rd positions respectively ahead of 96 other writers. All three first prizewinners got Acer laptops, second placed persons got digital cameras and third place finishers claimed mp3 players.
Presenting the prizes, Director of the Distance Learning Centre and initiator of the contests, Professor Francis Egbokhare, expressed satisfaction with the organisation and ending of the contests, and particularly admonished the speakers to put into practice all they said about how youths could help in building a better Nigerian brand.
platfom@gmail.com
Don advises parents against buying pirated books for students
By Abraham Oladipupo
A UNIVERSITY don, Dr. Oyero Olusola has admonished parents not to patronise pirates when procuring academic books and studying aids for their children in tertiary and other levels of education. Dr. Olusola who teaches at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State made the call recently while speaking at the annual valedictory and prize giving day of Sceptre Comprehensive College (SCC), Ojota, Lagos.
The don noted that apart from depriving writers, authors and publishers of their legitimate sources of income, book piracy also undermines the economy because pirates do not pay taxes and dues on such academic materials.
The varsity teacher further observed that parents who patronise pirated academic materials indirectly help to kill scholarship, and at the same time do not help to promote hardwork and good moral values in children.
In his own contribution, principal of the school, Mr. Mike Oiboh, stated that book piracy sometimes lead to misinformation and poor learning by students due to distortion in pagination and content of some books.
Oiboh cited situations where some students who had pirated copies of certain books could not do assignments and home-work given to them because such pages were omitted from their copies or were in pages other than the original books.
The Director of the school, Pastor Adelaja Ojetola in deep emotion, recalled that it was exactly a year ago, the Lagos State government reduced to rubbles the two giant building complex, of two storey each, housing the school at its former permanent site.
Parents who jam-packed the temporary auditorium where the event took place were close to tears when Pastor Ojetola recalled that the demolition coincided with the week the school’s senior secondary students were to write their final examination conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO).
ASUU Strike:UI SUB turns ghost yard
BY BOLAIGE ALABI
THE Students’ Union Building, University of Ibadan, is a very busy centre, hence, students refer to it as ‘The Oshodi of UI’.
The center is always busy from am to 8pm. It is the source of livelihood to typists, canteens, computer operators, cyber café owners, photographers, stationery sellers, and bookshops, among others.
However, since the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike began, the SUB has suddenly turned a ghost yard.
The once popular noise from generating set and typewriters have given way to quietude and serenity. The generators have gone on strike.
Many of the business operators have started lamenting the hardship the indefinite strike, now in its eighth week, has caused them.
Christopher Benson, who works for D’Morris Canteen, said, “the turnout of students at the canteen has drastically reduced. We are only cooking for ourselves now. Government should quickly put an end to this crisis.”
Also expressing regrets was Pastor Solomon of Cyberspeed Café. He said, “government should make a promise that it can stand by with ASUU. Everybody is feeling it hard around here. For the past one month, we have only been coming here to discuss the problems of Nigeria when there is no work for us to do. It is even becoming drier now because all the students have been ordered to leave the campus meaning we should also stay away.”
abrahamprecious@yahoo.com
WHILE regular students of the University of Ibadan – and their colleagues in other public Nigerian varsities – continue to groan under the grueling implications of the nationwide industrial actions by the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Senior Staff Association of Universities (SSANU), their Distance Learning counterparts have grown considerably in intellect, at least within the last three weeks, courtesy of a three-prong competition the students participated in.
Between July 7 and 17, a total of 218 pre-degree students took part in preliminary sessions to determine finalists for the quiz, essay and oratory competitions. Of the 63 students who participated in the quiz, nine from nine different groups qualified for the final, as winners of their respective groups. In the oratory category, 10 out of 56 students made the final, after each student had spoken for five minutes on a topic of their choice; the 10 finalists were later to select their topics from the theme: Good People, Great Nation: The Role of the Youth.
The essay, the only one-off of the contests, was judged in a two-stage review process that saw nine writers emerge as the finalists, after writing on one of four topics that bordered on two themes – Social Vices, and Challenges Confronting Nigerian Tertiary Education. The topics, from which the students chose one to write a maximum of 700 words were: Post UME Examination: A Failed Attempt at Barring Cheats from Entry into Universities? Abolishment of the 6-3-3-4 Education System, A Step in the Right direction? Niger Delta Militancy: A Youth Approach to
Lasting Peace; and Nigerian Youths, Internet Fraud and the Challenge of Combating a National Disgrace.
On Friday July 24, nine winners smiled home with various electronic gifts, in the intellectually engaging finals that climaxed the competitions. Martins Oluseye, Ogunmola Oluwawemimo and Owolabi Femi emerged 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of the quiz respectively; Awosanya Tope, Aderemi Damilola and Oluyemi Tolu placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the oratory contest; while Kuforiji David’s great piece fetched him the coveted 1st position, leaving Akinsulie Lekan and Lawal Bukola to pick 2nd and 3rd positions respectively ahead of 96 other writers. All three first prizewinners got Acer laptops, second placed persons got digital cameras and third place finishers claimed mp3 players.
Presenting the prizes, Director of the Distance Learning Centre and initiator of the contests, Professor Francis Egbokhare, expressed satisfaction with the organisation and ending of the contests, and particularly admonished the speakers to put into practice all they said about how youths could help in building a better Nigerian brand.
platfom@gmail.com
Don advises parents against buying pirated books for students
By Abraham Oladipupo
A UNIVERSITY don, Dr. Oyero Olusola has admonished parents not to patronise pirates when procuring academic books and studying aids for their children in tertiary and other levels of education. Dr. Olusola who teaches at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State made the call recently while speaking at the annual valedictory and prize giving day of Sceptre Comprehensive College (SCC), Ojota, Lagos.
The don noted that apart from depriving writers, authors and publishers of their legitimate sources of income, book piracy also undermines the economy because pirates do not pay taxes and dues on such academic materials.
The varsity teacher further observed that parents who patronise pirated academic materials indirectly help to kill scholarship, and at the same time do not help to promote hardwork and good moral values in children.
In his own contribution, principal of the school, Mr. Mike Oiboh, stated that book piracy sometimes lead to misinformation and poor learning by students due to distortion in pagination and content of some books.
Oiboh cited situations where some students who had pirated copies of certain books could not do assignments and home-work given to them because such pages were omitted from their copies or were in pages other than the original books.
The Director of the school, Pastor Adelaja Ojetola in deep emotion, recalled that it was exactly a year ago, the Lagos State government reduced to rubbles the two giant building complex, of two storey each, housing the school at its former permanent site.
Parents who jam-packed the temporary auditorium where the event took place were close to tears when Pastor Ojetola recalled that the demolition coincided with the week the school’s senior secondary students were to write their final examination conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO).
ASUU Strike:UI SUB turns ghost yard
BY BOLAIGE ALABI
THE Students’ Union Building, University of Ibadan, is a very busy centre, hence, students refer to it as ‘The Oshodi of UI’.
The center is always busy from am to 8pm. It is the source of livelihood to typists, canteens, computer operators, cyber café owners, photographers, stationery sellers, and bookshops, among others.
However, since the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike began, the SUB has suddenly turned a ghost yard.
The once popular noise from generating set and typewriters have given way to quietude and serenity. The generators have gone on strike.
Many of the business operators have started lamenting the hardship the indefinite strike, now in its eighth week, has caused them.
Christopher Benson, who works for D’Morris Canteen, said, “the turnout of students at the canteen has drastically reduced. We are only cooking for ourselves now. Government should quickly put an end to this crisis.”
Also expressing regrets was Pastor Solomon of Cyberspeed Café. He said, “government should make a promise that it can stand by with ASUU. Everybody is feeling it hard around here. For the past one month, we have only been coming here to discuss the problems of Nigeria when there is no work for us to do. It is even becoming drier now because all the students have been ordered to leave the campus meaning we should also stay away.”
abrahamprecious@yahoo.com
Tolu Aliki… Chip off the old block
BY TAJUDEEN SOWOLE
IT may be convenient for most up-and-coming artists to imitate their superiors for relevance in the highly competitive visual art scene — an imitation that usually starts from idolising to outright copying —for Tolu Aliki the reverse is the case. His art is uncommon and it is done in a medium that is rarely used. More importantly, being self-made has separated him from the crowd; he neither has an idol or teachers to copy. The juvenile look of his art is the identity that is fast winning the red tag leaves room to be desired. From the outlines that takes the viewer back to the basic in draughtsmanship, to toning and sometimes, subjects that probe into our social value, Aliki’s oil pastel rejuvenates a tastes. The oil pastel on paper is like swimming against the tide. Not at all, he says, “the most important thing for me as an artist is to get the best possible result for my work, and the surface on which this is done plays a major role. I believe it does not matter to those who genuinely love and appreciate art, whether a painting is done on a paper or on a canvas.” FROM his earlier works that were more like thumbnails from special effect studio of a sci-fi movie, Aliki has mature into greater sphere; coming out better and more expressive. Peacemaker, a sunset capture, which explains the place of doves in peace time, also shows that Aliki is out to display his skill of lighting and toning effect on pastels. The depiction; a slingshot and a dove, apparently explains that peace has a prize, which is a food for thought for nations such as Nigeria.
Aliki has grouped his art into ‘Passion suite, landscape, lyrical suites and Faces’ to explain his thoughts on what he describes as universal message of tolerance, love and living together in peace. When the colour is toned down as seen in some of the ‘lyrical suites’ such as New Yellow, Mama Plays Violin and My Guitar Makes Me Happy, the line between juvenile and matured art begins to clear. What he calls “flexibility” must have been the attraction, but then every second counts because, “using oil pastel gives me the advantage of making my art with speed.” This inspiration, he recalls, led him to several ways of sorting out things whenever he is stuck, such as the rendition in “warm colour that I got drawn to over the years: my choice of colours, subjects and simplified forms are borne out of childhood reminiscence.” STILL in his early 30s, Aliki is confident that he can stand the test of time, as he boasts, “my works are in the best galleries in Nigeria, and they are highly sought after by various collectors. Recently, a number of art galleries in the US (New York and California) showed interest to represent me in the U.S.” FAST becoming popular as a pastel artist, Mydrim Gallery added him to the 8th edition of its yearly Pastel Exhibition titled New Page, which featured works of Ade Odunfa; four times entrant, Stanley Dudu; Ade Odinga; Joseph Ayelero; Ebony Ekwere; Jefferson Jonahan; Emmanuel Dudu; and Moses Oghagbon. Others recent outings include Art on the Mainland at the National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC, National Theatre, Iganmu; Art Expo Nigeria 2008, National Museum, Onikan, Lagos; a juried yearly show of Society of Nigeria Artists, SNA; and October Rain, also at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos.
SMVA, awards with a difference
LAST week, Soundcity ignited the entertainment industry with the second edition of its yearly Soundcity Music Video Awards (SMVA). The evnt, which held at the company’s entertainment centre, Oceanview, Victoria Island. The awards ceremony featured the best of entertainment from within, and outside Nigeria with such an expansive red carpet event as never witnessed in Nigeria. And it was well attended, with the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Sarah Sosan present. She was accompanied by the wife of the Lagos State governor, Mrs. Fashola, and two of the state’s commissioners, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi and Prince Oniru. The SMVA ‘09 had all the glitz, glamour and quality entertainment synonymous with Soundcity, and was transmitted across Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, and indeed to some other parts of Europe. MIMS, one of America’s most popular hip hop artistes showed everyone present why he’s hot, with his smashing performance. Tu Face Idibia was also on hand to give an exciting account of himself with his wonderful performance on the night. Perhaps the most remarkable performance of the night was that by the Afro-beat reincarnate, Seun Kuti, who sang, danced, and did everything else reminding everyone of his father, and Afro-beat founder, the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Bigiano and Tu Face shone like a million stars, carting home two Awards each. Bigiano won the Best Cinematography Video and Soundcity’s Viewers’ Choice categories, both for his work on Shayo; while Tu Face Idibia won the Best Video, and the Best Collaboration in a Music Video category for his work on Enter the Place (ft. Sound Sultan). Not to forget Don Jazzy (and the Mo’Hits Crew) who won in the Hit Producer of the Year (as used in a music video) category, with Suddenly (a D’Banj song produced by Don Jazzy). Darey indeed was the most underrated of the night; not only was he a superb and fitting anchor, he also carted home the Best R&B or Pop Video Award for his work on Not the Girl. Wande Coal added acrobatic displays to his singing skills as he also did the back flip while performing 10/10, and that was before D’Banj joined him on stage to do You Bad. He was very dazzling in all departments. In the other categories, Naeto C won in the Best Male Video category with Kini Big Deal; while TY Bello did the same in the Best Female Video category with Ekundayo. The Best Choreography Video went to P-Square for Roll It; the Best Special Effect Editing Video went to Dipp, for Dangerous; and the Best Hip Hop Video was won by Str8buttah for Last Standing. Further, the Best Duo/Group Video was won by P-Square for Roll It; the Soundcity Fresh Video was won by Steel for South African Girl; the Discovery of the Year was Kel with Waa Wa Alright; and the African Video of the Year, was won by 340ML from Mozambique. Popular American hip hop star, MIMS, showed everyone present why he’s hot, reeling song after song from his rich repertoire, helping to fulfill Soundcity’s reputation of adding value to life with the power of music. And that was not to be the only international performance as Wyre from Kenya had also done his popular Make A Choice song, amongst others. The winners list showed the viewing preferences of Nigerians during the period in review, especially as the nominations were judged on the criteria of originality, style, creativity, expression, and graphic quality. The categories of the Awards extended to every popular genre of music as appreciated all over Nigeria and indeed across Africa. The SMVA also recognized and rewarded the producers and directors, who worked behind the scenes to produce the videos that have put Nigeria on the global front. The crème of the increasingly fledging Nigerian Music industry was united in providing ample entertainment at the Pre-Award Concert at the same venue on Friday, July 31, 2009. And the After-Party itself was packed full with bubbling young men and women having the best of fun at The Grotto, the exquisite hotspot on Etim Inyang Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Around and about Nollywood...BY SHAIBU HUSSEINI
Kraftman votes for I-Joke
KRAFTMAN Productions has confirmed its participation in the I-Joke project, http://i-joke.ning.com, which was launched at the last Cannes Film Festival in France. Initiated by European Producers Jan Helig (Germany) and Jenny Inchbald, the project brings together producers from over 25 different countries. Each producer will present a short film (Maximum of 5 minutes) of a popular joke in that country. The jokes from different countries will now make up a series that is going to be presented around the world. The project aims to create an international community that can work together. It is also a cultural exchange programme to promote better understanding among the international community in an inspiring and entertaining way. Filmbit FilmProduction Germany and Future Artistes, UK coordinate the project. According to a statement signed by A.C. Nwankpa, Head of Corporate Communication, Kraftman Productions, Nigeria will be represented by the outfit’s CEO, Madu C. Chikwendu.
Lagos Film Fesyival holds this August
THE Madu Chikwendu powered Lagos International Film Festival will hold at the National Theatre, Lagos, from August 11 to 14. According to him, “the first edition held at the National Stadium, Surulere, five years ago in August and has always held then except for once or twice, when due to logistics we held it in November.” This edition, Chikwendu revealed, would not come cheap ‘as almost everyone we approached for support asked us to push the festival forward a bit, but we cannot continue to move it forward. If we do that we will confuse our followers and partners’. All the events would be held at the National Theatre. “We enjoyed tremendous support from the former director general of the National Theatre, Prof. Ahmed Yerima. He is one of the reasons we have resolved to host the festival in spite of our inability to attract mega sponsorship’. The festival closes with a gala and award ceremony on August 14.
Time to register for SHOOT 2010
PREPARATIONS have already begun for the 2010 edition of SHOOT! The theme is Towards Digital Migration. The 2009 edition recorded impressive turn out and added values to training and professionalism within the industry.. Interested filmmakers, students, practitioners, stakeholders and other enthusiasts can visit its website, www.nigfilmcorp.com, or e-mail, md_nfc@hotmail.com for online registration or enquiries. The National Film Institute, Jos, from July 19 – 23, 2010. This year had as theme, Reel Life, Real Sound. And it lasted for five days (July 20 to 24).
WAKA PASS
Producer- Amebo A. Amebo
Director- Mr. Gossip
Actors- Nollywood Celebrities
We still have not found Achor Ugenyi
IT is still difficult to believe that the ‘man about town’ and ‘former’ secretary general of the Actor Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Achor Ugenyi, has still not been found months after we made an ‘each one tell one’ announcement. No one has called or sent messages as to how we can get the actor. We heard certain things concerning uncle that we have considered ‘lies’ until we hear korokoro from the oracle. Hear one of the things we were told: ‘That he is the author of most of the letters and releases that have been emanating from the camp of the Kanayo Kanayo-led Central Working Committee of the AGN’. So Oga Achor, over to you… let us also add that one waka pass said we should inform you that ‘you have no right to remain silent in this matter’.
Someone has been begging people around
IT’s only in moviedom that you hear all sorts of things. One waka pass has been forcing us to believe that an incumbent president of one of the associations has been going round to either intimidate or beg aspirants to stand down in the election that comes up next month. The waka pass said one of the reasons the ‘outgoing’ — except he gets re-elected — is advancing for votes, is that he wants to ‘properly equip’ the secretariat (a-one room apartment in Surulere that used to be a pepper soup joint). Anyway, we asked of names of those he has begged so far, and the waka pass said he has begged (almost to the point of becoming a nuisance), from one of Nollywood’s consistent female writers and producer, who is neck deep in the production of language movies. We also hear that he may head to Aguda in the Surulere area of Lagos shortly to hold talks with a substantial movie director and producer, who is gunning for the presidency. While the waka pass thinks he may walk over the female producer, he holds strongly that it will be difficult to impress the notable producer, whose mission is to somewhere (know of any movie with a similar title?). Not even after he has engaged an aggressive campaign manager and publicist. If you were here (this column) last week, you would know whom we are talking about.
Stephanie Okereke is busy on a dream projectSomeone ran into the steady and deep actress Stephanie Okereke and observed that she has lost so much weight. The waka pass that the spaghetti top she was putting on was so loose on her and wondered whether she had started fasting for ‘Mr. Right’. Anyway, we have it on good authority (we inquired from a waka pass who claimed that she knows someone, who knows someone who knows Stephanie) that the gangling actress has not started thinking of a ‘Mr. Right’ neither does she has that on her plans for now (but not to say she be wood ooo). We gathered that the reason she has lost some weight is probably because of the rigours of attending sponsorship meetings and so on. By the way, Stephanie is one of the arrow heads of the effort to get the New York Film Academy to Nigeria to run some courses. The producer of Through the glass, has, in the last two months or so, been attending meetings aimed at facilitating the smooth take off her alma mata in Nigeria. Don’t be surprised if Stephanie flashes a card at you and what you find on it is Stephanie Okereke, Director, NYU (Nigerian Campus). Sis, abeg claim am…o digi easi… meaning, it isn’t easy. To God Be the Glory
A-k-w-a-a-b-a Accra
BY DEBO OLADIMEJI
LASTING about 45 minutes, the flight from Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) to Kotoka International Airport (KIA) was smooth and enjoyable. However, the flight back home took more minutes, as it stretched to almost an hour. Accra is a very busy place, streaming with tourists of all kinds. At least, that is the impression a visitor gets from KIA, which is the first point of contact with the city. Coming from Lagos, Ngeria, one cannot but be impressed by the cleanliness of the environment. The airport attendants could be seen cleaning up dirt at every given moment. The immigration officials are not left out of the race to impress and make you feel welcomed. The smart looking men and women in uniform go about their duties with caution and courtesy. At the waiting lounge is a Chinese restaurant, among others, offering different delicacies such as sandwiches, tuna and cheese, mixed salads, pancake, ice cream, Spanish omelet and scrambled eggs as well as African and other continental dishes.
Adorning the walls are photographs of some of the country’s past leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, JB Danquah, Ako Adjai, Akufo Ada and Nana Offori Atta. While dancing to the music of the wind are flags of Ghana and other nations hoisted at the entrance. While commending the airport’s environment, Mr. Yaw Safo Kantanka, a 42-year-old weaver said the place serves as a catalyst for him to increase his output. He however called on the government to help them with loans. “We help to boost tourism as many foreigners come to Ghana to buy kente.” STEPPING out of the airport, there are usually cabs around to take you to your destination. A ride to the town cost between five cedis and more depending on your stop and your bargaining power. You have to be smart or you get ripped off. The traffic situation in the city is also fascinating. The lights welcome you to Accra City. On Kanda Airport Road, well-lit road signs are visible. Commuters and drivers religiously adhere to traffic lights, road signs and bus stops. The major roads like North Ridge, Kao Kudi are adorned with flowers and trees that create a sort of green belt. Street hawkers are not a common sight here, however, you will come across some on Liberia Road junction, For leisure, visitors have a lot to savour across the various tourism facilities of Ghana. In Accra, the capital city, Osu is one of such places to visit. There is the Children Park, National Theatre and Kwame Nkrumah Museum. Citizen Kofi is another one situated on the sixth street off Osu’s Oxford Street. It is owned by Dr. Kofi Amoah and was recently opened by the immediate past President, John Kuffuor.
There is also a classic eatery known as Restaurant Zango, with a sky bar overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Accra paints a picture of a perfect holiday spot with its array of beaches, hotels and resorts such as the Labadi, Kolegono Tawala Beach, Blackstone, Titanic and Teshei beaches. There is the Golden Tulip Hotel, Holiday Inn, Paloma Hotel and Airport View Hotel.
Located on the way to Tema is Lapadi Beach Resort, known formerly as La Pleasure Beach.
With its aquatic splendour, the beach has hosted international artistes such as TuFace, Tony Tetuila, VIP, Al Jarreau, CJ Lewis, Kelvin Leton and local artistes like Tick Tag.
Wednesday and Friday nights are common for hosting beach parties for tourists, who besieged the place during holidays.
Billy Jane Restaurant is a delight for local and continental dishes. There is also a gym for different body treatments.
The beach is made up of assorted bars as Savanna bar, Calipso and Ma-Ceiettes, it is also called the Nigerian Bar. It is painted in Nigeria’s colours — Green and White. It is one place to find a lot of Nigerians and also, savour home made delicacies and drinks. Wednesday night is devoted to reggae.
Tema Station is a major market that is open to all, as almost everything is available ranging from household utensils to house wears. The market is clean and attractive as it maintains a high hygiene standard.
THOUGH Accra presents a beautiful picture, many of its residents say it is not yet Eldorado. A trader, Williams Okan, said though life is cool in the city, it is very expensive as compared to other parts of the country. In his words, “people residing in the cities pay for the utilities enjoyed by those in the rural areas. This is because most of the people in the rural areas are old and retirees.”
For Mrs Justice Dei, who works in the Ministry of Justice, Accra, robbery cases have shot up in the city. While giving the government 60 per cent in the area of security, urged government to do more in this light.
She also regretted the rising level of inflation in the country. She said price of food items have gone beyond the reach of ordinary people. “It is because of Obama’s visit that there is sanity in the system before electricity was off and on like disco light”
“The prepaid metre bills for electricity are beyond the reach of the common people. Sometimes, one pays as much as10 cedis for electricity consumed in five days. That is too expensive because our salaries are meager. Some earns 80 cedis in a month. The government should try and reduce the hardship,” she said.
For Fredrick Boachie who works for the National Record Centre, Accra, life in the city is very expensive compared to Ashanti region and Kumasi.
He believes that because of its cosmopolitan nature people come to Accra from different parts of the country to hunt for job. “Here fish is very expensive and we are surrounded by the sea. Some places in Accra are filthy. The government sent the hawkers out of the street; they are now coming back in trickles. The cedis is depreciating against the dollar even after the re-denomination.”
He agreed that electricity is stable, but said a lot could still be done to improve the situation. “I give the Ghana Electricity Corporation 60 per cent, l can’t give them ‘A’ because in some areas power supply is still not regular.”
Mr. Addi Set, a journalist with Evening Tribune Newspapers, said the whole city of Accra has been polluted. “The town is full of lawlessness. The politicians do not have the political will to drive the street hawkers because they will not vote for them in the next election. Zoom Lion (a private company that was hired by the government to be cleaning the city) are not doing their best to keep the city clean. There is no difference between the past government of John Kufour and President John Evans Atta Mills.
He linked the constant electricity supply to the visit of the United States President Barack Obama. “It is because of Obama’s visit that there is sanity in the system before electricity was off and on like disco
LASTING about 45 minutes, the flight from Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) to Kotoka International Airport (KIA) was smooth and enjoyable. However, the flight back home took more minutes, as it stretched to almost an hour. Accra is a very busy place, streaming with tourists of all kinds. At least, that is the impression a visitor gets from KIA, which is the first point of contact with the city. Coming from Lagos, Ngeria, one cannot but be impressed by the cleanliness of the environment. The airport attendants could be seen cleaning up dirt at every given moment. The immigration officials are not left out of the race to impress and make you feel welcomed. The smart looking men and women in uniform go about their duties with caution and courtesy. At the waiting lounge is a Chinese restaurant, among others, offering different delicacies such as sandwiches, tuna and cheese, mixed salads, pancake, ice cream, Spanish omelet and scrambled eggs as well as African and other continental dishes.
Adorning the walls are photographs of some of the country’s past leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, JB Danquah, Ako Adjai, Akufo Ada and Nana Offori Atta. While dancing to the music of the wind are flags of Ghana and other nations hoisted at the entrance. While commending the airport’s environment, Mr. Yaw Safo Kantanka, a 42-year-old weaver said the place serves as a catalyst for him to increase his output. He however called on the government to help them with loans. “We help to boost tourism as many foreigners come to Ghana to buy kente.” STEPPING out of the airport, there are usually cabs around to take you to your destination. A ride to the town cost between five cedis and more depending on your stop and your bargaining power. You have to be smart or you get ripped off. The traffic situation in the city is also fascinating. The lights welcome you to Accra City. On Kanda Airport Road, well-lit road signs are visible. Commuters and drivers religiously adhere to traffic lights, road signs and bus stops. The major roads like North Ridge, Kao Kudi are adorned with flowers and trees that create a sort of green belt. Street hawkers are not a common sight here, however, you will come across some on Liberia Road junction, For leisure, visitors have a lot to savour across the various tourism facilities of Ghana. In Accra, the capital city, Osu is one of such places to visit. There is the Children Park, National Theatre and Kwame Nkrumah Museum. Citizen Kofi is another one situated on the sixth street off Osu’s Oxford Street. It is owned by Dr. Kofi Amoah and was recently opened by the immediate past President, John Kuffuor.There is also a classic eatery known as Restaurant Zango, with a sky bar overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Accra paints a picture of a perfect holiday spot with its array of beaches, hotels and resorts such as the Labadi, Kolegono Tawala Beach, Blackstone, Titanic and Teshei beaches. There is the Golden Tulip Hotel, Holiday Inn, Paloma Hotel and Airport View Hotel.
Located on the way to Tema is Lapadi Beach Resort, known formerly as La Pleasure Beach.
With its aquatic splendour, the beach has hosted international artistes such as TuFace, Tony Tetuila, VIP, Al Jarreau, CJ Lewis, Kelvin Leton and local artistes like Tick Tag.
Wednesday and Friday nights are common for hosting beach parties for tourists, who besieged the place during holidays.
Billy Jane Restaurant is a delight for local and continental dishes. There is also a gym for different body treatments.
The beach is made up of assorted bars as Savanna bar, Calipso and Ma-Ceiettes, it is also called the Nigerian Bar. It is painted in Nigeria’s colours — Green and White. It is one place to find a lot of Nigerians and also, savour home made delicacies and drinks. Wednesday night is devoted to reggae.
Tema Station is a major market that is open to all, as almost everything is available ranging from household utensils to house wears. The market is clean and attractive as it maintains a high hygiene standard.
THOUGH Accra presents a beautiful picture, many of its residents say it is not yet Eldorado. A trader, Williams Okan, said though life is cool in the city, it is very expensive as compared to other parts of the country. In his words, “people residing in the cities pay for the utilities enjoyed by those in the rural areas. This is because most of the people in the rural areas are old and retirees.”
For Mrs Justice Dei, who works in the Ministry of Justice, Accra, robbery cases have shot up in the city. While giving the government 60 per cent in the area of security, urged government to do more in this light.
She also regretted the rising level of inflation in the country. She said price of food items have gone beyond the reach of ordinary people. “It is because of Obama’s visit that there is sanity in the system before electricity was off and on like disco light”
“The prepaid metre bills for electricity are beyond the reach of the common people. Sometimes, one pays as much as10 cedis for electricity consumed in five days. That is too expensive because our salaries are meager. Some earns 80 cedis in a month. The government should try and reduce the hardship,” she said.
For Fredrick Boachie who works for the National Record Centre, Accra, life in the city is very expensive compared to Ashanti region and Kumasi.
He believes that because of its cosmopolitan nature people come to Accra from different parts of the country to hunt for job. “Here fish is very expensive and we are surrounded by the sea. Some places in Accra are filthy. The government sent the hawkers out of the street; they are now coming back in trickles. The cedis is depreciating against the dollar even after the re-denomination.”
He agreed that electricity is stable, but said a lot could still be done to improve the situation. “I give the Ghana Electricity Corporation 60 per cent, l can’t give them ‘A’ because in some areas power supply is still not regular.”
Mr. Addi Set, a journalist with Evening Tribune Newspapers, said the whole city of Accra has been polluted. “The town is full of lawlessness. The politicians do not have the political will to drive the street hawkers because they will not vote for them in the next election. Zoom Lion (a private company that was hired by the government to be cleaning the city) are not doing their best to keep the city clean. There is no difference between the past government of John Kufour and President John Evans Atta Mills.
He linked the constant electricity supply to the visit of the United States President Barack Obama. “It is because of Obama’s visit that there is sanity in the system before electricity was off and on like disco
The Girl Whisperer: Hearts of gold
BY WOLE OGUNTOKUN
I HAD the opportunity to meet with an exceptional woman a short while ago, and by extension, a number of equally exceptional people. The meeting made me question the meaning of many things and what one should consider as really important. The name of this person who gave me food for thought? Laja Adedoyin, the founder of a children’s hospice located in the heart of the mainland of Lagos, a rest home for abandoned children with unimaginable ailments and I do not use that phrase, “unimaginable”, lightly.
She told me of the struggles the home had encountered in seeking to be truly functional and all around me as I looked, there was living proof of children who came into the world with the odds stacked heavily against them.
The children were afflicted by things I cannot even begin to mention here, things beyond the grasp of normal day-to-day conversations.
That day, as I walked in the midst of those children, looking down at some immobile in their beds and destined to be so for the rest of their lives, I remembered Mrs. Adedoyin telling me, how she worked with the physically challenged in England for many years before coming to Nigeria to continue the same work. And then she spoke of how this vocation brought her into contact with a well-known gentleman, a gentleman who would pay an unpublicised visit to the hospice along with a retinue of his aides. Let us call him Babatunde Raji Fashola for the purposes of this article.
She said he looked at the children for a long while and then picked up each bed-ridden one, tears in his eyes as he did so. What brought the tears to his eyes? The way the cards have been dealt to some? The fact that the world is full of pain and misery and sometimes, we all are so cocooned in our own sense of well-being and good health that we fail to see what others have to go through. For whatever reason it might have been, Mr. Fashola cried as he held these children, he grew larger-than-life in my perception of him.
AS I stood looking down at these children and pondering on how true it is that sometimes the weak and the helpless are the ones who suffer the most; a group of very good-looking young women came in spotting sea-green Tee-shirts, alive and very vibrant.
They had come to visit the children too and on each shirt was the legend, “Shaggy Babe”. It took me a while to realise they were former students of the Federal Government Girls’ College, Sagamu, graduands of the class of ’99. They laughed, joked and played with the children, putting many of them at ease and I saw the occasional “Shaggy Babe”, wedding band on finger, carrying one of those children and lost in thought, searching out hidden meanings and answers to things that troubled many of us, but which we may never find out on this side of the fence.
That hospice is a place to grow up in, to learn some of life’s heavy lessons and to realise we come to the earth in many forms, and not all of them are near perfect.
SO, the Whisperer asks today, can you really claim to truly love if you have not loved the seemingly unlovable? When we profess to love other people, is it not also because of accidents of fate that we do so? The perfection of the teeth? The charming pout of the upper lip? The unblemished complexion? Do we not love others for their graceful necks and their long, tapering fingers? For almond-shaped eyes and pert noses? For accents from distant shores whether real, affected or imagined? Do we not love for delicate frames and lovely hair? But if these things were all to be stripped away, would our love still be the same, as wild and free? Can we truly love if it is not to our advantage, sometimes in ways we cannot even put into words?
THE Whisperer has severally professed his undying adoration till the end of time to the inimitable on-air-personality known as Lamide Akintobi (Don’t ask questions, just keep reading), but would this unrequited love be the same if she wasn’t as, well...stunning, as she has looked all her life?
Would her inner nature, arguably the truest reflection of the person, alone, be enough to hold one’s attention if she wasn’t as intelligent and confident as she is now? And if it is not enough, does that not reflect a shortcoming in the admirer’s own make-up?
Do you love another person for that person’s essence alone or for the total package? And if it is for the essence of that person, where ends the essence and where does the person’s personality begins? The Whisperer will disagree with all those who say the personality and the essence are one and the same thing. Personalities, you must agree, may be influenced by many external things — family affluence, education and things of that nature — your very essence may not.
How hard can it be to look at anything beyond the physical? Isn’t our own worth improved when we can strip the outer, superfluous wrappings to look to the real person? It is a person with a heart of gold that can look beyond the outer layers and look to the very spirit of a man, woman or child.
THE Whisperer’s mother sat with him today as other mothers have sat with their sons, to shared her wisdom with him, non-purchasable because it stems from a deep pool of experiences spanning many decades. He was reminded of the times she had told him as he searched the world with immature eyes years ago, that “there is no perfect woman”. With hindsight, he realises now that there is no perfect man either and we should not only be tolerant of imperfections in others, but suspicious of our own reasons for seeking physical standards alone. Our driving passion must be primarily to ensure that the heart we seek to make ours is forged with gold. If the heart is made of that unalloyed metal, there can be no greater foundation for a relationship.
laspapi@yahoo.com
I HAD the opportunity to meet with an exceptional woman a short while ago, and by extension, a number of equally exceptional people. The meeting made me question the meaning of many things and what one should consider as really important. The name of this person who gave me food for thought? Laja Adedoyin, the founder of a children’s hospice located in the heart of the mainland of Lagos, a rest home for abandoned children with unimaginable ailments and I do not use that phrase, “unimaginable”, lightly.
She told me of the struggles the home had encountered in seeking to be truly functional and all around me as I looked, there was living proof of children who came into the world with the odds stacked heavily against them.
The children were afflicted by things I cannot even begin to mention here, things beyond the grasp of normal day-to-day conversations.
That day, as I walked in the midst of those children, looking down at some immobile in their beds and destined to be so for the rest of their lives, I remembered Mrs. Adedoyin telling me, how she worked with the physically challenged in England for many years before coming to Nigeria to continue the same work. And then she spoke of how this vocation brought her into contact with a well-known gentleman, a gentleman who would pay an unpublicised visit to the hospice along with a retinue of his aides. Let us call him Babatunde Raji Fashola for the purposes of this article.
She said he looked at the children for a long while and then picked up each bed-ridden one, tears in his eyes as he did so. What brought the tears to his eyes? The way the cards have been dealt to some? The fact that the world is full of pain and misery and sometimes, we all are so cocooned in our own sense of well-being and good health that we fail to see what others have to go through. For whatever reason it might have been, Mr. Fashola cried as he held these children, he grew larger-than-life in my perception of him.
AS I stood looking down at these children and pondering on how true it is that sometimes the weak and the helpless are the ones who suffer the most; a group of very good-looking young women came in spotting sea-green Tee-shirts, alive and very vibrant.
They had come to visit the children too and on each shirt was the legend, “Shaggy Babe”. It took me a while to realise they were former students of the Federal Government Girls’ College, Sagamu, graduands of the class of ’99. They laughed, joked and played with the children, putting many of them at ease and I saw the occasional “Shaggy Babe”, wedding band on finger, carrying one of those children and lost in thought, searching out hidden meanings and answers to things that troubled many of us, but which we may never find out on this side of the fence.
That hospice is a place to grow up in, to learn some of life’s heavy lessons and to realise we come to the earth in many forms, and not all of them are near perfect.
SO, the Whisperer asks today, can you really claim to truly love if you have not loved the seemingly unlovable? When we profess to love other people, is it not also because of accidents of fate that we do so? The perfection of the teeth? The charming pout of the upper lip? The unblemished complexion? Do we not love others for their graceful necks and their long, tapering fingers? For almond-shaped eyes and pert noses? For accents from distant shores whether real, affected or imagined? Do we not love for delicate frames and lovely hair? But if these things were all to be stripped away, would our love still be the same, as wild and free? Can we truly love if it is not to our advantage, sometimes in ways we cannot even put into words?
THE Whisperer has severally professed his undying adoration till the end of time to the inimitable on-air-personality known as Lamide Akintobi (Don’t ask questions, just keep reading), but would this unrequited love be the same if she wasn’t as, well...stunning, as she has looked all her life?
Would her inner nature, arguably the truest reflection of the person, alone, be enough to hold one’s attention if she wasn’t as intelligent and confident as she is now? And if it is not enough, does that not reflect a shortcoming in the admirer’s own make-up?
Do you love another person for that person’s essence alone or for the total package? And if it is for the essence of that person, where ends the essence and where does the person’s personality begins? The Whisperer will disagree with all those who say the personality and the essence are one and the same thing. Personalities, you must agree, may be influenced by many external things — family affluence, education and things of that nature — your very essence may not.
How hard can it be to look at anything beyond the physical? Isn’t our own worth improved when we can strip the outer, superfluous wrappings to look to the real person? It is a person with a heart of gold that can look beyond the outer layers and look to the very spirit of a man, woman or child.
THE Whisperer’s mother sat with him today as other mothers have sat with their sons, to shared her wisdom with him, non-purchasable because it stems from a deep pool of experiences spanning many decades. He was reminded of the times she had told him as he searched the world with immature eyes years ago, that “there is no perfect woman”. With hindsight, he realises now that there is no perfect man either and we should not only be tolerant of imperfections in others, but suspicious of our own reasons for seeking physical standards alone. Our driving passion must be primarily to ensure that the heart we seek to make ours is forged with gold. If the heart is made of that unalloyed metal, there can be no greater foundation for a relationship.
laspapi@yahoo.com
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