BY WOLE OGUNTOKUN I FIRST came across the poignant Beyonce Knowles song, If I were a boy, one day as I sat surfing cable television channels.
A good looking woman, Beyonce herself, was playing the part of a police officer, who did her work well but spent time with the other officers doing what men generally do after hours; drinking, clubbing, and just ‘kicking it’ as men have an inclination to.
All this while, she had a doting boyfriend/partner at home, who would watch the clock and wait for her to come home.
It was a reversal of roles and gave me a lot of food for thought, as the singer must have intended.
Then only a few days ago, I sat talking with the Alli-Hakeem sisters, Toyin and Anike, and one of them said, “if I were a boy,” and she elaborated on the things she would do and get away with, expressing pain that runs deep in women, pain inflicted by the things men do and never have to answer for.
In some ways, men are like the officers’ corps, policemen if you wish, who stand up for each other, whose ranks are closed and who will never testify against a “brother-officer” even at their own detriment.
It is a rare man who tells a woman, “I saw your man with so-and-so”, or “I saw him at so-and so.”
For some reason, the “esprit de corps” code among men also conjures a code of silence. Many men take relationships for granted the way the generality of women could never.
Beyonce sang, “if I were a boy even just for a day, I’d roll out of bed in the morning, and throw on what I wanted and go drink beer with the guys.”
As an aside, that might be the singular advantage men have over women, the ability to wear clothes without thinking if the colours suit our eyes, or whether our eye-shadow is the wrong shade of blue or whether our arms are growing bigger and we cannot get away with wearing sleeveless tops anymore.
BUT back to our song and Beyonce. “If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone; tell everyone it’s broken so they would think I was sleeping alone.”
At this point, many of the men reading should take deep breathes and think of the variations of this lie they have told. Some will say, “But the women do it too.”
The Whisperer agrees but submits that this is a fallacious argument. According to philosophers,“ And you too” does not work very well when you are the one accused of wrong-doing. Today, the Whisperer looks only at the men and the way they take their women for granted.
We turn off our phones and claim there is no network in a world that permits us to do whatever we want to do as long as it is not ‘hurting anyone else’.
When the men sit to reflect, they must remember that the breaking of a human heart is probably more painful than a physical accident.
“I’d put myself first and make the rules as I go, because I know she’d be faithful, waiting for me to come home”.
THE Whisperer is not only in this procession of those who make the rules as they go; he is also carrying a banner. This is said without pride and shame-facedly.
Men often make up the rules of engagement as they move along, much like the way children create new rules to suit themselves in games they have not mastered fully. What applied in a previous relationship will not apply in a new one.
A rule set for the female partner, will not be applicable to the male. We can take long sultry looks at other females as we drive along but a glance from our woman that lasts for more than one second on a passing male is tantamount to fornication.
She has sinned in her heart. The man is confident always that the woman at home is exactly where he wants her to be.
She will not be going anywhere and no matter how long the pursuit took, she has been conquered and he can look to newer horizons.
But do not forget that it is a strange world we live in where there are never any guaranteed fairy-tale endings and it is possible that like in the words of Mr. Ray Parker, “by the time poor Jack returned up the hill, somebody else had been loving Jill.”
Music is the closest thing we have to a time machine, able to teleport you to exact places and times when you first heard the song.
With songs, the situation is created again, the same players, the entire scenario. I can never hear the Oleta Adams song, Get here if you can without feeling pain and Gabrielle’s ‘Dreams’ does the same thing for me.
Madonna’s haunting La Isla Bonita is a victory song for The Whisperer, one that always reminds me of a day I took a major step in the right direction, and All 4 One’s I swear will remind me of my father till my dying days.
The reason is simple. I heard him singing the song in accompaniment one day as it played on the radio and I was brought into reality forcibly, that my father was a man first, before being a father.
The talented Ms. Knowles sang, “You don’t care how it hurts until you lose the one you wanted because you’re taking her for granted” and I agree.
And The Whisperer gives advice to all men wherever they might be, and in whatever generation they might come from, even if they find this article 75 years from now in some dusty archive and they sit to read from yellowing, brittle pages.
As they ponder on how love must have been in generations gone by as they go about their business in a world that may bear no resemblance to this one that we know; all men should remember one thing, times and seasons may change but men and women will always be.
There are many pluses in being a man but it is not a sign of manliness to drag a woman in the mud behind you.
“If I were a boy...” Walk a mile in your woman’s shoes.
laspapi@yahoo.com
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
If I were a boy
I FIRST came across the poignant Beyonce Knowles song, If I were a boy, one day as I sat surfing cable television channels.
A good looking woman, Beyonce herself, was playing the part of a police officer, who did her work well but spent time with the other officers doing what men generally do after hours; drinking, clubbing, and just ‘kicking it’ as men have an inclination to.
All this while, she had a doting boyfriend/partner at home, who would watch the clock and wait for her to come home.
It was a reversal of roles and gave me a lot of food for thought, as the singer must have intended.
Then only a few days ago, I sat talking with the Alli-Hakeem sisters, Toyin and Anike, and one of them said, “if I were a boy,” and she elaborated on the things she would do and get away with, expressing pain that runs deep in women, pain inflicted by the things men do and never have to answer for.
In some ways, men are like the officers’ corps, policemen if you wish, who stand up for each other, whose ranks are closed and who will never testify against a “brother-officer” even at their own detriment.
It is a rare man who tells a woman, “I saw your man with so-and-so”, or “I saw him at so-and so.”
For some reason, the “esprit de corps” code among men also conjures a code of silence. Many men take relationships for granted the way the generality of women could never.
Beyonce sang, “if I were a boy even just for a day, I’d roll out of bed in the morning, and throw on what I wanted and go drink beer with the guys.”
As an aside, that might be the singular advantage men have over women, the ability to wear clothes without thinking if the colours suit our eyes, or whether our eye-shadow is the wrong shade of blue or whether our arms are growing bigger and we cannot get away with wearing sleeveless tops anymore.
BUT back to our song and Beyonce. “If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone; tell everyone it’s broken so they would think I was sleeping alone.”
At this point, many of the men reading should take deep breathes and think of the variations of this lie they have told. Some will say, “But the women do it too.”
The Whisperer agrees but submits that this is a fallacious argument. According to philosophers,“ And you too” does not work very well when you are the one accused of wrong-doing. Today, the Whisperer looks only at the men and the way they take their women for granted.
We turn off our phones and claim there is no network in a world that permits us to do whatever we want to do as long as it is not ‘hurting anyone else’.
When the men sit to reflect, they must remember that the breaking of a human heart is probably more painful than a physical accident.
“I’d put myself first and make the rules as I go, because I know she’d be faithful, waiting for me to come home”.
THE Whisperer is not only in this procession of those who make the rules as they go; he is also carrying a banner. This is said without pride and shame-facedly.
Men often make up the rules of engagement as they move along, much like the way children create new rules to suit themselves in games they have not mastered fully. What applied in a previous relationship will not apply in a new one.
A rule set for the female partner, will not be applicable to the male. We can take long sultry looks at other females as we drive along but a glance from our woman that lasts for more than one second on a passing male is tantamount to fornication.
She has sinned in her heart. The man is confident always that the woman at home is exactly where he wants her to be.
She will not be going anywhere and no matter how long the pursuit took, she has been conquered and he can look to newer horizons.
But do not forget that it is a strange world we live in where there are never any guaranteed fairy-tale endings and it is possible that like in the words of Mr. Ray Parker, “by the time poor Jack returned up the hill, somebody else had been loving Jill.”
Music is the closest thing we have to a time machine, able to teleport you to exact places and times when you first heard the song.
With songs, the situation is created again, the same players, the entire scenario. I can never hear the Oleta Adams song, Get here if you can without feeling pain and Gabrielle’s ‘Dreams’ does the same thing for me.
Madonna’s haunting La Isla Bonita is a victory song for The Whisperer, one that always reminds me of a day I took a major step in the right direction, and All 4 One’s I swear will remind me of my father till my dying days.
The reason is simple. I heard him singing the song in accompaniment one day as it played on the radio and I was brought into reality forcibly, that my father was a man first, before being a father.
The talented Ms. Knowles sang, “You don’t care how it hurts until you lose the one you wanted because you’re taking her for granted” and I agree.
And The Whisperer gives advice to all men wherever they might be, and in whatever generation they might come from, even if they find this article 75 years from now in some dusty archive and they sit to read from yellowing, brittle pages.
As they ponder on how love must have been in generations gone by as they go about their business in a world that may bear no resemblance to this one that we know; all men should remember one thing, times and seasons may change but men and women will always be.
There are many pluses in being a man but it is not a sign of manliness to drag a woman in the mud behind you.
“If I were a boy...” Walk a mile in your woman’s shoes.
laspapi@yahoo.com
A good looking woman, Beyonce herself, was playing the part of a police officer, who did her work well but spent time with the other officers doing what men generally do after hours; drinking, clubbing, and just ‘kicking it’ as men have an inclination to.
All this while, she had a doting boyfriend/partner at home, who would watch the clock and wait for her to come home.
It was a reversal of roles and gave me a lot of food for thought, as the singer must have intended.
Then only a few days ago, I sat talking with the Alli-Hakeem sisters, Toyin and Anike, and one of them said, “if I were a boy,” and she elaborated on the things she would do and get away with, expressing pain that runs deep in women, pain inflicted by the things men do and never have to answer for.
In some ways, men are like the officers’ corps, policemen if you wish, who stand up for each other, whose ranks are closed and who will never testify against a “brother-officer” even at their own detriment.
It is a rare man who tells a woman, “I saw your man with so-and-so”, or “I saw him at so-and so.”
For some reason, the “esprit de corps” code among men also conjures a code of silence. Many men take relationships for granted the way the generality of women could never.
Beyonce sang, “if I were a boy even just for a day, I’d roll out of bed in the morning, and throw on what I wanted and go drink beer with the guys.”
As an aside, that might be the singular advantage men have over women, the ability to wear clothes without thinking if the colours suit our eyes, or whether our eye-shadow is the wrong shade of blue or whether our arms are growing bigger and we cannot get away with wearing sleeveless tops anymore.
BUT back to our song and Beyonce. “If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone; tell everyone it’s broken so they would think I was sleeping alone.”
At this point, many of the men reading should take deep breathes and think of the variations of this lie they have told. Some will say, “But the women do it too.”
The Whisperer agrees but submits that this is a fallacious argument. According to philosophers,“ And you too” does not work very well when you are the one accused of wrong-doing. Today, the Whisperer looks only at the men and the way they take their women for granted.
We turn off our phones and claim there is no network in a world that permits us to do whatever we want to do as long as it is not ‘hurting anyone else’.
When the men sit to reflect, they must remember that the breaking of a human heart is probably more painful than a physical accident.
“I’d put myself first and make the rules as I go, because I know she’d be faithful, waiting for me to come home”.
THE Whisperer is not only in this procession of those who make the rules as they go; he is also carrying a banner. This is said without pride and shame-facedly.
Men often make up the rules of engagement as they move along, much like the way children create new rules to suit themselves in games they have not mastered fully. What applied in a previous relationship will not apply in a new one.
A rule set for the female partner, will not be applicable to the male. We can take long sultry looks at other females as we drive along but a glance from our woman that lasts for more than one second on a passing male is tantamount to fornication.
She has sinned in her heart. The man is confident always that the woman at home is exactly where he wants her to be.
She will not be going anywhere and no matter how long the pursuit took, she has been conquered and he can look to newer horizons.
But do not forget that it is a strange world we live in where there are never any guaranteed fairy-tale endings and it is possible that like in the words of Mr. Ray Parker, “by the time poor Jack returned up the hill, somebody else had been loving Jill.”
Music is the closest thing we have to a time machine, able to teleport you to exact places and times when you first heard the song.
With songs, the situation is created again, the same players, the entire scenario. I can never hear the Oleta Adams song, Get here if you can without feeling pain and Gabrielle’s ‘Dreams’ does the same thing for me.
Madonna’s haunting La Isla Bonita is a victory song for The Whisperer, one that always reminds me of a day I took a major step in the right direction, and All 4 One’s I swear will remind me of my father till my dying days.
The reason is simple. I heard him singing the song in accompaniment one day as it played on the radio and I was brought into reality forcibly, that my father was a man first, before being a father.
The talented Ms. Knowles sang, “You don’t care how it hurts until you lose the one you wanted because you’re taking her for granted” and I agree.
And The Whisperer gives advice to all men wherever they might be, and in whatever generation they might come from, even if they find this article 75 years from now in some dusty archive and they sit to read from yellowing, brittle pages.
As they ponder on how love must have been in generations gone by as they go about their business in a world that may bear no resemblance to this one that we know; all men should remember one thing, times and seasons may change but men and women will always be.
There are many pluses in being a man but it is not a sign of manliness to drag a woman in the mud behind you.
“If I were a boy...” Walk a mile in your woman’s shoes.
laspapi@yahoo.com
This is the Koko of a 9ICE article about M.I!
(Strictly for the young)
BY TOSYN BUCKNOR
IT all started with Music Africa. No matter what was on anywhere else, I would constantly flip back to the programme from 12 noon till 3pm every day. It was my daily fix of all things Nigerian, all things entertaining. No, not everything on it was fab; in fact, some videos made me wonder how unfair it was that some artistes have money while others don’t. But whatever it was, I watched.
One day, I saw the coverage of a concert in England. Gbenga Adeyinka introduced one guy on stage. I had the remote in my hand, and I was like that till the guy finished performing.
The guy was handsome, but that was not the koko. The koko was not even, the harmonica he played, nor the stagecraft he displayed. For me, the koko was, All The Way, the song he performed. I knew there and then that I wanted to hear more from him, and I told everyone I could about that.
There was no facebook back then or I would have made it a status update. But still I looked forward to the guy they called D’Banj, and when he came to Nigeria, I saw him live. I was not disappointed.
Still glued to Music Africa, I then saw the video for 2shotz song, Make Dem Talk. There was a guy there singing. He looked and sounded interesting. I noted him.
A FEW years later, I heard a song at a party. I had no clue what was being said at first, but the beat was catchy, and the guy singing had a pied piper quality to his voice.
It felt like whatever he was selling, I was buying! I asked around and was told the song was Gongo Aso, and the guy was 9ice, the same one that sang, Little Money and Ganja Man.
Really? Same dude on Make Dem Talk and on Ruggedy Baba? Wow! He has something oh!
I searched for that song, and that guy everywhere. I went for almost any show that had him on the bill, and started to learn the lyrics to his songs.
In fact, I played Gongo Aso so much that my co-workers on Apprentice Africa, and my family, had the tune playing in their heads!
Then there was this guy. His name was M.I. He had a song, Crowd Mentality. I saw it on television once. He was based in the North, they said. But one day, I saw him in Lagos. I heard him perform, Blaze, and I heard the song once or twice on Biggy’s show on Rhythm. There was something about these songs. And then there was something more. It wasn’t just the music, it was the person.
On stage, he was electrifying. You had to notice him, pay attention to him, respect him...
There was something about him.
“There is something about him” is not something that is said often. But some people have something, and you can’t bottle it; there is no formula. It is charisma and grace, combined with talent and energy. And more.
Of course, none of these artistes is perfect, and I daresay they have, and will make some mistakes along the way. Maybe an album that disappoints fans, or dodgy videos, or the few minutes of attitude re-adjustment. Life is not about being perfect however. It is about living. And art is not about the best... sometimes, it is about the most daring. And I may not know the formula for making a great artiste, but I know being one of the crowd can’t be the first step!
tosinornottosin@yahoo.com
You are what you eat
(PANORAMA)
BY REBECCA AKINMOLAYAN
VARIOUS metabolic processes occur in the human bodies that are vital for life and survival. They include breathing, transmission of nervous messages, blood circulation, excretion etc.
The body needs energy to fuel these processes efficiently. Food provides the energy for these internal processes and also energy for all forms of physical and mental activity.
Eating of food as a practice should be both healthy and pleasurable.
Eating for enjoyment alone will deprive the body of the valuable nutrients it needs and on the other hand, eating wholesome foods in an unattractive manner and combination will make meal times a boring chore.
Therefore, the need for nourishment and variety in eating. As for tastiness of food, it belongs to the imagination and skill of the cook. But for the healthy aspect, it is essential that one learn the nutritional needs of the body and how food fulfils that need.
First and foremost, food preparation including the meal time-table (even for meals eaten outside) should be charted according to the time available (it will be difficult for someone after a hard-day’s work to arrive home and prepare a dish as tasking as moin-moin), food preference (personal choice), and eating habits. Next is how to prepare (or purchase) a meal that is varied but has all the essential nutrients in the right proportions.
All foods have a whole range of nutrients but in varying amounts.
A food would have a particular nutrient in very small amounts while another food would have it in very high degree (e.g. milk is rich in protein and calcium but has little amounts of vitamin C while oranges are very rich in vitamin C but have some amount of protein and calcium).
This is why foods are said to have complementary values, as the excesses of that nutrient in another will cancel the deficiency of a particular nutrient.
PROPOSING a general, ideal timetable for all and sundry is not necessary as individual needs and circumstances differ.
The most important thing is knowing the functions of different classes of foods (because when the purpose of something is unknown its abuse is inevitable) and making sure that your meals are energy-giving (from carbohydrates), protein-rich (meat, fish etc) low-in-fat and having enough vitamins and minerals (fruits and vegetables are rich in these).
Carbohydrates and fat are needed for energy. (Fats though they increase palatability are to be eaten sparingly as they have been linked to heart diseases), protein for body-building and repair, vitamins and minerals for the digestion of the three earlier mentioned nutrients and for the smooth running of the system.
Hence the need for a balanced diet. Not eating foods in their right proportions is not good because the body works like a network and any unalignment will be detrimental.
Also, eating excess of a particular food will turn out to be more harmful than beneficial as seen in diabetics (excess of carbohydrates) and heart- disease patients (excess of fats).
Keep this in mind that mal-nutrition is not only under-feeding but also over-feeding. Stop eating at the first sign of fullness the stomach gives as excess food will be stored as fat leading to over-weight and obesity (that’s another problem).
Water is needed for good health so drink copious amounts of it.
The benefits of the right nutrition are too good to be ignored. Your body enjoys from it because its functioning depends on it. You’ll have a strong immune system, radiant skin, mental alertness, physical energy just to mention a few.
E-mail etiquette
(Good Manners)
BY MIKE EKUNNO
THE Internet and cell phone are two developments of the last two decades that have effectively killed letter writing. ‘Check your mails’ now refers to the electronic mail rather than the post office box.
Many of us cannot remember when last we visited the post office. The last time I was there, I needed guidance on the value of stamp for standard in-land mail. It was like walking into a museum.
However, whether the post office dies or not (no be my mouth you go hear am) one thing will never go out of fashion: corresponding .
This is about two people or organisations communicating through the written word. If corresponding will not go out of fashion, is it not better to learn how to do it well using the modern platform offered by the internet?
The rules for good e-mail etiquette are not much different from what your Primary 4 teacher taught you about letter writing.
The need for the sender’s address on the top right hand corner may have been obviated, but nothing has changed about the opening greeting or salutation.
Opening greetings still remain the same for formal or informal correspondences not minding the medium. There is no place for “hi” in a formal e-mail.
Can you think of a job application starting: ‘Hi Employer’? If this sounds like an extreme example, how about many informal mails that have no salutation nor are they signed off?
It is true the e-mail automatically shows who the sender is and his address, but it does not automatically supply a ‘Dear Mike’, for example.
There are purists who insist the sender must start with an opening greeting and sign off with his name at the end of an informal e-mail.
My position on this is that the sender must keep his relationship with receiver in view on these matters.
An informal mail to your uncle should observe a different, stricter code from that to schoolmate and friend.
THE electronic mail platform should not provide an excuse to let go of the rules of etiquette, which emphasise decency, grace and in human conduct.
Many who thought they enjoyed confidentiality on the Internet and exchanged indiscreet stuff learnt their lesson the hard way.
Office e-mails should not be used for very personal stuff. The administrator of a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN) can compromise anybody’s site on the network.
Former CNN correspondent, Jeff Koinange’s case is the international locus classicus on the matter.
The gossip and confidences he exchanged with his girlfriend even came up to haunt him. Many nude pictures have inadvertently found their ways to the public domain through this means.
Also the use of alpha-numeric shorthands have gained currency with short message services on the cell phone and the e-mail.
You now read stuff like ‘I want 2 say dat was a gr8 thg 2 do”. This should have no place in formal correspondences.
Even in informal ones, one should spare senior people the ardour and disrespect of trying to decode these psychedelic codes.
Except you are communicating with your paddy who uses the same shorthand for you, try to be as explicit as possible with your e-mail messages and SMS.
AGAIN spell check does not come as standard on the ‘compose’ and ‘reply’ tabs on the e-mail. In formal correspondences, mis-spelled words can be an indication of the daftness of the writer as the un-seriousness of the firm or organisation. One should therefore use PC spell check or a printed dictionary.
Lastly, unsolicited attachments can be nuisances when they are bulky. Forwarded mails with copious colorful attachments take a lot of bytes on the messages folder and can be difficult to open. Crop them or warn the receiver in advance before sending them.
chudiekunno@yahoo.com
Sitting pretty
(Just Life)
BY OMOLIGHO UDENTA
EVERYONE was gaily dressed in the colours of the day, fabulous orange and magnificent gold.
There were touches of cool cream here and there perhaps to tone down the brilliance of the other two colours.
The ladies were resplendent as only Nigerian ladies can be when all dressed up. The band was playing a lively tune and everywhere you looked people were hugging each other, smiling, laughing.
We looked around for where to sit. Choosing a place to sit at gatherings like this is usually no easy task.
There were so many little things to consider which would all add up and make the difference between whether you would enjoy your time at the party or not.
Top of the list for us was finding seats, which would allow us, have a view of happenings.
We always try to avoid psychedelic women because they sometimes have headties as big as the National Theatre!
We wanted to be able to observe all that would be happening without having to turn around or crane our necks so the seats would have to be somewhere near the front but not just anywhere upfront.
Now, there were some seats next to the band stand which was way up in front and perhaps if the band hadn’t already been playing when we came in it would have seemed like a good place to seat but there was no way our eardrums could bear being next to those loudspeakers for anything longer than a few seconds at a time.
We wouldn’t even be able to hear ourselves think talk less of having a conversation. Beside who knows what would happen when the rice came? The grains would probably jump right off the spoon from the vibrations!
WE looked around, searching for a familiar face because at least when you sit with a good friend laughter usually flows and everything seems so much better but this wasn’t going to be one of those days because we saw no one we knew.
Or more precisely, we saw people we knew slightly which meant that the laughter could not be guaranteed.
We thought of seating next to the serving table but quickly decided against it when we remembered that the last time we did that, we succeeded in finding out how long you have to wait to get your food if about 500 people who are being served by really inefficient waiters get theirs first!
Our wait was about thirty two minutes. Be assured that after this experience we also tried sitting far away from the serving table. We had a 20-minute wait, which wasn’t so bad in comparison.
It was also important to get seated with the ‘right’ group as this might just make the difference between getting attended to or not especially if you are at a party where dem dey look face before they serve.
I personally try to avoid tables with teenagers (or young men) mainly because if you happen to be like me with a baby who demands to be breastfed anywhere and everywhere, the last thing you want is a group of curious eyes trying to peek while you are not looking, to see if what they were taught in Biology 101 about lactation etc is true!
We found a space on a table with a rather nice looking young couple. It wasn’t too far from the serving table and it was right in front so we could see all that was going on. Now, I just hoped it wouldn’t rain or drizzle because the part of the canopy that I was sitting under had huge holes!
omoudenta@yahoo.co.uk
Branding
(LIFE COACH)
BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE
EVERYONE has an inherent brand. A personal brand is a name or an entity that reflects the perception of how a group of people, market, or industry thinks of the name or identifier.
Brands can either be positive or negative. We all have our perception about a product or service that we see or get. When a brand is negative, it is important to re-brand, so as to make the negative brand a positive brand. Every Nigerian is a brand. While re-branding Nigeria defines our image, re-branding Nigerians defines the people.
Who is an average Nigerian? Is an average Nigerian hunger-stricken, fraudulent, and undisciplined? Who should an average Nigerian be? Answer for yourself. What role do I have play in re-positioning Nigeria?
Develop yourself. You have to define your personal brand. What’s your mission on planet earth? Who are you? Are you the person you are supposed to be? What are your goals? What motivates you? What do you think about all day long? What can you do to make Nigeria a better country?
You have to look for how to be an expert in your field. That is the essence of personal branding. To be an expert, you have to always be in the eyes of your customers, especially in your business.
Some people repel new ideas. They are only receptive to ideas that have been proven to work. These crop of people do not have what it takes to seize the future. The present belongs to those who want to follow the proven principles and business practices. The future however, belongs to those who will think outside the box. It belongs to those who want to do something different from what everyone has seen or experienced.
New ideas demand to be tested and tried. They require extra work, extra hassle, extra risk; and hey! when your dream is bigger than you, you only have to depend on your instincts and actions to make it work.
The people you hold in high esteem in your life will discourage or ignore you when you really begin to think outside the box.
Take the risk. Taking risk is an important aspect of being an entrepreneur. You need to be positive about risk-taking.
CONCERNING new ideas, the question you need to ask is “What if it works? That is the way forward.
Don’t forget that all you need is one sound idea and you will smile to the bank for the rest of your life.
It was the idea of running Microsoft on personal computers that made Bill Gates the richest person in the world today.
A new idea is a disruption. Most people like continuity of what they are doing, not disruption. That’s not the way forward. Doing same of the same thing is like swirling around about a fixed point.
Remember the Chinese proverb that says that if you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always got. If you are tired of the status quo and business as usual, then you have to innovate or stagnate.
Products and services must change or soon endup without buyers. Churches must adjust, or the pastor will soon speak to a graying audience, with no younger generation for the future.
“It doesn’t matter what you did last week to justify your employment; ‘What have you done for me lately?’ is the question within a competitive workplace environment.” (Jeff Key, Real Estate and Financial Analyst).
Innovation means to change your concepts approaches, and there will be a new result — that’s the outcome.
There is a new idea in your mind. You only need to dig it how. Just go to a quiet place every night, and pay attention to your heart desires. Where your heart is, there your greatness is.
Take action. Buy a new book and tag it “My idea book.” Any weird idea that crosses your mind should be etched in the pages of your idea book. Commit to thinking for just 15 minutes every night about improving your life and the life of others.
There is something you can do for Nigeria. You can make a difference. You can fill in the gap somewhere. The future of Nigeria is dependent on you, so take charge.
Solving money problems (3)
(Biz tool Kids)
BY BRIDGET OLOTU
If the goal of our various efforts to acquire academic and professional education is for us to earn a better pay or experience quality lifestyles, shouldn’t we pay more attention to the issue of financial education just as do to academic training?
Most of us started school at five years and spent close to 20 years or more to acquire a master’s degree. When you add this up, you have 25 years or even more. If we live to 90 years, that means we’d need to manage our lives for 65 years.
Your university education only affords you meal tickets, but financial education provides you with the know-how on how to make, manage, budget, leverage, multiply and protect your income in order to live your dreams all the days of your life.
Financial intelligence certainly scores higher than formal education, though the latter is necessary for us to know how to read and write and communicate our thoughts.
What is financial intelligence?
Financial intelligence is the ability you get through financial education to grow or increase your income or cash or investment over a certain period of time. It’s also the ability to discern, determine and wisely seek the best financial investment option open to you per time. Financial intelligence helps you know how to make, manage, budget, leverage, protect and multiply your money.
Six principles that aid financial intelligence
Desire. You must desire to leave the rat race of the poor. Be a wise seeker of what you can do legitimately to get out of the gutter of poverty. Your desire determines your destination.
Income Generation. You need to earn some income if you want to change your financial story. You need to trade your ideas or skills or labour to earn something. By making an income, you have started out on the path to creating wealth for yourself.
Financial plan. Develop a personal financial plan and consciously work towards it. When you’ve put a financial plan in place, it helps you know correctly what you want, and then forces you to think on the options to adopt to get there. Furthermore, research has found out that when you write down your goals, they’re 50 per cent accomplished.
Savings Culture. This principle is very powerful. My financial mentor, Robert Kiyosaki, believes that saving one’s money for saving sake is a dumb idea now since what we get as returns on our savings is quickly eroded by inflation. I couldn’t agree more! However, there is a spiritual law about savings. Every income you earn has a seed and bread in it. The bread is for your consumption and the seed is for your multiplication. When you consume your seed, you deny yourself a future harvest. Before South Korea could get out of its economic problems, it mandated its citizens to save 60% of their income. If you don’t save, you are not safe financially! But to make the effort worthwhile, save to invest in income-generating assets!
Delayed Gratification. One other principle that will help you save and invest instead of spend all you earn is when you delay your gratification. Take for example, if you want to buy a car now as a young Executive, by delaying it and putting the money in an investment that can yield 20 per cent or more per annum, at the end of 12 months, you can afford to buy the car and still will be left with some change. Isn’t that a smart move? But you have to delay gratifying the desire of getting that car immediately. By the time you build a solid personal financial asset base, the different streams of income it generates can meet your diverse needs.
Financial Literacy. You can acquire financial literacy through financial books, tapes, CDs, seminars and workshops. Your earning ability is tied to your learning capacity. You can’t earn above what you’ve learnt. Skilled workers get paid more than unskilled workers because of the difference in learning. Therefore, build your own financial literacy library where relevant text on investment, entrepreneurship and financial literacy can be found.
Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DEAIM Innovative Resources Ltd, bridgetolotu@gmail.com
BY TOSYN BUCKNOR
IT all started with Music Africa. No matter what was on anywhere else, I would constantly flip back to the programme from 12 noon till 3pm every day. It was my daily fix of all things Nigerian, all things entertaining. No, not everything on it was fab; in fact, some videos made me wonder how unfair it was that some artistes have money while others don’t. But whatever it was, I watched.
One day, I saw the coverage of a concert in England. Gbenga Adeyinka introduced one guy on stage. I had the remote in my hand, and I was like that till the guy finished performing.
The guy was handsome, but that was not the koko. The koko was not even, the harmonica he played, nor the stagecraft he displayed. For me, the koko was, All The Way, the song he performed. I knew there and then that I wanted to hear more from him, and I told everyone I could about that.
There was no facebook back then or I would have made it a status update. But still I looked forward to the guy they called D’Banj, and when he came to Nigeria, I saw him live. I was not disappointed.
Still glued to Music Africa, I then saw the video for 2shotz song, Make Dem Talk. There was a guy there singing. He looked and sounded interesting. I noted him.
A FEW years later, I heard a song at a party. I had no clue what was being said at first, but the beat was catchy, and the guy singing had a pied piper quality to his voice.
It felt like whatever he was selling, I was buying! I asked around and was told the song was Gongo Aso, and the guy was 9ice, the same one that sang, Little Money and Ganja Man.
Really? Same dude on Make Dem Talk and on Ruggedy Baba? Wow! He has something oh!
I searched for that song, and that guy everywhere. I went for almost any show that had him on the bill, and started to learn the lyrics to his songs.
In fact, I played Gongo Aso so much that my co-workers on Apprentice Africa, and my family, had the tune playing in their heads!
Then there was this guy. His name was M.I. He had a song, Crowd Mentality. I saw it on television once. He was based in the North, they said. But one day, I saw him in Lagos. I heard him perform, Blaze, and I heard the song once or twice on Biggy’s show on Rhythm. There was something about these songs. And then there was something more. It wasn’t just the music, it was the person.
On stage, he was electrifying. You had to notice him, pay attention to him, respect him...
There was something about him.
“There is something about him” is not something that is said often. But some people have something, and you can’t bottle it; there is no formula. It is charisma and grace, combined with talent and energy. And more.
Of course, none of these artistes is perfect, and I daresay they have, and will make some mistakes along the way. Maybe an album that disappoints fans, or dodgy videos, or the few minutes of attitude re-adjustment. Life is not about being perfect however. It is about living. And art is not about the best... sometimes, it is about the most daring. And I may not know the formula for making a great artiste, but I know being one of the crowd can’t be the first step!
tosinornottosin@yahoo.com
You are what you eat
(PANORAMA)
BY REBECCA AKINMOLAYAN
VARIOUS metabolic processes occur in the human bodies that are vital for life and survival. They include breathing, transmission of nervous messages, blood circulation, excretion etc.
The body needs energy to fuel these processes efficiently. Food provides the energy for these internal processes and also energy for all forms of physical and mental activity.
Eating of food as a practice should be both healthy and pleasurable.
Eating for enjoyment alone will deprive the body of the valuable nutrients it needs and on the other hand, eating wholesome foods in an unattractive manner and combination will make meal times a boring chore.
Therefore, the need for nourishment and variety in eating. As for tastiness of food, it belongs to the imagination and skill of the cook. But for the healthy aspect, it is essential that one learn the nutritional needs of the body and how food fulfils that need.
First and foremost, food preparation including the meal time-table (even for meals eaten outside) should be charted according to the time available (it will be difficult for someone after a hard-day’s work to arrive home and prepare a dish as tasking as moin-moin), food preference (personal choice), and eating habits. Next is how to prepare (or purchase) a meal that is varied but has all the essential nutrients in the right proportions.
All foods have a whole range of nutrients but in varying amounts.
A food would have a particular nutrient in very small amounts while another food would have it in very high degree (e.g. milk is rich in protein and calcium but has little amounts of vitamin C while oranges are very rich in vitamin C but have some amount of protein and calcium).
This is why foods are said to have complementary values, as the excesses of that nutrient in another will cancel the deficiency of a particular nutrient.
PROPOSING a general, ideal timetable for all and sundry is not necessary as individual needs and circumstances differ.
The most important thing is knowing the functions of different classes of foods (because when the purpose of something is unknown its abuse is inevitable) and making sure that your meals are energy-giving (from carbohydrates), protein-rich (meat, fish etc) low-in-fat and having enough vitamins and minerals (fruits and vegetables are rich in these).
Carbohydrates and fat are needed for energy. (Fats though they increase palatability are to be eaten sparingly as they have been linked to heart diseases), protein for body-building and repair, vitamins and minerals for the digestion of the three earlier mentioned nutrients and for the smooth running of the system.
Hence the need for a balanced diet. Not eating foods in their right proportions is not good because the body works like a network and any unalignment will be detrimental.
Also, eating excess of a particular food will turn out to be more harmful than beneficial as seen in diabetics (excess of carbohydrates) and heart- disease patients (excess of fats).
Keep this in mind that mal-nutrition is not only under-feeding but also over-feeding. Stop eating at the first sign of fullness the stomach gives as excess food will be stored as fat leading to over-weight and obesity (that’s another problem).
Water is needed for good health so drink copious amounts of it.
The benefits of the right nutrition are too good to be ignored. Your body enjoys from it because its functioning depends on it. You’ll have a strong immune system, radiant skin, mental alertness, physical energy just to mention a few.
E-mail etiquette
(Good Manners)
BY MIKE EKUNNO
THE Internet and cell phone are two developments of the last two decades that have effectively killed letter writing. ‘Check your mails’ now refers to the electronic mail rather than the post office box.
Many of us cannot remember when last we visited the post office. The last time I was there, I needed guidance on the value of stamp for standard in-land mail. It was like walking into a museum.
However, whether the post office dies or not (no be my mouth you go hear am) one thing will never go out of fashion: corresponding .
This is about two people or organisations communicating through the written word. If corresponding will not go out of fashion, is it not better to learn how to do it well using the modern platform offered by the internet?
The rules for good e-mail etiquette are not much different from what your Primary 4 teacher taught you about letter writing.
The need for the sender’s address on the top right hand corner may have been obviated, but nothing has changed about the opening greeting or salutation.
Opening greetings still remain the same for formal or informal correspondences not minding the medium. There is no place for “hi” in a formal e-mail.
Can you think of a job application starting: ‘Hi Employer’? If this sounds like an extreme example, how about many informal mails that have no salutation nor are they signed off?
It is true the e-mail automatically shows who the sender is and his address, but it does not automatically supply a ‘Dear Mike’, for example.
There are purists who insist the sender must start with an opening greeting and sign off with his name at the end of an informal e-mail.
My position on this is that the sender must keep his relationship with receiver in view on these matters.
An informal mail to your uncle should observe a different, stricter code from that to schoolmate and friend.
THE electronic mail platform should not provide an excuse to let go of the rules of etiquette, which emphasise decency, grace and in human conduct.
Many who thought they enjoyed confidentiality on the Internet and exchanged indiscreet stuff learnt their lesson the hard way.
Office e-mails should not be used for very personal stuff. The administrator of a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN) can compromise anybody’s site on the network.
Former CNN correspondent, Jeff Koinange’s case is the international locus classicus on the matter.
The gossip and confidences he exchanged with his girlfriend even came up to haunt him. Many nude pictures have inadvertently found their ways to the public domain through this means.
Also the use of alpha-numeric shorthands have gained currency with short message services on the cell phone and the e-mail.
You now read stuff like ‘I want 2 say dat was a gr8 thg 2 do”. This should have no place in formal correspondences.
Even in informal ones, one should spare senior people the ardour and disrespect of trying to decode these psychedelic codes.
Except you are communicating with your paddy who uses the same shorthand for you, try to be as explicit as possible with your e-mail messages and SMS.
AGAIN spell check does not come as standard on the ‘compose’ and ‘reply’ tabs on the e-mail. In formal correspondences, mis-spelled words can be an indication of the daftness of the writer as the un-seriousness of the firm or organisation. One should therefore use PC spell check or a printed dictionary.
Lastly, unsolicited attachments can be nuisances when they are bulky. Forwarded mails with copious colorful attachments take a lot of bytes on the messages folder and can be difficult to open. Crop them or warn the receiver in advance before sending them.
chudiekunno@yahoo.com
Sitting pretty
(Just Life)
BY OMOLIGHO UDENTA
EVERYONE was gaily dressed in the colours of the day, fabulous orange and magnificent gold.
There were touches of cool cream here and there perhaps to tone down the brilliance of the other two colours.
The ladies were resplendent as only Nigerian ladies can be when all dressed up. The band was playing a lively tune and everywhere you looked people were hugging each other, smiling, laughing.
We looked around for where to sit. Choosing a place to sit at gatherings like this is usually no easy task.
There were so many little things to consider which would all add up and make the difference between whether you would enjoy your time at the party or not.
Top of the list for us was finding seats, which would allow us, have a view of happenings.
We always try to avoid psychedelic women because they sometimes have headties as big as the National Theatre!
We wanted to be able to observe all that would be happening without having to turn around or crane our necks so the seats would have to be somewhere near the front but not just anywhere upfront.
Now, there were some seats next to the band stand which was way up in front and perhaps if the band hadn’t already been playing when we came in it would have seemed like a good place to seat but there was no way our eardrums could bear being next to those loudspeakers for anything longer than a few seconds at a time.
We wouldn’t even be able to hear ourselves think talk less of having a conversation. Beside who knows what would happen when the rice came? The grains would probably jump right off the spoon from the vibrations!
WE looked around, searching for a familiar face because at least when you sit with a good friend laughter usually flows and everything seems so much better but this wasn’t going to be one of those days because we saw no one we knew.
Or more precisely, we saw people we knew slightly which meant that the laughter could not be guaranteed.
We thought of seating next to the serving table but quickly decided against it when we remembered that the last time we did that, we succeeded in finding out how long you have to wait to get your food if about 500 people who are being served by really inefficient waiters get theirs first!
Our wait was about thirty two minutes. Be assured that after this experience we also tried sitting far away from the serving table. We had a 20-minute wait, which wasn’t so bad in comparison.
It was also important to get seated with the ‘right’ group as this might just make the difference between getting attended to or not especially if you are at a party where dem dey look face before they serve.
I personally try to avoid tables with teenagers (or young men) mainly because if you happen to be like me with a baby who demands to be breastfed anywhere and everywhere, the last thing you want is a group of curious eyes trying to peek while you are not looking, to see if what they were taught in Biology 101 about lactation etc is true!
We found a space on a table with a rather nice looking young couple. It wasn’t too far from the serving table and it was right in front so we could see all that was going on. Now, I just hoped it wouldn’t rain or drizzle because the part of the canopy that I was sitting under had huge holes!
omoudenta@yahoo.co.uk
Branding
(LIFE COACH)
BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE
EVERYONE has an inherent brand. A personal brand is a name or an entity that reflects the perception of how a group of people, market, or industry thinks of the name or identifier.
Brands can either be positive or negative. We all have our perception about a product or service that we see or get. When a brand is negative, it is important to re-brand, so as to make the negative brand a positive brand. Every Nigerian is a brand. While re-branding Nigeria defines our image, re-branding Nigerians defines the people.
Who is an average Nigerian? Is an average Nigerian hunger-stricken, fraudulent, and undisciplined? Who should an average Nigerian be? Answer for yourself. What role do I have play in re-positioning Nigeria?
Develop yourself. You have to define your personal brand. What’s your mission on planet earth? Who are you? Are you the person you are supposed to be? What are your goals? What motivates you? What do you think about all day long? What can you do to make Nigeria a better country?
You have to look for how to be an expert in your field. That is the essence of personal branding. To be an expert, you have to always be in the eyes of your customers, especially in your business.
Some people repel new ideas. They are only receptive to ideas that have been proven to work. These crop of people do not have what it takes to seize the future. The present belongs to those who want to follow the proven principles and business practices. The future however, belongs to those who will think outside the box. It belongs to those who want to do something different from what everyone has seen or experienced.
New ideas demand to be tested and tried. They require extra work, extra hassle, extra risk; and hey! when your dream is bigger than you, you only have to depend on your instincts and actions to make it work.
The people you hold in high esteem in your life will discourage or ignore you when you really begin to think outside the box.
Take the risk. Taking risk is an important aspect of being an entrepreneur. You need to be positive about risk-taking.
CONCERNING new ideas, the question you need to ask is “What if it works? That is the way forward.
Don’t forget that all you need is one sound idea and you will smile to the bank for the rest of your life.
It was the idea of running Microsoft on personal computers that made Bill Gates the richest person in the world today.
A new idea is a disruption. Most people like continuity of what they are doing, not disruption. That’s not the way forward. Doing same of the same thing is like swirling around about a fixed point.
Remember the Chinese proverb that says that if you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always got. If you are tired of the status quo and business as usual, then you have to innovate or stagnate.
Products and services must change or soon endup without buyers. Churches must adjust, or the pastor will soon speak to a graying audience, with no younger generation for the future.
“It doesn’t matter what you did last week to justify your employment; ‘What have you done for me lately?’ is the question within a competitive workplace environment.” (Jeff Key, Real Estate and Financial Analyst).
Innovation means to change your concepts approaches, and there will be a new result — that’s the outcome.
There is a new idea in your mind. You only need to dig it how. Just go to a quiet place every night, and pay attention to your heart desires. Where your heart is, there your greatness is.
Take action. Buy a new book and tag it “My idea book.” Any weird idea that crosses your mind should be etched in the pages of your idea book. Commit to thinking for just 15 minutes every night about improving your life and the life of others.
There is something you can do for Nigeria. You can make a difference. You can fill in the gap somewhere. The future of Nigeria is dependent on you, so take charge.
Solving money problems (3)
(Biz tool Kids)
BY BRIDGET OLOTU
If the goal of our various efforts to acquire academic and professional education is for us to earn a better pay or experience quality lifestyles, shouldn’t we pay more attention to the issue of financial education just as do to academic training?
Most of us started school at five years and spent close to 20 years or more to acquire a master’s degree. When you add this up, you have 25 years or even more. If we live to 90 years, that means we’d need to manage our lives for 65 years.
Your university education only affords you meal tickets, but financial education provides you with the know-how on how to make, manage, budget, leverage, multiply and protect your income in order to live your dreams all the days of your life.
Financial intelligence certainly scores higher than formal education, though the latter is necessary for us to know how to read and write and communicate our thoughts.
What is financial intelligence?
Financial intelligence is the ability you get through financial education to grow or increase your income or cash or investment over a certain period of time. It’s also the ability to discern, determine and wisely seek the best financial investment option open to you per time. Financial intelligence helps you know how to make, manage, budget, leverage, protect and multiply your money.
Six principles that aid financial intelligence
Desire. You must desire to leave the rat race of the poor. Be a wise seeker of what you can do legitimately to get out of the gutter of poverty. Your desire determines your destination.
Income Generation. You need to earn some income if you want to change your financial story. You need to trade your ideas or skills or labour to earn something. By making an income, you have started out on the path to creating wealth for yourself.
Financial plan. Develop a personal financial plan and consciously work towards it. When you’ve put a financial plan in place, it helps you know correctly what you want, and then forces you to think on the options to adopt to get there. Furthermore, research has found out that when you write down your goals, they’re 50 per cent accomplished.
Savings Culture. This principle is very powerful. My financial mentor, Robert Kiyosaki, believes that saving one’s money for saving sake is a dumb idea now since what we get as returns on our savings is quickly eroded by inflation. I couldn’t agree more! However, there is a spiritual law about savings. Every income you earn has a seed and bread in it. The bread is for your consumption and the seed is for your multiplication. When you consume your seed, you deny yourself a future harvest. Before South Korea could get out of its economic problems, it mandated its citizens to save 60% of their income. If you don’t save, you are not safe financially! But to make the effort worthwhile, save to invest in income-generating assets!
Delayed Gratification. One other principle that will help you save and invest instead of spend all you earn is when you delay your gratification. Take for example, if you want to buy a car now as a young Executive, by delaying it and putting the money in an investment that can yield 20 per cent or more per annum, at the end of 12 months, you can afford to buy the car and still will be left with some change. Isn’t that a smart move? But you have to delay gratifying the desire of getting that car immediately. By the time you build a solid personal financial asset base, the different streams of income it generates can meet your diverse needs.
Financial Literacy. You can acquire financial literacy through financial books, tapes, CDs, seminars and workshops. Your earning ability is tied to your learning capacity. You can’t earn above what you’ve learnt. Skilled workers get paid more than unskilled workers because of the difference in learning. Therefore, build your own financial literacy library where relevant text on investment, entrepreneurship and financial literacy can be found.
Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DEAIM Innovative Resources Ltd, bridgetolotu@gmail.com
Tea in the street
By Fabian Odum
For the average person in this tropical climate where temperatures, even in the season of rain, could hit as high as 30 degrees Celsius, on a sunny day even along the coastline, it is easy to feel cold on a rainy day.
In times like this, tea drinking has become a culture across the country. Though tea drinking appears to have been dropped on us by the British, tea leaves are primarily a product of tropical countries where it is grown – Kenya, Mambilla Plateau or Sri Lanka in Asia.
Take a walk down the streets of Jos, Kano, Onitsha or Lagos, you will see a preponderance of the popular ‘Mai Tea,’ with an array of the usual paraphernalia for brewing – kerosene stove, aluminum kettles or pots, set of tables for the ‘seating committee’ patrons. The long form helps drinkers sit back to back, intertwined like the intricate basket in times when the place overflows with people.
An assortment of bread, with or without brand names, is usually arranged like a block work of a building foundation while the tins of milk take the shape of a pyramid. All other ingredients need find their place in the centre of the table — spoons, cans of granulated sugar, crates of egg and tins of canned fish.
For the teashop, this is a place where the tea producing companies battle for attention as all the brands show up; it may be the round, square, triangular bags as well as the free-flowing leaves in boxes.
The pot of boiling water is almost perpetually on fire to give the best service to those who want their cup of tea really hot.
Irrespective of the windcheaters, sweaters or babanrigas as worn by some patrons, it is more like an all-men affair.
Women are more discrete; they show up once in a while but the case in some cultures. At the household level, tea drinking is a family matter and where bread and spread (margarine) or eggs are in involved, the kids have a field day.
Benefits
Tea, nutritionally, has its own functions as stimulant that can improve blood flow among several other good points. Studies have shown that drinking certain teas does indeed reduce the signs of aging. Some teas have also shown the capability to energize drinkers and boost agility due to the presence of caffeine.
The tendency for some teas to help burn calories faster, and thus reduce weight has been known and could be referred to as slimming teas.
Mannerism
Mannerism at tea drinking is another issue; sipping hot tea from the cup with a guttural sound is heavily abhorred in some circles. The table manner is that the sip is done quietly without any sound. If it is too hot, stirring with a teaspoon is the civilized thing to do instead of blowing it with the mouth to cool it.
Teaspoons are left in the saucer and never in the teacup when taking a sip of the tea. The use of milk is a trend that developed much later than the tea drinking itself. Tea was usually a drink so pure and clean, perhaps with little or no sugar. That has all changed now!
For the average person in this tropical climate where temperatures, even in the season of rain, could hit as high as 30 degrees Celsius, on a sunny day even along the coastline, it is easy to feel cold on a rainy day.
In times like this, tea drinking has become a culture across the country. Though tea drinking appears to have been dropped on us by the British, tea leaves are primarily a product of tropical countries where it is grown – Kenya, Mambilla Plateau or Sri Lanka in Asia.
Take a walk down the streets of Jos, Kano, Onitsha or Lagos, you will see a preponderance of the popular ‘Mai Tea,’ with an array of the usual paraphernalia for brewing – kerosene stove, aluminum kettles or pots, set of tables for the ‘seating committee’ patrons. The long form helps drinkers sit back to back, intertwined like the intricate basket in times when the place overflows with people.
An assortment of bread, with or without brand names, is usually arranged like a block work of a building foundation while the tins of milk take the shape of a pyramid. All other ingredients need find their place in the centre of the table — spoons, cans of granulated sugar, crates of egg and tins of canned fish.
For the teashop, this is a place where the tea producing companies battle for attention as all the brands show up; it may be the round, square, triangular bags as well as the free-flowing leaves in boxes.
The pot of boiling water is almost perpetually on fire to give the best service to those who want their cup of tea really hot.
Irrespective of the windcheaters, sweaters or babanrigas as worn by some patrons, it is more like an all-men affair.
Women are more discrete; they show up once in a while but the case in some cultures. At the household level, tea drinking is a family matter and where bread and spread (margarine) or eggs are in involved, the kids have a field day.
Benefits
Tea, nutritionally, has its own functions as stimulant that can improve blood flow among several other good points. Studies have shown that drinking certain teas does indeed reduce the signs of aging. Some teas have also shown the capability to energize drinkers and boost agility due to the presence of caffeine.
The tendency for some teas to help burn calories faster, and thus reduce weight has been known and could be referred to as slimming teas.
Mannerism
Mannerism at tea drinking is another issue; sipping hot tea from the cup with a guttural sound is heavily abhorred in some circles. The table manner is that the sip is done quietly without any sound. If it is too hot, stirring with a teaspoon is the civilized thing to do instead of blowing it with the mouth to cool it.
Teaspoons are left in the saucer and never in the teacup when taking a sip of the tea. The use of milk is a trend that developed much later than the tea drinking itself. Tea was usually a drink so pure and clean, perhaps with little or no sugar. That has all changed now!
Bolanle... The Kokolette
BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR
GOD!… God!!… I can’t believe it,” she says. “Oh God… oh God.” She sobs gently. Tears of joy cascade her cheeks as she embraces the weight of her success. Now she’s no longer Bolanle Okhiria, the 21-year old student of the Lagos State University, LASU, but the Ideal Kokolette. She stands transfixed for a few seconds, almost watching the narrative footage of her success in her mind eye. She heaves again, “God… Thank you for everything.” She had beaten three other finalists, Rita Igbinedion Isoken, Shona and Chidinma, to win the N5 million, a Volkswagen convertible car and a Diamond ring at stake in the show sponsored by HiTV, with support from Nigerian Breweries Plc and Tetmosol. Bolanle or Miss Bee, as intimate friends often call her, can best be described as a rounded character. Intelligence, beauty, and sense of humour are some of the qualities that made her company completely irresistible in the house. While nodding her head and gurgling with satisfaction, Bolanle sighs, “I will represent the brand well. The values I believe in, I’ll stand for everyday.” The multi-talented lady snorts: “I can’t trade the experience I had at the mansion for anything.” Though Bolanle can’t be intimidated by anybody, she is scared of poisoned chalice. And she wants to live the through her reign like a saint. And she has her mind firmly planted on that. “I look up to women such as Cecilia Ibru and Tyra Banks as role models,” she says. Thanks to the energy she’s derived from the lives of these exemplary women, her career ambition is to one day start her own talk show – The Bee Show, a platform to educate young women on the essence of being beautiful, bold, and brilliant. A spark of light radiates in her face as she tries to say hello to an admirer. She describes the ideal woman as, “someone whose beauty is not just in her outward appearance, she has to be someone who understands that character is the most essential beauty ingredient in a woman.” And this seems to have dotted the lines of every page of her life, which she script-edited at age 12: Humane personality. “I was born with a silver spoon, but when my family fortunes turned, I was forced to learn that life is not a bed of roses,” she says. Her face, now fresh after mopping up the tears of joy, Bolanle says sensitively, “my dad told me, it was always best to make a very positive impact out of any negative circumstance.” Bolanle’s first reactions to her selection, after the audition for Koko Mansion, was loaded with surprise, doubt, and utter consternation; she honestly thought someone was playing pranks on her. She muses, “I waited for so long for that call, and when it finally came through, I was too excited to believe it was real – I had to tell the producers to prove to me that it wasn’t some kind of a joke.” She polled 11,933 to beat Rita, who got 10, 473. Chidinma got a disappointing 918 votes while Shona who was all along favoured to win, got 2, 292 votes. Twelve girls initially got into the mansion but as the show progressed, Kokolettes Victoria, Lillian, Mary, Chioma, Bidemi, Chinwe and Elizabeth, were evicted by the viewers. The stage was now set and the viewers had to pick Bolanle from the lot of Chidinma, Rita and Shona. D’BANJ played the excellent host as he inspected the posh car with Bolanle who admitted she does not know how to drive. Spiced with performances by Mo’ Hits’ Wande Coal, ace comedian Julius Agwu and of course D’banj, the Koko Master, the closing show was a different package entirely. The biggest endorsement for the show, however, came when the Minister of Information and Communication, Prof. Dora Akunyuli, paid a visit to the mansion to further educate the young ladies. It was a rewarding evening, as Akunyuli, who, over the years, gained reputation for hard work and commitment to serving the country, guided the ladies on a path to achieving greatness. When Isi Munirat, a mole, was let loose into the mansion, the show took another dimension. Believing that she was in the show as a contender for the prize money, the other Kokolettes bared their fangs. THE first runner up, Rita, was also rewarded with a three-month training at Style & Grace Solutions training outfit. Rita kept the show lively with her vivacious, unpretentious nature for the seven weeks it lasted, a development that made her the viewers’ delight. The lady, who has a major shortcoming —her inability to speak good English — also, fell below in terms of social etiquette, communication and personal presentation skills. Mrs. Grace Oforiokuma, CEO/MD Style & Grace Solutions offered the Edo State native a mentoring programme as a prize for coming out second in the show. “I believe that this programme will be of great use in her future endeavours. Our aim is not to direct Rita in her future choices or decisions, but to provide her with the appropriate knowledge to develop the particular life skills mentioned, beneficial both here in Nigeria and in the global context.” Oforiokuma adds, “we expect our mentoring programme to provide her with individual coaching and ongoing advice and guidance in the areas of Social Etiquette, Communication and Personal Presentation skills. Coaching at our premises (Ikoyi, Lagos) will be provided at flexible times convenient to Rita, over the next three months. In addition, we will provide other training delivery methods using the web, telephone and our training aids to ensure that she receives adequate content and understanding. Guidance and advice will be provided to Rita on an ongoing basis, as needed, for a further six month period.”
With BrownHeart, Chaste takes on the heart
BY CHUKS NWANNE
THROUGHOUT the induction ceremony of the BorwnHeart Campaign ambassadors held recently in Ikeja, Lagos, Chaste Chris Inegbedion sits quietly in a corner of the hall with a few friends. In fact, it was a kind of surprised, when he was introduced as the founder of the non-governmental organisation aimed at enlightening the general public on heart attack. What has Chaste got to do with heart attack at this age? Of course, the Edo State native looks too young to be in such condition. However, from his efforts and level of commitment to the campaign, it’s obvious the project is dear to his heart. Curious to unravel the motive behind BrownHeart and its achievement so far, we scheduled a chat at the Rutam House head office of The Guardian few days later. A graduate of Computer Engineering from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Chaste has always loved working on the computer. For him, it’s a passion. “Surfing is like second home to me; I do a lot of research and networking online.” That must have informed your choice of course in the university? “Sure,” he muses. “In fact, I once started an online sharing group during my secondary school days; it was called KSG Study Group. But that didn’t last too long because after our secondary school, everyone left.” WHAT informed BrownHeart Campaign? He smiles, takes a deep breath while adjusting into his seat. “The idea came after I lost my father in April, 2008; he died of heart attack. I was doing my internship at Eko Hotel then; I was so busy that I couldn’t go to visit him for long.” Having stayed away from home for long, Chaste’s father personally requested he visited. “He called that he wanted to see me. My younger brother was around when I arrived; I was so tired that I even slept off. I remember we were watching an obituary advert on TV and my father was like, ‘this burial thing is going to be very expensive.’ I was surprised by his comment; he was not really old, so, I didn’t understand the thing about obituary. I didn’t know he was about to die.” Chaste observed some changes in his father’s behaviour the morning of the day he died. “He was acting quiet as against his usual lively nature. I learnt before then, he went weeding the compound, which is unusual. He usually paid people to do that, but this time around, he insisted on doing it himself. Even when I tried telling him about my challenges and my volunteer work, he was very silent about it.” Chaste was still asleep when his father came leaning on him, while gasping for breath. “Initially, I thought it was my younger brother in his usual manner, but I later found out it was my dad. Before we could rush him to the hospital, he died.” Were you aware of the heart attack? “We only knew he was hypertensive; we had never heard about the heart attack. My father was not the type that got sick every now and then, so, his death was a big blow to us. He was the breadwinner of the family and I’m the first in the family of two boys.” He continues: “I had a discussion with a medical friend of mine, who told me that we would have laid him down at that moment, but we were just holding him, thinking if we had allowed him to lie down, he would give up. That’s why I decided to start up a campaign to educate people on issues concerning heart attack, especially on the preventive measure.” ANY regrets? “If I had known about heart issues like I do today, we would have handled the situation better; who knows, my father may not have died the way he did. I was actually doing my final year project then, trying to raise money for my school and other things as I never liked disturbing him for money.” So, how did you manage in school? “My mother tried on her part; my relations also played vital role. The Church and my uncle, Chief Oziagbo, tried their best, especially assisting to complete my final year project.” WITH BrownHeart, Chaste and his team has taken the heart campaign to different groups and institutions after flagging it off at the Olabisi Onabanjo University. “We try to let them know how to take care of heart diseases and other issues related to them. I go on Internet most time to find out things about heart diseases and share it with the people. Sometime, I consult health specialists, who give professional advise concerning the heart. We gather the information and share it to people.” According to Chaste, heart attack knows no age. “People used to think that heart attack is for the elderly people. But research has shown that heart disease does not respect anybody; once your heart stops beating, you are dead. I was a member of Leo and Rotaract, Clubs in my school, so, I decided to have the official take off from there to raise the awareness for students to be conscious of their heart.” CHASTE is of the opinion that heart disease could be managed if detected early. “People need to be careful with the kind of food they eat. We are putting up workshops for the young at heart, with experts coming to give professional advice to the people; we are raising a team of specialist that will help in the campaign. Nigerians are going through a lot on the street, which could lead to heart attack. “We are also working with food experts to know the kind of food that helps to make one healthy. We are also looking towards music… trying to use all sorts of platforms to educate people. Michael Jackson was wealthy, yet he died of heart attack.” ASIDE BrownHeart, Chaste also runs Creative Five World Company, PR and volunteering outfit based in Lagos. “I want to work more as an idealists, giving out ideas on how to make the best out of business. I intend to consult for companies and organisations that have youth related businesses. I still want to do more of voluntary works and maybe marry in 2010.” THROUGHOUT the induction ceremony of the BorwnHeart Campaign ambassadors held recently in Ikeja, Lagos, Chaste Chris Inegbedion sits quietly in a corner of the hall with a few friends. In fact, it was a kind of surprised, when he was introduced as the founder of the non-governmental organisation aimed at enlightening the general public on heart attack. What has Chaste got to do with heart attack at this age? Of course, the Edo State native looks too young to be in such condition. However, from his efforts and level of commitment to the campaign, it’s obvious the project is dear to his heart. Curious to unravel the motive behind BrownHeart and its achievement so far, we scheduled a chat at the Rutam House head office of The Guardian few days later. A graduate of Computer Engineering from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Chaste has always loved working on the computer. For him, it’s a passion. “Surfing is like second home to me; I do a lot of research and networking online.” That must have informed your choice of course in the university? “Sure,” he muses. “In fact, I once started an online sharing group during my secondary school days; it was called KSG Study Group. But that didn’t last too long because after our secondary school, everyone left.” WHAT informed BrownHeart Campaign? He smiles, takes a deep breath while adjusting into his seat. “The idea came after I lost my father in April, 2008; he died of heart attack. I was doing my internship at Eko Hotel then; I was so busy that I couldn’t go to visit him for long.” Having stayed away from home for long, Chaste’s father personally requested he visited. “He called that he wanted to see me. My younger brother was around when I arrived; I was so tired that I even slept off. I remember we were watching an obituary advert on TV and my father was like, ‘this burial thing is going to be very expensive.’ I was surprised by his comment; he was not really old, so, I didn’t understand the thing about obituary. I didn’t know he was about to die.” Chaste observed some changes in his father’s behaviour the morning of the day he died. “He was acting quiet as against his usual lively nature. I learnt before then, he went weeding the compound, which is unusual. He usually paid people to do that, but this time around, he insisted on doing it himself. Even when I tried telling him about my challenges and my volunteer work, he was very silent about it.” Chaste was still asleep when his father came leaning on him, while gasping for breath. “Initially, I thought it was my younger brother in his usual manner, but I later found out it was my dad. Before we could rush him to the hospital, he died.” Were you aware of the heart attack? “We only knew he was hypertensive; we had never heard about the heart attack. My father was not the type that got sick every now and then, so, his death was a big blow to us. He was the breadwinner of the family and I’m the first in the family of two boys.” He continues: “I had a discussion with a medical friend of mine, who told me that we would have laid him down at that moment, but we were just holding him, thinking if we had allowed him to lie down, he would give up. That’s why I decided to start up a campaign to educate people on issues concerning heart attack, especially on the preventive measure.” ANY regrets? “If I had known about heart issues like I do today, we would have handled the situation better; who knows, my father may not have died the way he did. I was actually doing my final year project then, trying to raise money for my school and other things as I never liked disturbing him for money.” So, how did you manage in school? “My mother tried on her part; my relations also played vital role. The Church and my uncle, Chief Oziagbo, tried their best, especially assisting to complete my final year project.” WITH BrownHeart, Chaste and his team has taken the heart campaign to different groups and institutions after flagging it off at the Olabisi Onabanjo University. “We try to let them know how to take care of heart diseases and other issues related to them. I go on Internet most time to find out things about heart diseases and share it with the people. Sometime, I consult health specialists, who give professional advise concerning the heart. We gather the information and share it to people.” According to Chaste, heart attack knows no age. “People used to think that heart attack is for the elderly people. But research has shown that heart disease does not respect anybody; once your heart stops beating, you are dead. I was a member of Leo and Rotaract, Clubs in my school, so, I decided to have the official take off from there to raise the awareness for students to be conscious of their heart.” CHASTE is of the opinion that heart disease could be managed if detected early. “People need to be careful with the kind of food they eat. We are putting up workshops for the young at heart, with experts coming to give professional advice to the people; we are raising a team of specialist that will help in the campaign. Nigerians are going through a lot on the street, which could lead to heart attack. “We are also working with food experts to know the kind of food that helps to make one healthy. We are also looking towards music… trying to use all sorts of platforms to educate people. Michael Jackson was wealthy, yet he died of heart attack.” ASIDE BrownHeart, Chaste also runs Creative Five World Company, PR and volunteering outfit based in Lagos. “I want to work more as an idealists, giving out ideas on how to make the best out of business. I intend to consult for companies and organisations that have youth related businesses. I still want to do more of voluntary works and maybe marry in 2010.”
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