I AM DEAD!!! STOP LYING ABOUT ME

 

I lost my grandmother sometime ago and it was really a shock because I didn’t see it coming at all. So my mother calls me up early in the week to inform me that I would be giving a speech at her funeral on behalf of the entire family. I was half expecting it but I just thought my mother would prove me wrong this time around.

What made this news more amazing was that the family had come to a consensus that I was their right man for the job. I wish they knew better. Here is one thing about me for starters; I am still studying for my first degree in flattering don’t know how to flatter people, whether they are dead or alive.

Thinking about how I was going to stand in front of the family and fellow mourners and give a piece of my mind to my Grandmother one last time was exhausting to say the least. Most of my thoughts had to do with how those on the outside of her life perceive things versus how things are viewed from the inside out. I was going to talk about the woman I knew and would care less if it is not the popular opinion.

I remember asking my mother what she wanted me to say, just to gauge her judgment. Apparently she was more concerned about the delivery than the content of my speech, possibly because like everyone else she expects me to say the nicest things about her mother…whether they were true or false. Well, it got me thinking. Why is it that people don’t say anything bad about the dead?

Words are very powerful, and I take that responsibility with a generous amount of discipline even at the risk of offending others. But most times figuring out the truth can be pretty tough and sometimes the truth can be conflicting. There are times I had said something that I later regret, but I refuse to berate myself about it because it captured that particular moment. Sometimes the things we regret saying can help draw attention to something which could have easily been forgotten or at best shoved aside. And it might be something that could trigger a path to redemption.

I do regret quite a lot of things I have said, but I would regret it even more if I didn’t say the truth. Those moments when I think ‘Well, I shouldn’t have said that at all…either because I think in retrospect, that it was not appropriate, or might be misunderstood, or reveals too much info, there is a part of me that questions my own self questioning. Why not just say what needs to be said, whether it’s harsh, or a secret is revealed and it’s you against the world. Why must the truth be subdued when it ultimately brings freedom?

Why are we so obsessed about editing the lives of our friends and loved ones to make it more palatable for public consumption? The more we censor our expression about the dead, the more we are sending a message which negates who they really were. By telling ourselves ‘You can’t say that about the dead’ we are making ourselves feel ashamed about their lives. And this censorship can lead to lying about the dead, which for me is impious. So let us ensure that we live good lives so that we would not be tempting our friends and loved ones to lie about us when we are gone.

So here is what I have decided to do. I will stand before my family, fellow mourners and the entire village and tell them the whole truth and nothing but the truth. In the end she has lived her life and it is left for us to build on her legacy and learn from her mistakes. We all need to free ourselves from this self imposed restriction of saying good things about people even when their life was the opposite. Please do endeavor to speak honestly and most importantly do live an honest life. Honesty is the key.

I BELIEVE I CAN FLY: THE POWER OF SELF LOVE

I have been pondering on this issue of love for a while now and believe me it's not the easiest thing to deal with. Sometimes it's hard to tell who you really love and who really loves you back. I cannot boast to have really fallen in love but am not ruling it out completely. 

One thing I have been able to establish so far is that this thing called "Love" can be very powerful, possibly the most powerful phenomenon known to mankind. The intrigues, suspense, twists and turns can be too much for a faint heart, which explains why heartbreak has become a lover's best friend. I know a lover friend who has been so heartbroken over the years, so in order to protect her heart, whenever someone tells her "I love you", she just simply says "Thank you very much". 

So in my quest to curb heartbreak further unravel the mystery of true love, I came across an inspiring article by another lover friend and I thought I should share. Hope it inspires you too and hopefully just like me you will learn how to fly find the best kind of love.

Much of what you do is done either to get love or to compensate for lack of love, beginning in early childhood. The emotion of love exerts an enormous influence on your every choice and decision. Your self-ideal, the guiding mechanism of your self-concept and the regulator of your behaviour, can be understood as your ideal of the kind of person you need to be to earn the love and respect of the people you care about.

Almost everything you and I do today, the goals we set, the dreams we have, the commitments we make, is influenced by the power of love in our lives. You can be the most beautiful person in the world and everybody sees lights and rainbow when they look at you, but if you don’t see yourself in such light all of that doesn’t even matter. Every second that you spend on doubting your worth, every moment that you use to criticize yourself; is a second of your life wasted, Is a moment of your life thrown away, it’s not like anyone here on planet earth has forever to live, so we should not waste any of our seconds, don’t throw even one of your moment away.     

The person in life that you will always be with the most is yourself. Even when you are with others, you are still with yourself. You are with yourself, lying in bed at night, you are with yourself walking down the street in the sunlight, you are with yourself going about your daily activities, and you are always with yourself. What kind of person do you want to wake up with? Because that person is yourself, and it’s your responsibility to be that person you want to be with.

The most powerful relationship you will ever have after your relationship with God is the relationship with yourself. To live a happy life, you must recognize the truth of your story, finish the story, it happened but you are still here, you are still powerful and capable, you are not your circumstances. You are still fully equipped with every single tool you need to fulfill your purpose.

I love me, you should Love you too.

NIGERIA'S OLUMIDE ALIU ELECTED FIRST AFRICAN PRESIDENT OF ICAO

 

A Nigerian, Dr Olumide Bernard Aliu, has been elected as president of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council; making him the first African to head the world aviation safety body.

Mr. Aliu was elected ICAO Council president on Monday at the 38th Assembly of the organization in Montreal, Canada. He scored a total of 149 votes from the council which consists of 172 member countries.

Nigeria became a member of ICAO in 1960 and was elected into the Council of ICAO in 1962 as a Part II member State. The country has since remained on the Council and has continued to promote the interest of Nigeria and Africa on the Council as well as contribute to the development and growth of civil aviation in the region.

ASUU STRIKE: NIGERIAN STUDENTS VERSUS ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF UNIVERSITIES POLITICAL PARTY (ASUUPP)

I have been refraining myself from writing about the ongoing ASUU strike for some time now. This is simply because I didn't understand if the struggle was for an increase in the lecturers' paltry income or the overall improvement of University education in Nigeria.

However, I now strongly believe that the lecturers and the politicians are merely playing hide and seek with the students. For someone who understands Nigerian politics to some degree, it is not hard to tell that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Academic Staff Union of Universities Political Party (ASUUPP) are on the same canoe boat. My sincere apologies to the few 2.5% lecturers who genuinely mean well for the Nigerian students.

Our your lecturers have been appearing and disappearing in and out of ASO Rock in the past few weeks lobbying for their selfish interest negotiating for the interest of the Nigerian students. And if the reputation of ASO Rock as the National Bakery Seat of Power is anything to go by, some of our esteemed lecturers may have gotten slices of the National bread Cake. I doubt if their conscience will allow them considering they are fighting for their pockets students. But like the old saying goes “the monkey can only vouch for the child in her womb because she may not know when the one on her back plucked a fruit”

I hear the strike will end sooner than some prophets had prophesied we expect. Evidently, the Nigerian students are the biggest losers at the end of the day. More than four months of their precious lives disrupted (for some negatively and for others positively). But for the lecturers their lives will never remain the same, at least if for only the fact that they have captured the attention of the country again with their pastime strike action. And not forgetting their pockets running over.

So if the lecturers demands are met today and they go home smiling to their girlfriends wives, what will become the fate of the Nigerian students who have endured in this struggle with them. I will tell you that free of charge, you can thank me later. Here are the ten point’s agenda I came up with;

1. The students will not smell benefit from the 1.7 trillion naira whether directly or indirectly. Except maybe for those who are in the lecturer’s good beds books.

2. The students will still be forced to buy handouts and half baked textbooks at exorbitant prices from the government lecturers. And for the students who do not comply, their days may be longer.

3. The innocent students will still be extorted before they pass certain examinations. And the lecturers will always be patronized by the students of the department of Aristology, who will always pay their way through school.

4. The students will still be made to pay the same astronomical tuition or it may even go higher.

5. The students will still be sexually harassed by government officials Mr. Lecturer.

6. Some students will unfortunately witness another strike before they eventually gain freedom graduate. I will be overwhelmed if the lecturers prove me wrong.

7. The students will still be subjected to the mercies of our poor educational system and there will be continuous tales of why they can't improve the educational standard.

8. There will still be the knowledge gap amongst Nigerian students. They will continue to graduate and overpopulate the labour market with little or absolutely no clue of where to go from there.

9. The students will not get back the last four months especially for those who have been dancing skelewu and nacking akpako doing nothing.

10. The students will not get sitting allowance for attending lectures like their counterparts in the national assembly.

The good news for the students is that strike or no strike, your destiny is in your hands and not that of ASUUPP. The strike does not hold any key to your becoming what you want to be in life. So you can drop out of school become the next tuface success story by keeping your dream alive. Don’t think of what ASUU can do for you but what you can do for your lecturers life to be fulfilling. I wish you guys all the very best.


The writer is an ASUU Strike Alumni and has been studying Strikology at the University of Naija since June 2013. He is the author of the International bestseller MY BOOK OF SUCCESS STORIES (Call 08187808666 for more enquiries) 

BILL GATES CONFERRED WITH NIGERIA'S PRESTIGOUS NATIONAL HONOUR

Bill Gates and Goodluck Jonathan

Microsoft founder and co-Chairman of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates has been conferred with the national honours of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The President disclosed this on Monday November 11, 2013 at a meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Polio and Recognition Award held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said the honour was in recognition of Bill Gates' support towards the eradication of poliomyelitis in Nigeria.

Bill Gates immunizing a Nigerian child

President Jonathan applauded the Microsoft founder for his commitment to help fight polio, providing life saving commodities and assisting Nigeria in agricultural development.

Jonathan also used the occassion to commend Alhaji Aliko Dangote for showing high degree of support for government and all sectors of the nation's economy. He reiterated the determination of the Federal Government to continue to partner with all stakeholders in the fight to eradicate polio in Nigeria.

Bill Gates will be decorated with his award at a ceremony that will come up later in Nigeria. 

TONY ELUMELU: THE AFRICAPITALIST AND HIS QUEST TO POWER AFRICA

Tony Elumelu

 

Tony Elumelu, Nigerian entrepreneur and one of Africa's most successful businessmen featured on African Voices, CNN’s International weekly half-hour programme. In the interview, with CNN’s Jill Dougherty, Elumelu talked about Africapitalism.

It's the term created by, to describe what he believes holds the key to the continent's future well-being. According to Elumelu, Africapitalism is the economic philosophy "that the African private sector has the power to transform the continent through long-term investments, creating both economic prosperity and social wealth."

Elumelu champions the idea that long-term focus on key sectors such as infrastructure and power does not only offer high returns but, in the process, can also help Africa deal with pressing problems such as unemployment and food security.

"The information people have about Africa in America and the western world is one of aid, one of squalor, one of poverty, one of religious crisis," says Elumelu, who first found success after turning a struggling Nigerian bank into a global financial institution. "They need to begin to see that Africa is a continent of economic opportunities -- a lot of potential and the returns on investment in Africa is huge."

lumelu also talked about his intentions to transform electricity shortage in Africa, empower young entrepreneurs, and his goals for the future. He also explained why his company Hiers Holding pledged $2.5 billion to President Barack Obama's Power Africa Initiative - a campaign aimed at doubling the access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Below is an excerpt of the interview.
 

NIGERIA'S SUPER EAGLETS CLINCH THE U-17 WORLD CUP FOR A RECORD FOURTH TIME

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets made history by becaming the first country to win the FIFA Under-17 World Cup for the fourth time, after defeating Mexico 3 to 0 at the El Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The eaglets had previously won in 1985, 1993 and 2007.

An own goal from Eric Aguirre of Mexico, a superb strike from Kelechi Iheanacho and an amazing free kick from captain fantastic Musa Mohammed sealed the victory for the Golden Eaglets. The final was a rematch of the Group F encounter between both teams with Nigeria humbling the Mexicans to a 6-1 defeat.

HEAVEN IS FULL OF JOY: A TRIBUTE TO JOY CHIEDOZIE ALLISON



Joy Chiedozie Allison (1982-2012)

Joy!!! Heaven is full of joy, no more sorrow, heaven is full of joy. Thus went that old church song that reminded us of what an exciting place heaven will be. Apparently we do not sing this kind of songs a lot these days. Apparently, it’s no longer in vogue (In this era of prosperity gospels) and very few people think of life after death.

This song flooded my thoughts early this morning as I sat down to reflect on my life. Yes! It’s something I don’t take for granted, no apologies. As the renowned Greek philosopher would say “an unexamined life is not worth living”. But I must confess this life examination thing doesn’t come naturally.

Yesterday was the first day of the month of November and being a Friday, I decided to hang out with an amazing friend I was recently introduced to but had not met. While we were busy warming up and jeering, I received an email. Before then, I had ignored previous temptations to pick up my phone because I didn’t want to be distracted (It’s not what you are thinking). But I couldn’t ignore this one, “It could be very important”. And yes, I was right.  

It was from the website Forever Missed and it was a reminder that today (November 2, 2013) was my friend Joy Chiedozie Allison’s birthday. And almost immediately, my mind went on those spinning trips. “What befitting gift should I get for ‘My Joy’ on her birthday?” I thought silently amidst the excitement that echoed around me. What present on earth would do justice to angel?

I met Joy during my Post-graduate studies at the University of Lagos. I had a lot of wonderful friends back then but Joy stood out. To be honest, I am not sure if it was because of her effortless beauty or her warm spirit. Unfortunately, the closer I got the more difficult it became to unravel this rare gem.

Joy Chiedozie Allison, you were simply a phenomenon. That special kind of friend we meet just one in our lifetime. There are no known words to begin to describe you or to explain the impact you have made in the lives of all those who knew you. Thinking about it now, I can boldly say you were an angel all along and you were apparently missed in heaven. I hope God is not too angry with us, for we didn’t know it was for a short while. I am grateful to him for the almost two years I knew you.

It was on my birthday last year; I was on my way to Owerri. I decided to stop over at Awka to see my younger brother and the news was everywhere. I naturally felt bad that we had lost so many lives in such a careless manner. But it was only the next day when a course mate put up your picture on her BBM with the dreaded R.I.P acronym that my heart crashed completely.

Am glad you didn’t just leave us because the little angel you left behind has been more than a comfort to us. I have not seen her since the funeral but I promise I will soon. I still talk to a couple of our course mates. Your absence has taken its fair share of sunshine from all of us. To say we miss you is to undermine everything you meant to us. We will eventually stop crying but we will never forget.

As we celebrate your birthday today, we draw strength from the beautiful life you lived and that you are finally home for good. Happy birthday NwanyiOma! I know heaven is filled with so much Joy for you.

You can read more tributes in memory of this angel here http://www.forevermissed.com/joy-chiedozie-joy-joy-girl-allison/lifestory#stories