Beautiful Africa

Africa, when people of other continent think of the continent their taught can be predicated. Some people think of starvation, some think of poverty, some think of illiteracy, some other think of sickness and diseases, etc. No one thinks of the beauty that Africa hold. The continent is very big and diverse in culture. As diverse as the people are, the beauty is also divers in nature. It has different beautiful culture and historical sites. Some of the beautiful places in Africa are stated below.

Africa as a continent is not just about it wonderful animals, spectacular deserts and beautiful savannahs. It also houses the most amazing cities and towns that are rich in history and culture in the world. It is full of charming cities and towns.

Places like Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is one of the vibrant and colourful city in the world. It has stunning beaches, beautiful mountains and also fine vine yards. It has beautiful views and good facilities. It has historical site.

Kigali in Rwanda is also a beautiful place in Africa, it is the cleanest and safest capital city in the continent. The city is so green and hilly adds to the appealing attraction of the place. It is considered as one of the most liveable cities in Africa. With the remarkable urban progress plans and efficiency in road construction, Kigali has become a well organised and structured city that gives its visitors and inhabitants a feeling of peacefulness and tranquillity. Nothing can beats the views that you get from the top of the many beautiful hills.

Another place is Essaouira in Morocco. It has an ancient medina and radiant fortifications which date back to the 18th century, kilometres of spectacular beaches, and a charming harbour and fish market to stroll around. Essaouira is one the most attractive towns the continent. It promises moments of peace and serenity far away from the chaos of the big cities. As the wind and currents are quite strong, it is the perfect spot to windsurf and kitesurf. It is a place for relaxation and pace.

There is also Luxor in Egypt. It is an ancient Egypt’s capital called Thebes. Luxor is one of the places which has attracted many travellers and Egyptologists since the 19th century. People come in search of the ancient wonders that still govern the city’s landscape. The name ‘Luxor’ translates as ‘Palaces’. Luxor is a beautiful, vibrant city with remarkable Nile decor and desert landscapes.

Djenne, Mali, is another place in Africa that holds the beauty of the continent. The town is one of the oldest in the country. It can be dated back to 800 BC. It is a charming and beautiful place with mud brick houses. As a matter of fact, it houses the largest and most creative mud-made building, i.e. the Grand Mosque. It can be said to be a unique town, because of its magnificent mud-made sights.

Another wonderful place is Stone Town, Tanzania.

It is an island that combines a fascinating and rich history with attractive white sand beaches and crystal clear waters, and Stone Town is its cultural heart. Little has change in the city for over 200 years. Extravagant houses with carved wooden doors, the Sultan’s palace, winding alleys and narrow streets, and energetic markets make Stone Town a fascinating place to visit. This Swahili coastal trading town is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Mozambique City, Mozambique is a one of the fascinating places on African continent. It is landscape is full of decorative ideas. The architecture reflects the melting pot of cultures present on the island. Portuguese influences, just as much as local ones, and Arab and Indian traditions to a lesser extent can all be felt. This extraordinarily lovely town is today, one of the most attractive towns in the county and continent.

Namibia’s largest city and capital, Windhoek, is a organised and modern city with fabulous pastel-painted buildings and traditional German houses. Travelling through the city heart of Windhoek will immediately reveal the splendour of the place. The environment there is usually laid-back. As the place is a somewhat small, pedestrian-friendly city, it is walkable. Together with the modern skyscrapers, neobaroque cathedrals and German ‘castles’ that dominate the city’s skyline, Windhoek is a hassle free and multicultural city.

Lamu in kenya is a very relaxing and easy-going coastal town in

Kenya. The one thing that could rarely disturb the peace of this town, is the loud donkey or the call to prayer from the mosques. It is one of Africa’s best conserved Swahili settlements and it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bahir Dar in Ethiopia has beautiful wide streets with lines of palm trees and fabulous river views. The gorgeous capital of the Amhara region, and the third biggest city in Ethiopia. Located on the shores of the fabulous Lake Tana, the city is home to some of the oldest monasteries and churches in the world. The Blue Nile Falls are also one of the most remarkable sights to see in Ethiopia and are only a short distance away from Bahir Dar.

Africa is also has beautiful places like, Victoria Falls, with its native name called Mosioa- Tunya, the ‘Smoke that Thunders’ located On the Zambezi River and the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Pyramids of Giza, located just outside Cairo on the fringes of the Libyan Desert. Sidi Bou Said, located in Tunisia. Rwenzori Mountains located at western Uganda and part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This are a few beautiful place in Africa. So when people talk about Africa it should not be associated only with war, suffering, poverty, corruption, diseases, and sickness and any negative and ugly taught. African is a beautiful place that houses a lot of the beauty and historical things in the world. Africa should be seen as the beauty that it possesses.

Akin-Adetoro Adedasola

Easter Festival in Nigeria: Celebrating God in a Difficult Economy

Easter is an important Christian celebration that marks the beginning of hope for the church. It is a day that Christians mark the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Easter is a public holiday in Nigeria, a country which is deeply religious country with a population that is evenly divided into almost equal numbers of Christians and Muslims.

Easter is a joyful occasion commemorating Christ’s victory of death and his ascension into heaven to take his place on the right hand of the father. It is also a time of feasting, singing, dancing, and drumming.

In many ways Easter celebrations in Nigeria are like those in other parts of the Christian world. However, there are also some festivals and celebrations held that are unique to Nigeria. Some of those celebrations combine the pre-Christian practices of honoring dead ancestors along with the worship of the resurrected Christ.

Good Friday is observed with somber, prayerful gatherings at local churches. Some of the Easter Sunday celebrations see people take to the streets in colorful traditional costumes dancing and singing songs of joy, happiness, and salvation. The festivities have a very distinct West African flavor.

Only about 40% of Nigerians are Christians. They are primarily from the Igbo and Yoruba people. While there are Christians living throughout the country, the majority of them live in the southern part of Nigeria. Hence, the livelier Easter celebrations take place in the south of the country. They include song and dance, all-night vigils, and sunrise services.

The 8 days between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are known as Holy Week. They include Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Gloria Saturday. That week is also called the Passion of Christ. It comes at the end of a 40 day period dedicated to fasting, prayer, penance, and contemplation known as Lent.

Easter is a movable feast. It does not fall on the same date each year. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. established Easter Sunday as being determined by the lunisolar calendar. It is held on the first Sunday after the new moon on the March equinox.

Easter celebrations are very important to Christians in Nigeria. There are no Easter eggs or bunnies. Instead, Easter is a time family members travel from far and wide so the family can be together to celebrate the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Families gather together, pray, and remember the sacrifices of Jesus throughout Holy Week. Everyone is expected to make it home by Good Friday to attend church together.

Everywhere one turns the one finds men, women, boys, girls irrespective of tribe or creed lamenting the prevailing economic hardship and the attendant high prices of food items in the country. Staple foods such as rice, beans, pepper, tomatoes, onions, vegetable oils, Palm oil are now out of the reach of average Nigerians.

A recent market survey conducted in some markets in Lagos reveal that prices of some foodstuffs are now higher than what they were in the previous year even during a period of fuel scarcity that adversely affected the distribution of goods and services. Random investigations in the last week show that a 50 kilogram bag of rice, a popular staple now sells for N16, 000 as against its price of N11, 000 last Easter. A bag of beans is now N39, 000 as against N21, 500 in 2015.

However, Unlike Christmas which goes with much funfair and commercial activities, Easter is more solemn in nature. Having faithful dedicated themselves to a 40-day period of fasting, repentance and abstinence; it is only natural that activities of the preceding days still carry with it some elements of solemnity and penitence.

According to the Catholic cleric, while it is true that the economy is still in a dicey state, it is not expected, however, to dampen the spirituality associated with Easter. As Christians, one is not expected to take care of the body only. One must give prime priority of the soul which is the real essence of who they are. While it is good to eat and nourish the body with good food, etc. One must equally nourish the souls by constantly reading the word of God, talking to God in prayer and meditation and also striving to live righteously.

AKIN-ADETORO ADEDASOLA

References:

Eyoboka, S. (2017, April 16). Home page. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from Vanguard: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/04/easter-2017-celebrating-god-difficult-economy/

Home Page. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2018, from Public Holidays Global: https://publicholidays.ng/easter/

Okolie, F. (2014, April 14). Home. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from Multidox: http://www.multidox.org/blog/8/post/82.html

Notes to A Black Beautiful Girl

Hey beautiful, full of beauty and grace. You are a fighter and the woman who does not take shit from any man. You are a sassy women with the sharp tongues and hands firmly on your hips. You are the ride-or-die chick. Like your mother before you, you are that woman who ploughed and planted and gathered into barns and no man could head. We are the women who make a way out of no way.

You are a woman who is proud of who she is and what she stands for. You are a woman who should never seek definition from whom you are with. Never be defined by anyone. You should be one who can pick up the small pieces of her broken heart and carry on as if you were never hurt in the first place.

You are a woman of great strength who does not give into the circumstances of life. Your strength helps you go through life without problems. Your strength gives the ability to school, work take care of your family and so many things you want to do. Take pride in your strength, it would take you places. Do not be weak for anybody, you are strong enough to be what you want to be. You are a woman never to be played with. bought or sold.

Even with your strength, your Love is equal, patient and kind. You should always try to bring joy to others even when you can’t do it for yourself. Your mind is filled with the knowledge from old. You are strong as any prize fighter. You have the strength to beat the odds every day. Your wisdom surpasses a million books.

You are not just the woman in the other room. You are not built for the kitchen alone. You are a woman of great things. You are not born just for reproduction. But you are born for impact. Society may tell you that you are a woman and a woman’s place is in the kitchen, or you are born to give birth to more children, or you are born to take care of your husband and your children, they would tell you there is no place for you in the world. But all that is false, you are born for great exploits. You can be anything you want to be. You are not just someone’s wife, someone’s mother, or someone’s daughter. You are who you want to be. You are that great president, you are that great lawyer, and you are that great engineer. You are who you choose to be. You are not limited to the household. You are much more than that. You can be anyone you chose to be.

You are a beautiful girl with afro kinky hair, black sink and a beautiful body. Your skin is blessed by the melanin gods.  We’re all comprised of mahogany, ebony, caramel, chestnut, coffee and sienna. You can be as dark as the midnight sky or brown like honey, it does not really matter. Thick black hair, divine brown skin, big brown eyes, plum lips, thick hips, short legs and all that this is who you are. This is want makes you unique and beautiful.

You can be like, Elizabeth Coleman, known also as ‘Bessie’, the world’s first black female pilot. Or Maya Angelou who is a celebrated poet, author, activist and educator. Or Anna Tibaijuka who is the highest ranked African female in the United Nations. Or Madam C.J. Walker who was America’s first black self-made millionaire. Or Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman to be elected to Congress. Or Karen Bass is currently the U.S. Representative for California’s 33rd congressional district. Or Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who is the first black woman to win a presidential election in Africa. Or Condoleezza Rice who is the first black woman to hold the position of Secretary of State. Remember you can be any one you want to be.

Always Smile because you smile is brighter than a thousand suns you do not need to compete, you have already won your soul is pure, confidence, secure. You strong black Woman with your natural hair and smooth brown skin you are an Afrocentric sister that always win. Your beauty transcends past outward looks. You are black which means you represent depth, strength, elegance and nobleness. You are Black, indeed you are filled with your own light.

AKIN-ADETORO ADEDASOLA

DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION: THE SILENT KILLER

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear thus sickness and disease like diabetics and hypertension renders one in a vegetative state. Diabetes mellitus (DM), commonly referred to as diabetes or silent killer is a group of metabolic disorders in which there are high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period. – It is call the silent killer because it can manifest itself in a person for a long time without showing any symptoms till it has gotten very worse. Makes me remember the Yoruba adage which goes “Kokoro ton je efo, inu efo lowa”… The insect that eats the vegetable, lives in the vegetable,

Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough insulin or the cells of the body not responding properly to the insulin produced. There are three main types of diabetes mellitus: Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5 percent of diabetes cases, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin. With the help of insulin therapy, anyone can learn to manage and live with type 1 diabetes. Symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, and increased hunger.

According to the ADA, type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 90 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Risk factors are family history, prior gestational diabetes during pregnancy, impaired glucose intolerance, lack of exercise, and being overweight. Gestational diabetes is the third main form, and occurs when pregnant women without a previous history of diabetes develop high blood sugar levels. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease caused by deficiency in insulin secretion and by decreased sensitivity of the organs to secreted insulin. These shortcomings results in attendant diabetic complications such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, postprandial hyperglycemia and diabetic neuropathy.

Hypertension also known as high blood pressure is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease.  Hypertension or high blood pressure is one of the long-term complications of diabetes. Both are interrelated metabolic diseases.

Diabetics and hypertension in one of the global health concerns shaking up the world. The prevalence of this disease is increasing annually and the number of diabetics is projected to rise above 300 million before 2025. This disease can be inherited or acquired. The combination of hypertension and diabetes can be lethal, and together they can increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Having both conditions also increases the risk of kidney disease and problems the blood vessels of the eyes, which could lead to blindness.

Hypertension and diabetes generally coexist because they share similar risk factors, including being overweight, following an unhealthy diet, and living an inactive lifestyle. When hypertension and diabetes co-exist, the effects of one disease tend to make the other worse. This makes for a deadly combination.

Uncontrolled diabetes is not the only risk factor for hypertension. The chances of having a heart attack or stroke are further multiplied if other risk factors exist, in addition to diabetes. Some of them  include: having a family history of heart disease, stress, having a high fat or high sodium diet, not being active, advanced age, being overweight, smoking, overconsumption of alcohol, low levels of potassium or vitamin D, having another chronic condition, such as sleep apnea, kidney disease or inflammatory arthritis.

There are several preventive measures such as weight loss, drinking alcohol in moderation, not smoking, Treatment with medication, Healthy diet choices like the saying, ‘You are what you eat’. Regularly checking your blood pressure is vital, as there will usually be no symptoms to make you aware of the condition. People with diabetes should try to minimize these risks as far as possible, for example, by choosing a healthy lifestyle. Healthy Lifestyle factors are the best way to lower the risk of high blood pressure and to maintain normal levels. There is a wide body of evidence, which demonstrates that controlling blood pressure in people with diabetes reduces the risk of complications.

Learning about the disease and actively participating in the treatment is important, since complications are far less common and less severe in people who have well-managed blood sugar levels. People with or without diabetes can benefit from education about the disease and treatment, good nutrition to achieve a normal body weight, and exercise, with the goal of keeping both short-term and long-term blood glucose levels within acceptable bounds. There are several awareness programs educating  people on ways to reduce the risk of having this disease, how to  identify early symptoms- similar to the expression, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’, self-monitor via finger stick testing, the signs of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia and other diabetic complications.

Adapt the remedy to the disease. This is a popular Chinese saying, in essence, being a patient of diabetics and hypertension is not the end of life, life goes on, if you would live long, open your heart, all that is necessary to do is to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

-AKIN-ADETORO ADEDASOLA

Water Pollution

Over two thirds of Earth’s surface is covered by water; less than a third is taken up by land. As Earth’s population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet’s water resources. In a sense, oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being “squeezed” by human activities not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. Poorer water quality means water pollution.

Pollution is a human problem because it is a relatively recent development in the planet’s history: before the 19th century Industrial Revolution, people lived more in harmony with their immediate environment. As industrialization has spread around the globe, so the problem of pollution has spread with it.

When Earth’s population was much smaller, no one believed pollution would ever present a serious problem. It was once popularly believed that the oceans were far too big to pollute. Today, with around 7 billion people on the planet, it has become apparent that there are limits. Pollution is one of the signs that humans have exceeded those limits.

Pollution from toxic chemicals threatens life on this planet. Every ocean and every continent, from the tropics to the once-pristine Polar Regions, is contaminated. Throughout the world, human use of water and bad planning have led to drier and polluted rivers, lakes, and groundwater resources with dramatic effects on the natural ecosystems. Nigeria’s vast freshwater resources are among those most affected by environmental stress imposed by human population growth, urbanization, and industrialization.

Disposal and management of wastes in Nigeria present serious environmental problems. The usual methods of waste disposal in the country are: land filling, dumpsites, land spreads, water disposal, and incineration. Each of these methods has serious environmental implications because of their potential to pollute and contaminate underground and surface water bodies in the country.

Major cities in Nigeria face serious water pollution crises, in which lack of environmental control of water-dependent activities (including domestic, agricultural, and industrial) play an important part. Fish and marine resources in the country face total collapse or extinction, due to over-fishing and destruction of marine life and natural habitats by pollution of water bodies.

Unregulated and excessive use of pesticides for fishing and the deliberate disposal and dumping of toxic and hazardous wastes into water bodies are significant causes of massive fish kills and loss of aquatic life and habitats in the country.

The protection of water quality and aquatic ecosystem as a vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and environment is of utmost importance to prevent further pollution and degradation of Nigeria’s freshwater resources.

There is no easy way to solve water pollution; if there were, it wouldn’t be so much of a problem. Broadly speaking, there are three different things that can help to tackle the problem. There is education, laws, and economics and they work together as a team.

Integrating operational measures for safeguarding adequate levels of protection of endemic habitats remains a major challenge. There is therefore a need to examine in tandem the entire range of uses to which freshwater is put, and to design services which neither squander precious resources nor fail to respect other, competing and complementary water needs.

AKIN-ADETORO ADEDASOLA

References:

Adeyemo, O. K. (n.d.). Home Page. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from SpringerLink: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:ENVR.0000031357.89548.fb

Woodford, C. (2017, June 4). Home page. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from ExplainthatStuff: http://www.explainthatstuff.com/waterpollution.html

INSECURITIES OF A GIRL

Insecurities in a relationship are inevitable happenings especially from the side of a woman. Most women, no matter how they present themselves to the outside world, have been seen to have a few nagging uncertainties especially when it comes to dating. Indeed, the dating world can be rough, and while men also have their share of insecurities, they tend to stress about very different things. There are certain generalized phrases that may actually seem true and since you have put that at the forefront of your mind. You tend to have negative reasons why any affair you have will not always last long.

Looking at this literally, being a girl is sometimes really tough, and sure, guys get insecure from time to time, but girls either have more insecurities or just more open to discussing them. I mean, girls get insecure when their hair does not come out the way it should or when they dress in a comfortable way, yet people keep stirring at them awkwardly as though they are the worst dressers the world has ever known. However, their predominant insecurity lies in the hands of guys. A girl could see this really cute guy that would actually want to have a thing with her but then, this very strong feeling of cheating always keeps smashing their heads and gets them really scared. ‘I can’t devote all my love and attention to you just like putting all my eggs in a basket and then you come from the blues and break my crate’ is the thought of various women. Wow! You never want to experience it.

It could be perfectly acceptable to casually date more than one woman at the same time but Nah, it can’t work for me. Personally, I always get paranoid with the fact that these men never actually mean love, they just want to lay hold of that which is in between my legs and he acts to soon or too good to be true, girls get really suspicious and annihilate  the whole relationship even when what he felt for her is genuine. All that is needed is absolute sincerity and reciprocation of love because that is the only way you actually keep a girl going as your bae for as long as time tells.

-Okeze Stephanie

 

The Past Remains the Past Always

I cannot afford to fail, it cannot happen again. The semester’s exam was near, it was just one week away and I always have this exam failure because of my past I had failed so many times but I was surprised that I was failing because in primary school I was one of the best down to junior secondary school.

Well, it all started in senior secondary school when I started going out with boys I would date, like 5 boys at a time (thinking I was a boss) not knowing what I was getting myself into. I would spend my night chatting with different boys at a time instead of reading. I also had the ones that I called money banks {maga}. It was not that my parents were poor but obviously they would not give me enough money to satisfy my need. So I did all these things and forgot the type of person I was supposed to be. I mean, the smart and intelligent part of me was being used only on the boys.

This made me so dumb and careless and that marked the beginning of the failing part of my life. My academics dropped woefully. This made me really scared because even when Igained admission into the university, I was not still doing well no matter how badly I wanted to do well. This happened for three good semesters and I already made up my mind that it cannot happen again because my past cannot define me.

I hold on to what awaits me. I hold on to my future which is already here, my past is my past and it remains my past.

-Daisi Flourish

Stood Up

The day was coming to a close it was getting darker and darker and I had not seen my boyfriend Johnson. I was at my close friend house faith, waiting for him. He texted me that he would come over to see me, I had not seen him for days and I already missed him so much despite how angry I was I still missed him badly and I really wanted to see him.

I was scared I would not see him because my dad already called that he was on his way to pick me. I thought my dad was going to send the driver so I would make an excuse that my friend, faith, wanted me to sleep over. But apparently it turned out that he was the one coming, so I planned to use the same excuse on him which I doubted and it turned out the way I thought so I went home angry at the fact that Johnson did not come to see me and he did not bother to text me and the fact my dad shouted on me because I told him I wanted to sleep over.

On our way home I did not say a word to him because I was very angry even when he wanted to stop for ice-cream and pizza I said no so we went home straight, on getting to the house I greeted my mum with a very low tone but she did not hear me so she thought I did not greet her she then asked me why I did not greet her and I answered rudely she got up with an angry face came to where I was and gave me a resounding slap that I would never forget for generations to come.

I went to my room crying that night not only because of the fact that I received a resounding slap from my mum but for the fact that my dad shouted on me that same night and Johnson did not come to see me and he did not text me either.

-Daisi Flourish

Trapped

Love is a prison that no one escapes from

Like a criminal, I am in your prison

When I look at you, I feel like ice cream on a sunny day

Your eyes are like spears, piercing through my very soul

I always look forward to seeing your eyes smile from your cheek

Your love sent waves of joy that calmed my sorrows

You are always so bright, you make the sun seem like it’s trying so hard

Oh my love! My love burns like the intensity of a red hot flame

My love is a prison, and you can’t be bailed from it

-Avoseh Sesi Mogbekeloluwa

CUT US SOME SLACK

Growing up in a Nigerian society, on the Island and going to a good school, having amazing parents, financially comfortable and all, may all seem like wow! She has everything.  Well yes, some people might say that at first, but then at a second glance it is not all that, when you have a sickness that you are constantly tagged with. I am SC genotype, you might be wondering SC? Is there anything like an SC genotype? Well yeah and it is what I have.

So let me shed more light on my genotype, since I have noticed many people actually are not aware of it, and it is really not taught in biology classes, so basically, SC variant is when one gene is mutated to the S form (as mentioned above) and the other is mutated to the C variant, which is also abnormal. Again, people with just one hemoglobin C mutation usually do not experience any medical issues from it. Even if both hemoglobin genes are mutated to the C form, usually only mild anemia results. For people with one S and one C mutation, called sickle cell-hemoglobin C, they have less episodes of their blood cells clumping together than do people with SS, so they have less pain crises. However, they also have more significant degeneration of bone, retinopathy (degradation of the retina), and increased risk of experiencing priapism. Again, it is important for you to see your doctor if you suspect that you have either of these conditions, in order to be appropriately tested for them and treated if necessary.

Well yeah, it is not as bad as the sickle cell anemia, but just having that genotype tagged to your name is. As a teenager in secondary school, life was not easy for me, most people where ignorant of my genotype and when they didn’t understand, they automatically termed me as a sicker which I am not, and because of this, I had to be given ‘special preference’, special preference is good in times of trouble and maybe other times but I DID NOT LIKE IT AT ALL. I am not a sickler and I actually do not get sick regularly, yes I have body aches and joint pains at times, but I never actually had a crisis. I am not trying to discriminate or insult sickle cell anemia patients, the SS and SC genotypes are similar and SS patients actually face a lot and I am so sympathetic because I can actually understand them, but I am just trying to make a point known that I am not that fragile, and I can actually do most things healthy teenage girls do.

I used to get special preferences a lot, and a kind of exclusion from normal activities in school, which I could actually do. For instance, I was not allowed to participate in sports, even sports like just golf or tennis in school, and I was actually good at those sports. My teachers never allowed me, even though I explained time and time again. I was practically termed as feeble and inability to do anything apart from my academics, and it was really depressing.

People need to be educated both on the SS and SC genotype and not only the SS, there is no awareness made for SC genotypes. A lot of effort has been put into awareness but still ignorance prevails, Sickle cell Anemia patients actually have a life, they can do stuff, some are so active and unless the occasional crisis, you might not have an idea. If some sickle cell anemia patients can do this, how much more SC patients, who are more active and do not usually have crisis. This genotype (SC) also needs to be brought to light, people need to know the difference, people need to understand and enlightened. We should not be rejected some certain jobs; just because generalizations were made, an SC person can do so much more than people are limiting us to, we actually have an advantage and we can do much more than a SS patient. So please cut us some slack, cut both the SS and SC genotypes some slack.

-Avoseh Sesi Mogbekeloluwa

 

I’M WATCHING MY WEIGHT

Everyone in today’s society is on a diet. Everyone is trying to cut down even the non-clumsy ones want to cut down. Almost every woman is going the’ ketogenic’ way so they could burn down some calories and lose some weight which is quiet an interesting sight. Nowadays, many people have open gyms because most gyms are regularly flooded with women from all works of life who want to get the right body structure and maintain their figure eight bodies so  they could get that guy who would “put a ring on it”(wonders.com). From the look of things, most of us engage ourselves into certain things just because they are trending or because are friends are involved into it. The one million dollar question is, why all of this stress? Why kill yourself over “dust” as radical Christians would say.

Bloggers however seem to be the most beneficiaries of these slimming regimes. They have seized the opportunity and become automatic health consultants and nutritionists. Aunty Buki, my own neighbor woke up this morning and told me that she had become a food specialist. This is a woman who was into trading and I kept pondering on how she came about with the fatal exchange. While trying to process Aunty Buki’s breaking news, Mr. Femi walked into my office telling me about his wife’s new food menu and how she had decided to include every single member of the family into her “keto” diet. . ‘My wife has transformed the whole house into a ‘ketogenic factory’ Mr. Femi exclaimed in displeasure.

It is quite interesting that even secondary school folks have joined the league. It was reported that an SS3 student went to school without school provisions on the basis that she was watching her weight. (Give me a second please, is your weight a movie? Anyway happy watching.)

 The “ketogenic” women from my research are a group of women who have an objective of having an experience of the sweet sixteen’s life once again. In order to achieve this, they deprived themselves for starchy foods such as garri, cocoyam, yams, cassava, rice, spaghetti and many others yet they maintain their soups. According to my research, these women have got a substitute for all of these. Some of them use garden egg or cabbage to make their swallow. Some even go as far as living strictly on vegetables and water. Could this be a fast? Or a compulsory subject? (Jamb question).

For the lazy ones, slim tea is the way forward. They would prefer to have the world’s teas on their tables rather than go the “keto” way. As at last week, I heard that a 33-year old mother of 2 had passed away as a result of kidney failures caused by one of these teas. It is understandable that women want to look good but going to the extent of killing yourself is unimaginable.

Some women have actually used the “keto” platform to regain their healthy lives. Some of them who as a result of child birth had gained excess weight and ended up with clumsy looks have used the “keto” diet to actually watch their weight and flee from certain killer diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer and many others. Whatever the case, it is important that wisdom be applied to every single thing we do. Do not follow the crowd aimlessly but let wisdom direct and guide you.

-Lenga Daisy

Dad, Where Are You?

I have never known what it means to have a relationship with the male figure referred to as ‘father’. I have always know that a father was that man who came home every evening with so many gifts for me and mummy always said “Baby, Dad is here. Go on say hello”. To me, it was a complete drama because I didn’t know this man except for the fact that I was to call him “Father”.

I thought I was the only one in such a situation until I met Juliet. Juliet always told me how she loved her mother so much because “Dad doesn’t like us” she always said “ He doesn’t like staying with us at home.” I really didn’t care if Dad loved me or not because I hardly knew him. He was always away from home. Today I was told he was in Ghana, the next day France, the next week UK and the next month Spain. Who was he looking for in all those places? I really never bothered. By the way, my dad wasn’t the only one who didn’t stay at home. I had many in my shoes so I wasn’t bothered.

Many have shared the same experience. We have been brought up into families where Dad was almost never around. He was either at the office or on a trip in order words, he became a ghost daddy. The issue at hand looked so minimal but the absence of our fathers in our lives has kept a void in us. This is because we grow up being so addicted to mummy with little or no knowledge about the man who had been in charge of our bills from our genesis.

As time went by, I made a decision to get to know him. I wanted reasons for his absence. I wanted to know why he was never around and I came to realize that the problem had never been our fathers but us. Society has placed men in a very strategic position which has indirectly rendered them slaves in a modern world. According to society, for a man to be respected, he had to prove that with his possessions, the caliber of schools his children attended, his wife’s ‘packaging’ and so on (excluding the goal which is the character and personality of his children). No man unless he is a scammer would be able to meet up with these expenses if he seats in the comfort of his house. You always hear fathers say a little sleep a little slumber. A little folding of hands and poverty would come crawling like a thief. Does that mean you should die without getting to have a taste of your labour?

Society, please leave our fathers alone. Enough of your prangs on us. You (society) have rendered us fatherless even before the departure of our fathers. You have enrolled our mothers into the department of widowhood (while their husbands are still alive). You have deprived us from the joy of having a father because of your selfish opinions. For ages now, we have lived incomplete lives because of the absence of our fathers.

Testimonies from others are of the same nature. I am Mabel Okafor and my Dad is a Medical Doctor. From the moment I was a child, I already got used to the fact that I could only spend the day with my Dad on Sundays because it was either a patient had one thing or the other. I am Timothy Frederick and the only thing I know about my father is that I bear his surname, Frederick. He is a pilot and works abroad. We talk on Skype and he showers mum and I with money. Asides that I know nothing about him, not even his favorite football team. If the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

If our fathers do not build us from the foundation, we shall make drastic mistakes which could have been avoided. Ladies go into marriage without learning from the father’s the expectations of a man in marriage. Men also get into relationships without their fathers giving them lessons on how to treat a woman.

 Enough of all this drama, I am going out there to bring my dad home. I am tired of the possessions, the money, the cars, you name it. All I know is that, I am not leaving without my Dad.

-Lenga Daisy

SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES: ARE THEY REALLY EFFECTIVE?

Do they really work? Great question.
It is quite obvious now that every copy produced will most likely have incentive stimulus in it, to portray a meaning that is beyond the surface of the context. Many people believe that products, goods and services are not likely to sell if there are no provocative instincts to buy them. Due to that, advertisers now send messages that are beyond the literal meaning to appeal to the subconscious minds of the consumers.

Funny how even in movies, children cartoons, on billboards and posters, subliminal messages are very pronounced. I really feel this is indecorous and unnecessary because rather than passing a true meaning of that which they want publicized, they implant bad seeds in the minds of the readers, viewers and/or listeners. Children are prone to character modification based on the things they see, hear and feel and children obviously love cartoons not to mention teenagers and their love for movies.

With this in mind, what are we going to say about the fact that we are unconsciously damaging the minds of these children? And the unfortunate thing is that we can’t deprive these kids from what they gain pleasure in doing so if you say you want to stop a child from watching cartoons, you will eventually bore the child to death. The most painful part is that we can’t really pinpoint subliminal messages even while we are looking at them.

Reality has it that this mechanism spreads activation in your semantic networks. Your next question will probably be how? Okay, here is how it works; the manufacturers of these message puts all odds in their favour by influencing individuals to think of a particular thing not by mentioning a relative concept but by mentioning a bunch of semantically related ideas which triggers multiple associations and increases the spreading of activation which boosts the chance of the individual to think about what you want them to think of.

The problem is not the fact that it is hidden, but the fact that these messages usually mean something negative and always show tendencies of influencing the minds which will later evolve and cause a change in behaviour.

OBODOEZE MIRACLE OYINYECHI

BURIED IN YOU

In a world of pain,

a world we came to be

lots of unknown, there is

around we search

our place of confidence

mountain of escape

view of motivated truth

slowly I  searched

saw but didn’t find

in you; in your everything was me

the wind blew, you vanishing before my eyes

in more shattered pieces was I left

what a feeling

to see not find

to lose; getting lost yourself

slowly again I search

braver. stronger. fiercer.

yesterday, to be revisited

but maybe forever gone’s the moment

yet, compared to you is nothing

my place of confidence

mountain of escape

view of this heart

the best of myself is buried in you

                                                                                                                                  TUMBA JEMIMA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quotes by Seweje Pelumi V

“Solve the problem to create the reality.”

Quotes by Seweje Pelumi IV

“Dancing is the best way of living in your imaginations.”

 

Quotes by Seweje Pelumi III

“Life: Come in pain, dwell in pain, go in pain.”

 

Quotes by Seweje Pelumi II

“The best ways to solve a problem: Ask, obtain and apply.”

 

Silence or Violence

There are times when we as individuals, we experience conflict because of our different characters. But in the moment when there’s a very tough decision to make, do you keep quiet or retaliate?

Let’s take time to define these two terms. Silence is to become silent; prohibit or prevent oneself from speaking.  Violence on the other hand, is behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.

When there is a conflict or an argument we should think of our actions and the consequence before carrying them out. It might look like walking away will make you look weak or stupid but trust me you have saved yourself a whole lot of trouble. There’s a quote I saw sometime last year, it says “sometimes silence is golden and other times its plain yellow”. In other words, sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. Don’t get me wrong in standing up for yourself you do not have to hit someone or break the person’s heart with hurtful words because, there is such a thing as assertion which is standing strongly by your belief.

There’s a popular saying “violence is never the answer” and this is not far from the truth. This act has caused a lot of damage in our society today at home and abroad. A lot of people have lost their lives, families have been torn apart and wars have erupted.  A very sad story is one that occurred in my secondary school few years back, two boys were arguing about a bucket who owned it and who didn’t. now instead of settling it amicably or one person should have just walked away, they started fighting and in the course of that one of them hit the iron bucket on the other boy’s head and he lost his memory and a part of his brain was damaged. This is just one of the many bad things that violence has caused and we have to stop amongst ourselves before talking about stopping world violence.

Globally, violence resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1.28 million people in 2013 up from 1.13 million in 1990.Of the deaths in 2013, roughly 842,000 were attributed to self-harm (suicide), 405,000 to interpersonal violence, and 31,000 to collective violence (war) and legal intervention. In Africa, out of every 100,000 people, each year an estimated 60.9 die a violent death. Corlin, past president of the American Medical Association said: “The United States leads the world—in the rate at which its children die from firearms.” He concluded: “Gun violence is a threat to the public health of our country.” For each single death due to violence, there are dozens of hospitalizations, hundreds of emergency department visits, and thousands of doctors’ appointments. Furthermore, violence often has lifelong consequences for physical and mental health and social functioning and can slow economic and social development.

In 2013, assault by firearm was the leading cause of death due to interpersonal violence, with 180,000 such deaths estimated to have occurred. The same year, assault by sharp object resulted in roughly 114,000 deaths, with a remaining 110,000 deaths from personal violence being attributed to other causes.

The bible says Proverbs 10:19 “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise”.  If we can learn as individuals not to react to everything, be silent and just walk away, the world will be a much better place and the issue of violence will be minimized.

“Silence is argument carried out by other means.” -Che Guevara

-Chuks-Emmanuel Penuel

The Shape Of You: Thin or Thick

Often the question ‘is being fat okay?’ is asked and till now no one is really sure of the answer. “Though science has come up with a lot of analysis and breakdown as to why being overweight is dangerous to health, the question now is ‘are thin people free of diseases?’

During the early years, people who were fat were considered as healthy and rich. People who could fend for themselves comfortably, but these days reverse is the case. Fat people are now seen as unhealthy and ‘helpless’, people who need support to live life as a result of their overweight body and high rate exposure to diseases. But the truth is that even thin people are not excluded from having diseases, just that chances are low.

Everybody needs some muscle to fat ratio for vitality, warm protection, and other body capacities. In any case, having fat excessively can prompt genuine medical issues. The more fat you have, the more striking your hazard for diabetes, kidney infection, coronary illness, and different issues. It is thereby advisable to maintain a fit body.

But how do you achieve this?

Address your specialist about a health improvement plan that is ideal for you. New research demonstrates that a get-healthy plan ought to incorporate three parts to be fruitful — eating regimen, exercise, and conduct alteration.

1. Eating routine-make less, serve less, and then you will eat less.
2. General exercise, for example, strolling, running, swimming, biking etc. Take an alternate course on the plan than not go by an enticing fast food put.
3. Also, intermittent fasting tends to help you burn fat and retain muscle. It also makes your life easier because you have one less meal to cook and clean”. However, it’s essential to understand that what you eat will always be more important than when you eat.

With these few tips, you should see yourself with your dream, fit body.

-Olusanya Ayomide Paul

Row! Row! Row Your Boat!

By Obasohan Esosa

Saturdays: for Books and Staying In

By Obasohan Esosa

Couple Goals!

By Obasohan Esosa

Marriage

By Obasohan Esosa

Family

By Obasohan Esosa

Savage

I eat human flesh,

I am dressed in nothing but flesh.

 

A pair of offspring I kill

And offer to my deity upon a hill

 

My face, I scar

To be recognized from afar.

 

I am a shadow

Of Hell’s demon, a foreshadow

 

For that, I was captured

And I was tortured

 

I am the savage

A wild beast set on rampage.

-Bawa Amanda

 

Quote

By Louise Hay

Food! Food! Food!

One could think first and maybe imagine if there’s anything like that actually, but the problem afterwards is, making most of it a reality. I could dream or think for a whole day about what it is I saw on television, the internet or even an advert or poster on the road or anywhere.; the beautiful look of food and its remarkable view.

Don’t get me wrong but, it is believable to say we all eat with our eyes way before we eventually drop the cutlery after the last scoop. It has dawned on me that adverts are never what they seem in real life, they are all just means into luring the appeal of any customer, gullible or not, either way, the end justifies the means. Take for instance, the fast food joints, whether or not it is believable or not you could never get what is seen exactly on television, probably because most of the items actually used aren’t even real. Funny enough I still end up dreaming, be it any type of food because in the end, the end product is the main center of attraction.

The mixtures of colours, the combination of spices could get to anyone if you in one way or the other admire the piece of art. Take us Nigerians into consideration; you’d discover that rice is everywhere; I mean everyone eats rice or at least has had a taste or feel of it. It can be made and utilized in different ways. I could even take it back to as far as our cultural background, to foods of our native homes.

It is good now that nowadays, not everyone but a few are used to food of the western culture. Yes, the westerners didn’t end up totally colonizing that part,  they succeeded just a little bit in that area. We are Nigerians, if the food is not in another man’s land we’ll bring it there no matter the means or cost. In a country as far as UK, there are  presently markets and restaurants selling Nigerian and local dishes.  

Almost everything could be intertwined in relation to life, even something like food. You are indeed what you eat. And in the absence of fear there will always be great achievements.

So combine the spices and raw ingredients, the first time might not taste so great, the second not good too, and the third or even the fourth but after that, you never know if the next might be better than the former. So you fall and rise again and if you fail to do that, and I mean rise again, then you’ve not succeeded in succeeding.

“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like”

-Mark Twain

-Amanda Bawa

 

The Visit That Never Came to An End II

Now, after my dad finished telling the story to me I looked around and saw my siblings around. Indeed, there was a lesson in form of a secret to be learned. The so called “VISITOR” was called MR. TV and his wife, MRS. BLENDER and the 3 relatives AUNT DISHWASHER, UNCLE MICROWAVE and AUNT DEEPFRIER. Now for the children, they were called IPHONE, IPOD and BABY PSP. If you get the names you could get how the story plays. So “MR. TV happened to miss his way” but in real sense the family didn’t know that the new house which they live in provides all these appliances as new buyers i.e. MRS. BLENDER, AUNT DISHWASHER, UNCLE MICROWAVE and AUNT DEEPFRIER, but for the children IPOD, IPHONE and BABY PSP (play station portable) MR. TV told the children about it, these were adverts displayed on the TV that’s how they bonded and soon purchased them.

One technology led to another, they were just a simple family. In a family, the father usually provides most of the items needed. He was in first instance curious of this visitor, who supposedly had a wife, children and relatives. So the children are more occupied because they have friends from the second family living with them, that of MR. TV.

In general we all get preoccupied with the devices we have in front of us and forget what was there before, emojis to show feelings rather than really express how you feel, call, skype or facetime rather than go as far to wherever that person is at that moment. Is technology taking over? Or has it already?  Either way, it is necessary if one bears in mind that it doesn’t express the way you feel and steals away time FASTER THAN YOU CAN EVEN IMAGINE.

“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.”

-Christian Lous Lange

“New technology is not good or evil in and of itself. It’s all about how people choose to use it.” 

-David Wong

-Amanda Bawa

The Visit That Never Came to An End I

I always felt visitors had to be humans or at least look human. Here’s what I mean: my dad once told me a story, now this story was so good to be true, the end had to be heard. He began by saying, “On an early Saturday morning, the morning of which a family were to move to into their newly bought and furnished home. They got up ready and excited, not that the former house they were living in was any good, and much sooner settled in before dawn. The next day, Sunday, they were all seated at lunch debating also how they would all go about their usual leisure activities of outdoor games and fun stuffs now that they were in a new environment. So, the father suggested they just play indoor games, and so it was.

At about 3:30 up until 3:38 there was a visitor at the door continuously pressing the doorbell and at the last minute when he opened the door – in a surprising way of not knowing who it could be for he and his family had just moved in – the visitor greeted good evening and the father in return replied asking how he may be of help , the visitor replied by saying “I’m indeed sorry to have bothered you on a beautiful evening, but I seem to have missed my way, I mean no harm” and so the father said “I may not be of help. You see I and my family just newly moved into the neighbourhood”. “Oh ok but can you at least do me the favour of letting me stay a night or two? By then my family will come for me I hope” said the visitor.

The father was at the verge of not replying to the visitor’s one request right before his wife and children came around and asked what was going on. He explained the situation to them but to his surprise, they all begged on behalf the visitor. So they agreed and the visitor came in and joined them in their leisure. The father stood in curiosity at what just happened, someone they didn’t know, right there in their living room. The father kept on saying two nights and you’re gone. But you see the wife and children were already fond of the visitor by the next day, the visitor knew what to say to make the children happy, awake and pay rapt attention, every single moment of the day except when their mum called for them. Then, he would take the initiative of grabbing the mother’s attention and indeed did so intelligently.

The next day, the children and wife of the visitor together with 3 other relatives of his came in search of him. The father of the house was so excited, he knew now that things would go back to the way they were, but they didn’t leave immediately, the children of the visitor happened to be the same age with the children of that house and so bonded quickly, likewise the wife of the visitor and wife of the house with the other 3 relatives of the visitor, thus leaving just the visitor and the father in one room.

The father, filled with anger was about to pour all his frustration and anger on the visitor but immediately the visitor showed him something, something that was as good as a shield to the father’s anger. It was a football match

-To be continued-

-Amanda Bawa

A Boy For A Day

PLAYING PRETEND: IF I WERE A BOY

If I were a boy… I know how familiar that clause is and how much Queen Bey rings a bell in our ears. But for real, if I got the chance to be a boy, what would I do?

I’d date every girl on the street and maybe promise to marry every one of them. If I were a boy, I’d wear new boxer shorts every day because I’ll be too lazy to wash them every other day (shrugs). I’d wake up by 1pm daily because of my new identity, I mean this is Africa, only girls cook and do all the cleaning.

If I were a boy, I would constantly have to keep saying “I’m sorry.” I’d be sorry for always peeing on the toilet bowl, I’d be sorry for spending my JAMB form fees and more sorry for driving the only car my dad ever loved into a storey building, I’d be sorry for forgetting to send my girlfriend a good morning text. I’d be sorry for farting during family dinner and laughing about it, sorry for forgetting to chain the dogs after attacking my annoying neighbour and for anything and everything I do, I’d be sorry. Because I’m a boy, apparently everything is my fault and I have to apologize all the time to look responsible. I really don’t mean to do these things and I’m sorry.

If I were a boy, I’d grow and mature quickly so I can tell the most beautiful woman in the world how much of an amazing lover I am, show her I’m not a member of the scumbag association. I’d make her warm baths when she has cramps and tell her sorry a million and one times because I obviously can’t relate. I’d open the doors for her and watch her walk while flipping her hair. I’d make her favourite breakfast in bed and wrap my arms around her till she falls asleep. (I’m amazing yeah?)

If I were a boy, I’d hate to show my emotions. I’d never show my weak sides or even show I’m hurt when my WCW likes some other guy. I won’t stress over building muscles, girls would love me either ways. If I were a boy, I’d lick my lips often especially when a female lecturer asks me to speak in class. I’d try to survive, keep my spirit alive and care less about doing assignments.

If I were a boy, I’d lick a lot of lollipop because I got one life to be masculine, you know be masculine. Cheers to being a boy!  

                                                                                   -Iyunade Faith Ayomikun

 

ONE CRUCIAL THING FOR SUCCESS MOST YOUNG PEOPLE IGNORE

Everyone wants to be successful. Success is one of the most elusive term in the history of mankind. Success has been equated with monetary gains in the contemporary times and some school of thought believe it is simply accomplishment of your goals. A biblical perspective sees success as accomplishment of purpose.

Nonetheless, whatever school of thought you stick to, you have a glimpse to what success demands of you: hard work, smart work, focus, commitment, discipline, emotional investment, physical investment and others.

However, most young people deliberately or unconsciously ignore the role of mentoring as crucial in the pursuit of success. A mentor as a proficient person who assists and advises somebody with less experience over a period of time.

The reason why most youths don’t take to mentoring is because they are not teachable. Most youths equate technological advancements, fashion upgrade happening in their time to knowledgeability with the older ones. Most youths feel that they know it all and they have seen it all.

The problem with this is that there are no persons to lead you on the path to go. How are maps made? Maps are made by people who have gone ahead of you and have found their way back. Their journey now serves as a guide for our future journeys.

This is the same for any endeavor we find ourselves. If you want to be a notable writer; you need to find a mentor who is an accomplished writer whose works have won awards perhaps Nobel Prize for Literature or Man Brooker prize; if you want to be a notable journalist or media personality—you need to get a mentor who is fulfilled in that field.

Mentoring is key because you walk with precision and not trial-and-error. A mentor shows you the path to go, listens to you and gives direction with respect to the successes and failures he/she has had. A popular Yoruba quote buttresses this point and it says “what an adult sees sitting down; the child can’t see it even if he climbs a tree”. The quote introduces the place of insight that mentoring has to offer.

If not any field, philosophy has shown us the importance of mentoring, in handing down torch of professional excellence. Socrates mentored Plato. Plato then mentored Aristotle. Aristotle then mentored Alexander the Great.  This is also evident in leadership where Mahatma Gandhi mentored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela who are key figures in the history of mankind.

This displays a strong link and high positive correlation between engagement in mentoring and professional excellence (sound statistical!). My charge to you today is to be intentional about engagement in mentoring. It may just be the thin line between where you are now and where you ought to be.

P.S: In a sequel article, I will be writing on How to attract and Retain mentors.

Olajide, Ayobami G.

A Wish upon the Stars

When I was younger, I used to pray to be an adult. I prayed for my body to develop overnight into that of an adult so that my friends would look at me and be envious. (Silly me, huh?) Well, growing up now, I think I spent time focusing on the things that had not yet happened, instead of enjoying while it lasted.

To put it in a few words, I miss my childhood. I miss playing in the sun with my friends and making fun of people with big eyes and teeth, I miss closing the fridge slowly just so I could see when the lights went off, I miss looking forward to going out to the pool or the park. I miss riding my bicycle to the end of the street, I miss sitting in the moonlight and sharing folktales. Oh my, I do miss my childhood.

I’m still a young girl though, but in my generation, those things aren’t counted as fun anymore…well, maybe not for my generation. The cool things now are the popping Instagram pages and the best makeup and the best memes and slangs and ‘alladat’ (Sigh!). I think the teenage life now is basically digitized.

But I guess it’s not too late to still enjoy those things (well, maybe a more a more “adult-ish” version of them… He-he). I’d really love to go skydiving, mountain-climbing and bungee jumping. You’re probably thinking that I’m on a suicide mission, well, no. I just realized that even with work and stress and bills to pay and all of life’s struggles, we don’t have to be so uptight all the time. A little fun wouldn’t kill.

We only get one shot at life, it’s best to make that shot count; but at least have fun while doing it! 😉

ADESOJI JEDIDIAH

Don’t Let Love Get the Most of You!

I used to have a friend in secondary school that was all I could ask for in a man. Well, as at that time. Oh, what did I know? I was still a child. He was handsome, charming, tall, dark, buff and funny. I mean, what could possibly be missing? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, his name was Dami.

Dami was the new boy at school which was actually weird because he joined us in SS2, a class which never admitted students then. Well, he was admitted and I didn’t know that the next two years with him were going to be the most interesting in my life then.

I was always a ‘fraidy cat’, I never liked getting into trouble… even now, I still don’t. They used to flog us then, especially when the class was noisy; and trust me, my class was noisiest. So any time we were flogged like that, I was always crying. So, Dami used that opportunity to start talking to me. I’m even smiling as I’m writing this. He walked up to me once and asked why I was crying, and that was where we got talking.

So, Dami became my ‘cry-buddy’. He always knew when to come; he always knew what to say to make me burst into laughter even in the midst of my tears. Soon enough, we got talking at times other than when I was crying. He was in science class and I was in art class but he used to come around so often as possible. He was always there; and I tried my best being there for him too.

We got talking on WhatsApp and well, you know how these things go, we ended up liking each other. (He never asked me out though. Secondary school love is never that serious in my secondary school… he-he). Everything went rosy between us, we rarely fought, we talked for long hours of the day and I thought I was in love already.

Sooner than I thought, I started spending and desiring more time with him. I spent more time with him than with my friends. If I was with my friends and he happened to be in the same place, I would ditch my friends and go meet him. (I’m sorry guys!). My relationship with my friends began to nosedive, but I didn’t care, Dami and I would be forever. (Or so I thought!).

Well, a few weeks to our graduation, Dami told me he was going to London and it was going to be the beginning of a new life for him and because of that, he didn’t want anything from his past to get in his way…including me. (Ouch!)

It was around that time in my life that I realized that I had focused so much on him and it had been like I was secluded in a world apart from reality. I realized that I had treated my friends badly and that I had forgotten about every other thing that was not “Dami-fied”. This “break-up” of course was an eye-opener for me; I was sad but I knew I could live with it. I had to reconnect with my friends, I had to start all over again. I went out more often, I had fun for myself, I dressed to look good for myself, let’s just say, I began to see who I really was. I learned a lesson from then on though, I let love get the best of me… in fact, all of me. But I have promised myself to pay attention to everything and everyone around even when next I fall in love.

*wink wink*

ADESOJI JEDIDIAH

ASSUMED POSITIONING OF MALE AND FEMALE

When we hear the word feminist in today’s society, we immediately think of a woman challenging manhood. Many have misplace meaning and misinterpreted the whole concept of feminism. There is no way one would make mention of the fact that they are feminist without receiving that despising look from those around them. I remember a 13-year-old girl who told her mum that she (the girl) was a feminist and her mum exclaimed “God forbid!”  as though the innocent child had placed a curse on herself. What then is wrong with the word “feminist”? It happens to have been negatively stereotyped by society

A feminist is simply a person who stands for equality between both genders (male and female). Why is it an abomination for a woman to marry as a non-virgin yet no one utters a word when it comes to the men? By the way, that would be a great paradox because the men are expected to marry virgins whereas they go about “misbehaving”. I know of a family were the female children live like complete prisoners. The only places they visit are the church, school and they are back home yet the male children can freely go out to visit their friends and even attend birthday parties. The only reason their parents gave for not granting their female children the same privilege was that “they are women and have to learn how to always be in doors for the world of adventure is meant for the men”. Permit me to say that was the weirdest response I had ever heard.

Gender inequality has gone further than we can possibly imagine. Haven’t you experienced a situation whereby a woman was despised and even humiliated simply because of the fact that she didn’t bear a male child (mind you this is after having four able girls). Had God not created Eve would procreation be possible? No, yet the birth of a girl child is so much despised in the absence of a boy in the family. Some traditions even go as far as measuring the strength of a man with the number of male children he has got. I had a neighbor who was thrown out of her matrimonial home (simply because she bore 3 girls) by her unsatisfied mother-in-law who was in need of a grandson to continue with her late husband’s linage.

To continue, this discrimination has even been forwarded to food (ordinary food). In some regions in Cameroon, the women are not allowed to eat chicken gizzard and would be a taboo if they dared. So, it is common to find the women keep the chicken gizzard aside after cooking for the man of the house or her first son in the absence of the father under the umbrella of him being “a man”. A man you say? He didn’t even participate in the cooking yet the poor girls who had been perfumed with smoke from the burning wood were not to have a taste of the fruit of their own labour. The common argument is that the man paid for the woman’s bride price. What happened then to the Indian women who paid the groom price yet you still find some women treated as slaves (in the case were she doesn’t bear a male child) in that same society.

However, we miss it when we mention only the female gender when talking about feminism. Feminism as earlier stated is advocating equality among both genders. Is it common to find parents tell their sons not to shed tears because he is ‘a man.’ Pain is meant to be expressed, why make a child grow up in pretense. Society has made ladies to have a ‘right’ to spend while the guys settle the bills. If a lady should go out on a date with a guy and she take care of the bills it is interpreted that the guy in question is incompetent. This attitude also moves to matrimonial homes were the women pocket their money and expect their every single need to be met by their husbands. Society would often say “you can’t provide for your family then how do you call yourself a man?” A real woman is a helper not a burden to her husband.

Again, society has made it an abomination for a woman to earn more than her husband. This attitude has caused many men to lose their sense of purpose in society because they have been transformed to an epitome of failure when they find themselves in such a situation.  It is obvious the society is after power, authority and position, and as such society has painted a woman’s success to be a threat to a man. This behaviour explains why some men are so frustrated when they lose their jobs for they automatically become a disgrace and a bunch of ill luck.

Many boys are deprived of living for themselves, rather they have to live so as to continue with their father’s legacy so they end up living the lives of another. Their dreams, ambition and purpose end up buried under a life of pretense.

Society permits women minimize their knowledge of everything but a man has to know, I mean it is an obligatory. For instance, if he didn’t know how to operate a phone properly then next statement would be, “and you call yourself a man”

This issue might not look as serious as it is supposed to be but if appropriate care is not taken, our future would never be a better one because old vices destroy the opportunity for change. Enough to this old mentality, enough to our old culture, and enough to stereotypes we have created for ourselves. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie would say “culture does not make people, people make culture, so if it is in fact true, that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we must make it our culture.” Let’s build a feminist society, a society that stands for gender equality.

Lenga Daisy

THE MIRACLE MEAL

When you hear the world miracle meal, what comes to your mind? The world can bring different thoughts or meanings to heart. So many people around the world have different perceptions of this term. Most times, their perceptions are highly influenced and based on their understandings, experiences, and thoughts from their subconscious mind.

To Christians, the miracle meal refers to the Holy Communion. According to the bible, the miracle meal otherwise known as the last supper was taken with Jesus before he was betrayed by one of his disciples. (Matt 26:17- 30)

Some Christians see the Holy Communion as something that binds or seals their covenant with God. In some cases, people who have been expectant for a miracle use the last supper to seal covenants with God.

Some other Christians believe in the healing power of this meal. They believe it is some sort of supernatural emblem that has significance in the spirit and when they take it, they get cleansed from all of their sicknesses and diseases.

Other Christians believe in its protection power. These set of people have come to the understanding that when they take the communion, it protects them from whatever evil may come their way. They believe that the communion is a shield from attacks in the spiritual realm.

However, the understanding one has about this meal is dependent on his or her mind. As the bible says that “as a man thinketh in his heart so is it.” So the communion works for you based on what you think and believe.

Written by Oduyemi Oluwatomisin

MY END TIME WORLD

WELCOME TO MY END TIME WORLD

WHERE, DISOBEDIENCE HAS CONSTITUTIONAL BACKING

 SERVING PUNISHMENTS MAKES YOU KNOWN

 GIVING THE BIGGEST THRASH MAKES YOU AN HEROE

AND SAYING THE TRUTH MAKES OF YOU A DUMPSITE

 

WELCOME TO MY END TIME WORLD

WHERE NO RECORD IS BROKEN UNTIL CRIME IS DONE IN GRANDSTYLE

 DISCIPLINARIANS ARE OUTCASTS

AND EAGLE RAISERS ARE CALLED NAMES

 

WELCOME TO MY END TIME WORLD

WHERE THE WISE HAS NO SAYING

AND FOOLS HAVE THE STAGE

WHERE HARD WORK IS GRADED IS GRADED BY SOCIAL STATUS

WHERE JUSTICE HAS NO SAY

AND CRIME LEADS THE WAY

 

WELCOME TO MY END TIME WORLD

WHERE CONVICTS HAVE NO SHAME

AND THE ACQUITTED HAVE TO BE BLAMED

WHERE PACESETTERS ARE EVIL DOERS

AND EVIL MEN ARE GREAT LEADERS

  

WELCOME TO MY ENDTIME WORLD

WHERE RIGHTEOUSNESS HAS NO SAYING

AND DILIGENCE HAS NO REWARD

WHERE STEALING IS THE WAY

AND CORRUPTION HAS AWARDS

 

WELCOME TO MY END TIME WORLD

WHERE TROUBLE IS A WAY OF LIFE

 AND STEALING IS A PECULIAR CULTURE

WHEN MEN LIVING IN SIN ARE TAGGED GREAT

AND THE RIGHTEOUS HAVE NO SAY

 

WELCOME TO MY END TIME WORLD

WHERE DISCIPLINE IS AGAINST THE LAW

WHERE MEN HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE

AND WISDOM HAS GONE INTO EXTINCTION

MOTIVATION SPEAKERS ARE CHOSEN FROM THE CONGREGATION OF FOOLS

 

WELCOME TO MY END TIME WORLD

WHERE LITERACY MAKES OF YOU A FOOL

AND EDUCATION GIVES YOU AN EXCUSE TO BE A BETTER ONE

WHERE MANY CALL THE LIGHT DARKNESS

AND THE LAW CAN BE REPHRASED TO ONES INTEREST.

 

Ige Favour

HAPPINESS

AKINTOBI DANIEL TEMILAYO

Individuals all through the ages have made this inquiry. They pondered what is this sentiment bliss, what influences it to emerge, and how to hold it longer.  Is HAPPINESS a physical response, the impact of specific hormones in the body? Is it subject to certain outer conditions, or is it some sort of internal, mental, passionate or state? All these could be triggers that prompt encountering it. HAPPINESS frequently travels every which way. It comes, remains for a brief period, and after that some negative inclination replaces it and it is no more. Does this imply we have no control of bliss and we can’t stretch its term?

Wikipedia characterizes satisfaction as, “HAPPINESS is a psychological or passionate condition of prosperity which can be characterized by, among others, positive or lovely feelings going from happiness to extreme delight.” Wikipedia additionally says, “Logicians and religious masterminds regularly characterize satisfaction as far as carrying on with a decent life, or prospering, instead of just as a feeling.”

Merriam Webster characterizes satisfaction as, “A condition of prosperity and happiness.”

http://www.vocabulary.com says, “Bliss is that believing that comes over you when you know life is great and you can’t resist the urge to grin. It’s the inverse of misery.”

I might want to propose another definition to bliss, which I found as a matter of fact. This is an alternate definition and importance, which I have expounded on in a few articles and in my books. “Bliss is a condition of inward euphoria, which comes to fruition when the psyche turns out to be sans calm from fretful reasoning and stresses.” Individuals, who have been honing reflection frequently, and who have figured out how to quiet down their brain, would know precisely what I mean.

A COMPLETE METAMORPHOSIS

Looking at the life of a cockroach, most people would say that it has a complete life. It starts off as an egg, then goes on to become a larvae, then a pupae and finally it becomes an adult cockroach. Just like the metamorphosis of the cockroach, we humans also have our own form of complete metamorphosis. We get born, go through the stages of infancy to adolescence, and pass through puberty till we finally enter the world of adult hood. However, there are some people who do not complete their metamorphosis or who complete theirs too early. We see people getting lost to sicknesses, committing suicides, having unfortunate accidents. There is this popular saying that “life is too short to waste away”. This is true when thinking about. As long as we are on this earth, we have to make use of whatever time we have left to achieve the most we can because we never know when our own metamorphosis would be complete.

Edeoghon Osarieme

 

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Ever heard of the theory called the butterfly effect? Maybe you’ve heard of it but you don’t know what it is. The butterfly effect is a theory which says that the little things which happen in a person’s life affects the overall ‘big picture’ of that person’s life. This means that the little things that people do which may seem like they don’t matter somehow affect the totality of that person’s life. This phenomenon drives on the fact that no matter how small an issue is in a person’s life or how little an event is, it has an overall effect on that person. It is important for people to take note of whatever small changes that happens in their life and not just brush it aside because this theory says that whether we like it or not, such small events or happenings would affect our lives in the long run.