Positivity

A View from one of the stations of Olumo Rock In the year 1914, a new nation-state was born. It was a product of an amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates made up of territories that were previously ruled by empires, kingdoms, dynasties and strong knit familial communities. That union was renamed the colony called Nigeria, and mid-wifed by Sir Frederick Lugard. Though British Rule continued from that historic moment for almost fifty years, the nation eventually rode on the agitations for self-rule by nationalists movements of the time, to independence in 1960.    The amalgamation, one of the hallmarks of Nigerian history, was beyond the signing of a document that unified the two protectorates. It sought to give many people of diverse cultures, language, dialects, religions and norms, a singular identity; the Nigerian identity that would be strong in diversity.  Though it was also the harbinger of many experiences for Nigeria, one of the...

  From Fathers to Sons   I found this wonderful piece online that holds home-spun truths for the young man who has his mind set on bidding goodbye to single-hood, nightly hangouts with the boys and youthful revelry. In this inspiring article, a few days before his 26-year-old son, Michael, got married in June 1971, future-U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent him a letter of advice. How I wish fathers wrote their sons such letters today. Truth be told, relationships take a lot of work especially marriage relationships. What more can be more beautiful and a trying experience at the same time than two people learning to live together as one? People could leave together for decades and never get it right. And it doesn’t just end there; they will be multiplying themselves in the lives of their offspring, whom they have been given the divine privilege of nurturing. Your spouse can literally make or break you. That might sound scary but it is the truth. It has be...

        Have you prayed today?   I was at the Platform 10.0 last week, an annual event organized by the wonderful leadership and people at CCC. The theme for this program was tagged 'Cultural innovation...Native intelligence going global'. It was a call to look inwards to see how well we could redefine and reinvent ourselves as individuals, businesses, communities and as a nation.    We were admonished to see 'westernization' as an experiment and not a lifestyle to follow 'zombie-like' because on the surface it looks like change but change at what cost? Do we have to trade our values in the name of progress? Should we throw away the beautiful and enterprising aspects of identity and culture under the guise of development? Food for thought but I digress...   I remember specifically that one of the speakers at the event wanted us to  pray for our country and this was the prayer:     "O God of creation Direct our noble cause Guide ou...