Much ado about hard returns.

It's funny, tragic & annoying how quickly we want to make hard & heavy
returns. It's sad. We make deals with devils & make others pay our
dues. Fortunately, God has blessed us with a natural elasticity for
hard living. Unfortunately, we're yet to direct such toughness to
paths where we won't be blinded by greed, avarice & mortal fear.
I was told of a mine of human resource that exists right under our
noses. The Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO).
They've been at their workshops, offering alternate industrial income
solutions via research, feasibility studies & courses to the
public...since the Shehu Shagari administration & no one has taken up
the gauntlet to bridge the divide between the knowledge & the
industrialists who need it. I use the word 'need' carefully.
The solutions of a western state are exactly that. From a distinct
ambient temperature difference to cultural sensitivities to divergent
needs, what they offer cannot fill our needs as sick giant, prone &
restless on our back. Our collective responsibility as a creative,
driven & talented gathering of diverse tribes & cultures has not
changed. We need to push ourselves up to get up.
Waste to wealth is how Uncle John put it. There's nothing that has to
go to waste just because we have no popular 'western' idea of dealing
with leftover Pure Water bags, corn cobs &stalks, powdered kunu drinks
& tomato pureé...but we need them. The ideas have been explored by
intellectuals who've been conditioned to think outside the box & for
the real world in terms of application. Their work is regarded as
thorough, their skill-set is not child's play, & their committment is
inspiring. Maybe, just maybe, we don't deserve them. Or maybe we're
still so asleep, drunk off the life of a consumer nation, that we
forgot we 'produced' in the not too recent past. What good comes of a
man who happened upon another man's need & met it without meeting his
very own? We provide the world crude oil, manpower, entertainment (our
political history is a treasure trove of plots & twists, for we do
live in interesting times as a country), & yet we assume mediocrity is
chased away by consistency alone? Grow up! I don't speak in specifics
because there will be over 150 million other voices that would not be
heard out. Why should I speak in specifics? We're decidedly shallow
(why else would a set of people poison what would change lives
positively, keeping every good made available ready to be uprooted at
the slightest shake?), unrepentantly dense (I've heard of parents who
would delay payment of school fees because of car payments, all for
the sake of the appearance of wealth. Pride is a poor substitute for
actual advancement or education, but it the basic entry requirement
for the school of 'very' hard knocks).
I feel anyone can do the greatest good or evil. All it takes is a
step. The intentions will offer themselves to us, we will have to
prepare our minds on what we want (specifics not needed at this point)
& follow through on the intentions. If one will help, help. Don't
block other people because the idea didn't come through you or you
feel you won't be adequately recognised. Most of us alive now won't be
remembered 100 years from now. Neither, I strongly suspect, will any
of us care. But we owe it to our children. Our parents haven't cleared
their debt to us, let's not pass it on.
Soft returns are not for the soft minded (ask any erect penis). They
don't make for a killing, they make for a living, a building up
towards greater things than what's available now.
Should you have a chance to build towards something, take it. You'll
mature better. Though not faster, but hey, those who laugh last...

--
Sent from my mobile device

Separation is key to bonding

I'm writing this at the Unilag amphitheatre. There are so many kids
here lining up for the screening of candidates. They remind me of my
own recent past. It's not too fresh in my mind, but I remember the
simplicity of the journey from secondary school to university. None of
this madness, none of this crowded do-it-yourself show why your money
should be taken so you can 'say' you're in Unilag. I don't think
intellectual prowess is key here. Meritocracy is in submission, and
the hustlerr are in charge. M. Scott Peck said it is natural to
descend into chaos, it is supernatural to ascend into order. I think
he's right. People talk of the nigerian problem. It is a human
problem. Once recognised for what it is, things become easier to deal
with. N10bn to spend in one day? Better targetted at reviving dead
industries than at celebrating a journey through hardship when we've
not broken free of a consumer mentality.
I don't begrudge the government for their spending culture. They see
things differently from the rest of us. Very differently. That's why
I'm surrounded by kids desperate to get ahead in education to the
point of paying out of their pockets for a right long regarded as a
privilege.
This separation from government that the people endure makes most
sense when you think of government as the presiding authourity in
civil matters. To do this effectively, one must be unbiased by most
means...but not in every sense. It does no good to justice that you &
the judge share the same woman. He just might be the possessive type
:)
Let's just say that my thoughts are not neutral, but rather leaning to
the side of the right to a better life for all.
If given half of that money to refurbish the power sector, education,
health, things will look up pretty quickly & you won't have to look
for people to smile with you. You'll be keeping them back. But
governance isn't a popularity contest. It is something more scared. It
is a duty to God. I can only imagine what's going on in their heads
right now. And they don't take correction easily. But God can take
your prayers for them because they struggle with things we assume to
be the ingredients of an easy life. Power is burden to the wise.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Needs help writing suicide note

I want to die. I believe in reincarnation, but only in a sense.
Sometimes I think we get so focused on what's popular thought that we
forget about the useful thought. I'm the walking dead right now.
Something is going to have to die in me for God to resurrect me. I
don't want to be the man I am today. I don't want to wake up to be who
I am right now. I don't despise him, but he is not useful to the
church, to himself or to God. He has to go, so God can step in.
Usually there are certain regrets, last wishes one has when dealing
with this stuff.
Curious what yours might be.
Still thinking about mine.
That's the stuff of suicide notes. The apologies, the regrets...that
kind of stuff.

--
Sent from my mobile device

As old as prostitution

The oldest 'popular' profession. It is the sure sign of civilization
creeping into a town. When I served in my National Service year, I was
posted to a very small, border town called Ikom. I was far from home &
worried about being in a village pretending to be more than it was. So
I sought out the local brothel & found it (not for their services,
which I was assured, was pretty decent. I took their word for it.)
I discovered it & took 2 mental notes.
1. There was development going on, meaning lots of strangers showing
up as labour force, meaning they hadn't been there long enough to
patiently initiate 'romantic' affairs.
2. I would do all in my power to avoid that place. I'm a friendly guy,
the best prostitutes are tough & unforgiving. Best not to discover if
they can or can't take a joke.
Now what is as old as prostitution? Certainly not government, or
money. I think it must be raising a family.
Is that really work? Yes. It is. Ask any young mother. Success will
laud you, failure will haunt you, & there is no inbetween, only
degrees of both.
So in honour of the mothers in our lives, I decided to write this entry.
Very often, a mother is described as a gentle, nurturing agent of God
who is our first & strongest connection to the world. Look, the trust
a child has for its mother can't be quantified. Somewhere, deep in
your sub-conscious, you recall the effort put into your comfort, your
feeding, your safety, your first education, your play...that bearded
guy that smelled funny would often just be that thing called 'daddy'.
His efforts are not always recognised as being important in that
stage. But they are.
Between both of them, you were conceived, brought to full term,
birthed (let nobody deceive you, the hospital bills exist. No one is
really born for free), clothed, fed, groomed, raised, schooled...so
long as they're alive, you're their project.
I brought this up because I realise that I don't give that much credit
to my parents. I talk to them often enough, but to value them more
than I do now? Yeah, there's so much more room for that.
I once made the error of asking a girl to choose me over her dad (I
have knocked my head deeper than any of you ever could, so don't
worry. Lesson learned & will remain unrepeated)
I hadn't respected that bond as much as she did. I was pretty much
incorrigible as a child. I guess the image of a tree of money in the
village changed form in my mind, but its essence still stayed.
What I should have done was to respect her old man more. Don't have to
like him to respect him. If I was to love her as she deserved, I'd
respect him as she did.
Oh well. That's life for ya.

If you have the time, don't wait for father's day, or mother's day to
appreciate them. Just do it.

I hope to be married someday. I know I'll be involved in that
occupation. I know I'll be unappreciated by the kids because I offer
nothing from my paps (an old english word for tits) but my beating
heart underneath them. But that isn't enough to get me down. I'll
appreciate them. I won't wait for children's day to do so.
I'll also appreciate their mother. I won't wait for valentine's day to do so.

So...how about that women's U-20 silver medal, eh? Go falconets.

--
Sent from my mobile device