ARISE! O COMPATRIOTS

(People queuing for fuel in Nigeria, regardless of the fact that we are number 8 on the OPEC list o!!!)


Came across this article that I posted sometimes in July, precisely the 10th of July, last year... I think that it could not be more relevant at this time, when we seem to be in urgent need of focused leaders... Join me as I go down through memory lane...

"I believe in a Nigeria with a government of the people, by the people, and for the people; whose 
just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; and a nation established upon the principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity.

We will never bring disgrace on this our Nation by an act of dishonesty or cowardice.
We will fight for the ideals and Sacred Things of the Nation both alone and with many.
We will revere and obey the Nation’s laws, and will do our best to incite a like reverence and respect in those above us who are prone to annul them or set them at naught.
We will strive increasingly to quicken the public’s sense of civic duty.
Thus in all these ways, we will transmit this Nation, not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us."


Read the rest of this article...

Have you seen this man?

Found this great picture while browsing through the net...

yeah, and this one too -

Drop your answers to the question it poses as comments...

If Nigeria Fails...

Great article by 'Deolu Akinyemi with the title - IF NIGERIA FAILS...

"Yesterday was quite a full day for me, it was a day in which many things simply came to a head. I had deliberately refused to comment on a number of issues for a while, hoping that in the period of my silence things will bounce back to normalsy. The more the days pass however, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that we are approaching a failed state. Optimism is good, if it is bound at the bottom by reality, at the top by faith and at the sides by work. Baseless optimism is a cancer, it’s false hope and mere lies.

Rather than confront our issues and do what we need to do to save our nation from a head on collision course with failure, we tell ourselves it’s all going to be well, God will do it, we make God out to be our slave. In the face of unconstitutional behaviour, in the face of  televised dishonesty, of forgeries at the highest levels, of being labelled as terrorists, of no power at home and a vacuum in the seat of power, the elite in Nigeria have not heard the drums of war... Read the rest of this article."

Where is Yar' Adua?

Found this great site where Nigerians are making themselves heard on this issue of Yar'Adua's e-governance (or is he using blackberry's)?

Find below excerpts from the site:

"I am of the opinion that yaradua must be dead. Its been almost a month, and the FEC is still claiming he is recovering. Please! There is a different between politics and outright stupidity. Do the right thing: relieve him of the job, and let Nigeria move on."

"he's probably chilling and partying wit Abacha in hell!"

"Can some1 tell the difference between when he was around and now that he is not around?... there is absolutely no difference, because he was doing nothing before he left us about 44 days ago. GOD HELP US....."

Follow the link, and make your voice heard...

Peace.

Chevron Nigeria Scholarships

Nigerian students in the following departments and in their second year of study should follow the link for more information about Chevron Nigeria Scholarship 2010 Awards...

1. Accountancy
2. Agricultural Engineering/Agricultural Science
3. Architecture
4. Business Administration/Economics
5. Chemical Engineering
6. Civil Engineering
7. Computer science
8. Electrical/Electronics Engineering
9. Environmental Studies/ Surveying
10. Geology/Geophysics
11. Law
12. Mass Communication/Journalism
13. Mechanical/Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
14. Human Medicine/Dentistry/Pharmacy
15. Petroleum Engineering

Letter to the President

Came across this great letter to the President by Tolu Ogunlesi while checking out 234next.com... It's a great read, please follow the link if you can...

Have fun.

THE POWER OF WHAT YOU LISTEN TO...

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“What this demonstrates, I think, is how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story…” –Chimamanda Adichie.

In Indonesia, they have a phrase that has become an integral part of my life over the past few months - djam karet. Loosely translated into English, it means the ‘hour that stretches’.

Once in a while, I have one of those ‘hours that stretch’, where I try to take an objective look at life. I approach those thinking sessions trying to become more aware, trying to understand why I think the way I do and trying to identify which parts of my life I could take more responsibility for.

Recently, I set out to identify what was responsible for my thought patterns, and what kind of effect it had on my quality of life. The results of that session gave rise to this post. I would like to share what I learnt, because I believe that they apply to everyone, regardless of age, culture and other differences.

Let’s do this, shall we?

Have you noticed that we never really see the world the way it is? Has it occurred to you yet that we all see the world the way we are; that we see a reflection of ourselves in others? Let me give you a way to picture this, other than the clichéd belief window concept. Think of yourself as looking at life through sunglasses, tinted sunglasses. Now, while your pair of glasses might have clear lenses, it still has some element of shade built into it.

TWO WEEKS IN RETROSPECT

The past few days have been very hectic.

Like I mentioned in my immediate past post, I have attended a whole lot of meetings; some out of obligation and others out of a sincere need to participate.

In two weeks, I have taken on 2 more ‘demanding’ responsibilities – none of them imposed, both of them by my free will. I have given out in advance a large chunk of my personal time in the next 4 weekends, and I have added a new weekly meeting – at least for this semester and the next.

In two weeks, I have been forcefully reminded of an earlier assertion on this blog, that true time management is not about doing more things in 24 hours; it is about doing the things that really matter in those 24 hours.

DO YOU DO DREAMS?

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About a week ago I awoke to news that ASUU had suspended their strike indefinitely (many thanks to my Aunt for ensuring that I was one of the first people to hear). To say the least, I was completely overgasted and flabberwhelmed (or should that be overwhelmed and flabbergasted).

Fast forward a few days to today, and the Obafemi Awolowo University Senate releases a circular to the effect that school re-opens on the 1st of November, and that lectures start on the 2nd of the same month.

Great news, I tell you. Great news!

By all means, the singular fact that I am going back to the classroom is great news: but after spending over four months without having to make 7am lectures – I dread the fact that there’s a CHE306 class on Monday.

THE BRIDGE BUILDER

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An old man, going a lone highway,

Came, at the evening, cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,

Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;

The sullen stream had no fears for him;

But he turned, when safe on the other side,

And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim, near,

“You are wasting strength with building here;

Your journey will end with the ending day;

You never again must pass this way;

You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-

Why build you the bridge at the eventide?”