Meeting Chimamanda Adichie...

I was having trouble sleeping, so I thought I would write about meeting Chimamanda, world famous author and feminist, at Yellow Chilli two days ago.

We had just sauntered into Yellow Chilli for an easy evening and were heading for our table when Ehis spotted her. We could not quickly decide whether to engage her, particularly because it meant interrupting her conversation with her companion, but she seemed to notice our conundrum and waved us over.

A woman once got nasty when she asked to take a picture with me and I said no, because I was exhausted and I looked terrible. Another person once said to me – “you must always smile no matter what.” I thought: “how absurd. Do YOU always smile?” I’m actually quite the smiler but I certainly will not smile if I am upset about something. Everyone has good days and bad days and I treasure my human right to have good days and bad days.

I think the idea of celebrity is that you are supposed always to be ‘on,’ always in performance mode. And I certainly can’t and won’t do that. - Interview with Olisa.tv.

I miss my parents...

Last night, I had one of those dreams where I was nine years old again. My dad was a hero, my mom was the love of my life, and my siblings were adorable little tots who thought I was a mini-god.

Life was much easier. My biggest worry was probably our old Windows 95 computer that took nearly ten minutes to boot up. I had no clue what terrorism was, what a job entailed, what it meant to make a budget or pay my own bills, what it was to look for fuel like it was an extraterrestrial liquid, or what it meant to save for the 'future'.

This morning I wished I could go back in time, and be a young child again for a few days. My mom would wake me with a hug first thing in the mornings, and my Dad would ring the bell for morning devotion. Simi would sing all sorts of songs that ensured we would be late for school, and Fehintolu would sleep through the entire thing like the rest of us didn't even exist. I can't possibly get started on the noise, the banter, the fights...

Sometimes I think I grew up too fast. Looking back, I was in such a hurry to come into my own, and leave the nest so I could fly. I was obsessed with 'adulting', and now that I'm here - I have these moments where I don't mind giving it up for a few days.

I'm grateful that I still have both my parents around, and I look forward to escaping to Ibadan sometime soon so I can have a few days of pretending to be a child.

I'll leave you with Mary Schmich's words... "Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future."

Have a fab day.

Lekki Building Collapse: We Need A Culture of Responsibility

Leaders don't take responsibility for anything around these parts. Their default reaction is to choose one or more from the options below:

1. Blame a predecessor,
2. Issue a muted statement attributing whatever it was to God,
3. Shed a few crocodile tears ala "dia ris God in everything we are doing",
4. Deny that it happened,
5. Insist it was the work of their political detractors.

In most cases, they don't do what leaders should do - take responsibility, own their mess!

I am not often excited at someone losing their job, but I am very pleased that Ambode fired the General Manager of the Lagos Building Control Agency, along with other key officers at the agency. 34 people died because the Building Control Agency didn't do their job properly. They had to be held responsible.

I have long argued that we suffer from a dearth of strong institutions, and I believe this is a step towards strengthening our institutions and ensuring they take responsibility for their jurisdiction. People and agencies need to know that they will be held responsible if things go wrong on their watch, and conversely - that they will be celebrated when great things happen.

It should no longer be business as usual, where Civil Servants spend their days watching Africa Magic and selling fabric to each other.

Think what you want about Ambode. He is on to something!

PS: PRESS RELEASE AFTER THE CUT

"If I were Dangote's son..." and other excuses...

"If I were Dangote's son..."
"If I had a Bachelors Degree..."
"If I had a MacBook..."
"If I worked for General Electric..."
"If I had a million dollars in funding..."
"If I didn't have bow legs..."
"If I wasn't married..."
"If I had gotten a degree in Engineering..."
"If I had a car..."
"If I had a job..."

Lekki Building Collapse: Thoughts On Greed & Nigerian Capitalism

Nigerian Capitalism often seems to me to be driven by greed, more so than by a desire to make a honest profit.

Greed is the only way I can explain some of the things that happen here.

Greed is why 18 people died and 15 others were severely injured in the Lekki building collapse, and while we don't have the full incident report yet - we already know someone thought it was alright to exceed the approved number of floors for the building.

Spot the extra floor being added on top of this 'already painted & completed' building?*

It added that it has also been discovered that in a brazen act of defiance and impunity, the owners of the building, Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors until the unfortunate incident of Tuesday which has led to loss of lives. LASG Press Release.

You're Unstoppable: Happy New February!

It seemed like it would last the entire year, but folks - January is over! Can I hear an hallelujah?

And no - we can't call it wraps and move to 2017. There are eleven months to go, and there is a lot to come. There will be promotions, birthdays, and weddings; there will be some 'not-so-good' stuff too, but let's not think about those for a moment.

We cannot completely control the outcomes we will experience in February, but we can try to influence the odds in our favour. Set new goals or review existing ones, think about what worked and what didn't in January, and adjust your plan accordingly.

You can be all you want to be, but you've got to put in the effort!

PS: I recently fell in love with Unstoppable by Sia, and I think its chorus is a great theme for February.

I'm unstoppable,
I'm a Porsche without brakes;
I'm invincible,
I win every single game;
I'm so powerful,
I don't need batteries to play;
I'm so confident,
I'm unstoppable today - Sia.

Farewell Nigeria: A Love Letter From A Nigyptian Girl

Nigyptian Shereen Wardakan

I was planning to write my farewell note a few days later, but walking out of the airport today - I felt my heart crunch. It’s my last time heading from the airport back to my home in Nigeria. It’s getting too real… I’m leaving in a week and it's just so sad. I'll miss living in Nigeria...a lot...but I figure I’ll get over this as I seek new opportunities and I'm motivated by challenges and experiences.

Before I delve into a wonderful future on the back of an amazing past, here's my farewell note to Naija...

They say the whole world conspires for you to get what you really want… well the world did in my case and I came to Naija in 2014 after my first visit in 2009. It was love at first sight.

Dear Naija, those past two years have been the fullest in my life… You actually brought me back to life! I recall all the warnings and sarcasm I got when I asked to move here but for some reason it felt so right and time has proved to me that the heart never lies. 

I Buy Nigerian: Simple Thoughts on Local Manufacturing and the Nigerian Economy

This post was first shared on Medium and The Naked Convos

I love NASCO cornflakes. Eating NASCO for breakfast reminds me of my childhood. I buy NASCO whenever it is available. I don’t mind stares from people who seem to pity my inability to afford pricier brands*.

I was happy to see yesterday that NASCO has overhauled their packaging. I always thought the old packaging sucked, and that it looked out of place beside attractively designed brands like Kelloggs.

The cashier asked if I chose NASCO because it is made in Nigeria. I was surprised. I buy NASCO because I love it, because it brings fond memories. I couldn’t care less where it is made.

His question got me thinking about the concept of ‘buying Nigerian’, so I decided to address some themes that have recently gained traction.

How To Set Goals (Or: How I Set Goals)

There is ample evidence that people who set goals tend to get better results than people who don’t. Goals drive focus on achieving important results rather than running in multiple directions, and cause us to apply more effort to attain stretch targets; they also help us to continue trying after others concede defeat. When supported by excellent execution and persistence, goal-setting has often proved the difference between average and excellent results.

Why then doesn’t everyone set goals?

I found that some people don’t believe they can improve the quality of their results by setting goals beforehand. In many cases, they already deliver good results and don’t see how things can be any better. I also found other people who try to set goals, but are overwhelmed by the perceived complexity of the task and lack a framework they can reapply.

I have written this for the second category of people, to share my framework.

Here’s how I set goals:

Happy New Year 2016

Happy New Year, people.

I wish you lots of joy, happiness and progress in the new year. I also wish you the courage, strength, and discipline to do things differently this year - without which your results may be no different than they have always been.

Have a good one!