#Ikemofepo2015 : For Mofesola and Ikepo Babalola

Who knew Mofe could look this handsome?

I haven’t had so much fun in one weekend since Joseph got married in April.

As we neared Lagos this evening, I turned to my friends in the car and said, “let’s head back to Ife. We’ll tell Mofe and Ikepo we came back to say hello.” While that was a joke, I sure wish I could have lots more weekends like this one.

615 kilometers driven to, from, and inside Ife; one watch damaged and another misplaced; five meals skipped and three kilograms happily lost; and thousands of clumsy dance steps after – Mofesola and Ikepo are married!

My First Condom

I will always remember my first condom.

A primary school classmate, who I will call XYZ, took me to a corner of the school playground and showed me an unusually clear balloon. It was shaped differently than all other balloons I had ever seen, so I was immediately fascinated. I thought it was awkwardly shaped for a balloon, and wondered if it would bounce around after we inflated it.

He started to hand it over, but stopped short of giving it to me. He told me he no longer wanted it, but would sell it to me for five naira. I was devastated. Why would he show me such a nice balloon, but demand my entire allowance for the day to let me play with it? My feelings were hurt. I quickly reminded him of the days when I bought him puff puff and choco milo when he came to school without any money.

Daystar at Twenty: A Love Letter (Part Two)...

Pictures from the Daystar Back to School program...

If you told me in University that I would someday join Daystar Christian Center, I would have laughed at you and walked away.

I thought Pastor Sam was the most boring speaker in history. I disliked his habit of picking words carefully and pausing for emphasis. I thought he talked too slowly, and told everyone who cared to listen. I would often fall asleep while listening to his sermons.

I was sure I could not join the church he pastored.

I was wrong.

On Ben Murray-Bruce and the N5k Social Benefits Scheme...

4-Where would the money come from? Every salary earner should pay a 5% unemployment tax to help pay 5k to unemployed graduates #5kispossible

— Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) November 12, 2015

Ben Murray-Bruce, Federal Senator representing the Bayelsa East Constitutency, recently tweeted this while sharing his ideas to fund a social benefits scheme for unemployed graduates in Nigeria.

I don't agree with his plan and I don't think Nigeria can successfully implement this scheme as things currently stand. Here's why:

1. There is NO confidence that the extra tax will be used for the intended purpose. This may be the most basic issue with taxes in Nigeria. If we disregard the other issues with this proposal for a moment and assume 'salary earners' agree to fund the social benefits scheme from their earnings - it comes down to trust. I, and many other Nigerians, simply don't trust elected officials to manage funds judiciously. And why would we? News media is rife with reports of misappropriated funds. We don't see results of the taxes we already pay!

2. The Social Security Net is a Federal proposal; Personal Income Tax is paid to State Governments. State Governors did not promise N5k for unemployed graduates, the Federal Government did. Except the Nigerian Tax system is overhauled, which opportunity we should frankly seize for more productive ideas, increased Income Taxes simply mean more revenue to the State Governments. States, most of which are already struggling to meet their obligations, would happily jump at the extra income and throw it down the recurrent expenditure drain!

On ISIS: World At War!

An ISIS execution. Unfortunately, this is not a scene from a movie!

I think the world needs to take a stronger stand on ISIS.

And not just ISIS. I think the world needs to take a stronger stand on ISIS, Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab, Boko Haram, and the many other terrorist organizations that seek to take away our freedom and return us to the dark ages.

It is not enough to ‘contain’ ISIS or any terrorist organization; they have shown what they can do despite being ‘contained’. Terrorists have no interest in cohabiting peacefully with the rest of the world. They have attacked men, women, and children regardless of ethnicity or religion, and have committed heinous crimes against humanity.

Terrorists should not be contained; they should be eliminated.

#PrayForParis

The Paris attacks were deadly! At least 153 people dead, and lots more wounded. I am heart broken beyond measure, and greatly saddened by this turn of events.

I saw on CNN that ISIS set up a celebratory hashtag on Twitter, and I am shocked even more. What kind of human celebrates terrorist attacks on another human? Is this how divided a planet we have become?

It is unfortunate that the world has allowed the situation with ISIS in Syria to degenerate this far, but firm steps need to be taken quickly. Strengthening national borders is not enough - ISIS will continue to leverage disgruntled citizens for their crazy purposes.

I'm all for Russia's approach to resolving the Syrian conflict and comprehensively dealing with ISIS.

May God be with the friends and family of the 153+ people who lost their lives yesterday.

PS: ISIS did not yet claim responsibility at the time of writing this.

My Problem With 'Church' (1/X)

I decided to write this during a discussion with friends yesterday. I know I cannot exhaustively cover the many things I would like to see different in ‘church’ in one post, but I am not willing to commit to a series exploring the subject. Hence I have decided to make this one out of ‘x’ posts; I may, or may not, write other posts – and if I do, I may not write them any time soon.

I have used ‘church’ loosely, to mean different things in different contexts.

Here we go.

Terror in Nigeria's Food Basket

You may have noticed that onions, tomatoes, and yams have steadily become more expensive over the past two years. Prices have risen between 225% and 360% since 2013, well ahead of the official inflation rate. The brilliant folks at SBMorgen have dug deep into the situation, and released a report about ongoing crisis in the Middle Belt.

So far in 2015, 2000 people have reportedly been killed in the ongoing crisis in the Middle Belt, a number that rivals annual deaths due to the Boko Haram insurgency. Thousands of people have been displaced, and some farmers have not harvested their fields since 2006!!!

"The picture that our research painted is a grim one, of methodical violence by herdsmen against host communities, and steadily advancing southwards; and of herdsmen facing increasing violence from cattle-rustlers, coupled with a decline in grazing resources. Attitudes towards the Fulani are hardening, and there is evidence of a slow loss of confidence in the ability of the security forces to keep law and order. Both the host communities and the herdsmen have been neglected by the government and have been reduced to self-help." - SBMorgen.

"During a visit to the tomato depot in Ketu, we observed that the prices of tomatoes have increased by at least 225 per cent in the last two years, and in some cases, as high as 360 per cent. The variation in the prices during that time frame can only be described as shocking. A small basket of tomatoes roughly 3kg), which used to sell for between N5,000 and N6,000 in 2013, now sells for N18,000. The big basket (roughly 15kg), which was sold for N12,000 now costs between N26,000 and N27,000 depending on one's bargaining power." - SBMorgen.

The Middle Belt is the food basket of the nation, and food prices will continue to rise if the long-lived tussle between nomadic cattle herders and farmers is not addressed squarely and decisively. Beyond their status as the food basket, the government owes it to every Nigerian to keep them and their property safe - this in itself is the primary responsibility of a government. The large number of displaced people will continue to pose a humanitarian crisis, and provide a festering ground for future insurgencies; idle hands are often diverted to evil purposes.

You may follow the link to read SBMorgen's report on the incident. A 7-page summary of the report can be found here, and the full report (37 pages) here.

So far, the crisis in the North East has received disproportionate focus by the Federal Government. It is now time to shine a light in the direction of the Middle Belt and North Central areas. With concerted effort, Land Use reform, and an overhaul of the Agricultural Sector, we may yet turn this situation around.

A stitch in time saves nine.

What is the Nigerian Dream? (Thoughts on the Importance of a National Vision)

You may have heard of the American Dream. It has powered the aspirations of Americans for generations and fueled America’s rise to world-dominance. It unites Americans in the belief that they can achieve prosperity through hard work, regardless of social class or other limitation. Experts now argue about growing inability to achieve the Dream, but still agree it unites Americans in a shared vision of abundant possibilities.

Shared visions have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to unite people and drive countries to greatness. Neil Armstrong walked the moon in 1969 - only eight years after JFK first sold the goal to Americans. Singapore transformed rapidly under Lee Kuan Yew’s visionary leadership. My Vision, a book chronicling Dubai’s transformation from fishing settlement to foremost tourist destination, has inspired many young Nigerians.

Why then is Nigeria yet to unite behind a common goal for sustainable development and economic growth?

“We have all the attributes of a great nation. We are not there yet because the one commodity we have been unable to exploit to the fullest is unity of purpose. This would have enabled us to achieve not only more orderly political evolution and integration but also continuity and economic progress.” - President Muhammadu Buhari, October 1 2015. 

The President could not be righter on this one: Nigeria has not fully exploited unity of purpose! If anything, the political class has sought to divide us even more for selfish reasons. There are few things that unite Nigerians across social divides, and these things tend to be fleeting - like the Super Eagles contesting in an international tournament.

What then do we need to do?

Nigeria: Why stay here until we die?

I last wrote an Independence Day post in 2009, six years ago. In that emotional piece, I drew on experiences that had brought me to tears - from lives lost in preventable accidents to classmates who had dropped out of school, ending it with a call to act for a better standard of life for the average Nigerian.

In the six years since then, I have started multiple essays but not completed any. Confronted with the magnitude of the challenges we face as a nation, I chose instead to focus on doing what little I could in my own corner. Tonight however, I feel strongly compelled to share the following thoughts. I will adopt the framework and text used by Olusegun Adeniyi, chair of the ThisDay newspaper editorial board and spokesman to former president Musa Yar'Adua, at The Platform earlier today.

3Now there were four men with leprosy^d at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? 4If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.” - 2nd Kings 7, NIV.

This story from the Bible describes a time of war and famine in Samaria. The King of Aram had besieged Samaria, and food was so scarce that mothers ate their children. It was a bleak situation for the Samarians. They had no choice but to wait it out and hope to defeat the Arameans in battle, or die slowly of hunger after all the young and weak were eaten. Then four men at the city gates, lepers, asked a question that changed everything.