Articles

NYSC, Politics

Kemi Adeosun: Beyond a Resignation

Jilomes

It is no longer news that Mrs Folakemi Adeosun is no longer the Nigerian Minister of Finance. If like Jesus on the way to Emmaus, you are unaware of the events surrounding her exit, you might want to read the Premium Times (PT) article that set off the stack of dominoes. While Nigerians continue discussing her exit, amidst insinuations that the announcement was timed to obfuscate President Buhari’s latest SSS appointment, my view is that her resignation should not be an end in itself but rather, the start of a reflective process.  Continue reading “Kemi Adeosun: Beyond a Resignation” →

Inspiration, Randoms

The Societal Imperative

Jilomes

While reading The Real Warren Buffet by James O’Loughlin, I encountered the concept of the “institutional imperative” as espoused by Warren Buffet. Contained in one of Buffet’s shareholders’ letter, he defined the concept as “the tendency of executives to mindlessly imitate the behaviour of their peers, no matter how foolish it may be to do so”. Months after reading that particular section, I encountered a scene that made me recall Buffet’s words.  Continue reading “The Societal Imperative” →

Randoms

Something to Think About

Jilomes

“There is so much that people take for granted”

— Vivienne Westwood

What does it mean to take something for granted? Does it mean to decide something is not worth being bothered about or not even remembering to think about something? A recent chat with a friend made me think about something few persons even bother about—online security.  Continue reading “Something to Think About” →

Randoms

Three Weddings and a Town

Jilomes

What do you do when three friends send you invitations to attend their wedding ceremonies holding on the same day? Decide on one to attend, right? What if the three ceremonies are holding in the same town? Would you still play favourites? What if one person was a leader at your undergraduate fellowship (marrying another former fellowship executive), one was your undergraduate classmate (marrying a “classmate” from civil engineering), and the other was a work colleague that served at the same organisation during your national service year? You now see my conundrum when three friends invited me to Ile-Ife, home of my undergraduate alma mater.  Continue reading “Three Weddings and a Town” →

Change, Randoms, Travelling

Much Ado About Seat Belts

Jilomes

I have had this article on my mind for a while but I just never came around to composing my thoughts until now. In checking for a quote to launch this article, I came across one attributed to Plato, which I think captures my aim for this article.

“No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding”

— Plato Continue reading “Much Ado About Seat Belts” →

Politics, Randoms

S for Sarcasm Unscripted

Jilomes

Prologue: The following is a redacted chat between some members of a certain WhatsApp group. The banter is around President Buhari’s candidacy in the 2019 election. I decided to turn the transcript into a blog post. Only members of that group can identify the participants. If the “S” in “Sarcasm” has not already informed you, please be aware the following conversation is intended for humour.

Continue reading “S for Sarcasm Unscripted” →

Randoms

Effort Sans Celebration

Jilomes

“The noir hero is a knight in blood caked armour. He’s dirty and he does his best to deny the fact that he’s a hero the whole time”

— Frank Miller

This morning I woke up seeing the day like any other day. On my way to church, I felt the morning was a bit chilly, so I checked the weather on my phone. Surprisingly, a weather report declared today as “Fathers’ Day”. Seriously? It seems unlike its vastly less popular sister, Fathers’ Day manages to creep on us unnoticed.  Continue reading “Effort Sans Celebration” →

Randoms

In Defence of Crooks

Jilomes

Last week, news filtered into social media networks about the arrests of some alleged “Yahoo Boys”—the Naija euphemism for a set of persons known to outsiders as internet fraudsters. I observed the hubbub and could not come to terms with a society where some citizens see Yahoo Boys as the 21st reincarnation of the English Robin Hood. Anyway, I tried to mind my business.  Continue reading “In Defence of Crooks” →

Inspiration, Randoms

When Emotions Spill

Jilomes

As I decided to write this piece, I went in search of a quote I could use as an opener. This quote literally jumped at me and I think it captures the essence of what I am about to address.

“Having anxiety and depression is like being scared and tired at the same time. It’s the fear of failure, but no urge to be productive. It’s wanting friends but hate socializing. It’s wanting to be alone, but not wanting to be lonely. It’s feeling everything at once then feeling paralyzingly numb.”

—Culled from healthyplace.com

My undergraduate class has a WhatsApp group where we do everything from bonding to fighting to serious debating. Yesterday, someone brought up an issue about euthanasia, which then morphed into a discourse on depression and possible reasons for a person to want to end his/her life. This discourse unlocked Pandora’s box. Continue reading “When Emotions Spill” →

Politics, Randoms

Ruminations: A United Kingdom

Jilomes

“We do foreign assistance for altruistic reasons, certainly for humanitarian reasons, of course. But the main reason we do foreign assistance is we do it in the American national interest”.

—Roger Wicker, American Politician

The quote above, whilst very American, could be attributed to a long array of countries across the globe. Replacing “American” with “British”, “Russian”, “Chinese”, “Iranian”, or “South African” would still maintain the spirit of the quote. I chose this quote to highlight that a country’s actions or inactions with respect to events in another country are usually powered by national interests and not some idealistic morals.  Continue reading “Ruminations: A United Kingdom” →