The World As I See It
A popular hymn says we should “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done”. Many Christians sing the words, but I wonder how many of us understand that you can only count as a blessing what you acknowledge is a blessing, or that you can only show gratitude for something if you do not feel entitled to it. With this settled, this birthday article begins.
Continue reading “Grace and Another Birthday”
Almost six weeks have passed since I posted the introductory article for this year. In the intervening period, several writing ideas have crossed my mind, but as they say, until your fingers hit the keyboard, ideas are just wishful thinking. Technically, I was on leave, but work and family commitments ensured I always had an excuse not to write. Paradoxically, today’s article tries to encourage something that if done well, may infringe on your right to freedom to enjoy your leave.
Continue reading “The Lonely Road to Excellence”
“As we grow, we’ll realise that pushing our kids to start learning how to code from a young age or pick interests in sports is not different from our parents wanting us to become doctors, lawyers, or engineers back then.”
~ T. O.
Seeing this view on a friend’s WhatsApp status, it resonated well with my thinking that I decided to share a screenshot with a simple caption: “Care (Concern) or Selfishness?” It would appear that limiting the conversation to WhatsApp just would not cut it, so here is a full article inspired by T. O.
Continue reading “The Parents We Do Not Want”
“Privilege is when you think something is not a problem because it’s not a problem to you personally”
David Gaider
The headline quote for this article is one that I think requires some deep introspection. But even if you were to undertake the shallowest form of reflection, it is easy to see at least one area of privilege regardless of how badly you think you lost the proverbial birth lottery. For me, my mind is burdened as I try to draw a line between privilege and responsibility. Permit me to selflessly unload my burden on you.
Continue reading “The Privilege Vs Responsibility Divide”
In an era of a myriad of re-definitions, where ancient landmarks are being removed, and the operating manual of humanity seems to be undergoing a major revision, it would seem that fathers are unnecessary vestiges of a world left behind; a time when humans thought it took two and a village to raise a child. But as a son who is father of a son, I look at the world around with a knowing that a father, if he truly be one, would always have a place in a child’s heart.
Continue reading “Father, Behold Thy Child”
Do you know any person who used to complain about an alcoholic father, but is now an alcoholic? Or, maybe it’s someone who complained about a terrible boss, but is now competing for that title? Maybe you know a woman who always complained about her mother-in-law, but is now doing to her daughter-in-law the very things she used to whine about. I have seen a quote that says “we become what we hate”. However, I disagree. Maybe it’s not that we become what we hate, but that what we hate might be the default “normal” for humans, and we ought to actively seek to be different rather than merely complain.
Continue reading “The Big Man in Us”
As secondary school students, we were taught about “metamorphosis”— the full lifecycle of insects such as butterflies that sees them transform from eggs to larva, pupa, and then adults. Although the term “metamorphosis” was not used in describing the human journey from birth to adulthood, the circle of life is surely a journey of staged transformations. However, unlike the butterfly that largely has no say in its metamorphosis, humans make choices that influence the outcome of each transformation; for example, a man can decide whether to be a mere sperm contributor or a father.
Continue reading “On Becoming A Father”
I’m typing this article sitting outside my apartment while a throng of fireworks litters the skies. I expect that for much of this night, sleep might be either downright impossible, or thanks to my neighbours, socially unacceptable. So, while I spend time with some neighbours, let me conjure an article. Continue reading “2019: A Fresh Start”
After reading my last article on issues affecting Port Harcourt, a certain friend of mine called me to discuss the main ideas in the article. In a one hour-plus WhatsApp call, this Nigerian “externally displaced” in the United States, made the point that my article was trying to solve a problem by complaining about the symptoms. Whereas I did not necessarily agree with his entire viewpoint, a key idea stood out—his application of Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son to events in Nigeria and Africa. Continue reading “Still Washing Pigs”
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”
Jilomes 