Tag: Life

Inspiration

Uncle Wigwe and the Fickleness of Life

Jilomes

“For, All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall”

1 Peter 1:24 (NIV)

On 9 February 2024, news suddenly filtered through that a helicopter had crashed in the distant United States, bringing down with it a Nigerian famous enough to have people worrying and hoping he was not on board the chopper. Sadly, the news was confirmed; Herbert Wigwe, banking juggernaut, had died alongside his wife and their son. Alongside the Wigwes, Nigeria also lost another corporate juggernaut, Abimbola Ogunbanjo. For days, Wigwe was trending on social media platforms, but as certain as life is, people have moved on.

Continue reading “Uncle Wigwe and the Fickleness of Life” →
Inspiration

Of Life, Expectations, and Hopes for 2024

Jilomes

In primary school, we used to sing a marching song: “The day is bright; it’s bright and fair; oh happy day; the day of joy; … mama jollof rice!” Of course the “mama jollof rice” part was arguably not in the original rendering, but it was a testament to the joy that filled the hearts of the singers. Today, those singers are now adults, and for many, the joy has left. But with a whole year ahead of us, being joyful could be the recipe for staying sane.

Continue reading “Of Life, Expectations, and Hopes for 2024” →
Inspiration

A Struggle to Balance an Unbalanced Life

Jilomes

Just around two weeks ago, my birthday came around for the nth time in my short sojourn on earth. While looking forward to spending the day with my family, work had other plans as I would be on an early morning flight that day and work until late into the night. Work just said, “who birthday don epp”. While replying some birthday messages two days later, I would reflect on life and the struggle to balance different aspects of our lives with limited time.

Continue reading “A Struggle to Balance an Unbalanced Life” →
Inspiration

Pressure Ti Po: When the Joneses Struggle to Keep Up

Jilomes

Growing up, except one was born into an unbelievably liquid family, one would have at some point or the other been advised against trying to “keep up with the Joneses”. Whereas the parochial connectivity of those days prevented many persons from knowing sufficient Joneses to benchmark against, today, social media networks have exponentially multiplied the Jonesian gene pool, such that you can be enjoying a 2G connection under hot sun in Nguru, while some random stranger suffering under a transparent lake in the Maldives would make you think your life is a joke.

Continue reading “Pressure Ti Po: When the Joneses Struggle to Keep Up” →
Randoms

An African’s Take on the Titanic’s Titan

Jilomes

“But wetin this oyinbo people go find for there sef”

I have long accepted my cross as an offline search engine cum facts aggregator providing value added services to my bosses. But whereas I wish I could request a salary increase attuned to the higher costs of staying current, this article is not about negotiating a raise. My boss’ question mirrored the minds of many Africans and even non-Africans wondering why anyone would pay US$250,000 (almost ₦200 million) to increase the number of persons lost to the Titanic.

Continue reading “An African’s Take on the Titanic’s Titan” →
Change, Randoms

As We Are Pushed to Become Less Humane

Jilomes

Today is Father’s Day, which, bless the Lord, we are happy not to share with the other day that commemorates toilets. Here I am on Father’s Day, in a hotel far from home, but rather than reflecting on the blessedness of fatherhood, I am scribbling words on another issue that has been on my mind for a bit. I have written in the past on Father’s Day, but today, let me lament on the society’s gradual slide away from the humaneness of humanity.

Continue reading “As We Are Pushed to Become Less Humane” →
Randoms

A Love-Hate Relationship with Noise

Jilomes

In secondary school, we were told in Physics class that “noise is unwanted sound”. While we half-heartedly memorised this definition and other physical concepts of sound like loudness, frequency, and quality, we may not have considered the philosophical side of noise. It now appears to me that properly describing noise could present the same quagmire like terrorism, where one’s freedom fighter is another person’s terrorist. But if that analogy is considered too extreme, we may make do with viewing noise as one’s food being another person’s poison.

Continue reading “A Love-Hate Relationship with Noise” →
Inspiration

2023: A Defining Moment

Jilomes

“Happy New Year!”

If at 00:01am on January the First, someone had told me it would be three weeks before I get a chance to scribble my first article for the year, I would have said, “all things have become new”. But here I am, finally typing these words after a combination of several factors, ably captained by workplace orders, conspired to keep me on the defensive from the zero hour. So, let me start by saying welcome to a defining year for everyone.

Continue reading “2023: A Defining Moment” →
Randoms

To Japa or Not to Japa

Jilomes

Life is a potpourri of numerous choices we make, of which some decisions are key because of their overreaching impact on how our lives shape up from that point. In today’s Nigeria, especially among people who fit certain criteria, one such decision is whether to leave Naija (“to japa”) or stay back within its territory. As social media continues to be regaled with a nouveau popular meme announcing a glassy welcome to a new dispensation, we may draw some wisdom from an adaptation of author Julie Kagawa’s writing that “there are no good choices …only those you can live with, and those you can work to change”.

Continue reading “To Japa or Not to Japa” →
Change, Inspiration

The Lonely Road to Excellence

Jilomes

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” →