Serendipity

Image: Fenderbender Overtime, I have come across two important lessons with respect to achieving goals. It is a still a struggle for me to imbibe the inherent truths in the lessons but I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that they hold the key to commitment to specific objectives 1.     1. You will never be good enough – We all have been blessed with fantastic ideas that can change and re-engineer our world. We are literally busting at the seams with life changing concepts and initiatives. But our mind never seems to agree with us. It tells us not to delude ourselves; great ideas are the preserve of an exclusive few and we are most certainly not part of that few. Even when we are convinced that we are on to something special or that has potential, our will is quickly worn down by the thought of the effort required to actualize the goal.     The excuses then begin to pour in, reason after reason why we are not qualified to chase that dream. And it doesn’t matter whether

Image: Pikist Over the weekend, I played football for the first time in probably 15 years. I went with my neighbour who plays regularly after I signified an interest in tagging along. As much as I love the sport, I must say I was petrified at the prospect of actually playing. Most of the people who played at the field where my neighbour played had been playing together regularly for a long time; they all practically knew each other and were quite good at the game as they appeared quite competitive during games. I had watched the guys there play before, they played like professional footballers. I was scared of playing in front of so many unknown people, I was afraid I wouldn’t be good enough, I was afraid at being laughed at, I was afraid people would form an opinion about me from how I played, I was just plain scared. My neighbour knew nothing of the trepidation I overcame to go for that first game; I decided it was a fear I had to conquer, this fear of judgment from other peopl

Image: Sunnewsonline I was one of those people that campaigned vigorously for President Buhari in the build up to the 2015 elections. I had one main reason; I was tired of the ineptitude and corruption that held sway with blatant disregard in the Jonathan administration. I like many Nigerians at the time wanted Buhari to tackle corruption. I had no delusions of grandeur that Buhari was going to do wonders for our economy or transform Nigeria into a land flowing with milk and honey. The man in my mind had just the one mandate; fight corruption. And then possibly pave way for a younger more charismatic candidate beaming at the seams with progressive ideas; and one who would finally be able to settle down to the business of building a Nigeria of our dreams without the encumbrance and bottle necks of deep seated venality. The argument about Buhari’s performance thus far has left Nigerians divided, (not that we were running out of reasons to be) but irrespective of what side of th

Photo: Newswhip The Oscar awards are a global entertainment staple, rewarding many great actors and film practitioners over the years. A number of Nigerians were just elected into its voting board. What does this development portend for us as Nigerians and for our movie industry? The idea for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started out as an organization to facilitate smoother working relationships within the American movie industry in the 20s. Curiously, it was to be known as the International Academy but that prefix was dropped by the time the academy was officially incorporated.   In more recent times the awards have been dogged by allegations of being too ‘white’, a fact which the academy itself acknowledged and thereafter pledged an era of greater inclusivity by rendering its voting pool more diverse across not just race but also gender, age and relevance. And so consequently, a number of our own veterans here got drafted into the voting academy, but I’ll

Image: Melmagazine We’re all familiar with the usage of the word ‘Chivalry’ today and this piece looks at the take on chivalry by some advocates of feminism. I recently read comments attributed to one of my favourite and most inspiring people (in an interview she granted) where she argued for I would describe as a more balanced and gender-neutral inclined substitution for chivalry. I discovered while researching the topic that this particular view has actually been around for a while. My choice of advocate for feminism as opposed to outright ‘feminist’ is deliberate as it represents my current understanding and struggle with what feminism truly means. I have and will always believe that men and women are equal (and this is where I differ with some feminist ideologies), but different. What I hear some, (again permit me) advocates of feminism averring, is the ‘same’ treatment for men and women. Same here should not be confused with equal, they mean different things. I will atte

Image: Livguard I had barely left my street heading to church one Sunday when my car started to act up. Sparking sounds emanated from the engine; an issue my auto electrician had just assured me was resolved only the day before. It didn’t take long for me to decide that it would be safer to park and investigate the issue further. On the opposite side of the road from where I stopped was a truck driver backing his long container truck into an available parking spot there. Now, this fault is something that had damaged the brain box of my car in the past, (or at least that’s what I was told was responsible) and so I was not willing to take any chances. The day being a Sunday, I wasn’t likely to get a mechanic easily and so I approached the truck guy parked on the other side of the road for some help. Thinking about it now, I’m wondering why I felt he could help; I guess I felt driving a truck implied that he was more technical than the average driver.   As I approached him,