Serendipity

Image: Tony Robbins I am gradually weaning myself off the monthly supplement otherwise known as a salary; yes, the one that comes with paid employment. I made quite the ballsy move against the trappings and comfort that came along with the regular pay day. The withdrawal symptoms have been quite severe at times, leaving me mulling over my decision and contemplating if it was indeed the right one. I have beat up myself on occasion since I became a free agent , thinking back to the chain of events and decisions that led me to drop my letter . It wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly considering the ravenous appetite of the responsibilities on my plate and the unyielding urgency with which they would continue to come at me. And so, here we are. The action was made all the more complex by my resolve not to chase paid employment any further, at least not for the foreseeable future, allowing me to fully explore the extent of my other options. The unfolding developments to any observer...

Image: Fair observer I recently came across an article on Anthony Ekundayo Lennon, a middle aged Irish Caucasian accused of cultural misappropriation and profiting from passing himself off as a mixed race person. The Guardian article offered me a fresh perspective on his story. He had before now seemed to me to be just another ‘Rachel Dolezal’, who was also white but presented herself as a black person. And if you’re wondering how this is even possible, it actually isn’t that difficult to achieve. I’ve always found this concept of what makes a person black or white to be quite interesting. So, on the one end you have white individuals with white parents and white ancestry as far back as they know, identifying and presenting as black people. Rachel was president of a chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), one of the most regarded bodies for civil rights in the US for African Americans. You don’t get to such a position by not being black,...

Image: Wikipedia I think many would agree that Christianity as a religion has evolved over the years. As we have evolved as people and as societies, so has the way in which we practice religion. One could argue that the core tenets and message of Christianity have remained largely the same since biblical times but the other, somewhat complementary aspects of religion have been influenced by time and culture. The distinction between religion, the faith and religion, the practices, may not always be a clear cut one. There are a number of issues today that challenge our understanding of scripture and what is acceptable within Christianity. Some are as old as the issue of salvation for non-Christians while some are as contemporary as the ethics of stem cell research and recombinant DNA technology. Is there any wiggle room in interpretation for these matters? Or is God’s word cast in stone? - [pun intended]    Let us consider the fact that the Israelites in earlier parts ...

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 doe...

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 ...