Serendipity

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 ...

Image: Crossed Flagpins I remember the first time Venezuela ever came to my consciousness in a significant way. It was during my teen years, following the Miss World pageants; there had been a lot of winners from South America generally but particularly Venezuela. Venezuela holds the Guinness world record for being the only country to win back to back titles in the Miss Universe pageants in 2008 and 2009. Venezuela also ranks right on top in terms of the number of International beauty pageants it has won. Here is a country that could legitimately lay claim to having the most beautiful women in the world. The former Spanish colony also boasts the largest oil reserves in the world, is a founding member of the global oil cartel, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and has consistently been one of the world’s foremost oil exporters. I want that to really sink in, ‘largest proven oil reserves’, founding member of OPEC (and why not, it has the largest freaking oil reser...

Image: Lifewater I was awoken in the middle of the night by hurried footsteps and muffled sounds It was people fleeing their homes; lives they had built with love and sweat I saw devastated towns and heard agonising shrieks Frail hopes and splintered dreams  The soil was drenched in crimson Which vile poison has consumed men’s hearts?  So potent, only a drop sullies the mind and skews right judgement. This has to be a bad dream, I thought to myself, this infernal scene unfolding could not be real But I could smell the fear in the air, I could feel the resentment that pervaded the land Young and old bewildered, in a frantic effort to gather fragments of our lost humanity This was no dream, this was youth being decimated, ideals trampled underfoot and ambition crushed haplessly   How have we become encumbered in this hateful cycle of malevolence? What will stem this unholy tide of wickedness? Is there solace for the grieving? On ...