One of the reasons why I visit developed countries is I’m fascinated by good. I am captivated by beauty, knowledge and order. Like Aristotle once argued, knowledge can be an end in itself and can provide joy in itself. Developed nations understand that. Libraries are not wasted spaces. They exist to both delight and train[…]
Nations have a way of outliving us all. Nationhood doesn’t just happen. It is created by a group of crafty, intelligent, ruthless and determined men & women. Until nations are deliberately formed, they subsist lethargically, waiting for dreamers and opportunists to die. Nations age in generations. Humans age in years. So, it is foolhardy to[…]
The rest of Africa is laughing at Nigeria. On developmental indices, the items we continue to boast about are population, GDP and natural resources. Without education, electricity, health, justice and equity, of what use are those things? What is our GDP per capita (which is a measure of the wealth of citizens)? It is because[…]
I recently started drinking again after a long time of not drinking. Yesterday, as I considered my glass of single malt whiskey, I remembered a friend who wrote about sleeping with random women. After I read his thoughts, I asked him why he did it, since he didn’t seem like the “promiscuous” type. He responded[…]
Sometimes when I’m very ill, I have terrible dystopian dreams. I visualise war and intense violence. I have hallucinations. When I wake, I imagine I’m still in the world created by my dreams. Now that the episodes have occurred a few times, my rational mind recognises that world is not real. I know that once[…]
In moments of brutal honesty, I acknowledge that Nigeria didn’t fail my generation. We failed her. Historically, there have been other nations that were just as bad as Nigeria, yet their people turned them around. Perhaps we should admit that we do not possess the character, insight, wisdom, networks, power, money and even luck, needed[…]
There must have been a point when music videos became defined by tits and ass. In the same way, there must have been an inflection point in Nigeria, when good governance became about building roads, digging wells and commissioning bridges. The irony is, those roads often lead nowhere, for Nigeria has an uncanny ability to[…]
I am fascinated by the biblical character called, Ruth. She was a Moabitess who married a Jew. When her husband died, she moved to Israel with her mother-in-law, Naomi; leaving culture, family and gods behind. The last item is telling. Those who lived in Canaan were fascinated by gods – Israelites and foreigners alike. The[…]
In my office, pens go missing all the time. I’m not sure if people simply appropriate them for use, or if it’s just a bad habit. So, I stopped bringing nice pens to the office and started buying cheap biros instead. Sometimes, people get irritated and shout about their pens going missing. This has a[…]
I have a great deal of respect for blues and jazz, especially of the old variety. I used to have terrible migraines. One day, someone gave me a cassette with the music of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. As I listened to the music, it was like a shot of Novocain went straight[…]
