We are Men

We are men who fear a God we do not see
We are men who uphold justice at the hospice
We are men, fond of our wives and mothers
We are men, bound by the good of the land

We are men to our fears
We are men by our tears
We are men of our words
We are there for our wards

We are trained by the lamenting needs in the society
We are strained by the needless sufferings in our community
We abstain from the enchanting love of money
We can make money from even the sale of honey

We are men made under pressure
We are men by every humble measure
We are against every human sponsor of Nigeria’s evil show
We are empowered by the God we live to know

But there are men against us
Men who hate righteousness despise us
Men who eat with the devil to escape from us
Men who live with the oracles that war against us

They are men who boast of mammon as their lifeguard
Men, who stand with principalities on the devil’s vanguard
Men, who live in riches at the expense of lives they extinguish
Being men who are too dull to make money by fair means, they languish

They know why electric power must never be reliable
They know why refineries must never be operational
They know why railway transportation must never be resurrected
They know everything except progressive thinking

They are men by their own standards
They are babies by our own standards
They are spared by their lifeguard’s temporal verve
We are men, spared by the mighty God we serve

The Transparent Mind(c)2009.
Ayo Morakinyo is, by all yardsticks, a provoked Nigerian. By God’s grace, he says what he believes and lives what he says. He longs to see a better Nigeria and hopes he does not run of out patience. Alleging that he is a sporadic freak, friends have named him the careless poet-an identity he has modified to the transparent mind.

Point of Problem: Stall-Fed Cattle

In Nigeria today, leaders that know the right are endless in number but the percentage of those that do them remains minimal. Among such are rare visionaries like Raji Fashola & Adams Oshiomole. That does not mean they, themselves, cannot do better but then, their performance in office cannot be ignored when compared with that of some other governors. If more of such citizens are given the chance to lead, I believe more problems will be solved.

We are leaving the era when selfish and incompetent members of the citizenry are allowed to lead the larger majority thereby wrecking havoc instead of providing durable solutions. The days when leaders who have been spoon-fed by corrupt and fraudulent persons in our society gain undue admission into public offices are now finite. The innocent, the elite and even the poor have suffered and learnt from their mistakes. Let us just hope that unlike dogs, we do not return to our own vomit.

Now, the issue at hand is ensuring that we maintain this pattern of change that has started and strive to move along this trend, being optimistic that things will get better. I believe Nigeria's present status is a function of her content (the kind of resources and citizens she harbours). Hence, if we do not become a better people, we should not expect to see the emergence of a better Nigeria.

Insights From Sight-seeing

Every temptation has a way of escape; every challenge has a weak point. Discovering it, is what we need to do. Just as building bricks are easier to crush when you hit them at a point of crack, our problems are easier to solve when we take time out to analyse them and seek for smallest details we have not been paying attention to. And this approach works in most for cases and at most times. The only time at which this methodolgy proves ineffective is when the time out is an additional problem itself. This happens when there is no tolerance for an additional use of time. But eventually, a consistent practitioner or user of the "weak-point-location" strategy becomes faster in his analysis and gains credible skills that afford him proactive ability in this regard. Consequently, he is able to solve problems faster and more easily.

It costs no real effort to build castles in the air. It cost a fortune to build just one castle in life. At one or more points in our lives, we have all built glorious castles in the empty air. We have had occasions when we stimulate our imagination to fascinate our sense of fantasy. There may have been times when you imagine that you're in the White House when you're just in your study room. And boy, is it not a pleasurable thing enter to into the dreamland where you get exactly what you want before you eventually get it in reality? It sure is! Yes, yours may not have been the white house but there must have been something,a place or an experience that appeals to your fantasy. However, it worthy to stress that a problem may arise when this imaginary activity becomes excessively triggered. It could be a very frustrating event to always see something you will never become. It is more humiliating when you try all you can to achieve that thing and still, you seem to chisel no breakthrough in its direction. And perhaps, the most terrifying experience a human being can have is to always try to achieve something, always get close to it but never get it.Some geniuses have lost it through a continual misappropriation of their imaginative ability and several sane human beings still go mad once in a while.
Sincerely, I have had a few of those moments of fantasy and it has not been fun in the slightest bit! But one thing has kept me going: I have been opportuned to realise that in life, you don't get all you want (and that includes the good things you see some other people get). Otherwise, if you get what you want all the time, other people will suffer for it. Many others around you will never get what they really want. Every good thing that should happen to each individual has varying appointed times and as such, if you try to get what you should not have at a particular time, you will either get the things you don't want along with it or, you will never get that thing you want no matter how you try.
I give an instance, a 20-year-old man who has not discovered the solution to a global problem, whose father is not a global industrialist and whose talents are not extraordinary might be doing a lot of wrongs if he is attempting to own a chain of industry within a one year period. The requirements for the achievement of that dream are too cumbersome for him to meet such that it makes his dream unrealistic with the current global settings. However, if he applies strength, funds and ideas in that direction sometime down the lane of his lifetime, he might succeed with just a single hit!
This being true, makes me understand that there is a schedule of available opportunities for each person and that as we add each new day to our days on earth, certain things must be consciouly done. We must do the necessary and minimise the unnecessary. Minimise the unnecesary? Yes, minimise it! You could never be so perfect and freaky that you do just all the things that are pertinent to your life purpose. We never do that! If we live our lives purposefully, most but not all of the things we do with our lives are usually related to our life purpose. But since, it is humanly to engage ourselves in diverse unwarranted activities based on our imperfect choices, we tend to play away once in a while. Nevertheless, when we make such discoveries or realise these frivolities, we must drop them anf refocus on hitting our targets. It is such practices that make us ready and worthy in the scheme of global relevance. They bring us into the proximity of the main things we need, many of which we would have grown to deserve. Hence, the only necessary thing is to prepare, by doing the right things which remain the pre-requisites for reaching the destinations we've chosen in life.
Friends, I charge you to build less castles in the air but do more of hardwork because such venture could be a waste of imaginative thinking. Do it when it is required to gain happiness while implementing your plans and to sustain your most cherished dreams. But more importantly, work on yourself, prepare workable plans and make your life ready. Let us acquire relevant skills and pursue contemporary education. Let us set your sails now so that when the wind comes blowing, we'd be ready to sail on the sea to our most desired island of greatness. Cheers!

Shared Word

In African nations today, corruption has become a force to be reckoned with.It lives with the citizenry and runs in the blood of several government leaders. The people who are suppposed to be providing solutions are the very ones aggravating the weight of corruption; they are the very ones who sustain the existence of this force.

If we say there are many unqualified leaders in Africa, we are right. But if we refuse to mention the origin, we have made an unfair judgement. Corrution came to Africa based on two factors: Illiteracy & Crudeness. Before many African countries gained independence, while the white men were still ruling, corruption was unintentionally introduced to the supposed pace setters in Africa.

I said "unintentionally" because, though the intention of those folks was to cheat and make money out of Africa(using our resources), they never thought of the act of laziness and indiscipline they were imparting into the typical African leader-as at then, the tribal chiefs.On the long run, there was a transference of this act from the fathers back then down to the leaders of today.

History has it well documented that unruly activities such as slavery, bribery, deception, sexual abuse, etc were part of the "Aliens' dealing".
Corruption has come as a result of ignorance, illiteracy and greed on the part of several African leaders and the past has been put where it rigtly belongs. But the solutions still remains these:
the citizens in African nations must be educated to imbibe productive culture, to pass on education, to encourage peace at all times, to be disciplined and maintain order, to promote creativity and punish criminal offences appropriately.

Likewise, relevant education must be upheld as a strict pre-requisite for leadership at all ramifications, from local government chairmen to commisioners to state governors to ministers, senators, special advisers, reps and the office of the president.

I believe that a consistent implementation fo these and other possible solutions will cause a real change in Africa. See what is happening in Nigeria and typically, in Lagos State. The Leadership seems to be sticking to right procedures and goal setting...That says it all! Africa still needs to be monitored with good counsel, lovingkindness and continuous help. Let the world's concern be available her.

From Morakinyo Ayo
http://www.moraks.blogspot.com and http://moraks.tigblog.org




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Laughable

If U really need twenty naira notes as change in business or trading,

call on the policeman on duty at the nearest road block. In reality,

twenty naira denomination seems to be on demand. I think it's high time

the police force started "the twenty naira bank" where all transactions

are made in 20Naira notes. That way, offenders can pay their "fines"

through ATMs

My Remarks: Let's call a spade a spade; not an agricultural implement.

The force is getting sick and needs urgent help.

Grown-up Toddlers (1) (The Banger Syndrome)

On December 12 2008, a teenage girl stepped out unto the balcony of her house with a baby in her arms. She had just been instructed to take her little baby brother outside so he could get some fresh air. While attempting to lay the mat on which they would lie, a smoky object suddenly flew into her arms and landed on the baby’s face. Instantaneously, the object exploded, making three deep sounds momentarily. In response to the sudden explosion, the frightened teenager dropped her younger sibling. Before she could recover from the shock, the baby was already dead. Someone had just thrown a banger and the dangerous object had successfully brought catastrophe into a home.

The moral of that story is this, “beware of lunatics; but more so, beware of those ones that do not wear rags especially those whose age is deficient to their character.” Only lunatics try to prove beliefs that have a weak and nonsensical foundation. Physical normalcy is not necessarily a firm criterion for healthiness and the test for maturity does not lie in one’s acquisitive ability but in consistent character. Maturity is not entirely physical; it is no longer a function of height, countenance and weight. Rather, maturity is revealed in character and thought-pattern coupled with consistency. Nowadays, you can hardly judge between an adult and a huge person. With just a good piece of blazers, a matching shirt and a pair of contemporary shoes, anyone can pretend to be intellectual. Maturity has now evolved into an intangible quality that has to be tested before you can ascertain a person’s mental status. Therefore, it will be erroneous to still assess people’s maturity based on their age or financial capability because that approach has proven ineffective time and again. The days of drawing conclusions on people’s personalities based on their finesse and aplomb are varnishing. The human personality is fast becoming unpredictable.

From the story shared previously, one can deduce that just one stick of banger can wreck havoc upon an entire family. It could erase the hope of a labouring mother. Banger is as simple as a product of explosive phosphorus and paper but its effect could be as serious as death. It could be as terrible as initiating a severe fire massacre during the harmattan or autumn season. It could cause automobile accident. And still, banger remains a strong source of noise pollution. Apparently, bangers are not a source of good tidings neither are they indispensable reminders of festive seasons. When the need for exciters arises, fireworks will keep doing the tricks. Although more expensive and sophisticated, fireworks seem to be much safer than bangers and they bring back good memories than some rotten bangers do! They explode in the air and produce a creative effect. But what do bangers have to offer other than a recall of wartime pictures and a passion for violence? A vital truth is that bangers never prevailed in Nigeria until the 21st century. So, festive periods could do without them!

However, one thing is for sure; the continuous existence of these mini-explosives will keep doing more harm and no good. Before bangers ever existed, Christmas was always fun and new year celebrations were never dull. It only depends on how you choose to spend the holidays. So, if an end was put to the use of bangers, festivals will certainly not cease to be enjoyable. We do not need a rude supply of noise pollution, aggression and physical harm to remind us it’s time for season’s greetings. We are human beings with well developed faculties that naturally relevant stimulate actions. So, why should part of our motivation come from the use of bangers? Life is worth more than mere living and living is too wonderful to depend on inanimate objects like banger. All we need is a heart that blends with the season. We should not because of excitement create problems and sorrows for other people.

Yet, a pertinent question to ask is this, “what kind of adults need a noisy sound to arouse excitement within them?” the folly is excusable for young and immature children but what can we say about adults who engage in such acts? Are they really adults or are they lunatics disguised as responsible adults? If you are familiar with the age group of those who use bangers, you would have observed that some older folks are among them. Their age and status range from secondary school seniors to middle-aged grown-ups, usually men. Yet, if we ignored the supposed senior secondary school students because theirs seem excusable, what can we say is wrong with their much older co-users who have some knowledge on how hard earned money should be spent? Is their experience on the flow process of money not adequate to teach them how their earnings should be spent? Or, how does one describe the possessed wisdom of a middle-aged banger user of perhaps, 35years? The scenario is even worse when both father and son are involved in this illegal act. And that unfortunately, is not rare in most major Nigerian cities.

What sorts of legacy will a man who derives pleasure from throwing bangers leave for his children? How does he expect those children to respect any rule he lays down in the family when he, himself, is an active law breaker? Truly, the use banger is a punishable offence as declared by law enforcement agencies but, I think a more effective approach needs to be applied. The number of lunatics breaking this law is always on the increase and violence seems to be gaining more grounds than order. If placing a ban on the importation of these dreadful objects will help the situation, then the federal governments should do something to that effect. Also, it seems the punishment of using bangers is as ineffective as the passive complaints of affected non-users hence a suitable solution would be to cut out the supply of these items.

Baby adults will always remain and the banger syndrome will continually spread if both the government and society refuse to curb the use of bangers in our environment. What good does noise pollution do us? What consolation can erase the memory of the harm bangers can do? We already know what is right so, let’s do it!

SENSE OF PURPOSE

We are human beings
We are not dogs
We are not cats
We are not rabbits
So, we should never live like such
We have senses to think
We have senses to choose right
We have senses to cause a change
we have the means to choose right
So, don't let's mess it up!
We are not daft cos we're black
We are not dull cos we're struggling
We are not where we are cos of what we can't do
We are not here because of our worth
So, let's get to work and make some worthy sense!
We could make things better than they are
we could project true wisdom and deep intelligence
We could be the best that we could ever imagine
So, if its imaginable, let's achieve it with our senses!