A Great Story

A young lady was waiting for her flight in the boarding room of a big airport. As she would need to wait many hours, she decided to buy a book to spend her time. She also bought a packet of cookies. She sat down in an armchair, in the VIP room of the airpot, to rest and read in peace. Beside the armchair where the packet of cookies lay, a man sat down in the next seat, opened his magazine and started reading. When she took out the first cookie, the man took one also. She felt irritated but said nothing. She just thought: "What a nerve! If I was in the mood I would punch him for daring!" For each cookie she took, the man took one too. This was infuriating her but she didn't want to cause a scene. Shen only one cookie remained, she thought: "ah... What will this abusive man do now?" Then, the man, took the last cookie, divided it into half and gave her one half. Ah! That was too much! She was much too angry now! In a huff, she took her book, her things and stormed to the boarding place. When she sat down in her seat, inside the place, she looked into her purse to take her eyeglasses, and, to her surprise, her packet of cookies was there untouched! She felt so ashamed! She realized that she was wrong.... She had forgotten that her cookies were kept in her purse. The man had divided his cookies with her, without feeling angered or bitter. ...while she had been very angry, thinking that she was dividing her cookies with him. And now there was no chance to explain herself... nor to apologize. There are 4 things that you cannot recover. The stone... ... after the throw! The word... ... after it's said! The occasion... ...after the loss! The time... ...after its gone!

Just thought I should share this with ya fellas! ciao!

WHERE IS LOVE

As I read through my bible this morning I came across the meaning of true love. And I asked myself "in the Nigeria we live in today, can we draw strength from love?" I can only but see that we tend to embrace modernity, civilization and imported culture coupled with a barrage of misunderstood antecedents which we found ourselves evolved from.

Modernity, Civilization and imported culture says better roads, power supply, food, employment, health, transparency, leadership by example, active participation in positive initiatiives, good and standardized education, law and order, applicable technologies, progressive cultural exchange. Not brand-new flashy cars bought from stolen money on bad roads, Not power supply to only a certain class (elites) and expensive power-generating sets, Not importation of adulterated foods and drugs, Not bribing to get employed nor getting employed by godfatherism instead of by merit and experience, Not providing health care facilities that are far from the reach of the common man, Not rolling about in tinted vehicles and claiming busy schedules while lavishing time and money., Not "do what i say and dont mind what i do". Not creating initiatives with an ulterior motive of decieving to achieve selfish goals. Not education by bribing and cheating ones way through school. Not being lawless and knowing ways you can get away with it.

We as Nigerians cannot be quick to compare ourselves with others but not quick to identify the shortcomings in this fast-paced modern world we dwell in. In identifying the shortcomings, only then would we be able to incline our minds to positively directed changes. Lets approach development and change with a different attitude. An attitude of honest disposition to the long thrust of making Nigeria the Nigeria of our dreams; embedded in our hearts; seen in our faces especially when we come together on rare ocassions like a football match. It is an attitude of love for one another. The effect can only be imagined.

Talking about imaginations, I look at a new born child and imagine how the choices I make today will affect the child's tomorrow (destiny). I look at a labourer out in the sun and imagine what happens to him and his many children when the sinews of his bone become weak. For a meagre N700 daily pay he toils and toils, goes back to a home you cant really call a home, manages to feed his wife and kids and setting out the next morning for the same routine for the sake of his love for his wife and children. I look at the Nigeria of today and imagine what i would be like if we all operate in love for the Nigeria of tomorrow i.e. if we can see that through the eyes of the unborn.

Think about it. When modernization, civilization, imported culture and every other thing fail, can we draw strength from love. We can if we create our own modernity, civilization and have a strong sense of cultural belonging. Not destroy, but preserve and create.

I'll leave you with this portion of the Bible:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, [1] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [2] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

What better way to capture the moment than this?

The first prize winning photo in the Spot News Singles category of the 2007 World Press Photo Contest, by Reuters photographer Akintunde Akinleye, shows a man rinsing soot from his face after a gas pipeline explosion in Lagos, Nigeria December 26, 2006. The prize-winning entries were announced on February 9, 2007.

A Nigerian man rinses soot from his face at the scene of a petroleum gas pipelineexplosion near Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, Tuesday, December 26, 2006.

A ruptured petroleum pipeline burst into flames while scavengers were collectingfuel from the underground pipeline punctured overnight by an armed gang whosiphoned fuel into road tankers, leaving behind a stream of stray petroleumgasoline for hundreds of resident scavengers. The Red Cross said the fire killedat least 269 people and injured dozens that were trapped and burnt on the groundnext to a ramshackle automobile workshop and a saw-mill in the densely populateddistrict of Abule-Egba, an outskirt of Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos.

Nigeria, Africa oil giant, is the eight largest producer of crude oil in theworld and its earnings soared by the rise in the world market, allowing it tobuild up to 40 billion US Dollars by the end of 2006; but it is also one of theworld poorest countries with a large number of its 140 million people enduringextreme poverty amid widespread graft that makes a handful of people wealthy.This inequality motivates those who sabotage oil pipelines and the villagers whopilfer the fuel for sale in the black market where it is sold three-fold.
While the response of the emergency fire service equipped with leaking water hosesdelayed, other villagers assisted in using water collected in buckets, to subduethe fire that lasted four hours.

Akintunde Akinleye Reuters, Lagos, Nigeria.

Akintunde Akinleye (36), Nigeria, started in photography at high school, later graduating with a Bachelor of Education degree in Social Studies from Ondo State University. He enrolled at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, for a post-graduate diploma in Journalism in 1999, and in 2003 completed a master's degree in educational technology at the University of Lagos. Later in 2003 he was employed as a staff photographer on Nigeria's Daily Independent, moving on to a job at Reuters in 2005. He has had work published in such newspapers as such as The Washington Post, International Herald Tribune and The New York Times. In 2005 Akintunde was a participant of the first photojournalism course organized by World Press Photo in cooperation with the Nigerian Institute for Journalism. In January 2007, he had a solo exhibition at the gallery of the School of Art, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. www.akintunde1.com See Akintunde Akinleye talk about his work. Click here to start the flash film

BIG BROTHER AFRICA 2

Lights, Camera, Action! The show is on! Everybody is glued to thier TV screens. The Much awaited second season of the Big Brother Africa Show is back with a bang. It promises to deliver much more entertainment with the competing personalities that were carefully selected from 12 African Countries. For those who wonder why just 12 and not all the African Countries? These are the countries that have much dstv subscribers. Its all about the business behind it isnt it?

The action is on already! Loads of different personalities. Each one unique as they were ushered into the house. Allowed to say quick farewell to family, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife before the door is closed behind him/her for 98 days. Phew! thats a long time of not really being yourself in your real environment and familiar people instead of stark strangers that are out for the same 100k goal.

My fingers are crossed!

See Me See Wahala! Make I send Zenith Bank Reshage Card. Processing Fee Ko Processing Fee Ni

I woke up this morning and as I switched on my Phone, viola! a text message arrives (standard Nokia text message tone). Some times when I hear this text tone, I get excited because its either of two things. A client wants me to meet up with him to give me a job or some other good business news. Not that bad news dont come but for a text message to come through my business mobile line, it must be good especially on a monday morning.

This particular message came into my phone and got my attention immediately. It read like this:

"Congratulations! you have won N150,000.00. Your No. is among the 42 lucky winners of Lacasera Drink Bonanza, Ticket No. V020. Call 07031093502 or 08066859617 to claim your prize."

For a few seconds I was excited! I've never won any bonanza before or anything like it. But wait a minute! I never entered for any Lacasera Bonanza? O-yeah! na wah! for this Naija sef! .

Ok. I decided to play along and see how far it all goes. So I've got a few units on my phone to spare. I called the Number and a guy answered.

Now I dont know how or why this guy had to be sounding like he is from Jand (you know how a deep yoruba accent combiness with a wannabe american accent. His entire A and H are interchanged).

Here is our conversation:

Mr. 419: 'ello. Aow ha you ma frend!'

I said: 'Hello. emm, I got a text this morning that said I should call this number.

Mr. 419: 'Oh! Congratlasions! I shee you ha wan hof the Lacasera lucky winners.'

I said: Yes, Really? ...Ok.

Mr. 419: Ok. The Celebrations is hon now. We will like for you to follow our instructions so has to redeem your prize. So call me back in five minutes.

Click!... and he went off the line.

After like 15 minutes I called him back and he went through the same rehearsed 'ello! aow ha you ma frend. So I told him I was asked to call back.

Mr. 419: 'Congratlations once again! Now lisen carefully to this instruction on aw to redeem your prize of N150,000.00

I said: Am listening.

Mr. 419: We need you to send your name, age, mobile phone no and account No. as text message to this particular no. hand hin hoda for Zenith Bank to process your prize money, you will scratch N3000 Globacom resharge cards and send to this no. By the way Zenith Bank his the official bank that pays the prize money. This hiss to enable Zenith Bank sell the resharge cards and use the money to process your prize money to send to your account.

In my mind, am like: Ekwe! Sweet melody! Sing on broda! Since when did Zenith Bank start stooping so low, abi all na recapitalization techniques?

So I said: Abeg! call me back ma credit do finish so we go fit round up.

He called back!

So I said: Wait a minute Oga! I believe that Zenith Bank as "small a bank"as they are would not want to be collecting recharge cards instead of money as payment for services.

(Even Dundees Do 419. Naija don scatter finish)

Mr. 419: (Full of confidence) Ma frend, you can some over to hour hoffice in No.(somewhere in Lagos) So you can join your fellow celebrants to celebrate.

And I said: I dont Live in lagos (in my mind i said: "Oh! so recharge card no do you, you also wan cut my head and private part wey you go take do juju for money. your fada").

Mr. 419/Ritualist: It will be nice for you to come over so the money will be handed over to you in person. But anyway as you are not in Lagos. Just send the resharge card. No problem.

So I said: Can we do it this way (my naija sense kicking in). I will send my account No. Pay in N147,000 and pay Zenith Bank the remaining N3000. That way its a lot easier for both of us. Better still, just give me N100,000. Take N47,000.00 and give Zenith Bank their 3k. If you no gree for that one, make we split the money 50/50 just give me ma own share i no dey greedy.

Man did I get a click? The loudest for that matter. The line went dead!