...AND OBASANJO WROTE JONATHAN!

In recent times, I have tried to think about 2015 and what it will mean to the Nigerian nation. I am wondering seriously because the breadth of fresh air which the Goodluck administration promised us is gradually becoming stale. I used to strongly be a pro
Goodluck person but how I wish I can still proudly say that now. We Nigerians do not know how to agitate and even when we do, it is laced with ulterior motives and various forms of sentiments if not, we deserve more accountability than we are being given currently. Why must government continue to serve as a get-rich-quick system in the Nigerian society.?
I have read with dismay the 18-page Obasanjo's letter and I am somewhat amused. Obasanjo is genuinely concerned about the state of affairs in the nation but that is simply because he is no longer the one wearing the shoe. As a General, being in power and issuing command is like a birth right but now, times have changed.
The Obasanjo letter has opened up a lot that deserves some deep thought but when it comes from a man who funded third term bid, it leaves much to be desired.
With all these inherent bitterness from many quarters and some sublime agitations for ethnic supremacy, what is the hope of our nation come 2015? Who shall take our nation into the promised land? Is it PDP or APC? Who is as detribalised and as experienced enough as to go for us come 2015?
The problem is that in the absence of a better option, everything might gravitate towards Jonathan again while the power-desperate north will still keep making the country ungovernable. My friends, when will quality of person and value consciousness triumph over some kangaroo ethnic and tribalism sentiments?When will competence over rule nepotism and partisanship?  Who will fearlessly dare to lead us into that Nigerian dream where we are in word and in deed the Giant of Africa?
I pray that Nigeria will continue to stand as one united entity for I can not bear to recite to my children, There Was A Country, and then I will be referring to Nigeria instead of Biafra. With what is happening, I feel a serious lack of sincerity in the current administration; especially towards corruption. If truth is told without sentiments, Nigerians cannot endure a slow-paced administration for another four years. No, we need something better!
For Mr President, GCFR, I believe you mean well for the nation and you have the key but where is the will? Please for the sake of posterity, fight the good fight against corruption no matter whose ox is gored and let your critics be drowned in a sea of your good works.
For you my friends, please don't give up on our nation but while you hold on, remember to fight your own fight of relevance for when the chips are down, only those who fold their hands shall be at a huge loss.
May God grant us a heart of wisdom!
D-Motivator.

THINKING THROUGH.

During Nelson Mandela's 19 years imprisonment on Robben Island, one particular commanding officer was the most brutal of them all:

"A few days before Badenhorst's departure, I was called to the main office. General Steyn was visiting the island and wanted to know if we had any complaints. Badenhorst was there as I went through a list of demands. When I had finished, Badenhorst spoke to me directly.

He told me he would be leaving the island and added: 'I just want to wish you people good luck'. I do not know if I looked dumbfounded, but I was amazed. He spoke these words like a human being and showed a side of himself we had never seen before. I thanked him for his good wishes and wished him luck in his endeavours.

I thought about this moment for a long time afterwards. Badenhorst had perhaps been the most callous and barbaric commanding officer we had had on Robben Island. But that day in the office, he had revealed that that there was another side to his nature, a side that had been obscured but still existed.

It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency and that, if their hearts are touched, they are capable of changing. Ultimately, Badenhorst was not evil; his inhumanity had been foisted upon him by an inhuman system. He behaved like a brute because he was rewarded for brutish behaviour."

Source: "Long Walk To Fredom" by Nelson Mandela

Within these days following his death, the life and times of the former South Africa's President Nelson Mandela continues to draw attention. I remember him within these days and hope that in the days ahead we shall have same zeal and passion for doing what is right and good to the common man. His 27 years in jail is easier thought about than encountered. He understood that people do what they do because of what is motivating them but dared to preserve his own inner convictions of not holding grudges unneccesarily.These trying moments refined him and when he left jail, he left all the anger and bitterness behind because he believed he was truly a free man. Some people are free but live as slaves in the prison yard of an unforgiving heart. In his own words, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.”

Are you one of such that finds it hard to forgive? Dare to forgive today. Sometimes, love is the greatest weapon we use to win the war of hatred. I know it can sometimes be very hard to forgive but try and learn to forgive today and walk in a wider realm of freedom.

I believe in you!

D-Motivator.   

 

 

COURAGE

In recent times, I have been thinking deeply on the subject of courage. Courage is a rare virtue these days especially among young people. I have learnt that many times we dream big but often feel reluctant to pursue those big dreams or even do what it takes for the dreams to be actualized. There is always this initial inertia that gives our inner man a thousand and one reasons why what we want to achieve will not work. Well, courageous people stand alone on their convictions. Not everyone will support you initially. A courageous man is always on the go, he is always up to something. He does not postpone what he can do today for tomorrow because while we are postponing, life speeds by. While fear goes backward, courage goes forward. Which one will you choose today? Courage or Fear?
For you to take strong decisions as a leader, you need courage, for you to get to your next level, you need courage. Courage does not envy people. Courage understands that the sky is too wide for two birds to collide. Courage is that which tells you that even though you fail today, there is always new strength for tomorrow.

What ever is the challenge, stay courageous and you will surely win!
I believe in you!
D-Motivator.

Alexander and Diogenes

Now when Alexander [the Great] appeared before the Greek leaders in Corinth they greeted him warmly and paid him lavish compliments- all of them, that is but one. A funny fellow, a philosopher named Diogenes. He had views not unlike those of the Buddha. According to him, possessions and all the things we think we need only serve to distract us and get in the way of our simple enjoyment of life. So he had given away everything he owned and now sat, almost naked, in a barrel in the market square in Corinth where he lived, free and independent like a stray dog.

Curious to meet this strange fellow, Alexander went to call on him. Dressed in shining armour, the plume on his helmet waving in the breeze, he walked up to the barrel and said to Diogenes: 'I like you. Let me know your wish and I shall grant it.' Diogenes, who had until then been comfortably sunning himself, replied: 'Indeed, Sire, I have a wish.' 'Well, what is it?' 'Your shadow has fallen over me: stand a little less between me and the sun.' Alexander is said to have been so struck by this that he said: 'If I weren't Alexander, I should like to be Diogenes.'

Source: "A Little History Of The World" by E.H. Gombrich

The Moral of this story is that it pays to have an independent mind. Don't let people sway you from here to there. Get an identity, don't let the quest for material things destroy the you on the inside! 
Find something you are known for!
Best Wishes as always!
D-Motivator.

Pregnant at 18, Best Graduating Student at 25!

Seven years after an unwanted pregnancy forced her to drop out of the University of Ilorin, Aishat Farooq emerges the best graduating student of the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, reportsTemitayo Famutimi

When Aishat Farooq gained admission into the University of Ilorin at 15, to study Zoology, little did she know that she was not going to be an alumnus of the institution. That was in 2003.

Despite the fact that she was a high flyer in her first two years in UNILORIN, the now 25-year-old indigene of Ilorin West-Local Government Area of Kwara State got distracted along the line. She played the campus love game and got a shocking result: she got pregnant.

It was in 2006 and in her third year. She was pregnant for a fellow student whom she had been dating. She was disappointed in herself and thought the whole world was crashing on her.  Yet, she vowed not to terminate the pregnancy.

20 Quotes To Fuel Your Passion!

1.Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can         achieve. –Napoleon Hill
2. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s         life. –Steve Jobs
3. Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert         Einstein
4. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled         by, and that has made all the difference.  –Robert Frost
5. The common question that gets asked in business is, ‘why?’         That’s a good question, but an equally valid question is, ‘why         not?’ -        Jeffrey Bezos
6. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. –Wayne Gretzky
7. I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost         300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning         shot and         missed. I’ve failed over and over and over         again in my life. And         that is         why I succeed. –        Michael Jordan
8. Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. –Babe Ruth
9. Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all                 achievement. –W. Clement Stone
10. Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other               plans. –John Lennon
11. We become what we think about. –Earl Nightingale
12. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the               things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw          off the      bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the              trade winds in your         sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover. –           Mark Twain
13. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. –           John Maxwell
14. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always         gotten. –Tony Robbins
15. The mind is everything. What you think you become.  –Buddha
16. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best          time is now. –Chinese Proverb
17. An unexamined life is not worth living. –Socrates
18. Eighty percent of success is showing up. –Woody Allen
19. Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. –Napoleon Hill
20. Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. –Vince Lombardi

DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!

Recently, I have looked at this phenomenon of expecting the government to do this for us and do that for us as a complete hoax. One day, while we were still in the University, in a lecture hall called Industrial Lab in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I remember hearing my lecturer, Professor Ogbonna (A professor of Industrial Microbiology) say that in the days of his fathers, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Co. who were in government and by extension in the leadership class were to blame for the societal problems then. Invariably, his father and those in that generation blamed the then president. Today, from what he said, his age mates are the ones in the National Assemply and even in Aso Rock doing one thing or the other and we still vehemently blame them for our problems. Then his conclusion, fight your own fight and don't let government disappoint you. My own submission is that when you fight your own fight, you will find yourself being attentive to your truest self and the most creative realm of your existence. This way, you have no one to blame but yourself and you can trust, this will boost your productivity.

In our day to day life, we sometimes trust too much that those we love will fight our fight; that our parents will do this for us, that our uncles will do that for us, that our aunties will come to our rescue bla...bla...bla!

NIGERIA; HOW FAR SO FAR?

A day like this reminds me what it means to be a Nigerian.  It reminds me what a land of opportunities we have. It reminds me of the sacrifice that has been put in to make us a great nation; the war fought, the lives lost and the challenges we continue to face. Nation building is not a small task. I am also reminded today of many leaders who have betrayed their given mandate and impoverished Nigerians by stash our commonwealth into private accounts.

These days, I have learnt not to expect too much from the government to avoid being disappointed but however it may be, the senseless killings of innocent students in Yobe state, continuous  ethnic crises in Nassarawa state,  the lingering ASUU strike, a power sector in need of help, the list is endless. Yet, we must continue to have faith in our great nation for it is the only nation we can call our own. To love, cherish and respect our fellow countrymen and forge a common front against terrorism is the way forward. We are making progress, we are moving forward. Truly, we can disagree without being disagreeable. We are not as divided as our politics suggest neither are we as fearless as not to confront our greatest challenges as the current violence in the North-East suggests.

A RACE AGAINST TIME.

Lucky roughened his face as the harsh cold kissed him hard at the forehead. It has been a rough night. He dragged his feet but managed to walk across the boulevard that led to his place. It had never occurred to him that his last hangover would hand him over to the school of hard knocks.

Lucky has just awakened from a slumber beside a gutter. Life is unfair, Lucky concluded. He spat. He twitched his nose and gave a long sneeze. Bouts of fresh undefiled air caressed his nostrils. He had been abandoned by his friends after a long drinking spree.

As he staggered home, he could barely remember why and how he got there. He had been gulping few bottles and was slightly tipsy when his friend, Charles, threw a challenge at him, “You cannot finish 12 bottles of beer.

“Of course I can! Lucky shouted. “I know you can’t” replied Charles “What do you mean? Don’t you know that though all beer may be equal in volume, all men are not? Barman, bring me eight more.” Lucky ordered. “What! Shouted Charles… “My five thousand naira for a bet, Charles added as the other friends watched.

It was the sixth bottle that broke the Camel’s back.

THE NIGERIA I SEE.

Whenever I hear the lyrics of the Nigerian national anthem, my blood boils, it boils with patriotism and love for the only nation we can proudly call our own. When I reflect again, the weight and the burden borne by these heroes past give me a resolve to fight for the protection of the entity called Nigeria; to uphold the unity in our diversity and to harness the abundance of human and material resources which Mother Nature has bestowed upon us.

Nigeria is one of the best countries to live in. We are not plagued by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions but our own internal eruptions often threaten to drag us to our knees.  Many Nigerians, especially the youth say that Nigeria does not support dreams and that it is one of those countries where dreams die a natural death. Really, I don’t share in this view; not because Nigeria has met all my dreams but because I dare to think that I must be the solution in every problem I encounter. This indeed is the mindset for the materialization of this Nigeria that I see.

The great writer, Chinua Achebe in his book the trouble with Nigeria said that the problem of Nigeria is failure of leadership. Though this is true, it is far from being the only thing. Followership has equally failed as it has become hard for Nigerians to trust their leaders even if the leaders happen to be well-intentioned. Hence it is imperative that we embrace a strong attitudinal change to bring our nation on course again.

EXCUSE ME, WHO IS SPEAKING?

There is always a voice behind every voice. Which one do you hear? Sometimes, when people speak to you, try to listen. I’m not asking you to be unnecessarily judgemental about people but I want you to pay attention to the view I’m going to share.

Often, when the enemy wants to bring bad suggestions to you, he goes through the least sources you can’t imagine. When the devil wanted to bring Eve down, he came through the serpent, an unlikely source. When the enemy wanted to finish Samson, he came through Delilah, the least source- she was his Lover! To Abraham, it was through his wife, Sarah that the voice spoke through and he slept with Hagar and the outcome was Ishmael and today that outcome is still being battled.  When the enemy wanted to get Jesus, he came speaking through Peter, and Jesus, being who he is, rebuked Peter knowing that it was not really Peter but it was about the one speaking through him.

Asking for God’s direction is one of the ways to decipher the voice in every voice.

Ten Things You Probably didn't know about Mandela

                          1. Mandela’s tribal nickname is “Rolihlahla,” meaning “Troublemaker.”

Other accounts translate Rolihlalhla to mean “to pull a branch from a tree,” which, of course, is something only a troublemaker would do. It was his teacher, Miss Mdingane, who gave him the English name “Nelson,” much to the relief of journalists everywhere when he became famous.

2. Mandela was expelled from university after less than a year.

After finishing boarding school, Mandela headed to Fort Hare Missionary College. Less than 12 months later, he was expelled from college for helping to organize a strike against the white colonial rule of the institution. One might call this foreshadowing.

3. The United Nations decreed his birthday as Mandela Day.

In 2009, the U.N. declared Mandela’s birthday, July 18, as Mandela Day to mark his contribution to world freedom. The holiday calls on individuals to donate 67 minutes to doing something for others, reflecting the 67 years that Mandela had been a part of the anti-apartheid movement.

TEN KEYS TO A BETTER YOU!

KEY#1- BELIEVE

You must believe in yourself. Many of us harbor false beliefs. Sometimes we do not realize this. These false beliefs may have been with us our entire life.

We need to rid ourselves of this excess baggage. Many times, these false beliefs only serve to reinforce negative thoughts. This in turn prevents us from doing all the good we might otherwise do. The next time you “talk to yourself", stop and listen to what you said. Is it really true?

 KEY#2- VALUE

You must value everyone and everything that you have. Unfortunately, some of us do not appreciate what we have until it is taken away from us. It is then that we realize our loss and what we had. But then it is too late. Each day we should focus on what we have and give thanks. Remember that by focusing only on what we want and never valuing what we have, we become unhappy.

 KEY#3- SECURE

ARE WE LOSING THIS WAR?

Those who know me very well are aware that I am an ardent optimist any time, any day. I see hope in the midst of hopelessness; and why won’t I when I’ve made myself a self-styled Motivator? Nevertheless, I do not lose faith at all in my calling but when the Motivator needs some motivation, “You know say water don pass garri.” But never mind, “my own water never pass garri.” But now, I’m worried on the state of our nation. I first saw this headline in an article sponsored by Transparency International, “Nigeria is gradually losing the war against corruption.” It got me thinking; yes, it did. Most people in public offices and a good number of Nigerians have eroded the true spirit of nationalism.

Why are we losing this war against corruption?

TOUGH LOVE

                             

        Friends, it doesn’t feel so good to be far away from you for so long a time. As some of you already know, I was on my National Assignment in Kwara state, Nigeria and I had very limited access to the internet but now, it feels good to be back so we can inspire each other again! I missed you a lot and I hope you missed me too. I’m sorry for some of the expectations I could not meet  up with- some calls unreplied, some columns not written especially that of Explorer magazine but right now, I'm glad to be home.

        

 Please consider this short piece; I hope it says something to you.

It was ten minutes past ten. The night was cold and lonely, the silk cotton moved rhythmically to the spinning fan on the ceiling. As Mama Emeka knelt down, tears percolated in her eyes and streamed down to wet her palms. She clenched her teeth and muttered something under stiff breath. She had lost count of how long she had been kneeling there but she had been beckoning on God to restore her one and only son, Emeka.

           “Oh God, let my son come back to me!” She silently said with a weird mixture of faith and hopelessness. The night was cold but she managed to open the door to step out in the chilly cold and dangerous night in search of her son.

She felt she needed to stretch her faith beyond measure. She searched many places and finally found her son exhausted and abandoned in a “Pot Avenue” Emeka had been smoking and had lost consciousness. Emeka had preached in the church, sang in the choir, led many to Christ yet the alluring fantasies of a supposedly sweet world would not let him be.

One step after another, he derailed, became a frequent visitor at the jail house, an addicted smoker and a gangster.

Mama took him home amidst tears. “I had you in my womb for nine months, I breastfed you, I have always loved you. I could even die if only that will make you live; but son, come back to the Lord!” She wailed silently.

Indeed, Emeka later gave up his bad habits and returned to God, got rehabilitated and restored.

Indeed, Mama’s love could be tough but God’s love is even tougher! Would you take that love for granted? Don’t give up on God because he would not give up on you. Are you lost right now like Emeka, the waiting arms of the Lord are ever ready to welcome you back!

Just call home; Jesus is waiting with open arms!

Yours in active service!

Chijindu.