...and for our sakes, that we may live well...

Life is not A, B, C…, but A, AB, B, BC, C… Many times we confront life as though it is “simple as A, B, C…” in popular parlance, but at the end we realize that we have been wrong about many things. Life is as rare and complex as the grading system of few tertiary institutions with grades that almost make your head spin. In addition, just like the saying that “…all is fair in love and war” life confronts us with issues that make us question living, reality and focus, but also in the end we sigh, “…all is well that ends well…” How do we now measure a “well ending” or more preferably a “happy ending”? It has crossed my mind many times when old folks die that people say, what a long life, but when a young person dies, we are quick to say, “…oh too young” and I am guilty of that too without pausing to consider if the life was meaningful. There are many old fools who have died at their very old ages who if they had died earlier would be better for the nation, but we have come to accept age as the perfect measure of a life well spent. This regretful incident has helped me and my family to rethink and probably redefine the meaning of a good life and we conclude that it is a life spent with JESUS in focus. Our young lady died at a relatively young age, but as her dear husband mused just by the grave side, we are consoled that she knew the Lord, through life-she lived a good life. To the departed, we are constrained, but for the living, we continue to strive to achieve the good life. May the GOD of all comfort keep the hearts of her husband and child in peace and to the families of the departed (Oladele and Olurinde), we have a hope that all is well… Till we meet to part no more Mrs. Olufunke Oladele

...and what if we are wrong...

…and what if we are wrong…

dissenting view (uncensored)

The land where elders ain’t liars (uncensored)
As much as Nigeria desires progress and sustainable development, I think there is a need to reappraise our values. Particularly in southwest Nigeria, elders don’t lie even when it is glaringly obvious (permit the use). This ideology translates to more parochial thinking about the leadership (rulership) of the nation, as we assume that our political leaders are gods (mystic) beings who cannot make mistakes, so whatever they do is right, absolutely. This is evident when we insist that oba ba lo ri gbo gbo nkan, literally translating to “the king controls all things”. Even our thoughts?
Dissenting views have come to stay as drivers of innovation, improvement and adjustments for development. As we continue to enjoy satisficing, we cannot grow. However, when we see things differently and know that we can change, improve on something, then we are moving forward. Now that a young man has a dissenting view, but the elders see it as being rude, proud, disrespectful etc, it is a malaise we have to challenge especially in our developing age in Nigeria.
Maturity comes with age, but not sensibility. There are old fools, or what do we make of news in popular media about septuagenarians and octogenarians raping barely teenage girls, looting our economic fortune as though prebend without recourse for the future even at that old age.
My idea is that at some points in mature existence, it is time to take a back seat, and speak only when it is necessary and not always insist on being in the front wheel. This malady is evident in academics and family, even all spheres of society. An old man once challenged me if I had up to the material possession he had and I was mouth agape. Apart from the fact that physical possessions are based on choice, how can you compare a young man with yourself? I almost told him to compare himself with the CEO of FCMB, a prominent deposit money bank in Nigeria or other young dudes who are raking in millions by the day, while he sits in his chair of comfort to confront me about his possession.
A nation where elders never lie, can never grow. I do not support being rude to elders, but having a dissenting view is for Christ’s sakes not a crime nor a sign of disrespect.

Demanding the Uneven

Demanding the Uneven
‘Sad is the day for any man when he becomes absolutely satisfied with the life that he is living and the deeds he is doing; until there  ceases to be forever beating at the door of his soul a desire to do something larger which he seeks and knows he was meant and intended to do.’’ – Phillip Brooks.
Man was created for a purpose infinitely greater and wider than the scope of his imagination. Specially designed and crafted by the master-potter himself, in his very likeness, every human is fully capable of living an extraordinary life. If God declares us gods, who are we to desire to be ordinary men? Who are we to doubt Him?
‘I said: ‘you are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High.’’ – Ps 82:6
A god is one who possesses divine characteristics. God has deposited his attributes within us. In essence, we have no excuse to be less than extraordinary.
‘The only person who can stop you from becoming what you intend to become is you’’.
Dr John Maxwell.
You do not want to wake up on your 70th birthday with regrets wishing you could start over. It begins now.
The artist, who composed the popular song, ‘Coat of many colors’, Dolly Parton once said:
‘Find out who you are and do it on purpose’’.
We really cannot afford to live by chance, to rest on our oars and allow circumstances dictate the course of our lives. We’ve got to live more deliberately, more intentionally. Every thought, word and deed carefully crafted purposefully to create a beautiful and relevant tapestry.
The problems around us are crying out to be solved. The economic situation of the world, the seemingly endless wars and terrorist  strikes, the moral depravity of the society, the hopelessness invading the lives of several people all need to be dealt with.
The world needs you to rise up to your life’s mission. We honestly cannot do that by doing the same things we’ve been doing.
Many people have decided it is too much to exert themselves in order to succeed. A lot of us have given up on Nigeria. Regardless of that, now more than ever, we are direly needed to shine forth the light of God, to put our brains to work and act promptly. I think our problem is rooted in the fact that a lot of us are scared and believe it’s useless to sacrifice anything anymore for this nation. However, no genuine sacrifice goes to waste.
You cannot be committed to comfort and at the same time be committed to Christ. You cannot be committed to making a difference, to being extraordinary if you’re not ready to lose some skin.
‘The desire to survive keeps us at a mediocre level of living. It eats away at our conviction until we find it too easy to compromise and next to impossible to confront.’’ (John Maxwell. ‘Be all you can be. Chapter 12: I don’t have to survive).
To make a difference, we have to constantly confront, constantly demand, constantly challenge. You don’t get to a place of advantage by being lackadaisical. It does not come delivered on a platter of gold.
You need inspiration; passion, discipline, humility, assertiveness, motivation and sacrifice. Confront your fears and seeming inadequacies. Believe and dare to achieve. Demand the Unusual. Demand the Extraordinary. Demand the Uneven.
FAWOLE, Tolulope

Mechanism for waste management

I sat to discuss this issue with a senior colleague and I feel I can share my view here as well.
Most people pump their water into tanks from wells or borehole. Why do we switch off the pump only when the tank is overflowing? I think this presents a semblance of resources management in our dear country Nigeria.
We only take caution when the issue has gone out of hand.
We should consider it too, about anything we do, we should be able to nip it in the bud when due, not when overflowing.
Enjoy.... #DESIRE #weinspire

NOW IT SEEMS FAIR

NOW IT SEEMS FAIR

I won’t continue to tell myself I can’t do something I have already done….OLADELE, Femi

Sheer deceit is one’s ability to continue to expect people to believe that you are safe from what has you in its grips.

If I continue to demonstrate a level of sanity, which I have already crossed, then it is safe to just assume that I am not ready to be the kind of person I really expect to be. My ability to stand up for who I am and understand that triumph over any trait I find inconvenient is just hidden in my ability to accept the real me and move on. I do not promote an easy life, but what makes life hard is not my ability to conceal the truth. But my demonstration of a true life. If I find it more convenient to hide the truth from myself, then I must know that I find myself tilting towards self-destruct in no long time.

It is fair enough to not want to make myself feel touched and injured; accept it as the truth, then move on to achieve better.

This NEW YEAR does not make us entirely new, we might still go into it with scars and memoirs of a very weak personality, but I charge you to accept your weakness as part of your humanity and see beyond it.

The New Year however provides an avenue for a renewed mindset only. Imagine yourself in a dungeon without account of time and dates. Would you consider making a resolution? Time and dates are useful to the extent that we create them. If you did not know today is your birthday, would you do anything different?

Let the renewing mindset enhance your behavior this year.

Best wishes…DESIRE