Create Your Tomorrow

As I lay lonely on my bed

At the hour the night was most dead               

I gazed at the stars through the window

Hoping to peep into my tomorrow

The night sky, though not clear

Came with a sense of cheer

I formed patterns of trees, houses and cars

From the speckles of a billion stars

 I slumbered with a deep sense of peace

Without recourse to a timepiece

As I had drifted into sleep

With alarm clock silenced – no beeps.

I gazed into my telescope

Trying to read my horoscope

Alas, the revelation

Tomorrow - an empty fixation!

What fiction!

Men claim power of prediction

For their faith in tellers of fortune

Great men have been led to misfortune

As the new day broke

From my lonely bed, I woke

Having nothing but hope

That my path will always be lit, I’ll never grope

Though I think he will become a hero

He who can predict tomorrow

The way out of this endless torture

By your actions today,  create your own future.

Crouching Tiger - 01/02/2016

Message for Yuletide

As end of the year draws nigh,
We look on to the New Year.
Glorify he, who is on high,
In all things, be of good cheer.

He did not fail with the gift of rain,
Neither did he fail with shine.
He always ensured there was grain,
And meat for us to dine.

Open your barns for all to come merry,
Including, the friend who lacks and borrows,
You were blessed to be his fairy,
Which will, with grain fill his barrows.

Let your lips spew forth his praise,
And good prophecies for all.
That the New Year will come only with a raise,
And in health and wealth, we’ll all grow tall.

Happy Holidays!

December 25th, 2015

But Why?

In my recent hiatus from the hustle and bustle of lagos city life and its attendant traffic jams, fuel queues, lack of power, etc, to go and sojourn in a foreign land- the country of birth of d great Isaac Newton. I was privileged to attend the christening of a beautiful baby in which, if the pleasantness of the atmosphere and the best wishes of the guests (if the joy on there faces can be correlated with their good wishes for the Lil girl), then I will say her life is made and full of promise.

However, as I keenly observed the fanfare, dancing and eating (there was more than enough), while slowly sipping the Courvoirsier my amiable host dropped for me alone(he was a great host), I noticed one slim lady dat seemed to be overly excited (whether alcohol induced or not, I do not know).

She was dancing excitedly, even though she wasn't such a fantastic dancer.

As I observed her closely, I noticed something funny about her waist. It appeared as if both buttocks were hanging a bit off her body i.e. like they were an attachment to her frame and were asymmetrical.

In my confusion, I pointed my observation to my niece who then laughed and immediately said the lady was putting on one of those fashion fake bums.

I was surprised to say the least because I had never seen someone putting on one.

I was left with one question,

"but why? To what end?"

Vanity!

November 2nd, 2015

The Story of Adam and Steve: A Different Perspective

Firstly, I want to state categorically state that I in no way support same sex relationships. I believe it is not the way nature designed our sexualities to interact, even though it appears to be becoming a fad these days. My Christian religion teaches that in the beginning God created a woman for man and not a man for a man – “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”. I also do not know any religion that has been around for a while that openly promotes it, even though we are beginning to see a lot of confusion in the church as they now wed two men or two women. I believe a man is made for a woman and the woman for man- nothing more, nothing less. A lot of us believe this, hence, we are quick to pass judgment on gay couples and quickly distance ourselves. Should this always be the case?

Long ago, I read a book in which a Tibetan doctor admonished people against quick condemnation of same sex couples. He argued that every human being has male and female hormones amongst other genetic material. He then stated like we know today, that the men are primarily driven by testosterone and the women by oestrogen. In other words, you are driven by the hormone that is dominant in you. However, he further argued that sometimes due to genetic accidents (that are getting more common by the day), some people are born with the external characteristics of one sex and the internals of the other. The implication is that, a man born with more of the internal make up of a woman may be attracted to his fellow men sexually without knowing why. This is simply because he is actually a woman. This, in extreme instances may lead to the man developing more feminine features in later life(which has forced some to change sexes in later life recently). He therefore proposed two types of gays. There are those that are born with deep rooted medical conditions and those that learnt the trade. Those who learnt the trade are condemnable in my judgment, but those who are born with conditions deserve our sympathy.  We know the story of the female South African athlete http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/09/11/report-champion-runner-has-both-female-male-sexual-characteristics/?

Also, we hear about transgender people who change their sexes like this little girl who identified herself as a girl from when she started talking, despite being born a boy. You might ask where she learnt to see herself that way at such a tender age.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/argentina/10339296/Six-year-old-becomes-first-transgender-child-in-Argentina-to-change-identity.html
I had read this while I was still in secondary school and have struggled with it since then. I did not want to listen to any reason to justify what I think is totally anti-nature and anti-christianity. It just didn’t make sense. However, with the preponderance of information on the net and the general ease of disseminating information today, we are more aware of issues and medical conditions which hitherto were unknown. We see transgender people, hermaphrodites and the likes.

I now recently watched a program on discovery, national geographic channel or one of those scientific channels where same sex affiliation was established among animals, including the lion in all his majesty. I then remembered what I had read many years ago and after some deep thought, am tending towards concluding that there are cases where same sex relationships is caused by genuine reasons like genetic accidents or some other reason and not that it is always learnt. Otherwise, we may have to start finding answers to where the animals learnt it from since they are considered incapable of “invention” and just behave as they are wired to by nature or as they are taught. Even if we say some were taught, how come it has been established across so many species of animals and across continents?

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2006/10/23/20718.aspx

http://guardianlv.com/2013/08/homosexuality-within-the-wildlife/

So, if you remember or see same sex couples that developed these tendencies in their formative years despite been raised in very normal homes or environments, look more deeply before you pass judgment.

Finally, nobody should use this or similar argument to justify his or her sexual orientation. If you think you have a problem, please seek medical help.

September 28, 2013

Your Wedding: Your Family’s New Business?

I once went out with a female friend for a drink. While there, sitting in front of a pool, talking, reducing the liquid content of a bottle of red wine, and nibbling at some tasty barbecue fish, her phone rang. I did not pay particular attention to her conversation as I busied myself listening to the old school music playing in the background, singing along in my mind the lines I remember, and enjoying the attendant flashes of pleasant memories that came with such songs. However, I noticed that she was really animated by the conversation. I think the music stopped temporarily and started again, or skipped a beat due to a bad CD or so, because, at this point I heard her say “if he truly loves her, he will do it”. For some reason, this statement ignited the fire of curiosity in me and I decided to probe.

It turned out that her friend had called, to talk about another friend, who had been dating a guy for years. They were very much in love, and among friends, epitomized what true love should be. They then decided to take it to the next level, and that was where the problem started. Among the list of things the guy was to do, he was to pay the sum of one (or was it two?) million naira as his contribution towards the building of a house for the girl’s father. I then asked my friend what she thought about the situation. Her response was the same as I had heard earlier – if he truly loves her, he will do it. Somehow, I did not understand that line of thinking, and still don’t.

I then asked her whether the guy had a house of his own. She said she did not know. I asked whether he has built one for his father. She also said she did not know. I then asked what the guy did, and she responded that he worked in a bank. I then asked her if her brother was the guy in question, and he does not have a house of his own, whether she will encourage him to build one for his fiancée’s father. She fell silent.

Now, I asked her what her idea of a budget wedding would cost. She said about two million naira. I laughed, and went on to tell her that the guy’s salary was in the same range as hers (my friend’s), since she worked with one of our telecom giants. Let’s assume for the sake of argument that he is paid N200k a month. He will feed, pay rent, transport to work, etc. Let’s assume he is very prudent and accomplishes all of these with N100k, it will still take him about two years to save two million. Adding another million for the house, adds another year to his burden. After the wedding, what will they survive on if he uses all of three years savings to marry his wife, who at that point had not found a job? I then told her that I can even beat my chest that part of the original two million (working with her budget) would have been borrowed. Assuming one million was borrowed and you add the bill for the house, the young man would have been forced into two years of indebtedness. I then asked, “If this becomes the situation, is she a blessing or a curse in his life?”

We have all heard of cases where grooms are extorted in different guises because they decided to go ahead marry the woman they love. Is this supposed to be so? In my mind, any father that does this is shameless and will end up reducing himself and his family before his prospective in-laws. In the case cited here, the young man could not afford it. I know of guys who can afford it ten times over but will never do it. Once, a very wealthy guy from my place went to marry a woman from a neighboring riverine community where it was the custom to buy trunk boxes of assorted wrappers for the wife, and after the wedding, leave it in the lady’s family house. He bought the best of everything for his wife. However, after the wedding, he insisted everything is going back with them. He bought it for his wife and she will be in his house, therefore, her clothes should be where she was going to be most of the time. He went as far as threatening to call off the wedding even after they had finished all the rites. They finally let the couple go with the things. For this guy, it was not about the money spent on the wrappers as that was very small compared to all the other things he did. It was more about what made sense to him. Some traditions just need to be reviewed. It goes beyond trying to show how much you love and want to be with your woman. Moreover, who says this is where the extortion will end? I bet it will be for life as long as you remain married to their daughter.

I now wonder, since when did becoming a slave for your in-laws become a sign of true love? Are we going back to the days of Moses, that he had to work for his father in-law  for seven years to still marry a fake, and then work another seven years for the woman he wants? Should fathers get lazy all their lives, being men only in the bedroom, and hoping to have beautiful daughters that will attract men that will change their fortunes? Should daughters compound it by justifying it as a show of love if the man pulls it off? Since the trend is on the rise, I am forced to ask the ladies that think like my friend, is your wedding now supposed to be your family’s business venture, with huge profit forecasts? The ladies need to actively engage their parents when issues like these arise in their relationships, otherwise, they will help fast track the bible prophecy in Isaiah 4:1.

November 29, 2013

Aero Contractors and the “Operational Reason”

One would think that after the Dana air crash, and the attendant noise made by the ministry of aviation, all other airlines would have improved on their safety culture, to help forestall reoccurrence. That may not be the case as the ministry of aviation may be able to bark, but I am not sure about the bite. Also, one would expect the airlines to improve on their customer relations, but that also is far from what we see. In fact, they get worse every day. They reschedule and cancel flights at will, with the simple excuse of “due to operational reasons” and without any consideration for the passenger. After all, would you rather fly, but not get to your destination? This argument will stand if there is consistency in the application of this reason.

I had booked for a flight to Benin (AJ 191), for November 30, 2013 to attend a friend’s wedding. The flight was for 8 a.m. However, I got a text on the evening of Friday that the flight had been rescheduled to 9 a.m. due to operational reasons. I did not bother as this would not change my plan so much. I was still leaving the house by 6 am or earlier, in order to get to the airport before 7 am as that was a “sanitation Saturday” in Lagos. I got to the airport, waited and happily went to board when the flight was called just about 9am. Every regular flyer must be tired of the delays from all the airline operators. We finished boarding, and after some attempts to shut the door, it was announced that the door could not be shut properly. Some people were called to check it, I guess their engineers. After a while, they shut the door and said it was a malfunctioning sensor that was the cause of the problem. With a sigh of relief, we took off.

No sooner had I shut my eyes for a short nap, than the pilot announced something like the door did not shut properly and we were losing pressure. He then announced that we were returning to Lagos. By this time, we had spent about ten to fifteen minutes in the air. We landed Lagos safely. It was announced that another flight would be arranged by 12.40 p.m. Even if the flight landed by 12,40p.m. , We would have taken time to board and take off. This means that ETA in Benin would be around 2p.m.  I decided I was not going anymore, since I would miss the wedding.  A lot of other people had similar issues. A woman was taking her daughter for the wedding to be the little bride. She said she had come the previous day and was told her name was not in the system despite providing proof of payment. She was put on the Saturday flight as they claimed the one of Friday was fully booked by the time she got there. I later learnt from my friend (the groom) that his little bride was missing in the event and an emergency arrangement had to be made. Also, a young man and his fiancée were going to see her relatives and he had just that day as he was returning to his base in Jos the next day. Consequently, he had to reschedule. There was an elderly woman that was flying for the first time and I wonder what would have been going through her mind. The list goes on and on.

Those of us that were no longer traveling asked for a refund and we were told to go to their head office to apply. When we made some noise about how unreasonable that was as we were about twenty, the supposed manager was called and the situation explained. Her response was that she was having breakfast. At that point, we couldn’t take it anymore. We said we were going to be paid cash there and then or there will be no further ticket sales. Thanks to the strength in our numbers, they realized that there was trouble and decided to pay.

Now why did operational reason, safety or whatever not stop them from flying that aircraft knowing it had issues? Were they willing to gamble with our lives, rather than lose that revenue? I have since believed that this”operational reason” nonsense usually comes up when they want to merge flights or take advantage of passengers somehow. Otherwise, why would anybody want to fly an airline with such an issue? Aircraft cabins are pressurized for passengers’ comfort, and flying above about 12,500 ft without pressurized cabin exposes one to health issues including but not limited to: Hypoxia, Altitude sickness, decompression sickness and Barotraumas. Some of which can lead to thrombosis or stroke. So, cabins are pressurized to help your body function as if it were fairly close to sea level which is or close to the level of your normal dwelling. Looking at this drama so far, I have assumed gradual loss of cabin pressure. If the differential is high enough, with the door not properly sealed, you can have an explosive decompression as the door can be blown out. This can turn all loose objects into missiles, which increases the complexity of the possible outcomes.  I just hope things like these are looked at more seriously going forward. The overhauling of the aviation sector must be holistic and not just fixing of airports.

Also, why did we have to make noise and threaten to disrupt their business before we were paid? I would have expected them to be embarrassed by the situation and try to pacify us as quickly as possible, without attracting attention. Did the manager or whoever it was that they called have to display such disregard for us by dismissing us with a wave of the hand and that insensitive statement of “I am having breakfast”? Do they realize that to a large extent, serving the public requires some personal sacrifice? I wonder the type of training these guys undergo.

However, in all of these, I have last minute praise for the pilot, for having the courage to go back to Lagos which was still closer. One could have argued that since he had one landing to do, he could have as well gone to land in Benin. I hope he doesn’t get into trouble for doing the right thing?

Finally, as I write this in the comfort of my home, Thanking God for my life, I seriously wonder what the Aviation ministry is doing about safety and protection of the right of passengers. Cases like these abound and I hope we have not seriously taken issues like these as acts of God that nothing can be done about?

December 14, 2013

Between Faith and Reason

As we face the challenges of life on a daily basis, many a time we hear Christians make positive pronouncements that are supposedly based on their faith. This is particularly so, when they are facing trying times. However, I am often lost when I hear some as I struggle to make sense out of them. To put things in perspective, I will cite a few examples here and the reasons for my confusion.

John is a devout member of the church and so is Joy. John is handsome, rich and educated – the typical “every woman’s dream”. Joy is homely, beautiful and educated as well. No man could have wished for more. Now, John goes to the pastor to indicate his interest in taking Joy as his wife. Pastor calls Joy and discloses John’s intentions and asks both of them to go and pray about it to be sure that each is God’s will for the other. After the prayers, John, Joy and even the pastor agree that God has spoken to them that they were made in heaven. The church then asks them to go for series of tests to confirm genotype, HIV status, etc. After this, if all is okay, the wedding holds and we have a new Mr. and Mrs. otherwise, it is called off.

Now, the question is – which God spoke to them? God is omnipotent and omniscient. This means he can bring to pass whatever he chooses and knows all things. If this is so, is going for tests after hearing directly from God not outright stupidity and undermining his omnipotence? Do you question God? It is my thinking that if God really speaks to you, as a Christian, you will obey like Abraham, even if it means sacrificing your only child, marrying a mad person or a prostitute like Hosea. Your faith should make you believe that he will change the situation for the better, bearing in mind that “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” 1Corinthians 10:13.  The bible also says “he who finds a wife, finds a good thing ………” and not he who God has found a wife for….

It is even funny when you review some divorces that have taken place in recent times, only to find out that some of the people involved were “spoken to” by God in the beginning. Since divorce is generally not perceived to be good, does going for a divorce years or months later, after being spoken to by God to marry someone not contravene what the bible said about good gifts? Every good and perfect gift comes from God. Divorce means something is “bad” somewhere. Did God give them bad gifts?

Again, Simon is a devout Christian. By simple chance, he found himself in some place where he was exposed to bad water. He fell ill and instead of going to see a doctor, decided to start praying and probably fasting. This is probably due to his belief that every physical affliction is a manifestation of the spiritual machinations of demons. He collapsed after a week of neither taking proper treatment nor getting better. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed to be suffering from typhoid. He was promptly treated and in a few days, he was back on his feet, hale and hearty.

It is obvious that Simon could have easily lost his life as a result of his carelessness in the exercise of his faith. Now, if all our ailments are caused by demons, how come non-Christians fall ill, go to the clinic, take drugs and get well? Does it mean the drugs are anti-demonic? Does it mean our pharmacists and doctors produce and administer anti-demonic drugs? Does it mean there are chemicals that kill demons?

I also recall a schoolmate who married his girl just after we left the University. They had dated virtually all through school and it was the reasonable thing to do judging by the fact that they genuinely loved each other. Now, no sooner were they married than she took in – praise God! However, during one of the routine checkups, it was discovered that she had a serious case of fibroid. Their doctor advised that she goes for a surgery immediately but it will also mean termination of the pregnancy. The doctor gave the advice believing her life to be in danger if she allowed the pregnancy to grow without having the surgery. They decided to get another doctor’s opinion. The girl’s parents took her to their family doctor, who after series of tests gave the same verdict. I can’t remember whether they saw a third doctor but the guy said he had faith that his wife would be fine. He insisted they were not going for the surgery despite pleas from her family. He was proved right as the wife did not go for the surgery, yet delivered safely.

Now, I was at home one day when a friend of blessed memory came to visit. He broke the news to me and said the faith of the guy in question had seen him through. I remember saying they called it faith because the outcome was consistent with the expectation. Otherwise, he would have been called stupid and obstinate. In fact, some would have gone as far as accusing him of killing his wife by omission if she had died. For me, it was simply not the right decision, irrespective of the outcome.

We often hear the typical Gate man to General Manager or grass to grace stories and you hear everybody claiming to “key into it”, without asking what level of work (education) the gate man had put-in in the past to prepare him for the opportunity and how long it took him to become GM. Rarely will any company make one a GM from the position of a security man just based on paper qualifications. The proper sequence will be to employ him and give him accelerated promotion based on his performance – if he performs. The whole story may have been a fifteen year saga but summarized as “gateman to GM” using the end points. Also, people pray to pass exams without putting in the appropriate amount of work to prepare for the exams. This is blind faith and not different from having faith in some tree, or piece of rock as being God or creator of the universe. It appears that people bring up faith when they want to get both intellectually and physically lazy.

Our ancestors worshipped Ogun, Sango, Amadioha, etc. However, when they were presented with the concept of an invisible almighty God, they must have reasoned that the creator cannot be some manmade carved stone, wood or iron hence, they accepted. I must admit that many times the conversion was more with a gun rather than the bible. In the few cases cited above just like others, I see intelligent people losing their sense of reasoning or having an increased reluctance to reason when it comes to matters of faith.

In all, I cannot but agree with Mahatma Gandhi that “Faith must be enforced by reason. When faith becomes blind it dies.” In my mind, faith should not be unreasonable even though I agree that it cannot be proved rationally. If for example, one has an accident in which his ear or any other member of his body is cut off, no amount of faith can make the ear or body member leave the ground and be stuck back into place. He needs to go to the hospital to stitch it. If there can be no reasoning when matters of faith arise, how can one perform his fundamental duty as a Christian, go soul winning, become fisher of men? How can you convert someone without reasoning with your proposed convert? Even God Himself invites you to reason with Him in Isaiah 1:18.

We can go on and on but, let me make this brief by adding a final line. Even the bible in Thessalonians asks you to reason. “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” 1 Thessalonians 5:21. The final question will then be, how do you examine to determine what is good without reasoning?

January 7th, 2014