CELEBRATING XMAS THE NIGERIAN CHILDREN’S WAY IN THE ‘90s

Conductor suits,

Measured to size,

Hanging on hangers,

In Papa’s wardrobe,

Waiting to be worn,

For the festivities

Fill our thoughts

Making us eager to start Xmas earlier.

Oversize shoes,

Stuffed with tissues,

That will make us look,

Like Ali goes to school,

Is never an issue,

For even without laces,

They are like aces up our sleeves

And braces for our dresses.

Shiny plastic watches,

With shiny metal latches,

And silly looking faces,

But really looking gracey,

Lay on mama’s dressing table,

In very lovely plastic bags,

Begging to be worn,

Even before its specified time.

Mickey dark goggles,

With beautiful plastic frames,

Bought by grandma,

On her way from the village,

For her lovely little grandkids,

Lay on the refrigerator,

Blinking down like *shine-shine*

Under the Christmas lights in the sitting room.

Rolls of biscos,

Wraps of knockouts,

Bought with stolen money

Are packed under our beds

To be unleashed on passersby,

And also innocent girls we have crushes on,

As they walk out of the church

After the Xmas-eve service.

On Christmas day,

Like overstuffed teddies we walk,

Bouncing quaintly in our uncomfortable dresses,

And licking ice-skobi-skobi endlessly

While trudging from house to house,

In guise of seeing old-time relatives

But ending up with our tummies filled to bursting

And then spend the rest of the year nursing the effects of constipation.

If you never celebrated xmas the old-skool Nigerian children way,

You never knew what you missed.

© OLUWASEUN ADEGBOHUN 2011

Nostalgia or Regret...back to Festac.

If you read my 1st couple of posts on this blog, you will see a trend of stories focused on a 3rd party. Yes, I was dating then, a 'serious' relationship they say. it ended 1 year ago this month...she lives/lived in Festac and I leaved in Ojodu.

My trips to Festac from Ikeja were almost daily, even when I was still living in Ibdan, I used to travel down every weekend #fool4luv. So 'm on my way for a colleague's wedding in Festac, it dawned on me that I knew Festac like I was born there.

I remember 1 of those trips from Ibadan, I was at her's till very late and decided to sleep in Festac (was a big customer to the hotels in the area). I didn't plan it so made no reservation. It was a Friday night and my Ibo friends don't dull...all hotels were fully booked, I ended sleeping in my car inside my favourite hotel's car park....wow!!!

Sometimes I wonder if it was all a waste, like I should have regrets. Me, no, never...it's all part of my maturing process. I did invest my all in that relationship...not sure I did as I still have 'me'. Its all nostalgia...a strange one though. Net, it's all good now, 'm out of the hood now.

Another Week Gone By.

It's raining and my DSTV stopped working, didn't hear the rain so kept trouble-shooting on the PVR. After 30 fruitless minutes of looking for what wasn't lost, I stepped outside and discovered what I thought was the Air-conditioning dropping water was rain. 9ja and rain just don't add up for technology, ask any GSM owner here.

Anyway, I was actually busy thinking about the Working week that just  finished, so happy it is over. It was hectic, harsh and hard. I worked, thought and toiled. I got schooled and scolded, I fought back and all I got was feedback. So many deliverables on the work and personal side.

I just moved to a new place so I've been up and about, real struggle emotionally, financially and physically...but it's all good now. Lying in my bed, all I feel right now is fulfillment, favour and triumph. There is one lesson; Perseverence! It was a tough week but I stayed strong, I trusted God and I kept on going. I didn't just survive, I won!

People, It's not rocket science...It's called FAITH!

Moving Mountains still...I am who I am.

MTN....Your 'Worst' Connection!

grrrrhhhh...!!!

It pains my heart that the 1st blog entry I make after a while comes with a negative intent/experience. I wish it differently but I live in Nigeria after all. It is only in Nigeria that companies have a field day skimming and scamming their customers/consumers while the Consumer Protection Council stays dormant, NCC keep 'dulling' and the FG continue dipping their filthy hands into our collective inheritance.


My experience derives from a text message i received from MTN about two weeks ago wherein they apologized for their default bad service on BIS, they added that i was getting 1 week BIS free extension as compensation...yipppeeee! I screamed, thinking Nigeria just became better over night. Little did i know it was MTN adding a 419 dimension into the skill-block. My default BIS expiry date arrived and, of-course, MTN took me off the BIS network...chei! 


I would have sworn it was a mistake and I was still going to get the freeby, I delayed renewing on my own for a day. What a waste, even when I finally decided to give them the usual N3,000, they 'refused' to collect it meaning I stayed of the network for another 24 hrs.. In Nigeria's world of BB addiction, that was some frustration, I felt really left behind and my anger increased.


Finally, a friend of mine that works with MTN customer service helped get me back on the network a few hours ago at the cost of N3,000; my own money and I still had to work on it! Anyway, I didn't think of blogging until I got a text from MTN telling me I had been active since yesterday and my BIS expiration date was calculated based on yesterday rather than today. I no go gree o!!! They scammed me, now they want to skim me....#Godforbid.


Indeed, MTN is the "WORST' connection, I will get my 1 week and 1 day 'by hook or crook'.

ME Ltd – Inspired for 2011

A lot of things crossed my mind as I was thinking of what to write exactly as my thoughts for the coming year.

My thoughts flashed back on 12months of 360days (or 365days in the current calendar numbering) and so many number of hours and seconds gone by in 2010. It has indeed been one heck of a year with a mix of excellent, very good, good and not so good things.

This year has meant a lot for me; I went on a limb and completely outside of my comfort zone, I had an addition to fill up my quiver (kingly & royal in nature) and I executed my priority for the year. It was not all rosy for me. In moving out of my comfort zone, I went through some dark time as well, very dark and very unpleasant. I tried to make changes this past year in service to others but it was thrown back in my face by the very people whom I sought to serve.

"I tried to make changes this past year in service to others but it was thrown back in my face by the very people whom I sought to serve."

This past year has taught me two very important lessons that I take with me into the coming year - 

1. that I must live with the choices I make and not get so caught up in the consequences/blessings of those choices that I forget that it was my making.
2. That in the grand scheme of things, I am the only person that matters, that I cannot afford to purvey my emotions and my feelings on account of others, that when push comes to shove, “Me Ltd” is eventually what counts.

These lessons do not necessarily proclaim self-'centeredness', but what I have seen tells me that in my service to others and in my bid to seek their better end, I must not lose sight of my personal goals and what I must gain in return.

In 2011, this is therefore my message –

• Live with the end in mind, love with the end in mind, serve with the end in mind – an end that suits both those whom you serve, love/live for and your very self. There will be dark periods or people who want you to go with them to/through a dark place.
• Make your choices wisely and if you will accede to their wish, then be certain of what lies at the end of that dark place for you.
• Have a plan (not two nor three but one) that you will execute during the year and for which you will reward yourself at the end. I do not mean new-year resolutions. On the contrary, I mean something that is entirely yours to control and adds to your “Me Ltd”.
• Create a place where only you have total control and give no room to anyone else in that place. This will be your venue for private victories and your place for private celebrations.

If you fail to have a personal agenda (however self-centered this may sound), then you will play to the agenda of others and find yourself a victim of their whims and caprices. So this new year, be wise, be quick and be nimble. Brighten the little corner where you find yourself and don’t be cumbered with brightening the whole world because you simply cannot (there are too many people who prefer their darkness and will do everything to keep it that way).

When 2011 is over (as it definitely will) you should be able to look back and say to yourself, “Me Ltd has done well, hip! hip! hip! HURRAY!!!!” and celebrate with a lot of pomp. May the year be good for you, may every darkness end in light for you, may your battles strengthen you more, may your choices be yours and not those of  others and may those(People and things) who will not stop at invading your place and spoiling your private victories meet with instant and swift judgment.

This and many more do I wish you. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

Written by:

Olajide Adetunji (Jan 2011)

Closing the GAP...

Wow, not sure I want to write about this...it's so hard to confess one's opportunity areas, especially if you had 365 days to make up and you still missed out on some things. I guess this one is going to be a very brief one, maybe I'll just discuss/write about personal development, self realization and/or focused improvement...that might make me feel better, at least for now.

I hate to admit it but I try more than once on too many things, loose focus, go back to self defeating habits one too many a time. I am strong willed, have a very strong sense of self belief, but it doesn't work on the little issues of life where its  most needed. As the word of God (and Swtzy) says "...it is not by power nor by might...", another good one can be found in Ecclesiastes 9:11 which reminds us the strong don't always win.

I don't have to meditate all night to know where I failed in 2009, NO!, the focus is why and reasons obvious. Truth is as I type this, I am using the opportunity to reflect about those little challenges I had to try more than once on and why, a lot of things are running thorugh my mind, I will list them down for further reflection, a reality check now, and later, as well as (maybe) help someone somewhere like moi.

So, why did I try more than once so often? This could be attributed (but not limited) to the following:

1. Too much trust in myself, over-confidence in some cases
2. Wrong association
3. Temporary (albeit costly) loss in focus on my spiritual life
4. Emotional challenges
5. External factors...the environmental push
6. A weak will...yes, sometimes I forget to remember my strong personality

So, what are the potential solutions?

1. Firstly and most importantly, trust God (not self): 
2. Improved focus on spiritual development, listen to messages (spiritual and motivational), go to church, get and stay close to a spiritual mentor.
3. Deal positively with boredom, do some positive time utilization (e.g., blogging, meditation, reading, e.t.c.)
4. If it does not help you be better, get rid of it!
5. Do not allow your environment and people to get at you, always draw positives out of situations (Nigeria is not the worst place to be, people are still making things happen here)
6. Look into a mirror, stop blaming the next person (be it in your love life, work, family, e.t.c.)
7. Focus on the big picture, don't go for the proverbial 'bowl of porridge', it is never worth it on the long run.

I am feeling better and stronger already, praise God, guess it's a great new year after all...

Remember WHO you are and WHAT you want to be, don't give up and do not let anything and/or anyone discourage you. IT IS BETWEEN YOU AND GOD!!!

As The Year Ends...taking stock! (PART 1)

Wow...finally I write again, feels so good yet so bad. Good because it is always a good thing to do a good thing (lol), bad because it has taken me too long, way too long, so long I feel like crying. I am totally and thoroughly disappointed. Before I continue this, I sincerely extend heartfelt apologies to all followers of this blog. I know have disappointed a lot of people, I must confess I am writing again because you guys motivate me, thanks for the calls, IMs, etc.

I last wrote in August, then, if I remember well, I also went of writing for about a month and was making a comeback. Now, I have been away, for not 1 but, 4 months. It's almost unbelievable, however, in all things, I give thanks. Yes, I give thanks because it's 1 am and I am typing, typing because I can, because I have chosen to sleep late so I can sleep deep and sleep all morning...I am on vacation!!!

As customary, I have taken the last few days (almost all) of the year off work to rest, spend time with family and prepare for a new year. However, to prepare, you need to define current status, evaluate recent history and project into the future on premises based on facts, fiction and dreams (aspirations). There is so much to think about, so much actions to close on the personal front, so much reminiscing to do and there is mos def not enough time.

This year will stand as one of my most revealing, fulfilling, active years in my life. It is a year in which I planned for so much, did so much, experienced so much, learnt so much and left so much. It sends a chill down my spine (a positive chill if there is anything like that) just remembering some of the events of this year. I have decided to take stock, share my diary of 2009 with the hope that it might just mean something new to someone, or, better still, bless someone. I will be doing it in parts, but I promise not to stop writing this until I am done (in the next few days hopefully).

I have decided to group it as below:

1. The Good, the bad and the ugly
2. Praising God
3. Closing the GAP
4. A peep into the future named 2010

Again, so sorry for the delay/disappointment, hopefully I will make up in the next few days.

Too long a time away...too long!

I never knew it did take me so long to post a blog, I really can't understand/comprehend me not writing anything for so long...too long. I remember telling myself I did blog everyweek, on everything, anything, as long as it made sense and there was any iota of learning(s) to be shared.

A lot has happened since my last post, so much has happened and it has been, sincerely, more good than bad. I got promoted, got a pay 'hike', moved to Lagos permanently, got 2 awards at the annual 'P&G Grammys'. That is a lot of good, it gets better because my younger sister came back to Nigeria and not forgetting the grand celebration of life for Iya Ibadan in Sagamu...plentiful activity don waka o'.

That is as per the good, now the bad which includes breaking up with 'you know who', making up and then getting all possible grief a man can get. It is mos def not easy being a man, like an old juju music crooner sang in an evergreen yoruba song; "suuru la fi nse oko obirin". This translates to 'only with patience can you be a husband to a woman'...'m sure you are laughing out loud but it is very true. I have suprised myself to a large extent in recent times, suprisingly so. The struggle of settling down to Lagos life full time is another story on its own. Calling it a challenge is probably a gross understatement, costs are killing, traffic is crazy and pressure is 2ce as Nyce!!

It is not that I am complaining about the fact that most of the last two months have been spent shuttling hotels, I am just worried I will end up on the streets of Lagos (God forbid) if something does not happen within the next 2 weeks. I don't want to discuss the costs, I don't want to remember the fact that its a 500% upcharge to my Ibadan costs, as it could make me run, resign, retire or relocate. I just hope the good news continues to over-shadow the bad news.

The greatest challenge has just been maintaining my spiritual growth, the move, the work, peeps and situation have just been anti-me. I really need to settle down soon, so help me God, challenges will persist but so will the grace of God.

I REST MY CASE!!!

Love lost...or found...or wicked, always a song unsung!

How do I start? Sometimes there is so much to write you end up writing nothing. I have so much on my mind right now, define a heavy heart; answer is Olayinka's heart at the moment. Maybe my sins are the source of my grief...not possible because the word of God says otherwise, thank God for his mercies as she would always say.

It pains me so that I am a thorough ambassador of FAITH, an apostle of a 'worry-free' life, yet I worry, get bothered. I cannot remember the last time I prayed without asking for an increased level of faith...and grace. As I type this blog, I am listening to a message titled 'Faith & Character' by Pastor Godman Akinlabi of Daystar yet I act like I knoweth not how to live a life of faith. The truth is I am just 'me', hoping to be a 'me + X'. It is that 'X' that i ask of God everyday, every prayer, every thought. I know my weakness, my character, my personality, my person...in short, I am my weakness! Yes, ME.

Maybe I have not given all, maybe I hold back a little; truth is I am who I am yet what I am needs to change now more than ever. A man of faith does not lay his hands on the plough and look back, he does not start and stop midway, he stops at the end of the stretch, the next turn. Procrastination is no different from hesitance...you are either faithless or doubtful both ways. Truth is if you knew the end result of a step, you would either choose to do it or forget about it rather than postpone or think about it. It is so funny how we look at the source of our wrong right in front of us and yet do nothing about it....hmmm, how true is the word of God in calling us flesh.

The last few days of my life have been of great emotional challenge, I have indeed been heavy, on a journey of perpetual worry and self-torture. The last few months have even been more challenging, in those months I have found love, lost it, found it, lost it and found it again. Truth be told, after this kind of 'lost and found', the love becomes diluted, it becomes a source of both joy and worry.

I have changed a lot in these months, yes, I have been (in and out) getting rid of some things and replacing them with others within me. I have met God, I have met love, I have met progress, indeed it is getting better, yet I worry!!!

If I ever publish this post, I believe it is because it rids me of something and adds something new. About a year ago there was a song around, very popular, titled 'love is wicked'. I remember clearly listening to the song then and wondering why love has been deemed wicked. The word of God tells me there is no law against love, it says love is sacred, a virtue, a gift from BABA himself...how can it then be wicked? I start by saying 'God forbid' wicked love, I finish by saying 'Is love not wicked?'

If you read this and it has a meaning, please drop a comment, help me understand even before the story is completed. God remains faithful, even in our unfaithfulness!