Yesterday remembered today

Of days remembered

I probably have a knack for remembering dates and events, though I cannot say I have total recall of everything. Sometimes, things are not remembered at all, or the memory is a bit fuzzy. Much as I had many encounters with diaries growing up, I never saw anyone journalling anything, the most a diary was used for was appointments and at a stretch, a calendar.

Having a blog going back 20 years has offered key points of journalling, though not in the strict sense, I still find myself noticing and making notes in blogs that I can reference as an aide-mémoire.

Yesterday, all my troubles

I thought about writing this yesterday but here I am reflecting on the significance of yesterday today. The 8^th of February; when I joined Twitter, I buried a friend, and it turned out to be my last session of chemotherapy.

Interestingly, the former happened in 2009 in the week that the 13^th fell on a Friday and I joined the bandwagon of those caught in the grip of paraskavedekatriaphobia on what appeared to be the coldest day in the office because someone thought that would be our contribution to helping stem the problems with climate change. We were to wrap up warm rather than enjoy the ambiance of a comfortable office. My first tweet? See below:

I am now a twit on twitter ...

— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ 🏳️‍🌈 #European (@forakin) February 8, 2009

Blog - Caught between Paraskavedekatriaphobia and Cryophobia

A sad tragedy, it was

Then in 2010, my friend Dick van Galen Last died on the 2^nd of February, 8 days short of his 58th birthday, and hardly 2 weeks after he defended his PhD thesis, an event I could not attend as I was experiencing the most debilitating effects of chemotherapy two days after, I was so weak and for the first time, I had anti-emetic medication that worked a treat.

I had planned on calling Dick to ask about his defense as he had informed me in late December that he was having his PhD viva voce and I had made my excuses that I might be unable to attend. It was then that he told me he was undergoing treatment for lymphoma, I cannot remember if it was Hodgkins or non-Hodgkins. I quipped; we might meet for tea in the treatment room as we shared the same oncologist.

When my phone ranged on Wednesday the 3^rd of February, the number ID came up as Dick’s phone number, but it was Ousman on the phone who was Dick’s lodger and he regularly came to clean my apartment, the news he had on the phone was that Dick had passed on, but he had refused to have Dick taken away, Dick was lain in his bed for his friends to come and pay their respects until the day of his buried. I cried all the way to Dick’s place.

Blog - Dick: As he lay

A man, a celebration

The morning of the 8^th of February was a dreadfully cold winter morning, I got on my bicycle and rode to the St Barbara Cemetery where we all assembled in the chapel to give Dick a rousing and celebratory send-off, the crowd, especially of the youth that attended with the eclectic mix of different cultures and personalities was a testament to the person he was. The music as pallbearers carried him to the burial plot could not have been out of place at a carnival.

Blog - Seeing Dick Off

However, I could not wait to see him buried as I had another appointment, the 7^th session of chemotherapy, with the 8^th and what I had hoped would be the last scheduled for the 1^st of March. When I arrived at the hospital, the nurses who also knew Dick were quite sad at his passing, one even indicating there was nothing to suggest Dick was at risk of death, he did not have the kind of prognosis I was given at my diagnosis.

It became the last one

Not a vein could be found around my hands up my wrist to insert a cannula for chemotherapy even after warming my hands in hot water than the insertion was further up the arm near where phlebotomists took blood.

Blog - Almost in vain for a vein

I did not know that session would be my last chemotherapy dose until a checkup over a week later in conversation with my consultant that they agreed that the focus should be on recovering my immune system and the chemotherapy had done its job fully as predicted by the consultant in September that the cancer could be treated if I tolerated the treatment.

I could have made much of yesterday and yesterday is a narrative that gives the past a telling different from when you are living in the present. Thank you for the past we can remember in words of triumphal living against all adversity.

A Decade on Twitter

A quarter of a century online

I review my life on social media that appears to go back 25 years when it was not a popular term. My first email address in 1994 and then a CompuServe subscription through which I participated in Usenet groups.

When I moved out to Ipswich in 1995, I found an Internet Service Provider (ISP) who I discovered unilaterally blocked adult websites. I paid him a visit and demanded that as an adult, my access to the Internet should be untrammelled, including the ability to view adult sites, as I am an adult and I do not intend to be policed if I am doing nothing illegal.

I guess he was embarrassed for the fact that I was unabashed, my request was granted that evening and he must have glad I did not have to visit him about anything again.

Throwing off and throwing down

Soon, we were on Internet Relay Chat (IRC), I think that was 1997, opening channels for all sorts of interests until people found ways to exploit vulnerabilities in the TCP/IP stack and knock you offline with DoS/DDoS attacks or those that broke IRC connections, called nuking. We had to implement countermeasures to prevent nukes and the takeovers of IRC channels.

As the popularity of IRC began to wane in the early 2000s, I was in a Berlin hotel when decided to start blogging in December 2003. I hope to have written my 3,000^th blog sometime this year. It was not for another few years before I joined another social media platform. In my early blogging years, I formed significant and lasting friendships from which I began to grow a social network.

Along the line, I joined other niche social media networks, many of which have fallen out use, favour or are dead. Then came LinkedIn, which many did not consider social as in other forums we participated in, I guess, we compartmentalised, trying to keep our strictly professional lives separate from our lives outside work. I have been a member since the 16^th of March 2006.

Can you hear the chirping birds?

One morning just before I left for work, I created a Twitter account and waited for a confirmation. Meanwhile, I travelled to Arnhem where I was working, and it was there that I posted my first tweet on the 8^th of February 2009. Today is a decade since I joined Twitter. As I relayed in a blog, I wrote a couple of days ago, I had to change my mode of communication from long-form writing of a blog to the contextualised concision limited to 140-characters. It was a challenge I took on with relish.

Blog - Tweeting beautifully without apologising for it

I might have been more prolific on Twitter and somewhat become less so on my blog, I have tweeted just under 153,000 thousand times with a following just short of 6,000. I find it a very useful forum for sharing ideas and for getting a prompt and effective response for customer service issues.

A call from beyond

In December 2009, just a couple of days before my birthday, I joined Facebook. I probably resisted jumping on this bandwagon for years. My first invitation to join Facebook came almost two years before when I eventually joined the person who invited me had been dead just over 9 weeks. His Facebook page then became a memorial to lay wreaths and bouquets of thoughts and reminiscences at different times of the Facebook.

Facebook also upended the concept of social media, because the network not only exploited proximity, it allowed you to mine your past. By the time you put in names of your old schools and old friends, many long forgotten, you were caught in a time vortex from which you had little an inkling how to escape.

Mimes and rhymes

Until early last year, most of my Facebook activity came from my Twitter posts and that linked was broken. I would comment on things I find on Facebook, but it is more likely that new posts would come from Instagram or blogs that I have written. I joined Instagram on Christmas Eve of 2014.

Most of my Instagram posts are accompanied by bad poetry or musings about the things I have observed. I have not convinced myself that Pinterest or SnapChat would add any value to my social media landscape. My social media life is lively enough as it is.

This all because of my decade on Twitter and long may we have the opportunity to celebrate life, happiness, love, and the freedom of expression.

Angels and strangers roam on Twitter

Stranger than fiction

“I know you well enough from Twitter! You need a good rest!”

This was an assessment of my Twitter activity given by someone I did not know was following me. A complete stranger who last night saw the predicament I was in having missed the last train to Manchester because of a late-running train from Norwich into London.

As I was being played irresponsibly like a political ball of railway franchise ping-pong between Virgin Trains that would have handled the London – Manchester leg of my journey from London Euston Station and Greater Anglia Trains that handled Norwich to London part that ran 45 minutes late, leaving me less than 20 minutes to make the tube journey between London Liverpool Street and London Euston. I faced the prospect of a night on the streets somewhere in London.

The best Virgin Trains could offer me was a supplementary ticket to travel in the morning, the alternative being a train to Wolverhampton some 75 miles from home. Between Greater Anglia Trains and Virgin Trains, considering I bought the ticket from the latter’s website, they should have arranged a means to me to my destination or accommodation for the night. Neither tried hard enough, it took the easy road without informing me of my rights.

Good Samaritan values

I learnt through my conversation with Virgin Trains that Euston Station closes at 1:30AM, but the King’s Cross St. Pancras Station is open overnight with some coffee and food shops open too.

Making for King’s Cross, my stranger friend asked me to come over on Uber, I was in more straitened circumstances than to take up that offer and I thanked him and bid him goodnight. He did not relent, over the next 90 minutes, he enquired about my welfare, my whereabouts and much else, my assurances not deterring him.

Then, he said he was coming to get me, he drove over from Putney in South West London and brought me back to his home which he shared with his wife and two friendly dogs. I had some mint tea and retired to the spare bedroom along with information for connecting to their wireless network.

Consideration and more

Between daring and trust, I slept well and I woke up to a breakfast, meeting his wife and a discussion that covered as many topics as we found interest to think about. When we arrived at his home at just before 3:00AM, he dipped his hand in his pocket and gave me some money, saying he did not want me to think about that issue.

I got dressed and I was given a lift to Putney Station, I arrived at London Euston Station in time to catch the noon train to Manchester. Fred is a friend, a friend indeed, to me he was an angel, kindly, generous and exceedingly considerate.

Our encounter came from certain views, expressions or opinions I have posted on Twitter, whatever that was, he decided to follow me and by that, out of the blue, on a day I desperately needed help, he was there to offer more than I could have imagined or wished for.

He was a stranger to me, I was no stranger to him, my Twitter conduct had made enough an impression to have him accord me the offer to spend a night at his home. Invariably, your conduct and conversation on social media matters, friends and enemies observe you, the family sees you, angels and strangers notice you.

Thank you, Fred, for your kind-hearted, magnanimous and generous friendship, I am in deep gratitude to you. Thanks.

#WhatDoesBHWant Discussion with @ContactSalkida

Ahmad Salkida, a knowledge expert on Boko Haram shared his insights on the Boko Haram ideology, activities, financing and recruiting effort on a Twitter discussion forum with the hashtag #WhatDoesBHWant on Saturday the 1^st of November 2014 for 2 hours.

The session was moderated by Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim and Akin Akintayo, the full timeline of what Ahmad Salkida said appears below and I have added some notes to highlight some of the points he made.

Decade Blogs - Roundup V - All the 35 Blogs and Thanks

Thank you

I start by thanking everyone who offered to write a blog for my Decade of Blogging with the Twitter hashtag #YourBlogOnMyBlog. In the end, I had up to 45 possible offers, 35 delivered in sufficient time to allow me to review, edit and schedule the blogs into five weeks of hosted opinion.

I am honoured and at the same time amazed at the breadth of opinion, ideas and content that can come from these blogs; there are many lessons to take away from these shared experiences.

I hope to use some of these ideas in blogs I write through 2014 to highlight the richness in stories that each bears as part of our individuality and uniqueness in the broader scheme of our humanity.

To all who could act, those who had good intentions and the many others who desired but could not be entertained, I express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks. May we all have many more years to celebrate the joys of writing.

I’m still here

This is the final roundup blog for the #YourBlogOnMyBlog Series commemorating my Decade of Blogging. A five-week residency of blogs from 35 different people covering all aspects of life and society, from the trivial to the very serious.

Blog - To Celebrate My Decade of Blogging

I wrote a few blogs this week, starting with the issue of trivialising rape in off-colour and atrocious jokes online. The comedian soon learnt that whilst he thinks his audience is local to Nigeria, the readership of his stupidity is global, and he got global condemnation.

Blog - Nigeria: From Basketmouth to Basket - Rape has no place in jokes

I probably should write a comprehensive blog on the pursuit of happiness; however, I found Pharrell Williams’ Happy, and I ended up playing back a good deal of the 24-hour video. If we were in sunnier climes, I probably would have gone out dancing in the street.

Blog - Because I'm Happy

On the 19^th of December, 2013, the Finance Minister appeared before the House Committee on Finance and played to the gallery, garnering sympathy from many, until another video appeared to show she was far from saintly or proper in her conduct. This is a view I always held but did not blog about until this video was made public.

Blog - Nigeria: That Finance Minister and House Committee Meeting

It is a prayer and a desire because until now I have acted in haste and suffered in waste long afterwards.

Blog - Thought Picnic: Moderating my decision tree

I have not written about my therapy sessions, and I’ve had a few of those; change is on the way, it sure is.

NAFDAC withdrew all the drugs manufactured by one company nationwide, replacing them with drugs that hopefully will arrest the decline in health brought on by the usage of poorly manufactured drugs.

Some viewpoints

The theme this week is life and perspectives from a hospital ward, gender equality, strikes, persistence, blogging, Twitter and the education emergency in Nigeria.

Here, for your pleasure, are all 5 weeks of Decade Blogs, 35 of them from wonderful people and amazing writers.

To everyone who has honoured me in finding the time to write for #YourBlogOnMyBlog, my thanks and more. I might find the words of appreciation and gratitude, eventually, and they would still not be enough.

Decade Blogs – Week 5

Decade Blogs - Oyedeji Aderemi - Killing Ourselves Softly

Decade Blogs - Jesse Oguntimehin - On Gender Equality

Decade Blogs - Chuba Ezekwesili - The Hidden Costs of University Strikes

Decade Blogs - Kunle Durojaiye - Keep Running!

Decade Blogs - Ayo Sogunro - Gone Blogging, Back Soon

Decade Blogs - Nike Olatunji-Akioye - Twittersphere

Decade Blogs - Seun Fakuade - Groping in the Dark

Decade Blogs – Week 4

Decade Blogs - Dupe Killa - The Broken Ones

Decade Blogs - Kola Akinola - My Friend

Decade Blogs - Chioma Agwuegbo (Chuka) - 10 Years

Decade Blogs - Henry 'O'Jew' Olamiju - Greatness - A Life Waiting Us

Decade Blogs - Olu Ximena - The Trade

Decade Blogs - Editi Effiong - Dear religious people, let's kill all the gay people

Decade Blogs - Saratu Abiola - On Nigeria and Why Writing Matters

Decade Blogs – Week 3

Decade Blogs - Sira Sokari - Writing is the Liberator

Decade Blogs - Abubakar A. Musa - Challenging the humanity in us

Decade Blogs - Japheth J. Omojuwa - The Power of Purpose and Persistence

Decade Blogs - Mister Mobility - Not all those who wander are lost

Decade Blogs - Annie Emmanuel - Loyal To A Fault And Daring To Do

Decade Blogs - Akin Oyebode - How Will You Measure Your Life?

Decade Blogs - Ayo Oyalowo - What exactly are we looking for?

Decade Blogs – Week 2

Decade Blogs - Monike Charles-Binitie - Taking the leap

Decade Blogs - 'Seyi Shimoshi - On Faith, Fiction and Friendship

Decade Blogs - Raymond Inkabi - Ten Years Of Blogging

Decade Blogs - Blossom Nnodim - The Guardians of the Future

Decade Blogs - Pearl Ijeoma Ezeokeke - The Employer Atrocities of She

Decade Blogs - Ikhide R. Ikheloa - This life, London, tribes, and the Internet

Decade Blogs - Bisi Alimi - 10 Years of Blogging

Decade Blogs – Week 1

Decade Blogs - Babatunde Rosanwo - The Market‏

Decade Blogs - Waffarian - Just Another Day

Decade Blogs - Emeka John Okoye - Welding Relations

Decade Blogs - Chikere Ezeh - Exhuming Blogs of Old

Decade Blogs - Nkem Ivara - The Power Of Words

Decade Blogs - Tolu Oloruntoba - Royalties at the end of a river

Decade Blogs - Feyi Fawehinmi - Daddy 2.0

Decade Blogs - Nike Olatunji-Akioye - Twittersphere

Decade Blogs

As I was trying to drum up support for my #YourBlogOnMyBlog Series commemorating my Decade of Blogging in the early days when I was waiting for blogs to arrive for posting Nike contacted me and asked if I would be willing to have her write for my blog.

Blog - To Celebrate My Decade of Blogging

I was pleased that she offered to write and going through the list of amazing people who contributed to the #YourBlogOnMyBlog Series, I had seven such submissions, going by what we have now, that is a week of blogs.

Whilst she might suggest she is not a writer, our veterinary doctor and I mean doctor with philosophy is quite accomplished, and there are too many examples of the fact that she is much more than she suggests she is, self-effacing humility is something she possesses.

Nike Olatunji-Akioye blogs at http://randomthoughts-n.blogspot.com/ and uses the Twitter handle @imagervet

She writes about that vibrant other world of Twitter where empires and power plays reign, where the good, the bad and the ugly of our humanity interacts in the marketplace of agreement, disagreement, humour, seriousness and the essential abuse. We have a roll call of Twitter handles I would think any reader of this blog would find as good suggestions as any to follow.

Twittersphere

I joined Twitter in 2010 and did not really begin to use it seriously till 2011. I was in a serious relationship with Facebook is the reason why. Well, I was, till my wall became a hunting ground for some jobless people (read men) who made it their life’s work to update the significant other (who wanted no part of social media) on every word and nuance of my status updates and I suspect, the hidden meanings of every other word, like they knew what my intent was. Long story short, I packed up my dodgy English and moved on, while singing, ‘to the left, to the left….’ a la Beyonce.

So, I arrived Twitter and was determined to do a better job than I had done with Facebook and so spent quite a bit learning and ‘ghost-mode-ing’, all to the end that I would provide less fodder for the jobless ones who contract-stalk me for relevance to Le hubby.

I found that the same issues as with any (public) gathering of people exists on Twitter as with all human gatherings. Leaders emerged, whether naturally or the thrust of greatness (and sometimes something else) upon such people (or shall we say, in light of recent happenings) handles. Some appropriated leadership by notoriety and as with all human associations, cliques and groups formed and sociology determined the rest.

It has been amusing, to say the least, to watch the whole of Twittersphere evolve (or should that be devolve?). Though some imagine their reasons for being on there are different than most others, I am happy to tell you, you differ not at all. Most all of those who use Twitter are exhibitionist, opinionated, educated, drama queens (gender be damned!). We like others to hear us, and we need an outlet for the words that we are unsure how those who are around us will handle them, and so we find the set stage of Twitter the perfect backdrop for our ... whatever.

A big reason Twitter appealed to me was the ease with which links were tweeted and the access I got to blogs that I do not even follow. I have read some offerings from such a huge range of writers that it is even difficult to follow any blogs nowadays. I find it far easier to just click on those links that I wish to read. My morning ritual includes opening up the links to articles from blogs that look appealing for me to read when I have a minute during my day.

I remember reading the series from @toyinfab every Wednesday morning before she got married and marital bliss took her off. I remember finding some of the articles from @Anabagail's 38 series interesting also. I remember an epic article on education reforms by @ikhide whom I think should move to Nigeria to help whip the tertiary education into shape.

It’s been very gratifying to have me inspire @JustJoxy to write cos I think she is good at it when she is not busy cooking up a storm. I have learnt more than I care for about mobiles from reading @Mister_Mobility who really is great at what he does. @famuyideolawale is someone who writes from the heart, and I think is a great reader and encourager also, many links, he pointed me to.

Some of the biggest issues in Twittersphere are what status a person has and while I am unaware of the Council that determines these things, I have found it very amusing to see tweeps appropriate status to themselves that is slightly different from what really is true. Some think people follow them for varied reasons and even begin to guess at the reasons during some of their really (my guess) difficult days. If anyone on Twitter is anything like me, reasons for following could range from amusement all the way through derision and sometimes, (like in my case) too many boring meetings to get through *dodges shoe*

Interactions between tweeps sometimes read nice and are great fodder for an imaginative junkie like myself. Sadly, they are sometimes less than savoury and being objective may be difficult when all of the information is not available to one. For me, being slightly younger in my mind than people my age (not on the level of Ikhide who is always 32 or thereabout), I find that speaking right may sometimes cause a re-think and an adjustment but when such an opportunity presents itself and is allowed to slip away, it saddens me greatly.

Some of my favorite tweeps include but are not limited to @Nusaybah09, @sagaysagay, @KwamiAdadevoh and his twit-wife, @dupekilla who sometimes provide almost ‘Fuji House of Commotion’-esque amusement with their very naughty ‘children’. @aeolofintuade, @ShecrownLita, @Rockabam and @PearlOsibu provide deep reason for joy at being female.

There’s that old man @akinsoke who together with @forakin and @thewordsmythe scare the bejesus out of my English-challenged mind. [Note from Akin: Don’t know what she is talking about, surely we are not sesquipedalians.] I always have Google open when chatting with them; a dependable friend and help out of every comprehension bottle-neck.

Those who read me, know, I started blogging only a little over a year ago and that I am ‘artistic’ (LWKMD!) enough that I can sometimes go several days (read weeks) without writing anything. So imagine my consternation at learning that @forakin has been doing this for ten years. TEN YEARS?!!! And then, imagine how excited I was to have him ask me to do a post?

I just felt very honoured and very ‘artistic’ (I am actually feeling like a writer right now!). I had read of his health challenges and felt such kinship with him not because I had had the same health issues but because human health issues scare me. I am grateful he’s bested that monster and here’s to multiples more of ‘ten years of blogging’ and do forgive any conjugatory or less than stellar English in this and any other interactions we have, as you probably well know, ayam (I am) not English, nor can write it but I sure do enjoy reading when you write it!

Nigeria: The leaders whose success and joy is the pain of many

Wastrels given to profligacy

Nigeria can leave you in despair, depress you and put you on the worst end of dejected.

I read the story that Vice-President Namadi Sambo’s official residence was going to gouge NGN 2.1 Billion ($13,087,200.00), you ask what kind of furniture is being hawked that is eye-wateringly exorbitant. [Premium Times Nigeria] [Wikipedia]

The outrage stems from a whole range of issues, for instance, why were we building a new residence for the Vice-President? Because the former property which was formerly built for the service of the nation had probably ended up in private hands.

Double or quits

NGN 7.1 Billion ($44,247,200.00) had been previously earmarked for this project in 2009 and then in 2012 the Federal Capital Development Authority was seeking an additional NGN 9 Billion ($56,088,000.00), a sum that was rejected by the Nigerian Senate. [All Africa]

One cannot begin the reason about the level of rank incompetence that allowed for residences of principal officers of the Executive and the Legislature to end up in private hands and to add insult to injury that estimation for the building complex had more than doubled in just over 3 years.

I guess it would have been too much of an embarrassment for the Presidential Villa to be sold off to some private interest whilst the wastrels squandered our money on other palatial residences furnished to the hilt with sickening baubles.

It was in the light if this that I posted the following tweets.

  

Namadi Sambo’s furniture, house upgrade gulp N2.1 bn in 4 years http://t.co/uFTMOIVShn Would he replace his home furniture like this?
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Atrocious aggrandisement and megalomania at the expense of the state to prove what apart from unrestrained greed?
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

People who buy their own furniture are considered people with no pedigree, old is class, new is vulgar for aristocracy.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Our leaders acquire ostentatious and new kitschy stuff like magpies, what it reveals is a poverty of the spirit.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

The insatiable attachment to things and baubles, odious, vulgar, cheap and classless. Sick-bag people.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Why are we always replacing cars, planes, buildings, furniture and things of our leaders, why? Because they have cheap minds.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@Imagervet I have not started, this just the preamble.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Covetous, lascivious, grabbing, grubby, greedy, gaudy, green, grungy lot. How have we been cursed by this gratuitous grimy lot?
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

They follow after their bellies for calamity and feast with their eyes for perdition, then speak perfidious evils to soothe us.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Why shall one not desire that the day of Korah approach them suddenly? Nigeria cannot continue under the yoke of these brood of Belial.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Their mouths have milked and bilked the paps of the nation to nothingness that the sucking is presenting exsanguination.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

They have stood like the Prince of Persia in the way of the joy of the people, their woe must come to let freedom reign.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Instruction, they can't hear; criticism, they can't bear; impervious to reform, distant from repentance, their good is a canker-worm on us.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Ye that seek to follow in their steps, whose success is the pain of the many, the earth shall open to receive you with thanks and glee.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Repent, reform, reflect, restitute, recompense, realise, react, redeem, renew and be restored.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Selah! Shalom!
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

The business of government and leadership is occupied with getting things for themselves instead of doing things for the people.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

We have attached the epaulets of generals on the lapels of privates and wonder why the battlements are in disarray.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

They built Pompeii and one day, it was no more but the history that it was once there, a visitation cometh.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

They dreamt of Atlantis and furnished their habitations with finery but had no gills to survive when the deluge made them legend.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Of a truth, they shall be written in the book of reckoning as a sign to those that come after - power is transient, man is mortal.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

A voice shall come like the sound that brought down the walls of Jericho. People, we have to march these leaches out, forever.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Daring vampires, they act like they have sunk their teeth into the neck of God. I pity them for the end of such will make you weep.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Immunity and impunity has killed off the community, our humanity is taken for granted for our democracy harbours no humility.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

.@Viquetorh I know my audience, some read context, some rise to new knowledge, I neither do plain not simple. @SegunThePundit
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

I apologise, the challenge of maintaining context, concision and completeness in 140 characters per tweet can be daunting. :-)
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@forakin Where is the democracy? The routine 'voting ceremony' is a conduit pipe, no more.
— MG (@MG79305787) December 29, 2013

@Viquetorh I didn't just start, there is nothing to keep up, this is the norm. :) Good evening. :-)
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@Viquetorh You present me with some difficulty if I am keep my communication plain and simple and your Victor is Viquetorh. :-)
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@madamedemadame You did enough school to understand me. :)
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@Viquetorh The pleasure is entirely mine. Nice to make your acquaintance.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Here I was thinking I know how to write in english. The @dupekilla starts retweeting all of @forakin's grammer. I give up. Good night.
— Sam Hart (@hartng) December 29, 2013

@hartng So funny. :) My ribs ache. :-) @dupekilla
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@Viquetorh The difficulties are many, I strive to keep my tweets within the 140 character limit with complete context. I do try.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@hartng From the laughter. :-) @dupekilla
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@Viquetorh I'm out to make friends, though it might not be obvious at times. :-) No reason to make enemies but some people just love that.
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@Ifeandre86 I'll look into that. :-) @SegunThePundit @Viquetorh
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@hartng Magpie is used as a metaphor - See this http://t.co/89NKTaVSi2 they have a weakness for shiny things. @Sir_Ruffy @dupekilla
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

@dupekilla Sometimes, you are just overcome with outrage, this is one of my outlets for the rage. :-) @hartng @Sir_Ruffy
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

As in Ifa, Obatala, Amadioha levels "@dupekilla: ...There were moments when they sounded like incantations tho. @forakin @hartng @Sir_Ruffy"
— Sam Hart (@hartng) December 29, 2013

My people, I have a journey ahead, I'll be back soon. Thanks for hearing me out. Shalom!
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) December 29, 2013

Explaining contexts

I noticed that I used a number of metaphors or analogies in my Tweets, I have now tried to shed some light on the more obscure ones

People who buy their own furniture…

Under Diaries – Alan Clark who lived in castle appeared to suggest he was old money and Micheal Heseltine was new money – but by inference, old money inherited and new money went shopping.

Our leaders acquire ostentatious and new kitschy stuff like magpies...

Why are magpies so often hated? [BBC] – Magpies is used metaphorical because they have a weakness for shiny things which they gather to feather their nests for attract mates. Here, I suggest the acquisitiveness of our leader is much like the magpie, just to show off.

Why shall one not desire that the day of Korah … brood of Belial.

Korah rebelled against Moses and his whole company was consumed by fired before the earth under the feet of his accomplices and swallowed them all.

Belial is derived from a Hebrew word meaning worthless, and by inference the personification of a worthless, that is to say a worthless man. However, in the sacred texts it is also a synonym for the devil.

They have stood like the Prince of Persia…

The Prince of Persia was referred to in the Book of Daniel and he was the one that delayed the delivery of answered prayers. In another context, it is a malevolent territorial spirit. By inference, our leaders have become the impediment to realisation and answered prayers of Nigerians as a whole.

…their good is a canker-worm on us.

Cankerworm - The larva of either of two moths (Paleacrita vernata or Alsophila pometaria), destructive to fruit and shade trees. [The Free Dictionary] The cankerworm leaves destruction of crops in its wake but needs that to feed itself. The inference to our leaders is the same.

They built Pompeii and one day, it was no more…

Pompeii was an ancient Roman city that was completely wiped out by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

They dreamt of Atlantis and furnished their habitations with finery but had no gills…

Atlantis - A mythical island swallowed by the sea. The reference to gills is, for the show they’ve performed on land, none have demonstrated they are fully masters of their game.

…the sound that brought down the walls of Jericho.

A biblical story narrates how the fortifications of the city of Jericho came down, after the Israelites marched, round it and made much noise together in playing trumpets and shouting out loud. From a scientific perspective, the marching together could have weakened the foundations due to vibrations – See Millennium Bridge

We, the people need to march together to bring down the walls of these profligate leaders.

Decade Blogs - Japheth J. Omojuwa - The Power of Purpose and Persistence

Decade Blogs

Japheth J. Omojuwa probably needs no introduction on Social Media, he is one of the few young Nigerians who has found the means of leveraging reach and platform to inform, to change or to muster.

It was when he won the Nigerian Blog Awards 2011 for the Best Political Blog that I discovered him and his influence that had a really big following on Twitter.

He comes across as passionate, engaging and forceful, sometimes almost forgetting the huge responsibility on his shoulders as his simple humanity takes to the fore in a cause, a campaign or a controversy, yet he can be as effective in raising funds for charitable and humanitarian causes or getting the ear of the powerful as he can be devastating in rubbishing positions, people or policies that appear to serve hypocritical or selfish interests.

I am honoured to have him contribute a blog to my #YourBlogOnMyBlog Series commemorating my Decade of Blogging.

Blog - To Celebrate My Decade of Blogging

Omojuwa as we know him, blogs on at Omojuwa.com which he also offers as a platform for the views and opinions of others, he tweets with the @omojuwa Twitter handle and he writes for various media organs.

Here, he writes about how time, patience, dedication, determination, purpose and persistence governs longevity and success. Please enjoy reading this piece.

The power of Purpose and Persistence

Anyone can do a thing consistently for a decade if they get paid for it, doing it for that long without pay is noteworthy; even more extraordinary if it is a venture that helps to make others better.

If there were ever anything I’d guess would keep such a person going, persistence would be my first guess. Whatever Akin Akintayo has going for him that keeps him running a blog for ten consecutive years, persistence must definitely be part of that mix.

I have a reason for thinking persistence must have played a huge part in his story, but this must never be assumed to mean his being persistent was all he needed to keep going. This is about his persistence though. There are exceptions, but the central theme in the stories of most successful people is that of persistence. There are people who have succeeded without being overly talented; there are loads of people who have succeeded without attending the best universities.

I can bet you know many people who have succeeded despite their very poor backgrounds, but if you were tasked to find ten men or women who succeeded without persistence, you’d need a bit of persistence to endure the search and even at that, you’d be lucky to find any.

Why is persistence such a crucial factor for success? It is simple enough; everything takes time. Time is one of the fundamental realities in our world. Everything we do is subjected to it. Our universal laws are a function of time. We live within time so we’d never get to succeed at anything without time as a sort of reactant in our mix.

It is a kind of limiting reality, but like Friction, it helps us in ways we may never really appreciate. If you ever do a thing that does not take time, please kindly reach me to tap into your powers. How much you are able to succeed depends on how long you are able to wait.

Stories abound of people who missed out on greatness because they left their craft just before they got the break. We all know people that missed out on being rewarded just because they were impatient to wait a day, a month or maybe even a year longer.

It takes persistence to spend 4 weeks focused on passing an examination without being distracted by anything else. Those four weeks, if wasted by some others could be the difference between a life of great success and a life of mediocrity.

Sometimes, if you are not willing to wait, you are not deserving of the prize. When next you meet a man or woman you deem successful, ask him or her how hard it was to persist at their craft. They’d tell you it never came cheap but it is what it is, if you really want it, why give up on it?

So you see, we have lessons of our own to learn in this story. We should ask him many questions about how he kept going for so long but before then we should thank him for showing us it can be done!