LESSONS FROM AMERICA

America is in the eye of the storm and many are wondering if the land of liberty can still flaunt the title of the beacon of democracy as it is wont to. While I admit that there is a big question mark on America’s moral right to police the entrenchment of democracy anywhere else, I still believe that America’s democracy remains a model, even in spite of the brazen assault it suffered in the hands of President Trump and his allies. What is playing out in America only reinforces the fact that human beings are the same, irrespective of race or colour. What regulates the excesses of man is law and order which is what America prides itself on. The event at Capitol Hill on Wednesday the 6th of January, 2021 was only a crystallisation of a feud that was sown when Donald J. Trump was voted as The President of The United States on the 8th of November, 2016. I wrote an article shortly before President Trump took his oath of office in 2017. The article was titled “Lessons from America”. Before then and in the build up to the elections, I was a vehement critic of Donald Trump’s fitness for the Oval Office and I did it without apologies. Writers, they say, are more of idealists but writers, most times, are able to see into the future not because they are soothsayers but because history is not lost on them. Hence, they are able to project into the future, even at the risk of backlashes.

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LISTEN TO YOURSELF

It’s a season of wishes. In the true spirit of the season, please permit me to wish you a happy new year filled with pleasant surprises. Truly, wishes become dreams and when dreams are formed into achievable goals they become accomplishments. What we call achievement are accomplished goals which is otherwise described as dream fulfilled. May your dreams come true in 2021. It is customary to have everyone speaking at the same time at the beginning of the year when goals are set and when the energy is still strong. In the midst of the collective voices saying almost the same thing, it takes discernment for you to sieve the voices to heed. Please let me add this to the myriads of wishes that you might have gotten as you set to action in 2021 – listen to yourself.

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A FRESH START

I’m excited to see the dawn of 2021. Mercy did it, grace abound. Mine is an attitude of gratitude, to God and to you. THANK YOU. Regardless of the divide you belong in a war situation, whether the victorious side or the subdued side, if there is an attribute of war, it is the gathering of the spoils of war or the rueing of the losses in preparation for a rebuild. With gratitude, we won victory over 2020. Hallelujah. 2021 provides humanity with the opportunity of a fresh start. Welcome to a new beginning. 2020 was like a warfront when the strength and resilience of humanity was put to test. We all fought a battle that we were ill-prepared for, a battle we knew very little about. We overrated our wisdom and underestimated our vulnerability. More than ever before, now we know that we are as strong as our weakest link. We should be wiser, at least. Somehow, humanity is wading through the lessons that 2020 taught us. At least we now know that the strength of humanity is not in nuclear weapons or the most funded armoury. The mighty stumbled where the assumed Lilliputians kept fighting with their feeble weapons. Now we know that it is God over us all.

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THE YEAR 2020

The year 2020 came with such a Big Bang. The sound of it was so unique and we all looked forward to an amazing year. What we did not suspect was that it was going to be a year of new discoveries, at least not in the fashion that we are used to. The world would have wished to have everything about 2019 gone with the wind but not with the novel Coronavirus. That was how COVID-19 (Corona Virus Discovered in 2019) changed the colour of 2020 and the world never remained the same again. The year 2020 rolls out in a bit. What an amazing year it would be remembered for. A year when positive could mean negative and negative could mean positive, depending on the topic. A year of opportunities. A year of excuses. The year 2020 would go down as the year when your social and economic status determined your risk of association. There were losses and there were gains. May God restore all that was lost. For the irreplaceable loss of lives, may humanity find comfort in the all knowing God.

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SAFE CHRISTMAS

Christmas is all about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Who is this Jesus? He is the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counsellor. He is the reason for this season. Christ came to save the world. What if I wish you a safe Christmas? What makes Christmas merry? The fun in the atmosphere is peculiar to Yuletide more than any other time all year through. The wining, the dining, the sharing and the exchange of love make Christmas truly merry. The second wave, even with its scare, cannot stop the merry in our Christmas but in the midst of it all, please stay safe, stay alive for this Christmas to truly be merry. I wanna wish you a very merry Christmas but before then, I have this urge to wish you a safe Christmas. You have to stay alive to feel the merriment in Christmas beyond 2020.

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DARE TO DREAM

If you can conceive it, you can achieve it. I grew up dreaming how to inspire people. The dream was without form but the conviction was so strong. This day in retrospect birthed a dream of many years, not even the vicissitudes of life could stop its manifestation. It is not enough to dream. Dreams come in vision but many visions live and die as vision because they are blurred. Your vision becomes clearer when they are lettered. This was what I did in 2016 when I took my vision beyond mere wishes. It was not for nothing. I’m a living witness. Winners don’t emerge from those who intend to run the race. Winners roll up their sleeves and jump on the field of play even when it is not convenient. If my weekly musing means anything to you, then you need a copy of my new book. I bet that the hard copy will find a prominent place in your library. The e-copy will be an essential companion. I asked another friend like you what price he is willing to pay for my e-book of over 200 pages and he laughed, he asked if I’ve democratised the pricing of my intellectual property but I said why not? You’ve been a part of my long journey and I’m incomplete without you.

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THE PAINS, THE GAINS AND THE NATION

Many would wish to have an omelette without breaking any egg but there is no record of such gains without pains in ancient and modern history. Some would argue that Nigeria got her independence too cheaply and took development for granted when there was surplus, that we failed to project far into the future. It may appear a coincidence but I think it is symbolic that Nigeria is witnessing a rebirth on her 60th anniversary as Nigeria clocked 60 on 01 October 2020. The #endSARS protest opened another chapter in Nigeria’s history and I dare say that Nigeria will never remain the same again. In the aftermath, there have been pains, some quite excruciating. There are gains, enormous gains, even if not immediately visible. There are also some exaggerated assumptions that look real. I would wish that any loss is avoided to give Nigeria a rebirth but wishes are not horses.

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CHRISTMAS IS COMING

Nothing compares with Christmas. I looked for one event so universally recognised, even by adherents of other faiths, and I found none. Not even the novel coronavirus could stop the love in the air as Christ is born in a manger in a matter of days. Christmas is a season of love and giving. When I was a child, I cherished candies and assorted food that announced the birth of Christ. The tastefully seasoned chicken and turkey defined the season more than any other protein. Yuletide has exclusivity over harmattan, even now. As an adolescent, I craved new clothes and shoes to herald the coming of a new year on the heels of the birth of Christ. If not at any other time in the year, one was sure of a new addition to his/her wardrobe at Christmas. Yes, this much I could remember as an aspiring adult. What then do I crave as an adult even as Christmas approaches? I am coming. Let me be one of the earliest to wish you a happy Yuletide season and an amazing New Year ahead.

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NEW BOOK ALERT

I am delighted to introduce my new book, Feathers of Hope. Feathers of Hope is a perfect gift of hope you can give yourself or anyone you love and care about who places a high premium on self-development and relationship building. It is a practical guide to self-discovery and rediscovery. This handbook is particularly unique as it provides you with an inspirational message for each of the 365 days that make a year. Culled from my daily teachings, this book will help you navigate life’s challenges and strengthen your relationship with people towards achieving lasting success. If you are looking for a perfect gift for yourself and your loved ones, Feathers of Hope is handy, insightful, perpetually useful and it nourishes your typical day with a message of hope that keeps you going all year round.

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APOLOGY IS OVERRATED

If men were God, the speedy effect of apology would have been magical but because man is not God, it is not easy for him to forgive as quickly as God does. God is quick to forgive the biggest sin but not same with man. Sometimes, apology travels slowly. One of the most insensitive things I’ve seen people do is to berate someone who has been offended for not forgiving quickly. Sometimes, we say the person should forgive and forget. After all, apology has been tendered. How easy is it to forget? I often wonder. Depending on the magnitude of hurt, some wounds take time to heal, even when apology has been tendered. To be conscious of this is to be slow to say or do things that inflict wounds on others when it is within our control.

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