Born Sinner

Drowning in my thoughts, wondering pondering... No more.
It made me strong, a lot stronger than I thought.

A little man with a truckload of ambition,
Trying to stay afloat amidst distractions.
Yet another victim of societal norms,
Alone amongst a thousand and one.

Smitten by the frustrations of rejection,
Assaulted by poverty and hardship;
Surrounded by hypocrisy and mischief,
Crucified for loyalty,  faith and belief.

In a time of prestige and power,
Where money and money is the  order;
Who am I to criticize?
Born sinner, once also unwise.

If only I knew,
that which I now know;
If only I played
That role I was assigned to,
But then, Grace happened,
Born sinner, but I got better.

Pass the mic, not judgement,
Remember how it wasn't so cozy,
Doing things you weren't supposed to,
Listen to understand, it got harder than you supposed.

Life is a cliff,
One you climb and can't afford to be stiff,
We never knew, someone had to teach,
Inspire , help us climb until we reached.

Perfection needs time,
And time is all we have.
Until it runs out,
There's enough to make it right.

Born sinner, never was perfect
Born sinner, working to be perfect
But perfection is you,
Born sinner , but the definition of perfect.

Thank God for Life, You only live once.

Again...?

It's been barely two weeks since the world marked the end of yet another 365day journey with routine celebrations all over the place.
It was indeed a time to reminisce the achievements and or disappointments of the just concluded; lean back, breathe and be hopeful for what is to come in the days ahead.

The resolutionists awoke from their slumber to chant and jot down routine word of mouth resolutions.

Mrs. hypocrite amongst the Christian fold somehow found her dust-ridden abandoned Bible and dashed to church to shout hallelujah into the new year (After all, God is a merciful God, He forgives when we run to Him).

Mr. ignoramus in the Christian fold was not to be left behind as he also danced and sang praises to God for what He would do in the new year. All through the year, he had prayed and fasted for a car and got none but in the coming year, he knows that God will answer that prayer he has been praying for over 15years. Amen? Amen!

And then the clock reads 12:00am, the fireworks begin, tears roll down faces, some are busy eating sand in the name of lying down to thank God for seeing them into the new year (Well, I don't have a problem with that anyway).

I will never steal from my mummy's pot, tell lies to daddy, beat up my younger ones....

We begin to hear stuff like that as resolutions begin to fly here and there. (I got no problem with that either).

I must confess, new year feels like having a plastic surgery. You know, people trying to look different, act different, live different, be different or better still, better.

You're probably reading this and laughing, but this is not comedy, and entertainment is the least of my aims right now.

-The global economic meltdown has been around for as long as I can remember and year in year out, all I see is governments inflating and the people complaining. I don't see a lot of persons (young men and women especially) asking questions like 'How exactly can we put an end to this madness?'  and working towards possible solutions. Apparently, a lot of us are more concerned with trying to make a lot of money. The economy can continue to meltdown for all we care, provided our pockets are stashed.

-The political realm: In Nigeria, it's GEJ vs GMB. Everyone busy pointing accusing fingers when in all honesty, the majority of us have refused to be responsible and see our faults in all of the happenings.

-As Individuals and citizens: All we do is complain, of how the president should have done this or not done that, of how our lives are miserable owing to one thing or another, of how there are no jobs etc.

We've struggled with the same dreaded set of diseases for too long: Ignorance and Irresponsibility.

Don't we ever get tired of doing the same things over and over again?

Take a good look at yourself for a minute and ask yourself what you have done to better yourself as a person. What exactly are you not doing right? What contributions have you made in the life of the person next to you? What problems have you solved in your time on earth? What are the principles you live by? What are you made of? Where is your life really headed?
The resolutions should not come just from the mouth but also from the depth of the heart.
That's not all because a lot of us tend to lose sight and focus even before mid-year. Develop a drive that pushes you beyond your limits, one that says I can make this happen. Be determined enough that the year will not just come and go... again.

- Set goals: Goals are day to day activities that fall in line with the course of your life (dreams). Whilst your dream should outweigh you when viewed by yourself and others, your goals should be tangible and achievable.

- Dedication and Commitment: Nothing in life can work without these key ingredients, but then what are they without passion? Take out passion and you'll simply be struggling.
You've got to love what you do or learn to love it.

-Believe: Your fear of failure and negative thinking has got to be outdone by your belief. If you're more scared of failing than positive for success, you just might need to turn up your faith a lot more.

- Work: Work brethren, work! You don't expect to sit back, arms folded, doing nothing and somehow make it happen. You have to be ready to toil for what you want.

- Give: That givers never lack is fact. There's a simple illustration to support this;
fold your fingers into your palm and then stretch out your hands and ask someone to give you something, anything. You can't collect it cause you're tight fisted. In order to enjoy success and other material benefits, you need to be willing to let go... Emotionally, financially and otherwise.

We cannot continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, we should not continue to be told the same things over and over again. It's about time we became the change we want to see happen around us, there's a popular saying charity begins at home and no lie, it does actually begin with you.

Lastly;
No matter what happens, strive not to lie to yourself, no matter how bitter or painful the truth may seem. Remember that in time, everything will heal, but also that how fast that recovery or healing process takes is dependent on how well you choose to handle the situation.

Let us not rush into trying to be better individuals by making the same  mistakes we've made over time but critically examine ourselves and reflect on what really needs to be done to further our various causes and rightly fuel our drives towards achieving our dreams. We cannot afford to keep moving in circles; again and again and again.

I apologize to every reader of #MAB for my long absence from the scene. I'm back now and I hope to get better and be more consistent this year.
Thank you all for sticking around, the calls, messages, social media mentions etc. Together, we'll grow stronger.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

L.I.F.E

No one knows where the future lies,

No one knows what tomorrow holds,

Nobody knows what time they will die,

But long life and prosperity, is what we all hope.

Life is a struggle, Life is a race,

From start to finish, we try to keep up pace,

Life can be merciless and or full of grace,

But where there’s a will, there’s always a way.

Fulfillment lies not in possessions but in the impact made,

The decisions taken and the legacies laid;

For behind every hero’s glory is an untold story,

Life is a teacher, we live and we learn.

The only thing we can be certain of,

The day when the music finally stops,

When our heartbeats cease and we are no more,

Our final rest… lasting forever more.

For one thing we can be sure,

Death comes but once and then, Never again.

Leave an Impact for Eternity,

Imprint your name on the sands of time.

#BringBackOurGirls

        

Well over 200 young Nigerian girls were abducted by the Boko Haram sect on the 14^th of April 2014; and still are yet to be rescued despite the ongoing efforts of the federal and state governments, the Nigerian military... with assistance from foreign countries such as the U.S, U.K, France and China already been deployed to the country.

Whilst many have chosen to remain insensitive to the seriousness of the issue at hand by cracking jokes, stereotyping the Islamic folks and pointing accusing fingers here and there, others have embarked on numerous campaigns, ranging from social media to blogs and street protests to express their discontent and or to plead with the federal government to intensify efforts to bring home our daughters and sisters safely.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN: UNDERMINING THE EFFECTIVE USE

Since the abduction, #BringBackOurGirls, #TheChibokGirls have been trending topics worldwide on Twitter, Google+ and a number of other social media, with a massive number of users expressing disgust/dissatisfaction over the slow response of the Nigerian government and calling for different kinds of aid from across the globe to speed up the rescue operation.

Celebrities and renowned individuals of society however have not failed to contribute their quota by lending a voice to the #BringBackOurGirls social media campaigns by expressing their concerns and calling for the release of our girls.

Although it is saddening that it took 14days for a majority of Nigerians to understand the severity of the situation and react to the abduction, the outcry by many has definitely sparked a global response which has in turn played a vital role in the offer of assistance by foreign countries and also the acceptance by the Nigerian government.

Truly, the whole world is singing one song: #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS.

I was listening to a local radio show sometime last week when I heard an OAP say “Tweeting BRING BACK OUR GIRLS would not get the girls back home.” He went on and on, talking about how we needed to “act” to get these girls back home.

I sincerely still do not understand what he meant by “act” (as presently in Nigeria, there are street protests in a majority of the 36 states, ongoing prayers and vigils by churches and mosques, Every television and radio station seems to be talking about the rescue of these girls… all in a bid to ensure they are brought back safely).

Sometime in 2012, a young lady who was diagnosed with cancer needed a certain amount of money to undergo an operation termed her only shot at living; with the aid of her fellow countrymen using a particular social media, she was able to acquire the required funds and today she lives amongst us. Although, the social media did not on its own provide the required funds, it however provided a platform to voice out and an audience to listen and “act.”

My point is, we cannot all march into the sambisa forest to rescue these girls (even if we were certain of their exact location), we can only express our concern over the issue and reach out to the authorities in charge through whatever means we have. However, for those who say or think that social media is useless in this situation, the question is; what efforts have you made to ensure the girls are brought home safely?

I would also like to use this medium to charge the federal government to intensify efforts to rescue our girls. I urge all officers in charge of the ongoing rescue operation to do all that they can to bring back our girls. The security and welfare of the people should be government’s utmost priority. It has been well over a month since the abduction and I can only imagine the trauma the young girls are going through and the stigma they might have to live with in the aftermath.

-          LIVE RESPONSIBLY

-          SAY NO TO CORRUPTION (Because corruption is one of the fathers of violence)

-          SAY NO TO TERRORISM

-          SAY NO TO VIOLENCE

#BRINGBACKOURGIRLS