Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced. Even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it. — John Keats, letter to George and Georgiana Keats The first ten minutes of your morning impact the day’s tone and your attitude. Consider this scenario: You wake up to your alarm, already frustrated. You stayed up way too late the night before and are paying for it. As you roll out of bed, your mind begins calculating all you need to do. Feeling overwhelmed by everything on your list, you shuffle into the kitchen only to find an…
Author: Prince Charles Dickson PhD
Nigeria has a lot of issues, for instance, who do you blame for immigration officers wearing slippers or flip-flops with their uniforms at the airport, or Uber drivers accepting trips and proceeding to charge you higher than the app for an offline trip? For us to get the country we want, we have to change our mindset—Osi_Suave In the country of Armenia, in 1988, Samuel and Danielle sent their young son, Armand, off to school. Samuel squatted before his son and looked him in the eye. “Have a good day at school, and remember, no matter what, I’ll always be…
In Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, we are told the story of Abdulfattah Jandali who ran a Mediterranean restaurant in California. He was a Syrian immigrant, balding and intelligent, with fierce eyes and round, wire-rimmed glasses. After coming to America, Jandali earned a PhD in economics. He got a job as a professor at the University of Michigan. He began dating a woman named Joanne, and she became pregnant. But despite his brilliance, Jandali was a flawed and restless man. So, with Joanne still pregnant, he abandoned both his family and his career. The baby boy in Joanne’s womb was given up for…
Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, the designer of the Nigeria flag (Green/White/Green), takes a bow from this world. God bless his soul as he rests in peace. I believe in Nigeria. I believe in its people and the diversities that define such people—Chris Kwaja A brand is a multifaceted concept that represents a combination of tangible and intangible elements associated with a product, service, organization, or even an individual. It is a unique identifier that distinguishes one entity from another in the eyes of customers, stakeholders, and the public. On many occasions, a brand has made a nation, and in instances, a…
His Grace Ambassador Salika Dasa Adhikari and Prince Charles Dickson PhD Introduction Substance abuse remains a significant public health concern with far-reaching consequences for individuals, families, and communities worldwide. In Nigeria, this issue is particularly pressing, affecting people of all ages, backgrounds, and social strata. To combat this problem effectively, a holistic and community-based approach is required. Religious leaders, as influential figures within Nigerian communities, can play a pivotal role in addressing substance abuse through their guidance, teachings, and support systems. The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Substance Abuse Behavior The world can be divided into two categories: the knowledgeable…
Let me start this essay in this manner…and do please be patient with me, I make good my word that it would be worth reading. A young and pretty lady posted this on a popular forum: Title: What should I do to marry a rich guy? I’m going to be honest about what I’m going to say here. I’m 25 this year. I’m very pretty, have style and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with a $500k annual salary or above. You might say that I’m greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only middle class in New York. My requirements are…
A friend and I were texting today about how our mornings had not started well. She had lost her keys and subsequently missed both a dentist appointment and a work meeting. I had placed an important form in a “safe place” and then could not remember where I put it. The longer my friend and I kept looking for these items, the more flustered and upset we became. As time dragged on, my friend’s worries grew. What if she did not find her keys? Had she thrown them away by accident? Getting a replacement key fob is not easy nor…
Allow me to commence this piece, or rather, this admonition, with a tale. A man was suspecting his wife of infidelity, so he decided to go to his village and consult a juju man. The juju man told him to come back in two weeks bringing along some sample of sand from his yard. So, the man went back after two weeks with the sample of sand. The juju man threw several cowries on the floor, chanted and performed his rituals and said to the man…”I don’t know if you can handle hearing this. The man said go ahead. I…
In a shocking twist of events, a prestigious luxury hotel recently welcomed a new VIP guest that has undoubtedly set the hospitality industry abuzz. Say hello to the hotel’s uninvited but determined guest – the rat! While most hotels strive to attract high-profile celebrities and dignitaries, this fine establishment seems to have taken a rather unconventional approach to hospitality. Gone are the days of red-carpet welcomes for Nollywood stars and royal, and political families; now, the hotel staff must be on their toes to ensure they offer the same level of luxury to their furry intruder. Will the rat demand…
“If only…” These two words paired together create one of the saddest phrases in the English language. In the end, more than anything else, we regret the small chances we didn’t take, the priceless opportunities we were too busy to nurture, and the good decisions we waited too long to make. It made for a thrilling 48 hours as we meandered around the theme, Accountability Journalism: Nurturing Innovation for a Sustainable Future – with The Center for Journalism Innovation and Development CJID providing the platform towards enhancing accountability journalism for a sustainable future, at the very first West Africa Journalism…
The worst part of a society manipulated by politics is to see the poor defending the rich who are responsible for their poverty. There was one man called Femi in Ibadan, 98 year old Baba Femo, he was alleged to have made pregnant a 19 year old girl, an allegation he blatantly denied, he insisted that he was not responsible, he wasn’t the person. The matter went to the court, he brought a lawyer called Nkiru to defend him. In court, the barrister said, “My Lord, this man can never make this 19-year-old pregnant”. The judge said, “Counsel can you prove that.” She said, “Yes, I can prove that”. And to further…
The longest road you’re going to have to walk is from here to here. In June the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network published its Sustainable Development Report 2023, which tracks the progress of the 193 member states towards attaining the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ‘From 2015 to 2019’, the network wrote, ‘the world made some progress on the SDGs, although this was already vastly insufficient to achieve the goals. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 and other simultaneous crises, SDG progress has stalled globally’. This development agenda was adopted in 2015, with targets intended to be…
Reviewed By Prince Charles Dickson PhD “A System and A People: Exploring Tradition, Economy, and Cultural Resilience” Introduction: “Igba Boi: Profit and Prejudice” is a thought-provoking and compelling book that explores the complex intersection of profit-seeking and prejudice in contemporary society. Written by a talented author, the book delves into the challenging dynamics of capitalism, discrimination, and social inequality. With a captivating narrative and sharp analysis, the author takes readers on a journey to examine the consequences of profit-driven motives and the pervasive impact of prejudice on individuals and communities. In this case the Igbos! It is a compelling and…
Being the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) Chairman in Nigeria and of course a Nigerian school with Nigerian parents and management can be a rewarding and challenging experience. It involves serving as a bridge between parents, teachers, and the school administration to ensure effective communication, collaboration, and the overall welfare of students. For me, it was six years of exciting learning experience, and my apologies, I am not going to talk about the Mmesoma Joy Ejikeme and JAMB Saga, but I will share my journey, an adventure, we could all learn a few nuggets. Some key aspects of the role and…
One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor handed out the question paper with the text facing down as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked his students to turn the page and begin. To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions, just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s face, told them the following, “I want you to write what you see there.” The confused students got started…
To teach without training is to fail in your task, can anybody learn to play football by reading books? No. What happens when a man goes to a football training camp? Do they all go to the library? I’ll guarantee you not. Watch a man as he trains his hunting dog. It’s amazing. We train our dogs and don’t train our kids. Then tie the dog up at night and let the kids run wild. We are to train them. Listen, lead them. What do you want your children to be? Do you know what all of the emphasis is…
The leper said two things, one of them being a lie; he said after he had struck his child with his palm, he also pinched him severely with his fingernails. Many years ago, in a small family reunion I was invited to, I watched as a father narrated a movie to the kids, unknown to him, the kids had viewed the same film. He went about mumbling the story line, while the older ones feigned attention, one of the younger ones just blurted out…”Daddy it’s a lie”. I am writing this on yet another day that marks the ‘Fathers’ Day’.…
After several days, on weeks, the lion had tried all he knew and the hunt was not getting any result, he sought the help of the goat and the dog, he told them he believed that together that they would be successful. And they embarked on a fresh hunt, sooner than they had started, they got their reward as a team, and the lion instructed that the goat share it into three equal parts, and the goat did so with calculative precision, no mistakes whatsoever, before you could whisper proper—The lion pounced on the goat and the goat was meat.…
Hullabaloo of Nigeria’s democratic transitions By 1983 the army had struck and aborted the 2nd republic but here we are, the 10th Assembly will soon resume, and it’s been 24 years of a hullabaloo democracy, many are not happy but we are making some form of progress, there’s been no martial music. Despite the heated controversies in Lagos and other places, the death toll as a result of gun throttling ballot snatchers reduced, the magic figures of the Kardashian states also have reduced. However, we still have a marathon in our hands but sadly we are building on some shenanigan…
During the May 2023 Group of Seven (G7) summit, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, near where the meeting was held. Not doing so would have been an act of immense discourtesy. Despite many calls for an apology from the US for dropping an atomic bomb on a civilian population in 1945, US President Joe Biden has demurred. Instead, he wrote in the Peace Memorial guest book: ‘May the stories of this museum remind us of all of our obligations to build a future of…
For Naija Prison Yard Inside dis place, where time dey freeze, Na prisoners full, dem hold for squeeze. For Naija prison yard, dem dey suffer, Locked away, life gettin’ tougher. Dem wear dem stripes, dem wear dem chains, In dis concrete jungle, where hope remains. From Lagos to Kano, Port Harcourt to Abuja, Prisoners dey hustle, na dem wahala. Dem dey dream of freedom, dey dream of peace, Longin’ for release, for burdens to cease. But in dis place, where hope dey fade, Dem hold on tight, no matter di shade. Inside dis walls, na stories untold, Of lives shattered,…
One who hears and repeats a curse of the king is really cursing the king Quickly last week, my office premises and environs did not have electricity and some few steps from my office is the Jos Electricity Distribution Company. The company is one I did rate a 4 out 0f 10 which by any standards is fair enough. So, they were powering the office with a generator, yes you heard me generator. And I have seen this scenario, once or twice but it just occurred to me that we simply are not well as a people. However, truth be…
Often people ask me why I write on certain topics and issues all the time, like bashing the government, and seeing very little good in people in government and government actions and my takes on education, health and power, conflict, politics of ethnicity and more. My answer is that I do because I believe that such subjects are important for Nigeria and Nigerians as they are for other nations, but when it appears to me Nigerians and our leaders particularly do not react to these topics the way they should, I repeat them in new essays to remind old readers…
Man: My friend dey owe me money Woman: Wey dat your friend Man: E dey opposite e dey order beer Woman: you don’t mean it Man: even send waiter to come give me beer ooo Woman: Na lie Man: Human being get as dem dey Woman: wetin e come talk Man: E go say e never dey, I go pay no dey go jail, if we come go police we fix date, if I no fit meet up, we fix another date, e say broda drink beer, If you no drink beer na you dey short. If e no dey…
A society full of sinners judging sinners for sinning differently… Nigeria is a country where everybody is right, and everybody is wrong, it is a nation where when I am right, you must be wrong, we take decisions without critical thinking or analysis and when we do, we do it devoid of the learning and sharing perspective, there is hardly a middle ground, we have no consensus regarding what is wrong or a moral compass. It could be right on Monday and for Festus, and wrong on Tuesday for Ibrahim, it all depends. While many think it is a…
All mumu na idiot, but no be all idiot na mumu. So, make we talk, make I yarn una… For night of 14-15 April 2014, craze people group wey dem dey call Boko Haram bin kidnap 276 mostly Christian girls wey be say dem be from 16 to 18 years old from Government Girls Secondary School for Chibok wey dey for Borno State, Naija. Till now, Chibok don see like one dozen and more attacks, wey mean say every year after dat thing happen, every village like Kwarangullum, Piyemi, Kauitkari, Pemi don dey cry with wahala and people no even…
Place a scorpion in the paths of those chasing rats. They will forget the rat and chase the scorpion. Now, you throw a snake in their path. As one chases the snake, we can smuggle an elephant under his nose Let me start this short epistle by telling us the fable of the Lion and the Gnat. “Away with you, vile insect!” said a Lion angrily to a Gnat that was buzzing around his head. But the Gnat was not in the least disturbed. “Do you think,” he said spitefully to the Lion, “that I am afraid of you because…
A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was not amused. “Am I a girl that you give me dolls?” he asked. “This is a gift for a future king,” said the man. “If you look carefully, you’ll see a hole in the ear of each doll.” “Ok?” The sage handed him a piece of string. “Pass it through each doll,” he said. Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll; put the string into the ear. It came out from the other ear. “This is one type of person,” said the man. “Whatever…
An illusion shared by everyone becomes a reality—Erich Fromm Two neighbours came before Jupiter and prayed to him to grant their hearts’ desire. Now the one was full of avarice, and the other ate up with envy. So, to punish them both, Jupiter granted that each might have whatever he wished for himself, but only on condition that his neighbour had twice as much. The Avaricious man prayed to have a room full of gold. No sooner said than done; but all his joy was turned to grief when he found that his neighbour had two rooms full of the…
Let us forget our differences—Dr. Azikwe Let us understand our difference—Ahmadu Bello Let us understand the misunderstandings of our differences—Abdul Balogun Chukwudi “Misunderstanding the understanding” can refer to a situation where someone fails to comprehend or interpret a concept, idea, or situation correctly, despite believing that they have understood it. This can occur due to various reasons such as cognitive biases, lack of knowledge or experience, miscommunication, cultural differences, or preconceived notions. For example, imagine a person from one culture trying to understand a complex concept or idea from another culture. Even if they have the best intentions and have studied the concept…
