L-R Olamitayo, wife, Mrs Nike Monica Okudaye, professional Textile Artist and the author

The author and Pa Tunji Oyelana, renowned Nigerian folklore musician

The author and Gbenga Adeyinka, Grand Comedian of the Federal Republic

The Author With Marcus Sorour, General Manager, Waggener Edstrom Communications, South Africa

The Author With Jahman Anikulapo, Program Chair, Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA)

30 Mar 2014

BEFORE vs AFTER

Hello Folks,

It is an opportunity coming to you again through this medium. It was a great weekend of personally induced stress for me. Nonetheless, I look forward to a very rewarding week. I will implore you to attempt to make someone happy this week in your own little way.

This week, we would be working on a simple thing that we know very well. It is Before vs After.

Before, as we all know, is the event that precedes the current experience. Before happens to be the past that can be shared. Before is captured in many ways:  pictures, books, videos and even in memory. Before helps to appreciate the new situation one is in; before also could come in many ways: marital, health, academics and many more.

23 Mar 2014

Reality Show Winners vs Brand Ambassadors

Hello People of Substance,

It is a great opportunity coming your way this day. Thank God for a nice weekend. It was very relaxing for me, I decided to stay indoors and get refreshed for a new week. Thanks to PHCN- for not giving me electricity to enjoy it to the fullest.

As we do weekly, today, we would be considering. Reality Show Winners versus Brand Ambassadors.

Reality Show Winners are those who participate in a competition which is usually 10 weeks long. They are usually in search of fame, they want to express their themselves through their talents. I have been an audience to many reality shows and I have tried to watch the progression of many winners after their emergence but the challenge is, many of them do not go so far. However, some of them are doing very well.

17 Mar 2014

HALF-FULL vs HALF-EMPTY


Nndewo enyi,
Don’t be scared, it is “hello friends” in Igbo language, South-Eastern zone of Nigeria. Hope you had a nice weekend? I wish you a great week ahead. Hopefully, this week will bring us closer to the realization of our dreams.
Let’s consider one of what we had always known today: half-full versus half-empty. This is a lesson from the life of any container; be it a bottle, cup, drum and even tank. Let us dig further.
Half-Full means believing that there is room for improvement, a cup being half-full means the situation is viewed from a positive angle. Considering that the cup is half-full gladdens one’s heart to endure till it eventually gets full. If the situation is deteriorating and it is seen as half-full, one would do everything to salvage the situation. Half-full is positive in outlook and disposition.
Half-Empty is depressing in itself; it means that you are seeing it from the negative perspective. When one considers it as being half-empty, one might assume that it will be completely depleted in minutes so one can afford to leave it to rot away.
How many things have you considered half-full? How many things have you considered half-empty? Let’s be positive to everything. You have the opportunity to be positive, even to situations that injured you! That does not sound good, right? Be positive to what makes you laugh and also receptive to what you would not ordinarily like as well. Life is a mix of both.
Your judgment of being half-full or half-empty is from the same source. Your perspective to your situation makes you see it as a learning process or as awful lesson and this, in turn, determines what you make out of it.

Enjoy your week.
Best regards,

12 Mar 2014

FAITHFUL vs SMARTNESS

Hello friends,

I am sorry to be sending this week’s discussion late. It is due to circumstances beyond my control.

Let us consider something pivotal to our future. Faithful is when someone is dedicated, someone does everything wholeheartedly, someone is truthful to a fault. The faithful person throws himself into the project being handled, the faithful person do not retreat no matter how difficult the terrain is. Such people are sticklers for great feats.

In the Yoruba culture, the pigeon is used to symbolize faithfulness, a proverb goes thus, “Eyele oni ba onile je, ko ba onile mu, ko wa di ojo isoro ko peyin da” meaning the Pigeon will not feast with you and depart in the day of trouble. A smart person is the person that wants to cheat the system, someone who does not believe in learning the hard way. The smart person wants the short route to success. The smart person has got a new coinage in this era of proverbial, “enito mo way, lo mo iwe” meaning the person that knows the way is knowledgeable. The smart person is regarded, most times, as a cheat when caught with attached consequences. Nevertheless, some people had gone scout-free but it is not the best, it’s risky.

4 Mar 2014

EDIFYING WORDS VERSUS BABBLING

I throway Salute,

This is the pidgin version of saying; with all due respect.

Welcome to the month of March, it seems we started the year some weeks ago but it is running out fast. Hope you are fine? I hope you had a fun-filled weekend. God in His mercies will rescue our land from all form of insurgence.

Today, we would be considering what is already known. Let’s discuss edifying words versus babbling. Edifying words are the words that appease, lead, guide, encourage and stir up people’s mind towards positive thinking. People who speaks edifying words are always sought for advises, they are sought for solutions and they are endeared to many.

Babbling is a situation that when people are yelled at, speaking to people without caution, one does not care about whose ox is gored. People who are involved in babbling usually scare people away, people hate them, people who babble do not get the desired result and they depress others most times. The Yoruba people have a way of describing people with edifying words as “oro Ire”.

I would encourage you for this week and every day of life to have edifying words, it is one of the mighty instruments that would change the world. We can start it now, we can imbibe this culture now and we can continually do it.

Let’s choose to edify others whenever we have the opportunity.

Best wishes in March.