tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12412670992329017022012-04-23T08:48:47.574-07:00Payme's 2Cents#OccupyingTheWorldPaymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-14238037178805794662012-04-21T00:10:00.003-07:002012-04-21T00:10:54.233-07:002012-04-21T00:10:54.233-07:00UNITY - Ogunyemi Bukola (Superblogger II Winner)<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Upon the conduct of each, depends the fate of all" Ogunyemi Bukola</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>Views from high towers,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>Make others look smaller.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>This is the illusion of ego,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>The difference is mere distance.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>All beings are tiny under the sun,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>This is the reality of our worth.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>From hills or valleys, the shortest man</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>Will clearly see the sunshine.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>We have learned to fly the air like birds,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>And swim the sea like fishes,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>But we have not learned the simple art,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><b>Of living together as brothers.</b></span></div>
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</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/04/unity-ogunyemi-bukola-superblogger-ii.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-1423803717880579466?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-61749111494251668212012-04-18T00:41:00.006-07:002012-04-18T01:02:37.984-07:002012-04-18T01:02:37.984-07:00Faux Naija!<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">“Reality denied comes back to haunt.” <span style="color: black;">Philip K. Dick.</span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One of my favourite words is ‘beautiful’. Proves I am Nigerian! Gosh we love beautiful and big things – gigantic houses and cars, dresses, shoes etc. Even when unaffordable, taking out a cooperative loan is not a hard thing for most. The need to have everything picture perfect has now resulted in what I call ‘under the carpet’ syndrome. </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We do not mind living in denial as long as our issues can perfectly fit under the carpet. We hide the mentally challenged relatives in the boys’ quarters, hide the students whose parents cannot afford socks and books at the back of the classroom during inspection, hide poor citizens by destroying their shops and houses and we hide the suffering masses in gigantic places of worship. </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blatant hypocrisy! </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/04/faux-naija.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-6174911149425166821?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-54056275975637636282012-04-15T05:25:00.002-07:002012-04-18T00:58:08.134-07:002012-04-18T00:58:08.134-07:00Why I Am Nothing! - Japheth Omojuwa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BRT4VxeeYZw/T4q22gTzY3I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/XtsDjQSRwro/s1600/ScreenShot_2011-08-09_20-59-17_by_s4bb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BRT4VxeeYZw/T4q22gTzY3I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/XtsDjQSRwro/s320/ScreenShot_2011-08-09_20-59-17_by_s4bb.jpg" width="320"></a></div><div style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>"</b>What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal" Albert Pike</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b> </b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>I have since come to the realisation that I am nothing. I am nothing by myself except when established in the reality that God made me. All that I am, He made. In that sense, everything I have and all I am belongs to The One who created me. That is the reason I am always taken aback when people say they are self-made. I am not self-made. I cannot be self-made. Nothing cannot make something. God made me and all I am, He made; all I seemingly make, He makes. The true me is God playing with a man. That consciousness means that I am always ready to give back.<br>
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I do not have much. In fact, I do not have anything. The little I seemingly have, I am always willing to give. When I look for opportunities to give, it is not because I have a lot. It is because I do not want to keep what someone intends for someone else. I am a channel to bless other people.<br>
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If I am a good writer, it is because God made me so. I have a responsibility not just to make the world a better place with my God-given ability but I must as a matter of responsibility replicate that ability in several other people. Every move I make to the top, I intend to take as many people with me. My business as a human being is to make more people see the reality of who they really are: that they can do a lot with what they have and only by doing much with little will they be able to do more. </b><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/04/why-i-am-nothing-japheth-omojuwa.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-5405627597563763628?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-71003381109306498742012-04-12T00:54:00.003-07:002012-04-13T08:47:21.728-07:002012-04-13T08:47:21.728-07:00You Dare Not Stop!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sy5GbT7E_vA/T4NqggziYDI/AAAAAAAAAGI/zPOtlWKYcVI/s1600/crying+woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sy5GbT7E_vA/T4NqggziYDI/AAAAAAAAAGI/zPOtlWKYcVI/s320/crying+woman.jpg" width="240"></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society” <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jiddukrish107856.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Jiddu Krishnamurti</span></a></span></strong></span></span></div><br>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">There was a warning from the US that another terrorist attack was imminent in Nigeria during the Easter period. I was not shocked and I read articles with the warning with a ‘here we go again’ attitude. I then woke up on Sunday morning to the news of a bomb blast in Kaduna. I simply locked my phone and got ready for church. I did not get teary for the lost souls, I did not go through the usual rants and I did not preach...I said nothing. </span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Midway through the service, it hit me - I had become 'them' (albeit outwardly). I had inadvertently become one of the people I see as uncaring; the ones I call ‘selfish’; the ones who would not bat their eyelids while their <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">neighbours</span> wept. I knew I was neither uncaring nor selfish. I cared deeply. Maybe even too much that it really hurt. I do not think that I can find the exact words to explain my frustrations but I know I was deeply angry. Was this how 'they' felt? Helpless?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"></div></div></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/04/you-dare-not-stop.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-7100338110930649874?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-53558637843687749212012-04-08T05:45:00.002-07:002012-04-12T00:49:17.935-07:002012-04-12T00:49:17.935-07:00My Easter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zWDQeE5smkw/T37XiarM98I/AAAAAAAAAGA/R18Xpkgi5dA/s1600/Jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zWDQeE5smkw/T37XiarM98I/AAAAAAAAAGA/R18Xpkgi5dA/s320/Jesus.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He is mine; I am his</td></tr>
</tbody></table>He died,<br>
He rose,<br>
He is alive,<br>
He won.<br>
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He made it<br>
God Vs Hurt<br>
God Vs Fear<br>
God Vs Anger<br>
God Vs Shame<br>
God Vs Failure<br>
God Vs Depression<br>
God Vs Me<br>
<a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-easter.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-5355863784368774921?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-1976255302972052972012-04-04T07:29:00.004-07:002012-04-12T08:30:46.460-07:002012-04-12T08:30:46.460-07:00My Pastor (The Man, The Myth)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n899R5y0beo/T3wMJXZ9BaI/AAAAAAAAAFw/QSYf2DDB3vs/s1600/Blog+-+Preacher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n899R5y0beo/T3wMJXZ9BaI/AAAAAAAAAFw/QSYf2DDB3vs/s200/Blog+-+Preacher.jpg" width="200"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">...it is of no value and only ruins those who listen... [NIV]</div> 2Tim 2 vs. 14 - 19 <br>
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</div><div style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times", "serif";">Oh, forget about his being human. Forget that he is a teacher of ‘God’s word’ and not actually God. He is my ‘god’. He is perfect or at least close to perfect. I must never hear of his failings or questions about his ministry as it reflects badly on me. Do you not realise that having an infallible pastor earns the church members bragging rights? What do you want people to think of me if they saw that my pastor is the one being talked about negatively in the news? </span></b></div><div style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That bible verse, the one that says ‘by their fruits you shall know them’, well you should not really talk about his bad ‘fruits’ as it makes me look bad. It makes me feel judged like you are questioning my reasons for attending the church. You see, my pastor is a ‘god’ and he should not have to explain things to mere mortals. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Who says your judgement is right any way? Are you not judging his fruit by your own flawed fruits? I would never go to a church with a pastor whose fruits are as good as or worse than mine. Any news about my pastor’s wrongs is false. Like I said, he is a ‘god’ with a perfect relationship with his wife – they never argue or fight. His wife is perfect too – as gentle as a dove. You mean their children? They are straight ‘A’ and tongue-speaking children. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-pastor-man-myth.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-197625530297205297?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-46808502327308257862012-04-01T08:49:00.009-07:002012-04-12T08:31:17.443-07:002012-04-12T08:31:17.443-07:00Interview with Oluwaseun Fakuade (BEACONS Nigeria)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nj8XJv6mGdg/T3hidOWuiJI/AAAAAAAAAFo/Zu_NVpopX5I/s1600/beacons+team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nj8XJv6mGdg/T3hidOWuiJI/AAAAAAAAAFo/Zu_NVpopX5I/s400/beacons+team.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BEACONS TEAM</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> "</span></b><span style="font-family: georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world" Anne Frank</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Payme’s 2Cents is all about promoting citizens’ participation in the development of Nigeria. I am excited to introduce Oluwaseun Fakuade, the Project Director of College Board, Nigeria. He has been working hard to raise awareness about the power of the citizenry in improving the development of our communities as well as the political system of our country through his BEACONS Nigeria group. He has been really generous as he took some time out to answer some of my questions. I hope you get inspired. Enjoy!!!</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/04/interview-with-oluwaseun-fakuade.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-4680850232730825786?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-3260378299055854482012-03-28T06:55:00.002-07:002012-04-12T08:31:48.268-07:002012-04-12T08:31:48.268-07:00It's On You<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7-0tVwOonc/T3HfvTFjYiI/AAAAAAAAAFg/4erMUU2-cPo/s1600/Blog+-+responsibility+pix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" dea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7-0tVwOonc/T3HfvTFjYiI/AAAAAAAAAFg/4erMUU2-cPo/s1600/Blog+-+responsibility+pix.jpg"></strong></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="bodybold"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="body">"If we wish to free ourselves from enslavement, we must choose freedom and the responsibility this entails." </span></span></strong></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="bodybold"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="body">Leo Buscaglia</span></span></strong></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><br>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Do you remember that time your mum decided to heat up the stew but forgot it on the cooker? On realising, she ran to the kitchen with a worried you in tow. Upset, she grumbled angrily, turned to you incredulously and asked “how could you not smell burning??!!!” </span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">One lesson that I think most if not all parents unconsciously teach us kids is that of ‘misplaced responsibility’. I can go on and on with examples.</span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I must admit that when I first resumed school in England, I hated the word ‘responsibility’. I had always been an ok student – I did my home work, tried to study etc. However, none of this was voluntary. There was always a sense of ‘trouble’ if I did not do them. Teachers would beat me if I did not do my home work and parents would beat me if I failed exams. This system was alright till I got to England. My teachers would say something like “it is your responsibility to get your work done”. I had to do things out of the willingness of my heart. </span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is not an article about the extremities in the disciplinary methods employed in different countries so please read within context. I did not hate ‘responsibility’ for any dark reasons. I simply was not used to it. Students were not completely left alone in that we had our teachers’ support whenever we needed it but they did not spend all their time breathing down our necks. We had to face the consequences of our actions and inactions (albeit some consequences would not worry a Naija girl! e.g 15 minutes detention lol).</span></strong></span><br>
</div></div></div></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/its-on-you.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-326037829905585448?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-84500401518416626022012-03-25T09:05:00.001-07:002012-03-25T09:09:12.741-07:002012-03-25T09:09:12.741-07:00MY JOURNEY SO FAR - Joseph's Birthday Message<div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Happy Birthday to me!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JV5sissc0aw/T29C1V7sVXI/AAAAAAAAAFY/mJMQnCpnTEc/s1600/kola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JV5sissc0aw/T29C1V7sVXI/AAAAAAAAAFY/mJMQnCpnTEc/s320/kola.jpg" width="207"></a></div><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">As I grew, the song was there. Its melody keeps beckoning and begging me to sing it.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">How many of us know that Life is supposed to be some sweet music whose melody and rhythm bestow Great Glory to God—the Earthmaker?[i] That’s the most recent life lesson that I’ve learnt…and it’s the same that I choose to poetically share in this BIRTHDAY PIECE of mine. It’s a summary of <b>My Journey to Purpose discovery</b>—or more poetically speaking, the discovery of my own part of the Grand Orchestra of Life!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">I will share summarily and very poetically <b>5 scenes</b>. The <b>first</b> will depict how hard it was ACCEPTING, UNDERSTANDING, AND LIVING MY PURPOSE. Really, how many of us are convinced about our purpose? Yet, the truth is that we’ve all got one! The <b>second</b> will depict A TYPICAL TEMPTATION (and the devil has brought tons of them my way ever since I found The Truth). The <b>third</b> will depict how I found MY LOVE[ii]—who shares the same purpose—same song—with me. (If you are yet to fall in love, you will not want to miss that part...lol). The <b>fourth</b> will be about THE PAIN OF IGNORANCE as I’ve seen in some people that I’d longed to reach out to but who thinks they need no help. And the <b>fifth</b> (the last) will be about MY RESOLUTION and MY RECOMMENDATION—call it my Birthday Gift to You.</span></b></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>ACCEPTING, UNDERSTANDING, AND LIVING MY PURPOSE</b></span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A TYPICAL TEMPTATION </b></span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>MY LOVE</b></span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>THE PAIN OF IGNORANCE </b></span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>MY RESOLUTION and MY RECOMMENDATION</b></span></b></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>ACCEPTING, UNDERSTANDING, AND LIVING MY PURPOSE</b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">As I grew, the song was there—it has always been! It hangs upon the wind and settles in the meadows wherever I walk. I knew its lovely words and could have sung it from start to finish while I dwelt in the mind of the Earthmaker before the beginning began, but there I was racking my brains to remember the flow of the stanzas. I feared to sing the <b>few bits<b>[iii]</b></b> that had been permanently etched into my frailty. I feared it won’t be as melodious. And for all I knew, the real song had a harmony and melody that was far too perfect for human ears to understand, and yet indispensable in bringing out the God-colours and God-flavours of this world. I was born. . .to sing a MESSAGE!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">God knew that without His help, I won’t be able to sing the song so He kept prodding me. "Sing the Song!" the heavens seemed to cry again and again. "The world never could be complete without the melody that YOU ALONE can sing." But I kept drawing back, sighing that the song that the Earthmaker gave me was higher than the earth, and worse still, I don’t seem to remember it all. So in my agony of longing and reluctance, the atmosphere around me kept arguing back. But as I type today, I’ve gotten enough courage to sing the melody…as far as He reminds me!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">It is strange how oftentimes the air speaks. We are sane as long as we hear voices when there are none. We are insane when we hear nothing and worse, we are deaf. Many midnights, the song stirred me to awareness, and with its haunting melody, it drew me with a curious mystery to stand before an open window. In rhapsody it played among the stars. It rippled through Sijuwade Nursery and Primary School and deepened in the four walls of Henry Alex-Duduyemi Memorial College. It swirled in heavy strains from Ambassadors College to Obafemi Awolowo University till it was tied up together and rehearsed again and again in Gombe State. And finally, here I am!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">But I’ve not always been like this.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>
</div></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-journey-so-far-josephs-birthday.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-8450040151841662602?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-81637385373210049872012-03-23T06:12:00.002-07:002012-04-12T08:33:16.827-07:002012-04-12T08:33:16.827-07:00Our Educational Abyss 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/health/now/wp-content/CON-in-Africa-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="310" src="http://hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/health/now/wp-content/CON-in-Africa-1.jpg" title="" width="377"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><span class="body">"The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."</span> Abraham Lincoln.</strong></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; line-height: 115%;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Students hoping for places in Nigeria’s universities would be sitting their UNIFIED TERTIARY MARTICULATION EXAMINATION (UTME) tomorrow. Best wishes guys!</span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; line-height: 115%;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">This got me thinking about the education I left in Nigeria. I could not help but remember the imbalance in the standards of education in different schools, both public and private. I grew up in Ife and there were some public schools that were deemed ok as well as some private ones that were labelled ‘really good’. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>University education follows right after secondary school. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The common belief is that students who are in Colleges of Education and Polytechnics are there because they failed JAMB (UTME is organised by the <span class="st">Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board so the exam is commonly called JAMB).</span></span></strong></span><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/our-educational-abyss-1.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-8163738537321004987?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-23280238123459806332012-03-21T03:09:00.003-07:002012-04-12T08:33:49.326-07:002012-04-12T08:33:49.326-07:00Any Means Necessary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zd90C8EYDT4/T2itjuqPJpI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/z-rfaoCAqII/s1600/Blog+-+help+pix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zd90C8EYDT4/T2itjuqPJpI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/z-rfaoCAqII/s1600/Blog+-+help+pix.jpg"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">"It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can." Sydney Smith</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;"><br>
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An article titled ‘<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17432481"><span style="color: blue;">Any Means Necessary’</span></a> on BBC caught my eye this morning. It was aimed at portraying the views of the victims of the Lord Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I woke up some weeks back to find #KONY2012 trending on twitter. It was about a video made by a non-profit organisation ‘Invisible Children Inc.’ aimed at increasing public awareness and pressuring government forces to intensify their efforts to capture Joseph Kony. As with any issue in our world, the video generated both positive and negative reactions. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Over the weekend, another hashtag ‘#saveOke’ caught my eye. It was for Ighiwoto Okeghene ‘Oke’, a young man who has been bedridden for six years due to having diabetes. He has injuries that are not healing and his whole health is failing him. #saveOke also generated positive and negative reactions. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/any-means-necessary.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-2328023812345980633?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-85882914490868605722012-03-19T12:59:00.003-07:002012-04-12T08:35:07.672-07:002012-04-12T08:35:07.672-07:00Dammit...I Deserve Better!!!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iGUZ73Rl7Jo/T2eGHEV69QI/AAAAAAAAAFA/B-K1UUKpAtI/s1600/self-love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iGUZ73Rl7Jo/T2eGHEV69QI/AAAAAAAAAFA/B-K1UUKpAtI/s320/self-love.jpg" width="320"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style” Maya Angelou</span><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br>
</span></b></span></div><br>
<span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">So I am extremely upset right now! The 2012 budget for Nigeria is out and it has got tensions running high. A recurring question ever since #occupyNigeria started has however caught my eye.</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">“What else do you expect?”</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">This question is usually instantly followed by the seemingly pious ‘lower your expectations and you would not get disappointed’ rhetoric. Even in our personal lives, we use this expression a lot. </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here is my own question though - “Since when did suffering become synonymous to humility?” </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Why should I not expect more? Do I not deserve it? What is the point of friends, family members, churches, schools, government etc. who think nothing of me? Who constantly expect me to put up with mediocrity? Am I so lowly that I have to be resigned to feeding on crumbs? Do I really mean nothing that I have to accept being constantly robbed in broad day light?</span></b></span><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/dammiti-deserve-better.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-8588291449086860572?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-86478781717297630812012-03-17T12:20:00.002-07:002012-04-12T08:36:18.672-07:002012-04-12T08:36:18.672-07:00Remember To Be Scared<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bpAnkp1lgH0/T2MttkLqg0I/AAAAAAAAAE0/7CUz-tP88WE/s1600/Blog+-+future.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bpAnkp1lgH0/T2MttkLqg0I/AAAAAAAAAE0/7CUz-tP88WE/s320/Blog+-+future.jpg" width="240"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children." Dietrich Bonhoeffer </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">How many times have you been told to live for the moment? I think we focus so much on forgetting the past and living in the moment that we actually forget the future – the future of our kids, of our brothers and sisters, our future. Seemingly negative emotions can be beneficial when used to kick start positive actions; the trick is to not let the emotions rule you. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let’s talk about FEAR!</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/remember-to-be-scared.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-8647878171729763081?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-41739966525722798832012-03-14T05:04:00.002-07:002012-03-14T06:14:07.983-07:002012-03-14T06:14:07.983-07:00Payme's profile on www.omojuwa.com!<div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><strong>This happened a little over a week ago :)</strong></div><div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><strong>MEET OLUWAPEMI ELUJOBA, SHE IS THE BEAUTIFUL SUPERBLOGGER WITH A HEART</strong></div><div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-waepagtGNsg/T2CHwzLX3bI/AAAAAAAAAEs/8oxIzGG7ons/s1600/Pemi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-waepagtGNsg/T2CHwzLX3bI/AAAAAAAAAEs/8oxIzGG7ons/s320/Pemi.jpg" width="213"></a></div><div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">She is the very first winner of our SuperBloggers series. Considering the plans and ideas we have for this writers and bloggers competition, I am particularly excited because our first winner is not just a person of competence but also a lady with a big heart. She chose to donate her cash prize to a charity called 1Child1Book an organisation founded bY child songstress Tosin Jegede. She took time out to introduce herself to us. Enjoy the short profile below.</span></strong><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/paymes-profile-on-wwwomojuwacom.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-4173996652572279883?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-77771913909468400772012-03-11T12:54:00.006-07:002012-04-12T08:37:40.652-07:002012-04-12T08:37:40.652-07:00Violent Acts - Lasting Change?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7NByjZNDw3g/T1vdkGp083I/AAAAAAAAAEk/6vRaihik82E/s1600/Blog+-+protest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7NByjZNDw3g/T1vdkGp083I/AAAAAAAAAEk/6vRaihik82E/s320/Blog+-+protest.jpg" width="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."</span><br>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Mahatma Gandhi </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Do not dismiss this as the musings of a naïve girl. Dad has always spoken to me about Nigerian issues (politics, tribal and religious segregation etc.) for as long as I can remember (we are side-kicks lol). We would vent our frustrations, suggest our solutions, and talk about possible miracles that could lead to change – all in our sitting room. Then we would end it all with the resigned knowledge that our country has such a long way to go – conversations like this end up with me feeling deflated when I realise how much ground we still have to cover has a nation. </span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br>
<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I believe I am not the only one who feels like this and I know that these feelings of deflation and frustrations drive the passion behind the on-going calls for protests be it online or on the streets. There are positive and negative effects for different actions, so my question is this: </span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br>
<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Have we really thought about our modes of protests?</span></strong></div></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/violent-acts-lasting-change.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-7777191390946840077?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-89289333854590076512012-03-08T12:25:00.002-08:002012-04-12T08:38:51.737-07:002012-04-12T08:38:51.737-07:00Heroes and She-roes<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 278.25pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 278.25pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: 278.25pt; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This article has nothing to do with abusive relationships!!!</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br>
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"> "</span>Men are not the enemy, but the fellow victims. The real enemy is women's denigration of themselves."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Betty Friedan </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br>
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I have recently been thinking about some issues to do with the female gender and in light of today being International Women's day, I would like to share one with you :)</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br>
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>There are many beautiful sayings in my language (Yoruba) that describe how much of a blessing mothers are, for instance ‘Iya ni wura – mother is gold’, ‘Orisa bi iya o si laye – there is no idol like a mother in the world’ etc. I am sure that other languages have their own ways of expressing these sentiments. However, there is another saying that is frequently used when praising mothers which does not sit well with me: </b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/heroes-and-she-roes.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-8928933385459007651?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-84043662503902490402012-03-06T05:35:00.005-08:002012-04-12T08:39:52.128-07:002012-04-12T08:39:52.128-07:00The Truth?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZHr_1AlQxc/T1YBUQFQ1WI/AAAAAAAAAD8/AMxw85rpw5c/s1600/Blog+-+Happy+kids+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZHr_1AlQxc/T1YBUQFQ1WI/AAAAAAAAAD8/AMxw85rpw5c/s1600/Blog+-+Happy+kids+2.jpg" uda="true"></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>While growing up, we were told things about how big the world is; how it was waiting for us to launch ourselves. We believed if we stuck with school, stuck with our arts, got high grades and graduated successfully, we would be fine. That was until we got thrown in the deep end and roughly woken from our slumber. We start out being simple, nice and kind but end up as hard and cynical adults as the </b><b><span lang="EN-GB">realisation</span> that our expectations have been unrealistic dawns on us. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br>
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Maybe if we had been told the truth about the world all along, we would have learnt to make dreaming and acting our second nature; we would have been focused on working hard and looking for ways to create the environments we dreamt of. Maybe we would not have been expecting to have things laid out for us; we would not have felt like the world owed us anything and our thoughts would have been about what to give. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br>
</span></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/truth.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-8404366250390249040?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-53661076040753007782012-03-05T05:03:00.004-08:002012-03-16T05:39:39.650-07:002012-03-16T05:39:39.650-07:00TAKE A STEP!!!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Nothing will work unless you do" - Maya Angelou</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>In light of my previous post, I would like to give some tips on how individuals or groups of people can raise money to support the projects that they have in mind in order to help their communities. I do not expect people to trust strangers with their money, so knocking from door to door, asking for donations will result in little or no funds. Organising activities which would involve donors’ participation would generate more trust. Here are a few tips on how to get started. Enjoy!</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Project(s) </b></span></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>I will advise to start with one project and then build on the success of that. Projects can vary from buying books for your school library, organising a fun day out for the less privileged kids in your area, to organising a grand immunisation scheme awareness for illnesses like Polio, Lassa Fever etc. </b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Finance</b></span></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Make sure you know how much money the project requires before you start. You might even get discounts from suppliers who know you are working towards a worthy cause. Be very efficient and realistic with your plans. You gain trust when people can see that you are truly on top of things. Disappointing people is not the way to go! </b></span></span><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/take-step.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-5366107604075300778?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-59771986895850063252012-03-01T15:41:00.005-08:002012-03-16T05:40:18.746-07:002012-03-16T05:40:18.746-07:00To Nkem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S3YgC9m0CKw/T0_4FPlsGTI/AAAAAAAAADU/rgwCUdUgtOI/s1600/grief+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S3YgC9m0CKw/T0_4FPlsGTI/AAAAAAAAADU/rgwCUdUgtOI/s1600/grief+2.jpg"></a></div><b> </b><br>
<div style="text-align: justify;"> "Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone." - George Washington</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br>
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>This is to the memory of my childhood friend ‘Nkem’ (not real name).</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br>
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I have been quite heartbroken and sad this week; angry too. I have just been told about the death of one of my childhood friends. She passed on four years ago and knowing about this is extremely painful but knowing the cause of her death makes it even worse and this is my way of grieving for her. I think writing will make me feel temporarily better and I hope it does her memory justice. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br>
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>We were childhood friends (neighbours). She was sweet and extremely nice. She had three siblings while I have one. We lived in a compound with four flats and a boys-quarter with about five rooms. Her family had three of the rooms in the boys-quarters – one room served as the sitting room (the dad sometimes slept there), the second as the bedroom and the third was their kitchen. They were poor. Her parents were into farming – mainly Cassava. They trekked for miles to and from their farms daily and on the weekends, Nkem and her siblings went with them. My parents were not rich but we were ‘OK’. There were three other families in the flats and at least one of the parents in these flats had white collar jobs. We all lived in the same compound but still appeared worlds apart. The kids in the flats went to private schools. Nkem and her siblings went to public schools. As kids, it never mattered, we ate together and played together. The flats were all bungalows so we had lots of space in the compound for all types of games – hide & seek, role-plays etc. Childhood was amazing. I remember my sister's 4<sup>th</sup> birthday – we all had pure unadulterated fun, the type that only kids could have.</b></span><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/03/to-nkem.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-5977198689585006325?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-50362845975170223442012-02-22T14:56:00.004-08:002012-03-16T05:40:47.897-07:002012-03-16T05:40:47.897-07:00The Nigerian Dream?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k2jrvxeT6as/T1jY8lWTfLI/AAAAAAAAAEM/VcAhpL0kLOc/s1600/Blog+-+Professionals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k2jrvxeT6as/T1jY8lWTfLI/AAAAAAAAAEM/VcAhpL0kLOc/s1600/Blog+-+Professionals.jpg" yda="true"></a></div><br>
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br>
</span></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Growing up in Nigeria, I knew I was going to become a medical doctor. It was not a hard decision and I know that a lot of people especially Africans would understand. Back home, science students blessed with good grades are expected to end up as Doctors or Engineers and social-science/art students would become Lawyers and Accountants. Well, I could not really stand Physics so Engineering was out of it for me pretty early on. For students who ended up becoming medical doctors, the route taken to reach that goal was quite straight forward: finish secondary school with high grades, write Jamb and get admitted to study medicine and they were very much on their way. This isn’t the route for everyone but in my environment back then it was the most common route. </b></span></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br>
</b></span></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Compared with a few people that I know, I actually had a little driving force: I did not want to be a Nurse! Before you crucify me, my dad is a Nurse. A really good and passionate nurse if I must say and I admire him a lot. So my reasons? Well, I must have been about 9 years old when I got admitted into hospital because I had typhoid (“the lollies being sold outside the school gates are bad for you, you don’t know where the water’s from” my mum warned, but Payme had to find out the hard way <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">:|</span>. The things we put our parents through ey!). Back to business, there is one thing I hate about hierarchy and that is the ‘rudeness’ that people with no professionalism bring with it. And I am sure Nigerians can testify to it that right from primary school to places of work, ‘SENIORITY’ is the order of the day. I saw how some of the doctors talked to the nurses like the nurses were less important and I did not like it – there goes my first reason. Also, while on my hospital bed, I was being pampered and treated nicely and I would like to think that this was because the nurses liked my dad who was their colleague at the time plus he was also a unionist. He was not a paediatric nurse, but even in his absence, the nurses were really nice. But there was a stark difference between the way I was treated and the way the other kids in the ward were treated even with their parents present. They got their drugs, injections etc. on time but there was a distinct lack of empathy and the nurses/doctors were sometimes impatient when it came to reassuring the worried parents. I knew this difference was because they regarded my dad as one of their own and being his child, it was simply natural for them to be nice. Right there and then, as a child, I decided I was going to work in a hospital (albeit for selfish reasons) – there’s my second reason. So, I was going to work in a hospital and not as a nurse but as a doctor. Simple! </b></span></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br>
</b></span></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/02/nigerian-dream.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-5036284597517022344?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-50911567929432045552012-02-05T02:42:00.002-08:002012-03-16T05:41:19.116-07:002012-03-16T05:41:19.116-07:00Our Nigeria?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r7RnN-i-jHc/Ty5c3eD1H6I/AAAAAAAAAB0/qjQw0hj0TxM/s1600/nigeria_divisions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r7RnN-i-jHc/Ty5c3eD1H6I/AAAAAAAAAB0/qjQw0hj0TxM/s320/nigeria_divisions.jpg" width="320"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b>♫ Nigeria, my beloved country, working together is our aim ♫</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I remember listening to and singing this song as a child, especially on children’s day (May 27). Are those match parades still held? Good times!</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br>
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I am fully aware of the complexities surrounding Nigeria, from our politics to the economy and I know that the problems will not just disappear neither will one solution suffice. I am not for any political party be it PDP, ACN, ANPP or the labour unions. This is for Nigerians like me - ordinary citizens who are tired of hearing or reading about the same old things. My aim is to get us to think about the place we call home. I still stand by one of my previous posts titled 'Is a united Nigeria feasible?'. However, knowing what I know now, I probably would have written it using a slightly different approach. </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br>
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Why is it that after nearly 52 years, Nigeria has not developed to the point of having things done in a real democratic way? Can we blame the majority of the Northerners who want to live under Islamic rule? Can we blame the Easterners who want to be able to enjoy the benefits of living in an oil-rich region? Can we blame the Westerners who want more support for their agricultural practices? Can we blame Nigerians who want to be able to practise their religions freely without the fear of being attacked? Can we blame the Nigerians that think each region should go their separate ways? Can there ever be a united Nigeria? Is the Federal government system working? Should Nigeria be broken apart? </b></span></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/02/our-nigeria.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-5091156792943204555?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-91999937698400476082012-01-18T14:18:00.004-08:002012-04-19T08:42:06.694-07:002012-04-19T08:42:06.694-07:00My issues with Davido's music video 'Dami Duro'<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://omojuwa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120303-110854.jpg"></a></span><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qTxUiuC6LBo/T5AyG8q12fI/AAAAAAAAAGs/K0TJE0ZRfUA/s1600/blog+-+davido.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" qda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qTxUiuC6LBo/T5AyG8q12fI/AAAAAAAAAGs/K0TJE0ZRfUA/s320/blog+-+davido.jpg" width="320"></a></div><br>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong> “Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.” Saint Augustine</strong></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">To start with, I know that this is just a music video and it is one of hundreds of videos with similar themes. However, my issue with it is very relevant to the present day attitudes of a lot of us young people and it is the most recent video that I have seen since starting my blog. This is why I’m choosing to write about it. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Can someone please tell me what the first 30 seconds of the video was all about???!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Scene</b>: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Poor waiter who unfortunately had to wait on a group of arrogant and self-obsessed boys made the ‘mistake’ of asking if they were going to pay for their drinks. The response he got was the intentional spilling of ‘expensive’ bottles of wine before having huge wads of cash slammed on his tray. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The message? </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I am rich and I can do whatever I please no matter how egocentric I look. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>My Issue:</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I have a problem with the sheer arrogance portrayed in this video. I believe this is one of the roots of the major problems facing this generation. It is partly responsible for the current spate of scams, stylish or outright prostitutions and even armed robberies. A lot of young people involved in horrible things like yahoo, aristo (sleeping with older men for material gains) etc. mainly do it for this 'Big boy/Big girl' effect. Yes there are other factors such as parental upbringing, environmental influences etc. that contribute to these but having the despicable behaviour glorified in music videos does not help matters.</span><br>
</div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-issues-with-davidos-music-video-dami.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-9199993769840047608?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-60152401897118841812012-01-09T15:51:00.004-08:002012-04-19T08:35:07.095-07:002012-04-19T08:35:07.095-07:00Can we learn to care?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2T9doebEJwA/Twt84Uxx4-I/AAAAAAAAABU/TNQClgJ8DAw/s1600/387736_343836648962427_100000082845264_1339440_239963280_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2T9doebEJwA/Twt84Uxx4-I/AAAAAAAAABU/TNQClgJ8DAw/s1600/387736_343836648962427_100000082845264_1339440_239963280_n.jpg"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Courier; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;"> "Evil is always unspectacular and always human. And shares our bed...and eats at our table." W.H Auden</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hi guys, this is a sombre one. I’m in my room and the only true connection that I have to happenings in Nigeria is the internet. I have seen some horrible and distressing pictures of protesters that were murdered in broad daylight by the police (people employed and paid to protect the citizens of the country). Then I also saw the picture of a burnt individual said to be a Hausa man in Benin. He had tyres around his neck<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"></span></span>. So at the same time that protests against the oil subsidy are on-going, people fear that reprisal attacks for Boko Haram’s actions in the north are on-going.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now what boggles my mind is how did we get to this point? A point where human life literally means nothing. Nigeria is one of the most religious countries in the world. Almost every street in the country has either a church or a mosque or both. In churches, we shout the loudest and sing the loudest but where are the results of these? What do we have to show for it? The different religions in the country all claim to preach and practise peace as well. As a Christian, the bible that I read really does preach peace. We are told to ‘love our neighbours’ and even expected to ‘bless our enemies’. So are majority of the population phony? Do we merely use religion as a cover and not believe what we preach and scream about? </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/01/can-we-learn-to-care.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-6015240189711884181?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-58718554829243308912012-01-08T16:35:00.001-08:002012-03-16T05:42:37.751-07:002012-03-16T05:42:37.751-07:00Is a united Nigeria feasible?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyTT5aosYp4/TwofXAd5UeI/AAAAAAAAABM/s0ZCVYIaLcA/s1600/map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyTT5aosYp4/TwofXAd5UeI/AAAAAAAAABM/s0ZCVYIaLcA/s320/map.gif" width="320"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Hi guys, one of the things that has always puzzled me is that whenever I’m in England, I feel very Nigerian and then as soon as I land in Nigeria, voila! I instantly become Yoruba. I know that as humans, it is like our psyche immediately tries to align to a specific group whenever we find ourselves in different places so we do not feel left out. This issue of individual alignment brings ethnicity and racism to my mind. I have friends that are Nigerian (Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa), English, Italian e.t.c. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, since I’m Nigerian, I can only talk about things<span style="color: red;"> </span>that I have personally experienced or seen happen to people around me. I would try to be as rounded as I can, but if<span style="color: red;"> </span>I have<span style="color: red;"> </span>missed out anything, please add it in the comments section! </b></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/01/is-united-nigeria-feasible.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-5871855482924330891?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241267099232901702.post-61280380619747043892012-01-06T01:33:00.004-08:002012-04-19T08:34:32.160-07:002012-04-19T08:34:32.160-07:00Nigeria's Clutch System<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span class="body"><img height="400" id="il_fi" src="http://www.helpyourshychild.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Help-Your-Shy-Child.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="265"></span></span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span class="body">"Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear"</span> Albert Camus</span></span><br>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>I am a Christian and I would like to think of myself as a committed and born-again Christian. However, there are times that I think as a nation, we hide behind religion be it Christianity or Islam. </strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>As a Nigerian child, one of the most important values I was thought was to obey and honour my parents and older people. Well even if I didn’t want to, they had the keys to my survival – food, clothes, housing, pocket money, school fees e.t.c. Most university graduates still depend on their parents not to talk of a child like me. I count myself as one of the few blessed ones as my parents have always been quite liberal and do actively encourage me to voice out my opinions and feelings. However, not all parents are like this and children end up finding it difficult to build opinions about issues and even when they manage to do so, they get repressed because they have little or no way of expressing them out of the fear of having people upset with them and losing benefits such as pocket money. The effects of this repression play out in our adult lives. </strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div></div><a href="http://payme-my2cents.blogspot.com/2012/01/nigerias-clutch-system.html#more">Read more »</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1241267099232901702-6128038061974704389?l=payme-my2cents.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Paymehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328079128990191603noreply@blogger.com2