The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lessons

  • One Life, Manifold Lessons

    One Life, Manifold Lessons

    Title: Today’s Timely Issue Is Tomorrow’s History
    Author: Oduola Wole Fawole
    Reviewer: Ademola Adesola
    Publishers: Obafemi Awolowo University Press

    A life put into beneficial service for humankind often has telling, remarkable, and insightful lessons to teach about life – its complexities, and ups and downs. The biographies, autobiographies and memoirs of people who contribute(d) significantly to the progress of fellow human beings do serve as wells of inexhaustible wisdom, courage, and inspiration. They are dependable guides through the undulating, treacherous, and labyrinthine paths of life.

    It is in the foregoing context that Chief Oduola Wole Fawole’s invaluable autobiography, Today’s Timely Issue is Tomorrow’s History, released last October on the occasion of his 70th birthday, can be appreciated. The one-sentence title, didactic as it is, immediately annunciates the crux of the Otun-Tobalase of Ife’s offering. He wants to chronicle the trajectories of his seven decades of existence; but it is not going to be bland and without wisdom, grace, and the meatiness of an account which compellingly engages the mind and enriches it. To read the septuagenarian’s life story is to delight the mind and empower it with nuggets of understanding.

    In melodic cadence and mellifluous eloquence, Fawole plots the graph of his chequered life. He serenades the reader with tales of his birth and childhood in the rural conurbation of Afasagboye in Ile-Ife (Never mind that he belongs to that thinning tribe of Nigerians who do not know their exact birthdays!); he takes the reader through the varied scenes of his youth; and climaxes this voyage on the shores of his adult life. Life, you will learn as you carefully leaf through the 490-page book, is not a straight-line graph. And in gripping and thought-provoking manner, the Ife chief’s life account foregrounds the sense in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s memorable lines: ‘The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night’.

    The 12 chapters of Today’s Timely Issue is Tomorrow’s History is structured, textbook-like style, into segments which give panoptic specifics on the events and happenstances that shape the author’s life. As he enthusiastically paints the pictures of his actions and inactions, successes and failings, pains and joys, so does he graphically outline the defining characteristics of all the cities he sojourned in. Through his sojourn there, we come to know a few more interesting facts about the famed New York City of the 70s. His storehouse of knowledge and experiences is as roomy as it is fetching. His power of recall is nearly legendary. He appears incapable of forgetting teeny-weeny details of his life abroad. He recalls each episode of his remarkable life anywhere unequivocally.

    As Chapter Eight of the book reveals, 1998 remains an unforgettable year for Fawole and his family. It was the year the demon of war and destruction possessed the people of Ile-Ife and Modakeke. Hardly had the war began when, first his wife, and later Fawole himself was arrested for allegedly being responsible for the death of two policemen not too far away from his street where he was the Chairman of the Landlord Association. As the Ife-Modakeke pointless war raged on, he was in police detention undergoing the kind of nerve-wracking, bestial torture that only the inflexibly unprofessional men and women of the Nigeria Police Force can joyously vouchsafe. From one police dingy cell to another uninhabitable one, his humanity was battered. His torturers heinously removed his toe with a plier and almost finished him off.

    But Fawole neither gave up on himself nor did he lose his faith in God. He demonstrated dogged resilience and ceaselessly gave himself to prayers and worship with other inmates. He was left in the lurch; those he thought he could depend on merrily disappointed him. Through it all, he survived and was later left off the hook when it became clear to the police authorities, as he says, that he was framed by sworn traducers. It is a moving yarn, one not lacking in rich, eye-opening instructions.

    Today’s Timely Issue is Tomorrow’s History is a book that only a person with Fawole’s experiences can write. It explains why each chapter and segment contains heart-stirring and epigrammatic epigraphs. Even in their unattractiveness, the pictures that adorn the pages fittingly complement the narrative of one life with multifarious lessons.

    Fawole is one of those Abraham Lincoln (a man whose life is a study in adversity and success) would always like their company, for he declaimed: I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. The All Progressives Congress stalwart’s love for Ile-Ife is akin to a mother’s undiluted love for her child. As the book shows, he has given and continues to give of himself to the progress of the ancient town. To the land, he remains a reference point of all things positive.

    Today’s Timely Issue is Tomorrow’s History is not a flawless book. Regardless of its avoidable grammatical and other forms of infelicities, it will be invaluable for the novitiate youth, historians, sociologists, and those willing to read and learn.

  • Lessons from Nigeria’s first coup

    SIR: On January 15, 1966, things fell apart in Nigeria. The five-year old nation embarked on a journey of no return— Nigeria’s first military coup took place.

    Greed, tribal sentiments and fight for supremacy among the political class of the first republic gave birth to a series of events that culminated in the violence which erupted after the controversial 1965 federal elections. Dissatisfied with the turn of events, five young Army Majors led by Kaduna Nzeogwu decided to seize power and bring sanity to Nigeria.

    Many notable pre- and post-independence politicians—Ahmadu Bello (Premier of Northern region), Tafawa Balewa (Nigeria’s prime minister), Ladoke Akintola (Premier of Western Region), Festus Okotie-Eboh (federal minister of finance)—lost their lives in the coup. And that started many ugly incidents whose effects still haunt Nigeria till date.

    Unfortunately, Nzeogwu’s coup was hijacked and the 42-year old General Aguiyi Ironsi took over as military Head of State. That led to a bloody counter-coup on July 29 of the same year, just a little over six months after the first and Ironsi was then murdered in cold blood. At that point, tribal sentiments had taken the centre stage. Ironsi was killed by some northern officers because they perceived the Nzeogwu coup as an “Igbo coup”, one that was meant to ensure the dominance of the Igbo tribe.

    The 31-year old Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon took over as the new head of military government amidst serious tribal tension. Not long after, the civil war broke out and over a million innocent Biafrans lost their lives, mostly children. After a failed secession bid by the easterners, this 30-month long “no victor, no vanquished” war ended. Since then, Nigeria and Nigerians have not been the same—it’s been from one crisis to another.

    But, have we learnt from past mistakes?

    The main reason for which the first coup was staged— corruption — is still the greatest problem facing the country today, 50 years after. In fact, it has become pervasive and a way of life. In 1966, corrupt politicians were accused of taking 10% bribes. In 2016, they are not only accused of taking bribes but also squandering the funds that were meant to equip the military. What offence could be more disheartening!

    Knowledge of the fact that it was the events of 1966 coups that distorted Nigeria’s history should make every Nigerian more passionate and determined to ensure that the wrongs of the past are corrected, so history doesn’t repeat itself. This would mean a more active participation of Nigerians in the process of governance, increased tolerance for each other, and concerted efforts to fight corruption and other social vices.

    If we do not want our children’s children to lament the damages done by corruption, tribalism, religious intolerance, terrorism in about 50 years to come, then we have to fight them now. For instance, every Nigerian should see corruption as evil and therefore treat it as such. With this, no citizen will drum support for “elder statesmen” who are caught in the act of looting our commonwealth.

    Nigerians should stop having soft spot for their “kinsmen” who are engaged in nefarious and unpatriotic acts.  Nigeria is bigger than any tribe, religion or political party. As a society, we must learn to condemn what is wrong and commend what is right collectively.

    We will keep talking about the numerous problems created by the Nzeogwu coup without appreciable triumph over them, even in years to come, if we do not learn from our past so as to shape the future. And a good place to start is by being a more responsible citizens and holding the government accountable, no matter what.

     

    • Kofoworola Ayodeji,

    Lagos.

  • Lessons from China’s one-child policy

     SIR:From time immemorial, African culture and tradition have primarily shown that a man’s social prestige is closely tied to the numbers of his human assets—wives, and consequently, children. Notably, while civilization and rationality have caused many regions in Nigeria to desist from this societal dogma; northern Nigeria seems to be keen on sustaining it, regardless of the security and economic tension in the country.

    Even before the rise of Boko Haram mayhem, the high population of out of school children as well as children with little or no parental attention has been a characteristic feature of Northern Nigeria. Child marriage has remained a trend and women give birth to as many children as possible even when there are limited resources to cater for them. The end result of this trend includes poverty, illiteracy, and under-development of the north, especially when compared with other region in the country.

    Thus, we must borrow a leaf from China’s former one child policy which was introduced to alleviate social, economic and environmental problems in China. Though, many have condemned this measure, arguing that economic prosperity is not driven by population size but by how a country invests in its human capital and manages its resources; it must be noted that a country needs to be skillful in human management too, otherwise catastrophe will abound.

    An instrumental family planning scheme should not be regarded as irrelevant any more. Although the advocacy to limit the number of children in Nigeria is no news, but so far, it seems to have very little impact. The Nigerian government must thus, improve its crusade on family planning, particularly in the North. There is a need for a more vibrant and active campaign against early marriage and for girl child education. To achieve this, orientation on the indispensable value of education should be organised in the rural northern region in order to sensitise rural dwellers on their roles in economic development especially through child birth control. The advancement of the Nigerian economy is not the responsibility of the government alone, but that of every Nigerian.

     

    • Tolulope Lawani,

      Lagos State.

  • Lessons from masters

    Lessons from masters

     

    Last week, I was privileged to learn from various seasoned educationists about how we could improve our education system.  One of them was Mr Rotimi Eyitayo, an educational consultant, whose views about the need for education to focus on learning, tally with mine.  He shared a wonderful idea of how this could be promoted through specialized schools that I think is brilliant.

    Eyitayo said specialized schools could become a way of raising professionals to serve in various fields of endeavour in the society.  He said schools could specialize in swimming, music, dance, name it, and attract learners with inclination to such areas.  It means that from early, students who attend such schools, generally know their strengths and spassions early and are helped to develop them.  He said if the Federal/state governments were to establish schools along specialized areas, private schools would follow suit.

    This model is not actually new in the developed world; and we have a few in Nigeria – for example, the football academy in Kwara State.  We also have some grammar schools, which in reality are not operated as grammar schools.  If they did, they would only enroll the best brains from all over.  There are also many government science secondary schools, especially in the north.  But like the grammar schools, they have no distinctions regarding performances in sciences or innovative feats that distinguish them from other secondary schools.  The only schools (at secondary level) that are really treated as specialised institutions are the technical colleges.  But for long, technical and vocational education was not appreciated.  The story only recently started changing – and that because the Federal some state governments began to realise the importance of science and technology to development.

    It is a good idea for learning to be enhanced through specialized schools.  However, the drive for learning and personal development should be at the heart of all school activities – irrespective of school type.  When learning takes place, our certificates would have greater value.  They would be better reflections of the abilities of the bearers.  We do not need a prophet to tell us that graduates of a school system that emphasizes learning would be more productive, innovative, and creative in the labour market.

    Another scholar I learnt from in the past week was Dr Mashuud Fashola, the Executive Secretary of the Fadhil-i-Omar Ahmadiyya Muslim Educational Foundation (FAMEF), which owns the Mahmud Ahmadiyya College, Ijede, in Ikorodu, Lagos.  He called for an emphasis on moral education in schools.  He argued that such emphasis would ensure that we do not only focus on academics but groom students who would not defraud people.  He said that Nigerian leaders (and Nigerians generally) are fraudulent today because of an education lacking in moral content.

    One of his points that struck me most was the need for our schools to teach members of the society to be more humane.  He said this humanity transcended religion, tribe or other ties.  If the Nigerian society becomes more humane, he said the less privileged would be better taken care of.  However, he warned that if we continue to promote the ‘survival of the fittest’ mode of ‘success’, we may be headed down the same road as Syria.  He also noted that in times of crisis, success, and the earlier mentioned ties may not be relevant.  Because once the social structure breaks down, things that would have worked in favour of the influential, such as money in the bank or connection in high places, collapse.

    A third lesson from last week came through Mr Joseph Ayeni, a consultant who trains school owners under the aegis of the Association for Formidable Education Development (AFED).  He said education is supposed to solve problems plaguing the society, but this is not happening in our own country.   He said our focus should be how education could bring about solutions.  He advocated for a result-oriented learning process in our schools.

    These lessons are worth giving deeper thought.  Like former Cross River State Commissioner for Education, Prof Offiong E. Offiong rightly noted, Nigeria does not lack skilled manpower who can proffer solutions to her problems.  But are we using them?

     

  • Some lessons from other people’s history

    I wrote this article last Friday, September 18, for another purpose. That was three days before Chief Olu Falae was attacked and kidnapped on his farm by persons suspected by police to be Fulani cattle herders. Written before the unthinkable outrage against Chief Falae, this article proves surprisingly prophetic.

    The country named Yugoslavia in southeastern Europe broke up in 1990. While it existed, it was similar to Nigeria of today in many ways. Like Nigeria, Yugoslavia consisted of many different nationalities – the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Albanians, etc. Britain had thoughtlessly pushed many nationalities together to create Nigeria in 1914; Britain and France also thoughtlessly pushed many nationalities together to create Yugoslavia in 1918.

    Like Nigerian leaders, Yugoslav leaders were never able to manage their inter-ethnic relationships amicably. Like Nigeria therefore, Yugoslavia was always unstable. Under a dictator, Josip Tito, in 1945 to 1980, Yugoslavia’s ethnic hostilities were forcibly kept under control. But after Tito died in 1980, the instability returned in full force.

    Most of Yugoslavia’s ethnic leaders did try to save the country. Throughout the 1980s, they held national conferences to find a settlement. But the Serbs (the largest of the nationalities) foiled all the attempts – because the Serbs would not accept any agreement that did not guarantee their dominance. The country slipped on – until it exploded in 1990.

    The final break-up started when some of the nationalities announced secession. The Serbs mobilized a large army and tried to suppress them, but more nationalities announced secession. Yugoslavia descended into a horrendous conflagration.

    We must now note the particular experience of one of the nationalities – Bosnia. While the other nationalities had attended to their own homelands in the 1980s, the Bosnian nation had been very careless about its own homeland and its future – just as the Yoruba are today in Nigeria. Like Yorubaland in Nigeria, Bosnia had attracted many immigrants from the other nationalities of Yugoslavia, as traders, job seekers, and settlers. The leaders of the Bosnian people had paid no attention to that development. Just as the Yoruba are doing today, the Bosnians had let the immigrants do as they wished. Bosnian politicians gave all their attention to Yugoslavian politics and did nothing as troubles openly brewed in their own homeland – exactly as Yoruba leaders are doing now in Nigeria.

    When the Yugoslav conflagration finally came in 1990, and Bosnia announced secession like the other nationalities, the Bosnians immediately found themselves in hell – real hell. Some of the immigrant groups claimed parts of Bosnia as theirs, and tried to create small countries of their own in such places; and armed groups came from their homelands to help them. Serbian armies also came to suppress Bosnia’s secession. In the confusion, Bosnian people were killed in their tens of thousands, and their women were raped and killed. Bosnian towns and cities were devastated. This horror continued until NATO and the United States mercifully intervened, stopped the carnage and destruction, and helped Bosnians to have their country.

    Yes, the Bosnians did get their country. In addition, many of the persons who had brutalized them during the secession confusions were later arrested by international authorities, hauled before the International Court of Justice, tried, and harshly penalized. But the Bosnians are still living with the scars and the painful memories of their horrific suffering, and they will live with such forever. Had Bosnian leaders been more dutiful to their nation instead of expending all their energy in partisan political wrangling in the 1980s, Bosnians would never have suffered as horribly as this.

    The lesson here is clear. When different nationalities, each living in its own homeland, different in culture and religion, are forced together into one country, dark forces of rivalry, envy, fear, ill-will, hatred and domination can sometimes be generated in the hearts of some of the nationalities against others. That is what happened in Yugoslavia. It has happened in many Black African countries too. It is the duty of the leaders of each nationality to ensure that their people are not left unprotected.

    Signs of these dark forces are manifest in Nigeria. Sure, Nigeria enjoys some fragile peace. Many Nigerians desire that Nigeria should become a harmonious and peaceful country and thereby exist for long as one country. However, for that to happen, Nigeria would need to be structured into a proper and well-ordered federation – with all of today’s over-centralization eliminated.

    Much will also depend on how much Nigerian nationalities respect one another. Those who migrate to other peoples’ homelands and choose to be disrespectful of their hosts, and to indulge in aggressive and unruly claims and behavior against their hosts, and those who seek to dominate others, must know that they are essentially making Nigeria impossible to keep together.

    Also, very importantly, each Nigerian nationality owes the duty of making inter-ethnic relationships in its own homeland orderly and healthy. Nearly all Nigerians relocating from their homelands today are heading to Yorubaland and, already, the coming of many of them is disorderly and unhealthy. Yoruba leaders need therefore to remember the experiences of the Bosnians. Like the Bosnian leaders, today’s Yoruba leaders may be preparing the grounds for the suffering of Yoruba people too. These Yoruba leaders may also be unknowingly strengthening the forces that can break up Nigeria – since it is impossible that the masses of common Yoruba people will forever tolerate being insulted and trampled underfoot, no matter how much Yoruba leaders may be committed to Nigeria.

    Hospitality to strangers is a well-established icon of Yoruba culture. Moreover, welcoming people from other lands is something that can add greatly to prosperity in Yorubaland over time.  However, the large-scale immigration into Yorubaland today creates many serious problems – problems that Yoruba people, Yoruba leaders, and especially Yoruba governors and legislatures, need to find answers to.  Yoruba leaders should establish some modicum of unity in their own ranks, at least for the purpose of facing these serious problems together. The six governors of the Yoruba South-west, and the six legislatures, should establish ways to put heads together to find and implement answers to these problems.

    The problems are many and complex, but they as soluble. The leading problem is that Yorubaland is not generating enough economic development, and enough jobs, for its burgeoning population. Among the Yoruba people themselves, in spite of their solid education, enough businesses are not being created – because the governments are not developing their people. As a result, most educated Yoruba youths are unemployed, and most of the immigrants are unemployed too. Huge numbers of the immigrants struggling for survival, as well as many of the Yoruba youths, take to petty peddling on the streets, which is a classic example of “under-employment”.  In their frenetic hurrying around, they make the main streets of most Yoruba cities look like trash-dumps churned by whirlwinds.

    The state governments must arise to this situation. Obviously, what the governments need to do is to create programmes of human development – improved basic education, job-skill development, entrepreneurial development, small business promotion, modern farm programmes, and well-managed micro-credit systems, for all (indigenes and immigrants alike). The objective must be to achieve the purpose of the old Yoruba adage – “that the owners of the home and the strangers in the home may all have plenty to eat”. That “plenty” must also include housing space – meaning that public authorities must aggressively build housing estates.

    Another problem is the serious shortage of shopping centres in Yoruba towns. The old marketplaces are still there, but more shopping centres and malls are urgently needed. Also needed are proper licensing of traders and stores, introduction of sales tax, and prohibition of street peddling in designated residential zones of every city. Laws should also be made to prohibit the existence of exclusive “tribal” marketplaces or shopping centres, and to make all marketplaces and shopping centres the common property of the community, equally open to all. Provisions also need to be made for the proper observance of law in the commercial life of Yorubaland, as well as laws for the prohibition of ethnic-based, or other, monopolies or cartels.

    Yet another problem is that, though Nigeria’s laws vest the management of the land of every state in the state government, Yoruba states have evolved no land policies and no land transfer systems. Therefore, land acquisition and land transfer are occurring on a massively chaotic scale – obviously threatening indigenes and immigrants alike (and the whole society) with mightily confused land problems. These need to be corrected.

    Yet another serious problem is that, in many rural areas, migrant Fulani cattle herders from across the Niger, pushed south by drought, and by attacks by cattle rustlers, are increasingly clashing with Yoruba farmers on their farms, and becoming more dangerously armed and more aggressive  – resulting in serious harm to farmers and cattle herders alike. Yoruba leaders and governments must find sensible and sustainable answers to this situation.

    There are more problems, but we will stop here. Altogether, the impression must be eliminated that the Yoruba homeland is a “no-man’s-land”, a land without rules or order or leadership, where people from other parts of Nigeria can do as they wish. The core need is that Yoruba leaders and state governments must urgently rise up to their duties of ensuring orderly progress in their homeland.

  • Lessons of life

    Lessons of life

    While delivering a short talk to a group of students on the lessons of life recently, I mentioned my molue experiences when I was a full time reporter years ago with the now rested The Comet newspaper – the progenitor of The Nation. I got an almost blank response from about 90 per cent of them who said they’ve only partially heard of it and none has boarded one.  Expectedly, my lecture focus took a different direction as I lectured them on the good, bad and ugly sides of my molue experiences and the lessons it teaches about life.

    I recollect with relish how my colleagues and I use to board those rickety huge buses that almost defined Lagos in the past from different parts of Lagos to Ijora where the newspaper house was then located. Molues are now relics for the museum thanks to the introduction of BRT buses by the Fashola administration in Lagos State.

    Inside the molue, you have superb ‘salesmen’ who can convince commuters to buy drugs based on their colours! Strange as this sound, it’s true. They mix red, yellow, brown and white drugs together and the ‘resident pharmacist’ on-board then gives them the ‘prescription!” You also find on-board drugs that cure all diseases – yes, ALL diseases – inside the molue.  There are still other drugs, when taken, ‘boost energy’ and with it you can ‘run from Ijora to Ikorodu’ without getting tired! I can go on and on.

    Beyond the molue experiences, life teaches tremendous lessons that always come into sharp focus as we age. Life has taught me not to confuse money with happiness because money can’t make me happy, but self-sufficiency gives me the freedom to share myself creatively, without worrying about how I’m going to pay the bills.

    One key lesson is being grateful for this moment because it is all there is. The source of most of our frustrations and anxiety are the result of living in the future, or the past. We sometimes glorify the past because things were ‘quite easy’ way back then or we simply envision a utopia future.

    Talking about gratitude, what a United States based Nigerian father, Evans Nwankwo did is quite instructive. He sent his 14-year-olds twin teen sons to spend the seventh grade (junior secondary school) in Nigeria to learn some gratitude.

    According to reports, the boys, Noble and Evan attended Mea Mater Elizabeth High School in Enugu. There, they passed through the daily routine of waking up by 5 am for exercise and prayer, something they never experienced in the US. There’s also no help from mum on homework or washing clothes, either.

    The elder Nwankwo explained why he took this route: “Adversity is important in somebody’s development in life, as far as I’m concerned, because there comes a time when the storm is going to hit you, and if you never had that to fall back on you’re just going to fall apart. I strongly believe that because it’s been important in my own development.”

    Raised in Nigeria during the civil war, he was one of 13 children and the family was well off until the war changed everything when his father was killed. He eventually made it to the US and built a business. The report further said that people around the city of Cincinnati probably know Nwankwo’s work – his construction company is the go-to contractor that has worked on several sites including Fountain Square, the Freedom Center and Washington Park.

    Prior to the twins leaving the US, the Ebola outbreak was making headlines, as were attacks by the Boko Haram on schools – especially in northern Nigeria. The elder Nwankwo said he had “a lot of apprehension as they were getting ready to go, a lot of anxiety.” He however summoned the courage and allowed his sons to leave.

    On his experience, Noble was quoted in the report as saying: “It was kind of eye-opening to see how much you actually have to work to get a simple bucket of water, and how you actually have to use your own strength to carry it back and forth. And it’s actually pretty tough to hand-wash your clothes with that amount of water. You have to really manage it.”

    He added: “You have to be trekking all over the school just to get water to bathe with… Here you can just turn on the tap and there’ll be water flowing like it’s nothing. There, you’ll be struggling for it. Sometimes we would go without water for a couple of days.”

    Since returning back to the US, their dad said he’s already seen a change in his boys. “I feel that the experience is one that will live with them forever, and they will be forever changed – maybe not on the immediate, but long term.”

    The report said the twins agreed to what their dad said. “I appreciate the washing machine. I appreciate the running water. I appreciate the shower, so I don’t have to use a bucket of water in a bowl…I appreciate my parents a lot more because I realise how much – especially my dad – I really realise how much he had to do to get here.” Evan was quoted as saying.

    Besides the actual experience, they said their dad taught them a lot as well. “He’s taught me a lot, and he’s made me go through a lot to make me a better person, to make me a person that can just endure,” Evan said.

    I’m glad the elder Nwankwo was able to successfully teach his sons some harsh realities about life, it is also gratifying that it ended on a positive note; some have tried to do what he did but it ended in fiasco and the children come to hate their father for causing them to ‘suffer’ unnecessarily without understanding the underlying reasons.

    Life teaches that some people want things to always go their way, but the plain truth is we cannot have things our own way always. Which is why pursuing happiness is not at all the same as being happy, which is a fleeting feeling dependent on momentary circumstances. Happy times pass, because time passes. This is something we rarely grasp at first.

    The lifelong pursuit of happiness – on the other hand – is more elusive; it’s not based on a particular outcome.  What you are really pursuing is meaning – living a meaningful life.  It starts with your “why.”  (Why are you doing what you’re doing with your life?)  When your “why” is meaningful, you are pursuing happiness.

    There will be times when things go so wrong that you barely feel alive. And there will also be times when you realise that being barely alive, on your own terms, is better than living a lifeless existence for fifty years on someone else terms. In other words, happiness comes most easily when you know what you’re doing, believe in what you’re doing, and love what you’re doing (and who you’re doing it with), regardless of how things turn out.

    Finally, life is too unpredictable for rigid expectations. When you stop predicting and expecting things to be a certain way, you can appreciate them for what they are.  Ultimately you will realise that life’s greatest gifts are rarely wrapped the way you expected.

    With a positive attitude and an open mind, you will find that life isn’t necessarily any easier or harder than you thought it was going to be; it’s just that “the easy” and “the hard” aren’t exactly the way you had anticipated, and don’t always occur when you expect them to.

    Most of the time, life delivers the experiences that are most helpful for our personal growth.  How do you know it’s the experience you need?  Because it’s the experience you’re having.  The only question is: Will you embrace it and grow, or fight it and fade? The key, of course, is to accept that not everything is meant to be.

     

     

     

     

  • 11 Lessons from the Emir of Kano

    11 Lessons from the Emir of Kano


    [dropcap style="normal" color="#000000"]I[/dropcap]n a recent chat with Ndani TV, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Muhammad Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano shares his experience about his past, present, future and life generally. The Nation has highlighted some lessons from his story. To learn from Sanusi, click on the interactive image below and hover over the red and white dots/icons.

  • ‘Let Ramadan lessons guide you’

    The Asiwaju Musulumi of Yorubaland, Asiwaju Khamis Olatunde Badmus, has charged Nigerian  Muslims not to lose sight of the lessons of Ramadan and allow them to  reflect in their lives.

    By doing so, according to Badmus, who is also the Chairman of Tuns Farms, they would have succeeded in satisfying the main objective of fasting which is obedience to the wishes of Almighty Allah.

    Badmus gave this  charge to the Muslims  in  his Eid el-Fitr  message to people of Nigeria to mark the end of this year’s Ramadan fast.

    In a statement  made available to the news men and signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs,Alh Dawood Ajetunmobi, Asiwaju said: It is important that Muslims recognize the positive roles of spiritual renewal, compassion and charity that the month of Ramadan symbolizes.

    While congratulating Nigerian Muslims  for witnessing the celebration, Badmus also lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the bailout given to the states  facing economic challenges in order to meet their financial obligations.

    He added that the gesture would go a long way to make lives more bearable for Nigerians.

     

  • Don’t forget Ramadan lessons —Ambode

    Don’t forget Ramadan lessons —Ambode

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday joined Muslims to mark the Eid-El-Fitri celebrations, just as he called on them to sustain the lessons of the Ramadan fast beyond the season.

    The governor, who spoke when he hosted scores of Muslims to a feast at the Lagos House, Alausa, urged them to imbibe the tenets of the season and ensure they reflect in their daily activities.

    “Let me use this medium to felicitate with our Muslim brothers and sisters on the completion of the year 2015 Ramadan. Ramadan has come and gone, but the lessons of the month remain and we should as worshippers sustain them in our everyday activity.

    “Let us put to use the  lessons of Ramadan. Let us remain peaceful and eschew vices by remaining steadfast in our journey to make Lagos State a better place for all of us.

    “We may differ in tongue and faith, but we all remain equal before our creator, the owner of heaven and earth.

    “It is my fervent prayer that the Almighty will continue to increase our wisdom and improve our health and wealth. May we witness many more celebrations”, the governor said.

    Earlier in her welcome address, First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, expressed her appreciation for the support given to the present administration so far, just as she appealed for more cordial relationship being enjoyed in the state.

    “While I enjoin you all to feel relaxed and enjoy yourselves, please remember to continue to pray for peace, tranquility and prosperity of the state,”she said.

    She urged parents to inculcate moral and religious teachings in their children and support their families.

    “As the family is the bedrock of any society, let us all endeavour to focus on teaching our children in the way of Almighty Allah and support our husbands in all their endeavours”, she said.

    Highlights of the celebration included a quiz and dancing competition.

  • ‘Lessons life has taught me at 79’

    ‘Lessons life has taught me at 79’

    Sir Ebenezer Olarenwaju Ogunlana is accomplished in many regards. While living in the heart of Lagos in the early 40s, Ogunlana, a professor of pharmacy, loved music and sang to his soul’s pleasure. Like the rise of a music crescendo, he grew in his profession and passsion – singing. Rising from a choirboy at age seven to a knight and classical church music icon, he also became a former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, a Knight of Charles Wesley (KWC) and Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON). Ogunlana celebrated his 51st wedding anniversary and qualification as a pharmacist with the unveiling of a memoir titled: Reflections and Challenges in Time and Tides in Lagos. In this chat with Evelyn Osagie, he shares his experiences in his profession, marriage and music.

    Life has taught me ‘never to say fail’; to keep pushing; and surrender everything to God. Everybody has a specific purpose in life. The way you fulfil that purpose depends on your attitude to life. At 79 years,I am overflowing with thankfulness to God. I have no regrets. I’d do it all over again – the music, my profession and marriage. I wouldn’t want to change anything. From a choir boy, I became a choirmaster for many years and later received the prestigious Knight of Charles Wesley (KWC) award. As a pharmacist, I rose to become a professor; three times Dean of Pharmacy and chairman, Committee of Deans for one year before I became Deputy Vice Chancellor and retired at 52. I am also grateful to God for how my three children have turned out.

     

    My growing up

     

    I came from a stock of four brothers. I am an irony of fate. My father died when I was only one year and two months old. And unfortunately, this is one of the ironies in my life. My mother raised us and did not remarry, despite all the vicissitudes of life. I am a product of perseverance and determination. And having been so privileged, I owe it, in whatever I do, to reflect determination, consideration and responsibility to others.

    Growing up was made easy for me; my mother was a school teacher and the only child of her parents. My grandparents were very helpful to us. They took responsibilities that made us. While my mother taught, my grandmother prepared the meals and the house, and my grandfather, a tailor, would make our clothes. Consequently, that convergence of activities provided comfort for me. My grandfather was a very strict disciplinarian – I remember him with his white hair and white attire – whereas my mother was helpful and adorable but firm, irrevocable and didn’t spare us. And so, we grew up in an environment where we cannot help but be disciplined.

    After my father died, my mother had to go back to school. She had an Ordinary Teachers Certificate; and  my grandfather provided the facilities that got her the Higher National Certificate.

     

    My journey into 51 years of marriage

     

    Where do I start from? To sustain a relationship you have to accept each other. Today, my wife agrees with me and accepts when I say something. She has seen by experience that whatever decision I take ends better. But initially, it was not the case. Sometimes, I felt alone because nobody understands why I was taking a particular step. But as we grew together, all that change.

    I knew my wife in 1957 in Britain where she was sent for Midwifery from the University College, Ibadan, where she trained as a nurse. Aderemi was very composed, friendly and not flamboyant. I was in Birmingham in England for my A Levels. There, the relationship developed before 1964 when we tied the knot. Our first date was during a dance by African students to commemorate Ghana Independence in March 6, 1957, at the town hall in Birmingham. I had asked her to the dance which she did, and that was the beginning our love. Our first child is over 40.

    Interestingly, I had another girlfriend, who left me heart broken. I remember it vividly. She was a nurse in Britain who I had been with me for two years before meeting my wife. She was insisting that we got married; and I told her my primary objective is to finish up successfully before I can consider marriage. So, she wrote to me in Nottingham, breaking off with me. I came by bus to Birmingham to meet her; and told her that it was two weeks to my examination; but sent me away, saying she didn’t want to see me anymore. So I went back heart broken. Even though I liked her, I was able to bear the pain.

    Having suffered such heart break, I thought it wise to steer clear of Nigerian ladies. I got a scholarship from the university and I came home to visit my mother. She and my friends softened my mind and encourage me. I went back to Nottingham and didn’t see her again until seven years after, and by then, I was married. But I must tell you, it wasn’t easy sustaining our relationship back then.

     

    My tips on sustaining relationships

     

    The secret ingredient that would keep your marriage is transparency, fervency in prayer and faith that it would work out.Young couples should learn from their beginning, be slow to understand, respond adequately to the problems that may beseech them initially and find ways of overcoming them. 51 years on, our marriage is all-evolving.

    In 1957, after she finished the first part of her midwifery, she went to Gateshead, Britain and I stayed back; and these places were far apart. And by the time she finished at Gateshead and had to return home; I had to move to Nottingham. That was the most trying times in our relationship. Sincerely, it was difficult. The sustenance of relationship back then was a matter of trust, and give and take. But if you like somebody and believe in him/her, you’d have no doubt than to sustain the relationship.

     

    My 51-year journey into the world of pharmacy

     

    I have been a pharmacist in Nigeria since 1964. I took the oath of pharmacy, first, in Britain in 1963, and came to Nigeria and took it in January in 1964. And June 12 of that same year, I got married. I didn’t know the date would come to mean something else to Nigerians. So, both my marriage and my marriage to pharmacy are 51 years old (laughs). Some say my life can be split into two – pharmacy and marriage. That was why I decided to unveil my book on my sojourn as a pharmacist, which I titled: Reflections and Challenges in Time and Tides during my marriage anniversary celebration on June 12.The tribulations and vicissitudes that I faced in life informed the title of the book.

    My becoming a pharmacist was inspired by an incident in my post-secondary school days. My being a pharmacist was not for lucrative venture; but purposeful use of service that ensures that people get well using the right drugs.

    When I was in secondary school, I was going to do Classics in the University of Ibadan, but I fell ill in the mid-1955. I had Hepatitis and was taken to the General Hospital in Lagos. And it was there that I experienced the need for being a pharmacist. One of those nights, a man with Cerebral Palsy almost set the place ablaze. The doctors had prescribed drugs for him, but the hospital didn’t have them. I left the hospital determined that I was going to be a pharmacist, to contribute to humanity. I didn’t have the qualification; but I got books from British Council Centre and went to Britain to do my A ‘levels.

    So, I specialised in quality control and quality assurance of drugs. However, interestingly, I discouraged my daughter, who is now a High Court Judge, from studyingpharmacy. Even though she was determined to study pharmacy, I saw she was not good in science subjects – biology and chemistry –  and good in the arts. I knew what it was when I started studying physics; and so I discouraged her and look how it turned out.

     

    Pharmacy before and now

     

    The pharmacy profession has positively metamorphosed. It is a pity that most Nigerians don’t know the worth of a pharmacist. The pharmacist now recognises the problems of an individual and the disease. It recognises the way and manner we can combat diseases – what we call the pharmaceutical care. It is better to catch them young. The end of school training is just the beginning of training. The pharmacist should be one that is continually growing. Students of pharmacists must continually train ythemselves. Teachers of pharmacy must ensure the materials in their environment would be such that can develop others.

     

    My journey into academia

     

    I would sum up my journey in the academia as turbulence; but God’s grace saw me through. I would say I was fortunate: I became a professor before I was 40. The secret was believing in God. I prayed for guidance at every point in my life and He helped to bear those moments, stoically. During my time, the politics of Ife was very bad. However, politics or no politics, my stand has always been stay with the profession and focus on your work. Despite all the challenges, I enjoyed the academia because I rose in the ranks: I grew from Head of Department to Dean to Chairman, Committee of Deans to Deputy Vice Chancellor back again to Dean and then I bowed out in October 1988 to give the young professors room to grow.

    But it was not just a bed of roses: at each point in life there were trying times; but I maintained the spirit of determination and perseverance.  For instance, in 1971, I applied for the post of Senior Lecturer twice and at both times, I drove back to the Ibadan campus of the University of Ife sad with tears in my eyes. And the third time, it was advertised, I insisted I won’t apply. Ten days after it closed, I got a letter that I have been appointed Senior Lecturer.

    Also, when the university advertised professorship in 1974, knowing I might have the same difficulties, I didn’t want to apply. Until Funke, a cousin of my wife, visited a day before the closing date, a Friday, and insisted that I apply. She said she just left somebody’s chambers where they were discussing the politics of Ife, which, as I’ve said, was bad at the time. So, I applied and submitted alongside three of my publications. But my mind was not there because the politics of Ife. Six months after, I was asked to submit three of my publications and citation within 48 hours by the Vice Chancellor’s office. I was supervising a conference at the time; but thanks to two women librarians I did.  Soon, events turned in 1975; there was a change of government and the removal of the Vice Chancellor (VC) and a new one was appointed. It was that VC, as I was told, that saw my records and to cut the story short, I went for interview in December 1975 and by January 26, 1976, I was appointed professor.

     

    My journey into the world of music

     

    Music comes naturally. The place of music in my life is invigorating, mood-lifting and pleasure. If I am perplexed or sad, I’d just sing a song, it would disappear. My love for music kept me all these years. When I sing, I see the music go and I go with it. Music helps me to focus. It brightens the mind for knowledge. In my 79 years of existence, I have 72 years of experience in music. I became a choir boy at age seven and have remained a choir man at age 79 (laughs). In church then, I had to stand on the kneelers to be seen. I still sing; and continued to challenge myself on how to do it better. I sang at my book’s unveiling.

    As a pharmacist, I sustained my singing habit no matter what the odds were. I was a choirmaster in 1991 before I became President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in 1994. I came back again as a choirmaster in 2004. In 2001, I was the first individual to be knighted the Knight of Charles Wesley (KWC), a musical award; and was Vice President of the Association of Church Music.

    But I was forced to retire from music in 2005 after a stroke attack. In November 2004, while I was conducting the choir during a Sunday service, I felt something funny. Apparently, I had a stroke. I was flown abroad and due to prayers, in less than 12 days, I was free and could use my hand. But so as not to put pressure on it again by February of 2005, I officially left the choir. But I still sing.

     

    Development of Classical music in Nigeria

     

    Classical music in Nigeria is being developed very well. There is adequate provision for it which was why I went to the MUSON Centre. I am a member of the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON). And the MUSON Centre built by its members. I have seats in Agip Hall which I contributed for. It cannot die. Although is music of 17th century, it remains melodious to the ears. In the future, Classical music would grow on its own as it has always done. We are learning more on the environment which makes music sound sweeter.