Avatar

Within your depth, I am led to an experience
An experience both strange and familiar to me
Strange in daily manifestation; familiar in it usual rituals
But filled with interactions that renew my soul

It is from this interaction that your words emerged within me taking a personality of its own in my sub-conscious,
A personality I am in constant conversation with even during your absence

It is this personality that stays with me, as I go about in daily chores
It is this personality that provide words to help me understand the times and how to navigate my way towards a preferred future, or rise about circumstances that stand against me
It is with these words I am able in hold on to the unseen with hope, believing that in life’s daily routines, I am enriched with the strength I need to actualize the tomorrow I crave

Our continual conversation has forged a union ordained by the Divine
A union that provides the conviction that you will always be there
Cos during physical encounters I become aware of one truth,
We are one spirit expressing one idea, in our different forms

Me

It is not uncommon for me to secretly lust after his achievements
And be green with envy as he talks about his accomplishments
In our gatherings, he is the man about town
Controlling the atmosphere and pulling everyone to his presences
There is just something about him that I want to be

As my mind races about looking at what I am not
I sometimes overlook this simple truth;
there is something that is essentially me
And the world would be empty without

There would be one less aspiring poet
working to convey thoughts on everything in words
laced with wisdom of the simple,
I won’t be here to question ritual behind traditions
and review our presence in the time and space
There would be no me to rank everything in a mathematical order
and quantify every emotion
Or approach topics with a childlike nature that yearns for the logic behind everything there is
I would be trying to be someone else

The essence of who I am must have been coined up by the divine in His desire to fulfill a purpose And in this desire, he decided that I must come,
Experience life as this being,
Battle with personal weaknesses
And appreciate my mortality as a steward on a mission to fulfill that directive set before me
The content of all will be revealed at an appointed time
It is only in with this realization that who I am is someone unique,
can I achieve fulfillment and be satisfied in the work of my hand

My soul beamed when I realized this truth,
I no longer see the need to ascribe his winnings to luck
Or join as the crowd in mocking the source of his wealth
Nor do I develop methods to measure our individual achievements and grade them (on that selfish quest to test the fairness of life)
This revelation became clearer when I explored his source and discovered
he is a man who built his life on one simple principle:
“All that is beautiful lies in being me”

Random Thought

English is spoken using 26 alphabets to construct words
These words have meaning and are structured to convey ideas
We convey our ideas through conversation with one another
As it is with this method that we can truly connect who we are with one another

Our Ideas emerge from observing the world around us
And what we observe helps in forging an impression
Multiple impressions create a thought processes which gives everyone of us a perspective of what is and what should be

Individual thought processes are one-sided, because we are only able to focus on what we sense as important
And also because what sense, is within the boundaries of rationality and limited by what we observe and what we can conclude

What if all our conversations could be merged into one long dialogue,
Fused into one big book?
We would have a speech of everything there is to say
A document containing every idea that there ever has been,
As every idea will be unified to form one logical point
And it will be clear to see that misunderstandings in today’s world result from different perspective as human’s stray from the Divine order

Humanity’s last hope lies in that book
Because the essence of what it contains, would be all that is Human

Expressions of Care

I believe the foundation of a marriage rest on a life that you share
The strength of that life is holding to God,
He along gives us with the challenges we can bear

From these challenge emerge pleasures of one another,
perfected when both partners stay near
When they are willing to hear
And still remain sincere.

It is important to accept that your responsibilities are to shield one another from individual fears

And build homes that are sanctuaries, with each member being there
But all this happens when your home is love,

and love becomes possible with expressions of care

I speak for Nigeria

Acts 4:11- “This is the stone which was set at the nought of you builders which become the head of the corner”


I speak for Nigeria.
The Settlers around the Niger
Those whose essence hasn’t been captured by written literature
Yet their presences will produce the reality of the global economy we shall live in
Our history is one where the Hausa & Kanem-Bornu Empires reigned in the Northern Caliphate While the kingdoms of Benin/Yoruba dominated the Southern territories,
The Central regions lay claim to Bantu/Nok ancestries,
At a time when the Igbo were mystified with folklore originating from the ideals of Nri & Aguleri

I speak for the middle class Nigerian
Those that travel daily along 1-3rd Mainland, Apapa or the Lekki Express,
Or the people found in the road rage of Trans-Amadi
And those Kubwa residence, in that rat race that sends then daily to Asokoro
All in a struggle to protect that semblance of life and how they conceptualize it to be
Even as the environment stands against them and all they believe
I speak for those in that 4 hours daily commute
Whose every increase has to be fought for and protected against quacks and thieving ruler Leaders
who exchange their natural heritage for instant pleasures
And create wealth for themselves in foreign lands at the expense of the people who trust in their wisdom
I speak for a people whose survival depends on how much they understand of every discipline that affect their life
Having to apply that understanding under the sun that they know, in the management of mundane task
Who have to burn candle at both ends to please the ones they love,
make proud their parents and provide for their offspring
Or those forced to make that tireless search for quality in everything they require

Your time will soon appear
When it come, your people will marvel as it is unveiled who you really are
What you have developed in the chaos will be displayed by kings
And you will be made proud by the creation of your strength
Your strength lies in being who you were made to be
Being patient and caring not cunning and crafty
Being fair and loving not greedy and deceitful
And realizing that what you can become will be evident when you realize who you are

As this enlightenment sips into our national consciousness,
Reorientation emerges challenging all thinking lined with mediocrity
Before you know, the environment will embrace the new Nigeria
And the cursed amongst us will be relegated to the back
To enable those capable of being themselves allow
Nigeria become the Giant of Africa
Till we birth that vision,
I will proclaim what I am proud of:

Middle class Nigeria - the stone that was cast away by the builder, getting set to become the corner stone.

That day is coming

There are many things I believe in, but one thing I know, it is what we visualize that we can actualize

Our history as a nation has been plagued with many experiences,

Experiences to challenge us,

Challenges that make us search within for that inner revelation,

To remind us that we are is what we make of our existence

I might be naïve but I believe current events are not experiences in isolation,

There are implications deeper than our rational minds are able to conceptualize,

The cosmos has designed our path to ensure what we birth together is beyond what currently is,

The idea is for our generation to bring forth a Nigeria that works,

And I see it coming

The day is coming when our youth will pursue the desires of their heart and not rely solely on the vain advice of their peers,

Not chase the desires of the main stream, but engage in those unique causes that relieves their burdened souls,

It will be a nation that engages the strength of the strong,

The courage of the bold,

Harnesses the wisdom of the elders

To protects the weak, and rear its offspring

Everyone would have a family they can point to,

A household where father will be faithful,

Mothers will be selfless

And children will be true

We would have families creating enterprises

And parents leaving behind an inheritance for the generations coming

This would be one where families stand as units and contribute their effort to build a community they love

The communities they build would be designed on principles that enable individuals and households alike achieve deeds; deeds capable of reinforcing those elements required for self sustainability.

Our communities would be divided into units that can attend to different aspects of our collective needs

As some units farm,

Other will teach,

As some entertain, other will manufacture,

As some of distribute, other will finance

Every unit will provide support that will sustain our concept of life and how we envision we would live it

And they would be rewarded

Not for their class, or affiliations,

But for their efforts

Our communities would minimize involvement in cultural activities as there are little benefits that can derived from such

Those functions would be restricted to marking milestone

They would be used to mark significant events, rather than as a display of opulence or a proof of good things to come.

In the place of these flamboyant ceremonies, we would invest our finance, passion and minds in the development of trade relevant for self actualization and community building.

That day is coming, when our leaders will be philosophers and our politicians, men of insight,

They would create visions that engages the natural, cultural strengths of communities

They would develop policies that unleashes the enterprising nature of the average Nigerian

They would understand the pride in creating a nation capable of attending to its need

That time, our farmer would feed us,

Our teacher will train our children,

Our engineers will construct our bridges

And the wealth we create would not be found in the land of strangers

That will be the time the giant of Africa will awake.

I visualize a future, where I would be proud to be a Nigerian.

Junkies

It gets windy at night
And when it does he goes to his favourite spot, somewhere along Jalingo Street,
He squats behind the abandoned blue sedan with his legs resting on the wall
He lights up the joint,
Opening the entrance to his Junkie Heaven

During the day, he encounters stares as he strolls in his only apparel, that torn brown sagging combat trousers that exposes his pubic to the view of all willing to see,
His collection of scrap, gathered during these strolls, are exchanged for money,
Money that is later used to buy dope and food
In the evening, he returns back to Jalingo Street,
For that spark that leads to Junkie Heaven.
And to begin his journey again…

But Tuesday was different,
Nobody could hear that sob, that sound of a tormented soul hovering back and forth experiencing ecstatic pleasures known only to those that indulge,
There wasn’t the usual clattering of cans and discarded mental as Hamad drags his most precious items in preparation of tomorrow’s supply
In two days, we all began to get worried on what befell dear Hamad
There are too many possibilities we could conceptualize
But as human, there are limits to the scenarios we can construct
Remember, rationality has boundaries

Boundaries that are further limited in the absence of our Hamad,
A reminder of the worse that can happen to a man
He puts in the minds of our offspring the idea of that thin line between humanity and the beast, forcing them to act in their best
Visualizing the lower limits of human evolution gets us up in the morning
It is with this knowledge that we developed mean to diligent manage our lives and construct our community
Hamad weakness, ignites us to aspire

In his desires to rise above his demons, he frequents the abode of the reformers with that cry for help
Their remedy to him is just enough to return back in a state, worse off that he started
At every attempt to break free, he is remind of the shackles on his wrist and disastrous covenants made during his years of innocence
They tell him of unattainable goals and targets he can’t achieve
And this forces him back to Jalingo street
A feat that keeps the reformer employed

Our search party went into action to find him lying by the riverside, overdosed
We gathered together and attended to his wounds
Against his will, he was treated and restored,
Restored to return back to his hopelessness
Which was our desire because:
- in it we find hope
-in it we find our desire to rise
- in his hopelessness we sparks our joint,
And opens the gate to our junkie heaven.