When you hears the word greatness what readily comes to your mind? Someone or something big, large, and very important right? Well, you are not wrong; but you have taken a step in unraveling what true greatness is. Over the years, familiarity and people’s desire for greatness has made it a cliché, to the point that its real sense and essence is fast fading, giving way for people’s greed, covetousness and unhealthy ambition for materialism. Hence the need to simply unearth the brain behind true greatness and to demystify it to the core so that achieving greatness will not elude us. Just like success, most people regardless of socio-cultural, political or religious backgrounds and affiliations desire greatness and always want to associate with greatness, yet only few people are ready to know what true greatness really entails and its corresponding cost. Scattered through the pages of history and the chronicles of the past are men that defined greatness, identified with it, paid

I actually did not plan to share this story now, but I sense it will be a suitable backdrop to the central theme of what I will share with you in this piece – ‘Break Forth’; hence I am left with no option. I have friends and brothers in Jenta Mangoro community, Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State of Nigeria. These brothers are breaking forth mightily, reaching out in their own little way to solve the obvious problems in their community. Their community is known by outsiders as a ghetto, where many youths are held captive by many social vices, and one might say nothing good will come out of such place. Trusting God to change this narrative, these guys are breaking forth; they started a “Jenta Reads Community Library” to reignite reading culture not only in the life of their youths in school, but also in the life of those learning skills as well. Again, knowing quite well that water scarcity is a challenge in their community; they also started out Project H 2 O, to see

For the past few weeks, I have been tortured mentally as I am still trying to decipher and chose the suitable words to describe the year 2017. Honestly the year 2017 means different thing to different people based on different experiences and encounters. To me personally, 2017 was the fastest year of my life, it run out with the speed of light leaving traces of fresh collection of events. I am still trying to figure out the phrase to call the year 2017. In fact, I won’t forget 2017 in a rush. Ubiquitously, just like any other year but uniquely in its own grand style, the year 2017 left trails of events that will go down history in the minds of all and sundry for either the good reason or the bad ones. Some love and were loved in return while others were despised unjustifiably. Promises were kept while some were carelessly broken. As others were born others also died. Some lived the entire year with much hope while others faced each passing day with despair. Some that were writt

“He is annoying”, “She is disgusting” “Oh! I can’t stand him, because he is so mean”, “That girl irritates me”, “I can’t just bear their disturbance”. Do these register of clauses sound familiar to you? Can you relate with any of these based on series of experience? Do they bring to life your encounter with some people? With high level of certitude, I can say that at some point in time of our life, we can’t help but come in contact with divergent people that will eventually leave us uttering one or more of the above collection of words. My four years in school offered me the privilege and platform to come across divergent and different personality and disposition of people. From the informal life of the hostel, to the formal life of the class, to my one on one contact with friends and colleagues and even to social centres and gatherings. Some made me smile while others made me cry, some made me sad while some gave me immense joy that thought of them right now gladdens my heart, so

Back then in school, I used to wash my hostel's toilet and bathroom over the weekend, because the cleaners don’t usually come during the weekend. Some of my colleagues often look at me as if I lack what to do, but then I kept at it. It all started out as joke, I gave it little or no though, but before I realized it became fun. Little did I know that what I was doing was leaving an impression in the heart of most of the guys that used to watch me. A year after, when I returned from National Youth Service, I met these guys doing what I started, and they were even doing it much more than I did. It was then that I remembered what a brother once told me eight years ago, he told me: “accept humble responsibilities and don’t look down on such”. When you hear the word humble responsibilities, what come to your mind? Does it depict some ignored, less important tasks to you? Does doing such make you inferior or less important? Humble services and responsibilities can be seen as roots to a

In one of his teachings, the greatest yet the humblest teacher that ever toured the earth told a story of a rich man who embarked on an extended journey. He summoned three of his servants and entrusted them with his possession. To one he gave five talents, another three talents and the other two talents. The first two swung into action and invested their talents and they doubled it before the arrival of their master, but the last one simply dug the ground and hid his. After a long time, the master returned and called them to give an account of what they have done with the entrusted treasures. From what they all did, you can’t but imagine the outcome of the account settling. I was conversing with one of my friends two years ago, and she asked me a question that got me into deep thinking over life generally; she asked me thus: “what is it with people and accountability?” she further said “why do people hate the word ‘accountability’ especially when it comes to money? Immediately my

Ours is a generation where people no longer consider, respect, and honour anything sacred and holy; profanity is the order of the day, morality is disappearing by day, value and self-worth no longer have a say, and society is daily degrading and becoming bankrupt in everything that is right, upright and pleasing to God. Virtually, our so-called post modernism is daily constructing for us the framework upon which we push out truth and everything that is wright from our lives; thus, if anyone is searching for an iota of truth, all that can be found is an altar of falsehood, because truth now lies wounded on our streets. Again, ours is the generation freed from every form of primitivity, enslaved by every sort of conformity and bound by several codes of moral insanity. How comes we have lost it this fast when we have all it takes now more  than ever to live right and do right? Intellectualism, advancement in technology and religion has freed us from every form of primitivity; yet, p