“Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character”. 1 Corinthians 15:33  It was the last day of July and the following day would be her birthday, we had been expecting this day in our small circle of influence (Book lovers), because actually we wanted to celebrate her this time around. She has been a mother to us, a rock and a shoulder in our bad days. However, she told me: “Dan Auta (as she fondly call me), all I have for tomorrow is one crate of soft drink”. Well, I told her “as long as it is you, there will always be more than just a crate, just wait and see” No one is an island, hence life is not designed to live alone. In our journey of life, we will need a push, nudge, prod, and rebuking to keep us on track from other people; the question now hinges on the people that will carry out those important task in your life. Keeping the right company in life makes life much easier and meani...

  One of the songs that has been on repeat on my playlist lately is “Seasons” by Hillsong; a song so deep, tapestry of evergreen words weaved together colourfully, speaking to the most innermost of our being. Permit me to use the first verse of this beautiful song as a backdrop for this piece. The first verse said: Like the frost on a rose Winter comes for us all Oh how nature acquaints us With the nature of patience Like a seed in the snow I’ve been buried to grow For your promise is loyal From seed to sequoia The chorus I know Though the winter is long even richer The harvest it brings Though my waiting prolongs even greater Your promise for me like a seed I believe that my- season will come Inferring from the song, we all go through seasons in life; as you are reading this piece, you may be going through spring, autumn, summer or even winter in your life. Understanding each season and the role each has to play in shaping you as a person makes yo...

  Lately, I have been awestruck by how God is so concerned about our lives, especially how he ordered us in ages and stages. I am deeply dumfounded by His immeasurable wisdom in petitioning our lives that way, so much that no matter how we want to stay forever, time fails us all.  Our lives have been ordered in stages with ages as the major determinants. Hence, every stage you are in life right now is labeled by a given age range, and every age range comes with its prospects and challenges. Our ability to understand these two and make the most out of them determines how relevant and effective our lives will be. Again, every age comes with its peculiar challenges and crisis, and transition from one stage to another is often difficult but needful. Time is one thing we don’t always have on our side, thus the need to internalize the reality of ages and stages to make the best out of life; life is brief, and its brevity is what makes time very significant.  What I desire to sh...

  This piece is going to be short, apt and straight to the point, any attempt to make it unnecessarily long might rob it of its essence. I therefore crave your indulgence to savour every bit of this piece the way it is, for it carries in its simple bosom the flames strong enough to fire up the story of your life.  Whenever I on social media, I am very deliberate with my conversations, especially with those I am meeting for the first time. Often, I will first express my gratitude for the person’s acceptance of my request and my intention of having meaningful conversation with the person, (i.e. in the situation that I did sent the friend request), after which I will delve straight into knowing the person by asking about the person’s story. Some will be like: “what? My story?”  - And I will be like “Yes your story”, this is simply because I strongly believe we all have our life’s stories to tell. You see, we all are wonderful story tellers, and amazing writers, I strongly be...

This piece was inspired by the recent happenings in the country and the desire for a better Nigeria. Early this week, I watched an Indian movie title: “Gabbar is Back” and it was worth the watch. The main character of the film doubled as a College Professor and a Vigilante on a war against corruption in his country, had a large team who had keyed into his vision and dream to stamp out corruption in the country by factually investigating corrupt officials in government, kidnapping and sometimes executing them as well. Gabbar became an unseen voice with a seen result. His crusades pierced every corrupt heart with fear and led some to radical and immediate repentance. Succinctly, from top government officials, who are used to enriching their accounts at the expense of the poor masses down to even cab drivers, corruption became a monster dreaded by all and sundry. Hence, one can certainly say, the fear of Gabbar was the beginning of the end of corruption. Subsequently, Gabbar...

Life can been likened to a journey, with all of us being its passengers. Hence, as we daily live, we are making progress toward reaching our various destinations. Our destinations are largely determined by the routes we daily take, and the route we daily take largely reflect our choices and priorities. Every journey has a predetermined destination, and every process of a journey is guided by established rules; adherence to these rules don’t only make the journey easy but meaningful, failure to do so will make the journey a torture. Practically, I have seen, observed and experienced three express ways that if taken in the journey of life, can lead people nowhere fast. We all have plied these routes at one point in time of our lives, and sadly but certainly, some people are still speeding on these express ways only to arrive at nowhere. Hence the need for this piece. Express Way Number #1: COMPARISON This is one of the most traveled highways in life. We often find oursel...

“Life don’t only need starting power, but staying and finishing power. It won’t benefit you or anyone to have an electric start but an epileptic finish” How much do you know about the Chinese bamboo tree? While growing up, one of the things that piqued my curiosity as a young lad was the Chinese bamboo tree. I first saw this long, thin, flexible and never-breaking stick in one of my favourite Jet Li’s films back then – “Fist of Legend”. I have always wondered how a stick can be used for a fight with so many people and not even break. Well, I came to know its name in the late 2008 after graduating from secondary school. The bamboo tree popularly known as the Chinese bamboo tree is one of the symbolic trees china is internationally known with. To grow the bamboo tree, you will have to plan the seed like any other tree or plant. After planting this tree you will have to water it, nurture it, fertilize it and take good care of it for a year. Wait a bit, did I just say a yea...