I begin this piece with an illustration of an artist who set out to paint a portrait of a person, he may starts with just a simple stroke of brush on the canvass, but in his mind, he has finished the entire portrait, he has traveled the entire course of painting the portrait from start to finish. Therefore, every stroke of brush, every combination of colours are just the routes of arriving at the end of the journey he has mentally travelled. Yes, he began with the end in mind.  Starting/beginning and finishing/end are two deciding moments in a man’s life, knowing the gravity and implication of these two as they relate to your life will largely influence everything you do every day. Our time and generation gives much attention to glorious starting, to glamorous beginning at the expense of finishing well and strong which is rather pathetic; this is because it does no one good to start anything well and not finish strong.  Starting sets a life on course and exposes the life to all it ta

  One of the watersheds of my undergraduate experience was the hostel life, where you meet and stay with different kind of people coming from different places holding different perspectives about how life is or should be; it was a combination of the good the bad and the ugly. If you have been in the hostel before you can relate with this illustration and agree that to live peacefully in the hostel you need high sense of tolerance, if not you will constantly be provoked.  My hostel experience is still fresh on my mind because I loved school and still do, and as of that time, I was comfortable in school than my father’s house. I can remember a single semester that I bought like six bathroom slippers; this sound weird and strange right? Well that is what you get for being nice and when you tolerate a lot.  What happened was that most often, once I removed my slippers  at the door, before I come out again, someone has eloped with it never to return as a man would with a woman he loves.  In

  At the wake of 2019, we were greeted by the news of rampant suicides, cutting across the entire country, setting every heart agog. Honestly, ever since, you can relate that suicide has become order of the day. As sad as this reality is, one can’t but ask how did we get here? How did we lost the sanity and sanctity of life to the point that we are taking our own lives by ourselves? Well, these and many other related questions beckons on urgent life-saving answers.  As of September 2019, World Health Organization reported that across the world, one person takes their lives every 40 seconds, and as of June same year, Africa Check ranked Nigeria 15th in the world for suicide and the 7th in Africa. Forgive me please, I am not a prophet of doom, however, judging from the way things are going and the reality of life especially in this part of the world, there is little or no indication that the situation will change or improve overnight. Hence, we need to really buckle up for hard times ahe

  One of my all times favourite film is “Coach Carter”; a 2005 American Teen’s Sport Drama featuring Samuel L. Jackson as “Coach Carter”, a basketball coach of Richmond High School. He was saddled with the responsibility of coaching the basketball team of the high school made up of teenagers surrounded by chaotic environment, filled with attitude and engaged in one form of vice or the other. Indeed, the task before Coach Carter was a hard one, a great mountain that must be moved if those teenagers are to make it to the basketball championship.  Coach Carter being an Alumni of Richmond High was well acquainted with what it takes to be in such school and environment, where large chunk of the students end up as drop outs, some in prison while others ravaged by teenage pregnancy. The game plan he came with was a holistic one that will handle not only basketball but academics as well, hence one has to reach certain average point in class before he is qualified to play in the basketball team

 “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 meaningful; th

  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 your l

  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 share from this