That would imply, by rule of thumb, that the more women a man has on his team the more likely his chances of success right?

A woman will almost always increase anything trusted unto her and he who has himself surrounded with women, like Obama has done, has both his present and the future secured. Women are in every sense the future of our world and the earth.

Well, why not do it the Obama way by surrounding yourself with a loving wife and two lovely daughters and see if you won’t end up a fine leader like Obama. Respect your wife and commit to raising fine girls as a father.

It has been shown that a healthy gender balance at work places is essential for optimum productivity. A man that has mastered the art of gender equality is one that will make a good leader.

Life is a trip, can anyone initiate his all by himself?

Life is a trip, one that requires time and is indeed measured in time.

Life is a trip, one in which you go through many cities – good or bad alike.

Life is a trip, one in which the wisest of men cannot tell the path he will travel – ask the “Babalawo”.

Life is a trip, the beginning and the end who can tell?

Life is trip, you can stop to buy but more importantly you can also give – what do you have to offer?

Life is a trip, a one-way trip: it is not possible to return to any town passed (one cannot get younger than he was yesterday).

Life is a trip, whether in much or in lack you must arrive your destiny, the how of which is encrypt in you.

Life is a trip, endured by the weak, engrossing to the determined, enjoyed by the focused.

Life is a trip that can last only as long as the time it takes before the end comes.

Life is a trip, one full of mysteries – who can give the answers?

Life is a trip… 

A poem about life by OIP.

Culled from the yearbook of the faculty of medical sciences, University of Jos, class of 2007

One question we would be asking in 2015 is how 1964 America (and non-black residents of the State of Louisiana) failed to see this test for what it is? How is it that this test was ever rolled out on such a scale? Could we be asking these questions today because we have “moved on” for at least 50 years since 1964? If we fast forward another 50 years, what equivalents of the “1964 Louisiana Literacy Test” are we going to find within governments and corporate groups round the world?

“The despicable things we do to one another all in the name of race, nationalities, territorial interests and ethnic affiliations will all go down history as the biggest scams of our generation. I wonder if future generations will look kindly upon these things that we hold so dearly today” ~ OIP.

I hope we will all, as global citizens, become more conscionable and realise that not everything that is legal is right. Also, not all that is acceptable at State level is conscionable. Let’s build a world free of hate: a world which future generations will look upon with pride and gratitude.

We often focus on the wrong set of values and priorities. We waste valuable time on things that matter least… Learn to love today and begin now, there is very little time to love.

Please always remember that it is a good thing to forgive, in fact the Holy books admonish that we forgive – for those who are religious. In forgiving, we terminate a vicious (or self propagating) circle of violence which is capable of consuming both the transgressor and the offended. We also promote peace when we forgive. So the next time you are going to forgive, make sure you have a clear head about why you are forgiving and forgive with the knowledge that your are doing yourself and the man (or woman) that have wronged you a huge favour.

 Whilst it is correct that we forgive, it is however, not in the hands of those we forgive to dictate to us what we should do after we have chosen to forgive. Yes you heard me right, they should not take over your thought process and sense of judgement just for the mere fact that they have wronged you. It is important that you remember this because allowing them dictate to you what you do next gives them an edge over you. You should never let this control out your hands! And this is why: on the one hand those we forgive could encourage us on a path of vengeance, whilst on the other hand they could actually take advantage of our forgiving nature to exploit us. It is your duty to ensure they are not allowed to dictate what comes next.

The statement “forgive and forget” has two “action parts” when viewed from a time perspective – the present action (which is the forgive part) and the future action (the forget part).

Whilst those who wrong us may have a say about what may happen in the present (which is asking you to forgive their lack of judgement), I think they will be asking too much to lord it over you what you should do in the future. What you chose to do in the future (which is the “forget” part) is entirely up to you and should be your exclusive rights. That is why I encourage my friends to walk in circles of people who are rational because when the time comes for them to decide the second part regarding you, they will be rational (topic for another day). I must warn that this right to do as you wish must not be abused as “two wrongs does not make a right”. The harder part is what next if you ask me as it I think it is easier to forgive.

Here are my recommendations about the phase that comes after you forgive:

1. Assess the situation carefully and decide for yourself what the weight of the “transgression” or “offense” is.

2. If you consider the weight of the offense light and you think you are able to bear it, then “forgive and forget” and allow a second chance.

3. If the “transgression” is “serious”, then I suggest you strongly consider forgiving and move on. “Moving on” in this instance would mean deliberately removing yourself from harms way by avoiding the offender. Never consider giving a second chance in this scenario. An example of a serious weight on my scale of events would be an abusive relationship – many women (and men) have died in abusive relationships trying to fix what was a serious problem.

The next time you hear someone say to you that you should “forgive and forget”, please remember that you will forgive but your next action is always a factor of what is in question.

Education, as I understand, is supposed to help find solutions to the problems that exist in our world today. Unrefined solutions, seated deep within us should find expression if an educational process were to be deemed complete and appropriate.

I was privileged to speak to some secondary school students on the relevance of education at a youth development summit organised by Transforming Africa Initiative – TAI (SCIO) at Otukpo, Benue State Nigeria. It quickly became obvious that a number of the participants see education as an end rather than a means to an end. What is shocking is that some of the students were willing to do about anything to attain their expectations or desired “end” (even if it meant going to do their final examinations at the so-called miracle centres). “Miracle centres” are examination centres where students receive active assistance during the course of their examinations; examination malpractices are encouraged at these miracle centres. As a result, for the rest of the talk, we dwelled on two important components of education – the “what” and “why” of education.

In the “what” of education, we concentrated on participants’ expectations at the end of their studies. I decided to explore why most of the participants were in school in the first place. Answers like “I want to become a doctor”, “I want to become an architect”, “I want to become a lawyer” and the likes were quick to come to the fore after I asked the students about their dreams and aspirations. Upon further interaction, I quickly realised that the reason many of the students have mentioned these very noble professions was not very far from the social status as well as the financial rewards that come with some of these professions. These are indeed noble dreams! However, I was not able to get my head round why a fraction of my audience who dream of attaining such noble heights expressed that they would be happy to go to “miracle centres” in order to get to attain these goals. It became obvious down the line that some of the youngsters, I was privileged to address knew, only one-half of the truth about their aspirations – they knew only the “what” but had only a faint idea about the “why”.  

It did not appear as if these students understand the reason we have, for example, doctors in the first place. If the participants understand that a doctor needs to be knowledgeable about human illnesses in order to function effectively, they would not consider cheating as an alternative to the hard work required in the process of becoming a doctor. This lackadaisical approach to education is clearly a function of failing to understand these two huge dimensions that there is to education – the “what” and the “why”. It is therefore, not enough that students understand the “what” of their education. It is equally important that they also understand the “why” of education as well. The “why” of our education relates to the very essence of education: how we could be empowered to solve the problems that confront our local environment. Education, as I understand it, is supposed to bring out the solutions to the problems inherent in our world, solutions which are seated deep within us and unrefined.