An Open Letter To The Ministry Of Information & Media Stakeholders

The eye is the window of the soul and our ears also compliment the eyes which is why whatever gets into our brains ought to be adequately 'filtered' as they possess the capacity of building us up or destroying us.
Taking a close look at the bulk of information Nigerians are exposed to, one gets to wonder less at the increasing rate of unpatriotic attitudes and moral decadence in our society.
The media has been saddled with the responsibility of dispersing information to humanity and they ought to be commended for the good job thus far. However, let truth be told that 'destructive information' and lies have dominated the media, almost eliminating constructive ones.
When was the last time you ever watched the network news and got inspired or even smiled? We mostly encounter stories that make us feel bad about our country, stories we pray against, stories that make us feel weak, stories that render us unproductive. It's only when you are aware of specific information sources that you get to listen to or read exactly what's good for you.
In Nigeria, we complain about so many things (our media is chiefly responsible for this), how President Buhari and his government are deceiving Nigerians, how Dasuki did this and that, how robbers now operate, how people die mysteriously, how we pay tax and see no dividends, how electricity tariffs are so high, how bad our roads are, how this, how that making everyone feel as though Nigeria is a hub of catastrophic quagmires.
Only a microscopic few see this country in a different light. The transformational programs on ground, essay competitions, poetry and art exhibitions, quiz competitions, spelling bees, sporting activities (other than football), NGO/GO health and community programmes, agricultural programmes, youth empowerment programmes, scholarships and grants, technological advancements, etcetera. Such are not properly propagated and ignorant Nigerians would swear blindly that Nigeria does not do this, Nigeria does not do that, and these could be things already in existence for decades!  Worthy feats our media personnel consider uninteresting.
I challenge the ministry of information to look seriously into this issue. The things we hear and read have a compounding effect of either building or destroying an entire generation. Our citizens need to be encouraged and motivated. Lying to citizens in whatever guise is childish and unprofessional.
God Bless Nigeria.

Nigerians and the 'Sharp-Sharp' Mentality

There is nothing as uplifting as a positive mindset just as there is nothing as destructive as a negative one. We are always in a hurry to acquire everything only to miss out on the ultimate.
Imagine being asked to transfer water from a filled drum to an empty one using a tea cup! Of course it's only logical to assume that such a task would take several hours to accomplish, but no; we want it done in ten minutes! The question is: How?
That's the challenge we face in almost every facet of life today. The problem is not that things being done in a better and faster way is condemned, but our ability to figure out what things to be done with speed and those needing time to be nurtured is the issue here. An understanding of Jeff Olsen's slight edge principle can help illumine our minds on the subject matter.
This principle postulates that every result is born out of the accumulation of several little actions over time. It also asserts that each result is directly proportional to the time spent for its actualization. That is the larger a result (goal) the longer the time spent for its realization, and the smaller a goal, the shorter the time required for its realization.
For example, looking at the life of Jesus Christ, he began his public ministry at the age of 30 and died at the age of 33. We may ask, why did he wait until he was 30? What had he been doing with his life all the while? The answer is that he spent those 30 years preparing himself, and we all can testify to the immortal fruitfulness of his 3yr old ministry!
We seem not to be understanding the nothing-good-comes-easy phrase. When you dream of achieving anything momentous, you must have to give it enough time, else you will overburden yourself and risk chickening out too soon.
I did not write this article to address individual needs for humans are quite diverse, but I wrote this to speak on how such issues affect our politics as a nation.
If a Chairman/Governor/President /etc will come out and address the people that he/she wants to transform his/her area of jurisdiction within four to eight years, then he/she plans to grow weeds not trees.
One feasible way of moving a society forward is the development of a sustainable plan/blueprint of such a society to be agreed upon by majority of the relevant stakeholders. Such plans of course would be categorised into several actionable phases and all that would be required of the leaders and their subsequent successors is working on the laid out plans and making adjustments where applicable. Shikena.
I get disturbed when one government promises to work on industrial development, they are yet to complete this, and another opposing government is campaigning to work on electricity. The next one promises education and then another says good roads are a necessity..... No plan. And the end result is a tray filled with half baked bread.
Everyone is eager to do something 'quick' within four years so as to earn security for a second term in office and such quick projects seldom stand the test of time. We now prefer snacks over meals, and when the body accumulates more snacks than 'real food' over time, it begins to feel weak and sick.
This wrong phenomenon is exhibited by both the leaders and the led. President Buhari promised change for Nigeria, and upon assumption into office a few months ago, people are already agitating and shouting "where is the change?"
The truth is that if Nigerians truly understand the magnitude of change this country needs, we would know that it can never be achieved in Buhari's lifetime.
If I were to be the president, I would focus on laying out a road map that Nigeria needs to travel upon to the promised land and educate Nigerians on this blueprint and act on the actionable phases my limited time in office will grant me.
We all ought to support our leaders in the actualization of a better country. Throwing stones and raising dust at our leaders is like tickling the driver of a vehicle in motion. If he loses focus and crashes, you too might not be spared.
God bless Nigeria.  

Palm Oil or Pam Oyel?

I came back home yesterday evening and settled down to 'whack'  my ona g'ishkapa (tuwon shinkafa) with alakpa (gbegiri) meal. On swallowing the first ball, i felt a sharp slap on my jaws, that wrong-palm-oil kind of slap and my evening was ruined. I just had to eat because of the fish, pepper, beans etc plus the time and effort my younger sister Joy had put into the cooking, but I was vexed in spirit.
What heightened my vexation was the fact that this palm oil was bought from our neighbour who came to advertise that she now sells good palm oil. "Mummy I dey sell original palm oil now" she said, but as it turns out, she either knows not what she is selling or she simply is hungry to earn a bad reputation.
Let me iterate the experience of this 'original palm oil' in question.
Upon opening the 5 litre gallon of original palm oil, mum saw that it had congealed which made her to doubt its 'originality' but felt she should give it a try.
Mararaba district in Nasarawa state happens to be quite hot in the afternoons, hot enough to melt an exposed candle stick, but that same afternoon when Joy was preparing the soup, the oil, unlike liquids had taken its own shape inside the gallon. Placing the gallon over raw flame to melt the oil was time wasting since the gallon was filled, so she had to squeeze, shake and hit the gallon held upside down before lumps of palm oil dropped into the steaming pot of soup constituents like animal droppings which still took time and stirring to dissolve completely! Palm oil!
I then inquired on how such a bad product was processed and was alarmed to discover that the ideal palm oil is being mixed with akamu (pap) in order to boost its volume and thickness. Akamu! For some of us who believe we've never taken pap in our lives well..... I believe in miracles.....
Is it that our palm oil producers cannot process enough palm oil to satisfy the customers and hence resort to this 'health threatening' alternative or is it simply an act of greedy wickedness?
The Golden Rule asserts that everyone should be treated in equality and fairness but this rule is being observed mostly by none, myself included. These producers actually produce two brands of Palm oil. The 'family and friends' brand and the market brand. This family and friends brand was what Adam actually named 'palm oil', the market brand can and should be named something else. Like 'pam oyel'
There are certain things that manufacturers ought not to adulterate. I am okay with wristwatches, jewelry, shoes, bags and the likes being adulterated but never what is ingested into the human body. Things like food, drugs and drinks should be off limits inasmuch as adulteration is concerned. Affordability should not even be debated upon here.
As for the consumers of pam oyel, I advice you guys to stop patronizing such products at the detriment of your health. I am not an expert in the palm oil business but I hope those who are would help drop a comment or two. Here are a few tips I would like to share though :

• Never buy palm oil that feels like butter. The cold weather is not responsible but the akamu inside is. 
• Never buy oil from a boiling drum/pot at any distribution/retail outlet. It's not a post manufacturing nor a purification process but rather a technique used in keeping the oil in the second state of matter i.e. liquid. 

Confirm palm oil no dey sleep even for Jos, and the scent alone dey cure some sickness.
Let's work together and get bad palm oil out of our markets. 

God bless Nigeria.