http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/Pride in ourselvesen-UKMokoFeed10http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/bc/e98425334135b28c0083efddcabd4a_160x200.jpghttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2009/04/24/african-heroes-needed-5998435/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2009-04-24:/2009/04/24/african-heroes-needed-5998435/Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:24:55 +0200 <p>Africa is known for a lot of bad things and a few good ones. With the global economy in a downward spiral, its about time we turn things around. The developed economies are contracting, whilst the developing ones are facing reduction in the amount of aid they receive from the developed nations.</p> <p>It is time for African leaders to stand up and look after their people. Stop corruption and start embarking on projects that will make them heroes. This is the time that we need heroes, not imbeciles. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2009/04/24/african-heroes-needed-5998435/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>politicshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2009/04/24/african-heroes-needed-5998435/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2009/04/22/a-new-book-is-born-5986295/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2009-04-22:/2009/04/22/a-new-book-is-born-5986295/Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:29:44 +0200 <p>As a child I love to read books. My mother encouraged me by buying me books to read. In school, anytime I picked up a novel, the pleasure is unbelievable. My heroes in those days included James Hadley Chase, Soyinka and Achebe. Later John Grisham, Sydney Sheldon, Ola Rotimi and even Jackie Collins joined the frame. Gradually, I started to write and most importantly i love a fabu (made up stories)or two in my time. I get ideas of books everywhere I go, so gradually I started to put pen to paper.</p> <p>Bravo, I now have at least 3 books in the making and many more swavering through my head ready to burst out. I am happiest when I am sitting with a pen and a note pad writing incomprehensible crap.</p> <p>At a time when I encourage young people to seek their dreams and do what they feel most comfortable with, I have decided to do the same. I hope one or two people will read the books and I will learn a great lesson from this exercise. I hope by doing this, I can tell my children that I have managed to achieve one of my life long ambitions. </p> <p>The Synopsis of the Reunion Party</p> <p>The book is about a group of friends who met whilst in a boys' only catholic boarding school in Western Nigeria when they were about 11 years old in the 1970?s. Discipline was the order of the day.The seniors (students in the 4th and 5th years in the grammar school) treated the juniors (boys in the 1st and 2nd years) badly. A junior boy who committed suicide in school reappeared as a ghost and decided to help the juniors in asserting revenge against the senior boys. The boys started to attack the unsuspecting seniors in a series of actions. The book tells of a series of events and rituals in the school. The junior boys swore never to ill treat other juniors as they became seniors.</p> <p>Anthony Nwanko was a hunch back dwarf with big dreams of growing taller and becoming a doctor. Anthony overcame several attempts on his life before the age of ten. As a twin, his parents chose him over his sister in a village when it was a taboo to have twins. He also survived the Nigerian civil war, where he lost his mother.</p> <p>On their last day in High school, the boys met with a few girls from the local girls' school, in a drunken rage they promised to meet 30 years later for a reunion party at the school. At the reunion party, the boys and girls told many made up 'Fabus'. They told the story of the vigilante, a highly decorated Naval Seal, who after losing her fiancée to armed robbers decided to hunt down armed bandits in the country, but she later confessed to the killings and was sentenced to death by firing squad, but in a dramatic legal twist she hired a retired Judge to defend her against her colleagues at the supreme court. Other 'Fabus' included the story of a 6 year old girl who campaigned to become the president of the country. There was also a story of a group of fishermen from the Scottish Isles who won the English FA cup after beating the champions in a dramatic final. Another story was about a man born with a silver spoon, went to prison, became rich when he won the 'lottery' with a difference, but there was a condition to his lottery win. They also told a story of a princess from an African dynasty with a secret that shook the kingdom. Another story was that of a couple of pensioners who embarked on new ways of making money in their old age, including one that employed a juju man to help her daughter win tennis matches.</p> <p>Let me know if the above wets your appetite. I shall be publishing extracts over the next few weeks.</p> <p>I hope you will enjoy my stories. It has been a pleasure writing them. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2009/04/22/a-new-book-is-born-5986295/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifehttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2009/04/22/a-new-book-is-born-5986295/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/12/09/the-task-ahead-5191370/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-12-09:/2008/12/09/the-task-ahead-5191370/Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:38:48 +0100 <p>After over 20 years of being away from Nigeria, I was looking forward to my return back home. Like the prodical son, i was apprehensive, but knew that this visit will be an eye opener for me. It had to be my make or break visit.</p> <p>You see, my last major event in Nigeria happened when I was returning back to my NYSC location in Kano, our taxi was attacked and all my belongings disappeared with what was a lot of money for a youth corper in the 1980's. From that day, it was only a matter of time before I checked out of the country and I did within the year.</p> <p>My fear on returning home was therefore not without foundation. Stepping out into the sun was refreshing and the sight of my mother's smile gave me the welcome I so much craved outside of the airport.</p> <p>In my years of being away, my country has changed, the driving from the airport was frightening, but worse was to come. The infrastructures are almost collapsing. There were very few working telephone lines, no thanks to NITEL, the roads are death traps and forget electricity. NEPA has now changed its name to something no one can remember, which is good, as Nigerians have a way of making up names to fit the inefficient parastatals. </p> <p>One positive thing about Nigeria, the people have the strength to struggle. Everywhere I went, there were people selling things, oranges, fruits and anything else you can imagine. The spirits of the people are undeniable, but we need more than that to help to develop the country. I received gifts from people who had very little, so their generousity touched me to the point of being ashamed. I made friends instantly and lost acquitances were rekindled. So different from some of the souless places we live in Europe</p> <p>The road for our country is a tough one. The job ahead is huge and sometimes I wonder whether we will see the fruit of any development in our life time.</p> <p>I hope somebody will tell me I am so wrong. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/12/09/the-task-ahead-5191370/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>nigeria-developmenthttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/12/09/the-task-ahead-5191370/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/12/09/the-ba-saga-5188883/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-12-09:/2008/12/09/the-ba-saga-5188883/Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:45:00 +0100 <p>A few months ago, several Nigerians were removed from a London to Lagos flight because they had the audacity to ask the Police who were removing a Nigerian to treat him with dignity and respect. It was obvious that those passangers had no right as far as the mighty British Airways (BA) was concerned. Several protests followed, even our normally docile President got off his sick bed to ask for a report. No action was taken by the President and his sidekicks as its always the case. How can we expect anyone else to treat our citizens with any respect when the government doesnt? By the way, how do you explain the case of Ms Okere, who was beaten black and blue by six Naval ratings for not getting out of the way of their convoy fast enough to get Real Admiral Arogundade home to eat his hot eba. Priorities are the order in the Nigerian armed forces, human life or get home quickly, its get home quickly everytime.</p> <p>Anyway, back to the BA saga. BA refused to apologise for the ill treatment of Nigerians which has been happening over many decades. As a matter of fact, BA gave a 2 finger salute to the Nigerian nation, not only did it bluntly refused to apologise, it turned the case around and said it was doing Nigerians a favour. In return, apart from a few stupid Nigerians who continued to fly BA, it started to fly the plane empty rather than apologise. But thanks to combination of events, BA profit fell by 98% last quarter, so it did something it rarely does on the Lagos / London route, BA cut the fare during the summer and from next year, BA will be charging less than virgin Atlantic for that route, about half of what it was charging a few months ago.</p> <p>One thing is clear from the above, like the bus ride protest during the American civil rights campaign, the customer can always show that they are in the driving seats. Some will say that a combination of events led to a reduction in the fares on that route, the credit crunch, competition, fall in profit etc. Whatever the case, BA is flying its planes almost empty to Lagos, this used to be one of the most profitable routes.</p> <p>My take is that we need the protest to continue, until a full public apology is received by all those involved and we get a promise from BA that we will be treated with respect and dignity. As for me, i enjoyed my travel to Lagos by Air France, it was cheap, I did my walk from one terminal to the other, the staff were pleasant and at no point was I treated any different from any of the others on the flight.</p> <p>We need to keep it together. I thank all those who made that protest a reality. If you see me on a BA flight, poke me in the nose. For as long as there is an alternative, let avoid the companies that treat us like shit. It our hard earned money, so lets get some dignity from it.</p> <p>Keep well</p> <p>Power to the people and a good thank you to many of those who voted with their wallets. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/12/09/the-ba-saga-5188883/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>the-ba-sagahttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/12/09/the-ba-saga-5188883/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/31/the-name-game-4660501/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-08-31:/2008/08/31/the-name-game-4660501/Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:10:23 +0200 <p>Please play this name game with me and let me know how you got on.</p> <p>I have sent out my CV and cover letters more than 50 times in the last few weeks. In every single case, I have received polite, but quick replies. They apologise because they have more suitable candidates. Now, I have a degree in Economics, another in law, qualified as an accountant over 12 years ago and had been lucky enough to work in every aspect of finance, inluding as a finance controller in a large outsourcing company, so I have over 20 years UK experience, but still can bag an interview with the help of the top accountancy recruitment agencies. I dont think I am alone.</p> <p>One of my friends have suddenly changed his name to XXXX West, I disagree with what he has done, but I understand the fraustration of a man who makes his living through non facial contacts with his customers. Is he doing well?, you bet. So just for fun, I want you to send out CV's, but change your names and see if you get a better response. If you have an English name, try an African one and see if you suddenly have a furry of rejection. In that case, you can start to live in my world.</p> <p>Be rest assured, like Barack Obama, I will not be changing my name for anybody. My name is an integral part of my DNA, well, at least for now. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/31/the-name-game-4660501/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>my-name-ishttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/31/the-name-game-4660501/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/31/obamamania-4660474/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-08-31:/2008/08/31/obamamania-4660474/Sun, 31 Aug 2008 07:50:08 +0200 <p>As the world celebrates the rise of Senator Barack Obama and his candicacy in the US, lets not forget the hundreds and thousands of other minority groups who are still struggling to overcome the every day chores of 'breaking' the ceiling and looking for productive work and trying to punch above their weights, especially in Europe.</p> <p>Many people will tell me that we live in countries where things have moved on and the opportunities are far better, but I beg to disagree. We have made baby steps and those baby steps are only provided to the very few. We must celebrate the likes of David Lammy, UK MP. A man who is extremely talented and should be galloping through the ladders of government, but yet a junior minister. There are hundreds more though who are just as talented, but are punching away below their massive belts. In industry as in government departments, we strive but with limited opportunities to break the mould. We become dejected and disillusioned with a world that pays lip service to meritocracy. Yes, somebody will tell me that Europe is full of chances and that we all have equal opportunities, once again, I tell you to live in my world. I know many with degrees sweeping the streets of London. I know many accountants doing nothing more than clerical work. The list is endless and we wonder why some of these people end up in nut houses. Injustice breeds malice and malice breeds discontentment and mistrust.</p> <p>At the moment, we shy away from discussing the issues of racial equality in Europe, we as enthic minority groups continue to tow the line. The majority continue to throw a few crumbles to the floor for some of us to snatch at. The rest of us are grateful for the opportunity to earn a living.</p> <p>In a separate discussion with one of my friends yesterday, a smart guy said, "We must be ready to break some eggs, if we want to enjoy the omelette". Many of us are unwilling to endure the struggle, yet we want to enjoy the benefits of such a struggle. Forty five years ago, the black Americans decided they wanted their rights to be fully integrated into the American culture and be given equal opportunities. The struggle had been tough, but today, the likes of Oprah, Obama and many others enjoy that benefits. We must do the same, we must start the intellectual arguement, this is not the time to riot or be disobedient, this is the time for discussions about the rights and the opportunities. This is not the time for some lip service and token gestures. This is the time for real progress, not positive descrimination. The current system does not work. The equal opportunities commission needs to step up its game. We are failing our people. </p> <p>Can you imagine a Black PM or even a very senior minister in the UK or anywhere in Europe?. It just ain't going to happen. </p> <p>Please tell me I am wrong, but dont tell me that your best friend or neighbour is from the enthic minority and therefore you have fulfilled your obligation of understanding the issues of minority interest. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/31/obamamania-4660474/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>obamaniahttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/31/obamamania-4660474/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/13/dumb-and-dumber-4580086/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-08-12:/2008/08/13/dumb-and-dumber-4580086/Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:58:40 +0200 <p>Something is definitely wrong with Nigeria. A country where everyone is given a title once they have a few pennies to their names irrespective of the source of the money. The self serving bofoons are now Asiwaju, Balogun, rather than contend themselves with being called ordinary thieves, sorry chiefs!.</p> <p>Take the case of D-Banj, a musician of 4 years. Last week, Governors and others with little or nothing better to do lined up to award him every award possible on the bases of three albums, most of the songs not heard outside the country. Can you imagine how many awards he will get after 10 years?. </p> <p>What about the rubbish being shown as Nollywood films. These films are no better than some thoughless nonsense that a five year old can put together. Somebody needs to tell these guys they are doing a disservice to the country with their trash.</p> <p>Let's take our stupidity one step further, take the case of a chairman, who needed a juju man to get rid of his CEO, not contended with using charms, he resulted to burning money (£2 million of stolen money) and using its ashes to bath. Or the Governor who was caught half naked because his juju man insisted its the only way to win an election. </p> <p>How in God's name do these people manage to get to such positions?. Where a judge, instead of determining cases based on the evidence, preferred the oracle to do the job for him. It makes you wonder, if these are our educated people. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/13/dumb-and-dumber-4580086/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>stupidityhttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/08/13/dumb-and-dumber-4580086/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/07/29/what-is-in-a-name-4515160/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-07-29:/2008/07/29/what-is-in-a-name-4515160/Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:12:11 +0200 <p>As Nigerians, we love to use the names of those who have achieved. If there is anything we love more than award ourselves with titles, its to attach to and name drop. A man opens a small shop in Peckham and a few months later, he travels home to boast about his new supermarket store in the 'heart' of London, before he could say, "I love my country", he had been awarded a doctorate in business management from the university that refused him entry a few years earlier. Now the guy calls himself a Doctor, forgetting its just an honourary title. This is not the first time Africans have done this, Zik and Nkuruma did this as well. In time, its difficult to know who is who?. </p> <p>There is now a proliferation of compound names, children desperately trying to ride on the back of the names created by their parents rather create their own names.</p> <p>So, instead of saying "do you know who i am"?. Its better to say, "do you know who my father is"?.</p> <p>Its like a bully who struggles to get his way on the play ground asking for reinforestment from his father to beat up other kids. Why win an election based on policies, when you can on the basis of your name or who you know.</p> <p>You are rarely expecting a saintly behaviour from the son or daughter of a thief?. </p> <p>In time, a plain Mister with simple surname will become a rarity, well, i can only hope. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/07/29/what-is-in-a-name-4515160/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>personal-pridehttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/07/29/what-is-in-a-name-4515160/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/07/28/the-more-we-pray-the-more-we-sin-4511784/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-07-28:/2008/07/28/the-more-we-pray-the-more-we-sin-4511784/Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:01:13 +0200 <p>I find Nigerians the most colourful people ever to grace the world. So, our country is in a mess, we are all scattered across the world like headless chickens. At the first sign of trouble, we run to church to pray for deliverance. Even the scammers, the drug peddlers, the embezzlers all run to the same church as the victims to ask for protection.</p> <p>Every idiot now has a church, what is more worrying is that we have even bigger idiots donating to those mushroom churches to make the pastor richer. Starting a church is big business, especially if you can convince the mugs into donating 10% of their earnings, a case of the pastor growing richer, whilst the congregations starve.</p> <p>Can this people not see the wood from the tree?</p> <p>The Pastors are now like coaches and personal trainers, most of these guys run the churches like businesses. In years to come, we will all find out that the greatest legitimate scammers are the pastors who are able to charm your money out of your pockets. Wake up and smell the coffee, unless you are doing good business in the church, get the hell out of the place. You probably know the bible more than the poor soul at the alter.</p> <p>By the way, who is solving our problems and developing our nation whilst we all seat down in churches for endless hours. The same people then spend all their hard earned money on some stupid parties to be shown on BenTV.</p> <p>As a group, Nigerians attend churches more than most people, yet the country is riddled with anti social behaviours, because we would rather someone else solves our problem for us than tackle them. </p> <p>How can we claim to be so educated and yet to dumb?.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/07/28/the-more-we-pray-the-more-we-sin-4511784/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>opening-shothttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/07/28/the-more-we-pray-the-more-we-sin-4511784/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/development-4379695/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-06-29:/2008/06/29/development-4379695/Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:16:20 +0200 <p>It is said that the best way to develop a country is to develop the people. Every developed country has done so because the people of those nations have been willing to take the baton to develop from their governments. Governments have a role to play in providing the fertiliser to help to germinate the seeds of development. The citizens must be willing and ready to drive forward and help the country. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/development-4379695/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>developmenthttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/development-4379695/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/our-dreams-4379614/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-06-29:/2008/06/29/our-dreams-4379614/Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:53:45 +0200 <p>Don't let anything stop your dreams. The world is full of people with the potential to be anything they want to be, but we rarely achieve our dreams because we let other things divert our attention from our goals. Break down your goals into manageable chunks, tick them off and set new goals when you accomplish one goal. Have fun, but keep focus. Worry less about what people think of you, but most importantly, take every obstacle as a challenge that you need to overcome. Dream and have fun, you only live once.Dont back down when people say no to you. You just have to keep going. Success is about hardwork and perseverance. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/our-dreams-4379614/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>dreamhttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/our-dreams-4379614/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/23/real-nigerians-4351980/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-06-23:/2008/06/23/real-nigerians-4351980/Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:39:04 +0200 <p>Will the real Nigerians please stand up, please stand up.</p> <p>Yesterday I was with a group of friends. As usual, the issue of our country and what we can do to improve things became the hot topic. It is obvious that we all know the problems with Nigeria, we even know the solution to those problems, but as always none of us is willing to take any actions. The actions are for the others to take, but to be honest, we dont really want any outsiders to sort of the problems, especially not the chinese, the Koreans, definitely not the Brits, the Americans, not even our fellow Nigerians. We want the problems to go away without any of us doing anything. We want electricity to be ubinterrupted, we want our roads to be clear of congestion, we want our government to be incorruptable, but we dont want to pay tax or even stand up and be counted if things dont go to plan.</p> <p>The real Nigerians are the ones who stand up and be ready to be counted. They are willing to do things to help their fatherland, complain less, but look for solutions to help develop the country. See problems as opportunities and a chance for improvement. They seek public offices for the services they can offer, not the benefits they can reap out of the people already suffering in the hands of their fellow men and women in power.</p> <p>So, will the real Nigerians please stand up!!!. I am waiting!! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/23/real-nigerians-4351980/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>towards-a-developed-nigeriahttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/23/real-nigerians-4351980/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/22/business-on-a-budget-4345835/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-06-21:/2008/06/22/business-on-a-budget-4345835/Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:43:18 +0200 <p>Many people strive and dream of starting their own businesses, to many its the freedom of being able to do their own thing when they want. To others, its a dream of earning alot of money. Whatever the reason, starting your own business takes a lot of hardwork and dedication.</p> <p>Here are a few tips.</p> <p>Plan ahead, make sure you have enough money to take you through the initial few months when you are likely to earn less. Be realistic of what you are going to make. Start small, if possible. Have a passion for what you are doing, so that when the goings get tough, you are at least still enjoying what you are doing, its more fun than a chore. Have patience and give it your hardest shot, so don't quit too early just because things are not going to plan. Ask for help from the experts if need be.</p> <p>I welcome others with some experience to share them with us.</p> <p>Best of luck </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/22/business-on-a-budget-4345835/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>small-businesshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/22/business-on-a-budget-4345835/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/21/the-economics-of-nigeria-4343312/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-06-21:/2008/06/21/the-economics-of-nigeria-4343312/Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:53:52 +0200 <p>Many times I get asked if there is any hope for our dearly beloved country.</p> <p>Many have written off the country. When you read some articles, it seems the Nigerian Obituary had been written even before indepedence, but like a terminally ill patient on life support, the machine is still keeping it alive, but only just.</p> <p>I personally believe that there is hope. In the life of a country, 47 years wasted is not too bad, but we need to change the way we do things. Infrastructure is a must; electricity, good road, pipe borne water, all the essentials that we currently lack, but most importantly, we need to change our mentality as a group</p> <p>We must turn from consumers into producers, we need enterpreneurs, must stop the blame culture and take responsibility for our actions. We must stop making excusses and grab the 'nettle by the neck'. Nobody will build Nigeria for us, yes, we lack leadership, but most countries do not have good leaders to develop look at China and India, they are growing despite not having the best governments in the world. It is the private sector and the majority of the citizens that will help to drive the economy forward.</p> <p>Nigeria is now being carved out to the Chinese, Malaysians and the Koreans. </p> <p>So, whilst we are struggling to make a living across the world, don't let us forget to keep an eye on the events at home. Let's plan to make the trip to look for the opportunities. There are the negatives, but if that service is crap, you can make it better. Let's join forces with others to become a formidable force.</p> <p>It is surprising how many people turn up for parties, but very few turn up to discuss investments in the future of our country, yet most of us believe that we could run the country better. But nothing gets done without a lot of hardwork and investment.</p> <p>No more passing the buck, the buck stops with us</p> <p>Your comments are appreciated </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/21/the-economics-of-nigeria-4343312/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>economics-of-nigerianhttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/21/the-economics-of-nigeria-4343312/#commentshttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/21/just-do-it-4343246/tag:naijapride.blog.co.uk,2008-06-21:/2008/06/21/just-do-it-4343246/Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:22:07 +0200 <p>Hi everyone,</p> <p>This is my first time at blogging, but I intend to have a good time. The last couple of weeks have been a roller coaster. On the 7th of June I presented a paper about the Economic development of Nigeria, a week later, my friend of 35 years passed away, aged 46. He was a trouper, a man who would not hurt a single soul, he was pleasant and polite. May his gentle soul rest in peace.</p> <p>I am grateful though for reconnecting with him having lost touch a few years ago. 18 months ago we attended a get together party at his house and since then we have all enjoyed going back on the good old days.</p> <p>The reason I am telling you all this, is that life is too short to hold grudges, bitterness consumes our good sells, so live with passion, dont put things you can do today until tomorrow, because tomorrow is not for you to decide.</p> <p>As a minority group in many new countries that we live in, we are faced with many challenges, descrimination, bad publicity etc. We must use those negatives to drive out the positives. Those things make you stronger, they make you want to go the extra mile.</p> <p>Let's decide to make a difference to the lives of those that we come across. Let's live with passion. Write that book, say those loving things to your children and partners, get better education, dream big, live as if there is no tomorrow, but plan for tomorrow just in case. Give generously, connect to old friends, don't be afraid to make new ones. When you get a rejection look at the reason, but work even harder next time. Don't let the buggers get you down.</p> <p>Now, lets the slagging match begin. </p> <p>So, tell me about yourself and lets get it going. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/21/just-do-it-4343246/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>personal-pridehttp://naijapride.blog.co.uk/2008/06/21/just-do-it-4343246/#comments