It is 4:20 PM, am in the living room having a home made meal I cooked myself the previous evening and drink a bottle of warm Martinellis, apple cider wine. I have been contemplating all day when I will make this post. It's the 31st of December 2022 and in the last 16years, every last day of the year I have maintained this tradition of documenting my general thoughts, for the year ending and my hopes and outlooks for the incoming year. I believe that in going forward, it does demands a good reflection backwards also, like the famous quote from the late Steve Jobs of Apple    “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future"   The interesting thing that life and faith in God has taught me is that this " SOMEHOW" is not a thing of chance or luck.  It's simple God's hand at work.  Every steps he has ordered, even when I take them without k...

  Family    "Where life begins and love never ends" Christmas2022

These are a few of my favourite things " A nice foot wear" "Kick Back & Feets Up" "A Quite Time with Me"           #introspection And of course  "Music "   #whosthefoot No #egotripping

Not every morning would be a bright 🌅 sunny day.  But   Every morning 🌞 must be Cherished   #BeautifulSeptember

Hear my story, if you will,but let me  lay it down like that popular R&B song from the 90's by  ,Brian McKnight. Steps 1,2,3 & "Back at One" Step One- I was living in this apartment, and it was smack right in from of a Beer 🍻 drinking joint,they probably call it a pub in the UK or a bar in the United States - but in Port Harcourt, (PH city) Nigeria ,it's called a Beer Parlor 🤣,cause people just go thier drink beer,watch the premier league ,and eat "ise ewu" aka goat 🐐 head and listen to very loud noise music.  Just beside the beer palor is a " Gym" at least that's what they called it,and this gym was right opposite my bed room window from across the street.  Every morning from 7am, once I peep out my window, what do I see. Middle age women trying to loss wieght - but all they  keep doing is dance routines, that's all. So every evening from 7pm, the " Beer 🍺 Palor starts playing loud music, am forced to close my window ... F...

 31st December 2021, It's 365/365 and am grateful.  Hard to quantify this graditude am ending the year - but Am just, just so Thankful to God.  For me 2021, flew by fast, it was extremely busy on my job, it's been an intense roller coaster from May 2021 up until the last two weeks of December 2021. We saw record number of Nigerian international students, progressing for studies with the vast majority going for Post graduate programs - and attracted by the possibilty of accessing the UK new graduate route visa scheme that allows international students after graduation to remain in the UK for another 2 years and seek post graduate work experience.  Despite the impact of an ailing Nigerian economy and the pandamic that has all but made travel and study more cumbersome, the resilience of Nigerian international students to "Move" forward despite these obstacles was quite encouraging for me,having been in this sector over the last 11years - The downside to the massive gro...

 Being more active from the last quarter of 2020, and still managing to graciously carry this through into the end of the of the first 🥇 month of 2021, is one of the things am grateful for.  Many times I feel like not just doing anything,no workouts,  Jogging,Walking ,Cycling , Playing Tennis,Swimming or doing light weight lifting and body building exercises. All because the " flesh" is weak - that strange voice in my head - thats just there to serve an opposite purpose when am trying or striving to do anything good or make good, better,and better ,best.  Thankfully somehow "we" (me and a willing spirit) have continued to push through - when "she"(me flesh) fails to keep you out of the gym, she don't give up - she comes and tells you to reduce your set, or limit your daily or weekly workout targets.  Either reduce your workout time,skip some days, reduce distance covered,cut down on effort levels, and daily moves .."she" tells you don't ...

So Trump's out the door in a few days "we did it Joe", to kick start the real celebrations Trump's being kicked off Twitter, Facebook for "inciting violence" whilst we wait for the real Trump feeding frenzy that's about to get started after the 20th of January.  There's so much Trump can be blamed for after he leaves office, cause "they" already so well heaped the blames on him, thus  I would figure once you know all the problems caused, you're probably 50% headed in the direction of the solutions, right? so  Harris and Joe or is it Biden and Kamala ? work is already cut out for them...first reverse all the Trump damages .... And then ?🙄  And oh by the way what will CNN now do? It's worst nightmare is gone,the one thing that truly showed they were never objective about any news -  even though they like all other liberalist organizations, they over use words like "fairness " etc,and having"all sides to the story ...

They say when you don't know what to do, do what you know. I found myself in that place right now, it's just a few hours to the end of 2020, I don't know what to write about the year ending or even about the one that's coming. 2020 can be confidently classed t he most unusual year in my existence as an adult, so typically I want to do a quick reflection of the outgoing year and outlook of the incoming year like I have done on this blog since 2006, but I can't seem to bring myself to write anything. So I will still try and do what i know to do, which is just write. I will write as the spirit and my minds lead. Yes, 2020 is the most unusual year, but I have got so much to Thank God for.  I want to thank God for HIS GRACE. For Grace, the ability given to me to just go through each day by day, trusting God's goodness will not cease and it never did.  So am thankful for the year 2020, amid a ravaging pandemic that has touched and affected lives in all corners of the ...

  Nigeria is 60!  First of October 1960 was way before my time, but history sort of tells me it was a struggle for Independence,  it was not just "given" Nigerians made a demand and people who some today might call our "founding fathers", led that charge. Independence "given or achieved" it came, for all Nigerians or (the group of tribes and tounges) clustered into one nation and named Nigerians strangely enough by one who is not of them. 1st October 2020, it's 60 years of Independence. What a word Independence ? Who were we dependent on and for what ? or was it actually the reverse ?  Who were dependent on us and for what ? Could it be our wealth and natural resources the colonial uninvited guests came to help themselves and were so dependent on it that they so plundered it lavishly that up till this day you see the relics of those plundering?. The British Museum in London, still "holds" some answers,I bet you they believe those acient Benin...

This video, from when Nigeria had a President they can "insult", make fun of, have a good laugh and nothing serious would really happen.  Howbeit, Nigerians like the Biblical story of the Israelites in the times of the prophet Samuel, said they want a "King" - such as other nations have. They huffed,they puffed,they protest and sang at Ojota square  and did occupy Nigeria just like "Isreal" in biblical times and both God and Samuel showed great humility, resilience, and grace before eventually caving in and allowing Israel to make a choice and they got a mistake (packaged as a King) and they went on a journey of learning the consequences of choice. Well, the same thing, Nigeria made a choice,and she's living through that mistakes so badly but is she learning the lessons?  Today you have a "King" who can not take any type of criticism,talk less of insult or even a joke if you think he is joking,then go ahead and see who becomes the joke🤨-  no...

An early Morning Musing about Nigeria . It's just before 4am, and the relentless barking from the street dog outside had woken me up,I tried hard to go back to sleep but ,it didn't work cause this "stupid dog" would not stop barking. So I grabbed a head phone to listen to some light music to drown out the barking to help me fall at sleep again, in the process I watch this video below and just could help to think about the state our educational system in Nigeria finds its self today. notes (video not mine)  Indeed  since "none serious minded people" most often, unfortunately run public institutions like the ministries of education. They never really prepared for reopening of school,but like everything Nigerian they just recently Ordered! reopening of "exit classes" with about a week's notice - after so much dilly dallying about  WAEC or no WAEC Examination the secondary school final year exams taken by schools in West Africa. As for public highe...

Midweek Midnight Musing. In the last few years, I have been privileged to get interest free loans from family and friends (F&F), at the times when I needed it-  for most I document, and pay back in due time or plead for an extension when I know I cant meet the refund timeline. On the flip side, I have equally loaned to some other  F&F, and the experience is best described as- The Good🙂, The bad😎 and The downright ugly experience😵  The Good🙂, paid back as promised.  The Bad😎 have not paid back, nor do they even call to ask or plead for extending time to pay back - but are quick to make emotional excuses and promise to pay only when you remind them As for "The downright Ugly" 😵 - at least two persons so far have disappeared with money loaned them, - they have changed phone numbers and  gone completely incommunicado and one has even left Nigeria "Nicodemusly" Some say regardless of the amount requested or the person "don't  loan anyone money, abo...