Catching those Dreams.

There is so much going on in the world today. Don't you agree?

The Universe appears to conspire against us daily and by the end of our 24 hours, we find most of the things we have exerted our energies on, are projects that give us zero sense of attainment.

Our dreams get put on the backburner, whilst we throw our allocated hours away, being agents for the causes of other individuals. We sacrifice our time for people who don't even know we exist or worse still, do not care about our dreams.

And so, as the night falls, we make passionate promises to self...

Undertakings to concentrate on one's aspirations and put self first, only to dilute the passion once the sun rises. We see the wave of self-doubt and challenges coming, but have no strength to shield ourselves against it. It's a tsunami of anti-Life.

Maybe John Lennon was right.

Maybe; "Life is what happens to you, whilst you are busy making other plans."

(Credit: Ahmad Jahidsakhi)

Maybe it's time to start doing Life and leaving the plans behind. Maybe the Universe is hiding the vibrancy and spontaneity that an unplanned or distraction-free life offers.

It's just a thought.

My thing is this;  Live your life, on your own rules. Don't give anyone the permission to strip you of your fire and turn you into a fan of their ambitions. You already have the gift of Life. No one but yourself can give you the gift of Achievement.

No use looking back during the night-time of our days and wishing one could have just one extra morning.

Opportunity (if wasted) has a way of disappearing with stealth. That silence you hear flying away from you...that is the hush of Life, leaving you behind.

Don't just be a Dreamchaser.....keep your eye on your prize and listen to your heart.....Be a Dreamcatcher!

In God's Hands - Of Forgeries and Blackmail

The loud pop from my friend's overzealous opening of his bottle of Guinness, brought a much needed silence to the frenzied argument.

"Guys, we came here to watch football and not discuss political nonsense," he screamed.

We, the three who were guilty as charged, gave each other sarcastic looks, as we struggled to hold our laughter. To be fair, we were breaking one of the cardinal laws of sports. We are here to argue about goals, tackles, the referee, VAR and why Victor Moses outfell Neymar by a ratio of 3 to 1. Actually, that was another game...today, we are watching Engerland (if you know, you know).

The one thing we definitely were not here for, was to bicker about; the Nigerian finance minister and her allegedly forged NYSC exemption certificate. After the game, sure, we can don our political colours, but not whilst watching England's young lions trying to make history.

Consequently, all three of us bowed our heads in false contrition and mournful silence. That was until Leicester's own, Harry Maguire saved the atmosphere, by sending a bullet of a header into the corner of the Swedish goal.

With the over-celebrations concluded and a slight lull in the game, we, the guilty three sensed an opening. We took it and I nominated myself as ringleader and spokesman.

"My thing is this; there was an extensive delay in appointing these ministers in the first place and the presidency's explanation at the time, justified it all by claiming detailed checks were being conducted to ensure the process was above board. So, how can this happen," I asked, downing my glass of wine and shaking my head for effect.

Our Guinness friend, eyes fixed on the game, kept a dignified hush, whilst we re-ignited the war of words. Matthew, my fellow wine swigger, wagged his finger as he made his point.

"The fundamental issue here, is your lack of understanding of Nigeria. I know you travel to Lagos four or five times a year, but that does not mean you can decode that society. I have lived there for thirty-five years and seen so many wonders. Many of the same legislators who Premium Times claim are holding this woman "hostage," are themselves in place due to false certification. Process? What process? Should we talk about Magu? My brothers, leave that thing abeg!"

Not fully furnished with the details of the Magu affair, I decided to tread softly.

"So, are you saying the due process doesn't exist? I doubt the presidency will tender a name to the Legislature for approval, knowing that person had an aberration on their record."

Somehow, I had managed to further irritate Matthew.

"Stop mentioning due process! You are making me crazy with all this your Oyibo nonsense. In Nigeria? Due process? Do you realise it is possible those supposedly charged with doing the checks for the government, were probably partying and enjoying the illicit proceeds of their Aso Rock connections, instead of carrying out their duties?"

I am not quite sure what instigated his decision to join the fray, but my Guinness friend had clearly heard enough.

"You guys are jokers! Forget the presidency and the checks. Forget the senate and their possible blackmail of the Finance minister. Forget all that garbage and ask yourselves one question."

"Really? What question," I asked.

"Okay, I will tell you. You all know I have no horse in the race, abi? I am neither sympathetic to the minister nor her detractors. But has it occurred to you that Kemi Adeosun may have applied genuinely for this NYSC certificate of exemption, and the person in charge of the process may have circumvented NYSC rules for financial profit and issued her with a fake certificate?"

"Go on," replied Jolomi, the final member of the trio.

"Do you know it's possible that she is now on the phone to the uncle, auntie or whatever contact who oiled the wheels of influence at the time, demanding to know how this could have happened? Do you know that the one person who did a good job here and discovered the alleged spurious nature of the certificate, may have also only done so, after financial favour?"

All three of us hummed a chorus of agreement, as Mr Guinness continued.

"My brothers, in these end times, the people in charge of  public office in Nigeria, be they  APC, PDP, AGPA or XYZ, are not trustworthy. Even the people who are not in power cannot be trusted. Patriots are few and are shunned, rather than honoured. My advice is to leave the politicians to deal with their mess. Most of them would have known of this scandal since 2015, but kept it secret for potential political gain. Don't give yourself high-blood pressure because of a House of Cards."

A sober silence descended on the room.

Thankfully, England were 2-0 up, so the mood was not completely bleak.

By the way, that silence.....is still with me now as I type this and the last of my friends left about 3 hours ago.

With a heartfelt and deep-seated sigh, I triggered my Nigerian license and predictably, left my beloved country in God's hands.

Falling in Line with the Man.

"I am sticking it to the man," yelled my smartly dressed colleague.

She had managed to successfully negotiate a business deal, without having to pay huge fees to the posh law firm, which had warned her of the impending danger of doing such intensive and delicate negotiations by herself.

It had all seemed like a delicious victory for a few days, until she found out that the firm in question, was also one of the biggest shareholders in the 'how to negotiate successfully' software she had utilised, in a bid for what now appears to be false independence.

How many of us convince ourselves we have taken a chunk out a conglomerate's ego, only to realise the reason they are called that, is because they have far-reaching tentacles?

(image owned by Nifty Lane)

It appears the best policy is to accept there is no way to outsmart the Man. The Man has been doing this for so many years, he knows you more than you know yourself. He has researched, invested and sacrified just so he can cater to the full strata in society

You don't believe me? Okay, let's consider the following:

• the guys that own Selfridges, coincidentally, also own Primark. 
• the company that control the Lamborghini brand, also count Seat as one of their possessions.
• Unilever will supply lashings of Ben and Jerry's and Walls ice cream, then give you Slimfast to wash it down.
• Nestlé will give you tons of chocolate to satisfy your cravings and unleash your diabetic demon, but then in one fell swoop, provide you with the wondrously named water; Pure Life. Apparently, it's water that is so good, it's "ideal for family days out".
• Literally every facet of our lives from; sports to music, food to drinks, and leisure to entertainment, is controlled by less than 10 companies!

So, don't believe the hype. The stick you are using to poke the Man, was more than likely manufactured by him and he is definitely not stupid enough to make it an effective weapon.

Morale of the Tale: 

Just be Happy in the knowledge, that the Man will always be the Man, and it's probably more resourceful to reside with him in peace.

My Thoughts...

(courtesy of Zweisystem)

In our quieter moments, we all hopefully reflect on our experiences. The things we did well and those we didn't. And naturally, we re-strategise and attempt to do better. In my moments, I often try to produce advice, guidance and strategy to myself and to anyone who is interested.

I call them #PyschoanalyticBites and these are some of my thoughts from moments in 2018:


1. Sometimes, the enemy is the first to show up, to bear witness that the evil assignment has been completed.

2. Just make sure whilst you are trying save other people's souls, you hold on to yours.

3. Be watchful about the things you believe make you strong. The things you give undivided loyalty, credence over others and consider unassailable.

Because, naturally, given enough time, a strength will become a weakness.

4. Appearance is credence.

Maybe next time you have those reflective moments, you could share your bites too. Until next time...live life to the full.

Open Letter To Theresa May

Dear Theresa,

I hope this letter meets you well and you are in good health.

My plan is to keep this brief just because I know you have a million items on your desk. My intention is to pass on some advice re: Syria.

To facilitate this approach, I will communicate by bullet points.

As a background, I must inform you I have form for this sort of thing, having written a similar piece to David Cameron.

In any event, please ignore that epistle for now and let me spell out my counsel to you:

1. 1. Chemical weapon attacks have happened several times in Syria. Evidence has shown the Assad government has not been responsible for all those attacks.
2. 2. Britain is on his way out of the European Union. We need to start being more strategic in our actions. Just because the EU supported our accusation of Russia on the Salisbury attack, doesn’t mean we owe them support on Syria.
3. 3. Macron will need to show us his evidence that “they were used by the Assad regime.” We can no longer risk the security of our country just on the basis of innuendo.
4. 4. Every single military action we have taken in the Middle East has come home to roost in the form of refugees and domestic attacks.
5. 5. With the expiration of Tony Blair’s influence at governmental levels, the EU hawks have now pitched their tent with Macron. We don’t have to follow him blindly. Remember, we did that in Libya, only to find out France went into that crisis with a completely selfish and hidden agenda.
6. 6. You are a PM who was not voted into office by the people, so it’s imperative that you listen to the electorate before you enter into any commitment of our armed forces. Your legacy will suffer if you ignore public opinion.
7. 7. Your government is already suffering the backlash of jumping to conclusions re: Russia’s involvement in Salisbury. Time to tread softly.
8. 8. Don’t rush to a decision based on the current noise. Think about what your point of view will be 10 years from now and then come to a conclusion.
9. 9. As you can see with Tony Blair before you, no one remembers the other members of the cabinet after the event. The consequences of the whatever commitments you make, will be an albatross around your neck until the grave.
10. 10. Leave Syria to Syrians.

There you are PM. Thanks for your time. Wishing you the best.

Alcohol, Emotion and Good Intentions

Have you ever had one of those moments when you genuinely meant well and it goes all awry?

You are with a mixed group of friends and strangers, when social etiquette is not necessarily mandatory, but displaying it shows a considerate and emotional intelligent being resides in your body.

I have been in several of those situations and though most have gone well, I have, naturally, had a few bloopers!

Let me share:

June 2016 - Serena Williams had reached another grand slam final and as any true fanatic, I had no interest in her opponent's identity. Conveniently, I had found myself using a pre-booked day off to the maximum, with a group of fellow red wine lovers in a favourite haunt in the Midlands.

Suffice to say, Serena lost and my pre-game boasting, came home to roost. Whilst I was being picked apart by the baying crowd, I sought solace in my phone to see how the Mighty One could let me down so badly. A few googles later, I found the winner's name was something Muguruza!

Like a flash, I found something to hold on to....or so I thought. 

"The winner is African anyway, so I still won in a  way, " I slurred.

It was an unguarded moment that though drenched in alcohol, exposed a lot of my hidden thoughts and depth of my ignorance.

(courtesy of the Evening Standard)

I have since managed to pull up my pants since that cringeing experience and thankfully, my friends still hang out with me.

I have just issued a mental note to self:

The French Open in is another four months and please don't act like you don't who Garbine Muguruza is. If the Serena episode didn't help, her defeat of sister Venus in the 2017 Wimbledon competition, forged her name, background and non-Africaness in your Medulla Oblongata.

Morale of the tale:

a) Alcohol and Emotion don't mix well with Good Intentions.

b) Watch out for non-Africans with African sounding names....