Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear, and obstacles vanish – John Quincy Adams These two virtues make the difference between success and failure, between accomplishment and disappointment. If one can adopt them then he/she can conquer the world. Ponder over this.
Category: opinion
A King Without A Crown I used to take on a noble character whenever it comes to acting among my peers. I remember performing King Nebuchadnezzar in a high school drama class. It was sport hearing my classmates address me as the king. Nebu – the short-lived nickname that followed after wasn’t much fun. Please […]
Learning from mistakes together is how a family works.
Happiness is contagious; spread it. It is a direction and not a place. Spread it as you go. 🙂
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I Gained My Freedom
Freedom sometimes does not come free. Gained My Right of Way Reminiscing on my primary school days, I would say I didn’t have much interest in the games provided for school kids. I was not too fond of the swing. I had no joy in rocking back and forth on a piece of the metal […]
Life is a circle, and stories take us all around it. © Oke Iroegbu
Igbo: Ùda akùilu abùghí ùtō ya English: Bitter Cola doesn’t taste like its sound (literally). Background: Just like the name, bitter cola is a very bitter fruit! Sometimes I do wonder why it’s not called a ‘very bitter cola.’ Alongside the kola nut and garden egg, it is commonly used as a ‘welcome fruit’ in […]
Is enough not enough? Civilian casualties In peaceful times, it is easier for the victor to reconcile with the vanquished. It’s ten days already, and I kept wondering why these two governments prefer to use force over dialogue. I regret that the Armenian political leadership failed to engage the Azeri in peace talks when they […]
The drums of war have been beating since the beginning of this year.7 Eurasia ‘When it starts, it will be over there. Eurasia* may introduce the world to a global conflict.’ Those were my words as I sat watching BBC’s global news. Before the announcement on Nagorno-Karabakh, I had always predicted that a future global […]
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Opinion: A Divided House
China and America I was wondering what the world will look like should China attack America or vice versa. It’ll be a disaster, a human-made catastrophe. But I’m not only weighing the destruction that will follow a war between the two but the economic stress it will cause the world. Or maybe I’m a bit […]
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Racism
It costs absolutely nothing to be kind Live and Let Live An Igbo (African) proverb goes thus: Let the Eagle perch, let the Kite (bird) perch also. Any that forbids the other from perching let his wings break! We say that as prayers in West Africa because it’s a reminder and belief that all men […]
My take on this… It’s generally believed that knowledge is power. Yet many find it difficult to differentiate between wisdom and knowledge. For me knowledge is having the stuff while wisdom boils down to application of the stuff. To differentiate both from education is even a thing of further logic. In my opinion education should […]
Life like the mist is temporal but legacies live and last forever The Black Panther I get easily bored with movies. It’s hard to see me watching TeeVee anyway. No matter how much I try, I can only watch National Geographic Wild and Discovery Documentaries. But when a movie gets me hooked I can see […]
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson MandelaAt a time colonial forces and indigenous South Africans fought over land rights and freedoms, a courageous man spoke up for his […]
You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ Joel Osteen. A difficult time can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose. John Maxwell. I love the light for it shows me the way to […]
At times you need to stop everything you are doing to sit by yourself and mend your broken wings. Cold evening and a To do list I sit outside. A cold evening out here with me. A community of crickets quizzing through the grassland. A gust of wind upon my face, swinging my helpless lamp […]
Of all the magic in the world, none is more powerful than love. …And that’s if we accept that any other thing qualify as magic. Love is a driving force. It can change things; perceptions and imaginations. Great achievements are accomplished through it. Great writers wrote about it. It’s something beautiful to love. Imagine what […]
Beginning and end Light after dark Dark before light Darkened skies With dancing fireflies Breezy evening Joyful moonlight And glittering stars A shepherd’s lore Down the country Sheep and goats, Green and gold, Patches of life, Water and fire, Dust and wind, Heaven and earth All in fine contrast But happy unison Shallow roots shoot […]
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Beirut
Beautiful Beirut and AUB I’m writing about this lovely Mediterranean city because of my connection and attachment to it. I’ve seen several YouTube videos of it’s beautiful landscape and neighborhood. Beirut combines the tranquil setting of ancient history with the thrill of a modern city. I followed some Beirut based vlog channels and it’s always […]
Admitting imperfections are great ways to becoming a better person, people and leaders. City of Talents and Resilient people I was born and raised in Ogbor hill, a suburb of Aba, a city in Southern Nigeria. Aba is known for its industry and export of labour to many Nigerian cities and overseas. The city is […]
Sometimes those who crown kings don’t look like kings and may never become kings but they can help one wear the crown. A short story There was a poor man who wrote a book at the age of 40 and decided to launch it on his birthday. He had no money to fund the launching […]
An old man once told me the story of how as a young man, his mother used to ask him: “What is the most important part of your body?” Through the years, he would take a guess at what he thought was the correct answer. First time, his answer was: “The ears.” The mother replied: […]
Mechanics of Savings and Financial Intermediation Savings as described by financial analysts are the portion of income which are not used for consumption expenditures. They are referred to as investments, because huge portions of such savings in financial institutions constitute the capital extended to businesses, governments, individuals and other entities as loans. This is done […]
Birthdays are rare They come once in a year Unique Birthday: A set of Eights! Ah, it’s today. 8th day of 8th month of the year 2020. I usually write poems or stories to celebrate but this year’s birthday is unique. So instead of a poem I’ll muse about the actual numbers that made my […]
– Friends are family we chose for ourselves. Didn’t forget I didn’t forget about the World Friends Day. I do write about friendship because it’s dear to me. I was extremely busy with personal and family errands. I also volunteer online for a company based in North America, and so had little time to pen […]
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Thoughts on Global Tension
An African proverb goes thus: when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. The only issue in the case I’m about to discuss is that both the elephants and grasses suffer. News Before the advent of a novel coronavirus, the world knew some peace. I mean there were wars, civil unrests and some economies wobbled on […]
The breadth of earth lay wet But the sun rise from the east, From vague sights and mists The dark jungles, hot and serene Yet lions stride through the green Fearing neither man or faun A shriek up the skies… Eagles soar high; many miles Hopes high, they seeth thru’ times The wind surfs wild […]
I like to watch the sun rise, to wait while she cast her beauty on earth, So I wake early to fly my kite, to gather the stray bugs, worms and locust, The fields are my playground, a partner to hides and seek, I watch the sun, her golden smile, and light it brought to […]
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Quote: Dream big
You’ll never know… Just dream. Dream big.
Art of Divine Poetry Poetic imagination Praises beauty of creation Giving words and voice To every human nation Poet feels the pulse By his poetic impulse Bard’s heart resonates With loving sonnets. Loving poetic spell When rises well The ordinary mortal Becomes divine poetry portal. With sacred passions Poets dress up naked nations Bards like […]
Abraham’s Humble Story When Abraham Lincoln became the president of America, his father was a shoemaker. Naturally, egoistic people were very much offended that a shoemaker’s son should become the president. On the first day, as Abraham entered to give his inaugural address, just in the middle, one man stood up. He was a very […]
A brief intro When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later when nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies […]
Poetry Poetry is a composition in verse or language, exhibiting conscious attention to patterns. The bolded are crucial to understanding the true nature of poems. Poetry has been in existence for centuries. As an art that survived centuries, I was curious to find out why lyrics are written for so long. And to those who […]
When you believe in yourself anything is possible. Why not? If you are lucky enough to find your passion, then how could giving up be an option? Giving up means accepting a lifetime of wondering what could have happened if you just believed in yourself enough to follow through. It doesn’t matter how fast or […]
Dear Friends, I’m grateful that we made it to July 2020. You’ll agree that the year has been a stressful one. I hope you’re well and keeping safe. Don’t be anxious, things will make sense soon and we’ll live to testify. Few hours before new year, I made a wish that I wanted to see […]
Hello there! This is a post on selected Igbo proverbs. I wrote in the Igbo language, translated into English, and then gave its meaning. I did a blog post on sayings used in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe sometime ago. You can access it here. Have a great day! 1. Igbo: Nwaanyi […]
A Bitter Pill What comes to your mind when you hear about Africa? Savages. Poverty. War ravaged. Disease. Uneducated? Let’s face it, Africa is what it is today because ‘the world’ contributed in keeping it so. We’re only poor by the world’s standard. This is a bitter pill. Another Scramble for Africa? The economic hustle […]
Writing a poem is like picking flowers in a minefield. Lay down your life spread-eagled, so that the grass, sharp as syllables, won’t cut you. Let your fingers test the soil. Don’t tug at the roots. Seize adjectives for hostages, negotiable at the border between war and peace, leading you all the way back to […]
JUST A LITTLE STORY Let me tell you a little story. I remember a picture story of a man that sat close to a girl in a park. The first image portrayed the man as ugly, dressed in unbuttoned black shirt, with all manner of rings, deep scars and tattoos. The pretty girl was dressed […]
As children in the typical agrarian world of Northern Cross River State, Nigeria, it was the tradition for mothers to leave their young babies in the care of the older ones while the mothers went to distant farms. Across the day the older children grappled with the occasional frustrating cries of their baby-siblings, sometimes grappled […]
