Road to recovery

I found this church in the middle of a village, in the bush. A number of churches are run by Polish priests and nuns. I was talking to a priest who told me about some of his projects; one was construction of bridges to connect communities that had been cut off. He also talked of some mediation he was involved in for peace in communities. This conversation left me deep in thought afterwards.

Time in Borno and Yobe states, North East Nigeria

Welcome to Maiduguri, Borno state

I have spent over two weeks between Maiduguri and Damaturu. As I had never been to Damaturu, I was unsure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. There will be more photos than writing in this post.



Grocery shopping

Behind the mask

Are there times when you question what all the efforts you have put into literally everything you have ever done in your life is for?

It is especially distressing when all these efforts do not yield the kind of results the one putting in all the effort expects. Someone told me what her motivation was, she had lost a sense of who she was because it was consuming her, and requested that I publish this to help her heal...

Sometimes people hide behind their fears and insecurities, they live life seeking approval or trying to prove a point to others by everything they do. Then at the end, they realise that all that energy was wasted and it was not worth it afterall.

Fear, insecurity, those are monsters and those feelings can kill. They can kill your drive or drive you to your ruin.

Behind smiles, there could be deep issues of insecurity, hurt, pain, fear. 

Let it go, sometimes you just need to stop, breathe, re-evaluate your motives and decide whether your motivation is in order. Work on your shortcomings and be the best you can possibly be, then live, just live…

How do you feel about the insecurity in Abuja?

So I was asked today by my friend who does not live in Abuja how I feel about the insecurity in Abuja.

My answer to her was simple. I have chosen not to live in fear, anywhere could get hit. Besides, if I were marked to die today, death could meet me even on my bed. Nevertheless, I will not put myself at risk or ignore warnings that may be sent out. She agreed to that opinion and mentioned that she has a burden to pray for Nigeria. I encouraged her to please pray as I know that prayer goes a long way and I pray with pain and tears for my beloved country also. However, everybody in Nigeria is praying and that is part of our problem. We spend all the time praying and forget to think…the same God who is being prayed to, created brains for a reason.

Religion, the cause of so many woes?

Violence is being perpetrated in the name of religion, everybody claims to be praying, so who is thinking and who is acting? The Nigerian government cannot solve all our problems, many have alleged that the Nigerian government has failed in its duties anyway, a stark reminder being #BringBackOurGirls.

A person I think prays a lot but has stood out and really impressed me is Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili. I read an interview she recently granted to Metropole magazine about her role in the Chibok #BringBackOurGirls campaign and she mentioned very clearly that she had had enough of just getting over events and moving on, so she had to do something or else she would have been disappointed in herself.

Nigerians, how many of you can speak of/to yourselves like this? All we do is complain, it has got us nowhere. I saw a billboard with our President's face and a quote from him saying something like real Nigerians are not terrorists…are we in denial? And for how long? Maybe that myth has since been demystified? But on the other hand, could that in some way mean that we are too lily livered to act?

Different people have called for prayers at different times and on different levels but after the prayers, what happens? I doubt that God will come down from heaven to do what he has enabled human beings to do. I also do not doubt the efficacy or power there is in prayer, but I have to challenge you if you pray, to think. What could be done differently? You do have a role to play. In what way have you demanded that the government plays its role and have you played yours?