Miscellaneous

Here are articles that don’t fit into the main topics of this blog

Modernising African Culture: Why Fighting Westernisation Misses The Point

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westernisation modernising african culture

Have you ever been in a room where people sort of just romanticise their local culture, affirming things like masquerades and bride prices during marriages? How about where people attack what they perceive as Westernisation, frowning at things like LGBTQ+ rights, as well as birth through Caesarean section?

If you met me a few years ago, I would think for a moment and say, I am not one of those people, I prefer the Western culture over our local African culture.

But that would be inaccurate.

Cultural Provocateurs: When Deference Becomes Dangerous (And How to Question Authority From Where We Stand)

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Cultural provocateurs are the whetstone. And like the whetstone, they challenge not to destroy but to sharpen. Scraping away rust. Exposing dull edges. Asking the uncomfortable questions that the majority would rather avoid. Every society that has moved forward has needed people willing to do this.

The Character Crisis: Are You Part of What’s Wrong With Society?

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The counter-argument that “everyone has flaws, and so we must not judge” is an idea I intend to break through the rest of this piece, not just because it justifies the corruption eating up Africa, but because it’s a psychological trick called “moral disengagement”—where people use nice-sounding phrases to avoid acknowledging evil. It’s how someone says, “like him or hate him, you have to respect his hustle or doings” while ignoring that the “hustle” or “Doings” is theft and the “hate” exists because he’s destroying lives.

African Renaissance: Why the Battle for a Better Africa Starts With Your Thinking

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When we look at Western countries, envy and anger often collide within us.

Envy because we wish we’d been born under winter snow, where quality of life is high, opportunities are bountiful, and systems actually work. And anger because we resent being here instead—in Africa, under the heat of the Sahara—where life feels backwards, a constant struggle to move forward, with uncertainty slowly draining hope out of us.

Still, many of us fail to be aware or maybe don’t see it relevant to remember that the West wasn’t always “Advanced” or enviable.

A Year To Grok: Dick David’s Living Eulogy [On Being 28]

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This felt like the fastest year of my life so far. It genuinely felt like this was still part of last year. At a point, I couldn’t tell what happened this year from what happened last year.

While my last year’s eulogy ended in what felt like a divine script, this year felt like a violent ripping apart of that script by indifferent reality.

Small Packets of Abundance: The Gifts You’ve Been Ignoring Your Whole Life

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The “reality” of many people is hunger, joblessness, and loneliness, just to name a few. But, in reality, we have more food on earth than we can consume, entire industries with opportunities are emerging every day, and there have never been this many people on the surface of the planet, ever.

So, why do the facts conflict with many people’s reality?

Identity Is Destiny: How To Shape Who You Become By Changing How You See Yourself

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As you go through life, you will experience, gain, and lose many things. You will also be seen, addressed, and treated in many ways.

And while all these can lead you to see yourself in different ways, often bending to the whims and manipulation of the world, when you take charge of your identity, you become unshakable.

Preparing For Greener Pastures: The Value of Personal Development, Even When You Have Nothing To Show For It

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Hoping for a better life in Nigeria can feel like trying to survive in the Amazon rain forest, butt-naked. It pours problems and bad news like rain. And inflation, like a vicious beast, is always ravaging – the cost of living defies the law of aerodynamics, and the purchasing power diminishes, as the value of the naira falls against the dollar like a coconut from a tree.

So, despite all these, why am I not of the opinion that immigrating (aka “Japa”) is the solution?

Crafting a Better Nigeria: Why Your Work Should Be More Than A Means To Money 

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We perceive other countries as the proverbial promised lands: clean, safe and functional. Even the internet doesn’t fail to remind us each day of Tokyo’s cherry blossoms, Paris’ romantic cafes, and the Caribbean beaches, where the sand kisses your feet and the breeze wraps around bare skin.

And so, we dream. We wish. We plan to leave.