Hello my peeps, it’s been an exciting week for me. It sure pays to take time off regularly. I’ll be posting an article on something i read a while ago and it’s dedicated to mothers. Mothers are soft and tough, tender and strong, and as we celebrate mothers’ day, i dedicate this to all mothers and intending mothers. You’re the reason why we are here. Read on:

A woman, renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office, was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

‘What I mean is, ‘ explained the recorder, ‘ Do you have a job or are you just a …?’

‘Of course I have a job,’ snapped the woman.

‘I’m a Mom.’

‘We don’t list ‘Mom’ as an occupation, ‘housewife’ covers it,’ said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like, ‘Official Interrogator’ or ‘Town Registrar.’

‘What is your occupation?’ she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out.
‘I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.’

The clerk paused, ball -point pen frozen in m midair and looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

‘Might I ask,’ said the clerk with new interest, ‘just what you do in your field?’

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, ‘I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn’t) in the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out.). I’m working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family) and already have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.’

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants — ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than ‘just another Mom.’

Motherhood! – What a glorious career, especially when there’s a title on the door!

Does this make grandmothers ‘Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations’ and great grandmothers ‘Executive Senior Research Associates?’
I think so!!! I also think it makes Aunts ‘ Associate Research Assistants.’

Motherhood is noble, it’s a God given gift. Look forward to it, appreciate it, and you’ll attract it. For mothers, enjoy the experience, cherish it, learn from it and your reward and fulfilment is sure!

Happy Mothers’ Day!

For the past few days, i have been in Egypt with my hubby and a few other friends and it’s been an exciting experience. As i write this, we’re on a cruise on the nile, and i look out of the window to behold the scenery of a massive body of water that serves 9 countries! I’ve been to many places and learnt so much about this country.

Two days ago, as we drove round the capital of Egypt, Cairo, i tried to compare it with a city or state in Nigeria and i couldn’t accurately compare. Egypt became independent in 1952 and the current President has been in Power since 1981 (28years)! and the country has degenerated over the years. I was disappointed at the poverty level and the breakdown of infrastructure, no standard roads, etc. The impact of bad leadership is powerful. Egypt also is a land so blessed, but its people so poor. When I listened to our tour guide describe Egypt, and the resources he knows that Egypt has, my mind wanders freely back to my country. Wherever I go, one this is on my mind – what as a Nation can we learn from these other countries to better the lot of our nation Nigeria? Egypt, the Land of the Pharaohs, the land where life after death means more than life on earth, the land of many temples and rich history!

Nigeria needs to rely on many other things that we have, and not on oil alone. Egypt generates revenue from agriculture and hydroelectricity as a result of the river nile, they have oil, they have gold and other natural resources (granite and many precious stones). A friend whose husband works in one of the oil companies in the Niger Delta was lamenting to me last weekend about how risky it is to go on rig these days. The militants engage direct means to want to take the lives of those workers and she wants her husband to resign, but it’s tough because their livelihood depends on it. So many lives have been lost because of too much focus on oil. She prays hard anytime the husband is away and heaves a big sigh once he’s back. She’s getting really tired.

I look forward to reorientation of many more Nigerians so we can have the kind of leaders we deserve. These leaders leave the shores of the country many times, see how the developed world is, and never come to make a change.

In the words of Dangote, we need about ten more governors who can duplicate what Fashola is doing, then others will begin to emulate them. We need leaders who are visionary and empathic.

I’m getting refreshed and look forward to writing more value adding articles from now on. Have a good evening!

It’s quite interesting that my last post was titled “insanity” and now, this! It’s really coincidental, but am loving the coincidence. I’ll be touching on a few real life instances to drive home my point today. Read, and tell your friends and younger ones about it. It’s happening a lot these days, and we need to be informed so we’re armed to handle issues as they arise…..

Last week, a young lady told me about her relationship which she had high hopes for that would lead to marriage which just failed. As she tried nursing her wounds at the break up, there were all kinds of men
toasting her; the one she found most irritating at that time was a married man with two children who professed love to her and even promised to marry her! The next question she asked me was, “Are they not all mad”? By “all”, she was refering to men generally. She was thoroughly upset. But the married men’s issue is not a big deal now, i thought. Apparently, she has had several relationship experiences in which men who seemed so good outside with time proved to be “rotten” inside. I’m using her words; she was obviously hurt. Of course, if you care to listen to the other party, she definitely has her share of the blame.

I once heard about a lady who was HIV positive and was narrating an experience she had. She met this guy who was all over her. He wanted to get down with her and didn’t hide his intentions. She first tried to tell him several times that she wasn’t interested but the guy refused to take NO for an answer. After a lot of insistence, the lady opened up and told him she was HIV positive. He didn’t believe her; she then went ahead to show him her medications and explained everything. That was when his body came down. Tell me, how selfish can a person be? To be completely blinded by your appetite for gratification that you can’t
seem to be rational?

Over 13 years ago, i met a much older, single guy at a cousin’s dad’s wake keeping and we young people got talking on a large table. There was this gist that was raised about virginity and he said virgins were extremely rare and even almost non-existent; and i knew it wasn’t true….i had friends whom we had decided to wait till our wedding day, so i took him up on that. He argued and i argued too. He said if he ever gets to marry a virgin, he would worship her all his life. I had just gotten admission into UI but hadn’t resumed. He asked for my details in UI and i gave him the little i knew as i hadn’t gotten an accomodation then. This guy actually came to look for me! Fortunately, he never saw me, moreso, thankfully, there were no mobile phones and he didn’t have my room number so it was tough for him to have tracked me.

I told my big sis about what happened and she told me i wasn’t supposed to have given him my details. She said she was sure the guy was ready to use me as a conquest and prove me wrong. What lesson am i trying to get across here? The lesson is that as a lady, when you meet a guy who shares an opposite view with yours as far as values are concerned, there’s no need to exchange numbers or check each other up, RUN! (I wanted to prove the guy wrong, which wasn’t necessary, i was naive and my convictions couldn’t stand anything otherwise). Ladies don’t need to spend a long time with a guy to know what he stands for. We deceive ourselves, and we enjoy being told lies. What discussion will you have with a guy that you met casually that he will start initiating sex? What’s your body language? Many don’t cut off early and hang on, believing that the guy’s craving will pass, but our elders say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed”. There’s no need to prolong the matter before you start finding no big deal in what was a NO NO for you before.

Maybe really, in the young ladies words, many guys are mad, but there are many who do not allow their hormones to rule them. The world system has become heavily charged sexually and it takes bringing one’s
cravings under God’s control to live above what has become the norm.

So, to the real men, men of value and valour who give us the confidence to say that all men are not mad, i salute you and pray that your lives will birth more men who will be role models. For those working on themselves and actively engaging the holy spirit’s help to be choice and real men after God’s heart in truth and in deed, i pray for grace to walk the path and stay committed to right living.

For the past one week, i have found had problems posting on my site; and it’s been quite frustrating. So, today, after several attempts, i’ll be posting an article about my biggest fans

In the past few weeks, i discovered that my daughter’s school work has suddenly become “advanced”. I was surprised at how much the scope of her work has increased. She seemed to be loaded with so much that i saw that she would have to put in a lot to be in line.

So, i had to make a decision. That decision had to involve closing early on some days of the week to focus on her academics, teach and revise with her more regularly. At age 4, she seems to have more than she can chew per time! lol

I also discovered that she hardly took part in exercises in her sunday school classes. This made me teach her the word, “participate”. When someone saw me teach her that word, she said it was too much for a year old; and today, she says it without batting an eyelid. I ask her almost after every class if she participated, so she’s always ready for the question.

And my son? Yeah right! His vocabulary has sure increased immensely. He picks up the phone and mutters all kinds of jargons into it, and when you try to get the phone from him? He screams his head off at you! Also, he sure knows the difference between the toy mobile phone and the real thing!

In this short post, i’ll like to appreciate my gifts from God, Ireoluwa and Araoluwa. They give me cause to smile after a long and hectic day. They scream at the top of their voices with excitement when i get home
and hug me like i’ve been gone for longer than a couple of hours. They keep me smiling and very active. They are God’s gifts to me and i’m grateful for them.

I have so much to write about. But i’ll start that in my next post. Guys, i’ve got some things we need to know and be reminded of so we’ll be better equipped to make choices. So, watch out!

Enjoy the weekend!

5 days ago was my fifth wedding anniversary. Yesso! I’ve been married for 5 good years…hmmm. Really, it does feel much shorter than five years ago that i got married. I look back and am amazed at the number of milestones God has helped me attain within this period – it’s been a mixture of joys, uncertainties, challenges, dreams, hopes and aspirations….the years have been extremely eventful.

The anniversary, being a saturday even further reminded me of what the wedding day looked like. It was a good day and i look forward to more fantastic years ahead. Let me just share with you one of the poems my husband wrote to me; i was thrilled and humbled as i got determined to live every line of it.

Is not in the clothes she wears,
The figure that she carries,
Or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman
must be seen from in her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart,
the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,
But true beauty in a woman
is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives,
The passion that she shows,
And the beauty of a woman
With passing years-only grows!

For the unmarried, be inspired. For the married, keep the fire burning. Nothing works except we make it work. There’s no match made in heaven; even if there are, the people involved must work it out.

5 days ago, my son, Araoluwa, Obaloluwa clocked 1. Yeah, you got it! He’s an independence baby. So many people called, visited to wish him a happy birthday. Interestingly, he got an August visitor’s call – Prof.
Pat Utomi called to also wish him a happy birthday. It was a cool event, watch out for his pictures on facebook.

Our photographer, who has been taking our pictures before we got married and has covered evry of our event till date brought it to my notice that on the day of every event we had held since we got married,
it has always rained, towards the end – on our wedding engagement, our babies’ naming ceremonies and first birthdays. At first i felt a bit funny about that, but i quickly turned it around as God’s signature upon our home. His blessings are bound to always be showered on us as we attain different landmarks.

So, i’m excited and i choose to see my life and home as marked out for a deluge of increase. Have a great day and week ahead. Ciao!

Finally, last week, i went to the departmental office only to discover a topic had been approved. This was after i had made several trips to see the faculty advisor who helped me restructure some of the fresh topics i took to her.

Now, i’m faced with the task of proceeding to do research and writing on the topic. That seems like a really tall order for me; i’m trying to overcome the inertia of starting. It’s been a long wait and the zeal i had in commencing the task seems to have waned.

But whether i like it or not, i have to start, and finish……

Along the line, he met a girl who he really liked and wanted to have. He really wanted to sleep with the girl at all costs but she never gave in. One day, she invited him to his fellowship. He was so irritated and refused to attend, but she persisted. After a while, he decided to go, thinking, at least, it could give him an opportunity to get what he wanted.

The night before the sunday morning service was spent at the club, drinking and partying, so he was half drunk as he dressed up for the service. He got to the service and began to doze, the lady pinched and hit him several times to keep him awake but he kept sleeping off. It got so bad after a while that he started snoring! He woke up towards the end of the service but pretended to still be asleep to save himself from further embarrasment. He apologized profusely to the lady and promised to come again. And he came again, and again. On one of the services, he came out when an altar call was raised. He was prayed for and after the service, the lady was so excited and when he saw her reaction, he asked her to come to his room so they could “celebrate”. He still didn’t feel different.

The girl refused to go home with him; so he went to his place and he decided to celebrate by drinking some of the bottles of beer he had in his fridge. He opened the first bottle and as poured it into a glass, a strong offensive smell wafted across his nostrils. He poured the beer away and opened the second bottle but the smell came strong again. The incident repeated itself until he poured away the 16bottles of beer in his fridge. That was the last time he tasted alcohol, that was in May, 1986. Since then, he has grown in christ, and the lady in this story eventually became his wife.

He has since served God and experienced his hand in his home and business. He owns and manages a company and he’s doing well. He’s been going around the world, sharing his story and lives have been changed through him.

I pray for as many as are reading this that you will have an encounter with God that will change your life forever. God is still in the business of changing lives. No matter how far gone you are, God can give you a new life.

“Come unto me, all you that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.

Ordinarily, Glaxosmithkline Consumer Plc stood the chance of making an enviable score of the Altman index of creditworthiness in 2007 going by the marked improvement in its financial strength. Remarkable successes were made in the management of working capital and financial leverage index during the period.

But the company failed to make the expected score in 2007 mainly because management could not effectively tame cost profiles during the period.

The year 2007 was a very tough one for the company. The management was unable to rise to the exigencies of the hostile business environment during the period. The Altman index of creditworthiness of the company which grew well enough in 2006 to 2.23 from 1.86 in 2005 could not build on this success in 2007 as it fell slightly to 2.01.

This means that the company’s credit rating during the period was not strong enough as it fell below 3.0 and above recommended as financially sound.

One major area where the management of the company needs to work in order to achieve the desired result in future is in taming costs so as to free more income for the profit basket.

At the moulding stage of a child, he/she copies what he sees. After going through peer pressure in the adolescence stage, he later develops individuality/independence where he begins to assert himself until he grows old enough to be a person of influence. A classic example is my 3year old daughter who i’ve caught several times saying the things i’d been saying without thinking about them. I knew the influence was strong. She was watching, listening and xeroxing. One day, she used an abusive word at someone. Then i called her and asked her where she heard it from; i asked her if she had ever heard me or her dad use that word before. She said no; so i told her not to say things that we never say. I’ve never heard her use that word since then. She probably has forgotten the word exists until someone says it again after then.

Yesterday, i heard about a girl who was a virgin before she started going out with a guy. The lady, after persuasion from the guy started having sex with him. Later, the guy tested to HIV, then the lady went for a test and also tested positive. Now, they’re making plans to get married asap. The guy’s influence on her made an irreversible impact on her life. Things can never be the same again. Everyone i have met having one vice or the other which some of them desperately want to change got involved with it finding an older relative doing it.

Personally, i think at every point in time, one is either influencing or being influenced and there is a need for regular checks to know what side of the scale one is on. Here are a few helpful tips:

1. Decide what type of influence you’re going to be, regardless of where you are per time.

2. Identify every environment of people you find yourself as an area of influence, and be quick to decipher whether it’s positive or negative.

3. We are all products of influences so we have the responsibility of seeking out and surrounding ourselves with the right influences and running away from costly negative influences.

Finally, i’ll encourage my readers to live consciously, knowing that they could be the reason why a person will rise or fall.