RESPECT

Respect. Not only is it reciprocal, it is of a copernican nature; important and now radically different. Respect just implies giving someone who is not necessarily above you some level of recognition, that’s how I see it. Elites see it as a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Now respect isn’t just something the younger one has to show the elder one rather its something even the elder has to show first before being reciprocated by the younger. You had to first respect yourself if you would have others respect you. Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners. And our morals and manners both go a long way in making us better individuals.
Respect in the African home is something we must have been conversant with because as africans we are compelled to show it even though we may be reluctant to do so. Indeed it is quite important as it opens good doors in our lives. No matter who the person is, show him or her some form of respect. Just show it!

“TOMORROW” by Okiyi Roberts Ezikpe

1:
I see light after today
A bright light at that
But we are still in darkness which is a true fact
Hopefully things would change after today
About 5.4 decades ago
We left our father
And since then we have been under the care of our mother
I know, You know, We know, They know
That our tomorrow isn’t here yet
Why?
Everyday goes by
From sunrise till sunset
We still can’t find that dreaded day
Unfortunately our leaders still remain our barrier
Instead of acting as a carrier
What more can I say

2:
Every cloud has a silver lining
That is how I see our situation
If only put away that limitation
And work towards improving
No!
Our forefathers didn’t see their tomorrow this way
They’ve refused to mould us even when they have the clay
So?
We have to stand up to the realities of life
Chase our dreams
We haven’t been doing so and that’s how it seems
Strife, Strife, Strife

3:
For a tomorrow devoid of corruption
A tomorrow full of love
A tomorrow where the hate we will shove
A tomorrow devoid of victimization
A tomorrow of you
A tomorrow of me
A tomorrow I must see
A tomorrow where the skies shall forever remain blue
A tomorrow of no night
A tomorrow filled with the goodies of life
A tomorrow no man would have the guts to pick up a knife
A tomorrow that is not out of sight
I must see it
It is almost here
Stand! Don’t sit
Till we get there

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Birthdays are indeed special moments. Not only are they for the fun of celebration, they are also a time to reflect on the past year: what you did right, what you did wrong. The past year must have been bad. There must have been sad times. There must have been bad times. Times when you cried. Times when you frowned. Times you went a while without smiling. Times when you forgot you could laugh. Perhaps there must have also been the good times. Times you had fun. Times you laughed often. Times you were sure you weren’t going to have wrinkles, because you always wore a smile. Times you shared with loved once. And times your life was worth living.
The best birthdays are the ones celebrated with real true friend. On your birthday, you have to know God gave you the gift of life; it is up to you to give yourself the gift of living well. Certainly, it must not have been easy. There must have been life threatening moments, scary periods, dangerous times but you were kept away from all those by the Almighty & mind you not everyone had the opportunity to. Every year on your birthday, you get a chance to start new. Birthdays usher us to a new beginning, a new phase which gives us a chance to start new or at least right the wrongs of the other years, discover & correct previous mistakes, make better decisions, plot new helpful plans, innovate new ideas, and make ourselves better. Forgetting the previous year is essential, because just as dry season goes and the rainy season sets in so has the last year gone and another set in. On your birthday, you get old and the great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been. There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents, and only one for birthday presents, you know. And that one day, is a day that’s entirely yours, yours and no one else’s. Oprah Winfrey said, “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate”. So why don’t you celebrate yours today that’s your day? When else would be best for the celebrations? No other day other than your day I would say. Also, Abhishek Bachchan said, “A birthday is just another day where you go to work and people give you love. Age is just a state of mind, and you are as old as you think you are. You have to count your blessings and be happy”. Be happy! Be happy! If you wish, you could even be happier than Pharrel Williams. That is because Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!
Wait for the person who pursues you, the one who will make an ordinary moment seem magical. The kind of person who brings out the best in you and makes you want to be a better person. Wait for the person who will be your best friend. The only person who will drop everything to be with you at any time no matter what the circumstances. Just keep waiting, as for me, mine is here already. You bring magic into the world my friend and with your magic, this world becomes a better place to live in. Probably, that is because you are an angel. I seriously don’t know what I would do without you. Its your day Just keep calm & have the fun as it comes. HappyBirthdayToTheBestBestfriendEver!

JUST DO IT YOURSELF

There’s this thin line between good and bad, right and evil, correct and wrong. We do unpardonable stuff, take wrongs steps, make wrong decisions, irresponsibly we do something all these indeed are somewhat pardonable. Parents down here are so full of advice. Typical Nigerian parents can’t go a whole day without dishing out advise to their children more so when the deed is done right in their presence, this could make them go on and on and on. This made me ask people, what kind of advise their parents give them. And then I got the following replies:
The first said, “Not to associate with friends that will lead me astray, not to be proud of myself. To make the right decisions so that what happened to others will not happen to me. To pray always hence I be close to God. To face my studies seriously. To have the right virtues that will be admired by all & I should not do badbad things rather I should do goodgood things”, and what she meant by ‘badbad’ and ‘goodgood’ I’m still trying to figure out. The second repeated the same thing but said her parents would always say, “Read your books..homework ain’t reading”. The third said the same thing. And the fourth had this to say, “Of course parents want you to always do chores as at when due,have a good relationship with God,study,keep good company,be very vigilant because of the current security situation in the country.. I also do know parents advice their children against following bad company (which could lead to a lot of other issues such as drug. addiction,prostitution,etc),disobedience and disrespect,neglect God and studies.. some other parents I know advice their children never to go out.. No no not even advice. The right word is “order”.. (Although this isn’t applicable in my case).. They tell their children that if they start going out they’ll fall into bad company and all those things whereas this isn’t true and much later in life because these children are restricted when they eventually start going out they’ll go after exactly those bad things their parents “prophesied” will happen”.
But I believe the best advise on can give is to listen to one’s own advise & let one’s conscience be the judge over his actions. Needless repeating all those things everyday, you should know the rights and the wrongs, the dos and the donts. Yes, its their responsibility to do that but you shouldn’t run to them every now and then when you could solely make the right decision. That helps in making you more independent. By this also, your self confidence increases. They’ve laid the solid foundation in your life, and have planted that seed which distinguishes between good and bad in the foundation the laid so why don’t you make that seed become a plant, just develop it. One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation. Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings. Most people , young people in the universities especially engage in all those dirty things they do because their regular source of advise isn’t around and they can’t take brave decisions and stand behind them confidently because even though the foundations were laid and the seeds planted, they refused to be confident enough to let those seeds grow. But someone who was trained up right would find it hard to do go astray because even if their parents aren’t around, they feel their presence with them and would always reflect on whatever they’d told them and would stand by whatever right they would want to do knowing its morally right and wouldn’t necessarily need their parents repeating it. Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that one can do. Because then they will act. An advise from parents or older ones help, but believe me the best advise one can get is that which comes from himself. Advise yourself most of the time, judge your actions yourself don’t let anyone do that for you, just do it yourself.