I wish lecturers and people in education management at all levels were interested in some change. And whether they’re or not, I wish we could spread the message to them.

A little present from Seth Godin to those who desire to make learning better in their own little way. The Education Ideas book – STOP STEALING DREAMS.

Grab it.

Laziness is no longer wanting to do the sweaty calorie-burning work. It is running away from the real hard work – the one that burns away calories in your brain, zaps your emotions and makes your heart pound albeit silently 24/7.

Laziness is also not wanting to have to “worry”.

That’s the real reason why:

1. People don’t want to start new ventures.
2. The guy can’t ask that girl out.
3. Humans can’t sem to do what they admit is the right thing to do.
4. Things keep remaining the same.

It is very easy to be the new lazy.

I try hard not to be. So should you.

I had this short back and forth with a techie on Facebook about which should be done in Africa – innovating or copycatting?

What does it matter?
To me, It’s not an either or issue.

Innovation is creating new stuff out of nothing, out of something, or out of some things.

Copycatting is copying all or part of something or some things.

Which makes them almost the same.

A copycat may be innovative in terms of implemention and market response strategies even if the core model remains the same as the so called original.

Think MTN, Glo, Etisalat and the rest.

I must also confess, the so called extreme innovator stands the risk of being called an idiot, or actually being an idiot.

Till the idea is proved. Then idiot becomes genius.

Think Foursquare and Steve Jobs.

Fellas, bring it on! Innovatives and copycats are all welcome.

For most of you reading this piece, the phrase “Lorem Ipsum” and the rest of yada yada that follows it is very familiar. So familiar that it gets no attention and as such, it does its intended work very well. A space filler, it is.

However, there is more to it. Lately, I have been admiring thought leaders of different mindsets and focus (academias, businessmen, freedom fighters, writers and strategists). I simply love their disruptive way of thinking. Half their thoughts I buy, half I trash; but it has led me to return to my natural self. The guy who always wants to know WHY?.

So here is Lorem Ipsum in English for you (credits: Wikipedia), and it holds so much depth and wisdom that I wonder why very few have bothered to know what’s up with this notorious space filler.

But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?

On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains.

Lesson: Embrace pain, embrace pleasure. Embrace work, embrace leisure. It’s all good.

I hope I haven’t opened Pandora’s Box for anyone. I sign out.

I am already counting days to get out of here. I am not tired of serving my country, but it seems my country is tired of giving me things to do.

So I guess this might be my last or 2nd to the last chronicle. No qualms, let’s get the day’s issues over with.

Today was visiting day. Old papa Seye came around and we had a swell time together with other great folks from OAU. By the way, OAU corpers account for roughly 10% of all the corpers in Lagos camp. How that happened passes my imagination. Welcome to Nigeria.

The chicken that stained the rice.
If you didn’t glance at the picture of the rice, please take a look at it again. Can you see the dot on the rice. That’s chicken, my brother and sister. Thank God for God. As a roomie put it, they used the chicken to stain the rice. How accurate!

At Iyana Ipaja, I had a rare opportunity of watching planes fly in towards the Murtala Mohammed International Airport. This opportunity I didn’t get as a kid having lived in Ile-Ife. Here at Iyana-Ipaja, you could see them very large and impressive as they prepared to land.

The part that interests me in this plane matter is that THERE WERE MORE PRIVATE JETS THAN PASSENGER PLANES. Roger that. I am sure big thinkers are feeling me. Nigeria is a great place to be from, forget the negatives. Who says I won’t buy my own jet?

Now I am like, ok I serve the country for 1 year and I sincerely hope the country would leave me and let me serve my pocket(God first o) from thence. Abi no be so?

There were also parts of the oath that I wasn’t too good with.

1. Obeying those in authority irrespective of educational background: I know these part was written for the benefit of illiterate military presidents and governors mainly. God dey.
2. Paying the supreme price for the country if need be: it sounds patriotic, really, but could you start by reading this to our Abuja people first? By the way, who determines the need for this, some self serving leader?

Anyways, I took the thing. At least, I signed my name to it.

togeda

I hear NYSC was founded to foster national integration. A course I did in my university final year insinuated it was to provide cheap labour. I believe the 2 theories. But today is about the former.

Thanks to NYSC and other factors, intermarraiges between tribes are fast becoming a norm. And I also learnt today that NYSC gives gifts to corpers who meet each other and marry in a batch and within the service year. A discretionary gift and not 250000 as rumor mill has it. Don’t get it twisted o.

I came to camp to meet my future wife, no, president, yes, of the nation. But I don’t know if I have met him or her already (better get used to the idea of Nigerian female leaders). However, I have met different kinds of people all disguised in ajuwaya attire (white tshirts and shorts) and I will touchdown with some grouping theory of mine now.

Sure boys: Tall, dark and handsome. I have heard life favours these group wella (I also know life has favoured Leke Alder and little me too even though we do not necessarily possess all 3 xteristics). They sound versatile, self assured and are most likely from “silver spoon” backgrounds. Yes, they own blackberries, iphones and n-series.

Bota Girls: they went to private universities and can speak both queens and pidgin (wafi) english very fluently. They are fun to chat with (when less busy) and they have BBs too. pls stop paying for BIS if you haven’t received an email in 2 days. You are wasting your father/boyfriend/sugardaddy’s money!

Home girls: don’t get it twisted. Home here means they are not that chic not that they are “take home to mama”. Some are in Lagos for the third time ever, like me . They don’t have email addresses and they don’t know (mostly) what an iPhone is.

Others: Ok, here are the rest of us. Me, most of you. Sitting it out on the hard stoned parade ground.

Can someone tell me where Nigeria’s president in 2040 is, in this place? Is he/she not here or am I the one who didn’t follow the star well?

Nothwithstanding, I am on love with the idea of 3000 youths in white and white sitting on the floor sharing the same ideals, fun and life irrespective of tribe, religion or social standing.

But then, there is the choking sense of uncivilianness around and there is no crude oil cash to cause katakata.

We really need a lasting solution to all things Niger Delta related issues. Bros Jonathan, give us a timeline and plan. Politicians rarely possess any of both.

ajuwaya paradw

Corper Wii! Wa!

Its my service year and its Lagos, Iyana-Ipaja to be precise. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing my thoughts and reflections on NYSC, at least the way I see it.

Things means different things to different people and as such my view could sway from general opinion. I am a technopreneur and my reflections may not fit all sizes but in its own way- it stays real, unbridled and naked.

Shun!

Leave your kindred and go to a place I will show you (and the Blackberry comes to my aid)

That was what it looked like to me – leaving Jobberman, my web dev setup and my first wife (laptop) behind. Can you survive this? Nonetheless I looked forward to the trip as I wanted to really see how long I will survive w/out my laptop. Now its 4 days now, and I aint missing the Dell Inspiron, thanks to Toba Obaniyi (developer-at-large for ennovateNigeria) and Blackberry.

The Blackberry (or in fairness anything that pushes your email to you on the go) is a tool to live with and die for. I am the kind of person who gets an average of 30 mails per day (not counting numerous reminders and periodical alerts). Imagine what my email inbox would look like unattended to after 21 days. Not to mention people who would think I were **** (God forbid).

This post isn’t sponsored by Blackberry (I wish it were, so I can get BIS a whole year free) but it is a tool every business and career (wo)man should own. That doesn’t include the student or material guy/girl who thinks BB is a fashion accersory and spends all day sending BB messages (with no ROI) to friends all days.

Point: If your BB does not grow you or your pocket, throw it away.

Catch ya.

P.S. I honour the demise of my graduating class’ best lecturer Mr Akintola. He was simply different from the rest. He passed away on the 28th of October. OAU, CSC, TrailBlazers will miss you. Baba!

I just drank a bottle of water. It felt refreshing. I saw houses taken over by an angry lake along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway today, and I felt sorry for those who had coughed out finances to purchase lands and build in those areas. I was also angry at my friend and enemy, water.

Water is one of man’s cherished natural gift. Without it, we can’t live. We rely on Uncle Water for drinking, bathing, swimming, fishing and even manufacturing.

By the way, how did my friend become my enemy all of a sudden. I caused it. I made him a monster – by pushing him to his limits and he had no choice but to fight back. Dumping hazardous household products, toxic industrial pollutants and unguarded banking have contributed to all these. Our enemy is us. We are destroying our enviroment, one step at a time.

Today October 15 is Blog Action Day and this year we are talking about water. A lot of the world’s inhabitants do not have access to clean drinking water. And water is fast becoming some people’s greatest enemy (well, for a moment).

Here are my few tips to Nigerians on water especially on a day like this.

1. Keep streams, rivers and lakes free of dirt. They are not dumping ground.
2. Use water purifiers if you are unsure about the hygiene level of the water in your area.
3. Educate people around you about the essence of using clean water for household purposes.
4. You owe every vistor a cup of water, at the least. That’s Nigerian.
5. Sponsor a borehole in your area or any other are in Nigeria. It costs around N400,000. Some 1000 Nigerians will be eternally grateful to you.

By the way, water continually refreshes me every new day. For that, I’m grateful and I still call Water my friend.

Drop a comment please. If you wanna help along the above lines especially on 2 and 5, do drop a comment and we can make Nigeria a better place.

For other articles on water, see http://blogactionday.change.org/

In my opinion the most important change with WordPress 3.0 (aka Theolonius) is the merge of the individual and multiple-user (MU) versions. The new functionality, called multi-site, will allow blog administrators to manage one or any number of blogs from one install.
On the admin side, the look is brighter than the old version and a new theme API will allow developers to, “easily implement custom backgrounds, headers, shortlinks, menus (no more file editing), post types, and taxonomies.” The new administration section also allows blog administrators the ability to update WordPress core files and plugins at the same time. You can create a short URL for new blog posts using your favorite URL shortener. The short URL can be shared on social networking services.
A new default blog template named Twenty Ten comes standard with WordPress 3.0. The new template replaces the old default template and features a refined look along with more customization options than before.

Read the whole new feature list here.