It was my turn after standing on the queue for a while, then she raised her head and our eyes met. For the umpteenth time I was stunned by her beauty. “You are very beautiful”, I said. She froze momentarily because she was poised to receive my order and instead, her auditory receptors transmitted a different signal to her brain for processing. When she regained her composure, her face lit up with a smile under twinkling eyes; she said: “No one has ever said that to me here, thank you”.

No man is so powerful to resist the charm of a beautiful woman. The beauty of a woman has caused even angels to fall: “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God (angels) saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they choose. Genesis 6v1-2

As the male folks are easily captivated by good looking women, so also are women fascinated by handsome men: “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.  And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph…” Genesis 39v6b

Looking good is good because of its power to attract good things to the carrier. This quality has gone beyond facial appearance to include dress sense, good smell, social etiquette, swag, cars, etc. Anything that will increase our attractiveness we expend on just to satisfy our longing of being appreciated. But at the end of our lives, will our looks count? In other words, will you be remembered for your beauty or handsomeness, fragrance, choice of cars, shoes, designer brands…? What will come out if your name was Google? What will be peoples’ testimony about your life?

Compliments will soon be forgotten after its feel good effect. I am sure the lady I talked about in the beginning might not remember that event any more. Beauty is ephemeral. There is/was/will be someone more good looking than you today, yesterday, and tomorrow. Why then do we place so much value on vanity? You post several pictures of yourself everyday on social media but you are not adding value to your community. World population today is over seven billion with several more billions that have lived before with no record that they ever existed.

Isn’t it pathetic that you live in this digital and information age but you are just a statistics? How can the internet remember a man who lived before the creation of the World Wide Web but doesn’t know you? Many of these men never got their pictures preserved; some have just one to a few. What distinguished these men were what they lived for. They created value not vanity. They concerned themselves with solving real society problems compared to you craving for likes and comments on your pictures that look more fictional than real on social media. If you die today your memory dies with you. You are always having the latest i-phone and don’t know who Graham Bell or Steve Jobs were. You love taking pictures but don’t know who Johann Zahn, Joseph Nicephore and George Eastman were. You use the toilet but don’t know who Sir John Harington was. You travel (or wish to travel) by flight but don’t know who the Wright Brothers were. You commute by train but don’t know James Watt, the inventor of the first steam engine. You shop in the malls but don’t know Victor David Gruen, the creator. Your life is so dependent on electricity but don’t know Michael Faraday. The list is endless. If these men lived lives of vanities, the world would not have transited the Stone Age.

Where is your own product? Where is your own solution to the troubles of the world today? How are you helping to end Covid-19, for example? Don’t be just a statistic. Will your name be a household name tomorrow? Will the world be better because you lived? Remember that our lives are better today because some men knew that finding purpose is more important than good looks. Don’t die with the solution you are meant to bequeath to the world. Posterity is hoping you will play your role so that they can achieve their destinies. Don’t make the grave richer. Die empty. Stop wasting your time and money on the vanity of good looks and give yourself to something worthwhile.

Be valuable!

For the first time since Nigeria joined the rest of the world in the celebration of Mother’s Day, this year’s celebration was without the characteristic pomp in churches and the latter feasting in homes. No thanks to Covid-19. March 22nd, 2020 was a strange Sunday. The streets were deserted and the house of God was under lock and key; and mothers were self-isolated. Regardless, the children’s love, through the walls, reached the mothers.

In my solitude, my mind became a stage with conscious thoughts that created images of the significance of a mother in the home and society. My most dominant impulses were about the leadership role of a mother. I could only see parallels with the idea of John Maxwell’s 360Leader. In his book, The 360 Leader, he shares an uncommon insight on how to lead from the middle of an organization when you are not the top leader. He posits that a 360leader should be able to lead up to his boss, across to his peers, and down to his subordinates. This is a perfect example of the role of the woman in the home with respect to that of the 360 leader in a typical organization.

Adapting the 360leader diagram to illustrate the multi-hat (multiple responsibilities) cut out for a woman in the African setting, it is easy to see that mothers are natural 360 leaders by virtue of being mothers.

Just as a 360` leader is expected to be good at doing so many things well, a mother by her natural role is expected to keep the home in perfect order. Recently, I was talking with a colleague in the office about punctuality to work and the home front. He said his wife gets the kids set for school, prepares breakfast, tidy the home, and still goes to her business. He occasionally assists her by dressing the kids after she bathes them. Is that all you do? I asked him.

You see, my friend is the classic illogical African alpha male who believes it is a taboo for a man to do house chores. What then is his usefulness when today mothers have become better bread winners? Mothers don’t shirk in their responsibilities.

Mothers recognize their husbands as the legitimate head of the family whether he can put food on the table or not. They look up to him for direction, and when he fails to provide the physical needs and guidance, mothers fill the vacuum with ease. Their role as 360` leaders have prepared them for this when the men become rolling stones or exit the world.

The growth and development of the child into responsible adulthood is a task for both parents. The absence of any will have a negative impact on the child and by extension, the community. But the role of a mother has proven to be of greater importance than that of a father that even God in Isaiah 49v15 asked, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she bore?” 

Apart from their responsibilities to their husbands and children, mothers are also expected to manage external influences on their husbands, children and themselves by their peers and other external factors. A strong family bond hinged on great principles is the tool mothers use to ward off negative influences.

In conclusion, mothers are centripetal forces that pull the family together and without them, the negative external centrifugal forces will pull the family apart. On this ground, it is expected that all men must purge themselves of the mentality that women and mothers must remain silent, unseen, disrespected, maltreated, abused, subjugated, and denied basic rights. The stability and progress of any community can only be attributed to the love and sacrifices of our mothers in their respective homes. Today and every moment of the future, we must pledge to honor every mother in every way I can.

And so, I called my mom later in the day to say happy Mother’s Day. “Yeeaaaaa… Thank you thank you thank you!” She screamed excitedly and said I was the only one that has called to wish her well. 

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers!

As part of measures to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, the United States has further imposed social distancing measures to be in place until 30th April 2020, according to the Washington post. In the United Kingdom, it is being reported that lock down could be in place until June 2020. Currently, three cities in Nigeria (Lagos, Ogun and Abuja) are in lock down. South Africa is currently on lock down for 21 days.

The world owes a huge gratitude to health care workers, at the front line of this pandemic. From New York, Milan, London, to Madrid, health care workers have constantly complained about the lack of preparedness and shortage of health care equipment e.g. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect themselves, ventilators for patients etc. In fact, CNN reported that health care workers account for 50% of confirmed cases in Spain.

There is clearly a shortage of PPEs and ventilators world-wide. This has triggered various responses from various Governments worldwide. In the UK, the British Government has asked Dyson, a British firm, to reverse engineer and produce ventilators for use within the UK and hopefully Europe. In the United States, General Electric (GE) has been called upon to manufacture ventilators and other health care equipment needed to save lives and reduce the spread of the virus. President Trump has further invoked federal laws to compel automakers to manufacture some of the highly demanded equipment. Now, Ford, 3M, GE etc. are racing to build respirators, ventilators, face shields etc. to help health care workers fight the pandemic.

The number of confirmed cases in Africa is steadily increasing. The number of confirmed cases in Nigeria has risen to 111, as of 30th March 2020. In response to the pandemic in Nigeria, donations and donations are being pledged and being mobilised to help curtail the spread. We must highly commend the efforts of the private sector to rally around and come up with the financial resources which will prove very beneficial in these distressing times. These efforts are being led by none other than the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, in close partnership with Access Bank and other well-meaning private sector companies in a coalition dubbed the ‘Nigeria Private Sector Coalition against COVID -19’.

However, will the financial resource suffice? I am of the opinion that we may need more than financial resources but the financial resources will no doubt help curtail the spread. As the number of cases increases, the need for PPEs and other medical equipment will increase. And as you probably figured out, dyson will probably not sell ventilators to Nigeria/ Africa now, when there is a great need for such in its home country? Neither will GE? Who then will manufacture PPE & Ventilators for use in Nigeria/Africa?

Would it be possible for local engineering companies like Innoson Motors to partner with Dangote or General Electric (GE) Nigeria to look into reverse engineering of some of these products for use in Nigeria/Africa? Are there indigenous engineering South African companies who could help in the production of some of these products? Can we get engineers from Aba etc. to reverse engineer some of these products for use? Of course, these products should be tested to ensure they are safe before use.

The Government could equally make a call for innovation, calling all innovators or engineers who could locally produce face masks, alcohol sanitizers, PPEs, ventilators etc. to send in submissions of such ideas. Pictures and videos of such products could be sent for submission, now that we are all online.

Nigeria/Africa, now is the time to look for solutions to our problems. No one will come to our rescue soon, as most countries are battling to contain the spread within their shores. It is not the time to panic but to apply ourselves creatively and innovatively. After all, necessity is the mother of invention.

Intellectuals in Nigeria/Africa, now is the time to get creative and innovative. Even though schools are shut, let’s think of innovative and creative ways to help curtail the spread of the virus.

Let’s equally share stories and news of those who may be able to assist with their creativity rather than sharing depressing news.

Let’s stay safe.

When this is all over, we must learn important lessons and look at ways of developing indigenous technical and engineering capabilities.