Reasons To Be Thankfull

The week ended in a crescendo of expected events, Baba Yemo’s wedding, Amed’s late grandma fiddau’s prayer and more… I can not but thank God for His grace and strength to pull through the weekend, Baba gave me the much needed energy.

A few lessons that I learnt during this period are not just invaluable, but irreplaceable. I found the thin line between friends and family, the distinguishing factors between you and the world around you, I noticed why the real reason why I am me and not my brother and I experienced the redefinition of “Loving God and not gold”. It’s so beautiful to be around family again after such a long time, too bad Bob Tolly wasn’t around… pardon me if you don’t know all this people am mentioning, let’s say am sharing that part with God and God alone, Baba am grateful.

Here are the reasons for my being grateful, they are more like lessons I’ve learnt sounding like an advice:

If you are in a relationship, let your friends and family know the other, you don’t know what they might know… I won’t be sharing my reason for this, but be sure it’s important.

Don’t assume everything is fine, there are some things that will always spring up, don’t get caught up in the surprise ring, like the boys scout, be prepared

Never give up on God. I know the time is now according to you, but believe me God’s way are far beyond ours and He knows best. Never stop believing, never stop praying

Be diligent… you will stand before kings.

I will forever be grateful for this and more lessons I can not share but in all am so very grateful

767 the emergency dial that works

Someone please call 767 not 911… that's old school...767 is the number to call..

Things are getting better and they keep getting even better, Lagos state is getting pretty interesting and quite unusual these days with the abnormal becoming very normal and the unusual becoming seemingly unusual. I have heard testimonies of the new efficiency of the emergency response system of the Fash’s led administration, testimonies of prompt response to emergency calls in the case of a robbery operation at Abule Egba here in Lagos, a funny story on its own where policemen operating a black-spot around the area heard shouts of robbery and gunshots and quickly dived into the gutters only for another mobile police office in a commuter bus to alight from his bus, went into the gutter, retrieved the ammo from the scared Lilly livered thieves and went after the robbery gang, some people in the neighbourhood dialed the 767 emergency numbers, and in minutes, a Rapid Response Squad team (RRS) showed up at the scene of the robbery, and aborted the gangs operation with the first officer that alighted from the bus killing 2 of the men while others were over powered.

Another testimony is that the Lagos State governor, Mr. Raji Fashola, which he stated while appealing to the telecommunications regulator in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the Lagos State emergency number 767. According to the governor, the appeal has become imperative in the face of the recent aid the state has received due to active usage of the Save Our Soul (SOS) number. He cited an instance of a robbery attack last weekend in Lekki axis of Lagos, of which a good citizen was able to make a call through to the 767 and in a matter of 90 seconds, the police anti-robbery team was at the scene and was able to forestall the activities of the underworld men. The appeal was favourably considered and it's has just saved a whole neighbourhood from going down in flames.

It's 2:00am in the morning, 1 McCullum street Ebute-Metta at the office of Grid InfoTech Nig Ltd, men working late in the night, power generator blaring under the stair case when Sage saw a raging fire gutting down a building just two blocks away from the office from the balcony of the building, I ran outside saw the building in fire and the first thing that came to mind was the 767 emergency number classified for Lagos and it's environ alone (for now), I collected Sage's phone, dialed the number and got a busy tone, ran back in grabbed my landline and the call sailed through without ringing, the operator thanked me for the information and told them that the same incident as just been reported and that men of the fire service are on their way, I thanked him and before I could drop the line I saw the light of the siren of the fire service truck turn into the street. I smiled but my smile wasn’t that of indignation and but surprise, I asked myself, his this really happening here in Lagos? Before I couldn’t find the answers to my questions, but the fire service team gave me the answer, the fire was knocked out in 20mins and we are all living happily ever after till this moment. I am not flabberwhelmed or overgasted because I believe this present Lagos we live in runs a system that works, things are getting better, all I ask and pray is that thing only get better than they are now... I shared the news with a friend I was online with Abimbola Sonowo (she's based in Ireland) and she was surprised that a 911 thingy is real and working in Naija... she's spreading the good news and I am here too sharing with friends and foes...alike... and all that stops by.

LAGOS STATE is working, let’s keep it working, Naija is working let’s make it work together, IBeNaijaBoy.

Eko O ni Bajé ooo!!!

Hair-cut (HeadAche)

I just have to thank God for this headache banging my head right now, it’s pretty much something I saw coming, I felt it even before the clipper started munching my hair, but still I am grateful; I thank Babaloke for the opportunity to hack down this hair again… it won’t be long before it gets long and interesting again.. yeah my hair grows fast and long.

I am also grateful for the way things dey go around me, my truck, school… everything!

I guess mine is a case of banana-eating-monkey, the other way round situation. I know a thousand people that will develop a migraine or headache if they don’t visit a barber in two weeks, but mine is a different ball game entirely. A visit to the barbers shop and a cold bath, and my head is here on my neck screaming for aspirin or some more potent pain killer, my body not liking the emptiness and the cringing hairless feeling.

I wonder why I went for the clean near-skin cut, I know it’s not because I got tired of my Afro… the afro is something I love and the look it gives me keeps me handsome and satisfied, I could have just brought it down a little and avoid this ground breaking headache, still can’t lay my hands on the real reason I went for the kill, now am paying for it. Trying to figure out the real reason, definitely it is not because my hair got half burnt (real flames no burns), or because I want to make den haters smile… now I hate the guilt I make them feel right now, and definitely not the smiles of friends that think I look beautiful on the low-cut, I mean without my afro. I don’t want to look beautiful, not for anybody, I just wanna be handsome and avoid the cat-calls have been getting all morning with my haircut.

Back to Basics

Just writing with some gangsta luv..lol

I've been online for a while now, trying to deal with a lot of things happening around me....processing, digesting and outputting... I bet it's a real big world out here, although everything looks a little bit smaller on my monitor and I just can't imagine how close everything that happens here gets.

Blogging for me hasn't been blogging in the real sense of it; it's been more of a personal thing rather than sharing as the thing dey go in the real world of blogging that I have been experiencing on right, left and center. I feel the need for my blogging experience to be a little bit about sharing, I guess that gives me more to write and even more to share... which brings me to what I am about to share... it's about the streets and the laws that governs it. The game hasn't changed much since I’ve been around, and it's been pretty much the same since I left out, but now is the right time for me to get back my street rep... and valuation, too many new kids on the block and they really need to know...

It's pretty much not a gangsta thing, it more about identifying with the people in my hood, the men on the streets, the brothers in the background that pretty much watch things happen while I make things happen. They are sure dangerous but not without responsibility, they are quite not the normal people you deal with daily, but they are pretty much a part of the ecosystem, and a very important part of it being that they provide unskilled and semi-skilled labour, provide potential protection and although they exhibit danger on their own, they pretty much keep danger of the line of everyday living. They are brotherly but not the kinda brothers you personalize, friendly but never with a smile and they come in handy pretty much in times of need.

I lost touch with this brothers pretty much while i was away learning more about the way things her (status quo) so that I won’t end up being a slave or a part of it. I lost much or my relationship with the streets and the oils in its wheels while away in pursuit of academic excellence, all in the process of becoming better than the best. While i was away, the rules remained pretty much the same but rulers changed, power changed hands and the new leadership is made up pretty much of the young guns who were still learning the ways of the streets, and still quite irrelevant while I was around back then, but now, they grown up, learned new skills and outgunned their ex's and are now at the helms of affairs. Not that the leaders of then are down and out, they are still their in the background, they influence the streets but they pretty much watch things happen. They are there and they are still my connect... my skills and experience will help pretty much in bridging the gap.

You can't be as rich and famous as I am and walk pretty much in the shadows, I am more like a burning lamp, my place is not underneath, I am high above and I can’t go around without knowing and living with the streets. They can't survive without me, knowing them now is like giving the streets honour and value, with real love