Of Caregivers and Caretakers

Caretaker Vs Caregiver

I was thinking this morning... about Caregivers and Caretakers. If you were not conscripted into the '8 to5' army arrangement (popularly called 30 days make a pay), you may not understand how I felt last week. After a high-octane day at the office, feeling so cool that I have justified my pay for the day and even deserving of a raise, I got back home drained. While taking a much desired rest, I read the news that over 700 doctors and medical students in Quebec Canada were protesting against the huge benefits noticeable in their pay. They demanded a cut in pay to ensure care is given to other societal needs. The news reminded me of Genesis 33:9 'And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.' My reflective submission was thumbs up for #Ihaveenough.

I can understand if one refuses a gratuitous offer, but can't understand someone refusing the benefit for which he had worked so hard. I was thinking, why is it that it is only the doctors pushing for #Ihaveenough? What about the engineers and taxi drivers in Canada? Oh, I can see why now. It is probably because doctors are trained to be caregivers, therefore their reason for the protest was 'to ensure care is given to other societal needs.' Hmm!!! #Ihaveenough.

But wait a minute. Are Nigerian doctors not caregivers? Why is it that all we hear around here are, doctors on strike because one allowance has not been paid or salary is too small? Are they caregivers or caretakers? Even though the dictionary says caregiver and caretaker are somewhat synonymous, to me caregivers care about others, while caretakers focus on themselves. If you have ever been a tenant in a compound with a caretaker, you will understand my definition. #Ihaveenough.

I recalled the news last week of 53 Policemen serving in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, protesting over their unpaid Risk Caution Allowances since 2015, when they were posted to the Presidency. I wondered if the occupants of Aso Rock are caregivers or caretakers. I believe they are caretakers, withholding the meager allowances of these policemen and budgeting over N300 million for foodstuffs and N100 million for kitchen utensils such as forks and knives. When will Nigeria 'ogas' say #Ihaveenough and divert any further increase in their pay and allowances to their security and domestic staff? #Ihaveenough.

In Nigeria, it might have been debatable to state that the National Assembly members are the biggest caretakers we have. They were elected to be caregivers for all Nigerians, but with a monthly allowance of over N13 million, it is apt to say they are caretakers, taking away what belongs to all Nigerians. #Ihaveenough.

While I am currently examining myself if I am a caretaker or a caregiver, one thing I know is that for many Nigerian doctors that believe in 'grab everything available,' Quebec will definitely be struck off their destination list. #Ihaveenough.

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Children are Issues

Children are Issues

I was thinking this morning.... about issues. No, no, I have no issues and yes I have issues. Am I confused? Maybe. I was in church last Sunday when a couple came forward to give a testimony. The lady said, 'My husband and I have been married for several years without any issue....' To a non-Nigerian and a non-bible student, that statement will likely connote something good, but for a typical Nigerian and a bible student, it is negative. Matthew 22:25 says, 'Now there were with us seven brethren; and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and having no issue, left his wife to his brother.' As the couple continued with their testimony, my thinking generator was activated like the popular 'I better pass my neighbor' generator in a 'Face-me-I-face-you' apartment in Mushin. 'Why is a child referred to as 'an issue?'

 

I immediately google the word 'issue' to try to understand the several meanings. The very common meanings were 'an important topic or problem,' 'personal problems or difficulties' and 'a series of publications.' But somewhere at the bottom of the list was the legal meaning used in genealogy and wills, where 'issue' refers to a person's lineal descendants (children of one's own.) Now I understand that though the actions of some Nigerians seem to indicate that we  are lineal descendants of savages, there are a few bright spots of knowledge.

 

My mind is fixated on why children will be referred to as issues. Could it be because some see children as problems or because they are churned out like series of magazines? Whatever the reason is, one thing is clear, everyone's children are their issues.

 

Think about it. Though it is common in Nigeria to hear someone say, 'I have no issue,' I have not heard anyone say, 'This is my issue Toyin' or 'These are my issues John and Janet.' But rather they say, 'This is my son John.' Hmm!!!

 

With that understanding, I realized that there were many topical issues in the past few weeks in Nigeria. While one of the issues of PMB returned from medical treatment in Germany to a grand welcome by top government functionaries, the issues of the governors of Kano and Oyo states were tying the knot with the President and 20 governors in attendance. All these happened at a period when 110 female issues from Dapchi were abducted by Boko Haram. Dearis God! The reason why the issues of the rich and the poor are treated differently in Nigeria is an issue for another day.

 

Of a truth, we have issues, but we have to move on. Remember, when you go to church today, please go along with your issues.

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Fighting Principalities

Principality Stadium

I was thinking this morning.... about Principality. Yes, Principality. But before you start binding, please hear my reason. As I drove into the office Monday morning with work on my mind, listening to the Morning Sports Drive on 92.3 FM, the presenter spoke about the upcoming fight between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker. Since boxing is not my thing, I gave the news no much thought until it was mentioned that the fight will take place at the 'Principality Stadium' in Wales. 'Principality Stadium' ke? 'Why would a Joshua and a Joseph choose to fight in the arena for principalities?' I had thought. I recalled that stadium fire of 1958 in England that caused the death of 56 spectators. Could that have been caused by the principality at the stadium?

 

It seems ironic that Joseph and Joshua will ignore 'Stadium of Lights' of Sunderland FC or even 'St Mary's Stadium' in Southampton both in England and chose 'Principality Stadium.' As I wondered if really the stadium was meant for principalities, I found out that the stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in Cardiff and was originally called The Millennium Stadium until 2016 when it was renamed 'Principality Stadium' after Welsh Rugby Union announced a 10-year sponsorship deal with the Principality Building Society.

 

While I care not if a Building Society calls itself Principality, it takes a whole new meaning if a stadium is called Principality Stadium. Little wonder, that because SC Rheindorf Altach stadium in Austria, named after a sports betting brand is called 'Cashpoint Arena,' it was rumored that you need a pin number to get access to the stadium. What about the 'Bargain Booze Stadium' of Witton Albion in England, named after a discount alcohol brand? They got so drunk and couldn't sustain the name beyond a couple of seasons.

 

But why do we interpret a name with the simple and sometimes singular understanding we have without checking? The only understanding I had of 'principality' is what the Bible says in Ephesians 6:12, 'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.' Therefore to most people, principality is synonymous with dark powers. So my initial thought of Joshua and Joseph fighting at the 'Principality Stadium' had a spiritual connotation, until I discovered that 'Principality' also means 'the territory, jurisdiction or state ruled by a prince.'

 

With that understanding, it dawned on me that with so many Nigerians having the prefix 'Prince' before their names, we must be a nation of principalities. So, the next time you set out to war against 'principalities,' be certain you are doing so with understanding.

Happy Sunday.

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Exercise is more important than mu career

I was thinking this morning..... about exercise and career. Where I sat at the Teslim Balogun Stadium yesterday participating in the closing ceremony of the 17th Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games (NOGIG), I wondered how so many professionals could leave their job and career for a week to participate in sports that gives them nothing more than ceremonial medals. Moreso, the medals won will not count during the end year appraisal. 'Are the participants really serious about their careers?' I had soliloquized. 'Or are they a group with NFA (No Future Ambition)?'

 

As I placed exercise/sports and career on a mental scale, to see which weighs more, I recalled an article I read in Time Magazine titled 'Why exercise is more important than my career' by one Joshua Steimle, an entrepreneur. But how can exercise be more important than my career? 'OYO (on your own) for him,' I concluded with finality. Will exercise put food on my table? Will exercise pay my children school fees? Too many questions popping up to justify my parochial line of thought.

 

But then, just a little patient reflection exposed my folly. Think about it. It is prevalent attitude amongst professionals that career or business comes first and that it trumps everything else including family, friends and health. But is that really true? I think not. Also, could exercise be more important than my career? Maybe that's why Cyril Ramaphosa, the current president of South Africa, was seen taking his usual early morning walk/jog along Cape Town's Sea Point Promenade in spite of the state of the nation address and the looming budget speech he had to give on the day of his inauguration. If he was a Nigerian politician, he probably will be in meetings all night and day with party members and associates strategizing on how to share potential available positions.

 

Maybe exercise should be important than my career. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President became a master in martial arts and has been actively competing in sports such as hockey, badminton and horse riding since 1966, while Tony Abbot, the Prime Minister of Australia until 2015 competed in an Iron Man triathlon, he runs a marathon and regularly cycles up and down hills near Parliament House four to six times around dawn. Yet the only information available of a Nigeria past or present president committed to exercise or sports is OBJ and his love for 'Ayo' (the African game board.)

 

Should exercise be more important than my career? Dick Costolo, the CEO of Twitter from 2010 to 2015 bikes and does grueling CrossFit workouts and he tweets more about fitness than tech or business. Imagine, while the CEO of Twitter was focusing on exercise, many CEOs are focusing on Twitter.

 

Truth is, exercise is more important than your career and therefore must be come first. If exercise stops, then your health goes downhill. With loss of physical health, your productivity t work goes down. You become depressed and lose the motivation to do the things that make your business or career successful.

 

For me, I have decided to exercise. If I can't find time to go play badminton at the club, I will skip and jog-on-the-spot in my house. And if time will not allow me, I will box in the shower. Whatever it takes, I must exercise because 1st Tim 4:8 says 'For bodily exercise profits little.' We need that little to achieve great things.

 

Happy Sunday.

 

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Love and Procrastination

Love and Procrastination

I was thinking this morning..... about Love and Procrastination. While in the office last Thursday, I overheard a colleague reminding another colleague to send the data she had requested for. She asked him, 'Do you know what today is?' trying to make him realize that the target date was past. Jokingly, he responded, 'Today is the day after Valentine's Day.' Yes, the day before was Valentine's Day, but how will that enhance the delivery of the target at work? As far as this guy was concerned, Valentine's Day was the most important event this period and therefore has to be the reference point.

As I smiled at his response, I wondered why I don't give so much thought to Valentine's Day as much as others do. Is it that I am 'old skool' or I just don't appreciate that day? Hmm!!! So much happened on February 14th, with so many waxing love poems for their spouse or partner. But the message that stood out for me, by a long shot, was that written by a friend of mine. He wrote, 'You are the egg in my egg roll. Without you I am puff puff.' Hmm!!! Truly puff puff takes a whole new life with egg at the middle and changes its name to egg roll. Very loving and very original but I know that egg roll is not a delicacy that you eat once a year. Why then do you wait till February 14th to tell your spouse he/she is the egg in your egg roll?

Why do we procrastinate our love demonstration till February 14th each year? My thinking is that we love procrastination. Psychologist Joseph Ferrari has said, 'Procrastination is not waiting and it is not delaying. It is a decision not to act.' Many have decided not to act on their relationship until February 14th each year, during which period the ships and the relation may have drifted too far apart. I believe that most of the gestures people demonstrate on Valentine's Day are things they should be doing every day.

As I probed a bit more as to why I don't pay attention to Valentine's Day, it wasn't clear at first, but then it dropped. Aha! I can see why now! It is because it is not 'Wey Mey's Day.' Why should I wait for St. Valentine to remind me to show love to my wife? While I have created many 'Wey Mey's Day through the year, when I do special things for my wife, thereby making February 14th like any other day, I still pray the words of 1st Thessalonians 3:12 that says 'May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other.'

Knowing that the 2019 Valentine's Day is 361 days away, please do not procrastinate to show love to your loved ones. Tell them that they are the eggs in your egg rolls, the sim card in your smart phones or the data in your modem. Whatever description works for you, just let them know you love them today and everyday.

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Oh God, Please Make Me Humble

Stay Humble

I was thinking this morning.....about humility. Last Sunday 4th February was the 14th birthday of Facebook and the founder Mark Zuckerberg put out a message to all Facebook users. It was a simple message that acknowledged the many mistakes he had made over the period and how he is honored to be on the journey with every user. As I read the message, I couldn't understand his simplicity. How can a man that is the founder of a network with 2.2 billion monthly active users as at Q4 2017 be that simple? When I consider that there are many people, especially Nigerians with only 100,000 followers on a platform they did not create, but yet see themselves as demi-gods with celebrity status, I could not help but say 'oh God, please make me humble.'

As I prayed, I recalled that while signing off from work penultimate Friday, I was attracted to the news on CNN that Facebook had announced a revenue of about $13 billion for Q4 2017. I was humbled by the news not because they made $13b, but because they did so in 3 months. If you imagine that one of the most successful Oil and Gas Companies in Nigeria made a profit of about $1.5 billion in the whole of 2017, then you will understand my humility. And if you consider that with an annual national budget of about $20 billion, we go about killing ourselves in Nigeria in the fight to get a chunk of the national cake, while a young man that makes about $40 billion in a year can still be simple and stay calm, then you will join me to say 'oh God, please make me humble.'

 

But how can anyone be so blessed and remain humble? Even if he had made a commitment to be humble, the sheer number of people he controls should make his head grow. The number of full time employees at Facebook increased from 600 in 2006 to 25,000 as at end December 2017, yet you can hardly differentiate Mark Zuckerberg from his staff because of his simplicity. If you consider that some people have just two or three domestic staff working for them and they have assumed the status of lord, demanding that the staff kneel down to serve them, you will join me to say, 'oh God, please make me humble.'

 

If Mark Zuckerberg was over 60 years like the other billionaires in America, I would understand saying that the many huddles of life had probably humbled him, but he will be 34 years in May, meaning he is a Millennial (also known as Generation Y or Echo boomers). If you look around us and see how Nigerians of his age that had made their first N100 million (about $300,000) drive about town in flashy cars with the 'I have arrived' attitude, then you will join me to say, 'oh God, please make me humble.'

 

How can a young man who is worth $76.6 billion (5th richest man in the world) not be proud and egoistic? It is ironic. If you consider that the highest paid executive in Nigeria, Mrs Sola David-Borha, MD/CEO of StambicIBTC Holdings (though a humble woman as well) is paid about N485,000 daily and Mark Zuckerberg who could easily have requested for a six or more figure salary but opted for one dollar a year salary, then you will join me to shout, 'oh God, please make me humble.'

 

It is common to hear people being referred to as 'Bigger boy, the Boss, the Don, Master or even Oga at the top' by virtue of their blessings, making them think they are achievers. For me, I always remind myself that we are only receivers and not achievers, to keep me humble. James 4:10 says 'Humble yourselves before the Lord and h will lift you up.'

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Love is not an Emergency

I was thinking this morning... abut the timeliness of love demonstration. While observing my week days unwinding routine, watching Tinsel on TV, Serena, the run away wife of Chief was expressing her concern to Brenda Mensah, about her partner, Ike moving too fast and wanting to take her for a family function. While Brenda advised her to take it slowly, she concluded thus, 'I may not be an expert in relationships, but one thing I have learnt is that love is not an emergency.' That 'love is not an emergency,' struck a cord in me.

 

If love is truly not an emergency, then why does the heart skip a beat when one is in love? I remember in 2001 when I first saw this young damsel who later became my wife, I made every move possible to engage and marry her as soon as possible, because as far as I am concerned, it was a 'Marital Emergency.' How can they say love is not an emergency?

 

As I protested, something in me tells me to calm down and reason. As I did grudgingly, I discovered that it is like two sides of a coin. If you are on the verge of losing your loved one, love will definitely be an emergency, but if your loved one 'falls your hand,' you are in no hurry to strike. Love, at this point will not be an emergency. But how can love not be an emergency? I kept wondering. I recalled the several News stories of people committing suicide  because they were dumped by those they loved and yet someone is telling me that love is not an emergency. Surely, love in this instance is a 'Medical Emergency.'

 

As my mind continued inditing this view that love is an emergency, I imagined the behavior of a typical Nigerian politician and Civil servants placed before the State coffers. They are like dogs on heat, with an urgent need to loot. The budget for four years is stolen in a  few months. Their love for money is definitely a 'Financial Emergency.'

 

When I considered this in the complex Nigeria setting, my thinking got a bit fuzzy. Think about it. Just before the last election, the then opposition, APC, needed the love of Nigerians. They were urgent in making Nigerians see why the change was imperative. To most people, the love was an emergency. They did not only preach love, they promised marriage and a life of bliss thereafter. There was a sense of urgency in their love demonstration. Shortly after we gave them our hearts, they went to sleep. It took months to appoint Ministers and get the economy to work. While we kept reminding them that love is an emergency, they gave us a convincing response, when in spite of the mass killings by marauding herdsmen, there was a near absence or at best a lack luster response to the killings. At this point I was convinced that love is not a 'Political Emergency.'

 

On the surface, that love is not an emergency seems like the flip side of 'Love is patient,' but in reality, it is like the plant, Impatiens capensis (Spotted touch-me-not). The fruit of this plant is a thin pod about 1 inch long that pops open at the slightest touch, throwing seeds in all directions. Love could or could not be an emergency depending on the seed it throws at you when you touch the subject. What matters is, in every aspect of your life, according to 1st Cor 16:14, 'Do everything in love.'

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey