The Culture of Keeping Quiet

Photo Source: digdang.com

Change is in the air in Nigeria, in with the new and out with the old is the word on the streets, the people are happy and satisfied as they have spoken out loud and made their choice. The preceding events, the elections and the result process have really got me thinking about the journey so far and the road ahead for Africa as a continent.  As much as I know from my years on this planet and the experiences of those who have spent far more years than I have, one of the major attitudes that have held us back for so long is the culture of keeping quiet. 

Are Nigerian Youths Really Lazy?

If I got one Naira for every time I hear a sentence beginning with “children of nowadays…” I’d be a billionaire by now. The average Nigerian youth is perceived as a lazy person who wants to get rich quick with as little amount of work as possible. This statement I believe is very true and very false.  There are a number of reasons why these accusations against our youth cannot be faulted. These reasons are very obvious and easily identifiable by everyone except the youth.  Dear Nigerian youth, I am not on the other side, we are both on one side, the young side. Please listen to one of your own and change as required because the “change” we have all been asking for from our leaders, from the forth coming elections and from our system will only begin and succeed when it starts first in our minds, and then in our attitudes. We will have to live this changed lifestyle as the new normal. Without this, this change will be worth a little more than the 10 Naira change our president recently gave us for one litre of fuel.

Why is Nobody Talking About the Ability to Follow?

 The topic of leadership in management has been discussed time and time again in every management meeting, conference and symposium all over the world and in many different languages. Leadership is a universal concept taught and learned by many and rightfully so, because of it's importance in building and growing a formidable company. However, there is one important ingredient in the leadership mix that is seldom spoken about, and that is followership. A leader is only as powerful as the willingness and obedience of his followers. Therefore it is safe to generalise that the followers are indeed leading. We can also look at it this way; even though you might be a leader in certain social groups, you are most likely to be a follower in another. Therefore, everybody is in fact a follower somewhere. People sometimes say great leaders make poor followers. I think this should not be so. Therefore, looking through my lenses as a young, working professional, I would like to take a bite at this subject in leadership called followership.

“Why We are the Easiest to Work with” - The Millennial

I know the title of this piece may sound like a big irony to the Generation Xer reading this now, but at the end of this piece you will agree with it. But before I go on and on, in the first place, who is a millennial? Who is an Xers? A millennial is one born in the millennial generation. The millennial generation is loosely regarded as people born between 1980 and 2000. They are sometimes referred to as Generation Y. They are different in comparison with generations preceding them - Generation X; born between 1960 and 1980, Baby Boomers; born between 1946 and 1964 and Silent Generation; born between 1930s and 1946.  Although the basis for classifying these generations are the social, economic and cultural activities that existed in Europe and America at those times, these groups, especially the millennial generation, are also identifiable in Africa. As people, we are products of nature (inherited behaviour from birth) and nurture (learned behaviour from society). Some people even argue that we are shaped more by nurture than nature. Consequently, every generation is different from others and this translates into workplace behaviour. Therefore,the question is no longer whether we are different, it is about how different we are. And the big questions are - Is it a good or bad kind of different? How do we work with and through our differences?

Intellectual Obesity

I have gone through most of my adult life believing that everyone is smart. I have however, met some people that have tested my belief in that theory many times. I still choose to believe we are all smart people in this world. I believe strongly that what differentiates us all is our intellectual diet. Through keen observation  for sometime now, I have come to notice three sets of people; The intellectually starved, the intellectually obese and the intellectually fit. We all in one way or the other fall into one category.


The intellectually starved. He knows he could do a lot more with himself but "what about sleep, parties and the sweet feeling of doing absolutely nothing? Too high a price for intellectual vitality" he concludes. She knows where her passion is calling her to, but "all those sacrifices, hours of study and research, all of that time to learn the ropes. Thanks but no thanks" she tells herself.  But listen, you can go on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for hours because Zuckerberg and co. refused to be intellectually starved. For how long are you going to let dust and cobwebs cover you passion. How much longer will algae re-design your destiny? I have too many questions to ask you, and I receive too few answers.

Here's to Us - Toast to Us!

Here's to the strong and determined Nigerian. To the Nigerian who is unwavering and resolved in the quest to live a good life. He does not have a father in the government or a mother in the welfare system, but as an orphan lives through the realities in his home. She does not find a husband in patriotism or children in her compatriots, still she keeps her home even for the bastards her husband got out of wedlock.


Cheers!
Here's to the Minister of Power and his generating plant, however small, "e pass him neighbor"
Here's to the Minister of Water Resources whose bore hole system supplies water to his household and entire street.

Dear Sir!

Dear Sir/Madam

I know you did not have a very pleasant weekend, I will not ask, I can see by the look on your face. However, I did have an amazing weekend but I can't say because admitting I did not work over the weekend will make me look lazy around here. I have a really funny joke to share but I am convinced you will not laugh, I have a really touching story but not for you, I already know.  I am sorry about what happened on Friday, I now realise I was wrong, I hope the weekend has washed away my sins.

If you do not mind I would like to draw your attention to some misconceptions about us the "junior ones".