RICE-O-CRACY

(At the Governo-dential debate)

Host: One final question for you sirs. We noticed that you have both adopted the same strategy to get votes, and that is by giving out to the people. It is interesting also to know that you both have been giving out same type of item but in different forms and this is where we want to focus on.
What influenced your decisions?
Is there a coded message embedded in how you have decided to give these gifts?

I'll start with your excellency....

'Yemi: Thank you gentleman. I have decided to give out food to the people of my state because that is the one of the basic needs of man. The people are hungry and there is a yoruba saying that a hungry man is not interested in any other talk...so that need must be met first before any other thing. It's as simple as that.
However, there are strong messages i am passing out to the people by the method i have chosen to meet this need.
1. I gave out cooked jollof rice. This means i am going to give them ready-made solutions. They should just relax and we'll do everything.
2. I served them this food myself to show the exceptional leadership qualities i possess. I am a humble man, a leader who is ready to come down to the position of a servant, an approachable leader, a leader by example.

Host: Thank you sir your excellency. So the people should expect a government with ready-made answers, led by a humble leader. Thank you.

Now over to you sir Otunba. What do you want the people to know....What is the message?

'Yose: Thank you o jare young man. It is true the people have a need but is it one plate of rice that will satisfy that need? Haba! Will they have to queue again the next day for another plate of jollof rice? What type of governement provides a solution that will not last for his people?

1. I gave out uncooked rice in bags for them to take home and cook at their own convenience. This shows i am including them in the governance of the state. The government alone cannot do everything for the people.
2. The size of the bag is handy for each of them to carry without inconvenience this shows we'll not saddle them with too much responsibility to kill them all in the name of serving them.
3. The quantity of the rice is such they will not consume at a go but will last them as long as they can manage. This is telling them that resources are to be prudently managed. You don't consume everything 'phi-am' just like that otherwise you'll go hungry before the next supply comes.

Host: I know the people of this state are intelligent and I hope they'll apply the same level of intelligence when voting.
Thank you sirs for coming on to this show. We have now come to the end of this programme, thank you viewers for watching and have a nice evening.

ROLES

I passed around when this photoshoot was taking place, and just at the perfect moment i was able to capture this shot which, after careful thoughts, decided to name ROLES.

To the ordinary eyes, this is just a regular picture but looking at the different characters it features all in one go, i feel it's more than ordinary.

The world is a stage where all the men and women are merely players.
Each one of us have our plays, roles, times, exits and entrances.

The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional role within the society and then do it.
Some create moments, some capture these moments to ensure they are not lost.
Some other people's role is to protect the moments and prevent them from being tampered with. While some are just on-lookers, the rest are cut off entirely from these moments not aware of whatever is happening around them.

One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that one's life has meaning, that one is needed in this world.

Find your fit.

AV

1+1=3

Ki eniti o sese nlo s'ogun ma soro bi eniti o ti t'ogun de.

If you have not being there, DON'T TALK LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT GOES ON THERE.

So many quotable quotes we say but we don't really understand, and when it even matters we can't make use of them.
So many advises we give but we have never found ourself in the position of the victim to know if they are practicable or not.

We sometimes wonder why people do what they do; we stand at a distance and judge: "....o se ma behave beyen?", "....i mean kii se iru e yen lo ye ko soro beyen...",  "mo wa disappointed". You see it's so easy to say all sorts of bullcrap because Eni ija o ba lo npe ara re l'okunrin.

You don't know what it feels to suffer a loss, so it is very convenient for you to berate a man whose mother was killed by a crocodile for over-reacting.
You don't know what it feels like not to know where the meal for the day is going to come from so it is very ok for you to come up with some scriptural quotes to gas a skint fellow up thinking that will meet their needs, and then later condemn them when you hear they were caught stealing. Why don't you wait until you find yourself in that situation before you know how you'll handle it.

Omo to gba odo naa k'awe, ibiti o ka ni ko jade ninu idanwo. If the equation 1+1 of your life is equals to 2, congratulations to you but don't look at the other dude whose answer is 3 as a boob. Always remember, there are other factors involved. When these factors are not yet included in your equation you'll always seem the genius.

The battles of the mind, dem are the real battles. They are tough because they are fought, won or lost alone!

Beneath the Glitz

I took this picture yesterday and after some self-reflection the unglamorous truth about our modern world was laid bare to me.

Beneath the glitz lies a dark life. A life of despair masked by luxurious facade. The more you scratch this surface, the more you discover it is superficial with a huge difference between the packaged life and the actual.

The savage tempo of our modern society is making it increasingly hard for people to keep it real. Countless people in the world secretly fake their fabulous livestyles. They are always somewhere very beautiful, lounging at poolside, in expensive designer gears, flying private jets, riding fast cars, and living in huge houses.
You may be out of sync with reality if you think they have it all, and you equally don't know what you are asking for when you pray to have their lives, because beneath all the brag lies pain, frustration, loneliness, sickness, divorce, low self-esteem, debts, and sordid secrets that must be kept away from the press.

It is the disconnection from this reality that is constantly pushing the wannabes into all sorts of trap in an attempt to attain this spurious eminence.
The closer you are to wealth and fame, the higher the pressure to succeed and impress. In reality the earning at this level is not enough to cover the lifestyle you are expected to live. The only possible way out is to become close to the 'underground economists', these are people whose businesses thrive based on who they pretend to be friends with. The likes of fashion designers, restaurant/club owners, publicists, event organisers etc., who are ready to exchange free goods/services for camera time with the VIPs.

The end will always be the same for all who tread this duplicitous path- depression, substance abuse, imprisonment, mental breakdown, suicide and mysterious death.

"When you look at others with their lands and gold (thinking they have it all)
Before you start to pray to have their lives;
Count your many blessings wealth can never buy,
And it'll surprise you how far better you are than them"

Treat life with respect and maturity.

GET REAL.