As the fire laden balls of water hit my back, I feel the tired muscles in my back untense. And the the ladder laden water wash down my face, away with it the tension of the day going past, giving me another opportunity to start again refreshed in another 24 hour cycle. I am grateful for the invention of the shower!
Dear Sir, It was shocking-very shocking-to learn of your demise last night. Whilst I join others to wish you a safe trip to your next destination, I can not help but wonder how in humane man can be. I remember clearly how they flew you in (though we still have doubt you were on that flight) and smuggled you into Aso Rock even though Aso Rock did not provide the life sustaining medical equipments you needed. I also remember how they wickedly rouse you from sweet (and possibly healing) coma to make you sign the 2010 Appropriation Bill (that I guess is the name for the annual budget). My friends here thinks i should not have been suprised at the inhuman treatments you suffered from your wife, aides and close allies in your last five months on earth, they argue that you have always been a subject of such treatment, at least they argued, you were forced against your will to contest the 2007 elections (and made to cu short your well needed medical pilgrimages to Germany during the campaign). Sir, so long since we met – actually since I met you – sad we will no longer hear from you, but please do keep in touch with members of the various cabals ruining our nation and remind them sir of their mortality as humans…please share with them tales from where you are, perhaps they may have a change of heart and allow us common people (I don’t know what that really means)
Now that we have raised our voices in Abuja and in Lagos – whether or not they are listening, one thing is certain they can hear us and they can not ignore us, not any more, our voices are too loud to go unheard – we need to press hard our demands not just provide a list of to dos, but state clearly the whats, whys and whens and even our intended roles for a better NIgeria. Long live Nigerian youth! Long LIVE Nigeria
I have found many ways to do things other than the traditional approach. One is that though I still have the latest (may be not exactly latest) edition of the Oxford’s advanced learner’s dictionary sitting somewhere on my book case, I have not opened my trusted lexicological friend of many years in months.
In case you do not know, there is a gathering storm in Nigeria and young people are at the centre of the crusade for a better Nigeria. A simple Google search will reveal a myriad of sources of information on the many things young people are doing to save their fatherland (motherland if you choose) from the cabal who run Nigeria as a family business and have inhibited the socio-economic growth natural of a country of diverse human, natural and material resources as Nigeria. I am a supporter of the New Nigeria crusade shrouded in in many campaigns including: # EnoughIsEnough #LightupNigeria We are creating a revolution to birth the Nigeria we deserve, the Nigeria of our dreams.
The following was circulated about an hour ago by concerned young people in Nigeria. I support the demands being a young person myself desirous of change and development in my fatherland. I have included my name in the signature below and I implore you to add your voice and acts to this campaign. Nigeria is ours, we should seize it from the despots. ——————————————————————– March 16 is the date that young Nigerians will make their voices heard #weneedfuel #lightupnigeria #whereisyaradua #enoughisenough! Fellow Young Nigerians, Did you know that, in Nigeria , young people are in the majority? Did you know that young people below 35 make up more than 70 per cent of the population? You know what that means? It means we have the power to actually make things happen! So, how come we are doing nothing about the many problems that have hit our nation in the past few months? Is it enough to make noise on Facebook, Twitter, websites, BBMs, blogs and others where no one is listening? How come it’s the Wole Soyinkas, the Femi Falanas and the Tunde Bakares that are fighting for us? Why do we allow ourselves to be branded as the do-nothing generation? Like someone said recently, how can we be so talented individually and yet so disillusioned and disdained collectively? We all know the reason – we have been told that there is nothing we can do about the status quo; that the cabal is too strong. Well, that is a
Written originally on Monday 30supth/sup November 2009 I hate to get unnecessarily emotional, but learning earlier today the President’s ailing health took a worse turn and as such has postponed his return from Saudi Arabia indefinitely was/is scary. Last Thursday’s rumour of his death is the second in one year. The first being earlier this year when there were no official releases as to where he was or what was happening to him –after he refused to return on time from the lesser hajj, the lesser hajj in itself is critiques stated was a mere cover up. People were forced to speculate and it did not take long for rumours to circulate he was dead. A broadcast media (a TV station) was fingered and punished by the state for igniting a search for the President’s true status then.
Titans from the academe, industry, civil society and the in betweens (we cannt always categorize everybody) are gathered amongst the pyramids of Egypt at the IGF 2009 conference to discuss the future of information managment and sharing – hope google is represented! As should be expected, in a gathering of such magnitude there will be many anecdotes, rhetorics, statistics, pitches, puns etc. embeded in long papers/presentations and I have decided to share my reflections (and may be some pun too) here. This post will sure grow as I will update as facts emerge from the conference.
Originally written, October 28th and then forgotten until now. Spent a while (and you can add a fortune too :)) seeing Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which premiers from today in cinemas worldwide. I could not help but conclude that Michael was a bunch of talent and deep thinking giving his calculated dance steps, deliberate pitch and troughs in his singing and the subject of his songs – which included the earth, helping the poor etc. I cannot say I was a fan of his while he lived. True I did not miss a single showing of his biographic serial on the Cadbury breakfast TV in the 90s – can’t remember what it was called now though. Reading the Moon Walk way back in the late 90s at a time when I was able to appreciate growing up (being a teenager myself) gave me a glimpse of the pop star’s growing days – and helped put into perspective what Ihad withnessed on the TV serial earlier on.
I have been a fan of TED for close to two years, since my days at the Paradigm Inintiative Nigeria (PIN) where I cut my teeth as a social entrpenur under an Ashoka Fellow: ‘Gbenga Sesan. Going through the TED archieve, I found this presentation by Ngozi OkonjoIweala in 2007. Ngozi (FYI) is the current Managing Director of the World Bank and a former Minister (of Finance) in General Olusegun Obasanjo’s (RTD) cabinet in Nigeria. In her presentation, Ngozi OkonjoIweala, takes on corruption in Africa and declares what we are doing at home to curb the scourge. She also goes on to highlight the roles of the developed nations in perpetuating Africa’s corruption. She stated that Africa’s development lies in our own hands as Africans far before President Barak Obama said so a few months ago, so I guess that is a reality we have to live with andbear in my mind as we work to salvage our continent. Please enjoy her presentation here.
The answer is of course, no. In truth she has been ravaged by war, famine and other disasters that could have been avoided or were in some cases delibrate machinations against her progress and development. Is africa a land of beauty? Yes, and that is what the Ogbwuegbu sisters have set out to bring tell the world in their travels. Emanuel Jal has also resolved to with music draw attention to the beauty of the Continent and bring to her the needed attention and cooperation to rid her of her challenges. Should you love africa? Yes, it is ours to own and to build. So what are you doing to build it? Me? This!
[16:03:03] *** YALDA West Africa added Kate *** [16:03:28] *** YALDA West Africa added Olumide Idowu *** [16:03:32] *** YALDA West Africa added ruchione *** [16:03:36] *** YALDA West Africa added Adebola Adenuga *** [16:03:59] YALDA West Africa: Hi All, Welcome to the YALDA West Africa Live Chat [16:04:17] YALDA West Africa: If you are there please write something [16:04:36] *** YALDA West Africa added oyebisius *** [16:04:47] Kate: Hello, greetings from South Korea [16:05:10] Adebola Adenuga: hallos [16:05:14] Adebola Adenuga: Something [16:05:20] Adebola Adenuga: U said i shld write something [16:05:23] Adebola Adenuga: lol [16:05:25] YALDA West Africa: Thanks Adebola [16:05:36] Kate: hi [16:05:52] Adebola Adenuga: U are welcome [16:05:59] Adebola Adenuga: I leave in 30 mins though [16:06:08] YALDA West Africa: Ok thanks…. [16:06:11] Adebola Adenuga: So wat are we discussing [16:06:20] Adebola Adenuga: let me starting punching my keyboard [16:06:47] *** Missed conference call. *** [16:07:12] YALDA West Africa: We are writting, not calls please [16:07:23] Adebola Adenuga: that waz buzzing [16:07:36] Adebola Adenuga: since there is no Buzz button , i used that [16:07:39] Kate: So What’s the topic [16:08:04] Adebola Adenuga: What are u writing and deleting at the same time? [16:08:33] YALDA West Africa: Youth: Making Sustainable Change Happen, the Imperatives and Challenges [16:09:06] Kate: West African Youth? [16:09:08] YALDA West Africa: Seyi Oyebisi is lead speaker and he has 35 mins and thene we discuss [16:09:42] YALDA West Africa: Kate, the event is only being anchored by the West Africa Arm of YALDA
The theme of this year’s International Youth Day -Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future- is a global call to action for young men and women. Our world faces multiple interconnected crises with severe and far-reaching impacts that fall disproportionately on the young. In 2007, for example, youth comprised 25 per cent of the world’s working age population yet accounted for 40 per cent of the unemployed. The global economic downturn means that, in the near term, youth unemployment will continue to climb. Unemployment rates tell only part of the story, especially for the vast majority of youth who live in developing countries. For them, informal, insecure and low-wage employment is the norm, not the exception.
It is often said that young people are our future. They are our present, too. It is today, and not tomorrow, that we must invest in young people and include them in solving the great challenges of our times. Today, more than a billion and a half people are between the ages of 10 and 25 ‘the largest-ever youth generation’ and they are approaching adulthood in a world their elders could not have imagined. The world has been hit by the food, financial and climate crises and many young people are eager to help steer our world into greater balance.
In the midst of a series of unprecedented crises affecting the lives of young people all around the world, the theme for this year’s International Youth Day ‘Sustainability: our challenge, our future’ could not be more relevant. Sustainability refers to three facets of life which are all affected by the current turmoil: the environment, society and the economy. We need urgently to reflect on the challenges they pose for youth. If we do not, their opportunities for development, secure livelihoods and social cohesion will be compromised.
Are you young? Determined to make a difference in your life and those of others? Interested in helping birth a new Africa? Will like to contribute your skills, time and other resources in actualising the dream for a better Africa! Then you will be interested in the Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development of Africa (YALDA). YALDA was established in 2004 by a group of students at the Harvard College, Cambridge USA. The group has since spread to over twenty (20) campuses all over the world and that list is growing.
How do you see development? How can you portrait the human face of the development processes? How do you show that development initiatives and programmes improve the lives of people? This Global Photography Campaign, of which CIVICUS is a partner, aims to show examples of people winning the battle against poverty, social exclusion and marginalization. It is intended to raise awareness of the successes in the development process. For more information, click here. Cross Posted from http://Civicus.org.
Official public presentation is billed for Wednesday Septer 9, 2009 at the BooksNG offices in Gbagada, Lagos, Nigeria. For those who already know, it is the 09.09.09 event. Having just completed a priviledged reading of an advance copy if the book, I can not but say the following of ‘Gbenga Sesan: ‘Gbenga has again provided proof that Nigeria will get better and that the ‘project’ requires not only our hope and trust but our committment to make it work. His has been a journey in exemplyfing this and his committment as demystified In His Own Words has always been ‘infective’ and will only be more contagious now and encouraging to the numerous young people I hope will read this book. ‘Gbenga, Thanks for doing what you do and for taking time out to explain the Whys, Whens, Whats, Hows and wheres In Your Own Words.
Soundlide a coinage from the two words sound and slide (as in presentations) is an alternative to video. As you may be well aware it is important to keep documentary records of one’s activities as a social entrepreneur at least to remind yourself someday how far you have come and serve as guide to others seeking to embrace this route to fulfilment. And in most cases, the cost of making a video (with cameras and stuffs) can be prohibitive, thus soundslide may be a cheap and good alternative. This how to was first posted on the Ashoka website. Step 1: Edit your audio. You can edit your MP3 using previously recorded material using a free copy of Audacity. So easy, you can learn how to use it in less than 5 minutes. You can also add some flair by using open-sourced music. Russell says the key to a good soundslide is really good sound quality and sometimes even ambience noise that gives hints of where you are (NPR style!). Step 2: Make your audio slide show or “soundlide”. Utilizing the user-friendly soundslide maker. Where you upload your audio in MP3 and your pictures in JPEG (I love flickr for creative-common licensed images). Step3: Post it on the net. On the soundslide maker, hit export to have the files ready to upload to your website. If you have the free version of Soundslides, upload your soundslide to a free website and if you wish to post your soundslide on to your
Look, the internet is like the real world and in many cases offer benefits hard to replicate in real life. See, when you post a status message on facebook, it appears on your friend’s walls – all your of friends will see it (yes, when they log-in to their facebook account). And if one person posts a comment, all his/her friends get notices that he/she has commented on your status – the same goes to images, notes and all media you put on facebook. Let’s do some maths. I have 155 friends –that’s a fact. Each of my friends has 10 friends each. That means I have a primary audience of 155 and a secondary audience of 155X10 = do that maths. Guessing that you have 1000 friends and each of them another 1000! You have a million people who will hear you when you talk – and most times will only decide not to listen to you againg only after hearing you the first time. So, I ask, what do you do on facebook? Chatter nonsense? Or aiming to reach your desired ends making facebook (and the internet) work for you? So why not get to work and use these numbers to your advantage? More on this and other web 2.0 strategies for personal and organisational efficiency in the coming weeks. Watch this space! Oluwakorede Asuni, is an independent IT consultant with specialist interests in Web 2.0 tools and online presence management. He manages ‘Korede Asuni Consulting an Information
The Octalysis framework is perhaps the most complete framework for grounding gamification design efforts in reality. In this paper, I present the framework and opine
Yesterday, I told the barista politely that I am going to do something about our trade deficit. The back story: I buy coffee from her,
If you’ve ever wished for a tool that could cut through the chaos and help you focus on what really matters—understanding and applying the information—you’re not alone. That’s where NotebookLM steps in.
Do we do work for the sake of it and its direct benefits (ability to buy things and by a stretch the ability to create wealth) or as a means to live a fulfilled life (where each is free to define fulfilment)? A position I might have maintained given “my confusion” is to maintain a hybrid view of work. I seize or attempt to seize every opportunity to create something that brings me fulfilment (I have been known to go as far as crossing boundaries of organisational hierarchy to get stuff done and apologise afterwards rather than wait endlessly for permission) and sometimes, too, I simply toe the line – in the hope that something great emerges – especially one that does emerge despite our efforts to the contrary.
OluwakoredeAsuni.com, is a self-named website which serves as the central hub and connecting tissue for ALL of Oluwakorede Asuni’s digital content.
For the latest in the work Oluwakorede Asuni is busy with and his reflection on matters always start here.
Coming soon!