Emog

I read an interesting story today about three trees and I will like
to share it with you.

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were
discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said,
“Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled
with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with
intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.”

The second tree said, “Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will
take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners
of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the
strength of my hull.” The third tree said, “I want to grow to be the
tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top
of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens
and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the
greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.”

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I was watching a documentary on the life of Dr Martin Luther
King and in one of his speeches, his last speech to be precise,
“I have been to the Mountain Top” He made a statement that
really touched my heart.

“Only when it is dark enough can we see the stars.”

Imagine yourself in a dark room, so dark you cant see a thing.
Then a candle was lit in that room. No matter how dark the
room is, that light no matter how small, will illuminate the room.
You can imagine what the black race was going through at that
time. They were fighting for their right to exist on earth, to be equal
and not to be outcasts or slaves.

The circumstances surrounding us today seem to be quite dark.
There are stories in the news that one can only described as
heart breaking. From misappropriation of funds by Ex-Governor’s,
bribery scandals in ministries and various parastatals to Sex scandal
in Aso Rock. These are just a few of the ills of our society.

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It amazes me how Nigerian’s unite when we have a common enemy
or a common goal. One of such moments was when Nigeria met
Cote ‘d’ Ivoire in the on going Nations cup - Ghana 2008. The
expectations where high and my colleagues and I where so excited
and we could not wait for the match to start.

The outcome of the match was far from expectation, we lost by a lone
goal. However I noticed a few things that I believe are more important
than winning or loosing.

We are optimistic. No matter how terrifying the enemy, we believe
without a doubt that we are greater than the enemy. We might have
given up on our country in so many circumstances but we continue to
believe that the next opportunity will be better than the last. This is
interesting in view of the fact that we can channel this strength towards
fighting against some of our greatest enemies - corruption, poverty
amongst others.

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An anonymous caller contacted me and said he had seen my
credentials and was willing to send the documents to me. I was
excited and was so grateful to God that at last it had been found.
He started out as a nice guy and only demanded that at my own
time I could send him a recharge card to be able to drop it at the
park I lost it.

I hurriedly sent it to him and contacted someone to help me pick it
up at the park. I called the number again and to my surprise, the story
had changed. The good Samaritan was demanding for N10,000
before he would send the documents. My countenance revealed
everything. The excitement was gone.

I came back to Lagos in January and had a couple of tests and
interviews which I attended with photocopies of my credentials
and the police report and affidavit. The negotiations went on for
almost 3 months. I sent some more recharge cards and investigated
the number through a friend that works in GLO mobile. There was
no positive result.

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The year was 2006. December 16 to be precise. I was on my
way back home. I Was about boarding a bus to Warri in the early
hours of the morning from a park in Jibowu-Lagos. It was a
typical rowdy scenario you could find at that period due to the
high traffic of passengers. I joined the queue like other passengers
with my luggage and when it got to my turn to pay I had to drop my
bags to pay for the ticket. After paying, I reached out to grab my
bags and it was gone.

I was shocked and confused at the same time. I could not think
straight. I walked up and down the park inquiring from management
and the passengers if they had seen the bag. The response was
the same everywhere-negative. I was running out of time as the
bus was almost full and I had to make a decision on what to do.

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I have often wondered how it’s so easy to make a decision and stick by it, provided there are no options. There’s a certain part of our brain that works only when we are under pressure. Imagine when you are trapped in a room and there’s a fire out break……You immediately see windows of opportunities where there seemed to be none.

I had a strong belief that someone had to help me achieve my dreams. I particularly relied on my father to give me a job or to set me up in life. This was not the case. I did not understand that he had given me all I needed to achieve what ever height I desired – an education. However the schools did not teach us the most important lesson.

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Can I start my own blog? Can I be the best in what I do? These are the questions that are going through my mind right now. However, there is only one way to find out. Start from where you are.

Someone Once said that discipline is doing what you have to do whether you feel like it or not. It’s the 15th day of January 2008 exactly 12 noon, I have decided to start my own blog.

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