Hey Friends, Let's do a reality check.
So I'm going to show you a couple of Images and I'll like to know what comes to your mind once you see them.
Slowly spend 5 seconds looking at each of these image and note down what you think it represents.
Are you ready ?
Swipe >>>
Two Machetes Lying On The Floor Beside a woman's Legs.
They Could Be Cutlasses or Knives.
What Comes To Your Mind ? #Picture01
A Kerosene lantern, used to light up
a small room.
Where could this be located ? #Picture02
If you said this is a Slum, You are possibly right.
It Could be Maybe, Kibera, Makoko, Mathare, Korogocho etc
But what does it signify and what kind of people live here ?
A fancy beach with clear blue water, blue skies, a luxurious yatch anchored by the shores, beautiful trees and happy tourists about to go surfing.
Where could this beach be located ?
So this is the first picture of two Machetes on the floor. But the complete picture shows four beautiful African women celebrating their harvest while returning from the farm.
If you guessed War or Fighting, rethink again because that isn't a true representation of Africa.
If you guessed that the Kerosene lantern was in a remote village lacking electricity you were wrong, because this is a 5 Star luxurious camp inside the Nairobi National Park where 24 hours power is provided, but Lanterns are still preferred for warmth and lighting.
And if you said that poor, helpless & dirty people lived in the slum, then think again. This is a happy, well dressed & content father who could have raised 6 children in the Kibera slum who are now Pilots, Doctors, Entrepreneurs, Lawyers, Innovators, Social Reformers et al.
And finally if you thought that the beach was somewhere in Miami or the Caribbean islands then rethink.
This is a typical beautiful beach filled with tourists, in Diani, Mambosa, Seychelles, Ilashe, The Gambia, Rep. of Benin and all across Africa. True beauty lies around us.
As Africans we need to always ask for the full picture and seize from making prejudiced judgements from a one sided picture.
We need to tell our true stories, celebrate our beauty and realize that Africa is filled with perfection.
We need to discard every divisive, stereotypical & dehumanizing belief we inherited and realize that true beauty lies in everyone of us irrespective of our religious or cultural differences.
We need to put love first and look for the diamond in every seemingly rough.
As Africans we need to beware of the danger of a single interpretation. From politics to religion, from economics to entertainment are people who have embraced and inherited dogmas and doctrines that are outright false and incomplete in most cases. Context is everything.
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Here's a short story to fill our hearts with ❤️
So, 10 years & 8 months ago, I met a little girl who challenged me, inspired me & eventually shaped my life and the lives of thousands of others.
This week, we paid her a surprise visit in Abuja.
I hope her story will inspire you ❤️
In December 2011, we met a little girl in Makoko paddling a large canoe, 10 times her size. She was 8 years old & never been to school.
We were overwhelmed by her strength, so we trailed her to her house by the waterside.
Why is a smart girl like her not in school? We wondered!
She jumped off the boat and went to the back of the hut where she was drying fish. She would later take the smoked fish to the market with her mum to sell. She was such an inspiration, but we knew she needed to be in school.
Today is the International Day of Education, & an urgent question to ask is;
Are our universities becoming better?
Will technology disrupt their existence? And
Will they become obsolete very soon?
Here are some reasons why I believe they will, if we fail to redesign them.
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1. Many universities are wasting the time of young people. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here & it is demand specific. The world needs specializations & universities aren't providing that which is why more companies like Google, IBM, Apple don't prioritize a college degree.
Why do we import foreign medicines & even vaccines produced by other countries when we have hundreds of universities? Why do over 70% of our microbiologists or biochemists never practice upon graduation but choose to become fashion designer, bankers or makeup artists ?
There are 4 key people, we all need in life & career.
A. Role Models
B. Mentors
C. Coaches &
D. Cheerleaders
Understanding each of them, knowing the role they play & how to choose who fills each position can transform your career. So let's find out who they are.
Thread>>>
Every successful person has at some point had a role model, mentor, coach or cheerleader. Some people even have all 4 of them. Like my dad always says, "a dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant will always see farther than the giant." So what is the difference between all 4.
A role model is someone who you may never meet physically but you admire & emulate certain traits, skills or competencies. You'll mostly watch/study this person from a distance and their words & actions inspire & guide you. Sometimes role models could also be people close to you.
The world is evolving rapidly but our educational system isn't. We're still practicing an educational model designed for the 19th century to prepare children to be factory workers.
Here's my list of 10 obsolete educational practices that we need to change/reform.
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1. Copying long notes in class: Why would a teacher spend hours copying notes from the textbook to the "blackboard" & then instruct all the students to spend more hours copying that note, even when the students have the textbook and might not understand the content of the note.
This teaching style is not only time wasting but limits the child's thinking ability. Learners/students should be encouraged to study the course work before the class & then questions are addressed in class with key points highlighted and noted during discussion.
Every crisis comes with threats to drown us, as well as opportunities to help us fly.
This is a story of how my barber pivoted his business amidst this pandemic and it could help us rethink, replan and reinvent.
And I pray that we all find ways to swim and not sink.
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From March to June all hair salons were shut down & my barber who works in one of the top salons was out of job. He has a small family of 3 and every other week he'll send me a text requesting for support. After a month I asked that he comes over to cut my hair & discuss more.
On that day, as he walked in I could see how frustrated he looked. He hadn't worked for over 2 months. He wore a face mask, washed his hands & began my hair cut while we discussed his business strategy.
He earned about N70,000 monthly & that income hadn't come in 3 months.
In 30 years, Nigeria will become the 3rd most populous nation in the world with over 400million people & Lagos will be among the 5 most populous cities in this world, thanks to our growth rate of 3.2%.
Could this be a great opportunity for us or would it destroy us?
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Today in Nigeria, can we have a proactive conversation on population control, birth control or even propose a bill to regulate child bearing? Apparently we are religiously, culturally & socially not ready to. So the question is, what do we do with such a fast growing population?
I assure you there's something we can do & I'll tell you.
The Chinese are the manufacturing capital of the world. The US is the world's Technology capital. Dubai is the tourism capital & so are many other nations with a clear vision.
But what capital can Nigeria be known for?