OGA POLICE!!!

“Oga park well…”

“Sir, I am a Doctor and I have a medical emergency, I didn’t mean to take ‘one-way’ but I can’t allow a patient die while I sit in traffic”

“Who you dey tell that kine lie?”

Brings out ID card,

“Officer, see my id card,  also if you look you can see my stethoscope in my car. I was just summoned that a young boy had an accident and was rushed to the hospital, other doctors are on strike but I can’t afford for the boy to die. That’s why I decided to rush there.”

“Na Ogun go kill you and the boy”

Roughly pushes open the door of the Doctor’s jeep and pulls him out by the neck.

"Officer, the law allows medical personnel on emergency to take any route possible."

“You be ambulance? Abi your jeep na LASAMBUS?”

Officer please do not be angry,  I seek only to save a life, I am sorry for going against the law.

“he he he. Na me you dey speak english for? You go see pepper today.” “where your particulars?”

The good doctor hands him the vehicle particulars. Just then his phone rings

Grring   Grring

“hello,”  

he listens for a bit,  

“put him on morphine, prep the theatre for surgery. If he flatlines use the defilbrator. I will be there presently” hangs up.

Officer, okay how can we resolve this amicably. I really need to go now. The patient might not survive another 30 minutes

“to bail yourself out go and bring 100,000”

"Aah aan, Oga police, it is people like you that keep giving the force a bad name. I will pay no bribe. If you insist that I am at fault, impound my car, I will take a taxi to the hospital and later I will have my lawyer come to the station. If I have broken any law, let us meet in court."

The Doctor moves to walk away.

The policeman cocks his gun. Take one more step and I go fire. I go just waste your life and I go talk say you be armed robber.

The Doctor is shocked to his bones.

The policeman beckons his colleagues who also come and together they begin to abuse and even slap the doctor.

You dey insult policeman? We go teach you lesson today.

Oya enter the van…

3 Hours later.

The Doctor has had to call his lawyer, a very popular SAN to meet him in the station, who after threatening to call the commissioner of police finally secures his release.

“Just before I go I want to meet the officer who arrested me. I have something to tell him”

“Officer yinusa no dey” another officer chimed. “ almost immediately we reach here n aim hin wife call am for phone. Him cum rush commot”

“God saved him” Just let him know, if anything happens to that poor boy. The blood will be on his head.

*************************************************************************************

The Doctor Drove like a mad man to the hospital.

However he was too late, the boy had long been dead…

The nurse walks shakily to the doctor. The father of the dead boy is a policeman. He is threatening to arrest the doctor who didn’t care enough to come and attend to an accident victim on time.

“oh no. not another police encounter today” the doctor walked with sadness etched on his face to attempt to explain to the Father that it was another policeman who caused the death of his son.

He walked into the waiting room and behold Officer Yinusa stood in front of him.

“… erm erm oga… na .. you… be … the … doc..cc.. tor?”

What? It was your son that was involved in an accident?

“Well well well, officer,  you are the one responsible for the death of your own son.”

If only our policemen could learn to do the right thing and follow due process.  How many more innocent boys have to die? How many more innocent citizens felled by police bullets then paraded as armed robbers shot while escaping? How many more wives made widows, children made orphans, all for selfish purposes.  When will the police learn to stop harassing the people they swore to protect?

“Officer I bear you no grudge, and I am sorry about the death of your son, however I hope this will jolt you and your colleagues to become professional in your conduct, doing the right thing at all times.”

DANCE OR DIE???

Afternoon my people... I hope you are having a fabulous day? This post is dedicated to the courageous christians being killed by boko haram in the north and those slaughtered by isis and all facing persecution all around the world.

I remember several years ago... precisely in august 2005 on Solid Foundation camp in Ipaja. The theme was AWESOME GOD(if I remember correctly) and I had an encounter that changed my life forever.

A certain pastor had been invited to preach and he titled his message
DANCE OR DIE... TAKE YOUR STAND
that day as he jocularly recited the title in a singsong manner periodically all through the message and we chanted alongside him never did I know that what he was talking about would have long lasting impact for me and even set the course for the rest of my life.

His lesson centered on 3 hebrew children who had come to be known as Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego who refused to dance before or bow to the graven image the king had constructed. They were told in clear terms DANCE OR DIE! 

Their choice is still being celebrated today... Same question the christians in the north are facing... Dance or Die... not to talk of the several mass killings of christians by islamic militant group ISIS.

This is a wake up call to christians all over the world... If you were presented with the same option would your faith stand strong in the dace of sure death?

Enough of lip service... Let's dig in our feet and root for christ till the end... come what may...
Many of us are comfortable with our current situations and we think it's not necessary to make our stand known. Christians at the peak of Entertainment, etc...
NEYMAR broke that jinx and made his stand known during one of the most keenly watched matched in football history. Will you take your stand?

I TAKE MY STAND...
I'm 100%  for JESUS

Inspiration is the gateway to transformation
#GetInspired
Minister Effizey

THE EMERGENCE... in case you missed it...

Mhen... Mhen... Mhen...
Words cannot describe how I feel right now...
I feel joy boiling up from the inside of me...
I just finished a camp meet in tagged 'the emergence' hosted by Choice Soul Media and the Set man being Pastor Gideon MBA(fondly called PG) mhen, i thank God for the day i met this man of God,(that's a story for another day, Ketim, chai...)
And I must say, this is an experience I don't want to ever recover from. The conference featured various ministers like, Pst Chidi, Pst Edward Addison(UK) Pst Femi Adun(UK) Pst Chingtok Ishaku(Zaria) PST Kingsley Okonkwo(Lagos) Rev Funlola Craig(Lagos) Dr Gbenga, Rev Victor Adeyemi and a host of others...

As I packed my bag on Tuesday to head to camp, little did i know i was going to be going in for an encounter like never before, truth be told i have a thing for camps. many times it's an opportunity to be 'less busy' and just concentrate on God but this year i was trusting God for a personal encounter. 

the theme of camp meeting was THE EMERGENCE and i keyed into it form the start, opening session was beautiful as the camp meeting started with a BANG and it was sustained all through the meeting.

the first thing i noticed was the synergy amongst all the speakers, they all had their mannerisms and strengths and ways and methods of communication, but in essence they were all saying the same thing... God was speaking through different people but one voice. it was obvious God meant business this year.

PICS FROM THE EMERGENCE

find more pictures at 

http://www.choicesoulsmedia.org/events.html
 (tip, you'll find your's sincerely acting on stage when you click on the picture link)

REV's FROM  THE EMERGENCE...

* God will not give you territories you have not prayed for.- Pst chidi, 

in other words, you wanna go round the nations? start praying for the nations! the reason some people have never left their local government area in their lives is because they have not developed a burden for praying for other areas. when you pray for a place, the place becomes opened up to you.

*The Gap between the Pulpit and the congregation wii be breached in this season- Minister Olumide,

for a while now we are used to seeing pastors perform miracles and pray for hours, now God is going to be pouring out his spirit upon the 'everyday' believer and they will do exploits, a burden to pray will envelope everyone and they will pray like never before

*where is that generation that will make the devil afraid when they step out? -PG

*God wants to raise for himself an army... enough is enough of being civilians-PG

*Lonliness is not lack of Affection it is lack of Direction -Pst kingsley Okonkwo,

true words sir...  they need no explanation, if you don't understand, ask for direction

*love is a commitment to caring for someone else's needs all the days of your life, whether you like it or not, whether they deserve it or not- Pst Kingsley Okonkwo,

now that's what i'm talking about

*Love is not a well you fall into, it's a fruit of the spirit, it's a conscious choice...

*Sometimes you have got yto admit you are not that smart-Pst kingsley Okonkwo,

how can you be in a car race with michael Schumacher sitting by your side and you're the one holding the wheel? how can you be on the path to destiny and God is by your side and you're the one holding the wheel?if you have any common sense you will drop the wheel for him. you gotta know when to let Go... 

*there are many things you can do to get money, but it's not everything you can do to be fulfilled...

*God gives instructions why don't you just follow instead of wondering how he'll do his part- Rev funlola Craig

for instance God said: "you will lay your hands on the sick and they will recover" so why do you keep trying to analyze how the healing will take place, or what will happen if you lay hands and they don't recover? why are you poknosing into God's business? simply do your part!

i will never forget what the spirit of the lord said.... "you are a generation of ex...ex fornicators, ex adulterers, ex robbers, ex thieves, ex clubbers, ex smokers... and  God is solely interested in using the exes..." God is committed to turning your mess into a message... forget the past, people have seen enough of you in the past, it's time for God to emerge from you...

Pst Edward Addison is a father indeed as he spoke consizely and prophetically... it was just something else, his prophetics were so on point even the decimal mark would get jealous.

you must submerge to emerge- Pst Femi Adun

the final night was just a wow experience, it was on that evening that i got a go ahead in my spirit to minister at the concert and i spoke to Minister David(God bless him, he's so in tune with the spirit) and even as i held the mike i knew this was a different one, it was poetry with a difference, poetry that drove out depression. someone(one of my Oga at the tops) walked to me much later and said you also do spoken words?

but that was just the begining, any camper would flow when i mention the term 'Worshippers collective' i saw an infusion of grace on several ministers life as they led the 'concert turned revival' in worship, i have sseen the holy ghost come down in various forms, but i saw a new dimension, as he came down in form of laughter... and before you know it the whole auditorium was filled with laughter, someone turned to ask his neigbhour why are you laughing and found himself laughing, and in the midst of the laughter i began to hear clearly, God was dealing with various issues that had hiterto proved stubborn, depression fled, destinies were restored, healings took place and basically God showed forth... 

i kept one of the most striking moments for me on camp for the last to challenge someone reading this...

statistics show that about 80percent of the muslim world are receptive to the gospel right now, we need to go for the harvest, when a fruit is ripe and is not plucked, it rots and becomes a terror, -Pst Rotimi

we need to go all out and harvest before more fruits become terror... remember just go and preach, don't worry about how they'll be converted, do your part and leave God to do his part...

Ladies and Gentlemen, i have emerged... ande better still God has emerged through me... watch out for me... mo'n meye bo lapo(i am coming in new dimentions)

 

incase you wanna experience what we did, there are mp3's and dvds of the sessions available... make your enquries at Phone No: 08172013060, 0833440829, 08035227986 

                  Email: info@choicesoulsmedia.org

GOD BLESS YOU, MINISTER EFFIZEY SIGNING OUT

10 DEADLY RELATIONSHIP ASSASSINS

ge geun... First of all, i must welcome you into a special season, the begining of the ember months... I pray for you that this will be a september to remember in Jesus name

Well sha i hope you came with your james bond gear... cos today we're out to locate and eliminate some assassins that are targeting your relationships... May God help us to do justice to this... as usual, your opinions and additions are very important and welcome.
so we go straight into the business of the day,

1. Too Many Expectations  – 

bro many times you want her to know what you want without saying it? sister, you expect him to remember almost everything even when he has got several matters demanding his attention? Yes, we are in love and you sure mean a lot to us but we are human as well. Expect more and see more faults, expect less and you will be able to appreciate your partner more. i once read somewhere that instead of expectation you could replace it with expectancy... you know that expectant feeling when you don't know what your partner's gonna say or do? when you go to see your partner with the expectancy of having an interesting date? not necessarily an expectation of collecting a big gift? (you get the drift?) basically when you have too many expectations, you're a step away from easy disappointment, but when you go into a relationship without expecting the whole world, it makes it easier for your spouse to pleasantly surprise you. you would learn to appreciate the little things he/she does, instead of saying, isn't that what is expected of him/her?
try this exercize for a month,( for the ladies everytime you go out, calculate the amount spent and assume you have to pay, for the guys every time she pays her way to your place calcullate the amount she pays, the amount of the little things she buys for you, the litle things she does for you you would otherwise have paid for, document this down, and then at the end of the month see how much he/she has saved you) you will discover that the little things you take for granted actually sum up to a lot.

2. Lies –

 Well, this cannot be overstretched. it's an open secret that trust is the basis of any good relationship and the more you lie to your partner, the lesser he/she trusts you, and when trust is gone in a relationship, that’s trouble!

3. Not sharing –

 No one forms a relationship by themselves. It takes two to get at it. A balanced relationship demands the effort of the-two involved. It’s about what you-two bring to the center. The pressure would be one-sided if one person chooses to be greedy. Sharing is one of many things that powers a relationship and makes it balance. this cuts across finance to other aspects,

4. Romance Wanted – 

Absence of romance in a relationship makes it boring. There are ways to get at this, Romance is sensual and not always intimate.(i still believe in No to pre marital sex) Identify those things that could create an intimate moment, things that sponsors good connection between you- two and starting doing them. The importance is simply to keep the attraction alive.
 a major mistake many men make here is that soon as they get married they stop doing all those things they did that got the girl so so excited to be with them. Marrriage shouldn't stop romance, it should open it up to a whole new level

5. Blaming Your Partner - 

Yes! Keep blaming your partner for everything that’s wrong in your relationship and watch it die slowly. When you see more of his/her faults, there will always be something to complain about and the more the
complains the more the relationship would lose its value. even if your partner is wrong, there are subtle ways to correct him/her without pouring blames outrightly, many times also the ability to shoulder blames for the good of the relationship is necessary

6. Lack of Communication/ wrong communication – 

Not in the area of phone calling or text messages though also important but specifically in the awareness of things to do or how to do them. Both parties must be kept abreast of what’s coming. Make your moves, schedules, work or some family related details clear to your partner. Always keeping them in the dark brings about uncertainties that could cause regular misunderstanding in a relationship. for instance i have a perfect example of my girlfriend that i could use to illustrate this point but i'm sorry i won't be able to because i haven't talked it over with her, and i know she hates publicity, so my going ahead to use her to illustrate this point would mean i am insensitive to her feelings(that's what i would be communicating by doing it)

7. Cohabitation –

 It’s one of the easiest ways to make your partner get fed up with the relationship. When you become too regular, so many things could lose its value and get lost accordingly.a man who is living with a woman he is not married too will sooner or later be seen as a leech or gold digger at the very least, and at worst as an irresponsible person who is not man enough, if not by the woman, then by her friends and family, and a woman who lives with a man she is not maried to will sooner or later lose her respect, as she will be expected to fulfill all the duties of a married woman, and before you know it, the man would not see any need to 'put a ring on it' since he has all the benefits provided by a ring and none of the 'bondage' of a ring. this is stirictly a no no. don't think about it.
below is a researched statisctics shown in graphical form

8. Pretense – 

You seem to be too cool at everything because you want to impress him/her, that’s trouble!what happened to being yourself? no matter how much you try to pretend one ay the pretense will wear off and him/her will see through you, or you pretend to like everything he/she says or does, you gotta learn to be open about the things you like and do not like.(of course wisdom and attimes tact in necesary in doing this,) but you can only pretend for so long. and the consequences are usually disastrous

9. Poor Timing – 

Whatsoever is sharing your quality time with your partner needs to be transferred on another time slot.
Having the space for regular conversation strengthens your relationship and if it’s an LDR,(Long Distance Relationship) you either could talk regularly on phone or pick a day or two in every week for this. Good time spent together reveals a lot, strengthens the bond, secures the relationship and it helps in no little measure.

 and last but in no way the least

10. Issues not discussed – 

There could be some areas you desire to have your partner change or get better at. If you choose to keep mute about it and you such keeps receiving your attention and you just can't ignore, it kills relationships slowly. issues not discussed leads to pent up anger, emotions, rage and eventually terrible explotion from which there is usually no return.


in summary; If there are issues not discussed in a relationship, it could make both partners keep hurtful secrets and in-turn produce
beautiful lies. Blaming your partner while you appear to be without fault doesn't make you in-charge but out rightly discharging the strength of the union. Cohabiting, though allowed in many countries is one major reason relationships will always lose its value quickly and another reason men and women would be used and abandoned. Somethings do NOT go together with a relationship and do remember that the best of relationships comes with several sacrifices made.
Finally remember in all things to put God as the foundation of your relationship*in kore's voice*  "a three cord is not easily broken" (in fact i gotta review the whole song...)

ITS MY 25TH BIRTHDAY(25 THINGS I HAVE LEARNT IN 25 YEARS)

Wow… I’m finally 25… yea I know peeps don’t like screaming their ages out loud. But walahi(in hausa accent) I don’t care! God has been so faithful and he has brought me through a lot to where I am now…

Well I’ll be having a thanksgiving service this afternoon by 2pm with a small reception then off to the motherless home to have fun with them. You can join in if interested. Simply beep me on 08062999121 or 08095205555.

Well I wanna share 25 things I have learnt over 25 years and I hope you learn something from them. They can be used as nuggets or just general guidelines to help you as they have helped me. I had to learn some of them the hard way.(still currently going through the pains of one of them, but God is faithful)

Here we go…

#1
The recipie for failure is to try to please everybody at all times

#2
when push comes to shove, the only friend who'll never leave you is God

#3
don't compromise integrity, when the chips are down integrity will speak for you

#4
when things begin to look really hard, hold on tight, your miracle is around the corner

#5
not everyone who calls you friend is happy with you

#6
give without expecting anything in reture, it's one way to open the heavens

#7
everyone has a past... if you don't put it behind you you can't move on ‪

#8
you need to love you for people to love you

#9
you cannot feature in a future you cannot picture

#10
until your heart agrees with your mouth you can't get answers to prayers

#11
Never run ahead of God, you will hit a ditch and have to wait for him to come pick you up while you suffer pain. save yourself the pain and walk with him

#12
love is not pain, that's a lie lust has spread. love helps take away pain. ‪

#13
until you know God you cannot truly love. likewise anyone that does not know God cannot love you

#14
when you stumble into sin, stop wallowing in guilt, it's a trap! run back to your maker for reconciliation

#15
everyone makes mistakes, stop beating yourself up, put yourself together and move on...

#16
Diligence is the key to breakthrough, even if you are just a cleaner clean well!

#17
no one can look down on you without your consent, value yourself. ‪

#18
Life without Christ is crisis... no sentiments.... he can turn ur mess into a message

#19

You cannot truly understand mercy until you have been rescued from a mess you deserve to be in

#20

You cannot give what you don’t have… your words are a reflection of who you are

#21

Watch what your friends say when they are angry, their angry words usually say how they really feel about you

#22

Anger is inevitable but how you react to it is a choice… one moment of uncontrolled anger can mar you permanently

#23

when Jesus cried 4rm d cross "it is finished" all ur sins from womb to the tomb were paid 4 in full. satan cannot cross the bloodline. thank God for Jesus....

#24

It is better at times to remain quiet even when you really want to say something in order to avoid an argument with someone you care about.

#25

After all said and done, God remains faithful stick to him!!!

Happy birthday to me and I love you all

NIGERIA

Someone asked a question and the answer made me cry...

Someone posted it on Facebook and i kinda wept...

He asked, what do you get when you add no light, no water and no president?

Ans; Nigeria.

We claim to be the giant of Africa yet we can't even boast of light,

We blame our leaders but the average citizen isn't better

Are we waiting to be colonized again?

This year we celebrated our 53rd anniversary, of corruption?

How long are we going to wallow in self pity and shame...

Few years ago we sent the Ghanaians packing, with the popular slogan 'GHANA MUST GO'. Now we're on the verge of being kicked out of Ghana.

No universities... Did u say i lie?with children sitting at home for how many months? Okay sure there are private universities for the children of the rich,,,and the rest? Left to suffer?

A country that can't train its youths is heading for destruction.

We complain of armed robbery but we won't put the youths to work.

The child sent home from school today for failure to pay fees is the potential gun totting criminal of tomorrow,,,

back to our leaders and people we look up to, Do we have role models or rough models?

Everyone wants to travel abroad, we've been so disgraced we have to be stripped naked to be searched at international airports,

I weep how i weep for Nigeria.

A 53 year old baby, and dying of a terminal disease,

The average 14 year old girl is carrying an unwanted pregnancy,

The average 17 year old male is a gun totting criminal.

Our musicians sing only of the rot of the nation,

The average American wakes up in the morning and says God bless America. The average Nigerian wakes up with curses on the lips for Nigeria...

A 3 year old child is already an abusive violent person

A 22 year old man is the street drunk...

Our leaders we say are looters but when given opportunity to head organizations we do our own share of looting...

When someone brings an idea to move the nation forward, we criticize until the person gives up, if the person doesn't, we assassinate...

We complain of the militants in the Niger-delta, we blame oil companies, did they establish themselves? Don't they pay royalties to the host state?

 we complain of boko-haram in the north, did they drop from the skies? are they not people's parents, husbands, wives, children?

I end on this note, i still believe in Nigeria, we can be great again, we will be great again if all and sundry can decide to change the nation by first of all changing themselves...

Bishop FEB Idahosa II would always say; be the change you want to see. a drop of good might not change the world, but it sure would change someone's world.

THE CONDUCTOR'S LETTER

IT'S A LONG ONE BUT I BET THIS IS WORTH

EVERY BIT OF UR TIME.

LETTER FROM A LAGOS CONDUCTOR, TO A DEAR

PASSENGER

Dear Friend,
Do not be surprised that I am writing you, especially after our last encounter. I know that I
do not come across to you as someone who can put words to paper, but like a wise man once
said "Your tenses and verbs do not all have to agree for you to pass a message; you only need
to have something to say, that won't stay unsaid".

You have no idea how it feels, when you look at me the way you do, when you shout on me for
your change and call me all sorts of names. See, I’ve developed a hard shell to ward off your
vituperation. There, that's a word you didn't think I had, right? See, I went to primary
school, and read a couple of those story books. I also read the papers every morning while I
wait for my driver to shack Ogogoro at Iya Lateef's kiosk at the park. My English is not so
bad. Don't worry, I won’t mess this up. So this hard shell that I’ve developed, it wasn't always
there you know, when I started this job, I went home depressed day after day, because of those
things you said to me. They made me feel worthless.

But I am not writing this letter to accuse you or anything of sorts. You are human too, just like Iam, and we all have our weaknesses. I bear no grudge against you. I simply want to set the record straight. I want you to stop for a moment, and get a glimpse of my world. Thisjob is hard, and if I had a better choice, I wouldn't be doing it, but, like they say "When the desirable is not available, the available becomes desirable". I wanted to be a doctor, please don't laugh at me. I would have made it if Papa hadn't abandoned my mother when I was 14. He left her for Fatimah, a woman that sold food close to his work place. He was a railway worker. His pay was not much but it was enough to take care of his wife and three children. At least we never went to school hungry, and we ate rice with meat every Sunday. He used to buy Suya every evening, and on few occasions, we even killed a ram. Papa would call all our neighbours and we'd all eat together and be
happy. He was that kind of man.

It all started one night when he came home late, reeking of alcohol. Mama confronted him and he beat her, he beat her in front of us. Everything changed after that. His late night home-comings intensified, and the quarrels acquired a new dimension. He'd beat Mama, and after that, he'd rape her in our presence. We were kids, we couldn't do anything. We just cried and cried and begged him not to hurt our mother but he did anyway. One night, he wanted to hit her with a stick, and I held him back, it took all the courage in me to do that, but I did. I held him by the legs, and we both toppled to the ground. He was shouting and threatening to kill us all, and my mother and sisters kept on crying and pleading with me to let him go, but I held on to him, until our neighbors intervened. He stopped paying our school fees after that, stopped bringing money for food. He became a stranger.
One night he didn't come back. We had left the door open thinking that he would come back later in the night but when we woke up in the morning, his place on the sofa was empty. We waited for one week, two weeks, two months, still no sign of him, until one day, Mama's customer at the market told her that she saw
her husband at Fatimah's house. They were now living together and he seemed happy to her she said.

Mama was devastated but she didn't show it.She is a strong woman. She bore it all in silence, and never complained. Her small income from her petty trade was not enough to pay the rent and feed us, let alone send us to school. I had to stop going to school to help her with family responsibilities. At 14, I had become a man, and I had to take care of my mother. My uncle said that when he visited one Sunday. "kunle, you are now a man, you hear me, you are now a man, you have to start taking care of your mother and little sisters".
Baba Seyi, our neighbor owned a bus. One evening, I heard him telling my Mama that his conductor made away with his money, that he couldn't trust any of these boys anymore and that he was considering selling the bus to go into Hemp business. I heard there is money there now, he said. I heard Mama strongly advise him against such illegal business. It would land you in prison, she said.

When he left, I went to mama, and told her that I would like to join Baba Seyi as his conductor. I would make a lot of money, and she and my siblings wouldn't have to suffer anymore. At first she was hesitant. She said it was too risky and that conductors were touts. No, that wasn't her dream for her son. I was going to be a doctor. You will be a doctor, eh Kunle, you hear me? You will be a doctor! Olorun a ran wa lo wo. (God will help us)You hear?
Yes Mami.
I joined Baba seyi anyway and lied to him that Mama had given her consent. When I came home with my first five hundred Naira, Mama was overjoyed. She danced around the room and praised me. Okomi,(my husband) she said, God will bless you.
We didn't have the discussion again. I was now employed as a conductor. At first I was polite to passengers, but I soon discovered that politeness isn't a virtue in this job. Many of them stalled on paying for their fares, until you forgot and they alighted. Several times I had to fill in with my own money, because Baba Seyi would not hear of a missing penny. So I put my buttocks down and learnt the trade. I learned to feign my voice, to make it croaky and hoarse. I learned to squeeze my face, to give myself this unattractive and
dangerous look. I learnt to hop in and out of moving vehicles, to shout the hell out of any passenger intent on dulling my hustle, to fight any over-ambitious Agbero. I learnt them all. I toughened my skin, because in this our job, you are either on top of your game or you are out.

I am not always like this. What you see in the bus is just a front. At home I am the sweetest person you'd ever meet. I have to be like this to keep my job. So when I shout on you, and call you all sorts of names, do not take it personal. You would help matters if you gave me your fare when I ask for it and learned to be a little bit patient with me when I’m still looking for change to give you. Sometimes I may forget or you may
forget, and I have to be honest, at times I pray that you do, because when you forget your change, My driver won't know about it. The money goes into my pocket. However when you want to remind me of your change, please be polite, you are supposed to be the civilized person.

I apologize for the other day, I didn't mean to call you an Olofofo, but you pushed me, you pushed me. Was it my fault that you entered with 1000 naira? You heard me saying "500, 1000 no enter o", but you entered anyway, and when I could not find change to give you, you started abusing me. I forgive you. I know it’s hard sometimes, this Lagos traffic. It can get to you in ways you can't imagine. See, we don't have to be this way, you and I. We aren't enemies. After all without you I wouldn't have this job, and without me, well, I won’t say you wouldn't be able to move around, but I make it a lot easier for you. We need each other.

See this letter as a kind of white flag, and if you can, share it with your friends, I cannot write to everyone. I have to continue my hustle. I just hope I have been able to say something worth saying, I don't know. All I know is that these words that I have so painstakingly written to you wouldn't have stayed unsaid. They would have burned a crater in my heart, and found a way out anyway. I do feel a lot better. Write to me if you can. I'd like to hear your side of the story.
This is mine.
Yours
Kunle, the Lagos conductor

NAIJA I HAIL THEE... I HAIL THEE

Naija I hail thee
A fatherland that scares the children away
Naija I hail thee
A land filled with milk and honey, yet her children die of hunger
Naija I hail thee
A once upon a time giant, now crawling on her limbs
How art thou fallen?
 
I know thy works
How thou art begotten the high and mighty
How thou art begotten the nobles who reign in the high places
How thou art sheltered the children of thy neighbours
How thou art given them bread and covered their nakedness

I know thy Pains
Thou art  being held captive and thy cities, desolate
Thou art laboured but thy harvest is continually stolen
Thou art rich, yet the poorest
Thy children are killed daily and their mother raped
Yet in all these, thou art still strong

 Hmn!
who shall deliver thee from thy captivity?
who shall build thy desolate cities?
Who shall save thy children from further annihilation?
For how long will thy cry continue oh, Nigeria?
How long will thou continue to say 'its well, when it isn't?

Arise, Arise!
Put on thy strength O Nigeria;
Shake thyself from the dust
And shine again!
Thy better days are here
Thy God shall renew thy strength and make you soar again

As for thy Oppressors
May they live long in sickness to see thy good days
May they see thy harvest, but not eat thereof
May they not die, but let their children become fatherless
May their home become desolate and their pillows filled with tears
For there is no peace for the wicked