Gratitude

On this beautiful evening, after many nights of unrest and six full hours of mindless sleep, following the conclusion of my exams, I proceed on the journey back down memory lane to when it all started. A dream which began over ten years ago and which I have tenaciously held on to against the odds;my call to be a "Lawyer". To many this is a common thing, as evident in the use of the derogatory term of "charge and bail" but to my mind, young as it then was at the conception of my dream, it was the golden fleece. After many years of struggle, the end is in sight and the thrills of triumph and joys of accomplishment implode within me. The realisation that it took sheer grit and that a creature so frail as I, did it, humbles me and of course,enables me convey all the appreciation to God Almighty, who in His infinite goodness and love never abandoned me. So, Mr. I-want-it-now and Ms No-one-cares-for-me, realise that you owe yourself the responsibility to succeed because, the glory first goes to the Creator who made it possible and then to you, the Creation who actualised the dream against all odds. Forge ahead and keep being strong. Just like that Peak milk advertisement, "Its in you!"

Hi world, today is on the concept of power. Ever since I can remember, I have been bombarded with power and its effects. In my nursery school days, it can in the form of bible stories of Pharoah, Ahab and all the kings of note in the Bible. In secondary school it was mentioned and celebrated in Social Studies and Government, in my university days nko? Ahhh...they finished the concept! Everywhere I turned in my faculty I was lambasted with power. Students argued about it, lecturers...em...facilitators(as they later were designated) crammed it down our throats by exercising it over us and ensuring doubly that we went to the society, extracted the concept and applied it in class and even on answer sheets!. Power has been defined to be the ability or capacity to perform or act effectively' or the ability to control and influence the actions of others...(I googled it, kappish?) Please note that I am not desirous of intimidating nor impressing anyone with my super-fabulous brain power *clears throat*. The reason why I am here on this platform is because I am truly and highly irked by the application of this phenomenon called power o. In naija parlance, I dey vex. The manner in which this concept is being utilised has got me ticked off, pissed off,etc. Yes o, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absoluetly. On sunday, I was gisting with my friend and she was telling me about the rules in her choir, where they are not allowed to question any policy laid down by the exco. They were to obey all orders handed down whether it was favourable or not, whether it was morally wrong or not; just obey everything, no questions asked, no suggestions should be given at the time of the issuance of such orders. I said," ahh...mo gbe!" If choir leader says jump off a cliff, you were expected to fly straight off, no questions asked. I laughed sha. However, it got me thinking at the effects of power. So intoxicating a force, invisible yet invincible as it makes its presence felt. A force so strong that it makes brothers dive at each other's throat in a bid to attain supremacy. A force so strong that it makes a President who is supposed to concentrate on alleviating a country's economic problem, to turn around and concentrate rather, on the daring and pesky fly that had the guts to eye his seat. Power, power, oh power. What are you doing with the power in your hands, you choir leader, you head of department, you company executive, you politician, what are you doing with the power in your hands. Are u he who pounds and grinds subordinates for the flimsy reason that they are too cocky or self-confident...desist please or what happened to a certain legilator who used a mace on a fellow legislator, and went to jail, would happen to you. There's always room for change and growth. Always think twice befoee oppressing another. Loyalty should be earned; any other mode of acquiring loyalty and acceptaance is despotic and would only lead to your failure and certain doom!!! Thanks for having the patience to stick around till this point. Please if you know any mini-despot pass this to him/her and flee for cover o. Buh-bye. Kisses, y'all.