YOUTH COMMITS SUICIDE: LAMENTATIONS

After an overdose of thoughts and disappointments, 'short sighted' people embed the news daily with grievous headlines. Using excessive pills, hanging oneself, intentional shootings and so on seems to carry the day in this act. But to be honest, there are diverse ways youths have decided to kill themselves deliberately, a gradual suicide which dresses itself in a coat of many colours.

Being of African descent, the black colour has become something I live day by day to appreciate. After all, there's no court I'm going to drag my creator to for dropping me here. Thanks to everyone who has taken it upon themselves to accept the blessings of being born where they were birthed. What doesn't cease to amaze me are the people who chemically pale their skins in order to come to par with naturally fair complexioned people. If they do this to manoeuvre racism, I don't know. There's no credible reason for this kind of act. At the end of the day, when there's no finance to maintain them, they start smelling like hydrogen sulphide and become far worse than their beginning becoming roasted as something to be offered as burnt offering.

It's basically a great thing to look nice and fresh. Nevertheless, it is pathetic to do this at all costs. The alarming rate of illegal and unscrupulous ways youths get money these days is very pitiable. The 'wire-wire' as they call it; Someone even told me they were collecting the dues of our forefathers who were used as slaves back then. Who asked them? They've even gone a little further to put a + by adding rituals to their business.

Girls that have been created with massive amount of the Glory of the Most High have now evolved into 'slay mommas' and 'cicis' all in the name of getting money. They sell their expensive bodies to cheap men. When you contract multiple STDs, no one would be able to help you then. You have then initiated the terminal phase of the suicide's metamorphosis. All your friends and role models that were pushing you would neglect you then. You will be on your own. If you eventually end up in the grave, you get to speak for your actions at the Bema seat of God.

Go and ask the first people how their own suicide went. The suicide is gradual, under an enticing camouflage. Our parents struggle day and night just to make ends meet and give us a befitting legacy but all you do to repay them is by stabbing classes, wasting their efforts accordingly. Do not smoke. Do not drink. Poco a Poco, they terminate a person's life and destiny.

Everyone is doing it doesn't dictate you doing it. What's the motive behind the doing? Why should I do it? What will be my end if I do it? These are basic questions we have to ask ourselves before joining the crowd. I was triggered by something that happened lately to someone close which I believe should not repeat itself. There are many more ways we commit suicide in disguise which we choose to ignore its tenacity.

Let's make our parents proud. My prayer is that they eat the fruits of their labours over us and do not have any reason whatsoever to mourn over anyone. Keep calm and wait for your appointed time. Don't look at my watch. Check your own time on yours. God's precepts are simple and true. Please! I beg you, don't kill yourself.
Accept Jesus.
Believe Jesus.
Confess Jesus.
Thanks for your time.

Ogundimu Oluwatosin

IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW.

This cliché has seemed to gain ground on social media these days with different usages according to desired contexts. But looking at it closely, it has more to it than meets the eye. I have come to realise, through thinking and observations, that the whole world revolves around this principle. To bring home this point, let me refer you to some day to day situations.

As a Christian, and seeker of knowledge to know more of the things of God, you will agree with me that when Jesus Christ was about to fulfill destiny, He gave the disciples some promises and cogent mandates. He told them that He would send the Comforter who would bring everything to their remembrance as well as teach them all things. Take note here that Christ was referring to what He had taught them. If I happen to be a disciple at that time but was not around or not actually paying attention to our Saviour's teachings, I'll get to know only what I know and only remember only what I paid attention to. Even if Peter was quoting Christ, I could argue He didn't say so. If you know, you know.

As a student (specifically a Cambridge learner), you would be able to relate with this pretty well. There are some basic secrets and gimmicks you need to master in order to ace. From one point, if you see command words like define, explain, state, list, describe, deduce, show, compare, discuss, etc., you know (from your study) that they have relatively different meanings. If you are to explain and you define, it's your cup of coffee. From another point, immediately you read a question and you see the number of marks allocated to it, you already know the number of points you are to write. Even if you write a story book but has none of the required details, it's all zero. If you know, you know.

As a boy, there are some things I have more experience in compared to a girl. On the other hand, there are other things (many things) girls can easily give you personal experiences about that a boy can never, never know. When they're talking about those girlish things, even if you like poke your nose and brain, it might end up sounding all gibberish to you. If you know, you know.

If I should keep on writing, I might not end. There was actually a point in my life when I thought Frank Edwards was a foreign artiste (the wrong intuition coming from how the name looks, basically not typically Nigerian). Everyone has moment(s) of ignorance when they don't know. That's why one of the most interesting things I love reading or listening to are 'Did You Know?' facts.

So, the point is that the virtue of your position, location, gender, religion, age, group, occupation, hobbies, class, school, career, friends, challenges, choice of music and so on makes you know some things others don't except they take a step of moving in the direction of that contextual knowledge. There's nothing like irrelevant knowledge in life (I believed there was at a point). Try to increase the knows in your life.
If you know, you know.
If you don't, you don't. Unless you move to know.

You have something to say? Drop your comments with #IYKYK. Let's learn from you by telling us one of your ignorant times which you came to find out was wrong later on.

Ogundimu Oluwatosin

DON'T LOOK DOWN

Just like yesterday, I remembered when I was seeking admission into the
University; with all my secondary school intelligence and 'guru-mindedness', I spent two years at home. Virtually all my friends had gained admission, I was the odd one among them. Whenever I
went to visit some of them, their mums would tell me they were not at
home. The one who happened to be my best friend started showing attitude- he stopped coming to my house and rarely picked my calls. I was passing by his house when I saw him in a position in which he could not avoid me, we had a quick chat and he made me realise his mum had warned him to stop associating with him due to some weak reasons. I felt in me that kind of pain that can not be explained but instead of stooping low, I waxed stronger.
And today, exactly five years after that day, I am already done with my tertiary education and I'm already serving unlike my best friend who had to change his course to a course that takes seven years to be completed. During the Easter holiday, his mum saw me and was extremely astonished when I told her I'm serving already, she bore a face that had disbelief in it.
Virtually all of us are guilty of this atrocity; we cast our loyal friend struggling to make it out- because he lacks all necessities of life, we turn him to a potential enemy. We see things in a way they never existed- that intimate and faithful friend we do share the least of things with becomes someone whose call is a disturbance. But in all these, we end up coming to realise we have made our lives harder than it ought to be, no one can be your enemy because you alone are your enemy; no one is hindering your success, you are.
Life isn't and can never be static- a filthy rich man can be a pauper by nightfall. You're just being a gambler by condemning a situation with the
person in it. At the end, the winner is always that person you condemned, that person you least expected, that you thought will never be the best. Who knows, he might to be the boss over your head. Above all, let all men be treated equally before you, never look down on anyone because this is planet Earth, you might wake up to see that things have changed. Take heed.

THE POOR

 This was sent to me by someone, possibly an excerpt from the lots Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba said. It reflects the lifestyle of the poor.
"The worst people to serve are 'the poor' people.
Give them free, they think it’s a trap.
Tell them it’s a small investment,
they’ll say can’t earn much.
Tell them to come in big,
they’ll say no money.
Tell them try new things,
they’ll say no experience.
Tell them it’s traditional business,
they’ll say hard to do.
Tell them it’s a new business model,
they’ll say it’s MLM.
Tell them to run a shop,
they’ll say no freedom.
Tell them run new business,
they’ll say no expertise.
They do have somethings in common:
They love to ask google,
listen to friends who are as hopeless as them,
they think more than an university professor
and do less than a blind man.
Just ask them, what can they do.
They won’t be able to answer you".

Excuses and procrastination are like brothers, we always find excuses that end up making us procrastinate. Virtually everyone wasn't born rich but what made some stand out was that they took that step that others saw to be extremely risky. It's only when you start taking risks that breakthrough will knock- 'Heaven helps ...'. Comfort zone is the smallest zone, leave there. 'Instead of letting your heart beat faster, why not act faster. Instead of just thinking, why not just do something. Stop waiting, stop giving excuses, stop complaining. Stop and Start now!!!

NEW HEIGHTS

We all want to move up the ladder, we want to advance to new heights but within us resides a thing telling us to settle for where we are. Is settling really the expected thing for us to do? Humans' boundary is at infinity. Stop being lazy and move up that ladder. When new opportunities knock on our doors, we all take it to be something that mustn't be allowed in.
We all are lazy to take that step, thus, making us find joy being at the foot of the ladder.
When we finally decide to take that step, that thing inhabiting our minds comes continually to draw our attention to how we might fall if we advance up the ladder, but do we remember that we fall to rise again. The fear of falling is the reason why some are stuck at the point they are.
To you, it's acceptance but in reality, it's accepting defeat. That new height is for nobody but you, charge up and take control. Don't settle for less, the ladder is too long for you to want to settle now. New heights ask for determination and preparedness.

CONDITIONS

I know you are like why should i even thank this Lord that seems to have neglected me, what's it worth. Instead of doing great things for me, He worsens my things. To all of us, that's what we think but fail to realise that for a story to be unique and extraordinary, there are some unforseen stuffs that must happen, unpredictable events, unknown conditions.
Your mum is dead, your dad is on a sick bed and then, you take it as the end. Yeah, like yeah!!! It is the end, the end of one of your chapters. Believe me, the only thing that does bad and evil is the devil. It seems bad, it seems detrimental but have you ever been told that the Lord makes no mistakes. I do tell myself at times, I don't need to plan ahead, why? It's because He has done that for me. So instead of using my time to plan, I use it to thank Him for those plans that He has for me that are unknown to me. The Lord doesn't engage in stuffs that are not for your good, worry less, praise more. Always remember that there are conditions that must be met or come to past if you want the best out of yourself, so, when you want to pray, just thank Him and ask Him to help you accomplish His plans for your life. And until you realise there are conditions, you will always think He is doing bad. Anticipate that great extraordinary story of yours.

PEN-MIS

Do you remember back in junior high school when we started using pen: if we made a mistake, we would want to erase it by all means. But it doesn't get erased instead, it leaves the paper with stains.
Just like change, mistakes are ineviatble; we can't escape making mistakes. But then, we don't have to waste our short lifespan on a mistake trying to correct it. You mistakenly spill a bowl of milk, and you decide using the whole day trying to get the split milk back. If you do so, you won't do anything tangible that day. So, leave the mistakes, learn from them and move on; don't let it turn into a big mess that will hold you from moving on. Mistakes can hardly be corrected; don't try to correct old mistakes, just try to correct yourself when you want to commit an old mistake.

FLASHING

Flashing/formatting, as it may apply, is the clearing out of everything on a device. When a device is flashed, every detail on it before the operation will be lost and it will seem new.
Life after death is like flashing, everything you know on earth will be wiped out and you will look new. If you are made to remember, it will look strange. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as second life; the only life after death is the one you spend in 'heaven' or 'hell'. Before you die, correct all your wrong doings. Live a good life so when you are shown all the scenes of this life, you will be happy you spent it right and well. You don't have to wait to be told the right thing before you do it. Don't wait to be formatted before you remember all your wrongs.

THE MAKING

The potters, sculptors and blacksmith are all makers as well as other craftpersons. A potter makes ceramics, a sculptor makes things using wood, clay and the likes, while a blacksmith makes guns, cutlasses, hoes, and knives. All these things they make pass through a whole lot of process: virtually all of them pass through cutting, burning, shaping and so on, and after all the processing, they are advertised for sale; some will buy while the others won't look its way. After buying, they face a lot to satisfy their buyers as well as make their makers appreciated.
We all are wood, clay, metal in the hands of Our creator. We can't and shouldn't expect everyone to like us. We can't expect every person to see something good in us; it is left to us to make them feel quilty for doubting our quality in the first instance. We see many superstars out there but none of them became so in a day, it took perseverance, determination, commitment for them to be where and who they are today. Don't expect a lazy bone to own a mansion because even if he does, he will auction it soon.
Don't feel so carried away by the fact that people believe your are good from serving your numerous purposes; you will be named a failure if you don't. Never forget- being the best should be your watchword, be hungry for victory, be thirsty for heights. Above all, live a life that will make people praise your creator, that will turn them to Him. Don't be a failure to your God and the world.

SO PUZZLING

Why is it that you studied dentistry but you are earning an income through music? Hmm! It's puzzling, I guess. That's why we can never understand the way the Lord does his things; his plans are not puzzling but are actually in a puzzle, a puzzle per person: you play your game, I play mine. Winning should be the aim not competiting.
I am so sure we would have played one form or another: easy, medium, or hard. I would have loved to upload a picture so you can have a picture of what I'm discussing in mind. Numerous flight of stairs depicting your numerous potentials, linking circle at different points for indecision and a centre signifing the highest point attainable which is at infinity. A flight represent a certain period in our life; say primary education, adulthood, and we move on using that same flight or change to another, till we reach the centre.
Back then, when we were still very young, we dreamt of becoming doctors, engineers, and the likes. Luckily for us, we were able to thread that flight until we got to the senior class/university. We followed another different flight, due to a number of reasons. The 'i want to be a lawyer' kid ended in the sciences and the girl who wanted to become a doctor ended in the economics department.
Some are so lucky to start and finish with the same flight of stairs while some get so confused at some point and move over to another flight. And some just end up moving in circle due to indecision; they keep on doing something over and over again. In a puzzle game, you start the game from areas where your chances are high; let's say when we were young, things were unclear but as youths, I assume we should know better. You know your potentials, you know the market.
But no matter how easy your puzzle is or how determined, committed, courageous, you still and will always need God's help. He is the puzzle maker, He knows what it entails. To triumph in this puzzle called life, put God first then other things will follow.

BROKEN DREAMS

As the world grows, things degenerate, regenerate, and changes. Lassa here, Zika there, lots but that's not the subject. There are thousands of youths out there that apply to study medicine but end up with zoology or some not-so-popular courses making them feel like their dreams are no more, that it is broken. There is this post that is coming up soon 'so puzzling', our lives are like a puzzle, only the Lord knows which way is the way. Not studying medicine doesn't stop your dream of saving, it just modifies it. Who knows- you might finish as a doctor with no job not to talk of saving a life.
This Lord is so knowledgeable, so marvelous that He will never stop marvelling or amazing us. You might end up as a farmer who would even save the highly respected doctors from famine. There's no such thing as broken dream or dreams, it's you who shouldn't break in your journey to fulfill your dreams. If road A is so blocked, try road Z; all that matters is getting to the destination, not the route. Your dreams are still intact!!!

WHY CRY?

Though it has been authenticated that crying is good, why do you have to cry? Because you lost loved ones? Or because you lost your job? Nothing at all is worth crying for except missing heaven. That's why you don't have to keep your hopes high, because you don't know what's coming. Keeping your hopes high make you end up crying when results are not favourable.
Since we can't escape crying, who do we cry to for help- Human, Satan or God? We all know the best to cry to is God because Humans might fail and Satan collects than he gives. Cry to the Lord for help, He is the Only One that helps for free. However, I advise you desist from crying no matter what happens, instead thank the Lord what all He has done, He is doing and that He is yet to do. You were not made to cry but to give glory to Him.

DIS-LESS

He is less privileged. She is disabled. Are they?
There was this driver that I knew, he had an accident. The accident affected his left leg and stopped him from driving for sometime. Immediately he could walk; though not properly, he went back to being who he was, a driver.
As we all seem to know, a disabled person is someone who can't see, hear or talk and someone who possibly doesn't have legs or arms; but to me, a disabled person is someone who has no brain, just like a computer with no CPU. Like we all know, a less privileged is someone whose needs can hardly be catered for.
Having an impaired vision doesn't stop you from being richer than the richest man. Unlike the driver, most so-called disabled people resort to begging for alms whereas they have a brain. Like I wrote, it is after it has been proved that you don't have a brain that you can be called 'disabled'. Your parents do not have enough resources to sponsor your education and you think the next step is joining the bandwagon of hooliganism. You haven't heard about 'slum kids' who touched the world.
You being disabled or less privileged doesn't stop you from reaching that height, from touching the world. You just have to use your brain exceedingly so that you can see what others are not seeing. No one is dis/less.

ORDINARY MATTER

A rod, a stone, and a pen are all matter; ordinary matter. Normally, a rod is a material that has little or no value but when Moses/Mûsâ possessed one, he added value to it due to the extra things he used it for.
A stone on its part has a lots of use but then, extra value was added when David/Dâwûd used it to defeat a giant. An ordinary pen is a life/death tool in the hands of a president, the richest man and the likes.
We are more ordinary than these material things if we use and live our lives ordinarily. No extra effort, no extra thought, no extra anything and you want to leave being ordinary. It's actually easy; wake up as early as possible: take a turn to the left on your street, you will see the road leading out of being ordinary. Being extra+ordinary can't be added to you overnight, you do things in extraordinary ways.
When the whole world is taking left, you take right. To add extra value to yourself, you don't and won't do things the way people do it. An ordinary life is good, sweet, but boring; an extraordinary life opens up the happiness. No one is going to add an extra to you if you don't add it yourself.
Do you know why the rate at which people change phones keep rising? It keeps rising because each new phone comes with an extra feature compared to the former. For people to associate with you, you have to show there is an extra in you, that you are not just that ordinary person they see everyday. Just like value was added to the stone and rod, you can add to yourself, thus making you an extra ordinary. Don't live an ordinary, extraordinary is most preferred.

ROOTS

Do you remember this post: Leaves; In reality: you can change the roots, but before you do, shed the leaves first. But what if the leaves are evergreen and the root is decaying, what will you do? Your attitude towards your studies, job and/or religion is good and positive but the job/religion isn't seeming right. The leaves starts to decay if a decaying root isn't changed. No matter how hard you try, your attitude starts depreciating when your job isn't giving you what you want. You worship in spirit and truth but your church/mosque doesn't even know the relationship between spirit and truth, change it before you start decaying. If that course isn't making you feel yourself, change it. When a root decay, it takes the leaves, then the body. Immediately you lose attitude, other things follow. Don't let the reasons that ain't going to give you what you want hold you down. 'Transplant' yourself to another course, job and/or religion. If the tree should fall, the body would stop. If after changing the leaves numerous times and things are not changing, change the roots to see if there would be any change; make sure you are changing to the best and suitable root available, don't just change. When things ain't changing, change the roots too.

LEAVES

I remember back in the ADs when trees do change their roots, it was very amazing and fascinating. This never happened anywhere on planet 'Earth', it is not real. But it would be nice to see such happen. In real terms, will changing of root change the plant's conditions. Yes, it will; either in a good way or a bad way. Your course of study/school, your job and your religion are roots; the leaves are the output of your attitudes. As a student, moving from one school/course to another won't change your grades. As a shop-owner, packing from one shop to another might not increase your income as you have expected. Changing your religion may even worsen things. Have you ever asked- I keep changing the roots but the leaves are not changing, why? If you change your school, your grade never changes because while other were burning midnight candles; you were at the cinema. Packing from a small mall to a bigger mall will keep bringing loss to your purse since you find it hard to make it to shop when others do, you blame it on irrelevant things. Going to one church today and another tomorrow; or a church today, a mosque tomorrow won't bring the solutions you want because you are not serving in spirit and truth. You want evergreen leaves but you can't practice evergreen attitudes. The reason your grades keep falling, your income is bad, and your relationship with God is zero is because your attitudes doesn't align with your wants. You want a good grade but you are not ready to sleep late or do additional things. You want good sales but you are not ready to get to the mall before others. You want the best relationship with God yet you keep decieving yourself. Shed those leaves now that it is all dry, so that when the rain comes, new ones will sprout out and the beautiful leaves will attract your desires. In reality: you can change the roots, but before you do, shed the leaves first.

IMPROMPTU

Have you ever felt the shock an impromptu speaker feels when called up to speak on a totally strange topic? How strange does it feel to see such person emerging as the winner against such odds? Have you ever seen the face of students about to take the test of a strict lecturer? Life problems are impromptu, none of it was planned by us, not the easiest. Just like taking a turn, you don't know what is ahead. However, before you take the turn, take time to prepare for anything. But if after taking the turn, your preparations seem futile, take your time to avoid flopping. The problems we face are always strange and different. Yes! You can ask for points but you arrange it the way you find good. Prepare if you think you should but never rush an impromptu no matter how small your time is. In any situation, tackle it the best way. Be aware, it is impromptu.

SMALL PAY

We all work to make money some daily, weekly, monthly, etc but no matter how small the money is, no salary is small. I guess your hand is a wrong hand. You can't make anything out of the minimum wage if you don't plan to. Most of the known rich men started from a little salary and today, they are paying others salary. To make it with a little salary- you don't eat with both hands, you plan the money before you see the money, you stop unwise and unnecessary spending, you must include investing in your layout, above all consult the people who knows better. A small salary can bear a big future, it's left to you. There's no small pay.

IT'S SHARED

We all have a destiny to fulfill, a dream we want to see come true, but we want it all easy.
Human Immuno-deficiency Virus is a disease that you can't know who has it or not and it is when it has metamorphosed into Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome that you start to see signs. That's how the destinies and dreams we carry, that your neighbour may also be dreaming of being an artiste like you and unless you do something, it can't metamorphose.
Have you ever seen or watched a talent hunt before? There are a lots of people who want to act but after the auditions, only a few are left behind and in these few, the grand prize is for the first, though others may be awarded too.
Though I'm not a fan of tennis but there's something I know, only the best one who plays extraordinarily is awarded the grand slam.
That's it, there are a thousand of people in this world who doesn't look like you but possibly, they think like you. So when you are dreaming, don't assume you are the only one dreaming or never assume you are the only one with the destiny to be a president.
Just like the talent hunt, a lot have been evicted right from the start and eviction is still on. Some right from birth, some at the middle. But there's something about being evicted, it gives you the chance to start over, use a new plot or change course; being evicted doesn't mark the end- if you dreamt of being a doctor but you were not admitted, you can try something else, it doesn't mean you should stop. Moreover, different roads lead to a location.
It is not easy, you can ask the likes of the successful people, they will tell you. For you to reach the finals, you must really have what it takes. It is either you are the winner or someone else is, there will always be a winner no matter how hard. Your dream or destiny is like HIV you don't know the people that have it, it follows the pattern of a talent hunt and only one person is awarded the grand slam.

EASY ROUTES

Do you know the number of countries from which you can travel to Nigeria or say Africa? They are numerous. Just like the road to achieving your dreams and goals, it is not compulsory you go to school to be the richest man; you don't have to go into music before you are known by the world. There is always an easy road though you will face trials. Sit down, analyse all this routes and select the one that is comfortable and that suits you. It's better you use a route you know well so that in time of havocs, you can use another road and link up later. No matter how blocked a road is, there is always going to be an escape route. Take the right route, for a safe journey. Wish you a safe and successful journey. Merry Christmas.