OLUWAJIMI . J . THORPE

"A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to redeem them from starving. They all have food in their own houses. When we gather together in the moonlight village ground, it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. Therefore let us continue with the team spirit and enjoy the power of togetherness. Let's smile not because we don't have problems but because we are stronger than the problems..."

When a boy tells you he loves you, his words won't be easy, his words won't be broken in English, he'll speak riddles, he'll preach parables for your heart to be at ease. To convey his message you'll need to focus, on his eyes on your breast, on his lips licking sweet lies. You'll need to focus on his accent, white and clean laying on your shoulders ready to carry your beliefs. When a boy tells you he loves you, he won't mean it at first, he'll retake the scene over and over again until he's awarded his first Oscars, he'll cry over your dying garden, his speech will levitate, He'll promise to bring the sun to your feet and your teeth will shine, your heart will glow, Your stomach will unfold and break into freedom, Your arms will open as will your legs. When a boy tells you he loves you, he'll be gentle as he creeps up your skin, he'll nail his words with a kiss and soon he'll leave you to hang, Soon the ov...

Beauty rose from the pit of fiery furnace and glowed more than all the world's diamond yet a kiss from the furnace left her deform. Wisdom rode out of the walled fence of foolishness and lived longer than all the world's wisdoms yet an embrace from foolishness saw him dwindle. Honour was a kinsman of every dishonourable acts until he was called out of that gross darkness to light yet a courtesy visit by his kin rendered him worthless. All these were something and were created out of nothingness until they received the breath that outlived the oldest creature yet end up in the guagmire of destruct by fellowshipping with their horrible pasts.

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education” — Albert Einstein The greatest form of disability in life is not knowing your ability. Your winning edge in life is not the degree you have acquired or the certificate you possessed, but your ability to solve problems. Whenever I interview graduates, I am not so keen on their qualifications; I am only keen on their special skills, experiences and their unique approach to problem-solving. Most of them cannot even apply the knowledge they have acquired in school to solving life problems. The 21st Century employer doesn’t necessarily pay you a salary for the certificate you possess, but for the problems you can solve. The reality of life is that there are more employable graduates than the available jobs, and it is only graduates that can actually think beyond their certificate that would eventually find their own place in life. Mark Twa...

Metropolitan Club 60th Anniversary Lecture, Lagos, Nigeria, 15 October, 2019. The President of the Metropolitan Club, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, CON; Elders of the Club; The Chairman of the 60th Anniversary Sub-Committee, Chief Gilbert Grant; Distinguished Members of the Metropolitan Club; Distinguished guests: INTRODUCTION I am honoured by the invitation to give the 60th Anniversary Lecture of this distinguished Club. Before today, I had the privilege of entering this premises only once. About one and half decades ago, the illustrious accountant and a notable member of this club, Basorun J.K. Randle, invited me to join him for lunch at the club. I came here with mild trepidation about what to expect at lunch with the elite of the Nigerian elites – those, at that time, I considered to be aristocrats and plutocrats. As a member of that endangered species called the middle-class in Nigeria, I wondered if partaking of lunch with those that the late Chief K.O. Mbadiwe would d...

‘I became a regular visitor at the State House in Marina, where we would sit and talk about the state of the country. Over the next six months, The Head of State will often drive himself to my residence in Surulere, in disguise and under cover of darkness. He would spend the night with us and leave before dawn the following morning. Ogundipe who was Ironsi’s deputy, would also visit regularly and my wife and I would visit him at his house, Number 6, Second Avenue in Ikoyi. He sent his two children to stay with us whenever there was any sign of unrest. Ironsi also did the same thing. We returned to work, although things were still very tense. I remember everyone being very careful about what they said, not knowing who was on whose side. During one of my official visits to a Telecommunications firm in the UK, I ran into Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo. He told me that he was attending a course in London, and he mentioned he was eager to return to Nigeria to help re-build the nation,...