Man's language in pleasure
The most perfect of speeches
Brings nearer the truth –
Truth seen with passion
Truth united with pleasure
Calls imagination to the help of reason
Caused by intense realization,
Life explores its amazement
The spontaneous overflow of
Powerful feelings – emotions;
Emotions put in measure
Its ingenuity translated
In to language busy about imitation
Life really, is poetry.
Saturday, 4 October 2008
RAIN
With the company of thunder and flash
Where the mountains agree with the clouds
Lo in the land ‘the bard sang about'
Downpour unannounced, cold uncontrolled
Sweaters, jackets, turtlenecks and cardigans
Pandemonium, stillborn lakes and droning roofs
What is it that pelts on roses?
Dust, fog and sand all of blessed memories
And baptism wholly accomplished
For old things did pass away
As the third of these poured down
Storm, haze and rain
Baptizing and springing to life, new converts
Heartily welcomed to this sinful world.
But it sounds silly that it's just raining
Where the mountains agree with the clouds
Lo in the land ‘the bard sang about'
Downpour unannounced, cold uncontrolled
Sweaters, jackets, turtlenecks and cardigans
Pandemonium, stillborn lakes and droning roofs
What is it that pelts on roses?
Dust, fog and sand all of blessed memories
And baptism wholly accomplished
For old things did pass away
As the third of these poured down
Storm, haze and rain
Baptizing and springing to life, new converts
Heartily welcomed to this sinful world.
But it sounds silly that it's just raining
Friday, 3 October 2008
MUCH ADO ABOUT SOMETHING
Done to death by slanderous tongues
Was the hero that here lies dead
In dungeon of their rights
Gives him fame which never dies
Such was the death that died with shame.
Was the hero that here lies dead
In dungeon of their rights
Gives him fame which never dies
Such was the death that died with shame.
Monday, 1 September 2008
TROUBLES NEVER SINGLY COME
The winds wound round the hills and came tumbling in to the sleepy town,
carrying heavy July clouds. In this part of the country, the months of
July and August come with heavy dark clouds that causes downpour,
sometimes for days unending. It was the second week in July, and the
water aquifer was fast coming closer up.
Irish potatoes would soon be ripe for harvest, and the local acha will revel in the much rains. The rains always come with angry winds, which torpedo after crashing against the fore-slopes of the highlands. They will take off roofs of houses, uproot trees and cause fear down the bones of children.
The swoosh-swoosh snarls that engulfed the low heavens that evening, ensured that as many peasant farmers that made it to their farms that day, returned home early on to the comfort of their hearths. Some animal was scowling in the wild, probably lost, and the sound was coming from near the village gate. The winds continued to torment roofings made of palm fronds, even as the poorly made ones began to make way, and the old ones allowed water to gather inside.
Somewhere distant from the village square, close to the burial ground, about a few meters from the border of the village and the ‘evil’ forest that sits below the hills, the cry of a woman rented the air almost beyond the sonority of the winds. In defiance, the winds increased in noise and intensity, the rains now pouring down in anger and torrents.
From the north, almost in the opposite direction, lightening flashed across the grey skies and the resulting thunder rested at the base of an old dried oak, three huts away from the place the cry had emanated. The winds had died down now, but the rains continued to pour. The thunderbolt had ignited a fire at the base of the tree, and flames began to blaze in the rains, even as the wail of a newborn rent the steel cold night.
Ayuka was fatigued. She and the unborn had tussled from midday. She had prayed to the Good Spirit, to let her get a safe delivery, and the prayer included her labour, in her hut. But her wishes were not being fulfilled. She began to realize this, the moment those severe pains had started. She was tending young mushrooms on a strip of land, an echo from the thick of the forest. She thought of the bountiful harvest she was going to reap, and the profit she would make at Tallata market. And of the clothings and good healthy food she was going to stock for the baby. She would call the baby Arziki, and prayed it would be a girl.
The land was very fertile, and showed this by the huge growth of tender edible mushroom that grew from it. At first, she thought it was someone else’s farm, and overlooked it. Her repeated strolls through that trail, alerted her to the weeds that now competed with the mushrooms. No good farmer would allow his farm overgrown with this much weeds she thought. And that was when she took over.
Her tummy had been bulging for five moons now since she took note of the protuberance. As the days waned, she became aware of intermittent pains. Although she had learned from experience to be as subtle as possible, not to call up the bouts of snapping pains, she was carried away in her thoughts, and didn’t realize how rigorous she was getting with the tend.
That was when the pains started, and got unusual. Though she had witnessed similar pains in the past, they had varnished after some while. This one had forced her to abandon the tend, and head for home. She felt very sore from the pains and from her urgent pace to get home. And it was right on her way, that the tumbling winds had met her. The gruesome throes of labour right in the heavy downpour had left her muscles battered and aching.
Her under body was still on fire, like those times the illness overthrow and got worse because she had nowhere to go, and no one to call for help and had to lie in her hut till she began to feel better. On those days, the reproachful words of her father would ring aloud in her head, while Inna’s loud sobs burst tears down her sullen cheeks. She had had little time to take enough valuables before the Majjalisar Dattawa came calling. That day was austere and desolate. She had never felt love leave her like that day.
For now, getting the child warm was her utmost priority, as every bit of clothing was drenched and unsuitable for the occasion. The cold was fast settling in. She let out frequent sobs now and then, and the frequency was getting on the high side. However, she thought not of herself, as the little bag of life lay, yelling to the night.
She mustered what was now left of her strength, with a lot of gut, and snapped the umbilical, as she tried to separate the baby from her, to then clean up the mess. The scene was indeed gory, as she, in closed eyes undid the child from her, and silenced it in “first milk”. Not knowing from where the will came, she dragged, not in an attempt to get to what has been her source of shelter for nine moons now, but to get closer to the burning tree.
They both now desperately needed the warmth, but as the baby sucked, what remain of her energy seemed to drain with the flow of the milk. She had not had anything to eat, since she ate some of the tuber some benevolent passerby had gifted her the day before. She could not remember the last time she had ample food to eat, so she continued unending, to thank the man, until his bicycle had had taken him far from hearing distance. She had roasted a half of the yam, and planned to eat the rest when she returned from the farm today.
Rumblings continued in the sky, but were now from afar. The rains had now migrated, and only the Good Spirit knew what havoc they meted where they now poured. No one would complain by morning. “The rains have made repairs” they would say, as peasants with damaged houses would now go about renovating them, while those with waterlogged farms or severely damaged crops would count their losses.
But now in the cold dark night, a parliament of owls exchanged successive hoots in the not too far distance, the most resounding coming from the hills. She knew that owls told of bad augur, and hoped whatever it was, would be as distant as the continuous rumbling of the skies. Her only source of salvation was the fire, which crackled in the rich fuel of the old oak.
She was grateful to be close enough now, to provide ample warmth for the newborn, a baby boy, and to also keep away any wandering hyena whose path may seem to cross here before dawn. The fire crackled as if in response to her. And she prayed that it burns far in to the night. Then everything went blank.
The torrents had moved ahead, but drizzles continued in its wake. The heavens were just clearing up the remnants of clouds that were heavy some few hours before. On some occasion, it would drizzle on until the resolve of the people would force it to stop. This they seem to do by defying it, and continuing their normal business. Today, there would be no need for it, as dusk was already night, and the hearth would provide better comfort. Only by morning would any damage be of any significance.
Some rhythmic mantra broke the silence that ensued for about a quarter of an hour. It came from the hills that stand guard for the village. The marabou, whose duty it was to carry messages from the Good Spirit for the village, had made there his home. The place and its inhabitant were very revered amongst the people.
Between the hills and the village laid the ‘evil’ forest to which no inhabitant of the village was to step. It had human eating creatures; fathers would tell their children to deter them from hunting Agama lizards from thence. Only the Majjalis – the council of elders, after cleansing could walk the forest to the hills, where the Good Spirit lived, and the marabou made adulation daily. And on such occasions, like today’s, atonement and reverence would be their only reason to approach the hills.
The tapping of the marabou’s drum was notoriously paramount amidst the chant. The Majjalis was performing a ritual to cleanse the land of all evil and abominations. It was a yearly event. Twelve moons counted unending, and then restitution would be sought. The marabou had premeditated the day for the ritual, and hoped the Good Spirit would provide ample supplies of sacrifice. They had needed the blood of an innocent child, or of a stranger.
Now, the ritual had gone ahead. It would last till the early hours of the morning, around when the cock let out its first crow. Then they – the Majjalis, would tarry two more days to unwind, and travel down from the hills from where the marabou’s shrine laid, a watchtower for the village.
Irish potatoes would soon be ripe for harvest, and the local acha will revel in the much rains. The rains always come with angry winds, which torpedo after crashing against the fore-slopes of the highlands. They will take off roofs of houses, uproot trees and cause fear down the bones of children.
The swoosh-swoosh snarls that engulfed the low heavens that evening, ensured that as many peasant farmers that made it to their farms that day, returned home early on to the comfort of their hearths. Some animal was scowling in the wild, probably lost, and the sound was coming from near the village gate. The winds continued to torment roofings made of palm fronds, even as the poorly made ones began to make way, and the old ones allowed water to gather inside.
Somewhere distant from the village square, close to the burial ground, about a few meters from the border of the village and the ‘evil’ forest that sits below the hills, the cry of a woman rented the air almost beyond the sonority of the winds. In defiance, the winds increased in noise and intensity, the rains now pouring down in anger and torrents.
From the north, almost in the opposite direction, lightening flashed across the grey skies and the resulting thunder rested at the base of an old dried oak, three huts away from the place the cry had emanated. The winds had died down now, but the rains continued to pour. The thunderbolt had ignited a fire at the base of the tree, and flames began to blaze in the rains, even as the wail of a newborn rent the steel cold night.
Ayuka was fatigued. She and the unborn had tussled from midday. She had prayed to the Good Spirit, to let her get a safe delivery, and the prayer included her labour, in her hut. But her wishes were not being fulfilled. She began to realize this, the moment those severe pains had started. She was tending young mushrooms on a strip of land, an echo from the thick of the forest. She thought of the bountiful harvest she was going to reap, and the profit she would make at Tallata market. And of the clothings and good healthy food she was going to stock for the baby. She would call the baby Arziki, and prayed it would be a girl.
The land was very fertile, and showed this by the huge growth of tender edible mushroom that grew from it. At first, she thought it was someone else’s farm, and overlooked it. Her repeated strolls through that trail, alerted her to the weeds that now competed with the mushrooms. No good farmer would allow his farm overgrown with this much weeds she thought. And that was when she took over.
Her tummy had been bulging for five moons now since she took note of the protuberance. As the days waned, she became aware of intermittent pains. Although she had learned from experience to be as subtle as possible, not to call up the bouts of snapping pains, she was carried away in her thoughts, and didn’t realize how rigorous she was getting with the tend.
That was when the pains started, and got unusual. Though she had witnessed similar pains in the past, they had varnished after some while. This one had forced her to abandon the tend, and head for home. She felt very sore from the pains and from her urgent pace to get home. And it was right on her way, that the tumbling winds had met her. The gruesome throes of labour right in the heavy downpour had left her muscles battered and aching.
Her under body was still on fire, like those times the illness overthrow and got worse because she had nowhere to go, and no one to call for help and had to lie in her hut till she began to feel better. On those days, the reproachful words of her father would ring aloud in her head, while Inna’s loud sobs burst tears down her sullen cheeks. She had had little time to take enough valuables before the Majjalisar Dattawa came calling. That day was austere and desolate. She had never felt love leave her like that day.
For now, getting the child warm was her utmost priority, as every bit of clothing was drenched and unsuitable for the occasion. The cold was fast settling in. She let out frequent sobs now and then, and the frequency was getting on the high side. However, she thought not of herself, as the little bag of life lay, yelling to the night.
She mustered what was now left of her strength, with a lot of gut, and snapped the umbilical, as she tried to separate the baby from her, to then clean up the mess. The scene was indeed gory, as she, in closed eyes undid the child from her, and silenced it in “first milk”. Not knowing from where the will came, she dragged, not in an attempt to get to what has been her source of shelter for nine moons now, but to get closer to the burning tree.
They both now desperately needed the warmth, but as the baby sucked, what remain of her energy seemed to drain with the flow of the milk. She had not had anything to eat, since she ate some of the tuber some benevolent passerby had gifted her the day before. She could not remember the last time she had ample food to eat, so she continued unending, to thank the man, until his bicycle had had taken him far from hearing distance. She had roasted a half of the yam, and planned to eat the rest when she returned from the farm today.
Rumblings continued in the sky, but were now from afar. The rains had now migrated, and only the Good Spirit knew what havoc they meted where they now poured. No one would complain by morning. “The rains have made repairs” they would say, as peasants with damaged houses would now go about renovating them, while those with waterlogged farms or severely damaged crops would count their losses.
But now in the cold dark night, a parliament of owls exchanged successive hoots in the not too far distance, the most resounding coming from the hills. She knew that owls told of bad augur, and hoped whatever it was, would be as distant as the continuous rumbling of the skies. Her only source of salvation was the fire, which crackled in the rich fuel of the old oak.
She was grateful to be close enough now, to provide ample warmth for the newborn, a baby boy, and to also keep away any wandering hyena whose path may seem to cross here before dawn. The fire crackled as if in response to her. And she prayed that it burns far in to the night. Then everything went blank.
The torrents had moved ahead, but drizzles continued in its wake. The heavens were just clearing up the remnants of clouds that were heavy some few hours before. On some occasion, it would drizzle on until the resolve of the people would force it to stop. This they seem to do by defying it, and continuing their normal business. Today, there would be no need for it, as dusk was already night, and the hearth would provide better comfort. Only by morning would any damage be of any significance.
Some rhythmic mantra broke the silence that ensued for about a quarter of an hour. It came from the hills that stand guard for the village. The marabou, whose duty it was to carry messages from the Good Spirit for the village, had made there his home. The place and its inhabitant were very revered amongst the people.
Between the hills and the village laid the ‘evil’ forest to which no inhabitant of the village was to step. It had human eating creatures; fathers would tell their children to deter them from hunting Agama lizards from thence. Only the Majjalis – the council of elders, after cleansing could walk the forest to the hills, where the Good Spirit lived, and the marabou made adulation daily. And on such occasions, like today’s, atonement and reverence would be their only reason to approach the hills.
The tapping of the marabou’s drum was notoriously paramount amidst the chant. The Majjalis was performing a ritual to cleanse the land of all evil and abominations. It was a yearly event. Twelve moons counted unending, and then restitution would be sought. The marabou had premeditated the day for the ritual, and hoped the Good Spirit would provide ample supplies of sacrifice. They had needed the blood of an innocent child, or of a stranger.
Now, the ritual had gone ahead. It would last till the early hours of the morning, around when the cock let out its first crow. Then they – the Majjalis, would tarry two more days to unwind, and travel down from the hills from where the marabou’s shrine laid, a watchtower for the village.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
INITIATION
I sit half awake, half amok
Carried away by the chants
Of empty scary black masks
Droning chants of nineteenth century druids
Seasonal migrants to our lands
Coming with the birds to breed
Souls and life taken with them.
On the day gboya* and I made four
Exchanges of souls, oaths cursed
Dust mixed with the ceremonial broth
Cooking at the square, now four days
Humans used to skin drums
Bones made in to khalils^
remnants end up as bodily markings
Away to a place strange
Where dementors are harmless
And back through an interswitch
here am ushered in to manhood.
* - masquerade in Nupe (A Nigerian dialect)
^ - A Jewish flute
Carried away by the chants
Of empty scary black masks
Droning chants of nineteenth century druids
Seasonal migrants to our lands
Coming with the birds to breed
Souls and life taken with them.
On the day gboya* and I made four
Exchanges of souls, oaths cursed
Dust mixed with the ceremonial broth
Cooking at the square, now four days
Humans used to skin drums
Bones made in to khalils^
remnants end up as bodily markings
Away to a place strange
Where dementors are harmless
And back through an interswitch
here am ushered in to manhood.
* - masquerade in Nupe (A Nigerian dialect)
^ - A Jewish flute
MOONLIGHT TRANSACTIONS
Tonight would be full moon
Anticipations are high; anxiety lurk in street corners
Foot paths are busied all day
Though farmsteads receive less tend
Guests sojourn from afar; palm trees break early kola
kegs leave as souvenirs, cocks come to roost early
And hearths shall be without fire
Things would move as whirlwinds
And the moon's ugly face stare
Its gaze defiling the night sky
With uproar set agog downstairs
The village square blossoms with exuberance
Only the young and old be marked absent
Even the King swirl but for a moment
And in his entourage, another damsel when he leaves
The moon's burning desire sets loose
His radiant face adulated
Mirror for plenty a damsel
Freed from the mother's fiery watch
Only for the night's dance
Many to be given off after now
Cowries to be counted on their heads
And libations poured for their sake
Not until a tiger spots the game
Commotion borne in another compound
Turmoil brought to roost after sunset
Hatred gone to the porter's place
Strengthened, now carried by the gazelle
Full of zest, cheated to the game
Denied only by a potful of cowries
bribe already set ahead
Deal sealed after nightfall
The coveted object off to slavery
Dignity for the womenfolk soiled
Swept under the raffia mat
Fresh sap of love, sublimed
Elixir for the rampant gazelle
Slaughtered on the alter of lust
Twain pairs of unmatched legs
Nailed to a soiled matrimonial bed
Another death victim deboured
Anticipations are high; anxiety lurk in street corners
Foot paths are busied all day
Though farmsteads receive less tend
Guests sojourn from afar; palm trees break early kola
kegs leave as souvenirs, cocks come to roost early
And hearths shall be without fire
Things would move as whirlwinds
And the moon's ugly face stare
Its gaze defiling the night sky
With uproar set agog downstairs
The village square blossoms with exuberance
Only the young and old be marked absent
Even the King swirl but for a moment
And in his entourage, another damsel when he leaves
The moon's burning desire sets loose
His radiant face adulated
Mirror for plenty a damsel
Freed from the mother's fiery watch
Only for the night's dance
Many to be given off after now
Cowries to be counted on their heads
And libations poured for their sake
Not until a tiger spots the game
Commotion borne in another compound
Turmoil brought to roost after sunset
Hatred gone to the porter's place
Strengthened, now carried by the gazelle
Full of zest, cheated to the game
Denied only by a potful of cowries
bribe already set ahead
Deal sealed after nightfall
The coveted object off to slavery
Dignity for the womenfolk soiled
Swept under the raffia mat
Fresh sap of love, sublimed
Elixir for the rampant gazelle
Slaughtered on the alter of lust
Twain pairs of unmatched legs
Nailed to a soiled matrimonial bed
Another death victim deboured
BOY STORY
I met a boy of school age
Who ate up his heart
Bound his mind, and gave it up to hell
What was his dream?
He wanted to be fearless, immortal
Revered amongst Skulls, Black Axes, Mungikis and Sea Dogs
Carried away to terror's lofty high
But got tied to the hangman's stake
Already signed up on death's toll
Friday, 25 July 2008
The making of Wealth
I had a knack for books as a child, but I repelled motivational books - Memoirs of Marshall Zhukov, Kevin Keegan, All the Best People, Kenneth Kaunda - which seemed to dot our petite library. I had even attempted Philosophy, but not the leadership thing, and autobiographies. As a teenager, I went for romance, bestsellers and thrillers. Then I entered college and met a friend who was addicted to Napoleon Hill. He'd tell me, he want to make it big in no time, and I gareed with him. Myself, I could not recount the time I had enough to spent and make meaningful investments. So, I nurtured that dream of hitting the jackpots very soon, but very soon was taking ages. Before I knew it, I was already in my final year.
My friend started doing forex before I knew it, then started withdrawing money from his domiciliary account - I was still in a bottleneck - only prizing some share certificates I have which I still have not been able to verify. I then began to scour the internet for investment success formulas, and began to see people with the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. My dad had been reading a copy the last time I was home, that was before he started his fishery investments. But I told myself, no one would teach me how to make money.
I continued my search for the golden fleece though not with much vigor, and attempted to get addicted to the financial stations on cable like my brother have, but still to no avail. Then I bumped into Donald Trump on Good Morning America, where there was an advert of his "The Apprentice". I liked what I saw, but immediately discarded him from my mind. Then, I visited a friend and was offered 'Why We Want You To Get Rich', written by Donald and Robert Kiyosaki, and my life was never the same. Within 24 hours, I read Kiyosaki's sequel to Rich Dad..., the one that has the four quadrants: E,S,B,I in another friend's place, then I began to piece the pictures together. Perhaps it was time I put on my investment shoes, and create a better life for myself. Probably, it was time the foundations were laid for the building of my empire. I read only the first chapter of the former, and the first three chapters of the latter, and was never in my life challenged about my personal goals on finance in my life, as Kiyosaki and Trump continued to.
If I had any pride left in my measly financial life, it vanished after I read about his dad, whom in wealth, still died a pauper. It set me thinking, one which I have not been able to decipher how and what to do next. Indeed in Thomas Edison's words, the greatest task is "thinking".
Now, am set on a newer perspective, and geared towards getting a formula that would mould my financial life into the I quadrant, even as I know am presently not in any of the four quadrants at the moment. I am thinking, and I will find a place to set my feet on. Watch me...
My friend started doing forex before I knew it, then started withdrawing money from his domiciliary account - I was still in a bottleneck - only prizing some share certificates I have which I still have not been able to verify. I then began to scour the internet for investment success formulas, and began to see people with the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. My dad had been reading a copy the last time I was home, that was before he started his fishery investments. But I told myself, no one would teach me how to make money.
I continued my search for the golden fleece though not with much vigor, and attempted to get addicted to the financial stations on cable like my brother have, but still to no avail. Then I bumped into Donald Trump on Good Morning America, where there was an advert of his "The Apprentice". I liked what I saw, but immediately discarded him from my mind. Then, I visited a friend and was offered 'Why We Want You To Get Rich', written by Donald and Robert Kiyosaki, and my life was never the same. Within 24 hours, I read Kiyosaki's sequel to Rich Dad..., the one that has the four quadrants: E,S,B,I in another friend's place, then I began to piece the pictures together. Perhaps it was time I put on my investment shoes, and create a better life for myself. Probably, it was time the foundations were laid for the building of my empire. I read only the first chapter of the former, and the first three chapters of the latter, and was never in my life challenged about my personal goals on finance in my life, as Kiyosaki and Trump continued to.
If I had any pride left in my measly financial life, it vanished after I read about his dad, whom in wealth, still died a pauper. It set me thinking, one which I have not been able to decipher how and what to do next. Indeed in Thomas Edison's words, the greatest task is "thinking".
Now, am set on a newer perspective, and geared towards getting a formula that would mould my financial life into the I quadrant, even as I know am presently not in any of the four quadrants at the moment. I am thinking, and I will find a place to set my feet on. Watch me...
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Breath of relief at last
Yesterday I was in Minna, 4 hours drive away from my campus, in a bid to solicit for funds to attend a motivational seminar in Brazil come August 2008. After the official duties, I steeled down to other pressing issues, which included most of all, trying to sort things out with "my princess". She was of course, tired out by the time I made it to her house, because she's been busy of late, organising and starting some financial advisory job. She's actually a member of the Board of Directors, and so, needed to be up and doing.
Well, I had to put up with the fact that she was tired, as I needed to be as caring as possible, even as I sometimes try to define the word CARING without getting a headway.
We had some time to talk, and of course stare at each other for long moments in which chemistry burned, then her roommates showed up. From then on, I could only relegate myself to the background and refuse the spotlight, as my spirits were already dampened by some realisations before her roommates came.
Then the time for me to leave approached, but the all were ruing the fact that I was leaving. However, we spent almost an hour together, after she offered to walk me to the road. We talked about ourselves and most importantly, why I wanted nobody but her in my life.
We had a long talk, and she finally persuaded me to take her as a friend (a very special friend), and get to know each other more. This should materialise into a strong relatiponship that will culminate in her becoming the nucleus of my empire.
I liked the idea, as it would not only help me concentrate on my studies, but also build myself to the challenge of the situation. Something I learnt from it, was that when I get a conviction, I must follow it till the end, and even if I must leave room to negotiations, it must certainly be the last resort, and to my benefit.
Now, am back in school writing this post, preparing to work on my project title, continue a project development framework, and face my courses with gusto.
Well, I had to put up with the fact that she was tired, as I needed to be as caring as possible, even as I sometimes try to define the word CARING without getting a headway.
We had some time to talk, and of course stare at each other for long moments in which chemistry burned, then her roommates showed up. From then on, I could only relegate myself to the background and refuse the spotlight, as my spirits were already dampened by some realisations before her roommates came.
Then the time for me to leave approached, but the all were ruing the fact that I was leaving. However, we spent almost an hour together, after she offered to walk me to the road. We talked about ourselves and most importantly, why I wanted nobody but her in my life.
We had a long talk, and she finally persuaded me to take her as a friend (a very special friend), and get to know each other more. This should materialise into a strong relatiponship that will culminate in her becoming the nucleus of my empire.
I liked the idea, as it would not only help me concentrate on my studies, but also build myself to the challenge of the situation. Something I learnt from it, was that when I get a conviction, I must follow it till the end, and even if I must leave room to negotiations, it must certainly be the last resort, and to my benefit.
Now, am back in school writing this post, preparing to work on my project title, continue a project development framework, and face my courses with gusto.
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Life's Backswash; Blessing's hurt
In Geography, when you study oceanography or marine science, you become familiar with such words like swash, backswash, tide and the likes. I have not really taken oceanography into much considerations as I have an interest in Tropical and advanced climatology and macro-meteorology. But the word backswash will remain in my brain - it has to, for me as an intending geographer, in the study of climate.
However, backswash would be used here in a different context.
I don't know how many of us meet someone for the first time, and we fail to reason well, until we have had time with the person, letting some flow of chemistry between you two.
I was away from school for a training on entrepreneurship, and I met this damsel. She was too articulate. You can never take away the fact that she was a beaut.
I was taken away immediately, considering the fact that for three years, I had stayed away from relationships. And when I thought the time was ripe to start afresh, something would come up, and disrupt the whole thing.
But it was not so with her. She was named Blessing. Her dialect name called her Princess, and now, I call her "my Princess". However, the story is not as juicy as it is becoming. We had a chat before I left for school, and she reiterated how hurt she was, from the last relationship. It was on the 1st of January, of the previous year, while everyone was rejoicing for a new year, she was all drenched in pain and tears, when she received a text message from her boyfriend signaling the end of a 5-year relationship. It has now taking her time to heal, and although she can now enjoy herself without much thought of it, she wants another year off relationships before she commits to something new. However, I am obsessed with her.
She is to articulate as I earlier said, and she suits what I want in a woman. I found her, and I want to share my life with her. We have alot in common, and I am learning from her. But above all, she is giving me something I don't have - LOVE.
Even though she doesn't know that she helps make my day by filling my every thought, I know she wants me but is skeptical of the decisions to take because she feels she may get hurt yet again. She thinks I don't love enough to guarantee her happiness, but I want to prove it.
I am almost distraught because of the replies I get for my SMS, but I find hope in that there seem some silver lining at the end of the clouds.
I only hope they be for good for me, her and US.
However, backswash would be used here in a different context.
I don't know how many of us meet someone for the first time, and we fail to reason well, until we have had time with the person, letting some flow of chemistry between you two.
I was away from school for a training on entrepreneurship, and I met this damsel. She was too articulate. You can never take away the fact that she was a beaut.
I was taken away immediately, considering the fact that for three years, I had stayed away from relationships. And when I thought the time was ripe to start afresh, something would come up, and disrupt the whole thing.
But it was not so with her. She was named Blessing. Her dialect name called her Princess, and now, I call her "my Princess". However, the story is not as juicy as it is becoming. We had a chat before I left for school, and she reiterated how hurt she was, from the last relationship. It was on the 1st of January, of the previous year, while everyone was rejoicing for a new year, she was all drenched in pain and tears, when she received a text message from her boyfriend signaling the end of a 5-year relationship. It has now taking her time to heal, and although she can now enjoy herself without much thought of it, she wants another year off relationships before she commits to something new. However, I am obsessed with her.
She is to articulate as I earlier said, and she suits what I want in a woman. I found her, and I want to share my life with her. We have alot in common, and I am learning from her. But above all, she is giving me something I don't have - LOVE.
Even though she doesn't know that she helps make my day by filling my every thought, I know she wants me but is skeptical of the decisions to take because she feels she may get hurt yet again. She thinks I don't love enough to guarantee her happiness, but I want to prove it.
I am almost distraught because of the replies I get for my SMS, but I find hope in that there seem some silver lining at the end of the clouds.
I only hope they be for good for me, her and US.
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
“BANKING SECTOR CONSOLIDATION IN NIGERIA AND THE NEED TO GENERATE SUPERIOR RETURNS”
On Tuesday, 6th of July 2004, Central Bank of
However,
The banking sector has continuously been labeled as the major culprit for this situation. It is believed to have completely reneged on its role of financing sustainable economic development by rather supporting the import-dependence nature of te economy. Most of the revenue generated by banks is import business-related. This is largely due to the highly fragmented nature and the weak capital base of Nigerian banks.
But how the sector revitalizes itself and stands to the challenges of 21st century banking, towards ensuring that stand-alone banks can boast of superior returns at the end of the financial year and partake in the reconstruction of the nation’s economy.
It is already widely recognized that one of the limitations of the banking sector in
These limitations of the banking sector have various causes. But a major one among these is that this sector has not yet adapted its orientation, methods of operation and whole ethos, to the systems of commercial and other payments actually operated by the majority of the people of
In many parts of
Infact, the banks in
There are, besides these, many other limitations of Nigerian banks, which cripple their capacity to provide adequate banking services, which can propel the economy forward. One of the major areas of their shortcomings is in the limited reach of their saving services. The extensive networks of savings and credit schemes found all over the country, known as adashi, esusu and by other names, have up to now not linked up in a sustained, productive way with Nigerian banks. All the rhetoric about micro – credit from the highest levels of the Nigerian Government, have evaded facing up to this woeful failure of Nigerian banks and of the governments in creatively adapting to, and developing these vital systems of savings and credit.
It is widely recognized that savings, by individuals, families, clans, public institutions, municipalities, local, regional and central governments, are key to the rapid and sustained economic progress of
It has been seen as a paradox that despite the state of the economy, the country’s reserves are still deposited in foreign vaults due to the low capacity of the local banks. This has rendered the system very marginal relative to its potentials and in comparison to other countries. There has therefore been the need to be proactive and to strategically place Nigerian banks to be active players and not spectators in the emerging world economy.
In as much as the minimum capital base requirement for banks was N 2 billion (before the recent requirement of N 25 billion), a lot of banks still depended on deposits from the public sector. Many banks appeared to have abandoned their essential intermediation role of mobilizing savings and inculcating banking habit at the household and micro enterprise levels. Although the distribution among banks of public funds was not uniform, there were some banks whose dependency ratios were in excess of 50%. The implications were that the resource base of such banks became weak and volatile, rendering their operations highly vulnerable to the savings in government revenue, arising from the uncertainties of the international oil market.
To effectively provide banking services to customers and mobilize funds from the public, banks will need to deploy various capital-intensive service delivery channels. The over-dependence on cheap public sector funds has negatively affected the drive of Nigerian banks to provide these alternative service delivery channels and therefore undermined the need for banks to increase their capitalization. With the new reforms, banks should, finally begin to look beyond the minimum N 25 billion and regard these policy changes as an opportunity to emerge as mega banks with capitalization of probably over N 70 billion to effectively migrate into and participate in the global financial marketplace.
As the banks undergo reformation, a new look sector should emerge functioning as an effective enabler of development in other sectors of the economy. In the Nigerian situation, the banking sector is experiencing phenomenal growth at about 24% while the real sectors of the economy have been experiencing slow growth, stagnation or even negative growth. The reasons behind this abnormality in sector growth trends cannot be too far from the fact that the core income – generating line for the Nigerian banking industry has been import finance. The impetus for the Nigerian banking sector to support the relatively more painstaking riskier real sectors of the economy ha thus been eroded since the import business with shorter turn-around time and reduced risk can deliver the required profitability for the banks. This situation has lingered on for years and unfortunately, the impact has been a falling Naira and dwindling foreign reserves.
With the reforms and specifically the removal of public sector funds from the banks, banks should be forced to shift their focus to the real sectors and target the cash flows of these businesses. Essentially, banks will thereby support economic growth in a sustainable way. The resultant effect will be a banking industry that effectively meets the financial needs of the Nigerian economy at all levels.
Superior returns, shall not only be in monetary forms because the reform will have a positive impact on the labour force in the long term. The banking industry is a significant employer of labour, employing over 470,003 of the skilled workforce in
With the recent consolidation of banks due to inability to meet up with the minimum capital base stipulated by the Central Bank of
As the banking sector faces reformations, there are great needs, to turn in superior returns. But how the banks ensure the realization of this goal;, remains the unanswered question. One major obstacle to realizing this would be poor corporate governance. Post consolidation banks should design, install and implement transparent and accountable corporate governance structures, processes and strategies. Corporate governance should provide for zero tolerance of insider abuse and non-performing insider credit which is the major reason for financial and management crisis in some banks.
Design, installation and implementation of effective risk management and internal control systems to ensure that risks they take on in their operations are properly assessed, priced and managed. Consequently, persons to head the risk management and internal control portfolios must be of top management grade with the requisite skills, power and authority to execute their mandate. The corporate governance codes must provide for the monitoring of compliance with anti-money laundering laws and regulations.
The Central Bank stands in a very key position, in revitalizing the banking sector and generate superior returns after all. What is necessary, is an atmosphere where the Asset Management Company (AMC) and a technical committee set up by the apex bank, would screen intending banks on money handling, working experience, size, strength et al as the Central Bank wishes, so that our monies stored up in foreign vaults which continually generate huge interest for such banks abroad, would be “deported” and lodged in our own now mega banks. With this happening, the interests that once were accrued for foreign banks would now be accrued for our local banks, and at the end, invested in the real sector of the economy.
However, one realization today is that investors are seeking above market (superior) returns on investment without subjecting their capital to undue risks. Accomplishing these often, contradictory goal require a discriminating investment strategy, an approach affordable by private equity investment partnerships. A private equity investment can be defined as a stock ownership stake in a company with equity securities that are publicly traded. Superior returns are developing corporate programs for management and employees, and identifying appropriate add-on acquisitions. Private equity investments represent an attractive form of diversification for banks and other large investors. Allocating assets to private equity investments can generate a significant long-term impact on the value of portfolio.
For example, assume that a $100 million fund generates a consistent return of 10% a year. Over a 10-year period, the fund will grow to $259.4 million. What would happen if the fund decided to switch a small portion of its assets - $5 million – into a private equity investment that yielded a 25% annual return, leaving the remaining $95 million to accumulate at 10%? The first year’s increase in overall return would be $750,000, yielding the investor 10.75% instead of 10%, a modest but worthwhile gain. But over a 10-year period, the results would be truly dramatic: the fund’s assets would grow to a total of $293 million, an increase of $33.6 million. That works out to an average annual return of just over 11.3 percent, a 130 basis point improvement.
There is every need for greater superior returns by Nigerian banks due to some distresses like high costs of IT, inflation and interest rate. But there is every need for greater profits, to have enough so that the real sector growth can be encouraged. The import finance dependence has to be abolished. But it is only when the industry is getting enough from the real sector that it is going to shy away from import business relations, and settle down for homegrown industrialization.
The value of the Naira has continued to drop and this is no good omen for the economy. The better the profit turnover, the more cash flow and then a stable Naira. The apex bank must also play a part in realizing this need. It must stand disciplined, and stick to its agenda for improving the industry. As such, the internal machinery for effective supervision of the industry must be put in place. The judicial system should also begin to prepare first, for post-consolidation altercations that may arise because of some incompatible “marriages” and then necessary e-laws to guide the new face of banking. Thus even as the portfolios increase a new haven would appear to have been created for criminals and debtors. This is why the judicial and security systems in the country must provide protection against both armed and unarmed criminals.
The living condition of the masses should also be looked into, as they are the depositors of major funds. Community projects and environmentally conscious developments should be planned as they also stand as a type of investment.
The banking regulations towards ensuring greater superior returns must also walk the same path with the Federal Government’s reform policies. These policies though long-term, should be made lenient enough, to yield short-term benefits. The
Remittances and their Effects
Historians have always maintained that “many human institutions are the result of human action, but not of human design”. This is the plight of the African continent, nay, the Third World . Languishing in poverty, strife, decaying economies and often worse governance, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) might be far from being realized before the targeted 2015.
Often times, citizens have been forced to seek greener pastures, therefore, propelling the migration of the “best” brains or, rather, the ablest of hands to countries with better opportunities. But there seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Interestingly, the money that these emigrants and thus, temporary workers in the developed economies send back home are doing the trick. Termed, “the diaspora that fuels development”, these remittances – private aid from the poor to the poorer – are today, the largest, fastest-growing and most reliable source of income for developing countries. It is seen to be larger than Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Official Development Assistance (ODA) from all countries combined, - totaling a whopping $167 billion in 2005 – quite more than official aid flows of $166 billion.
In little sums of $188 Zimbabwean emigrants (27% of the 96% that remit) send home, to as much as $1000 Phillipinos receive from relations working abroad, remittances are making the world go round. Today, remittances amount to 2½ times the Haitian national budget, and atleast 20% of its Gross Domestic Product – a country that has such a subsistence economy that most of the money has to go straight to consumption and education.
Evidently, remittances are getting more attention, because of the failure of previous development programmes. This ‘private’ foreign aid is much more likely to go the people who really need it because unlike development loans or private capital, they come without strings. And because no bureaucracy is needed to manage them, bureaucrats can not squander them.
According to a World Bank report, remittances help to stabilize irregular incomes and to build human and social capital. It is also playing a central role in providing basic services where most States have failed. And although its use can be polarized - in the Comoros Island Somalia
Another thing about remittances is its effects over foreign aid. Remittances have reduced the level and dept of poverty and countries with higher level of poverty are not necessarily receiving more remittances. And the largest effects of remittances on poverty are observed in countries close to major labour-receiving areas. However, remittances have not translated in to investment growth and robust expansion of manufacturing as much as foreign aid has. It is noted also, that only its securitization can ensure that it raises loans in the international market at concessional rates which does not work out uniformly for all countries especially when the countries does not depend on such loans, for example, India or China.
At the same time, remittance funded investments are often found to be highly inefficient, poorly managed and unsustainable. The World Bank indicates that although private funds from the diaspora have built hospitals and schools, a lack of communications with the government often led to staff shortage in these facilities as seen in the Comoran Islands
The issue of migration is one thing that has undermined the effects of remittances. By 2005, Nigeria United Kingdom
The complementarity of remittances to foreign aid is pone way, to bolster development. According to President Tony Saca of El Savador, himself a benefactor of remittances, “the big challenge is to turn our workers abroad in to partners in the country’s progress, so that their remittances leave a legacy of productive investment at home”. This is because the success stories of remittances are individual, not collective. They can keep a lot of people from falling deeper in to poverty, but unless the government does the right things, they don’t lift many in to the middle class.
Remittances if handled and channeled through proper ways can complement the goals of foreign aid programs. If the money is mostly used for food, but also for rent, baptisms, weddings, funerals, gambling, then remittances are also part of our future. There is therefore the need to draw up strategies to quantify remittance income and explore ways to stretch the money to complement foreign aid.
This can be rather difficult, but the sooner it is done in expectation of yielding long-term results, the better. These strategies include, coaxing recipients to open savings accounts so that some of the money can be recycled in to small-business loans; encourage recipients to invest the money directly in community-wide businesses because such ventures can attract outside capital and become engines of prosperity; proper utilization of foreign exchange earnings from remittances in imports, so as to have a deleterious effect on export competitiveness; flexing financial and monetary policies and regulations creating barriers to the flow of remittances and their effective investment.
Securitization of remittances can also make it as much as possible, reliable and transparent in order to limit the potential for abuse. Other strategies are paying more attention to integrating migration policy within the larger global dialogue on economic development and poverty reduction; and entrusting remittance transfer in to the hands of credible financial institutions, so that it becomes part of foreign exchange reserves.
Monday, 19 May 2008
Crescendo!
It was my first time in Nigeria's commercial capital, and even though I experienced what I've always read of in the papers and online, I still have fond memories of the workshop I was invited to attend.
I received soul enriching presentations from wonderful role models, and had fun. Now, I am gingered, to work hard and get a front page news. And even though Uforma Egbamuno is in the race with me, I know I can beat him to the game.
Now, I can't wait to put ion to use the knowledge I gained.
I received soul enriching presentations from wonderful role models, and had fun. Now, I am gingered, to work hard and get a front page news. And even though Uforma Egbamuno is in the race with me, I know I can beat him to the game.
Now, I can't wait to put ion to use the knowledge I gained.
Monday, 12 May 2008
AIMING FOR THE TOP
On Sunday, I received a call to inform me that I have been invited to a workshop for student - correspondents of a newspaper house in Nigeria's commercial hub, Lagos.
I was elated and quickly sent a confirmation, for my presence. It has been one of the things I have always dreamt of, one of the things I have always wanted, a room to explore the world of the things I most desire and crave.
I had started writing for the campus section of the newspaper, and I had just reeled in two reports when the invitation came knocking on my door, and I grabbed it with two hands.
Now, am in euphoria, and am preparing to learn the art of journalism and polish my writing at this workshop.
I would not also rule out the opportunity to create a network of contacts. It would also enable me to check on my girlfriend, Ifunanyam, Chiamaka, Vivian.
I was elated and quickly sent a confirmation, for my presence. It has been one of the things I have always dreamt of, one of the things I have always wanted, a room to explore the world of the things I most desire and crave.
I had started writing for the campus section of the newspaper, and I had just reeled in two reports when the invitation came knocking on my door, and I grabbed it with two hands.
Now, am in euphoria, and am preparing to learn the art of journalism and polish my writing at this workshop.
I would not also rule out the opportunity to create a network of contacts. It would also enable me to check on my girlfriend, Ifunanyam, Chiamaka, Vivian.
Monday, 14 April 2008
Some light after the tunnel
Early this month, I was in deep shit - knee deep in depression, and I was really looking forward to getting sme help somewhere, but as no one is yet to visit my blog, as seen from the zero number of comments posted, I guess I must give kudos t myself, for thge moral fibre exhibited, to really get myself out of depression.
However, it was not without some help from a bunch of five friends - all of them girls, who helkped me out if it, actually talking me out of it. Well, one thing to note is that one of the girls, the youngest in particular, was instrumental to my present state. Today, the opther four see her, as the doorkeeper to my heart. We have now become best of friends, and I must confess, something emmotional is springing from the ...
But I am deeply concerned about the many others who are out there, going down with depression. Others, with stress. Can't we give them an arena, a panorama where they can exhale?
However, it was not without some help from a bunch of five friends - all of them girls, who helkped me out if it, actually talking me out of it. Well, one thing to note is that one of the girls, the youngest in particular, was instrumental to my present state. Today, the opther four see her, as the doorkeeper to my heart. We have now become best of friends, and I must confess, something emmotional is springing from the ...
But I am deeply concerned about the many others who are out there, going down with depression. Others, with stress. Can't we give them an arena, a panorama where they can exhale?
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
LOW EBBS!
I don't know how many people get to experience a low ebb in life. That moment, when all the good things you have planned for with so much precision, just come crashing without any sort of sympathy. And then you just feel like ending your life. You don't want to believe you are set in depression, but you know you are no longer working the normal fast pace you were known with, and the passions that drive you just seem to die out.
However, the thing is that you know this very well, because you have ample knowledge of this time in Man's life, but you just can't do anything other than tell people about it. And the more you say, the more they just look at you and lack solutions for you. This indeed, have caused youngsters with great dreams and aspirations to take their own lives incessantly.
I think its high time, that advisors and councilors begin to do something about it, as it seems to creep into the adolescence society. As a matter of fact, am at my lowest ebb. It has become a moment for me, when I no longer want to finish school because I feel am being deprived of the actual grades I deserve, my passion for social works is now under scrutiny after I lost a major election not because I wasn't competent enough, but because some persons wanted somebody there, without considering competence and availability.
It is killing dreams and maiming development. GUYS, am at my lowest ebb, and am in need of help. I am beginning to feel suicidal.
However, the thing is that you know this very well, because you have ample knowledge of this time in Man's life, but you just can't do anything other than tell people about it. And the more you say, the more they just look at you and lack solutions for you. This indeed, have caused youngsters with great dreams and aspirations to take their own lives incessantly.
I think its high time, that advisors and councilors begin to do something about it, as it seems to creep into the adolescence society. As a matter of fact, am at my lowest ebb. It has become a moment for me, when I no longer want to finish school because I feel am being deprived of the actual grades I deserve, my passion for social works is now under scrutiny after I lost a major election not because I wasn't competent enough, but because some persons wanted somebody there, without considering competence and availability.
It is killing dreams and maiming development. GUYS, am at my lowest ebb, and am in need of help. I am beginning to feel suicidal.
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
Economics and Freedom in Islamic Societies
“Men persist only with the help, of property. The only way to property is through cultivation. The only way to cultivation is through justice.”[1] “Injustice brings about the ruin of civilization.”[2]
The streets of Iran
The emotional outpouring that characterize religious festivals in particular, the martyrdom days of important shi’ah saints, are in part convectional, but they are also massive. Men and women weep and moan, smite their foreheads, and in rhythmical unison, beat their chests.[3] Some observers think that these expressions of emotion have social psychological importance, that they are releases of frustrated and pessimistic feelings that are continually engendered by the ethos of insecurity.
The Shi’ite abandon that have flourished most especially in the Persian state for centuries as are other sectarian practices in other parts of the Moslem world, denotes the irreparable divide of the Moslem world over the political question of the caliphate which illustrates a characteristic of Islam, that every Moslem thinks of himself as living in a theocracy, although Islam itself a nomocracy, denounces in strong terms the premises upon which theocracy now reigns in the Moslem world.
The Qur’an recognizes man as a being at once rational, volitional, acquisitive, and ethical – a man completely living in liberty, acting to provide for his existence without sacrificing his moral sensibilities.[4] Thus the Qur’an insists on the harmony of man’s spiritual (liberty) and material (economic) interests, embedded in the most important and comprehensive concept of Islam at the practical level, the shari’ah.
However, because of the diversion from strict Islamic injunctions foretold by the prophet Mohammed (SAW)[5], the gradual devolution of Islamic economic and spiritual practice away from the shari’ah may as well account for why the Moslem world declined in to intellectual darkness and economic stagnation.
Today, economies are blossoming in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to mention a few. But the circumstances that lead to the emergence of these economies and the continued deadlock in other Islamic nations to device a means to economic boom, is readily found in their mix of freedom and economic policies.
In ancient Moslem world, freedom denotes property. Ibn Khaldoun surmises, that “whoever takes someone’s property, or uses him for forced labor…does injustice to that particular person.”[6] Thus two aspects of the ethos of insecurity, fatalism and evasive deference to authority as characterized in Iranian culture many denote the lack of freedom either from the state or some external powers, which are identified as inconducive to individual and institutional innovations[7].
There is only one effective method for government to increase its revenues, and that is “through equitable treatment of people and regard for them”[8] so that “they have the incentive to make their capital bear fruit and grow.”[9] When the equitable treatment lacks, the state is certainly tilted towards feudalism, one way or the other. The misconception of this, tarnished the efforts of Iran Iraq Lebanon Syria
Societies are complex orders[14]. They require freedom because the information and knowledge that make them work can never be amassed by a central authority. Freedom to the process of achieving spontaneous order (in this case, stable economies) in society because we do not know in advance which rules will work, because liberty is essential to the trial-and-error process, and because the creative powers of man can only be expressed in a society in which power and knowledge are widely dispersed[15] When knowledge is determined by the existence of power, a feudalist regime would subsequently crush the aims of the Qur’an, principled in the Shari’ah.[16]
The hum of commerce eases the path of social cooperation in a free society, in part because it offers man opportunities that are simply not available when acting alone or in a state of war of all against all. Security and prosperity are interdependent and in free societies far surpasses those of nations where conflict marks difference of faith.[17]
Such celebrations like the anniversary of Ruhollah Khomeini’s Islamic revolution of 1979 usually go unnoticed in nations like Americas Israel
Iran’s problem however, remains its foreign policies that have remained cold, rater towards the countries that seem to have the will power to help it out of its economic shambles, that have brought the whole system to near collapse since the revolution of 1979. One thing remains that Iran Middle East and must therefore rubbish the efforts of any other, trying to meddle.[19] However stiff Iran
At night in the city of Esfahan Persia
All these despite the restriction of Iran’s powerful clerics and however much they may rail against the cultural invasion of the US and its acolytes – they say – on curbing the spread of Islam, the prime worry remains economic. Prior to the stiffer sanctions in October this year, the investment pinch from earlier sanctions is greatly being felt across the country: the government now offers cash for priority jobs, such as building oil refineries. All dollar exchanges, including small transfers for private individuals have become extremely complicated and it is very hard to use a credit card to buy online from inside Iran.[21]
The immunity of Mecca
© 2008 Atlas Economic Research Foundation
My entry for the Ibn Khaldoun Essay Contest for 2007.
[1] Ibn Khaldoun 1967, v. I, p. 64.
[2] Ibn Khaldoun 1967, v. II, p. 103
[3] Iran
[4] Ahmad I. A. 1996, An Islamic Perspective on the Wealth of Nations. Minaret of Freedom Preprint Series 96-4.
[5] Prophet Mohammed is said to have foretold, that the first generation of Moslems adhere most closely to the principles of the religion and each successive generation drifts farther from it.
[6] Ibn Khaldoun 1967, v. II, p. 107.
[7] The Islamic idea that property is a consequence of development does not differ from – and anticipates – Locke’s notion that use establishes the right of property. Thus, when lands are conquered, shared and used, it automatically becomes the property of the occupant. Thus property is strictly viewed in terms of individual, communal and state basis. Only through zealous protection of the property rights of the people (both their private property and the environment) can society spontaneously productive economies.
[8] Ibid., p. 103.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Iran
[11] Iraq Iraq
[12] Lebanon
[13] Syria Syria
[14] Nigel Ashford. The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty
[15] Ibid.
[16] Life in a free society can then be hard because it will force individuals to adjust to the needs of others. The free society works because it coordinates conflicting desires by creating incentives for people to satisfy those of others. This is the opposite of a state in which one can only achieve one’s aims at the expense of others.
[17] Ibid.
[18] The Economist. Volume 382 Number 8515. p.25
[19] It opposes the United State Israel Persian Gulf , and the latter as part of its stance and support for Palestine Iran Afghanistan
[20] A birth boom was encouraged during the first years of the Islamic revolution to provide a steady flow of young martyrs for the eight year war with Iraq
[21] As a result, Iran Dubai
[22] Ibn Khaldoun in his magnum opus – the Muqaddimah, says “in the attempt to earn the increase of capital that constitutes profit, it is unavoidable that one’s capital gets in to the hands of traders” and “all this causes the merchant a great deal of trouble… if he is not afraid of quarrels, knows how to settle an account, and is always willing to enter in to a dispute…he stands a better chance of being treated fairly…” Ibn Khaldoun, Wali ad-Din 1967, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, Franz Rosenthal, trans. (Princeton : Princeton Univ. Press).
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Seeking Creativity
Some days back, I was trying to add some creativity to my writing... I just wanted to sound good, you know, something that people could buy, when it finally goes to the market.
Then of course, I started musing and finally came up with one little piece of shit. But, I must confess, it just got stuck, the moment I finished this part.
And thank God, it did. Or else, my morals could have been something different now. Anyway, brace yourself and read this piece, without jostling out of yourself in to a world of...
Then of course, I started musing and finally came up with one little piece of shit. But, I must confess, it just got stuck, the moment I finished this part.
And thank God, it did. Or else, my morals could have been something different now. Anyway, brace yourself and read this piece, without jostling out of yourself in to a world of...
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Slaving for pay?
As I am writing this, I am realy locked up in my department's computer lab in school, doing some data management work, to earn some money. I am actually supposed to be a t work - I mean, as a third year student, am supposed to be away on industrial atachment, but I have skipped work for two weeks now, trying to earn some money I won't get at work.
I feel am doing it for my own good, but may be am stressing myself too much. The other day, a gang of gun wielding boys broke in to a cafe by early evening, and carted away with fones and notebooks. now, am locked up in an empty school. Don't you think its to the detriment of my own security?
I feel am doing it for my own good, but may be am stressing myself too much. The other day, a gang of gun wielding boys broke in to a cafe by early evening, and carted away with fones and notebooks. now, am locked up in an empty school. Don't you think its to the detriment of my own security?
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Aurovoir
You are indeed welcome to my blog.
It heralds so much about my personality, and that which I crave for...
Here, you'd get to know my personality and the things I aspire for... the things I want and the things I fight for.
It heralds so much about my personality, and that which I crave for...
Here, you'd get to know my personality and the things I aspire for... the things I want and the things I fight for.
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