THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME

There is a place I call home

A place where I feel loved

A place where I am accepted

The colour of my skin does not matter here

The intonation of my speech is of no consequence

I am free to live without the fear that someday I will be seen as a stranger

My people will never treat me as if I am different from them

They will always stand by me

They believe in me

No, matter what I pass through

I am glad because they have my back

Where indeed can be compared to home?

Nigeria is my home

There could never be a place like her

I love her; she is all I have

I will stand by her because she stood by me

I will love her because she loved me

I accept her because she accepted me first

Despite the disrespect accorded to her by others

I will always respect her

She’s God’s gift to humanity

She is the most beautiful place that has ever existed

There is definitely no place like my home

Written by Ude Nnenne

DO YOU KNOW?

The difference between winners and losers is that winners never quit but losers do. A winner may experience failure but he never gives up but a loser surrenders at the first sight of trouble.

“I hate to lose more than I like to win. I hate to see the happiness on their faces when they beat me - Jimmy Connors “. No one ever wants to be in a situation where others beat him or her. The truth is the road to success is not a smooth one. Failures are bound to come up sometimes but it is what you do afterwards that matters most. There will be times when people will laugh at you but never mind about that. All you have to do is work harder so that those same people will be the ones to laugh with you.

“Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost”.

Martina Navratilova. Winning or losing at any, point in life has a role to play in the search for success. No matter how great your loss was or how well you won in the past they all serve the same purpose. They are to serve as lessons in life. If you won, there must have been a way to accomplish more than you had accomplished. If you lost, there was a lesson for you to pick up; what did I fail to do that lead to my failure. Passing through these stages and not learning the lessons each has is living a wasted life. Failures should not be seen as failures but as stepping-stones.

“For me coming second is the same as coming last” Lew Grade. Winning is all about striving to be the best in anything you do. He who does not hope to win has already lost. José Juaquín Olmedo (1780 - 1847). You need to develop the right attitude towards winning. Winning is not for a select few, everyone has the ability to win. You just have to believe you can. “Winning isn't everything—it's the only thing” Sir Neil Shaw. There are so many opportunities out there for you to make a difference in. You have so much life ahead of you, why waste it in self-pity. Go out there and win all you can. Believe me if you do not someone else will, do not be left behind in this race.

Written by Ude Nnenne

WISE SAYINGS

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.

Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)

Death never takes the wise man by surprise; he is always ready to go.

Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695)

Defer not till to-morrow to be wise,

To-morrow's sun to thee may never rise.

William Congreve (1670 - 1729)

From the earliest times the old have rubbed it into the young that they are wiser than they, and before the young had discovered what nonsense this was they were old too, and it profited them to carry on the imposture.

Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)

If one is too lazy to think, too vain to do a thing badly, too cowardly to admit it, one will never attain wisdom.

Cyril Connolly (1903 - 1974)

It is a point of wisdom to be silent when occasion requires, and better than to speak, though never so well.

Plutarch

Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much;

Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.

William Cowper (1731 - 1800)

Not by years but by disposition is wisdom acquired.

Plautus

The older I grow, the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.

H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Compiled by Ude Nnenne

THERE IS HOPE!

Have you ever been in tight corners?

Corners were you saw giving up as the only way out.

Have you ever been in a situation of helplessness?

A situation where the only advice that made sense was to, give up the struggle.

Have you ever thought of the possibility, that there could be something worth fighting for?

Alternatively, do you just believe that nothing in life is worth the struggle?

You keep saying to yourself, ‘nothing could be worse than what I’m facing right now’.

What indeed could be worse than losing the ability to believe in you?

I have news for you, ‘there is hope’.

The truth is every problem has a solution, found and unfound.

No problem would just go away because you want it to; you have to fight it head on to make it go.

Believe me, life is worth the struggle.

Why should others make it and you can’t?

What makes you different from them?

There is no law that says you cannot succeed where others have.

All it takes is hard work and determination.

We all have to make efforts.

“Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things”. –T.S. Elliot (1888-1965)

As a country, we have really messed things up.

We are well endowed in natural resources but have no development to show for it.

We are the laughing stock of our time because our fathers and mothers refused to make the efforts.

We are here, we know what it takes.

We know what Nigeria has and we know what she needs.

We should not let the failures of the past spoil our resolve to change the future.

It lies in our hands, Nigeria needs us.

Let us take a stand not to give up on our nation.

Our success depends on how much we put to the task.

Knowing our duties and taking up our positions,

I am sure that indeed for Nigeria ‘there is hope’.

Written by Ude Nnenne

PERSISTENCE

“There must be a beginning of any great matter; but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory”. Francis Drake (1540-1596).

Starting a thing is not the problem. In fact starting is nothing compared to finishing. Most people who are unable to finish what they started do so because of their inability to endure all the difficulties that come their way.

It is like fighting a war. When a soldier goes to war, he does not just defeat one person. He does not believe that because the man he took on has surrendered to him the battle is over. Remember that the battle is not against a soldier but against an entire army. He fights on until the very last of his opponents surrenders. It is then that the battle is over and he is permitted to rejoice. He believes in fighting to the very last man. That is what persistence is about.

“Be ashamed to die until you’ve won some victory for humanity”- Horace Mann (1796-1859). You should never give up until whatever you are pursuing is at its end. Persistence is all about continuing steadily despite problems or obstacles. To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. If you really need a positive result, you should be willing to hang on no matter how long it takes it to come.

The truth is your success does not depend on how much effort you put in but it depends on how long you can fight to get it. “Never accept failure, no matter how often it visits you. Keep on going. Never give up”- Michael Smurfit.

Written by Ude Nnenne

THE WISDOM IN YOUTH AND BEAUTY

A few years ago when I was still in the secondary school, a particular teacher of mine was fond of making a particular statement. She always told us that our generation was a “wasted generation”. At first, I saw it as a statement she made just because she felt like talking but later I realized that there was more to it.

Just as the popular saying goes “there is no smoke without fire”, I believe such a statement would not arise if people did not do stuffs that were in line with the statement. Take for example youths who are hired by bloodthirsty politicians. They are hired to intimidate anyone who does not vote for the candidate that hired them thereby making the whole election a total failure. Why should a person channel so much energy and vigour in something that is of no moral benefit to them? If you ask me that is a total waste of time and energy considering the fact that a youth is as a reservoir filled to the brim with first class energy.

Let us take a closer look at the implication of a wasted generation.

GENERATION: All of the people who were born at approximately the same time, considered as a group, and especially when considered as having shared interests and attitudes. (ENCARTA 2008)

WASTED: exploited when available, used without achieving any purpose

WASTED GENERATION: Putting the two together a wasted generation is one consisting of people who allow their selves to be exploited by others and most times have no purpose not to talk of achieving one.

From the above definition of a generation, we could say that the youths in Nigeria make up a generation we all belong to. So in other words my teacher meant that we (considering the fact that my school was located right here) are “a wasted set of youths”.

One would wonder why it is that wisdom is always attributed to old age. The truth is the adults in any given society believe that because they are ahead of us in terms of years and have seen more than we have they are entitled to the noun WISDOM. It is so because old people are seen to act based on anticipated results but most youths act based on intuition. I believe that the fact that one has white hair does not always qualify such a person as wise.

It has been stated that all those in the age bracket of 18 – 24 fall under the category of youths. Scientifically it is agreed that at this stage in any individual’s life he/she is seen to blossom (i.e. during this period they develop into more handsome and beautiful people, people whose brains operate at maximum). At this period, also many youths are carried away by their outward appearance forgetting to build their inner person. As a result, most of them turn out to be irresponsible, unfocused and above all ugly on the inside.

It is never wise to try to appear to be cleverer than you are. It is sometimes wise to appear slightly less so.

William Whitelaw (1918 - 1999)

Youths are known to be stubborn in admitting that they are actually less than what they want people to believe they are. Once you accept that you are on a particular level rather than pretending, you can then work towards attaining a particular height. The best way to do this is by taking ‘useful’ advice given by those who have already been there and investing in your mind. By doing this, you are maximizing your God given attributes and building your inner man. This is the best way to access and utilize the wisdom in youth and beauty.

(By Nnenne for YWAP Ota)

Don't Give Up

Let us look at this illustration and paint a picture in our minds eye. One day at home, I had just finished washing my clothes and the bathtub was still wet. I noticed an ant trying to climb out of the tub. Due to the slippery nature of the tub the ant kept falling. It kept climbing all the time although it ended up falling. After many efforts, it finally made its way out.

Bringing it home, we should be just like that ant. Falling in life does not mean we should remain on the wet ground. We should keep struggling to make it on to the dry land. Falling is not the problem but what you do after a fall is what matters. Do you stay there in the wet grass and develop a cold or do you pick a lesson from your fall and climb again.

“He who falls by his foot shall rise again; he who falls by his mouth shall not rise” {African (Efik) proverb}.

Here, falling by the foot represents the efforts you make in climbing. If you fall in the process of climbing, you will definitely rise and eventually succeed. It is all a matter of persistence. Anyone who gives up without a fight is not worthy to receive whatever reward he was supposed to get at the end of the ‘fight’. Falling by the mouth represents those who when they fall would rather sit there in the wet grass and keep giving excuses for their fall. Anyone who always has an excuse to back up a failure can never succeed. If they could use just half of the energy they use in thinking up these excuses in climbing there is no reason why they would not get to the dry ground.

“Experience makes men wise”. The essence of falling is so you can learn from the fall. Falling becomes a disaster when you are not able to discover the mistake you made which lead to your fall. By avoiding that mistake, you become a better climber and your chances of succeeding increase by the second.

“It is not by spectacular achievements that man can be transformed, but by will”.

Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906). That is the secret of success. When in a mess trying to remember past successes does not help. Your will is all it takes, the will to persevere. Are you willing to persevere for as long as it will take you to achieve your aim? Keep climbing and keep learning, never give up!

(By Nnenne for YWAP Ota)

I Believe

I believe in God the creator of heaven and earth with Him all things are possible. I believe in the Trinity, they work together to make things better. I believe in God, the author and finisher of my faith.

I believe in my parents, they are a combination of great minds.

I believe in Covenant University, it is a place to be. It is a planet on its own. It’s the driving force of Nigeria’s great potentials. I believe in the kings and queens of Hebron, the new generation leaders and the hope for Nigeria.

I believe in myself, I am the one Nigeria has been waiting for. I believe in myself because I have let go of my past. I can see my glorious secured future because I have God.

I believe in Nigeria, a country that will go places. No matter how bad things seem right now Nigeria will make it. This is what I believe in. How about you? What do you believe in?

(BY DIPE BIMPE)

A Prayer For Nigeria

Lord give us the GRACE

To sing your PRAISE

So we can be RAISED

And set the demons ABLAZE

God give us your POWER

To quench the devil’s FIRE

So we can go HIGHER

O God our FATHER

See NIGERIA

It’s going GAAGAA

We want it to be BETTER

O God the SON

Let loose the SUN

On Nigerian BORNS

So we can BLOSSOM

Lord JESUS

Please bless US

And save US

Lord cleanse our SINS

Make us new BEINGS

Let your RAIN

Flush out our PAINS

So we can REIGN

(BY DIPE BIMPE)

Music Review: Group 1 Crew

The first time I listened to Group 1 Crew, they reminded me of the former Christian group 'Souljahz' with a touch of The Black Eyed Peas. I was amazed at the way they merged hip-hop, r&b and funk to create a whole new genre of contemporary christian music.

The album Group 1 Crew has a number of tracks to blow your mind. It opens with the song 'Love Is A Beautiful Thing'. The song was a instant hit on the Christian Charts. 'Forgive Me' is also an instant banger. the song talks about how we as christians have to tell people of the Gospel and stand up for what we believe in.

Other banging tracks are 'Let It Roll', 'Clap Ur Hands', 'Put Like That' and 'Come Back Home'.

The album is available in all christian bookstores and on http://www.amazon.com/

Group 1 Crew is currently signed on to Word Records and Frevent Records. The band members are Manwell Reyes, Blanca Reyes and Pablo Villatoro.

A New Month!

Hey people! Welcome to April. We are sorry we have not been updating our blog as we should have but we are assuring you all that this month we will update the blog regularly. We pray that April will bring you numerous blessings and God will constantly supply all your needs according to his riches in glory....Peace