Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. For some it's been a more challenging year than for others but you've pulled through, when you pass one test you know it's possible to pass others. Very possible. I pray we all have a better, more fruitful 2013.

perfume me

No matter how well dressed a person is, the packaging is not complete without the fragrance.  It's so offensive when you sit next to a person who looks well groomed yet stinks, it negates the grooming.  The way you smell should be a signature with you. I just feel that we should all have signature fragrances, though they may vary but should be consistent. Starting from the top.........
              THE HAIR:  If you keep braids, serious care of the hair has to come into play. Constant wrapping or tying the hair or packing with night cap(some people do not seem to know when to use these, they put them on the whole day) tends to make the hair smell offensive. During active times of the day,  you're bound to sweat on the scalp and if you don't allow it to dry , but just  put a night cap over it immediately you get back, the sweat is retained in the hair and it's kind of like steaming only this time without the beneficial effects., the hair will stink. Secondly, do not leave the weave or braid in for too long as this can even damage your hair. Most hair care product range have hair sprays that can be used to help the hair smell good, if you can't find a particular one you can as well use good ole perfume or body spray, get a little in there, it makes a world of difference.
                 THE BODY: starting with proper bath( well maybe I'll write about bathing soon, it'll be fun) and cream( necessary) the body needs nourishment. These are the barest must haves: deodorant is extremely essential, it's importance cannot be overemphasized, must must have, a little but powerful miss deodorant, the body spray and perfumes follow after....
                    THE MOUTH: m.o is a definite turn off not matter your personality and it's so easy to take care off. To have that advert smile and confidence you need to take your oral hygiene serious. First off is the brushing; when brushing, it's not only the teeth that are dirty, the tongue, the inside cheeks have to also be brushed and the lips as well. Rinse properly with a lot of water, gurgle occasionally with salt water or with mouth rinse and tara you have the freshest breath you've ever desired....

Eko 2012. 1

The 18TH national sports festival EKO 2012 came to an end on Sunday 9TH Dec, 2012 with mixed feelings for the athletes(some like the Delta representatives were ecstatic and found it hard to curb their joy and fulfillment which is understandable-they went home with the 241 medals(99 Gold,85 Silver,57 Bronze),the largest number of medals. Rivers followed on the medals table with 177(65 Gold,54 Silver and 58 Bronze). Lagos, the host state came third with 124 medals. All together an impressive showing for the winners and a not too impressive showing for the losers who lost well too...some with 3 medals and others with 2 but at least they participated. The opening ceremony  was beautiful I heard so I decided not to miss the closing.

 It started with KWAM 1 who had to stop his performance a little after starting because of some glitches with the sound. That however, did not deter the performance or enjoyment of it by the spectators . years of experience under his belt came to fore as he worked the crowd to a frenzy with his rendition of the Eyo/Eko song. The man in front of me though deaf( there were a lot of physically challenged at the point where I sat) could not help but join in the frenzy, although I wondered what he was actually dancing to. They all danced, the deaf, mute, slightly blind- so, it must have been some song- and for the not physically challenged perhaps mentally challenged(it's difficult to ascertain in Lagos the mental stability of most individuals), they made such a raucous that I feared some might actually hurt themselves. The KWAM 1 performance was immediately followed by Oleku which the compere who seemed to think everyone was slow of hearing took almost forever to announce. I quite frankly did not understand what the Oleku was about. They truthfully bored the tears out of some people as they could be heard shouting "comot for stage jare". As obviously the Oleku people could not hear and continued performing, the spectators found new ways to entertain themselves as blown condoms started flying everywhere and we became passive smokers of weed, the main source of the smoke could not be ascertained in such a mamoth crowd but it seemed to have many starting points and so we endured... The national anthem rendition which was beautifully done, gave a reprieve from the smoke, then the parade by the athletes who refused to hear what the compere was saying: he stressed that there was no need for them to hoist their flags anymore, they have come and competed and formed friendships, therefore. there should be easy camaraderie among them, that they should mingle and not walk according to their states anymore...he was of course speaking to the wind as they refused to hear, at a point he had to address individual states to fold their flags....

Confidence, Undies and your Fragrance

Confidence comes from inside. The way you  look is tied to the way you feel. If you feel good about yourself, there's always that tendency to walk straighter which makes you seem taller to the onlooker. Up close you emanate this confident body language. For some people, confidence, carriage are intrinsic. They've probably inherited good genes that have helped them along and they've not had to make too much effort to attain it. However, as in any desirable thing in life, for most people it doesn't just fall into your laps, you have to make conscious effort to attain it. The good thing there is: IT IS ATTAINABLE. So, how does one go about this? first thing first. Self Awareness; knowing who you are, what you look like, your skin tone, eye colour, gait, etc. Being self aware is not just limited to these, but it's a starting point. When you are in tune with your self, you will know what you like about you and what you don't like about you(Knowledge is KEY) and from this knowledge you can work to make a dream you...What you wear does not you make but it's extremely important to how you feel and it starts from inside. The right underwear is a good starting point to the total packaging of you.It has to provide both lift in the right area and comfort as well. Not too tight and not too free(support or lift concept will be lost then). Let's begin with the bras: The breast is a beautiful attractive body part that draws attention and should be properly packaged.  If you're full bodied, curvy and richly endowed,you are blessed. You have to take bras seriously. It's always so offensive to see ladies who are poorly packed because they are wearing undersized bras that end up dividing the breasts into unflattering proportions or those who did not take the key word SUPPORT to market and they end up with bras that leave the breasts swinging, dropping in very ugly fashion. It's important to know your actual size. Take time out and get proper measurement, don't assume, body shapes are different. when you know your true size, be dogmatic about bra shopping. Don't buy bras just because they come in your favorite colour or design, except they come in your size. Try different ones on and feel them out for support and comfort. Thankfully these days they also come in exotic designs and wide range of colours to cater to your sexiness desire. one thing you must have in mind is: the sizes of bra that suit you may actually vary, this is because they are made by different companies who have their different numbering systems, that's why it's important to know your actual size and with it you can know your market size range in bras...

The other woman.

I attended a burial ceremony this weekend, during the wake,something odd stood out. I noticed that the widow whom we knew sat next to the deceased's brother and another lady  who looked so holy and dignified : no earrings or any any form of jewelry in sight(very religious i presumed)sat by him, people kept coming to condole with the man( or so i thought and )not with the wife; this seemed very odd to me and quite frankly i thought the deceased's family members were beasts. The initial reason i could grasp then for this gross insensitivity was the fact that the wife was a foreigner and they probably did not know how to relate with her, but, she'd been married to their brother for more than half a century, surely they would have had ample time to get over any misgivings or erroneous misconceptions they had about her ...but obviously, they had not. So, the widow was left alone with her sadness and loss, another thing that caught my attention was that the man's children did not sit with the wife which of course suggested they may not be hers biologically, or even if they were, something was terribly wrong, so wrong that they could not afford to comfort each other in such  a trying time as this one,they sat on opposite sides and when one of the children was asked to speak, she did so eloquently extolling the virtues of this colossus of a man(it seems to me all dead people are perfect saints) who had fathered her but then when she referred to the mother, she looked the other way not at the wife.. my curiosity was piqued to the heights. I had to get some answers and despite the unapproving shoos from my neighbor , I reached forward to someone I thought might be in the know but I met with incomplete knowledge, so I reached to Google( the Solomon of our time according to Bankole Williams) and between Google and my friend in the front seat, I was able to piece together the story. I discovered that the wife had two children: a balanced pair( man and woman), the very dignified non jewelry wearing presumptuously religious old lady was actually the "The Other Woman"who had had children for the man outside, while the foreigner was the official wife. It got me thinking and wondering about so many things: for one, wouldn't this "Other Woman"(Lady T) have wanted to be someone's official wife? I mean; have her own husband?, what did she do in her youth?, what did she tell her children when they grew up and asked about the visiting dad? when she prays to God if she does, what does she say to Him? how does one become a 'Lady T'? there seems to be many around. Is it planned? Is it a life choice? it could be a life choice. I remember the elder sister of one of my childhood friends saying when we were younger and she lost her boyfriend to her best friend that she never wanted to be any man's first wife but the second because that way she knows that he is cheating on some one else with her and not cheating on her with some one else. At that time, i thought she was insane and just spewing rubbish out of pain but i have grown and interacted with other ladies and have come to realize that it is a given knowledge among women that men regardless of their level in life cheat, and would always do so and as such should not be trusted. However, men do not cheat by themselves, they cheat with other women( i do recognize that there are now men and men) but often times, it's always with another woman who refuses to acknowledge the pain of the wife, another woman who knows so much about the wife but who is content to remain faceless and some times releases hell to destroy the other woman in order to take her place. And I'm back to questions: is it because the ratio of men to women is not equal ?not enough men to go round? or is it just that some women like what belongs to others and prefer to be second and third best?  does a woman just decide she wants to spend her life in obscurity, tucked away sometimes in remote areas rearing children by herself while the man only visits once in a while and is not there for the day to day grit ? will I ever get the answers to these questions? most importantly,  do I want to know these answers?

Graduation Ceremony for the LASG IGNITE Employability and Enterprise Project

It was a beautiful experience at the graduation ceremony of the LASG IGNITE Employability and Enterprise Project as the four lucky streams of graduands had an opportunity to meet with their benefactors. The event which was held alongside the 2012 Youth Stakeholders' Forum-an initiative of the Governor Fashola- led administration- in collaboration with Afterschool Graduate Development Centre(AGDC)- to proffer a lasting solution to youth umemployment by creating an enabling environment which ignites an enterprise culture and optimal professional performance amongst youth domiciled in Lagos state-   with Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) of Lagos state.The graduands as well as the other participants got an opportunity to get first hand scoop of what the  Lagos state government was doing in the area of youths empowerment, and an opportunity to personally ask the governor constuctive questions( and the questions were so many, although not as constructive as i would have expected)... when it was time to entertain questions, there were two queues of close to fifty persons each who of course wanted to ask not just one question but several-i had to smile- and some just went to be seen to have asked the governor a question, many, after their long tactless i am brilliant speeches had to be prodded to get to their question severally, the drama of the day most definitely had to go to the young man who in a very belligerent tone insisted the government was not doing anything in the area of greening the environment, even after he was informed his question had been ferreted out, he still kept at it( i almost feared he was going to go upstage and engage the governor in a fist fight), some of the questions however showed the young people's ignorance albeit assertively. For instance while doing my fourth year Industrial training at NBC PLC Agidingbi Ikeja in 2009,  i recalled vividly that NBC PLC was a venue for the July 14TH, 2009 LAGOS STATE TREE PLANTING CAMPAIGN; whose slogan was Plant a Tree Today by His  Excellency Governor Babatunde Raji  Fashola...

 The 'unemployable'status of the Nigerian graduate concerns not just the graduates themselves but the country, however,  unlike others who have just diagnosed the problem with a ten inch pole and not made any effort to do something about it, the Governor  Fashola led government in parntnership with AGDC  chairmaned by Mrs Ibukun Awosika and her team : Mrs Funmi Funmi Adeyemi( Director), Mrs Detoun Ogwo( Executive Director), Mr Brian Oji( Project Coordinator) and a host of brilliant motivated minds have put their backs into the work to make a difference in the lives of the youths. As the Governor said at the ceremony the first step is a mind change, seeing as the white collar jobs were no longer available, it did not mean that there were no more opportunities in Nigeria.

 Getting the Nigerian youth to see the opportunities foreigners are seeing on the streets of Nigeria and trouping in in their large numbers everyday takes a mind change.The governor stated that the money was where the Nigerian graduate did not want to go to get her hands dirty...

It was a mind stimulating, challenging and fun experience. If there is one thing not to be forgotten soon, it is the humility of the governor, he did not speak in a condescending tone, neither did he use bogus ineffective words(showed his sensitivity), he went right to the heart of the matter: there is money in Nigeria! change your perspective and you too will see what foreigners are seeing.

.

Akwa Ibom state Silver Jubilee

On Sunday 23rd Sept, Akwa Ibom state celebrated its Silver Jubilee with lots of pomp and pageantry. The state government pulled out the stops and made a very good show in not just the state but outside the the state. The atmosphere was festive and jubilant for all AkwaIbnomites who took over the social media to beat their chests  with yes "Ndo Ayen Akwa Ibom"all across the country and in the diaspora.   It was kind of ironic though, some of the slogans that came out like the 'Obong names'  that used to be considered as insults by some Akwaibomites were proudly used by them to identify themselves. Life!. The Akwa ibomite of now has come into its own it seems. Whatever the case, "Akwa ibom ado ok"

The wonder of padded bra

The wonder of padded bra (costeh) is supposed to help ladies gain confidence in themselves by aiding the desirable but elusive cleavage( that's what i think) , it must be elusive ; i know how hard i used to pray for the bazzokas when I was younger "Oh Lord please make my breasts big", however, the breasts just refused to come out that big; well, until I discovered the wonders of padded bra in the university( nothing like been in the midst of other girls to make startlingly exciting discoveries) It was this my 'Eureka moment' that made me know that i was not alone in my search for fuller chests-it is always a sight to see full chested girls walking, the breasts just swinging on their own account- gosh, you'll just want to hate them(how dare they have what I'm looking for? and some even have excess!). So how do we not so endowed tackle this problem? 'Costeh'!!! of course. And they come in so many ranges and varieties.....

The killer smoke1

It is an abnormally to live in an ocean yet always be thirsty, to produce so much cassava yet when it's feeding time you take a plate and go round begging for garri to sip.   The discovery that smoke from firewood is the third killer of Nigerians after HIV and AIDS, Malaria is mind numbing and unbelievable; the fact that about 30 million households depend sorely on wood as a source for fuel for their daily cooking was equally shocking.
According to WHO, 95,360 deaths occur in Nigeria annually as a result of smoke from cooking with firewood and 3% of forests are lost annually due to firewood usage which increases global warming... so many dire consequences for a situation that is avoidable: As Africa's largest oil producing nation, it is very avoidable. With the many products from the fractional distillation of crude oil that we get, certainly we have alternatives to firewood fuel.
  

AGDC/Lasg Ignite stream 4 graduation 2012.

Female graduands of AGDC /Lasg Ignite stream 4

Ignite training

Incredible time spent at the Lasg ignite employability  training at AGDC.

Amazing the things you can accomplish if you only set your mind to it.....