If I Could.. (Special Dedication)

If I could, I will be optimistically optimistic that I should, and guess this piece would have had a better and more reassuring title like ‘heaven is good’. Life is painted in black and white and if you are not careful and vigilant enough, it just might offer you a couple more stripes. I’ve seen, I’ve heard and awakened it and above all, I’m pregnant with an ever burning desire to live it but the day to day hustle and bustle got me stuck in between doing right and wrong.

Who is to blame for all these misfortune? God created the world so beautifully and however went on to create man in His own image but we chose to eat the forbidden apple, leaving the shawarma to burn. Now, there’s nothing ‘Eden’ about our gardens anymore, what we have are just flowers surrounding our drive way with not even a single fruit to pluck. So I ask again, who let the dame snake in?

Well, I guess we should have been more conscious of the creepy creeping creature and gather up some boiled eggs and throw them all over the place, hoping it chokes to death. And Eve they blame for all the infelicity but I say Adam must have already been thinking of owning a surname as ‘Sandler’ and that’s why he decided to eat the dame fruit.  But then, I guess it’s a little too late for regrets and pointing accusing fingers because the remaining four actually points back at us so why don’t we stand up to do something to make a difference individually to the life of the man next door.

As a matter of fact, I’m really baffled by a couple of stuffs and only hope someone out there might have the right answers. You know, we all ate the fruit and instantly gained our sight and became wise so why can’t some solve a simple arithmetic. And also on the other hand, we were made to understand that Adam and Eve knew they were naked and rushed to cover themselves up with some leaves immediately they ate the fruit so why do we still find some ladies out there walking about the streets naked all in the name of a fashion trend, I guess they must have eaten the leaves and not the apple itself.

Crazy right, that’s what I thought, but then I wouldn’t allow that derail me as I’ve got my eyes locked on the head of the nail and with these words I’ll be hammering into us the essence of today’s inspiration and hope I reach out to a soul or two.  And with that said, allow me to quickly make a wish list in my head and hope with that I’m able to relate to you all some of my concerns and maybe they just might become yours too and together we can make a change and make the world a better place to live.

You know, I hate to slap the taste out of anyone’s mouth but if I could, I would have the president of this beloved country of mine get back in his uniform and rule again as a military leader, reintroducing the ‘War Against Indiscipline” that was first introduced in 1984 and have those so called untouchables locked behind bars and their stupid legacies can rot in hell for all I care. They are nothing but a total disgrace to this country and everything we stand for. People fight to cast in their vote so that they and their children can have a better life but it’s their private jets that are landing and their containers taking turns at the sea pot and yet they expect us to keep our mouth shut.

Well, I don’t know about you but my voice must be heard because it hurts to see an elderly man who must have served the country all those long years in service, still mounting the gates at our local stores and neighborhoods, when provisions should have been made to enrich them for the rest of their lives. Our mothers doing petty jobs just to survive and there we are cruising Lincolns and Bentleys, cursing our heritage. It’s an unforgivable abomination to suffer so much for a child who grows up to forget us and I pray that wouldn’t be our portion. If I could, I would have our fathers and mothers take trips to the Bahamas and we all can return back to the farm to cultivate a better tomorrow. If I could, I would stop piracy so that our hard working musicians, actors and film makers can begin to enjoy the fruit of their labor and royalties payed to them for their outstanding work.

Nigeria is fast taking on the world, what are you doing to contribute your own quota? Are you involved in some internet scam and destroying the image of this glorious country? Well, it takes only a while for time to catch up with you and when it does, you’re sure to vomit every pounds and dollars you reaped a fellow human off or you can as well right now just follow my lead and choose to stay clean. We’ve all made some wrong choices at some point in our lives but how long do we intend to keep acting ignorant when we know the truth. My brothers and sisters, if I could, I would bring back our girls and bring back the glorious days when the world was afraid to get toe to toe with our senior national football team, what about you?

Kay Magnate

My Country, My Dream

Writing a book isn't the problem but not been taken advantaged of is. The print world is full of Lions and Gorillas, so be careful when you're writing your first because it could also be your last. Be sure you have it all figured out before leaving your pen to bleed because there are people out there who are ready to take all the credit in exchange for a few pennies and that raises a fear and sure kills the motivation. Truth is, the country is full of individuals walking around each day with a broken dream, not because they want to but because the country forced them to.

Our leaders sell us some piece of crap in exchange for our votes, promising the world if they get elected and eventually we are the ones who reach to the bottom of our purse to pay for the debt owed for a lie that was sold to us. Many grew up wanting to be LAWYERs and DOCTORs and now LAWMAs and CONDUCTORs, well, they are still enforcing the law and conducting the operation, not just in our courts and theater rooms. Who do we blame? Is it our leaders who effortlessly strive to enrich themselves or the people who continuously sell out their votes and their right to make a difference?.

We can still make that change, let's not say we lost on the election day because I have so much believe in the present administration and would rather want us to win the war within ourselves first and worry about the government later. We are the nation, the people and the dream, and Nigeria can only loose when we do. If we choose to win today, we would be surprised how things would begin to change for the better. Let's stop these negative utterances we make, there's power in the tongue my people. No matter how bad things might be for the Americans, they'll always conclude by saying "God bless America", do you know how far that goes?

Let's be nation builders and not killers, you can still become who you want to be as long as you're still breathing, you're a part of the Nigerian dream. So many great men have lost their lives to the struggles of wanting to make a difference so that we all can eat right. There's always light at the end of the tunnel and Nigeria might be going through its dark moments right now, but remember we took our country back from the British and will definitely bring our girls back.

The troubles we are facing today are compilation of truth neglected yesterday. What we sow is what we would reap, period. No one is innocent of these wrongs, we've all played an active role in the failure of our democracy. But then ofcourse like I always say, it's pointless pointing fingers when we can use that valuable time to come up with a positive plan that soon gets us out of this mess and put us back where we should be on the map. Nigeria is a great country and regardless it's shortcoming, it remains one. We just need to wake up from our slumber and start living the dream.

The truth is, if you have an orange and you don't take good care of it, it starts to rotten and that's where we find ourselves today. God has blessed this nation richly but we chose to act like spoilt brats and we are like the prodigal son who squandered all his father gave him and now crying back to God for help when by this time we should be making major impact on the world. Show me a country that is blessed than Nigeria and our geography books and world maps would be a fraud. God bless Nigeria, we are in recession and not at war, collectively we can build our golden nation back up and get hunger out of our land.

I believe in this nation, I believe in the Nigerian dream, I believe in the current disposition and finally, I believe in the coming together of you and me. Nigeria is one nation, one people, when we win, we rejoice together and when we fail, we cry together. Let's not leave it all in the hands on our leader and keep pushing blames on them, we've all failed each other and it's time we make things right. The change starts with you and together we would mount the national flag back up and keep the green white green flying again.

God Bless Nigeria !

Kay Magnate

True African Beauty

Our women are swiftly beginning to forget their moral value and standards and would rather prefer dis-engaging themselves rather than embracing their cultural heritage, the type our mothers were proud of. Do we really need to be reminded how beautiful we are? And the truth is, I just don't get this bum snapping pose they strike each time there's an upload on our social media platforms, Instagram must be really popular for creating such a platform for our women to showcase their talent.. smh!

It's funny how we've adopted the lifestyle and fashion ethics of the western world and have totally turned our backs to our very own. This and many more raises eye brows in the society and today issues are been raised of indecent dressing although I've never been a subscriber of such criticism because I believe fashion evolves and we shouldn't be left behind. However, that doesn't necessarily mean we should walk around the streets naked and provocatively, so let's not misunderstand each other because I hate to be the catalyst of immorality.

Well, like I said earlier, there's nothing wrong in wanting to be a part of the trend but we are beginning to concentrate more on the outside, forgetting true beauty is within and that's a school of thought I wouldn't purchase an handout for. I understand every woman wants to cause a malfunction to the masculine brain at the traffic junction, but while at it, let's not forget you're the daughter of a respected man and a future wife to another.

Yea, no doubt, we're in the jet age unlike our mothers who lived in the era where 20 yards of attire was needed to sow a Tan top but still, let's not be fooled into loosing our values. Wake up every morning reminding yourself how beautiful you are and how planet earth is privileged to have you walking through it. You were uniquely and wonderfully made and no make up kit can make you beautiful, it only enhances the perfect work already done at your birth.

Stay sophisticated in those exotic designer wears and Christian Louboutin shoes but never forget true beauty comes from the inside and only radiated on the outside, otherwise you'll only be another mannequin kited for display at our favorite boutiques. The truth is, every woman is beautiful but until they find that inner glow that no amount of money can buy.

The world has become so artificial and our women would rather rely on the external features to feel wonderful when their beauty is factory fitted and were carefully engineered to be a "full option", I mean, God must be thinking of a Mercedes automobile when he created them. And on that note, please allow me as I close to remind you of the extra hours God must have put in work when creating you, you're beautiful just the way you are and it's time to showcase the true worth of an African woman because the world is watching.

Kay Magnate