Inspiration

I remain inspired by the vision that we have started, by the hope that cannot be reversed, by faith that is irreversible, by love that keeps us together; Keep hope alive, success is ours...

If I enumerate the challenges of recent times, it would probably bring tears to the eyes of the compassionate, laughter to the vocal cords of the hater's, lip service to the restless, wonder to the doubtful and reversal of faith to the writer.

The wise choice? I rest my pen but before I do that, a word of encouragement to all who do not know what the future holds, what you do not know would not harm. Be Strong, be courageous, never say never, always try, never give in, never let any one suppress your vision(the attached photo is a testimony) be open to criticism; Keep hope Alive!

Today, I had to forgo an important trip to San Fransisco to be with my great fellow Alumni of a great Alma matter, OAU Ile-Ife. So much had gone into the plans. My accommodation had been booked on the 28th of May 2008. No one ever knows what tomorrow holds. Last word: Pray.

Uneasy lies the head...(2)

The worlds greatest athletic meet, the olympic games has come and gone for 2008 and I must say that China gave the world a treat. If you are human and did not catch a glimpse of any of the games, see a photograph or hear some news on radio, then you probably must have been on vacation to Jupiter.

Anyway, back to reality. I have scripted extracts from my forthcoming magazine and would love to share with you my continuation in the series of the exciting world of Headgears.

As a child, I had lots of thoughts about adult behaviors. I guess it was just part of growing up. One of those thoughts was sort of worrisome to me. Let me explain. My mother is from the rich cultural tribe of Itsekiri in the southern part of Nigeria and one of the attributes of the culture is flamboyant dress code of the women who most often adorn “george” materials and complimenting pieces on the head.

To make matters more complicated, we virtually lived most of our lives in the western part of Nigeria were the Yoruba tribe dominates. They also have a culture that is characterized by tasty and rich dress codes. They however combine silky lacy materials, jacquard, “aso oke” (high cloth) guinea brocade and until recently, Ankara. What really caught my attention back then was the contraption that had to be positioned and fit tightly on the head of women as a compliment to the exiting attires.

The precision, concentration, sweat the number of pins and clips all to have the thick material fit perfectly on ones head was exciting and puzzling to me. Understand the combination? Well, as I matured in age, it became clearer to me. This has led me to showcase the exciting world of Headgears as I prepare to call the contraption.

I must say for those who actually know the feel, it is not an easy task to get the material shaped into various appealing styles. Imaging a high grade linen material that is “Super Starched”; that’s the feel I am talking about. That is exactly how Headgears feel... to be continued

Medal Counts

Hey, I am sure most of you have been highly entertained by the on going Olympic games in China. However, I need some clarification on the presentation and reporting of the medal counts.

Am I wrong; I thought the norm is that the country with the highest number of gold medals is the leader and should rightly be at the top of the medal table.

Have you noticed the presentation of some Western News media table count? theirs is that the country with the highest total number of medals collectively is at the top of the medal table.

The Olympic official website has a comprehensive medal table that is ranked by highest number of Gold medals. Which is the correct or official medal count indicator??

Stop Press: Nigeria is now on the olympic medal table with bronze medals from the Women's long jump and the Women's 4 x 100m Relay. Okagbare Blessing glided through the air with full determination to put her name on the history book of Athletes.

The relay team comprising of Idoka Franca, Kemasuode Gloria, Ismaila Hamilat and Osayomi Oludamola combined to create some thrills as they clintched the revered bronze medal in the relay.

Notice the diversity in the relay team? great stuff. Think about this; the ladies all competed with the world's best. Don't you think its worth celebrating?

Celebrate Africa

It is imperative that once again in history, we have the opportunity of celebrating Africa and it's achievement. It's not about the longest bridge in the world, nor the tallest building in the world. It's about the spirit of sheer determination, the spirit to conquer and to be the best.

It's the Nigerian under 23 football team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They beat Belgium 4 -1 to qualify for the finals against Argentina. Nigeria is poised to go for gold at the Olympics.

This is the opportunity we need to blow some trumpet about this achievement. It is a task for the local advertisers, the local multinationals and the media to get creative at making the most of the situation.

Africa and especially Nigeria has to be on prime time news right now. Football has over the years been a game of unity, one that has brought the most number of countries to a common playing field. The home media has a chance to profile each player. They have a chance to run with the glory and indemnify the coaches and all those responsible for putting the team together.

Screaming headlines should be the name of the game. You can imaging what countries like the USA are doing for every single gold they achieve. Every gold medal is worshipped as an institution with tentacles reaching out to commercial opportunities as well as endorsements. The information superhighways are all screaming at you from all angles.

Syndicated networks are not sleeping. It's a multi million dollar chance and the least we can do is celebrate. Guy's lets cheer them to Gold and glorify Africa once again.

Helloooooooo!!!!! we earned the SILVER medal. Great Job Guys!!

Customized Nuptial: The Alade Experience

I sincerely hope that the times are not racing too fast and too furious for me. By virtue of my adopted profession, I am able to experience the epicentre of certain events and sometimes lounge back stage if you know what I mean.

Anyway, the experience at the Alade wedding in Dallas recently was thrilling. The show of class and style was as clear as the blue sea coastline around the exotic south of France. If you have experienced an Aeriel view of Nice, the rich getaway city on South of France, you could literally catch a glimpse of sea creatures as they swim proudly around the bay.

I say proudly because they are lucky not to be around the "Eleko Beach" lake as that would make them instant victims of some hot grill waiting to be consumed by ever merry Lagosians. And whats more; they may end up swimming with "Gulder" or some "Odeku" concussion.

Back to the Wedding. The Bride, Wunmi did something so unique. She actually entertained guests by simulating a fashion show with her bridal train. I thought that was intellectually awesome. It was not your straight jacket kind of event. The cocktail hour was novel. Guests literally had their fill before the main event.

I hope to capture much more of this kind of entertaining nuptials and implore planners to get really original and individualistic in their choice of routine. This was an unpredictable event with lots of trends. You may view photos on http://www.trendyafrica.com/ and view link on Bunmi and Wunmi Alade.

Olympic Medal for TOGO

Woo Hoo! you cannot even begin to imaging my joy. My dear country of birth has a MEDAL from what may be described as the best OLYMPIC games yet. Boukpeti Benjamin won the bronze medal at the Canoe competition.

Well, my excitement? let me explain. I am Togolese by ascendancy but a Naturalized Nigerian by cosmic design. Togo used to be my favorite holiday spot in the good old eighty's when my Dad and his brothers would drive with pride in a convoy of about 8 vehicles occupied by Wives and children. It was so cool that after spending the entire day by the ocean, on the very clear and clean beach, we would retire to Grandpa's mansion and settle to sleep outside on woven Mats. For REAL folks! We usually spend 14 days on each trip and never wish to return to money generating Nigeria.

LOT'S OF THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN OUR (MY) GENERATION. Togo used to be the ultimate shopping destination. Grand Marche - the big market in Lome, Togo's capital used to be the bee hive of activities. The trunk of our 1978 Toyota Corona was always overfilled with all sorts of food stuff such as rice, tomato puree, dried and processed cassava-garri and sometimes fresh sea crabs that would escape and surprise us in the vehicles cabin. Gone are the good old fun days.

Sometimes, while the parents are lost on the third floor of the market probably arguing about time and what color of "ankara" to buy, my eyes would be transfixed on some young mammary glands exposed by a certain cult of maids without fear or favor. I sometimes wonder what adrenalin rush got into me at that age.

Anyway, Togo is a slim and small country in West Africa squashed in between Ghana on the left and Republic of Benin on the right. Nice french speaking people, rich in culture and sometimes respectful to a fault. Hey! I have a vision to return and turn around the tourism potential of my little town, Anecho. Those of you who know this place; tell me? do you remember Hotel Oasis with the lake characterised by a mini zoo and paddle canoes? Imaging.

Uneasy lies the Head...

OK, I really need to congratulate myself for finding this moment to create my own blog. Congrats!! Anyhow, it's the way to go. So friends, you now have the opportunity of sampling a little of my style of expressing issues and dramatizing topics that are related to life.

Let me assume that you have viewed my website http://www.trendyafrica.com/ one time or the other, or have you not?? Without much hesitation, rewind your eyes and follow the link to the underlined site.

You would be tantalized with a different view of Africa. Captivating images, mind boggling literature, eye popping headgear's popularly referred to as "gele" and all the other juicy stuff.

Uneasy lies the head that wears "gele" will be the introductory topic for this spot. Mind you, the phrase "gele" may be satirical and may be used as reference to so many other things that characterize my life thus far. ENJOY.