"I" IS FOR ISM, ANTISEMITISM AND HOLOCAUST | Guest Post for International Day of Commemoration of Memory of the Victims of Holocaust

"Comparative and expository. This article will get you thinking deeply. Opinions expressed, however, are that of the author and his alone" - Editor's note.

Guest Writer: Carl Terver

The #JesuisCharlie hashtag is said to be one of the most popular hashtag in the history of Twitter. What made this hashtag so popular? Belief is a strong force that the best psychoanalysts haven't understood the phenomenon behind it. It's a force so strong that compels the human mind to undertake the daring, to firmly hold on to ideals, to adhere to something abstract and even defend it. Following the Charlie Hebdo killings citizens all over the world campaigned in a protest showing their solidarity. Not just this, most people were in this campaign to also support the freedom of speech which the attack on the cartoonists sought to condemn. While these protests and rallies were going on in the whole of Europe and all over the world a settlement, Baga, in Northeast Nigeria was under gunfire, a deadly assault that claimed according to news report about 2000 lives compared to the 19 in Paris. In both incidences people died, there was the loss of human life. In Paris it was a clash of beliefs; in Baga it was the superimposing of belief, belief meted against.

THE WALL BETWEEN US | Guest Post for International Day for Tolerance

"As the United Nations observes International Day for Tolerance, Viola Okolie lends her voice and calls attention to something we may be so quick to discard because it has become the norm - social media intolerance. Social media is a tool for change; if you are fighting on or through it, you'd better ask yourself, "Am I really fighting for change or simply fighting?"- Editor's Note

Image Credit: Blogofmanly 

As Nigerians prepare for the general elections billed to hold on the 14th of February 2015 where they are expected to elect a new group of politicians to steer the country in the right developmental direction, there is palpable tension in the air. If Valentine's day seems like an odd day to head to the polls, perhaps in choosing that day, the elections' umpire - The Independent National Electoral Commission - hopes to piggyback on the average Nigerian's sentimental nature and the worldwide recognition of that date as “Lovers' Day”, to conduct a hitch free election. Hopefully, the euphoria of all the Valentine's Day dinners and roses, cakes and dates would spill over into the next day and the day after and the day after...

A STROLL WITH NNAMDI NWOHA (For International Animation Day)

(Credit: Nnamdi Nwoha)

AREA! is a “little” animation experiment, and the idea behind it is to provide Indigenous Animation drawing from everyday life in Nigeria. The result of this experiment is just Whao! Even the word “Viral”, is not good enough to describe how far it has spread across the blogosphere since it was launched about 3 years ago.

For this year’s Animation day, I’ll be strolling with the guy behind this sensation. Nnamdi is a graduate of University of Lagos, Nigeria, and he’s part of the rising generation of young Africans who are pushing the boundaries of Professionalism to create careers for themselves in their areas of passion.

We discussed the vision behind AREA!; how we can foster locally-made animation; Naruto; and much more. Here’s our conversation;

A STROLL WITH Under-Secretary-General GYAN ACHARYA (For United Nations Day)

Credit: UN-OHRLLS

I was a panelist at a book discussion during the just concluded 2014 Port Harcourt Book Festival, and the book we discussed was “Interventions: A Life at War and Peace”, by Kofi Annan and Nader Mousavizadeh. In course of the interaction  we discovered that, over the years, popular opinion of the United Nations has been of an organization made for the elite first-world nations to discuss their selfish interest, rather than an organization for “We the peoples…” as the UN Charter says. However, all that is slowly changing.

October 24th is United Nations Day and my guest, Mr Gyan, is saddled with the job of bringing the impact of the UN down to the worlds most vulnerable countries. USG Gyan Acharya is the High Representative for the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states.

In course of this stroll, we discussed the 69th General Assembly; the work going on at the UN-OHRLLS; the MDGs; and much more. Here’s my conversation with USG Acharya;

A STROLL WITH RICHARD SAUL WURMAN (For World Development Information Day)

Richard Saul Wurman embodies creativity, curiosity, understanding, and innovation—all in one. An architect, designer, and author of 83 books; Wurman is best known for founding TED in 1984 which, 3 decades later, has grown into the biggest conference for discussing ideas and innovation around the world.

The following are some comments that Richard sent to me after a conversation where I asked him about his TED journey.

A STROLL WITH LUKE THOMAS (For World Food Day)

   "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." ~ Virginia Woolf

(Image Source: Luke Thomas) 

I get the rare privilege of reporting from a world class kitchen or restaurant once every year, thanks to World Food Day. This year, I'm at Luke's Dining Room at Sanctum on the Green to catch up with my guest, the youngest head chef in the United Kingdom, Luke Thomas.

Luke, who recently turned 21, on 2nd October, began his culinary career at 12 and has worked for many prestigious establishments including; the Chester Governor Hotel, Liverpool One, the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, Alinea in Chicago, to name a few. In 2009, Luke won the Future Chef competition organized by Springboard and ever since he's been bouncing his way to the top through his diligent work and mature leadership.

Luke and I discussed a whole lot; from cooking, to global hunger, to even the English Premier League. Do well to grab a snack for this mouthwatering stroll. Here's our conversation;

A STROLL WITH CIARA JUDGE, EMER HICKEY, and SOPHIE HEALY-THOW (For International Day of the Girl Child)

“Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of.” ~ Bethany Hamilton 

(Image Credit: GSF)

Apart from searching for keywords on the web, every year Google embarks on a search for smart teens around the world globe with creative solutions to problems in our world today.

Supported by LEGO, National Geographic, Scientific American, and Virgin Atlantic, this year’s Science Fair drew hundreds of entries from around the world, and out of those entries 15 finalists emerged. The finalists won different awards in their different age categories, but there was a grand prize. Yes, the big one, and this year’s grand prize went to a team of 3 Irish girls; Ciara Judge, Sophie Healy-Thow, and Emer Hickey.

I was lucky to catch up with these three smart and beautiful girls for a stroll. It was the first time I ever attempted strolling with three guests simultaneously (Thanks to Sharon, from Google, for giving the push), and the girls and I had so much in course of this stroll. Happy International Day of the Girl Child to every young lady out there, this stroll is dedicated to you.

A STROLL WITH GIRL UP (For International Day Of the Girl Child)

“Girls should not give up. As long as they believe in their dreams, they would one day see where it takes them. I dream too, and I’m already living some of my dreams…” ~ Zuriel Oduwole

October 11 is a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate girls all around the world, and to mark this year’s observance, I’ll be taking an exclusive stroll with Melissa Hillebrenner, the Director of Girl Up.

Girl Up is a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that supports millions of adolescent girls growing up in developing countries. Girl Up’s vision is that, all girls, no matter their geographical location, have the opportunity to become educated, healthy, safe, counted, and positioned to be the next generation of leaders.
 
Melissa and I talked about this unique day, Girl Up’s vision and the journey so far, as well as the contribution we all can make, in our own little way, to support the cause of the girl child. Here’s our conversation;

A STROLL WITH GOSSY UKANWOKE (For World Teachers Day)

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” ~William Arthur Ward

Despite being called the ultimate profession, that is, the profession that makes other professions. Over the years, teaching has been relegated to the bottom of the pyramid in many countries around the world. For many University graduates today, it’s only a last resort when they can’t find white collar jobs, and I guess the question you’re asking is why is this so?

October 5th is World Teachers day and today’s guest, Gossy, and I take a walk to discuss possible answers to this question, as well as the future of education and the evolution of the traditional classroom.

Gossy is the founder of Beni American University and BAU Online (Nigeria's first Online University), and his dream is to leverage on technology to transform how education is provided in this 21st-Century-Africa. Previously featured on CNN African Startups and Forbes, in 2010 Gossy also founded Students Circle Network; an international, educational social network for college and high school students, providing free course resources, peer to peer learning, study groups and support services.

Join us. Here’s my stroll with Gossy;

A STROLL WITH SAM BIRD (For World Car-free Day)

                                
                             "Racing is life and life is a risk" ~Michael Schumacher

The world is getting greener and our racing cars are getting faster, but how do we marry the two? Formula E is the answer.

On 13th September 2014, racing fans around the world were given a sneak peek into the future as history was made in Beijing where the first ever Formula E(electric car) race took place. With about 75,000 live spectators, 10 teams with 2 drivers each raced each other in a bid to write their names in the history books of motor sports. Well, tires screeched, batteries ran down, and a collision happened, but after everything, my guest on today's stroll got a spot on the podium.

Finishing 3rd, only behind Franck Montagny(2nd) and Lucas di Grassi(1st), Sam Bird--driver for the Virgin Racing Team--put up a great performance to the delight of cheering fans. In course of our stroll we talked about Formula E, Formula 1, the future of motor sports, and much more. Here we go;

ENGAGING YOUTHS IN DEMOCRACY | Guest Post for International Day of Democracy

"You are familiar with the challenges; you know the solutions. If you had no idea, with this, you now do. Now is the time to act. Do not read this and do nothing."- Editor's note.

Image Credit:damajority

Nigeria returned to the democratic path in 1999. But, 15 years after ushering the military out of the political space – a period that is on record as the longest unbroken spell of civil rule in the history of the nation – we can hardly boast of having entrenched basic norms and tenets of democracy in our system, leaving us a democracy only in nomenclature. Our ability to hold credible elections is still in doubt as both declared election winners and losers trade accusations of rigging, manipulation and impropriety after virtually every election. And with election results enmeshed in so much controversy, it raises serious questions as regards how truly representative government at all levels and across tiers really is. Also, the concept of the rule of law which presupposes that no one is above the law is anything but true in this clime. A significant cause of this seeming ‘movement without motion’ is because the same crop of people under whose watch the system deteriorated and the country began its descent into the abyss are either still in the thick of the action of governance, or are on the sidelines quietly pulling strings and calling the shots.

A STROLL WITH BILIKISS ADEBIYI-ABIOLA (For International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer)

"So I'm going to go on and work on preserving the ozone layer, encouraging everyone to recycle" ~ Dean Stockwell

When you think of garbage collectors, what comes to mind? Unfortunate poor illiterate men and women who are not certified enough for more 'honourable' jobs right? Yeah. This stroll is for you.

After 13 years in the US; with university degrees, an MBA from MIT, and work experience from Fortune 500 companies, Bilikiss decided to do the unexpected. She returned home to Nigeria to co-found a waste recycling company, Wecyclers, and her vision is enormous. To transform the lives of people with garbage, create jobs, and help build the economy of her beloved motherland, Nigeria, whom she sacrificed a comfortable life abroad for.

What gave her the faith and hope to make such a decision? And how does she plan to make this vision a reality? These are few things we talked about in course of our conversation. Sit back and enjoy. Here's my stroll with Bilikiss;

A STROLL WITH QUEEN CAROLYN I OF LADONIA (For International Day of Democracy)

"Let us not forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a president and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country" ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

What can 'big' nations learn from micronations?

My guest today is Her Majesty, Queen Carolyn of Ladonia; a micronation with over 15 thousand citizens from more than 50 countries, and she shares with me how she has been able to discharge her duties as an elected monarch, and why she thinks the UN should recognize more micronations.

Here's my stroll with her majesty;

THE NIGERIAN DREAM | Guest Post for United Nations Day for South South Cooperation

"Is there a Nigerian dream? Is it perhaps fashioned after the American dream? If there is a Nigerian dream, what exactly is it? This, Julius believes, is what the Nigerian dream is--the dream of optimism"- Editor's note

 

A few years back, when my nationalism was at its peak, I was often involved in intellectual skirmishes with my childhood friend, Kumo Ikoko. I call it intellectual skirmishes because Kumo's points were so valid that sometimes, secretly, I yielded and sometimes the argument will be so heated that someone's emotionally charged remark would burst the balloons keeping the other person's ego afloat. I believed then that Nigeria wasn't just a cluster of very different people and even more diverse dreams flying around and sharply contradicting or threatening the next man's dream. Kumo believed so too. Kumo believed that for every nation to exist there must be something strong as its foundation, something sweepingly fundamental like a general religion, or something as essential and as healthy as an obsessive ideology or a singular national language other than that which was brought centuries ago. But these things, according to Kumo, where absent in Nigeria.

LET'S TALK ABOUT SUICIDE | Guest Post for World Suicide Prevention Day

"Take a seat, this conversation is about to begin...straight, simple, yet deeply reaching."-Editor's note

 

Suicide—the ‘S’ word no one wants to talk about; simply defined as the act of killing yourself because you do not want to continue living. But there is nothing simple about it. Many people around the word go quiet when the ‘S’ word comes up in conversation. What don’t they want to talk about or listen to? What is the truth about the ‘contagion effect’ that talking about suicide is supposed to bring on?

Suicide has hit closer to home for me than I could ever imagine. Within a couple of years, a close friend, friends of my daughter, my daughter and then friends, family and relatives of people I knew. I did get a chance to ask someone close to me how it was in the darkest moments. I wanted to know how the darkness engulfed the emotions. If a person thought about what life would be like without them in it. What it would be like for the ones that cared about them. What I found out was that even though the person knew how much he/she would be hurting others with the ‘what if’s’ and the ‘I should have ….’, it was the overwhelming need to end the internal hurting that takes over. The impulsive moment that can’t be turned back. 

BOKO HARAM, THE NORTHEAST AND NIGERIAN LITERACY | Guest Post for International Literacy Day

"Thought provoking. The words reach for you, unlock your mind and nail home their points."--Editor's note

 

“Praise be to God who created writing as a means of communication between distant men, an interpreter between neighbours, a vehicle of greeting between friends, a source of delight amongst the ulama (scholars) and of sorrow amongst the unlettered. Verily, had it not been for it, communication would have ceased and transactions would have been impossible.”

These words are instructive because they were written in Nigeria’s northeast, now held in the thraldom of the sect known as Boko Haram. The name Boko haram easily translates as “Western learning is forbidden” and, amongst the pedestrian elements who form the bulk of its members and the common folk to whom it is of the greatest danger, it forbids all learning beyond the Islamic as prescribed, naturally, by the sect. Schools have in consequence been burned and bombed, students killed and raped and all elements of education and literacy have become the targets of Boko Haram. Over 200 girls have remained in captivity for several months now, having been kidnapped from their school in Chibok by Boko Haram. The Nigerian State has failed to #BringBackOurGirls

A STROLL WITH ZURIEL ODUWOLE (For International Literacy Day)

"The man who does not read, has no advantage over the man who cannot read" ~ Mark Twain

(Image Credit: @ZurielOduwole)

I first heard about Zuriel in November 2013, and I was so impressed and inspired by her work and talent that I promised myself that I was going to spend the rest of my life tracking her down for a stroll. After 10 months of online-stalking and praying, by the grace of God, I have finally secured a stroll with this incredible young lady. (round of applause please ☺)

Why am I crazy about this girl? Well, that's because, at 12, this documentary film maker has interviewed 14 Presidents and prime ministers, and many other social figures like the Williams sisters and the richest black man on earth, Aliko Dangote. She's also the founder of ''Speak up. Dream up. Stand up'', a campaign she started to advocate for the education of the girl child.

True to her name which means, God is my rock/foundation in Hebrew, Zuriel solidly combines her childhood with flying around the world, making documentaries and high profile interviews, as well as, inspiring kids on the African continent to keep dreaming and reaching for the stars. In course of our stroll, we talked about her experience at the Brazil 2014 world cup, her dreams, International Literacy Day, and so much more. Here my stroll with Zuriel Oduwole;

GETTING COUNTED FOR HUMANITY | Guest Post For World Humanitarian Day

"Short, engaging, directed at us all but with focal point on our youths, this write-up for World Humanitarian Day reminds us all of our responsibility to the society and to give whatever we can, no matter how little. And of course, to do that while we still have the time"- Editor's note 

Image Credit: ifrc.org

It is no longer news that the world is faced with myriad of challenges. Every country in the world today is faced with one problem or the other. In the Middle East, terrorism holds sway as thousands of lives are being cut short by the Islamic State (ISIS) group. Russia and Ukraine have been involved in a terrible duel for months now and this has also claimed a lot of lives. Thousands of civilians and military personnel have been sent to the great beyond over irreconcilable differences between two nations.

A STROLL WITH RALPH NADER (For Lefthanders Day)

                                                    "Lefties have rights!" ~Anonymous

Alongside his drumming partner, Harvey Thompson, Ralph and the BYOS Movement is redefining 'marching drumming' to the world. With seemingly impossible stick flips and curves, watching them perform will leave you totally stunned.

A graduate of Broadcast Journalism from Hampton University, Ralph Nader started his drumming career at seven, and so far, the 26 year old Brooklyn native has thrilled audiences around America and Europe.

Today is International Left handers Day and since drumming has to do with the use of the arms, I decided to have a stroll with Ralph to talk about drumming, his career so far, lefties, and much more. Here's my stroll with Ralph;

THE FEAR OF BEING ALONE | Guest Post for International Youth Day 2014



"More often than not, we get uncomfortable about things and people that are not in tune with that which we have made comfortable in our personal realities and this influences our actions which in turn have (heavy) consequences. We need to step outside our comfort zone to reach for those who need our help."- Editor's note

Image Credit: tapestrysb



While growing up, I had a girl in my class who was smart, intelligent but had a shockingly low self-esteem and was afraid of being alone. She was always begging for two things: love and acceptance. She would write people’s notes for them while they went on break, trying so hard to get accepted in cliques she’d tell fake stories that put her in a sympathetic light. She had emotional issues and anxiety disorder that manifested in her actions no matter how hard she tried to cover. Soon, despite her efforts to fit in, she gave up from the rejection she got and withdrew. Last thing we heard was she’d transferred to another school.