A STROLL WITH GRACE KELLY (For International Jazz Day)

            "If you have to ask what Jazz is, you'll never know" ~Louis Armstrong 

Beyound off-chords, complex scales and all that jazz, Jazz music to me, is a conversation in a language reserved for 'matured minds'. It's a conversation I've being in love with for almost a decade. No thanks to my best bud, Hosea, who initiated me into this wonderful genre of music with the sound of his guitar.

However, I know someone who enjoys this 'conversation' much more than I do, and has done so for a much longer time. Well, that's because she's part of this conversation. Grace grew up with music all around her and started taking classical piano lessons at 6. She later changed to Jazz it was obvious she preferred making up her own melodies rather than playing notes that have already been written on paper.

With a degree in Professional music, numerous prestigious awards, and constant praise from jazz greats, Grace is surely a legend in the making. Grace told me about her music, her life, her dreams, and all that jazz ☺ . Here's my stroll with Grace Kelly.

A STROLL WITH ELIOT HIGGINS (For Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare)

"The use of Chemical weapons is an offence against universal values and a grave violation of international law" ~ Ban Ki-moon

Eliot Higgins working on his laptop

The use of chemical weapons in the Syrian war met strong opposition from the international community. Who exactly is using these chemical weapons? The regime and rebels are pointing fingers at each other while the masses are at the receiving end of the attacks. For the layman--like me--who is following this war on TV, radio and via the internet, the above question might seem unanswerable, but not to my guest on the stroll today.

Mr Eliot Higgins lost his job two years ago, and has been staying home to take care of his daughter while his wife is away. In between playing peak-a-boo and hide-and-seek with his lovely daughter, Mr Eliot found a hobby, a very strange one, which has turned him into an international super star who is redefining citizen journalism, and re-inventing military intelligence to the world.

By watching hundreds of Youtube videos weekly, Mr Eliot Higgins--aka Brown Moses--has developed a skill for monitoring the influx of weapons into syria and the middle east; a skill really needed by the international community in trying to resolve the Syrian Crisis. Also, when you consider the fact that he's doing all this from the comfort of his living room, in-between baby sitting his daughter, and with no military training whatsoever, you'll know why Mr Eliot's story is special.

We talked about his blog Brown Moses, his life after losing his job, and a bit about the solution to the Syrian crisis. Here's my stroll with Mr Higgins;

A STROLL WITH KAFAYAT SHAFAU-AMEH (For World Dance Day)

"Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music" ~ George Carlin

So you think you can dance? Well, if you can dance with a 7-month-old baby bump, then you can dance. This is the bar my guest today has set for the global dance community. Kaffy, as she is popularly called by her fans, also holds a World record for the longest dance party ever. She--alongside her group, 'The Imagnetos'--danced for over 2 days. Precisely, 55 hours and 40 minutes and that record has been with her in Nigeria since 2006.

For Kaffy, dance is beyound body movements and stunts. It's the rhythm of her life. It's the kick in her drive. It's the next step she takes; and I was really lucky to get her for this stroll because she's currently in between running her dance company and nursing her second baby. However, in course of our stroll we talked about dance, her life, fitness, and why on earth she decided to risk having a miscarriage on National TV by dancing with her baby bump during a performance on stage. You might need to put on your dancing shoes for this one (hehe). Here's we go;

A STROLL WITH JONATHAN STRICKLAND (For World Intellectual Property Day)

   "Knowledge is very vital in life's transformation and transition" ~ Jaachynna N.E Agu

It is called the age of artificial intelligence; the internet of things. The age where everything around us becomes so smart that we, who invented the smart technology, might begin to see ourselves as dumb. Considering so much being said about robots taking over earth, and humans being turned to slaves in the technological revolution, shouldn't this 'smart age' be something we should all fear and run away from?

Well, we can't even run too far because this 'age' is already here with us. The growth of knowledge in the past two centuries have ushered us into this era, and it has also brought a challenge. The need for stronger Intellectual property structures to contain this rapidly expanding knowledge base.

My guest, Mr Jonathan, is a 'techie' who fully understand this age because, he's video host of Fw:thinking and TechStuff, and senior writer for How Stuff Works. He has many videos online that explains new scientific advances and technological breakthroughs , and contrary to popular opinion, he doesn't think robots can take over earth anytime soon.

We talked about intellectual property structures, technology, his early life, movies, and lots more. Here's our conversation:

A STROLL WITH KOKO KALANGO (For World Book and Copyright Day)

                    "A room without books is like a body without a soul" ~ Cicero

Today, history will be made in the literary world, as the first sub-Saharan African city will be crowned 'World Book Capital City'. A title bestowed by UNESCO on cities around the world who have good programmes that support reading, books, and literacy. In her congratulatory message to Port Harcourt, the UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova said, "I extend my congratulations to the city of Port Harcourt for the quality of its proposed programme, which provides for extensive public participation and aims to develop reading for all..."

My guest today is the brain behind this feat. Mrs Koko Kalango is one of Africa's leading book activist who started her book activism in 2005 with a goal to see kids in rural communities in the Niger Delta reading again. Well, a couple of years after, here she is organizing the 'world cup of books'--if I can call it that. Such a great story she has, and it's that story she'll be sharing with us in course of this stroll.

Who is Koko Kalango? What's her secret? How did she quickly grow to international recognition in the twinkle of an eye?--or should I say in the flip of a page. This and many more on my stroll with Koko Kalango. Sit back and enjoy.

A STROLL WITH AYOMIDE ATITEBI (For Mother Earth Day)

"Many will look at the trees, the sky, the ocean, and so forth and comment, 'isn't mother nature wonderful?' Well, it is not 'Mother Nature', but 'Father God' who provided all of the beauty we enjoy" ~Bill Wiese

The green revolution and the fight for the protection of nature has been on for a while now. Mother Earth Day has been observed for over 4 decades, and I'm sure the question in your mind is, how much of the environment have we salvaged from green house gases and our bad anti-sustainability habits? Well, the answer is obvious, not much. Most of the advances made in this revolution have been made in developed--or should I say G20--countries.

That's why people like Ayomide are important to the Green revolution. Ayo is Nigeria's Eco-Generation ambassador; an initiative powered by Samsung and the United Nations Environment Programme. His job as an Ambassador is quite simple, but hard, considering the absence of the 'green psychology' in the area he's working.

How can he get the regular commuter in a commercial bus to stop throwing trash from the window of a moving vehicle? How can Nigeria--and Africa--migrate to a green economy? These are some issues we discussed in course of this stroll. Ayo is also a lawyer and is one of Africa's youngest corporate events host who has being the host for numerous prestigious events. Here's my 'green' walk with Ayo;