A STROLL WITH LEE SWAN (For World Oceans Day)

"We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean will still be missing something." ~ Mother Teresa

Popularly called the 'World's toughest race', the polar race to the Magnetic pole covers over 700km across the frozen Arctic ocean, from the inuit town of Resolute in Northern Canada to the magnetic North pole. Plus, did I also tell you racers will have to cover all of that distance by foot and ski only? Yes. No snowmobiles, No kites; every ounce of energy needed to complete the race will be provided by the racers body. Not forgetting the fact that the racer will have to risk being attacked by hungry wild bears, snow storms, and even being frozen to death because, the temperature could get as low as -79 degree Celsius. I mean SEVENTY NINE! Can you even imagine that?

It is after putting all these factors into consideration that my guest, Lee, decided to retire from her regular life of wearing high heels, eating chocolate, and drinking red wine to rewrite history by leaving her footprints on the surface of the Arctic ocean. After training for 18 months, Lee partnered with 3 other racers to make up Team International who embarked on the polar race and NO! They didn't get eaten by hungry wild bears, and they also managed to survive every storm nature brought their way.

On April 27th, 2011, Lee Swan became the first African woman to make it to the North Pole to the delight of her country South Africa and the rest of the African continent. She shared her experience with me, as well as her views on Ocean management and sustainability. Here's my conversation with Lee;

A STROLL WITH ROBERT SWAN (For World Environment Day)

"Today we're dumping 70 million tons of global warming pollution into the environment, tomorrow we will dump more, and there's no effective worldwide response" ~ Al Gore

 

In 1992, Robert Swan was invited by the United Nations to be the keynote speaker to the first Earth Summit for sustainable development which held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Since then Robert has been working with Governments, Entrepreneurs, and youths to clean up the environment as well as promote the message of sustainability.

Robert Swan, OBE, is also the first person in history to walk to both the North and South pole; a remarkable feat he completed in May 1989. Apart from his Environmental activism, Robert was also appointed UNESCO Good Will Ambassador with special responsibility for youth in 1992, and he has been involved in AIDS awareness campaigns and youth empowerment programs around the world.

In course of our conversation, we talked about the environment, Antarctica, 2041, and so much more. Here's my stroll with Robert;

A STROLL WITH THE AMERICAN TORTOISE RESCUE (For World Turtle Day)

"The turtles which outrun the hares are learning machines. If you stop learning in this world, the world rushes right by you." ~ Lucas Remmerswaal

The slow, funny, cunning shell-guy. That's the picture most of us carry in our minds about the tortoise--no thanks to the stories we were told as kids☺. I can hear someone ask, in this high-speed; high-tech world, why do we even need a slow tortoise around us? Why do we even go as far as dedicating a day to it on the international observance? Yes, I've got someone who has answers to all these and more questions you might have about the turtle and tortoise.

The American Tortoise Rescue (ATR) was founded over 2 decades ago by a couple, Susan and Marshall, their love for each other added to their passion for wildlife conservation has motivated them to save and re-home over 3000 turtles, as well as campaign for the protection of turtle habitats around the world. In their bid to take their project to the world, ATR has been sponsoring World Turtle Day since year 2000 and the global response both offline and online has been massive.

In course of our stroll, Susan shared her passion; the work ATR is into; and also some practical steps each and everyone of us can take to protect the tortoise and turtle for posterity. Here's my stroll with the American Tortoise Rescue; I hope you get 'edutained'.

A STROLL WITH GIDEON AMICHAY (For International Museum Day)

                                           "Give me a museum and I'll fill it" ~Pablo Picasso

How much rejection can you put up with? once? thrice? how about one thousand? (hahaha) The thing is, our success-thirsty society puts so much pressure on us that we all look for the fastest way possible to get 'there'--you know, 'up there'--with the least number of rejections and failure
 

That's not how my guest, Mr Gideon, views success and the creative process. As a young cartoonist, his dream was to get his sketch into the prestigious New Yorker magazine, and he had to swallow a lot of 'NOs' and rejections, about 1000 rejected sketches for over a period of one year--and I'm not exaggerating--before his dream came true. I mean, is that even human? What is the source of such extra-ordinary perseverance
 

Also a committee member of the Israeli Cartoon Museum, Gideon told me about his motivation, his philosophy, and his dreams. we also talked about museums, digitization of museums, and so much more. Here's our discussion;

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;

A STROLL WITH JOSHUA IHEJIAMAIZU (For World Tuberculosis Day)

"TB is curable, but current efforts to find, treat, and cure everyone who gets ill with the disease are not sufficient." ~World Health Organization (WHO)

About 3million people infected with TB are currently being missed by health systems around the world. This in turn have dented global efforts made by the WHO and the Stop TB partnership, to #StopTB in our lifetime.

"Why is this so?" You ask, considering how 'smart' the world around us has become; smart phones, smart cars, smart houses; perhaps we need a 'smarter' medical system? This is where my guest, Joshua, comes into the picture.

Alongside co-founder Johnson Okorie, the duo came up with an ingenious idea to 'smarten' up the health system around them, and the idea? Health Mobile; a mobile phone application available on the Andriod and BB10 OS platform, which contains a huge database of relevant health information in a very easy to access format. In other words, they've brought health care information to our finger tips, leveraging on the recent advances in mobile phone technology.

We talked about his experience from being a panelist at social media week, Lagos; the inspiration behind Health mobile, and his partnership with Johnson; and he shared some ideas on how we can end TB in our lifetime. Here's my stroll with Josh;

A STROLL WITH SAMMY SAGE HASSON (For World Poetry Day)

"Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry" ~Cassandra Clare

(Image Credit: Sage Hasson)

The art of spoken word poetry has been around for many centuries. In fact, history tells us that, the ancient Greeks included spoken word poetry in their Olympic games and people usually gathered in theaters to watch poets recite their lines on stage.

Modern spoken word poetry was made popular by the Black American community in the 1960s and platforms like, the Def Poetry Jam have helped to keep the culture alive till today.

The task of a spoken word poet is quite enormous; converting deep, though-provoking lines on the page to a colourful performance on stage is no mean feat, and one poet who has become a master of this art is my guest, Sammy Sage Hasson.

Sammy, popularly called Sage on stage, is the king of spoken word poetry in Nigeria--and one of the leading spoken word poets in Africa. With so many national and continental stage performances; and spoken word albums to his name, Sage is indeed a master of his craft. In course of our stroll we talked about poetry, his career so far, and he shared some advice for young poets around the world. Here is our discussion;

POET'S RAGE and DEAD TEMPLES (#4 of Co-authored Poems for World Poetry Day)

POET'S RAGE

Image Credit: ashlylorenzana

If my pen could sputter bullets
How I would riddle your frame
With a thousand heated words!

If I could ink, now, scalding acid,
Would I not drown your greedy throat
That your tongue may lie no more?

If only I could rhyme you death
And enjamb your stolen laughter
With spells of lingering tears!

WHAT CAN BE MORE STICKY and WHAT CAN WORDS DO? (#3 of Co-authored Poems for World Poetry Day)

WHAT CAN BE MORE STICKY

Image Credit: julianrees.com

What is the magnet that can bind
white and black fingers in heart-shake?
What is the string that can tie us scattered broomsticks
and make us one sturdy broom
sweeping oppression and poverty away?

What can be more sticky
than this phenomenal ‘aragum’
bonding our diversities, gluing tongues and tribes
to settle pending rancour
in this flaming fiery furnace?

In these words the heart is poured – gentle, petting, stark
sheathing daggers drawn from the world of abandon
calling back the conscience...
Words marred by ambiguity yet uniting thoughts
upturning the ban, the exile of peace?

In the exile of peace, we become refugees
in our own land – nursed by fear
With the renaissance of words we regain hope
The words are the deep lines of every free verse
The words are the rich melodies in every rhythm and rhyme

I'm awed, mouth agape. How words rebuild
The broken emotions of fallen nations!
O' potent words that thaw our fears!
Please brighten our visions!
Cleanse our memories and water our love!

CO-AUTHORS FROM WRR COLLEGE OF POETRY
This poem was co-authored by Iyeomoan Emmanuel Ehizogie, Dumejes Momalife and Amatanweze Tochukwu Offorbuike) 

NIGERIA and Border Lines of Change (#2 of Co-authored poems for World Poetry Day)

NIGERIA

Sited at the confluence of Lokoja

With her legs spread across Niger and Benue rivers

Adorned with lush greens and blessed with natural endowments

You swam through colonial rivers

Until the staff of freedom you possessed

THE SECOND INTIMATION (For World Poetry Day)

Guest Writer: Oyin Oludipe

GETHSEMANE

Bust sleepy vault-coughs, blackened drapes

Presage the end of time…or night, prayers,

Surge-bending invaders of the shady phase

Roost, witness to the dancing blades –

Confluence of coal-skin pyres as vision

Shrunk to visionary, truth was stain

Upon visor-faiths and earth was bearer

Of heavy waters of the shivering pore,

Intestate tunes of poem and plea – labourers

To that new sedition for reason

It ran the course of dirge to waive

The smoke cruel, to purge sterile plumes

From intimate corners of thought,

Glaze passions in the cup of woe to sham

Redemption, rituals of birth till it rack

Lips for the entombed world of bones

And all that world spun bold against the fall

Of utterance, filled spaces of the night

With lighted beings to blur the litany in the wind 

POETRY (#1 Co-authored poems for World Poetry Day)

I.

Ink

flowing

on a page

slithers with ease

on a smooth surface

Paper and pen in sync

executing perfect twists

Making this turn, and then that one

bearing message for all and sundry

wielding words on an errand, poetry!

II.

Toddling voice sweep through the hurricane

In society of shut-eyes drowned in gradual spate

Witness of swift, shivering waves toss to and fro

Feet slack in mud of doubtful faith row

Tempests, shadows, frailties, all lost in hopeless souls

Life wounds quickly heal

The dumb now sings

Street now palace

Abandoned have fame harassed

Oppression in pockets of the weak

When ink flows in a non-stop streak

III.

Like a tree with many branches

You touch men with your verses

To some, it's pure lashes

Others receive and change their courses

...You are poetry

the voice crying from the wilderness

Like the river with more than one wing

You flow into the heart of every being

To some, you're fresh like the morning spring

Others hear but refuse to go with what you bring

...You are poetry,

the voice crying from the wilderness

IV.

'Tis virgin wine. Wash your throat with little sips

Let it lull your mind to a lucid sleep

Lie down on this slate. My words paint lurid dreams

Let our minds hug in this word-filled realm

Where creative words take form is where you lie

At the soul of craft and every riddle

On this plain is where love lives and dies

In here, fantasy grows real and fickle

To the lonely soul, 'tis a friend so longed

Its poetry, the soul of the sweetest song

the first stanza of ten lines  

CO-AUTHORS from WRR College of Poetry
This poem was co-authored by Sam de Poet, Emmanuel Emperortee Theophilus, Oku-Ola Paul Abiola and Modestus Nkem Okennwa)

A STROLL WITH TIM HARRIS (For World Down Syndrome Day)

"Dad they think she has Down Syndrome. 'He smiled genuinely as his eyes welled up with tears.' That's okay. We love her." ~Kelle Hampton

(Image Credit: People.com)

Tim's place is tagged the world's friendliest restaurant, and on the menu? Breakfast, lunch... and hugs! Yes, hugs!

Tim's place and the success of Tim Harris is a sharp contradiction with his condition--Down Syndrome--which sets people up for a sad, sorry, unproductive life, but Tim has turned that 'obstacle' into a spring board, leaping himself into the life of his dreams. Apart from being a restaurateur, Tim is also an athlete who competes in the special Olympics--trust me, he's got more gold medals than Usain bolt and Michael Phelps!

I'm doing this stroll with Tim, not just to inspire people with down syndrome and disabilities around the world, but also to inspire the able people who are living in depression and misery; blaming all their woes on the government; and doing nothing about their dreams. Tim shared his story with me, and also gave me an insight into the secret recipe for running the world's friendliest restaurant. Here's my stroll with Tim;

A STROLL WITH RANDY TARAN (For International Day of Happiness)

"My grandfather once told me; 'the soul of business is not making money but making people happy" ~ Aliko Dangote

It's what we are all looking for. It's the reason we work extra hours to make extra cash to buy that extra gadget or dress; it's the reason we want to loose weight, travel to see the beautiful places in another state; happy, happy, happy is what we all want to be. Happiness drives us all. But how sustainable is our pursuit of happiness?

This is question Randy sought to answer when she started a personal research into happiness which eventually led to; an award winning Documentary and Project Happiness a non profit organization that empowers youth to create greater happiness in their lives and in the world.

She's also the co author, with Maria Lineger, of the Project Happiness Handbook that talks about how to make the best use of Positive psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness. In course of our stroll we talked about what makes her happy, sustainable happiness, her work with Project Happiness, and lots more. Here's my stroll with Randy;

A STROLL WITH TAMSIN WOLLEY-BARKER (For World Wildlife Day)

"If we teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love" ~ Steve Irwin

I'm yet to find anyone who is crazy about wildlife--and biology as a whole--as much as Dr Tamsin. She writes about it, dreams about it, falls in love with it, and learns from it everyday.

She is an evolutionary biologist, writer, sustainability expert, and passionate biomimic in the Biomimicry 3.8 Professional program. She blogs about biomimicry on BioInspired Ink and The Biomimicry Manual, and is currently working on a book about organizational transformation inspired by nature.

This is the first World Wildlife Day, so we talked extensively about Nature, and wildlife in particular. How much have we cared for wildlife? Are we even supposed to care for wildlife? These and many more questions were asked, which were matched by her very intelligent answers. She also talked about what draws her so much to nature and biomimicry. Here's my stroll with Dr Tamsin;