True Beauty of a Woman

I was engaged in a conversation with a friend who once asked me my definition of beauty. This question arose when he asked me to give him few poetic lines to which I replied

“Life is beautiful for beautiful people; not beauty on the face but of the mind. The mind is what you want it to be because it is beautiful if you say so”. (feeling like a poet!)

I told him the famous adage that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. He went a step further to ask me my opinion on the issue to which I answered –

“Beauty comes from the inside (heart) and radiates to the outside.” (still feeling like a poet!)

30 Years After – The National Anthem!

Do you know that the year 2008 is symbolically relevant to the Nigerian national anthem? This is exactly 30 years that famous and inspiring anthem has been sung from the mouths of the wise and suckling. And have you ever critically analysed the lyrical contents? This is your opportunity to do so now.
                                                               
Arise, O compatriots,                                           
Nigeria's call obey.                                               
To serve our Fatherland                                      
With love and strength and faith.                        
The labour of our heroes past                             
Shall never be in vain,                                         
To serve with heart and might                            
One nation bound in freedom,                            
Peace and unity.                                                 


The Nigeria national anthem, “Arise, O compatriots” was adopted in 1978, that is thirty years ago, in preference to “Nigeria We Hail Thee” which was formally used as the national anthem between 1960 to 1978. The uniqueness of this anthem especially to me is the fact that 1978 was famously known in Nigeria as the oil boom, which we can say was when one can proudly say I am a Nigeria.

A taste of two worlds

As I sat in my room looking out of the window, the view of the lake with ducks and swans gliding on the surface of the water was beautiful. The tall, brownish green trees at the edge of the lake and the birds perching from tree to tree were a wonderful sight to behold. Although the lake was small, there were warning signs which hinted at the fact that it could be dangerous.


It amazes me when it rains with hailstorm at the same time. I wonder how the fishes in the little lake behind my room manage when the water is covered with ice, and how the swans and ducks still manage in the water. It is sunny one moment and you feel like wearing a cool clothe, the next moment you are freezing.

As I ponder all these in my heart, my mind flashed back to home.

Home, sweet home.

They say home is where the heart lies,