Photosplash

Last week, two of my friends got married to the ladies of their dreams. One took place at the Ikoyi Registry, with the second leg scheduled for Owerri on July 31; while the other took place in Lagos at the Events Warehouse, Ilupeju. Enjoy the photos:

Amanze and Amaka

Amanze and Amaka

Groom is a UK-based lecturer while the bride is a banker in Nigeria

Amanze! Make una comot for Registry first na. Lol

Mwaaaahhhhh......

Carry ya Load. Lol

Tobi and Tomi

 

The couple, Tomi and Tobi

 

Best Man, Dare Odeneye

  

 

Bridal train's swagger

 

 

 

 

 

Efizi

Splendid!

 Couple with JOGS Boys

Happy Married life, guys!!!!

Entertainment Gist

TuFace’s Album Price- Why the Fuss? 

It’s no longer news that Nigeria’s R&B superstar, Tuface Idibia, has released the international album of his current album, Unstoppable. It’s also stale news that the album sells for N1000. What I find baffling is the fact that a group of people is campaigning against the price of the album. According to them, the price is too high and does take into consideration the country’s hardship. A Facebook group has even been created to drive home their point.

As much as I agree that everybody has a right to freedom of expression and association, I think some of us take things too far. I’d like these questions answered:

Is it compulsory to buy the CD?

Why isn’t this group doing anything about the recent increase in electricity tariff, and other matters of grave national impact?

Is Facebook the appropriate medium to get across to Nigerians who cannot afford a-N1000 expense?

This democracy thing sef na wah. Nothing wey we no go see for this country? Anyway, I don’t think I’ll buy the CD. But then, if I do, no member of that group should try listening to it in my car ooooo! Anyhow, the one displayed below is the local edition and sells for N150. No be by force to go international. Lol

 

Alicia Keys is Pregnant

American R&B superstar, Alicia Keys, is reportedly pregnant. The29-year-old, scandal-free star is currently engaged to rapper/producer, Swizz Beatz, and reports of marriage plans are in the offing. Keys is currently on a tour of Europe and is billed to perform at the World Cup next month.

On a lighter note, do these superstars have time for a flimsy activity like sex despite their busy tour schedule? Lol.

Gary Coleman is Dead

Different Strokes star, Gary Coleman is dead. He passed on earlier today, May 28, after failing to recover from injuries sustained in his home last week. He was placed on life support, but died a few hours after the life support was disconnected. He was 42 years old.

Rest in peace, Gary.

A New 50 Cent

As part of his effort to fit into his role in his new movie, superstar rapper, 50 Cent, has shed a whooping 54lbs! The rapper and actor whose real names are Curtis Jackson, posted his recent photo on twitter yesterday, where he looked nothing like the hefty rapper we all know. '50' currently weighs 160lbs as against his original 214lbs. He is set to play the role of a football star diagnosed of cancer in his new movie titled ‘Things Fall Apart’.

Can any Nigerian actor do this? Never!!!!!

It's Children's Day!

Happy Children's Day people! Do enjoy this Creamy Delight celebration cake.

I need to take Big Boy out today. He seems to enjoy pizza by Nando's, maybe we'll check it out again today. Happy Children's Day, son. Daddy and Mummy are crazy about you.

Love Your Mistake- Inspired by a Dear Friend

I love people who don't write themselves off even when the world says they've done the unthinkable. I'm doing this piece for a dear friend whose friendship I'm about to lose. She's a colleague in the office, but what made her my friend is the courage with which she faced life after suffering what the world harshly calls a setback- she has a baby outside wedlock. For reasons best known to me, I will keep her name out of this story, but those who know me will certainly know who I'm talking about. She has a daughter outside wedlock but is so proud of her that I couldn't help but notice her enthusiasm. She's ready to tell anyone who cares to listen about her daughter, and when I finally met the cutie, it was obvious that my friend loves her 'mistake' to the marrow. The display of affection towards the baby is unimaginable- she calls her early in the morning and monitors her preparation for school on the phone, gists with her like an adult, never jokes with her health, and pampers the baby as much as she can. My friend really won me over, and by extension, my wife. In all our conversations, she never referred to her daughter as a mistake. Not once!

She's one of the few people who never allowed public opinion and gossip to regret an act many people would pay to have. She made a mistake, but never made the poor girl a scapegoat. How many of us can love the resulst of our mistakes? How many of us even accept responsibility for our mistakes? Not many, I'm sure. We would rather blame other people for our circumstance, and treat the result of such mistakes with disdain. What we fail to realize is that when we fail to admit our mistakes, we are simply saying that we are not ready to learn. If God wanted us to be perfect, then words like 'sin' and 'forgiveness' wouldn't have existed at all. When the world condemns your action, it does not mean you have to run away from learning from your action. Learning from our mistakes makes us stronger, and gives us that priceless knowledge called 'experience'.

If we want a second chance in life, we need to accept that we've blown one chance, accept the outcome in good faith, and retrace our steps. That we've done all these does not mean that the doors of opportunities will forever be shut in our face. It simply means that we are better prepared to take on whatever life has to offer. My dear friend knows that getting married may be challenging, but she never lost focus. She could have decided to live off men because she's beautiful enough to be desired, but she did not walk that path. Rather, she kept an open mind, went about her business diligently, and was blessed with friends who commend rather than condemn her. The world can write you off, but your true friends will always stand by you in difficult times- and as long as God hasn't lost faith in you, why lose faith in yourself? The world will always talk; the world will never stop talking. Let us learn to love our mistakes- no matter how painful it may be. We do not know what tomorrow holds, so let's not mess up today because of our unwillingness to live with yesterday's mistake. The mistake may not be our fault, but failure to learn from it is entirely our fault.

Because she loves her mistake, my friend is very open-minded and practical towards life's issues. Because she loves her mistake, she garnered enough experience about life, men and love. Because she loves her mistake, my dear friend finally got a man who appreciates her for who is. My dear friend is engaged, and about to get married. I'm so happy for her, but sadly, must put an end to this friendship. Not too many men understand how some friendship works, and I will not be the one to scuttle my friend's happiness.

If you are reading this, dear friend, please know that I love you so dearly. However, I want you to know that God has a purpose for making us friends, and strongly believe that the purpose has been fulfilled. I'm taking a walk away from your life, and pray that the happiness you have found will never be short-lived. It's painful doing this, but this is the way God wants it- let's not disobey Him.

Happy married life in advance, D.

Photosplash

Nna and Yetunde's Wedding

I attended a client cum friend's wedding today, and it was so much fun. The guests weren't many, and there was more than enough to eat and take away. The reception programme was short, exciting, and straight to the point. Please enjoy few photos from the wonderful inter-tribal marriage

The Happy Couple- Yetunde and Nna

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My friends who graced the wedding- Dokun, Niyi, Gbolahan, Omoh 

Welcome to the club, Nna

The couple had a bet as to who would dance better, and they sure did all they could they win the bet!

Dokun, the Big Boy

No be small thing!

It was fun all the way

Performing the first marital duty. Cake was made by Creamy Delight

Magnificent!

Omoh- fine babe with a very, very wonderful spirit of friendship

Creamy Delight Pick of the Week

Enagement Cake

3-tier Wedding Cake

Entertainment Snippets

Thank you......

Four days of malaria attack no be beans, but I'm most grateful for your show of love. Thank you all for your phone calls, text messages, and Facebook wishes. I even struggled to attend a training on Wednesday, but couldn't eat the snacks and food on offer. Chei, this has never happened to me before! However, in a most amusing manner, I exhibited the 'Ijebuism' in me- I move my food and snacks go house! Lol. I'm back on my feet again, people- and it's all thanks to God and you.

I'm sticking to my friend's advice: I'll do everything I can to inject my personal experience- and my friends'- into making my blog distinct from others. So, I'm doing my entertainment gist in the same manner. Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Album Review: The 'W' Experience

Personally, I believe Banky W has registered his ingenuity in the Nigerian music industry with his album, The 'W' Experience. It's a 15-track album, and every song is worth listening to- except for the first track that sounds 'one kin' to my ears. I hate simulation *wink*. My favourite tracks are: Strong Ting, Omoge You Too Much, Lagos Party, Thief my Kele, Feeling You, and Why. Considering the fact that I didn't expect much from him after the Ebute Metta song, I must admit that his subsequent songs have blown me away. It's so nice to listen to an album that's devoid of words like 'ginger', 'swagger', and reckless flouting of alcoholic brands. Indeed, Bankole Wellington has proved to be a true Mr. Capable. For me, The W Experience gets an 8. My favourite line in the entire album is ".......... Late night Blackberry Bolding, let me be loved, I'm the one you should be holding.....". Don't have any particular reason, but I think it hits at the BB addiction in Naija these days. Lol.

Album Review: Tradition

9ice will never cease to impress me. When he released his album last year, many of his fans wrote it off because it didn't gain instant popularity like his Gongo Aso album, but I'm sure they've all had a rethink. For some reasons, I didn't buy the Gongo Aso album because I didn't like it so much, but Tradition certainly rocks for me. It's more matured-even though the album contains a couple of lewd tracks-, better arranged, and his blend of pidgin English and 'concentrated' Yoruba language is a joy to listen to. My favourite tracks are: Anytime, Once Bitten, Alapomeji Anthem, Petepete, No be Mistake, Gbamugbamu, Energy, I Don't Care, and Fast Foward. My favourite line is "..... O ni ki nbi won, se won le kiri iyo ninu ojo? O ni ki nbi won, se won le kiri ori ninu orun? Baba ti se asepe, Adigun jeun lo......". Literarily, this means "God told me to ask my enemies if it's possible to hawk salt in the rain, or hawk wax in the sun. God has done a perfect job, Adigun has succeeded". For me, Tradition gets an 8.5. It's an album that certainly grows on you.

Top 5 Music Videos:

In no particular order, my top 5 music videos for the week are:

2010 - Sound Sultan

No be Mistake - 9ice

Fall in Love -Dbanj

Ogbeni - Physayo

E no Easy - P Square

What are your top five Naija videos of the week?

Trivia: I think the Nigerian music industry is very much like the Nollywood, where movies are released in sequels. Nigerian artistes now release audio CDs as the 'Part 1' of their music package, and make us wait for over a year for the 'Part 2'- musical video. Naija, I hail. Lol.

My Shocker of the Week: Creamy Delight lost a wedding cake contract because 'the price it quoted was cheap'. Guess how much is 'cheap': 90k! Dear customers, please expect an upward price review soon. Lol.

 

 

Photosplash

This is another idea of mine. Every week, I'll have a blog titled Photosplash, where I'll post photos of events that I must have attended, organized or witnessed during the week. In the maiden edition, I bring you photos of my brother-in-law's surprise birthday celebration. It was a surprise in-house event organized for him by my family. Also, I'll showcase two of the cakes designed by my company, Creamy Delight, this week. I hope you like them. Then there's the photo of Big Boy showing skill with his latest toy. Enjoy! 

Oluwaseun Opeola is my brother-in-law, but people say he's my brother because we look alike

Seun and I

My family: Odunayo, Seun, Mary and Big Boy

First Born, Big Boy and Seun

Seun at a dinner organized to mark the end of a workshop organized by the Lagos Business School

Creamy Delight: a baby's dedication cake

Creamy Delight: Ben 10

Big Boy playing the drum

Hope you enjoyed it. Ciao!

If Only They Were Nigerians

Finally got that stubborn gist blogged!!!! Pheeeeewwwwww.........

The World Cup is about one month away, and some big names have been ruled out of the party in South Africa already. Below are some of the big names who would have made it to South Africa on merit if they were Nigerians!!!!

Luca Toni (Italy): you don't mess with Van Gaal and still come highly recommended!

Ronaldinho (Brazil): too bad for you, bro, but if you were a Nigerian, you would have been the team captain. I'm sure you envy Kanu right now!

Adriano (Brazil): indiscipline caused his loss of form, but he would still have laid claim to a permanent jersey in the Eagles!

David Beckham (England): injury ruled him out of the World Cup party. If you were a Nigerian, bro, you would have made the team even on crutches. Nigerian coaches hate to see an injured player 'humiliated' in this manner. Lol

Francesco Totti (Italy): Hmmmmmm....... I think the coach just doesn't like him, cos he does well for his club.

Monetize your Gift

Last night was so frustrating! I tried blogging a funny but ironic illustration, but it didn't work out the way I wanted. So I saved it, logged off and went to bed. As the saying goes, he who logs off and goes to bed, lives to blog another day! Lol. I'll still post that blog oooo. Wetin no dey talk no fit wise pass me!
But while I'm working on that, let me work on something more serious. Many of us have the potentials of being richer than we are presently but never bother to give it a thought. As long as we have a fantastic job that brings in the kind of money we've always dreamt about, there's no problem. What we fail to realize is that those things we are good at, but do for free can give us the vocational and financial freedom we never thought possible. Let me paint a clearer picture:
Before I met my wife, birthdays were just normal days in my calendar. When we started dating, she started marking my birthday by making birthday cakes for me. That activity sparked off an idea in me. The cakes were not so nice then, but we agreed that we could make money out of it. So, she enrolled in a catering school during her NYSC programme and learnt cake making and decoration. That insignificant hobby is what is today known as Creamy Delight Cakes and Confectionery. A few years ago, we made a choice between making free but low quality cakes for relatives and getting accolades, and improving on our hobby with the aim of making money with it. We chose the second option and it paid off very well. Our clients can attest to this, and so is our financial status. We may not be millionaires yet, but we never have challenges with domestic expenses after the salary has been expended by mid-month.
How many of us have turned our talent or hobby into money spinners? Not many, I guess. We are comfortable with getting accolades and praises for being so gifted, but spend money on other people's talent. The AY Show is always a sell-out, and I am certain someone in the audience is funnier than all the comedians put together. Unfortunately, he's just comfortable with cracking his friends up whenever they want their spirits lifted. If we can spend so much on other people's talent/hobby, what makes us think people won't spend on ours as well? What we fail to realize is that when it's the turn of these people to return favours, they'll never do it for free. There's nothing wrong with making money from the knowledge acquired in school, but don't sweep your gift under the carpet. Ali Baba is educated, but his knowledge wouldn't have fetched him half of what his gift has blessed him with. Linda Ikeji, my favourite blogger, is a fantastic writer who has put her hobby into the publication of a book- another avenue to make money. Fela Durotoye has the gift of motivational talks, and he's making so much money with it. These people, and so many more people like them, could have chosen to offer their gifts/hobbies to people for free, but they realized that 'thank you' does not put food on the table.
No matter how embarrassing or insignificant that gift may be, don't just push it aside. If DMT Mobile toilet can become so big, if Saheeto can proudly claim to be the king of small chops, and if Modela can become a force to reckon with in the business of make-up, what is your excuse? My banker friend used to do business designs for people for free. For him, it's a God-given gift, and what better way to appreciate God than to help people with it? But after my friend became one of the sacrificial lambs for his MD's extravagant lifestyle, it didn't take long for him to realize that God gave him that gift for a reason. Now, he has monetized his hobby and is not doing badly at all.
Someday, we'll retire from working for other people. Someday, we'll be too tired and weak to practice our hobby, or exhibit our gift. At that point, people will certainly look up to someone else. But if the hobby turns out to become a conglomerate or major business concern, then it will live forever. If you are in doubt, ask Walt Disney.
I hope I made sense.


For comments, suggestions and enlightenment, feel free to drop a line.

Transformed!

See what make-up can do? Fine boy turned into a beautiful babe!

Customer Service Excellence and the Nigerian Culture

Hello good people, and welcome to my blog again. After my first post, a dear friend advised that I weave my blog ideas around real life experiences, and I agree with her. Some of the blogs I’ve read seem to have a bit of everything, and trying to tow that line may seem so ordinary. So, while I worry about the format my entertainment and sports gist will take; let me follow my friend’s advice to the letter.
I work in the Customer Service division of a multinational company. Prior to joining the organisation, my idea of customer service was limited to the fact that Iya Basira, a trader on my street, usually addressed me as ‘Customer’ whenever I walked past her shop. My job enriched my knowledge, and positioned me to always look out for the kind of customer service that will keep me coming back for more. I became very ready to offer excellent customer as much as I was ready to enjoy it, until an issue I never thought of arose- the Nigerian culture.
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Where is the Love?

Welcome to my blog, people! I love writing,but had to stop to focus on some other things in life. Maybe if I hadn't abadoned that artistic part of me,I would have published the two finished but unedited books lying somewhere in the house right now. The first one was written 12 years ago! Anyway, it's not too late to do that, so I'm giving it a serious thought again.
I'm yet to decide on what format this blog will take. I need help from you all,and would be glad if you can share knowledge with me. I'm exploring daily diary, public commentaries, jokes and entertainment. Basically, I want to gist in an entertaining manner. Please help me out ooooo! For now,let me start on a reflective note.
On Saturday, I had a serious accident on my way to a client's place. It was an accident that could have been avoided if the truck driver had tied his goods properly, but his carelessness made another driver who, in an attempt to avoid the sudden obstruction,ran into me and condemned the car's bonnet, bumper, fenders, headlamps, and cooling unit. Thankfully, the engine was spared. The truck driver escaped, the driver of the second car became unconscious,and I had to drive my car to my panel beater's place in shock.
But that's not the gist. The gist is that when I got to my panel beater's place,one of the elders in my church saw me and the damaged car but chose to greet me casually. If he saw the car at all- and I'm double sure he did- he didn't betray his emotion. I didn't feel bad, but was disappointed. If a mai-guard who knew nothing about me could empathise with me, what stopped a respectable elder and preacher in my church from doing same? Maybe it's because I don't attend church regularly due to the nature of my job. Maybe it's because I'm not the 'notice me' type during church programmes. Maybe it's because of any other church-related issue that I'm not aware of. But whatever it may be, was that enough excuse for a church member to have treated me with such dislike? Isn't Christianity the epitome of love and fellowship? What is the essence of fellowship where no genuine love exists? When my wife was knocked down by a car and a pulpit-mounting church member who was driving by pretended not to see her,I dismissed it with a wave of hand. But after what happened yesterday, I understand why my friend 'travels' for church programmes when a parish of the same church is just a stone throw from his house- sometimes,genuine love isn't as close as we think.
I'm towing my friend's line as well- I need a new church.

I hope I made sense. Welcome to my world.