Akinbode's BLOG on Faith, Politics, Science, Engineering, Education and Health

I just got admitted to McGill University Canada in June 2004 for grad school, and I was overly elated. Then it remained how I was going to fund my education because the admission was with no funding whatsoever. I decided to take my chance because it was an opportunity of a life time to be admitted to an elite university, ranked 12 th in the world that time. I remember one of my friends who graduated 2 years after me from Lautech was already studying for his MSc in Canada and I wrote him an e-mail to loan me some money because I heard he was on scholarship – the response came back with a negative message. Initially, I did not understand why he could not loan me some money but after carefully considering his plight, I began to understand his situation. I understood better when I arrived in Canada and reality dawned on me. Life abroad is not a bed of roses as some would think back home – if you are not careful, you will go home empty handed. The situation is like what people descr

Ikun nje ogede, ikun re'di, ikun o mo pe ohun to dun npani - meaning "the Squirrel is eating the banana, it is enjoying itself; the Squirrel does not know what is sweet kills". The tax cut today will benefit people like me for awhile, while the richest people in America like Donald Trump and his billionaire cabinet, will enjoy a massive and "permanent" tax cut on money being borrowed from China, $1.5 trillion. They said, oh, the rich will reinvest the gain of the tax cut so the tax cut will pay for itself. Hummmmmm. I wish it is one plus one equal two - knowing the greed inherent in human nature, the smell of disaster is around the corner.  Let the American RNC politicians ask Mikhail Gorbachev what led to the weakening and eventual collapse of USSR when Perestroika and Glasnost policies were been implemented concurrently - the Russian played into the arms of America. I see Putin repaying the favor now by purportedly meddling in American el

I am not a woman, nor can I claim to candidly empathize what women who have joined the # metoo movement are feeling. After all, I have a daughter and would do something crazy if I know anyone tries to take advantage of her womanhood. But there seems to be a dangerous trend to all these women coming out after decades that they were abused - careers of good people have been destroyed on these allegations. Some of them may be true and some are blatant lies. Men who live perpetually, preying on weak women because they are in a position of authority should not be spared, they should face the music. However, those who have lived a good life long enough should not be punished for their misstep when they were young or lived in another world. The most painful of the recent stories is that of Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, who is defending the right of the poor and has done an extraordinary job since he joined the US Senate. He will have to leave soon because of his alleged misconduct when he

The church of Christ in Nigeria just like America is deviating from faith. The consequence of this is growing atheism among our youth who are rebelling because of the hypocrisy they are witnessing every day in the church. Here is what I mean: 1. The church is committing idolatry with the way we idolize preachers as if they are God - many members believe their Pastor than they believe the Bible. They take the words of men more seriously than they take the words of God. Many (not all. When I was in Nigeria, I refused to accept all of the words I hear except I am convinced it is true as I read it from the Bible and I was tagged as a rebel and proud by some of my Pastors) Christians in Nigeria do not act as advised by Apostle Paul, when he said in Acts 17:11 "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." The current generat

It took the abduction of Chibok girls for me to lose my patience with President Goodluck Jonathan, the immediate past president of Nigeria. President Buhari has done enough for me to declare him "persona non grata". I have lost all hopes that Buhari’s government can make any difference for an average Nigerian. He was supposed to be an alternative to a president who rationalized corruption on national television, calling it "mere stealing". He ought to be the president of all Nigerians and not the Fulanis or Northerners alone, but all indication is that this man is exactly who we thought he was – a tribalist not a nationalist. Can a pig ever become a dog, bath it, cloth it, it will return to its mud? Nigeria should have learned its lesson and take a cue from Buhari's antecedents - he was never a productive leader at any time he led an institution. The only thing that made him alternative to GEJ was his reputation for stamping out corruption as a military h

NIGERIA - BIAFRA ON MY MIND: WE DO NOT NEED ANOTHER WAR! NIGERIA - BIAFRA ON MY MIND: WE DO NOT NEED ANOTHER WAR! Eni Sango t'oju eh ja, kii bawon bu oba koso - He who witnessed the anger of Sango, the mythological god of thunder in Yorubaland will not join in abusing Sango - called Oba'koso. Those who lived through the Nigerian civil war between 1967 - 1970 will not join in clamoring for another war. The current agitation for Biafra calls for a lot of caution on both sides of the divide. I was born a few years after the war was over, but I have read and heard stories, and seen movies. The reason why the war was fought. RIght now, the same drama is playing itself out. Many people are not acting with caution. The reaction of government to activities of the so called Biafrans recruits, sending soldiers without following the rule of law, having soldiers torture alleged Biafran members is disturbing, and the retaliation that is going on by th

I am shocked that Tribune has become a political trumpet that will allow its platform to be used to support politics that toys with the future of thousands of students and livelihood of thousands of Lautech staff who have been without salary for 11 months now. I called this the height of wickedness that no one in South Western Nigeria has seen before - not even the ASUU-Abacha 9 months' strike of 1996 degenerated to this level. Awolowo, who founded Tribune will be turning in his grave that his legacy could accommodate such a poorly written and baseless article that is on weak facts. Akeem Adebiyi, the author of this piece spent most of the time attacking a nameless politician and then concluded by blaming the past and present management of Lautech for not making the University solvent and self-sustaining. I think Akeem needs to advise the governors of Oyo and Osun on the issue of self-sustaining before asking the management of a state university that supposed to provide sub