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

A lot of sub-Saharans Africans do not understand the biff African Americans today have with them. Some of us in the US who emigrated here often wonder why our African American folks do not want to associate with us. I found the answer in what started to happen en mass 400 years ago, in 1619 to be precise, when the first slaves from Africa (mostly from West Africa and central Africa) were shipped worse than chickens in chains and packaged like cargo for a journey across the Atlantic for six to eight weeks. It is estimated that over 12 million Africans were shipped to the Americas over a period of 400 years - most of them died along the way; and they were sold like a commodity to wicked slave masters who treated them less than they treat their pets, and even entrenched it in their first constitution that an African slave is worth only two-third of human. Virile and strong men were reared like one would rear livestock, many were forced to mate with their mothers, sister,s aunts...

ALL of these countries have something in common: Egypt (Pyramid; Nile), Kenya (Games; Nile), Greece (Ancient Ruins), Israel (Bible sites), China (Wall), USA (Grand Canyon, Rockies), Spain, France (Eiffel), Morocco (Marrakesh), Canada (Rockies), Australia (Kangaroo), German (Wall of Berlin), United Kingdom (Palaces), Saudi-Arabia (Mecca-Medina), Madagascar (Forest of knives), South Africa; Central America - Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados, Cayman Island, St. Lucia, Virgin Island, Puerto Rico, Mexico (Beaches and exotic sites), Dubai (High towers, Real Estate), India (Medical care, IT, Taj Mahal), etc. These are some of the best tourist destinations in the world. Some of them have a far worse security situation than Nigeria. In 2017, Morocco, our African brother saw over 11.3 million visitors; South Africa with their violent crime rates, saw 10.3 million, Egypt saw 8.3 million, Cote D'Ivoire our neighbor in West Africa saw 1.8 million. Botswana, a country of 2.3 million people...

In about 20 years, almost 50% of the job titles/type currently available in the West would have disappeared and replaced with new and emerging jobs. This is very obvious in the manufacturing sector where robots are replacing humans and the projection is that US will lose another 1 million jobs in this sector by 2026. How are we to prepare for this impending change? How should college-age students pursue a career path, how should our universities respond to this change and how should government policies reflect these changes in order not to leave anyone behind? The disruption/ "revolution" (my Nigerian folks, this is another way to use this word) ushered in by IoT (internet of things) and now, artificial intelligence (AI) is naturally liquidating certain jobs - robotics, drones, 5G technology, powerful sensors, wireless technology, molecular biology/biochemistry, etc. 1. Individuals are now able to own their own TV station on YouTube free of charge and are monetizing their e...

I have never subscribed to politics of ethnicity, but I am not precluded from commenting when it is becoming obvious that a section of Nigeria is beginning to act against democratic norms. Nigerians of southern descent who in spite of all pointers, went ahead and supported Buhari for a second term, I think the reality is staring you in the face now - it is just four months into Buhari's second term and we are seeing a different Buhari that looks like Buhari of 1983. Buhari and his Fulani cronies have started playing their cards one by one - When Nnamdi Kanu (never supported his views) was being molested and his supporters killed during Buhari's first term, many in the SW called Kanu names, now Sowore is arrested and Osinbajo is being reduced to a figurehead after using him to give Buhari credibility (before Christians and South-West people) to win 2015 and 2019 elections. Osinbajo almost lost his life, and we are not sure if the Helicopter accident was man-made or fa...

Beyond the change of leadership; beyond another election; irrespective of the age of the leaders; change can only come to a people when majority operate with a single mindset that what we do with every opportunity that comes our way will affect us now and the posterity. We will be compelled, to at least, try to make all the right choices. This common mindset will make us be pragmatic and objective when deciding on who to vote for. It will inform our daily decision in our businesses, in our public service, in our religious obligations, in our community service, in our public service. We cannot expect a change in our country, while we wish in the deepest part of our heart that we are part of a government that is reckless in handling public resources and property. If you are seeking public office, what is your true motivation? If ordinary people and citizens are not ready to jettison the old culture of feeding on the national cake at every opportunity,...

Your character cannot be molded when you live far away from civilization. If you only talk and relate to people who share your faith, of the same ethnic group or who look like you, you really do not know yourself yet. This is a common denominator among some people of faith and people who live in isolation (rural area, small town, etc). The day they step out of their comfort zone is the day they realize all they have been doing is nothing but lip service to uprightness, righteousness, to godliness, to patriotism, etc. - they are not tested at all. They go on a journey of self-discovery the day they start their first job, travel out of their school, have a vacation in a country that is not theirs or went to school abroad and lives among people who do not share their values. All the theory of faith, righteousness, patience, kindness, forbearing and humility are tested - many fails. Foolish ones blame others, while wise ones take a step backward and take a conscious step to begin to deve...

Nations that wants to develop keep looking for ways to improve on old practices, find ways to sustainably produce things they need, in Nigeria, because we have a president that is not so educated and enlightened, we want to continue the practices of ancient time and then use that avenue to annex land across the nation for the president's tribal kins. President Buhari wants to destroy Nigeria by his actions and inactions on a very sensitive issue that he has refused to be objective about. We learned way back in secondary school that nomadic cattle rearing is the most unproductive way to rear cattle for milk or meat - the animal burns as much energy as they consume while walking tens of thousands of kilometer. This old practice by Fulani has caused chaos in the past that has now escalated into a national crisis. Fulani herdsmen drive their cows across the length and breadth of the nation, and many times had encroached on planted farmlands, destroying properties in the...

The attitude of my folks in the Church in Nigeria often baffles me. They are scared to speak about the so called "men of God" - who told you the rest of us are not men and women of God too? SOME of these so called "men of God" have abused, robbed, enslaved, dominate, intimidate and manipulate many churchgoers to a point they are afraid to speak when they are a victim. We are committing IDOLATRY, replacing mere mortal with God and we are so afraid to speak against their atrocities like Apostle Paul rebuked Peter when he would not eat or interact with so-called gentiles (Galatians 2:11–13). Some people who are castigating Dakolo are victims of abuse themselves, and out of share ignorance and fear, many keep this a secret and it is eating them up on the inside. On the case of COZA's pastor, Fatoyinbo, someone wrote a comment to me on a post a friend made and said: "be careful". I do not know what to be careful about. I always like to hear bo...

After seven grueling years (instead of five, time was prolonged due to lecturer labor unrest) of college/university education as a pioneering student at Lautech, it is exactly 22 years ago that I was deployed to serve the fatherland in Cross Rivers' state at the Obubura NYSC camp. It was a mixed experience of being swamped by multiple of mosquitos at the camp, to almost drowning on River Cross in a canoe on my way to my primary place of assignment - a village called Abijang after Ikom near Republic of Cameroon border, and that of friendship with fellow Nigerians from across every corner of the nation and locals in the surrounding villages where I was to serve. The relevance of NYSC has been argued over the years. It seems the program has outlived its usefulness without any reform since its inception in 1973. We are as divided today as we were 46 years ago. NYSC program was supposed to foster unity, development and nation building. Instead NYSC has been used as a ...

The reality of uncertainty and hard time ahead for Nigerians in the next four years is already within everyone's glare even before Buhari's second term inauguration. I was very engaged on this platform for one year leading to the election, with the hope to sensitize friends and family about the danger of perpetuating an unproductive leader in office, many called me names and questioned my rationale and effrontery to comments on Nigerian matter when I do not reside there - that I am clueless because I live abroad, they have forgotten I am still a Nigerian and I know the country like the back of my hands. My response was that people like me who have left home could see the decay in our nation better because we see the stack difference every time we return home, whereas those who daily witness the decay are unconscious of how low the nation has reached. The nation is on the verge of a big crisis if nothing is done to salvage what is left. At the core of Nigeria...

If you are my friend and you reside in Nigeria and you have never read anything I had written on Facebook before now, I urge you to read this piece careful. The spate at which people are developing cancer in Nigeria concerns me. In a space of one week, THREE people very close to me at one time or the other in Nigeria passed. In the last 6 months, I have lost five people to different forms of cancer. All of them in their prime (40 – 50+ years) and all because of the same type of ailment in different forms. Advanced cancer has no treatment, early detection and proper care can save a life. However, preventive measures are better than cure. In the last two and half decades, the rush to wealth and greed fueled by a corrupt mindset has created a system where POISON is fed to many daily and we do not know because these poisons are invisible in and on the foods that we consume daily. Many imported foods are poisoned before they reach our shores and the regulatory agencies that suppos...