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

 Pre-COVID-19, many academics were being pushed by university administrators to begin to consider online classes and many were hesitant because they questioned the effectiveness of delivering lectures online. So many universities were pushing hard for professors to consider the online domain as it was obvious that it is a new market to capture extra resources for the traditional academic institutions that were facing severe cash strap. Platforms such as Coursera.org, edX.org, udemy.com, etc. have proven that it is possible to deliver content online with a huge audience and following, and with great success. Top universities have several classes and courses on these platforms - some are offered for free, some are paid-view and some are offered at a discounted rate to students from low-income countries, and some even have complete degree package they offer to students thousands of kilometers away. Online students are finding values by receiving qualitative education from top institutions

The word "democracy", just like many English words emanated from the Greek word "demos-kratia", which means "the people rules". The big question is, are we practicing democracy in Nigeria or "demon-crazy" just as Fela alluded to? From political party primaries to local, state, and national elections, what we see is selection, imposition, and rigging of a monumental level. Godfatherism is an integral part of our political system - what is the difference between godfatherism and autocratic military rule? When the wish and will of the people is subverted by a few greedy people who think the rest of us are idiots and stupid, so, they can continue to decide for us. This is a culture that our people learned from the colonial masters but the master never practiced godfatherism like we do because of democracy - they have power brokers and people who lobby, and these people are not perpetual rulers and their power is checked by free and fair election. Man

  Our success in life is dependent on the relationships we build. The critical question is how do you approach a relationship, are you transactional or relational? You often hear the current POTUS say, "in our transaction with them", "they say beautiful things about us", "we gave them so much, now we have stopped because they did not say beautiful things about us", etc. A relationship built on "what can I get from you in return for what I do for you". This is common with rich people when they have money, they have many friends, when they do not have things to share again, even close friends desert them - they become a loner. Many marriages have fallen apart because they are transactional - when she is beautiful, she is my choice, when she grows wrinkles, I find me a new young beautiful one to replace her OR when he has money, he is mine, when he can no longer give the gifts, I find me another husband. Success in business or politics is often dete

The controversy that caused many so called preachers in Nigeria to throw caution to the wind and used the pulpit to spit fire baffles me - these are supposed to be men of the letter. Here is how the Bible instructs his disciples to react to criticism. If you cannot do this, you are not fit to stand and represent God on the pulpit. Luke 9: 53 - 55. Verse 55 says " But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. " Here is the scripture that is often quoted by men to disarm their wives to get them to do so many untold stuff, including disobeying God. Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." BUT Ephesians 5:21: "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." In a Christian marriage, submission is supposed to be mutual based on the scriptures men often quote to demand ABSOLUTE submission from their wives. Ephesians 5:21 actual defines what that submission should be - a submis

 There is always a positive side to every darkness. Since Donald Trump's Shithole statement about Africa, the profile of Africans in the West has been lifted, BLM is now accepted, many African Artists have received star status - Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Wale, etc; African fashion and dance are in vogue now and it is good time to be an African in the US in spite of all the nonsense racism that still permeates every facet of life here. Many more African movies are available on Netflix, and African dancing style is now very attractive to American pop stars like Diddy and Beyonce. Naomi Osaka, the newly crowned US Open Champion donned a beautiful African fabric and others have done so in the past. We know that Nigerians like their other African brothers (Ghanaian) are the most educated ethnic groups in the US, better educated on the average than Americans by as much as 100% (33% Americans vs 59% Nigerians with at least a college degree), better than Germans, Chinese, or Ko

Brilliance alone will not suffice for you to climb the ladder of success – you will need shoulders at some point. I was a very precocious child, my mother said to me. I asked many hard questions and was always inquisitive. Growing up, I challenged the status quo to the fury of some grownups. I slipped a little bit when I was in Grade 2, I played a lot and did not pay attention to my studies so much so that in one of my exams, Bible Religious Knowledge, we were given a multiple choice question, and we were asked “In what river was Jesus baptized, and there was option of River Ogunpa (a popular river near my elementary school then) and River Jordan, and I chose Ogunpa . I remember because when I came back to my senses at the end of the session and I saw red marks in my Report Card for the first time, I cried for days. I never looked back since. I was always among the top 1% of my class for the rest of my Elementary School, Secondary School and during my Bachelor’s degree. I prided

The incident of the last few weeks has beamed the light on the law enforcement departments in the US as if policemen are all monsters and the racism in the system is peculiar to the police force alone. I agree we should start with the police force, where many have died in the hands of police officers because of a culture that gives the police power to harm suspect and in many cases, kill people who are otherwise innocent or would not have been sentenced to death if they were found guilty of the offense they are been arrested for - this excessive use of force has led to the death of people of all hue (color). Where this is a greater problem is that most victims are people of color. When you look at the statistics of people who are killed by the police, you will find more African Americans. Is the police force the problem or the racial issue in the society they live in? I do not believe the US police force is the sole problem. The underlining problem is racial inequality. Look at mortali