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

You probably have heard that a strong handshake means strength and confidence. Here is a quote I copied from a website online: "A good firm handshake is a universal sign of strength and assuredness which is why everyone (yes, you too ladies.) should have one. A firm (but not crushing) handshake is a sign of mutual respect from both parties. ... Conversely, a “weak” handshake is a great way to make a memorable impression — a really bad one" The word "universal" inaccurately generalized without consideration for cultural differences across the globe. I can speak for my culture, Yoruba culture where there is so much respect for authority and age. A handshake is alien to us but it is a culture that some of us have adopted. It is disrespectful for a Yoruba person to stretch his/her hand to shake his elder. Where it is allowed, a firm handshake is an absolute sign of disrespect. When you shake someone older, it is often with both hands, and head ...

I have lived in North America since 2004 (except for few months in Nigeria and Europe in between). I have worked in four countries on 3 continents. I have been lucky to see humans at their highest and lowest conditions in systems where things work and otherwise. The opportunities we lack in Nigeria and how people continue to endure hardships to re-invent the wheel every day is unprecedented. I know the conditions of things when I went to college in Nigeria - overcrowded classrooms, poor quality professors, inadequate labs, the housing system I lived in, lack of scholarship, many of my mates whom we read engineering together have diversified into other things because there was no job and there was no support to start a business of their own, etc. The situation is not different today. There is nothing to encourage any hard working youth to be productive. There is no power; there is no affordable credit to start a business; there is no infrastructure to help you if you have ideas that can...

What explanation do you want bros? Are you saying Jonathan built Nigeria - why did Nigerians reject him in 2015? If Jonathan led the nation to benefit the poor, would they have rejected him? All the loots recovered are evidence of Jonathan's incompetence. The fact that he did not accomplish anything concrete - he started projects yes, but at what cost? He did well by organizing free and fair election but he only handed over because he was overwhelmed and he had no gut like other greedy incumbents before him. He stole taxpayers’ money to bribe anyone bribable through Dasuki (the evidence is all over the place) or what is his name. Jonathan was an outright failure - there are two things that annoys me the most about Jonathan, the fact that he went on national TV to rationalize corruption, calling it mere stealing and his posture on Chibok girls. Jonathan is not responsible for Nigeria turning the table on cement export – it was because of the ingenious of Dangote. How can...

The evangelicals in America called Obama the anti-Christ (because of his big ears) but call Donald Trump a Saint - can you imagine - an irony. They said Trump is like King Cyrus but Obama is the devil - they touted a conspiracy that Obama was going to implant Americans with chips as a fulfillment of the prophecy in the book of revelation - I asked them how many Americans were implanted with chips when Obama was president? Where is the fulfillment of the anti-christ prophecy because Obama is no longer the president of America so he cannot influence anything again. The Cyrus analogy is completely bogus. They draw a parallel between what Cyrus did by ending the captivity of Israelite in Babylon and liken the declaration of by Trump to move US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as an action similar to that of Cyrus - moving US embassy to Jerusalem means nothing in the dispensation of grace occasioned by the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. The most important symbolic sign of th...

It is possible to unseat unproductive leaders in Nigeria - the country is ripe. New generation of leaders needs to change strategy and address core issues that Nigerians are facing and proffer solution. Can you imagine a leader full of the knowledge of the issues bedeviling his people going around and telling those concerned, I hear you, I see you, I will be by your side, I will help solve your problems. Being in politics is about serving the people it is not the other way round. Nigerians who are endowed need to stand up for this country now before it is too late. It will take HARD WORK, LIFE SAVINGS, FIGHTING the ESTABLISHMENT with all things but violence. I encourage well-meaning Nigerians irrespective of their religion and tribe, to stand up, prepare themselves, and know the problems of the people, sit-down together to begin to think about how they will solve these problems. Nigerians themselves need to stand up, get their voters card, become engaged in the political process, ...

Response to A Post Discouraging Christian Youths From Dating: Caution! Dating or Courtship is all about semantics. I think what we should consider most important is the PROCESS that would lead to a LASTING marriage for Christian youths. Those who are married who are taking a position on this should consider what worked for them; we all should look BACK at our experiences before heaping burden on those who are yet to cross the scale. There is a need to properly define what dating versus courtship means. I will NOT encourage my daughter to COURT anyone she does not know - to me, the process of KNOWING is dating. Many of us dated many people before we eventually court the one we married. The word “dating” comes out of the word “date”, meaning appointment to meet. The question is what you are doing during your date. Using the time to know each other or spending it in amorous acts without a stamp of marriage. Christians are not supposed to engage in the later. ...