Yali Network Kwara Blog

We all know gratitude is a state of being grateful and showing appreciation about those little things you think don't matter . I remember telling my little brother on a particular Thursday to look at that beautiful downpour from the sky and asked if he knew the best prayer to say during moments like this.  After racking his brain, he came up with none , "well sweet brother, I started softly, the answer is simple, just tell God to protect the homeless" and lo and behold! He replied "Are there homeless people? I never knew we have some..."  Innocence is beautiful because it keeps you from knowing about the ugly truth about life , but sorry to break it to you sweetie of course there are homeless people living under the bridge, beside the gutter , inside a dilapidated building ,outside the street. It was something so sad but I had to explain it to him I needed him to understand something. "So you see why you need to be grateful my love." I said , be grate

As a student who has been home for a few weeks due to the ongoing labour action by the Academics Staff Union of Universities, I have seen my screen time increase astronomically. This might not look like a mind blowing fact because it is prevalent among the student population. The reason for this cannot be far-fetched. As a student who is trying to improve his personal skills by learning an high in demand skill, reading a lot of books, trying to improve my English, improve on writing, getting updated with the current societal trends, connecting with friends from school through social media and following trends. The list as to why my screen time has increased astronomically, can go on and on and on. The eyes, which is one of many organs we have in the body helps in aiding vision. Without the eyes most of our daily actions are limited a great deal. I am more of a night person because I find it easier and faster to perform some of my scheduled duties. Reason for mentioning this may be awkw

As grown ups, sometimes we find it difficult realising the fun and childish side of us because we tend to be occupied doing so much and paying less attention to self. At 22, you are juggling school, jobs, dreams and you wonder what's there to play or laugh about right? But the truth is each and everyone needs something to play about, releasing yourself is needed at every phase of your life. It took me a while to realise, but now I know and sharing with you what I am learning in my twenties. Wouldn't be bad right?       On the 25th of February 2020, I took my siblings to a bowling party, a friend's birthday party actually at the Dome Bowling Arena, Abuja and it was the most pleasant sight to see for me, to see young, free spirited children and older ones having fun side by side, throwing giant balls on the ball track, the expression of excitment at each attempt to win and just relaxing was amusing. Then I realized that having fun could cure a lot of things espe

Persistence means obstinately refusing to give up or let go. We live in an age and time where there is a heightened level of uncertainty. Life had served us several blows which had us shift our mindset from positivity and hope to something pensive and full of doubts. We are not sure anymore if something good can still come out of our lives. Because of this current situation and circumstances to persevere seems unrealistic. It doesn't even make sense, I have been waking up each day in the last few years to this same routine and yet it had not yielded any result. Why on earth should I continue this routine? You are fed up with this cycle of efforts with no tangible result to show for it. This write up is just to help you hold on to that tiny thread of faith you have left, that you have not been wasting your time for those past few years. Even though you do not have any result to show for it yet, you still have to keep hope alive. If you will be sincere with yourself, you

In our daily lives, we humans do need one thing or the other to ensure our wellbeing and daily survival. I do not need to remind us, that we are social beings and a core part of us crave relationships which is particularly integral to our everyday survival.  Romantic relationships, which this article is mainly concerned about, has been in existence since creation. Romantic relationships is also essential in the continuation of life. In this day and age, romantic relationships have gone beyond ensuring the continuation of life, reason why I have taken the effort with the help of my contemporaries to write this article. This article is in line with the last one which was on “RELATIONSHIPS: why do people go into relationships”. As with the last article I sought the help of my contemporaries in providing insightful answers as regards the topic of discussion. The need for romantic relationships cannot be far-fetched seeing how important companionship, a sense of love, warmth and

Many at times i wondered how man sleeps at night after causing pain and heartache. It is really sad to learn that people suffers from what they totally know nothing of. How do you just label someone base on the sins of few? How do you condemn a whole class just for the action of some people?  Can't you see how all the names are different? The faces are different? The people are different? How will you condemn a whole class, a whole generation a whole tribe just for the radicalism of an individual or a group? Have you ever experienced the pain of been denied an opportunity just because you answer the same name with someone who did bad and you're already stereotyped that you'll do the same since you both answer the same name? Or have you ever been looked down upon just because of your history or nationality because of an event that once happened to some people from there and you're painted as same?. When are we to stop the trade of humanity for hypocrisy by overlooking al

There was a nasty story about Obasanjo when I was small doing some black voodoo to kee Yar Adua or was it the infamous India 99 - 1 Nigeria match which only existed in the mind sphere of the young ones.  Fake perceptions have a unique and irritating way of creating a fake image in our minds. A lot of us listened to funny stories that we extremely believed while growing up. After reaching certain stage in life, we needed to take such fake image away from our minds and picture the true reality.  It is quite shocking how fake perceptions have gone a long way to ruin the lives of future leaders. There are still intelligent people that believe voting is scam because of the perceptions they have, if voting had ever been a scam then why do the politicians purchase votes with #500 😆😆😆😆.  They have given you a fake perceptions to allow only the weak take part in decision makings then they manipulate both the weak and strong.  It will be quite shocking to know that certain white

Life has its perks; ups and downs. Sometime it goes spiralling, and sometimes it comes bubbling with energy but here is a letter to self because it shouldn't forget . You are beautiful the way you are, although you are not perfect.  You have your flaws, sure. But you are wonderful beyond measure. And most importantly, you are loved.  Be grateful for what was, what has been and what will be. One thing you shouldn't forget is gratitude. Love yourself for who you are. Accept your mistakes because they are what can either make or break you.  Always remember that nobody is perfect. Don't strive for perfection rather ensure you find your purpose. Dear self, here is my questions for you; Why are you alive today ? What push you through each day?  What motivate you?  What are you striving for?  Why are you doing what you are currently doing? Are you happy? Are you fulfilled?  And finally is it all worths it ?  These questions needs to be answered in order to discover the

Yesterday I had the opportunity to be in the OR. And the surgery that was to be done was the reconstruction of the face after fracture and distortions 2° to RTA (road traffic accident). And in the course of the surgery, we were shown what the woman's face looked like before the RTA happened and it became a very disheartening moment because the face on the operating table is a shadow of the beautiful face we were seeing in the picture. And it just got me thinking about how unfair life could be and the fact that it could have been any of us. You won't appreciate this gift called life until you experience someone passing away in your presence. At that point I just had to acknowledge the twist and irony of this life, one day a person is hale and hearty, the next the person is no more or on a sickbed and then you begin to wonder is this still the same person or not. The truth is, we can only pray for long life, none of us knows when our time here would be over. Hence it

Women are people of pride, dignity, honour and respect. Women are special people of importance and value. They are also nation builders who nurture the leaders of tomorrow. Women have always been honoured right from the creation of the first human. There are great dignity and honour for women; they surely deserve all the honours being given to them.  The common notion that we all know is that "the way you dress is the way you will be addressed", everybody must take note of that so that they can earn themselves full respect and honour. Women should be well familiar and focused with their roles, especially in grooming the future leaders. Many tributes to our women because they are our pride, they nurture rulers and educate them duly. They are change makers and ambassadors of positive things. A whole Surah of the Qur'an was named "The Women" and that is Chapter 4. Everyone has his/her role in the society; men are the managers of several affairs while wo

Many at times we judge people base on the standards of the society and what doesn't go down well with us and on the same spot declare them bad. Naturally all humans are born with instincts which is pure but getting to the society, you find out what is right or wrong and what is right in your town already a wrong in another. The character of man when they start manifesting is termed either good or bad or people being termed as bad. When you loose touch with the reality of your action, you ultimately become a bad person. But in your mind, you see pictures of what you plan to achieve and they blind you from that reality. What exactly is the reality of the world? Is it to do good alone?.  In all honesty, no one is bad or born bad, everyone in his or her own way is trying to change a narration by doing what they so thought is right unknown to them that they're already taking extreme measures. The mind is powerful at the same time like a programmable robot, it can turn o

Hello nature, we are grateful for the blessing of rain, Thank you cloud for pouring down your dew on mother Earth, It started with trickles and drops, Then the showers followed, The symphony of melody produced as the shower pour on the roof, Melts our heart with joy at the thought of the cold that will replace the callous heat, And the damp soil that will substitute the dryness. By: Adefila Charity boluwatifecharity@gmail.com

Overtime I have noticed the quest in teenagers, young adults and more surprisingly in pre-teens (if not children) the urge to engage in romantic relationships. Due to my very curious nature I sought to quench this thirst by putting out this intriguing question that I have been asking myself for a while now. I sought to ask this question on my social media handle and a few of my contemporaries gave their opinions. Their responses were great and I would be sharing it with you over the course of this writing. Again I ask, why people go into relationships? The most likely answers you will get would be that of gaining companionship, to be loved and cared for, to get married and a few others. We all do have families so why the need of gaining companionship, seeking love, and care from someone you are not related to? My contemporaries gave their opinions stating the need to have someone that cares in your life, having the feeling of it being necessary considering societal pressure

If I had not known how prestigious womanhood is, I would probably have tarnished its dignity. My mother taught me what womanhood signifies and I've grown to become an ambassador of what it signifies today. I celebrate all women in the world for being the salt of life, the paddler, the strength and the backbone of successful men in the world.  We are what we are today because we believe so much in our strength, ability and power of being a woman.  We are breaking the bias as much as we can and I'm glad we are not moving back, rather taking the lead.  Women may appear weak and fragile, but stronger and powerful.   We've seen beyond beauty,  We've seen gold in those we never thought of.  My mum said, "Women are Powerful when they appear powerless".  I celebrate those women I look up to,  I celebrate the woman I'm becoming,  I celebrate these women looking forward to me as a role model when I know I have nothing, I celebrate women in the world. Barakat Adejumo

In my last year of secondary school my father and I had this whole plan of me furthering my university education in the far northern part of Nigeria. This would eventually not go as planned seeing it faced strong opposition from my mother, family and friends all because of the notorious situation bedeviling the hearts of the young and the old on daily basis, putting fear and preventing the flow of daily activities as it should be, all because of violence perpetrated by ungodly acts. This is one of the few alarming problems we have to face due to the precarious situation of violence. The above paragraph is not to prove further the stereotype saying the northern part of Nigeria is a place filled with chaos or violence. This is entirely untrue! I study at a school of higher learning located in the North-central part of Nigeria. If not for some pockets of violence here and there. Thanks to the timely intervention of the security forces in keeping the activities of these acts at bay.  Using

The term novelty pertains to the quest of newness, the quality or state of newness. It also refers to the quality or appeal of being new.  In our daily lives it is widely seen how people go on to fulfill the quest of novelty in purchasing material items such as the latest phones, latest designer items which include clothes, shoes, bags, watches, cars, gadgets and so on. This happens not as a result of need but to fit into the societal class where newness is considered to bring respect and self-deceiving prestige.  Social engineering is widely utilized by the manufacturers of this items. This is evident in the employment of creative minds which channel the thoughts of individuals by releasing new models of items that does not necessarily improve its functionality neither its efficiency but just seeks to get the attention of customers by tweaking mostly its outer design, changing its shape, adding a few more colours or basically changing the previous colours. This in fact is a big proble