I Stand For Change, Do You? By Banky W

I recently celebrated my birthday… I was fortunate enough to go to Dubai to attend my friend Tuface Idibia’s wedding… and I want to start off my speech by showing you a couple of pictures of Dubai, because what I saw there inspired me.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is the same oil that was discovered there in the 1960’s that they used to transform that society. The very same oil that was discovered here. But what have our leaders done with it?

Benjamin Franklin once said “when you’re finished changing, you’re finished”. I’d like to take that a step further by saying “we must be a part of the change we seek, or risk being changed ourselves”.

The question is no longer “will Nigeria change”… but rather, it’s “will it change for the better or worse” and “who will lead that change”.

GTBank Orange Ribbon Initiative For Autism Awareness

Are you a Medical Practitioner, Caregiver, Teacher, Social Worker, Counselor or Parent?

Guaranty Trust Bank cordially invites you to register to attend the GTBank Autism Seminar on 8th & 9th April, 2013 at MUSON Centre, Onikan Lagos. Log on to www.gtbank.com/autism for registration.

The Guaranty Trust Bank Orange Ribbon Initiative is a community development program on child healthcare. It is a selection of projects to create awareness about developmental disabilities especially Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and help people living with these challenges.

Autism Spectrum Disorders as with other developmental challenges, arise from insufficient development of a child’s physical, emotional or intellectual capacity. Autism Spectrum Disorders are largely misunderstood by society and this make it difficult for affected children to cope with everyday demands of their environment and may lead to varying stages of social stigmatization.

Some Reasons That Keep Men From Getting Married

Sometimes, you see handsome, hardworking men who are single, and say they are searching and ready to get married, and you wonder, "so what is stopping you?".Uti Nwachukwu and Mikel obi were both selected nominated as February man candys, for looking good and working hard. They were among those who were single and still searching.

Today in different interviews, they reveal some reasons they are still that way. One reason I appreciate their comments is that they made about them rather than about faults in women in general or about a specific woman.

Uti Nwachukwu thinks it is aspects of his character that's keeping the woman he wants away;

“I am an extremely jealous guy but I am praying to God to make me less jealous and less possessive. I believe that if you find somebody that’s for you, that person should be for you only. I’m a bit extreme because my lover must focus on only me. Now that’s a bit difficult and that’s why I say I am a very difficult person to be with. Perhaps, I’m very demanding when it comes to relationships. Apart from being a jealous lover I also expect you to give back to me what I am giving you. I expect 100 per cent attention and care and nothing less. So, it’s going to be hard but I know God gave me this standard in order to connect me with the exact person he has created for me.”

How to Make Tomato Stew in Pictures

Tomato stew is one of those meals all Nigerians are supposed to know how to cook, and it is a base to a lot of popular foods like white rice and stew, with dodo, with okro for swallow foods, among others. I find it one of the easiest to prepare as it doesn't need much attention, except when it does.

Yes, I've had some of my stew burn at the bottom of the pot because I forgot it for about five minutes or so. But if you pay attention towards the end, and remember to keep the heat low, it should not be too hard to get it just right.

Short Story - You Forgot Us by Daniel Okoli

They took their Val’s Day celebration to the Vignette restaurant.

This was the day he would propose, this was the day he would ask her to be his wife.

The table had been booked three weeks ahead of time, the wine pre-ordered about the same time.

They sat close to each other, arms touching lightly, before a table softly lit by four fragrant white candles that cast a glow on two serving plates, embroidered napkins and silverware.

She ordered chicken soup for first course and he said “Make that two.”

They waited. She smiled a lop-sided smile at him. “Let me show you something.”

She placed an iPad on the table, a gift he’d given her three months ago, on an ordinary Monday evening. She powered it up.

Live Theatre on Sunday - Zulu Sofola's The Wizard of Law Free

Zulu Sofola is one of Nigeria's foremost playwrights, the best if you ask me. Yes, better than Wole Soyinka :) I have seen a couple of them, and wish I had the opportunity to see this one too.

Zulu Sofola's The Wizard Of Law is being presented free on Easter Sunday at The New Unity Centre, 28 Isaac John GRA 4:30pm and 6pm. Sorry it is coming late, I just got the notice.

Though free, you need to book your tickets before the show. Find them at ariyaticketsonline.com or naijaticket.com or SMS 08039754365.

Summary of Wizard of Law;

The Wizard of Law deals with an old lawyer, Ramoni, who has met with reversed finances and who tries at a festive period to impress his wife by purchasing expensive lace material on credit at a time when he is penniless.

The cloth-seller, Rafiu, takes advantage of this opportunity to inflate the prices of cloth in order to make a heavy gain.  Ramoni, not having the money with which to pay, gets more and more into trouble.  He desperately looks for a court case through which he would get the needed money.

This Story Makes Me Think I May Adopt From Nigeria

Olusola Stevens and his wife, Chinwe are workers in the the Christian Missionary Foundation (CMF). He has been in missionary work for 22 years and most of it has been rescuing infants and babies who are victims of the practice in most of the indigenous villages around Abuja of the killing of infants or burying some alive when their mothers die.

Their story was in the Sunnewsonline and it is making me seriously think whether to adopt from here or Nigeria. Obviously, there are children here who also need parents and permanent homes, but this level of abuse of children, it is killing me. Stevens and his wife have 33, but some are still lost, and the same things may be happening all over the country. I am so proud of Nigerians like the Stevens and the work they do. To me this is real missionary work, and I want to be part of it.

Stevens recalled to Abuja Metro the challenges of taking care of the rescued children but remains happy that: “God has never failed. Though there could be delays but He will surely come through and this we can testify to in our case.”

The Christian Missionary Foundation (CMF) is a non-denominational body with task of evangelising the interior and remote societies. That is the gospel that touches human lives.

“We just don’t preach the gospel. In some of the places we have been to, we have established schools, especially in the North East. We also have medical outreach centres. Basically, we don’t stay in city; we go to the interior to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to people.”

Letter To My Future Wife by Noble Igwe

After following the trending #dearfuturewife yesterday, I wanted to know what started it, and I found that this letter written by Noble Igwe on 360Nobs in 2011 had recently started making the rounds again. Who knows if Noble is married now, this is a sweet and beautiful letter.

Dear Future Wife,

I don’t know what you look like, if you are out here or reading this right now! If you are, please print this letter and bring it to our wedding reception. It will make a good read before our guests. They say behind every successful man is a woman. I’ll like to say that behind every successful man is a good woman because I’ve seen men that have shut down their businesses because they got involved with the wrong woman.

I want to be successful and I need to find you right now more than ever. You may not know how much I need you but I come home every night with stories that I would love to share with someone special. I come home late from clubs sometimes wishing you’d be in bed waiting for me to hug your warm body. Your slot in my life is so empty it hurts because I know you are out there without me.

I’ve often imagined how you look. Are you dark or fair in complexion? Are you Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa? I play around with different images in my head but one thing stands out, I know you are very curvy.

Dear Myne - He Almost Raped Me, Should I Report Him?

Dear Myne, I am such a dilema and very hurt. I am in my mid 20s and work as a researcher somewhere in Europe and was presenting at a conference this week. The lodging was in a flat with 2 guys ( the venue was a resort), I had my own room and so did the guys.

However, after a trip to the city, one of the guys (non-Nigerian) had to do something in the city, leaving me with this other guy. I didnt think anything was amiss, we gisted, chatted and I told him I want to take a nap, so as to wake up to do some work.

Somewhere in the night, I felt a movement around me and I saw this guy naked! I started screaming and he was asking that I stopped. I was so terrified. In my shock, I went into the patio and found a place to sleep. Called my boyfriend in the UK, and he was very angry and he asked me to walk the guy out of the apartment ( I could because, he was staying an extra night, based on his travel schedule. I made arrangement with my other colleague as a means of helping a brother from home).

Homeless Man Who Returned Ring, Reunited With His Family

Who remembers that story last February about a homeless man that returned a lost engagement ring left in his donation cup? If not, read here. Harris, who had been homeless for years before then, now has a home, a job, and last Sunday, he reunited with the family he had not spoken with for 16 years.

Four of his siblings surprised him on the set of the Today show, after his younger sister Robin saw a story about Harris and his good deed online. The lady whose ring Harris returned was so impressed by his honesty that they set up a website to take donations for him, hoping to raise the $4,000 the worth of the ring. That fund raised $185,000!

Talk about how it pays to be good and do good. I hope things continue to work out for him.