Beyond being the male gender of the homo sapiens specie, a man is a male who attained the age of accepting and taking on responsibilities. In most countries, the age 18 is assumed to be the age when a person ceases to be a minor. A minor can be excused for his or her actions.

If you have attained the age of 18, you have become a man and will be held liable for your actions, especially before the law. It is therefore important that you act consciously and always think of the implications of yours actions and inactions. 

 It is however unfortunate that a lot of people in the male gender who have crossed the age of minor still act like Minors. This is perhaps one of the reasons for the many ills in our society today. The scripture says ‘woe unto that city whose prince is a child’. A Yoruba adage also says ‘you can’t have elders in the market and have newborn baby’s head wrongly positioned.’

The role of a man in any society is largely that of responsibility. A man is someone who is responsible. Responsible for himself, responsible for others, responsible for his environment and even nature around him, all of which make up his Garden. 

Let us quickly look at the word ‘Responsibility’. An online definition says the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone. Or the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something. Or a moral obligation to behave correctly towards or in respect of. 

In all of these definitions there are three keywords we will examine closely. They are duty, accountable, and moral obligation. We will dwell largely on these words in the next series. 

Stay responsible and have a splendid week ahead. 
Adewumi Oni

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Last week, we looked at restoring our values as one of our roles in nation building. This week, we will look at another critical role that everyone who desires a better country must play. This is Role Modelling or Mentoring 

2. Role Modelling or Mentoring: One of the reasons why we have so much rot, moral decadence and social malaise, especially amongst our youth today is the absence of positive role models or mentors. Some twenty to thirty years back, most young people had the likes of Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Beko Ransome Kuti, and such other scholarly personalities. These were people who rose to the peak of their profession and brought pride to the nation. These people were both directly and indirectly shaping the lives of young people. 

As technology advanced and with the advent of mobile phones and unrestricted access to internet, our youths have been exposed to millions of personalities, especially in the entertainment world, and only a few of these personalities have truly enviable lives. But because we are daily inundated with news and videos of these stars, many youths want to be like them in their dressing, speech, and lifestyle. 

Coupled with the unhealthy display of material possessions by these stars, and the ‘seeming ease’ of acquiring wealth, many youngsters prefer to follow their lifestyle. Now, this in itself is not wrong, the problem is with the mindset, intent and manner of becoming a star. 

And this is where we all need to start playing positive role models. If you are a star, whether in the entertainment world or anywhere else, make conscious effort to let people know the price you paid to become who you are. Consciously find mentees and mentor them. Even if you are not a star yet, in your neighborhood, find someone to teach and guide. Most of our youths have no idea or clue as to where they are going, so they become easy tools in the hands of evil minded people. Identify a boy or girl and invest in his or her life, you may be nurturing another Nelson Mandela. 

However  you cannot give what you don’t have, “nemo dat quod non have,” so live what you preach to them and you will find out that you are changing lives. Don’t just fold your hands and expect those troublesome youngsters in your neighborhood to change, reach out to them. 

This is a collective duty and we all owe this nation the duty of positive role modelling for the young ones amongst us. 

Have a great week ahead. 

Adewumi Oni

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It was John F. Kennedy who said “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” One of the easiest things to do is to criticize or blame others. 

It is so easy to push the blame and fold your hands, yet it is nothing but irresponsibility to criticize or blame without proferring better solutions. 
No house springs up overnight without any effort, only weeds grow of their own accord. Every other plant that grows has some deliberate and conscious effort behind it. You don’t build a house by wishing, you must get to work, dig the foundation, lay the bricks and nail the planks together. We must build our nation together. 
We have long been stuck in the blame game in our nation, pointing fingers at the government and blaming them for everything that has gone wrong. But that approach has not helped us in anyway, if anything,  we appear to be worse off compared to where we were years ago. 
If we desire a genuine and true change in our nation, then we must get to work and begin to play our part. What are our roles? 

1. Value your values and teach those values

There is no doubt that at the core of our problem, as a people and nation, is the collapse of our value system. We have practically thrown our values to the dogs. 

So we will take a look at some of the values that great nations are built on. 
Integrity: Young people who are hardly of age buy expensive phones, cars and mansions, some even donate to churches and mosques, yet nobody questions their source of wealth. Adults with questionable character and source of wealth build religious centers, community halls for us and we keep mute, and refuse to challenge them. Rather we applaud them and even confer honorary titles on them. When our sons and daughters start disappearing, we begin to wonder what is happening. 
Honesty : We lie and teach our children to do same. We look for shortcut, can’t wait on a queue, will always look for a way to jump the normal process, and we encourage our children and wards to do same. In fact, there are cases of parents taking their children to ‘special centers’, where invigilators can help them to write their exams, instead of goading them to prepare for the exams. How will they pass the exam of life if they can’t pass school exams on their own? 
Hardwork: We spoil and overpamper our children, some don’t even know how to boil water, let alone make tea. We leave all the works for househelps. So when these kids grow up, they always look for someone to do the job. They end up becoming bad leaders and slave masters. 
Patience: We are so much in a hurry to the extent that our impatience is harming us. The quest to make money has taken over our sense of caution, care and concern for the safety of others. We sell adulterated drugs and foods and damage people’s lives. We mix our fuel with other substances just in a bid to make more money. We import expired tyres and multiply incidents of road accidents, all because we must make it now. 
Perseverance: How we give up so easily? At the slightest challenge to our dreams, we quit and blame everyone but ourselves. Our children cannot endure any form of hardship or challenge because we have not inculcated the value of perseverance in them. No one is asking you to punish your children, but let them be trained in such a way that they can face and not dodge challenges. This is why they always look for the easy way out. Teach the to fight and not to take flight. 
We will continue from here in the next post. Have a great day! 
Adewumi Oni

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Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa and Muhammad Ali. What memory does these names evoke? Hold it right there, we will get back to that. 

When you see hurt, injustice, cruelty, deceit and other ills around you, what is your natural response? Do you look away or do you confront it? What motivates you? The fear of death or the desire to solve just that one problem even in the face of death? 

Most men look away, because that is the easiest option. That is the path of least resistance, look away and act like it never happened. 

But you know what, what you looked away from today, will come looking for you or your children someday soon. 

Ordinary men look away but Kings confront. That is what separates those names above from mere men. Mortal men they were, but they rose beyond mortality by not looking away!

So? Will you look away or confront it? What memory will your name evoke? 

Adewumi Oni

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The State of your Mind determines the State of your Life. It is amazing how a change of mind can lead to a significant change in one’s life, either positively or negatively. There is such a deep connection between one’s mind and experiences. This is why we are constantly advised to guide our mind. 

Almost all victories start from the mind, and same for all defeats. If you believe you can do it you are most likely to achieve it. It doesn’t matter how much you invest, if you think it wont work, it is most likely that it won’t work. 

When the sons of men made up their minds to build a tower in the land of Shinar, even God saw their determination (mindset to succeed) and knew they will succeed unless He confuses their language. 

You must therefore exercise control over your mind if you want to succeed in life. You must feed your mind with God’s words and promises, positive thoughts, inspirations, success stories of others, and believe in yourself. 

The greatest battlefield is in the mind. This is where negative and positive thoughts strive for control every minute, and only those who have mastered the art of sweeping their minds of negativities and filling it with positivities will come out as victors. 

Start changing your negative mindset and you will start experiencing a turnaround. To win in life you must constantly cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and continuously bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Remember the State of your Mind determines the State of your Life. If your mind is always in a state of emergency,  your life will always be witnessing emergencies. What State is your mind in?
Adewumi Oni

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Everyone is created for a specific purpose. There is no accident in creation. All creatures are purposefully made. 

For mankind, life and parental pressure have a way of shaping our lives and sometimes imposing new purposes on us. We often call these new purposes, vocations, professions, careers, etc. 

Very few people are in vocations that align with their original purposes and this accounts for why we have a lot of unfulfilled people who might have even made a ‘success’ of their career. 

It is important to know that being successful doesn’t equate being fulfilled. Fulfilment usually comes with finding and fulfilling what you are called or made to do, which is your purpose. 

Finding and doing what you are made to do, thus become a primary task for everybody who wants fulfilment. This in no way invalidates your chosen career or vocation or profession. Rather your career, which is ‘what you have to do’ becomes the vehicle or an enabler for your purpose,  which is ‘what you are called to do’. 

You must therefore work with purpose in mind. When you begin to do this, life becomes more meaningful, you become more productive and you become better at prioritising and more efficient in the use of your resources. 

So, find ‘what you are called to do’ and use ‘what you have to do’ to fulfil what you are called to do. 

Have a fulfilling day. 
​Adewumi Oni

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Many of the travails we face today are borne out of our penchant for mediocrity. We have become so used to doing things shoddily to the extent that when someone tries to be extraordinary we label him or her as overzealous. 

We build with inferior materials at the risk of wasting lives when the buildings collapse. We construct our roads and drainage with low quality stuffs and when the rain comes we start complaining. Even our health system is failing because the doctors never got quality training, the facilities are in decay, so death rate is increasing. Those who trade in food items neglect all safety rules just to make more profit at the expense of sending people to early graves. 

Right before our own eyes, our world is collapsing all around us, yet we still don’t see reason why we must do things right and do it well. Yet we don’t see why we must do ordinary things extraordinarily. 

Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:10 “That ye may approve things that are excellent” Philippians 1:10a. 

Martin Luther King also said “If a man is called to be a street sweeper,  he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted,  or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. ”

No matter how menial that task is, do it very well. This is what brings excellence. Excellence births good life. It pays us to do things right the first time and do it well. We will save ourselves a lot of hassles by so doing. 

My sympathy to those affected by the rain flood on Saturday. 

Please be informed that ‘Cage the Minions; Unleash the Giants’ seminar scheduled to hold for Saturday 15th July has been postponed due to logistics challenge. New date and venue will be communicated in due course. Apologies for any inconvenience(s). Thanks for your understanding. 

Have a great week. Cheers! 

Adewumi Oni

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God’s mandate to man includes having dominion and subduing the earth. Meaning we are created to take charge of our world and shape our world for our benefits. 

Sadly, the reverse of this order seems to be the case, especially for the less developed world. We have become victims of little or no thinking. We practically allow circumstances and situations shape our lives rather than shape situations. 

Our governments are more reactive and proactive. Our systems are designed to address issues after the havoc rather than prevent issues. This is why when rain falls, like it is doing this morning, our roads will be blocked and traffic congestion is inevitable. 

These are all symptoms of poor or no thinking. For people who do not think, they will always be victims of life. Thinking is a discipline, requires discipline and you have got not just to think, but to think big, realistically, reflectively, and strategically. 

Is there a challenge you are facing? Have you really given it serious thinking? Have you placed it under the hard scrutiny of personal and shared thought? In the words of Brian Tracy, successful people are big thinkers. 

As a man thinks so he is, according to the book of Proverbs . So if you don’t think, it means you are empty. If you also don’t think big, you will remain small. The choice is yours. 

Happy New Week. 

15th July, 2017 is a date you don’t want to miss. “Cage the Minions; Unleash the Giants ”

Adewumi Oni

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