TWENTY FIRST ISSUE
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4. A NEW YEAR A NEW YOU (PART1)
JONATHAN ADZOKPE
10. FILTERING BUBBLES 14. REMEMBERING
ALMUSTAFA M. KHALID
NELSON MANDELA
DERRICK NII TAGOE
22. GONE ARE THOSE DAYS
OKU-OLA PAUL ABIOLA (NIGERIA)
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A New Year a New You Part I
Jonathan Adzokpe
A NEW YEAR, A NEW YOU (PART 1)
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JONATHAN ADZOKPE
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t is a new year. Like every New Year, we’re embraced with a feeling of newness. We write down resolutions, and set goals in various facets of life to be the new “us”. While all these are laudable, there are certain basic elements we can never do away with; irrespective of the times and the seasons. Certain things in life don’t change; as far as the laws of nature exist. In this article, I want to bring to your attention some of the “unchangeable” principles. Commit to improving in them, your life will change for the better. Here we go . . .
Character The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines character as “the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves: someone’s personality.” Your character is what distinguishes you from the many billion humans on earth. Each human has a distinct character; while others have a negative character, some have a good one. Without the right character, you will truncate your chances of good success in life. It is rather unfortunate that our character as humans in this age has seen a downward spiral. We behave disrespectfully towards the elderly; we have no regards for our fellow man. If you want to succeed in this New Year and beyond, grow in your character. Show respect to the elderly. Speak politely to strangers, and treat people just the way you will want to be treated.
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Second is your attitude Nothing determines your chances of success like your attitude. Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States once said, “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” Your attitude has all to do with how you perceive situations. How do you handle challenges? Do you allow challenges to overwhelm you, and cause you to give up on your life pursuits? Or you face them head-on, and fight till you win? Your attitude makes the difference. Attitude is what distinguishes the failure from the one who succeeds; and the achiever from the wisher. None of us expects to go through challenges in life. It is a stage we all never wish for. But it is like a bitter pill; you’ve got to go through it to get what you want. It is the price you’ve got to pay in the pursuit of the good things of life. Challenges have a way of building mental toughness in us. It was Robert H. Schuller who said, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” My question to you is; Are you a tough person? Think about it!
A NEW YEAR, A NEW YOU (PART 1)
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JONATHAN ADZOKPE
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One of the most powerful yet free weapons we possess in the battle of life is
our words
Your words are one of the most important creators of your destiny. Depending on your daily confessions, you get nothing short of that. If you speak all the negative things about yourself, you will always live in your own negative world. Speaking the right things create the right life for you. This reminds me of the story of one of my aunties and her household. I remember very vividly that when I was a little boy, we used to visit them every weekend. She had six children then, who are all adults now. One thing I never forgot then was that at the slight provocation by these children, their father would speak very negative words into their lives. Out of the six, four are girls. He would normally say they were not going to end up well in life, or they would get pregnant without husbands. He did same to the boys as well. At such a stage, I never knew how impactful such words were. But I recall my mother used to rebuke him not to say such things to their children. Needless to say, today, none of those children has completed the Junior High School level of education. The eldest of the girls who was close to completing her school got pregnant along the line, the second of their daughters gave birth to a baby, the third one too got pregnant re-
A NEW YEAR, A NEW YOU (PART 1)
cently, the fourth one keeps moving from one man to the other. And for the gentlemen, the least said about them, the better. That is how impactful and powerful your words can be. Rather than speaking the wrong things about yourself and others, speak the right things. Instead of saying you will fail, it takes just the same level of energy to say you will succeed. It costs no more to speak positive things as to speak negative. Words do have power, with them, you create your world! If you want to succeed in the coming year, you need to put away some of what made you the old “you”, and embrace something newer. This is definitely something you wouldn’t want to let go. Join me in our next issue as I bring you my concluding thoughts on “A New Year, a New You.” Jonathan Adzokpe
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JONATHAN ADZOKPE
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FILTERING BUBBLES
Almustafa M. Khalid
FILTERING BUBBLE
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ALMUSTAFA M. KHALID
Due to my line of work, one day I decided to sit and read the terms and privacy policies of facebook. It took me about an hour and a half to finish it. There were a few shocking points that you get to learn about when reading the super complicated list of policies. The first thing is that whatever is published on facebook, they basically own it, and they can use it in the different situations they might have. The second one, is what triggered my attention… They updated facebook in a way so that you will only see what you are most interested in, on your news feed. Their explanation? ‘you can’t see what your 700 friends post everyday’ … But, what if I actually do?.
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I was a little disappointed, then I came across a TED talk that simply pissed me off. Not because it was bad, but because it revealed that almost every big search engine has tailored its search results to what the user clicks on first. Now, we can argue that it isn’t that bad… it is good that google knows what I like, and amazon knows what I usually shop. Yes. Would be my reply. But, often we get caught up in the loops of the internet just wasting time or how it is called “surfing the net”. When surfing the net, we usually don’t think that someone is following us or knowing what we are clicking on, and therefore we feel free to click on all the weird links that the internet is full of.
FILTERING BUBBLE
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ALMUSTAFA M. KHALID
This will create the bubbles that we live in on the internet, and it will filter out all the other information that we might need to know. I personally feel like the internet is moving towards propaganda just like news TV channels are. Mainly due to the fact that TV channels censors some news and we know it, but now, the internet “filters out” information because it thinks that we think we don’t want to know that information. Sounds like Censorship to me. Although, we have to be realistic here… I don’t like having my home page on youtube full of useless videos of people doing weird things to be famous, and I would actually like to have an adidas advert of the new soccer cleets. So, I guess the solution is not to get rid of the filter bubbles… But, to develop them in a certain way that projects us to news we might not be interested in or even dislike (Because we have to know what is going on), and at the same time know that I like books and that I would be projected to the christmas discounts on books from Amazon.
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REMEMBERING NELSON MANDELA
| DERRICK TAGOE
W
hen I first set out to work on this short memorative feature, I thought of using “Madiba’ other than Nelson but I stopped short of that. It would have been such a headline or title for my little ‘have your say’ on the great Madiba; son of Qunu. Mandela’s death comes as no surprise to us and exactly why the BBC says “the world had been preparing for his death long before this week’s announcement finally came”.
Remembering Nelson Mandela
By Derrick Nii Tagoe (Ghana) The writer is a student of the Ghana Institute of Journalismand Vice President of Mandela Hall. He can be contacted via: (+233) 264772271 and nii. armah7@gmail.co
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Death comes to us all, it has no price and rewards everyone but why would one man’s death mean a lot to the entire known world? There must be something peculiar about this man; something that my young and immature mind cannot figure out. Madiba will not be forgotten soon for though he fades in skin, rots in the sand and beds with termites and worms, with his skeleton enduring just within time, his life would not be too far from our hearts, schools and most importantly our values. Great men have come and gone but one man, all men everywhere receive is Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. It’s as if he permeates through borders. His name and impact have defied the very law of limitation. Little wonder why this is so.
REMEMBERING NELSON MANDELA
| DERRICK TAGOE
Tata, as Mandela was fondly called by all South Africans, was an exceptional man, a statesman for that matter. He was a politician but not the ones we are familiar with. In a continent where politicians are power hungry, corrupt and selfish, Madiba was an extra ordinary politician, one we only hear of in fables. Born in Umtata; South Africa in the year 1918 to the Xhosa tribe of the Rainbow nation, he studied law at Forte Hare University and University of Wittersand. He got involved with the anti colonial politics and just like many young black South Africans of that era, he joined the ANC, a step that changed the cause of his life and that of an entire nation. In the ANC, Nelson committed himself to help found the famous Youth League of the Party whiles still practicing as a lawyer. It is said, a man’s will is not always his ways and that was exactly in the case of Mandela. Though he was against violence initially, he later found it to be the only way for the oppressors to be challenged. He travelled across the continent for seven months meeting African leaders to garner support for the new posture of the ANC. Thus he contributed to the establishment of the militant wing of the ANC; Umkhonto wesizwe (MK), translated “spear of the nation” leading the sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. For this cause he was charged and convicted in the infamous Rivonia Trial spending the next twenty seven years in prison at the Robin Island.
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It was at his trial that he made one of the most popular statements of the 21st century. He said “………. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”. This statement conclud-
ed the defense that he put up for himself. It has been said that Mandela was advised to scrap some part of it as it could anger the judge but he did no such thing. He was ready to die for what he believed. Such a man would have been filled with so much anger and hatred after spending almost three decades in incarceration for his beliefs. He had every right to do so but chose to do just the opposite. It seems
me, his greatest legacy was his ability to forgive, reconcile all South Africans and prove to the whole world that power is not the ultimate pursuit of life but rather one’s ability to fight for a greater good. That is Perhaps his greatest legacy was his stepping down after just one term amidst pres- what I would remember him for. sure from the masses and local chiefs to As a member of Mandela Hall of the run for office again. He refused and went on to become the greatest South African in Ghana Institute of Journalism, I will remember Tata for his beliefs summed up in contemporary times, the most celebrated “Ubuntu” which happens to be our slogan. African and an icon for equality. But to dela was more of a statesman, a feat many politicians especially here in Africa find impossible to do.
REMEMBERING NELSON MANDELA
Madiba had a penchant for disappointing people with his actions. After his release, he rather formed a huge bond with his oppressors and resolved to unite that great nation. The result of his tenacity and large heart is the birth of the Rainbow Nation. South Africa would have been divided; torn between racial lines fuelled by hatred and anarchy just as we see in other places.
Through this concept, we have understood the power that lies in unity and the need to see the world as one big family. For us members of Mandela Hall, our icon has showed us the way living a fulfilled life. I believe Nelson Mandela died a happy man, knowing he had done his bit to change a world he came to meet on the verge of division and near anarchy.
| DERRICK TAGOE
But the world was spared another “failed state” just by one man’s action. Madiba certainly showed the way; the true way to freedom and liberty was not in vengeance but laid in one’s ability to forgive and work for a greater good. As world leaders gathered on Tuesday, I could not help but wonder what they have learnt from the exemplary life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. As a politician, Man-
The façade of life lies in death and we mortals can only live forever when we are all too aware of the futility of life and as it is, outwit that ‘ole foe’. I am certain that Nelson Tata Rolihlahla Mandela has outwitted life because his life and legacy will remain forever. By Derrick Nii Tagoe (Ghana)
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As we kick start the new year, we would like to wish everyone around the world a very happy, successful and healthy 2014. Our resolution is to reach as many young people around the world to create projects and initiatives that will contribute to world peace. This is a message to all the people living in peaceful places: We are the ones that can help those in need to make the necessary changes that need to be made to stop hunger, murder, descrimination, unemployment and unjustice of all kinds. On behalf of #TeamSkies I would like to thank everyone for the continuous support from everyone. And we are glad to announce that we have officially reached 145 countries around the world and we hope to reach all the countries by the end of 2014. Once again, A very Happy New Year. Almustafa M. Khalid Founder & Editor in Chief Independent Skies Magazine
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Gone are those days..... Scribbled Poetry Section By OKU-OLA PAUL ABIOLA (NIGERIA)
Gone are the days of black and white television Then we gave an undiluted attention For colour television was never an aspiration Neither was it an option But with advanced technology That had become an apology Gone are the days of analogue telephony Then mobile communication was not a honey But with advanced technology That had become an apology Gone are the days when everyone was proud of this nationality Then all gave a complete loyalty To the upliftment of this ground And the development of this land But with advanced technology That had become an apology Gadget created for the good of humanity Had become an entity For amassing personal fame and glory Without care for the well-being of the country They had become instruments for projecting people's name Leaving behind shame Their contribution To the development of the nation Gone are those days When being a true citizen pays
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