BOOKS: A Collections of Quotes on Books

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, 
but minds alive on the shelves. From each of
them goes out its own voice... and just as the 
touch of a button on our set will fill the room 
with music, so by taking down one of these 
volumes and opening it, one can call into range 
the voice of a man far distant in time and space,
and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, 
heart to heart. ~Gilbert Highet

That place that does contain
My books, the best companions, is to me
A glorious court, where hourly I converse
With the old sages and philosophers;
And sometimes, for variety, I confer
With kings and emperors, and weigh their counsels;
Calling their victories, if unjustly got,
Unto a strict account, and, in my fancy,
Deface their ill-placed statues.
~Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS TIME MANAGEMENT?

By Matthew Ujah-Peter

Food is enjoyable so that we would want to eat it for our own good. Food, while enjoyable is not primarily for that purpose. The primary purpose of food, of course, is for our bodily well being and growth. But it has to be enjoyable and pleasing to us, else most of us may not eat. Imagine if all foods are either bitter or tasteless! Not many people will eat three times a day. If we do it will be under compulsion and reluctantly and we will definitely not eat enough quantity for our bodily growth and strength. How terrible will life be, then? Have you ever wondered? 

Most children's medicines such as baby syrups are sweetened and I'm sure it was so designed to encourage babies take them. Adult's drugs need not be sweetened. They are made for adults and adults know what is good for them - bitter or sweet. That pharmacist made most baby medicine sweet is not an indication that they want babies to reach for them each time they feel like taking something sweet. Sleep is enjoyable. But the primary purpose for sleep is not for that. It is for rest and recuperation. Even, if you hate to sleep. A time will come when you won't be able to hold it. You will fall asleep without warning if you proved stubborn and goes without it for days. Sleep is wired into us to help us rest and be refreshed and to start again. Though, one can sleep any time one wants to, we sleep mostly in the night because that is the time when we cannot do many other things. It is the time when everyone was suppose to rest. And when you wake up in the morning, it is another day and you can start (afresh) again.

Over-indulgence is an abuse. Abuse means abnormal use. When you use sleep for the sole purpose of 'enjoyment' and not necessary for rest you are abusing it. Why should you sleep from 10pm to 7am when you are not ill? Under normal situation, that is an abuse much more sleeping all day or all night for an upwards of 12 hours.  Sleeping time must not be allowed to eat into our work time. When you check it very well you will find that there are a lot to do for which more times should be created. Everyone of us is given 24 hours a day and nobody have 25 hours. But that 24 ours must be used judiciously. The time we throw into the so-called enjoyments or 'good times', be it eating, drinking, sleeping, partying, etc, can take a lot out from our lives. Time is an expensive capital and nobody has more of it, save the ones who 'create'  more out of his daily schedule.

The people referred to as 'having time' for something either deliberately 'create' the time or have no other more important use of the time. Idleness is simply having no use for your time. There are people in this world who have money but have no use for it. Others have house but no use for it. Still many have other material things but have no use for them. But the worst of it all is to have time but have no use for it. It is a tragedy to have no use for one's time.

CREATING TIME

No, you can't, in reality, create time. Time has already being created and given to you. It's your daily 24 hours. It's yours. Though, technically, no one can really create time, when we use the word 'create', we actually mean doing away or foregoing other things that take up our time space in other to devote such time space for more important things and activities. You can't manage it either. It's not time that need being managed, but you and your activities. Any time I pass by a place and see people sitting down doing nothing for a long time,  realising that it is not that they're resting, I often wondered why people could be so idle. 'At least they could get a book and read', I would say within myself. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with hanging around playing with friends. Spending time with friends is part of good investment to which one can put time. But even that can be over done or wrongly done. Time can be invested just as money is invested. Time wasted is lost forever. Time is an intangible asset. You may not be able to see and feel it but it's a powerful and one of the most expensive resources given to every one of us. Those who value it pay for it. They buy other people's time. While people who don’t value time could just throw it into useless activities and idleness.

Don't you know that your failure in something is actually your success in another? Check it and see every one is a success at something. Beggars, rubbers, thieves, cun artists, drunkards, medical doctors, the handy man, carpenters, footballers, everyone is a success by the name they are called. They succeeded in becoming the names you called them as a result of the time they throw into the practice that turn them into that thing you called them. If they had invested that same amount of time into other things than what they are now known for, they would equally be called that. What you put the greater chunk of your time into will finally define you. What you spend more time in is what you become.

TAKING CHARGE

Have you noticed that when you arrive late for a meeting or even into an examination hall as a student, you hardly get properly composed for that meeting or exams? To get properly composed you must arrive early, sit down and get into the mood of the environment. It's the same with our daily living. When you wake up early enough each morning you will be properly composed to get a proper handle of the day from its beginning. Especially if you create time for and meditate, plan and pray about the day. This helps you take charge of the day and come prepared to meet every opportunity or challenge that the day presents. When you are prepared like this you seem to gain the mastery over the things that others loses control about. When you do not come into the day like this, just like arriving late into an exam hall and unprepared you are likely to lose your control and composure and miss where you should hit the target.

Success is the achieved every day. The polite greetings, the prompt replies and the help you give to people as you go through the day adds up to score your success ratings for the day in even in life, generally. When you fail to prepare for the day hurries into your activities, you're not relaxed and that can translate into being unfriendly with people. The thing is that we are too used to such an unprepared style of daily living that we do not know their negative effects and how much we are losing out in life and the things and heights we have failed to attain because of that. We must learn to manage our lives and activities and to practice to handle each day from its beginning through waking up early, meditation, prayer and planning. Herein lies the victory. When every day is handled well they add up to a successful life over time.

The elements and social circumstances that make up our atmosphere and environments are there to help us not to pamper us. We are however designed to conquer, tame, manage and have the mastery over them. The cold weather, the rains, the heats, the mosquitoes, the lack of electricity and other social amenities in this part of the globe and so on, will never bow to laziness. They will control you and your circumstances if you fail to subdue them. People say 'what is mine will come to me.' Not true in every case. There are lot of things that you deserve or need that will never come to you where you are unless you get up and go for them. Others will come to you only if there are efforts on your part to get them. If you don't, remember other people are. Nothing is really physically having your name labelled on them. You are the one to get up and go get your name engraved on them. This means work. Work means discipline and self management.

MAXIMUM RESPECT!

LIVING INTENTIONALLY - A BOOK BY TOPE POPOOLA

Book Tittle: LIVING INTENTIONALLY
Author: TOPE POPOOLA
Publishers: HERITEK SUPPORT SERVICES
Pages: 170
Date of Publication: 2009
Reviewer: MATTHEW UJAH-PETER


This book reminds me of a story I once read about a boy who asked his father,
''father, when a person sleeps he can wake up, right?''
''Right'', replied his father.
''But, what about if he's awake, can he still wake up?"

The answer to that question lies within the pages of Tope Popoola's Living Intentionally.
 Popoola posits in the prologue of this  timely book that ''...you can only be said to have succeeded when you are consistently working in line with your Maker's original design and blue print for your life.'' 

''...and David, after he had in his generation, served the counsel of God, fell asleep and was laid unto his fathers...."
 - Acts 13:36.

In the word of Harold Thurman Whitman, as quoted by the author,  ''Don't ask yourself what the world needs - ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then do it. Because what the world needs is the people who have come alive.

As I read the story of Joseph in Genesis chapters 39 through 48, my attention is drawn to Tope Popoola's Living Intentionally - which I read about 3 years earlier.  Due to the way this book had impacted and challenged me, I decide to weave my own personal thoughts into this review.

 Needless to bore you  with Joseph's story, I realized in a deeper sense of the word that his special gift - his ability to interpret dreams - was the major factor that gave him the energy to ''come alive.'' Unless, he did not realize how much his brothers hated him already, ( for without the dreams he was already hated for being their father's pet ) how in the world could he have faced those terrifying eyes, looking them  straight in the eyes and telling them that in his dream their sheaves did indeed bowed down to his. There was an obvious note of excitement in his voice, and more than that was the energy and boldness with which he spoke. 

"...all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably with him... . Now, Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers and they hated him even more.....so, they  hated him even more for his dream and for his word.....then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers...'' (Gen.37:4-11).

But for divine intervention and arrangement, his ''running mouth'' would have earned him a trip to the  great beyond. His brothers did not know what was in motion - that their envy would become instrumental to the fulfillment of the dreams they so hated to hear.


WHAT IS ''IT''?
''And when he was fully forty years old, IT came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.'' (Acts 7:3).

''Everyone dreams of making 'it', even if they can not define what the 'it' is", says Popoola in the first chapter. "We can see the so-called successful people with fleet of cars, designer's wear, big house and we say he has made 'it'".

'IT' entered into Moses' heart to visit his brethren...'' 'IT' is that thing that keeps you awake at night while others sleep. 'IT' was what kept Joseph telling his brothers his dreams in the face of oppositions. 'IT' gives you joy even in the middle of oppositions. 'IT' took Jesus to the cross. Popoola  argues that 'it' is not about  acquiring cars and designers wears. 'IT' is your number one investment capital to provide answer to questions and cries of many.

Immediately 'it' entered into Moses's heart, he was no longer the same person again as he became willing to forsake the luxuries and comforts of the palace to go after 'it'. So, 'it' is your assignment in life. ''the best cure for envy is to discover your own 'it''' Popoola says.

God did not place man in the garden of Eden to toil in it. God's intention for man is not toils. Man began to toil when he left Eden garden. When you find your Eden, your toils ceases. The author challenges his reader to embark on the journey to discovering his or her own garden of Eden and stop  blaming Eve or the serpent. He further show his readers how to embark on this journey of discovery of Eden. Among the several questions you will answer to help you discover your Eden, according to the author, are :
- what problem do you notice in the society or community that others don't seem to notice?
- what pain of humanity do you feel?
- what kind of discussions gets your adrenaline pumping?
- etc.

Living Intentionally is one book that is sure to put speed into your life walk and help you pulsate with life. It will help give a sense of accountability for every moment, opportunity and privilege at our disposals. This, perhaps is a book written for Africans having in mind the peculiarity of our environment and circumstances because will help open the readers eyes to the treasures and opportunities around rather than only seeing the lacks in the society.

Popoola says that life is not a rehearsal, it is the real thing. ''Wake up'', he says, ''the play has started. ''Every new born baby enters this world with a clenched fist as if to announce to the world, ''I brought something for you.'' Conversely, all men die with their hands wide open as if they were saying, ''I left it all here.''

He challenges his reader to rise above a life style of excuses saying, ''if you are willing to pay a price and then turn around to name your wages, life comes up with the resources to pay.'' He further says that every life has a story. Every man has a history. The unfortunate thing is that many people have come to accept their biography as their future, their experience as their destiny. Know this for sure: you cannot succeed beyond your story! Success has story, so does failure.

Successful people are those who have learned to build a platform for motivation from their stories while failures are those who have turned  their stories into an excuse, a crutch, an unfortunate support system that validates a crippled mind. when  the looser  sees a rose, he complains about the thorns. When a winner sees the same thing, he admire the beauty of the rose.
      
THE SABOTAGING STORY
The author talks about the sabotaging stories about our past failures that affect our thinking, forming a mindset that further affect our outlook on life and by extension give us a wrong estimate of our own ability, worth and potentials. This in turn impede our progress thereby creating a vicious cycle of failure. The perfectly scripted sabotaging stories that most often totally eclipsed our desire for the real things that we want out of life compound the whole thing in combination with what he called ''the fall back position'' which gives our stories a soft landing. This comfort zone which provides our stories the cushioning pad becomes our ultimate limitation.

The sabotaging stories could range from anything like ''my boss doesn't like me'', or '' I have no money'', or ''I'm from a poor background'', or '' I grew up in a village'',  or ''I have no connection'', or ''the government has not provided the necessary facilities, and so on. Popoola says you can't achieve beyond your best excuse. This reminds me of the saying that ''excuse limits a man.'' He urged the reader not to pick up an excuse when he/she finds one. one great reason to succeed dwarfs twenty reasons not to.''

The truth be told,  all of us have one or two sabotaging stories and we can not pretend that there's isn't one in our lives. But walking past it is the key. How do you do that? Think about how long you have being telling yourself and others that same story over and over. Has that helped? Look for and find a compelling WHY for the attainment of your dreams. Tell yourself that story for the last time but don't put a full stop this time around and realize that you have a far more noble reason for living than the sabotaging story. This will help give you the energy to walk past that story.

The author listed questions that you can ask yourself to help program your mind which will turn you into the kind of person that you need to be to be able to truly walk past the damaging stories that have kept you back for too long.

BUILD RELATIONSHIP
''Nobody succeeds all by himself'' This is the tone and message of this chapter on relationship building. The author believe that we must build relationship to a level of friendship rather than mere acquaintances. Friendship according to him is ''being naked without being ashamed in the presence of the other. Friendship, as he posits is sincerity. faithfulness, enduring, nurturing, dependable, nourishing, sacrificial, inspiring and purpose centered.

There will be ''friends'' who will challenge you to greater heights. It is not only those friends that wish you well and give you positive feed backs or who are careful not to offend you that will help push you up . But even those  that love or hate you enough to tell you things that even though will hurt you, that will dare you to do things you never would have ventured into out of your comfort zone. There are people who will tell you to your face that you are a none-entity, a never do well and worthless individual. These may be seen as the ''enemies'' but will dare you to prove yourself - to prove a point not necessary to them but to yourself.

THE EVIL OF ENVY
Envy, according to the author, is admiration turned upside down. What envy desire and cannot have, they despised. He further said that if you always belittle others, you will always be little. The envious person believes he is more qualified for something, even when he is not willing to pay the price. Envy sometimes creeps into our hearts unnoticed. The envious person most times do not realize that the force driving him is the venom called envy.

What is the cure for envy? Contentment. Contentment is not being  satisfied with the status quo ''it is about learning to enjoy where you are on the way to where you are going'', says popoola. We must learn to genuinely celebrate the success of other people. This will not only contribute to your own happiness and contentment, but boost your hope and give you the ability and humility to learn the ropes from successful people.

Contentment is the quality of being grateful for what you have and the place you are, now. ''It pays to realize that your present level of frustration is another man's level of aspiration'', says the author. Arrest every tinge of resentment, envy, against any one due to what they have and realize that ''God is no respecter of person, but  of Principles''. If you see something in someone that you admire, do not be ashamed, afraid or hesitate to ask them to show you the ropes. A key to happiness is to celebrate others in their accomplishments.

THE POWER OF ROUTINE
''...and as His custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read'' - (Lk4:16)

'' I have discovered that champions do regularly what ordinary men are only willing to do occasionally.'' Popoola writes.
There must be something you must be doing regularly towards the achievement of your dreams in life. A successful actor must be involved in regular grueling hours of rehearsals and memorizes his lines until he assume that part.  Bestselling authors write every day: world class musicians play their instruments every day. Great singers rehearse songs every day. Sport stars train every day even in the face of contrary weather conditions.

You must have a private routine that prepares you for your public appearance. The Olympic medalist we celebrate did not start yesterday. Years of  routine practice went into those medals. The soccer stars we celebrate as highest goal scorers in fact had missed far more goals than they scored. There are no accidental success. Over night success took so many nights to manifest. Succeed is a results of constant, persistent, continuous hard work with many failures in between.

In reality, nobody likes routines. Routines are boring. But when the routines are within the path of your inner natural born abilities and potentials, the passion that is embed in that natural ability will provide you with the catalyst to overcome the boredom. And over time, that routine will metamorphose into a winning habit. Another way to surmount the boredom of routine is to see clearly what is at stake.

Another component of Power Routine, according to Popoola, is the practice of keeping notes. Record important events. Quoting Anthony Robinson who said that ''if your life is worth living, it is worth recording'', Popoola pounds home the truth and the efficacy of record keeping. He urges the reader to keep record of appointments. Plan your daily activities. Put them priority list for each day, each week,  and each month. Learn to return calls. Finally, be sure to stick to your routine and success is guarantee.

KILL PROCRASTINATION BEFORE IT KILLS YOU
 We often hardly ever get around to do eventually those things we procrastinate in many cases. Never fall to the temptation that you will be less busy tomorrow. May be you will, but does it always happen? Do not be involved in the practice of giving to tomorrow what belongs to today, tomorrow has its own challenges and issues that you are not aware of today. The time space you think you have tomorrow may already have other things gunning for it and will probably rise up to take up that space.

Most things worth doing are not usually convenience at the time. Procrastination is a monster that must be fought off on a daily basis. A major victory you must be sure to win every single day is the one over the monster called procrastination. You see, whenever you do not feel like carrying out a task, or want to do something there will be a thousand and one reasons to postpone them. Procrastination do not announce itself. It comes as 'tiredness', bad moods, 'inconveniences', etc. But the moment you snap out and get to doing the task, it flee with its tail tucked in between its legs like a frightened dog.

Habits - both good and bad ones - are products of routines. Acquiring the right habits takes the discipline to stick to your routine. It is the right habits that leads to success. You will become more perfect at what you do regularly. The most important thing in life, according to Popoola, follows routines:
 - breathing
 - our heart beats
 - transition between night and day
 - season of the year, etc.

David had being practicing his slingshots in the wilderness before it attracts divine backing at the time it mattered most. Popoola asserts that your chance of doing the wrong thing diminishes when you constantly do the right things. ''Your consistency will attract attention to you'', he says. He challenges the reader to exercise staying-power by  turning our act into an art and our art into a science through what he called ''stick-to-itiveness'' for you are recognized for  what you are celebrated for.

He also challenges the reader to create his power routines around relationship too. In other words, while you are busy with your routine, time should also  be created for relationship development and your relationship should be three facet:
 - with God
 - with family and
 - people relevant to your life assignment

Routine must also be created with time management / time consciousness, financial management, as well as one's core values - you must live by a higher sets of moral standards. You must also create a routine around your physical health and well being through regular exercise, rest, etc.

Also, you must learn the art of documentation. Document agreements / dealings. Creating structures for wealth is not convenient.  Sticking to your routines is not convenience. Most people who have great ideas think it is for tomorrow and they lost them for the tomorrow they wait for never arrived.

TIME IS PRECIOUS
Popoola says that '' losers wastes time. Mediocre spends time. Winners invest time." ''When you 'kill' time you are committing suicide. As long as you have time there is no need to complain about what you  lack. The people that are giving great responsibilities are those who are already busy with important things. Great responsibilities are not given to loafers and idle people. Jesus called twelve disciples to follow Him for a new and greater responsibility. All twelve were already engaged in something else before He called them. Idleness is a crime against success. The Scriptures say that ''For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.''

LESSONS FROM THE PAST
While the memory of the past can haunt and hurt us, imagination and dreams of the future can project and propel us beyond present pains and the status quo. Every body has a past - good and bad - while there is no denying the fact that the past is like a movie replaying on the screen of our minds to either spur or stop us,  we can choose to create a newer and more powerful paintings and movies for the future on the canvas of our minds to help pull or push us towards the desired future.

To avoid repeating history, the wise thing to do is to learn from them, especially if they are negative. If we carry on with the past it is possible to re-enact it or repeat its occurrence. It is like putting one foot on the break and another one on the throttle and wonder why you are not moving. The past is a weight. It is safer and faster to travel light. Rather let the positive past feed you with the feed back for better performance. The victories and medals of the past are worth reliving to help put more energy to our resolves for better tomorrow. But it must not get us relaxed.

Easier said than done. But you see, it was not the memories of the  negatives that helped David shot into lime light but the memories of the positives. There were a host of negative experiences in the dessert. So it is the memories you choose to record and recall that determine victory or failure. Take a look at these two Bible texts:
“Do not remember the former things,
 Nor consider the things of old. 
 Behold, I will do a new thing,...''
                      -  Isaiah 43:18-21 (NKJV)
This is telling you to forget the negative past and not let it hinder your  new efforts.

 "Remember the former things of old,
 For I am God, and there is no other;
 I am God, and there is none like Me,
 Declaring the end from the beginning,
 And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
 Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
 And I will do all My pleasure,’...'':  
                    - Isaiah 46:9-10(NKJV)
This is telling us to remember the past victories and be encouraged in our new efforts.

We don not count the numbers of misses, but the numbers of goals scored. You can not tell how many contracts and business the today’s successful business man has missed or lost in the past. You can not tell how many manuscripts the today’s successful author had written without being published nor can you tell how many books he had written before becoming a best selling author. You cannot tell the numbers of cuts an editor must have made to a blockbuster.

If you choose to, your pains and lost can become the manure for your success. In the same token we must not let our past successes form a roadblock to how far we can go.

FOLLOW THE PROCESS.

I once read a quote that says ‘’anything born big is monstrous and dies....’’ Great things are born small and then grows big. Life is designed to function alone the chain of process and process  takes time. Progress is woven into time and process. Process gives birth to progress. To every thing there is time and season It is easy to look at successful people and label them as ‘’lucky’’, but as the saying goes, ''luck is opportunity meeting preparation''. And preparation means taking time to follow the process. Those who are successful today paid their price yesterday through process. Life does not answer to those who refuse to obey the principles of process.

The truth that the black race must pound home to itself is that of willingness to follow process. We have the most of the world's resources yet remain poor because we are not able or willing to follow process. We can't wait. We prefer to sell our resources crude and unprocessed. Cocoa, hide and skin, petroleum,... you name it.We enjoy the extractive economy. Our young men lack the patience that comes with learning the ropes for business. They prefer to play ''the fast one''. But the truth is, short term solutions will only alleviate poverty only long term solution will eradicate it.

Most successful businesses and business people had had to at one time temporarily ''go out of business''. They recognize that that too, was part of the process. But if they had stayed out permanently they would not have bounced back. Esau's undoing was his impatient. Impatient is the number one enemy of process.

THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUIVALENT ADVANTAGE

This principle, according to the author says that every problem that has the potential to draw you back also has the potential of moving you forward.

LIFE IS MEANINGFUL WHEN LIFE IS GIVING
the art of giving is one that we must learn to acquire. All else makes no meaning if giving is absent. Your life is a gift from God to mankind and to other creations. If you have no money, you have time, love, energy, talent, skills, hope, words, and encouragement to give.

FREE OFFERS MAKES YOU CHEAP
As the author puts it, ''all over the world, successful people know that there is  no prize won without price paid''. You will be at the mercy of others if you always do not pay for what you get. The people who give you free things will ride over you. You will not be bold to demand for what you want if what you get is free. Don't built your life around free offers. This does not mean that you should not  accept gifts or accept anything that comes to you free. But living for free offer deadens your creativity. Seeking to pay for a value obtained places demand on your creativity. Be ready and willing to give back value for any value you get. This is the path to elevation and wealth in life.This is not to say you must seek to pay for everything that is free.

THE GOD FACTOR
True riches, wealth and success come from God. We can only access them by His help. The fear of God and faith in Him in your business and quest in life will pay you handsomely at the end. Don't use people, don't oppress people. Don't short change people. This is in direct violation of God's intention for man's existence. Put God's own principle to your life and business.

''If we know the source of your wealth, would you be able to walk on the street with your head high? Does your means of success leave  tears and sorrows in its wake? If you can not trace your wealth and success to God you are poor indeed.

GOD IN A TRUNK OF A CAR?

The story is told of how in Campinas, Brazil a group of drunk friends went to pick up one of their friends. The mother accompanied her to  the car. Worried about the drunken state of her friends, she said to the daughter who was already seated in the car – holding her hand, ‘’My daughter, go with Go and may He protect you.” Her answer: ‘’Only if he (God) travels in the trunk (the boot) because it’s already full in here’’. Hours later, they were involved in a fatal accident. Everyone in the car died. The car was so badly wrecked that even its make was hardly recognizable. Surprisingly, the trunk, (the only place offered to God) was intact. Everyone who saw the sight wondered how that could have happened, considering the enormity of the damage. Inside the trunk was a crate of eggs. Not a single one of the eggs was broken!

CONTESTING FAME WITH GOD?

In 1966, at the peak of the Beatles popularity, John Lennon in an interview with an American Magazine said: ''Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that . I am certain. Jesus was okay, but his  subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him.” Not long afterwards, Lennon was shot six times. The Beatles later disintegrated and ended. Faith in Christ is still waxing stronger.

THE MAN THAT CLAIMED TO BE MORE POWERFUL THAN GOD

During a Presidential campaign for Brazilian presidency, one of the candidates Tancredo Neves, declared that if he could get 500,000 votes from his party, not even God could remove him from Presidency. He got the vote alright, but he took ill a day before being made President, and  subsequently died.

At the end of it all we will all find that outside of God everything else is meaningless.

HOW TO BE A CREATIVE THINKER

How To Be a Creative Thinker
by Gary Fellers
Pelican Publishers Company Inc.
1996
100 pgs

Discover the power of your subconscious and how to enrich it in order to get optimum results from its creative powers. Also learn how you can feed your subconscious and incubate ideas. The author posits that creative people associates their present work with their life's purpose. ''A creative person is medium from higher power,...knowing your life's purpose and having seen 'the future', your subconscious will see to it that  you gain all correct enrichment - by being at the right places at the right time. He says.'' When I meet creative, thriving superstars I am amazed at how surprised they become when other s make a big deal about their accomplishments. To them, serving their life's purpose through their job efforts seems to be natural and fun. If a task is enjoyable to you, you may be creative at it. If it's not, you probably won't''
This is book for leaders. Add it to your library.

DON'T TRY TO FILL THE SHOES OF ANY GREAT MAN. GO GET YOUR OWN SHOES

By Matthew Ujah-Peter 
 

The truth is that every great man 's shoes are as unique to him as his finger prints.  If you're trying to fill any shoes then you're trying to loose your identity and miss your destiny. When the late Mandela died people were asking, ''who will take the place of Mandela?'',  ''who will fill his shoes?'' But such thinking and idea don't always sit well with me. I listened with keen interest as respected public analysts were being interviewed and asked to offer their opinions on the life and time of the late Nelson Mandela Vis-à-vis  ''the place he left'' as far as Africa leadership was concerned. Many were saying ''there can't be another Mandela.'' They were saying that there can't be another leader like the late Nelson Mandela and at the same time admonishing that African leaders should aspire to be another Mandela or be like Mandela. Such wisdom coming from respected public figures and analysts worried me. But those of them who had advised that African leaders should emulate Mandela's virtues or be challenged by his achievements, sounded better to me

Did Mandela try to or fill another person's shoes? Did Martin Luther King Jr. filled someone else's shoes? Did Winston Churchill or Mother Teresa? Well, positions can be filled, but personalities can't be filled by another personalities. When personalities are gone, their works perpetuate them. When Thabo Mbeki took over the position of the President from the late Nelson Mandela, he remained Thabo Mbeki and Mandela remained Mandela. Nor was it the position of the President of South Africa that made Nelson Mandela the Mandela the whole world know.

It's said that  money amplifies the character of its possessor. So does position. Position will serve to provide the platform and the opportunity for leadership. You don't become a leader with position. Your leadership capacity only get you exposed by the position you are opportune to have. In the same way that a person doesn't become a good man just by having money. Money only reveals the true character of the man. There were many individuals with better influence, money and even political connections in Calcutta, India,  in the days of Mother Teresa. But non had the heart and the will that she had. There were many with influence and affluence than the late Nelson Mandela during apartheid South Africa, but not the drive and audacity of Mandela. Non was concerned about posterity like Dr. Martins Luther King Jr. in his days as to stick out his neck like he did.

Personalities can be imitated or emulated but not replaced. Every one's got his/her own mission. Everyone's got his/her own race to run. Wearing or filling another man's shoes is a grave impediment to the race. Mandela was a child of his time. Mother Teresa was a child of her time, so was Martin Luther King Jr., and so are you and I. Everyone's shoes are meant for the race peculiar and particular to him/her. Don't look for shoes to fill. Go get yours.

LESSON FROM BOB G. ALLEN'S MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME

1.VALUE MONEY - every single penny that comes to you must be valued. Be penny wise, pound worth. Spend more times bargaining and buy things whole sales when possible, so as to create surplus for saving.

2. CONTROL MONEY - every money that come to you must be accounted for. Make budget for all expenses. All your income is divided into ten places. Buy things such as food stuffs in bulk and in dozen, once every month.

3. SAVE MONEY - 10% for God, 10% for your saving. The remainder must be accounted for.  
Ways to save: 
Plan for what you need to do in three months ahead.
Have every day of Jan-Dec on your wall  marked and planned for.
Let birthdays, weddings, seminars, etc, be planned for.
Food stuffs must be bought monthly.
Shop with list and stick to it.
Never buy what you can use only a short time, rather rent it.
Never rent what you will use for a long time, rather buy it.
Don't buy things that adds no values to life.
Do yourself, anything that save time and money.
Do not do yourself anything that waste time and money.
Get a ''piggy bank'' or jar account  so you can pay yourself always.
Every gifts given you in cash must be invested.
Every excess cash from discounts or reduced price, excess profit, etc must be saved and invested.

4. INVEST MONEY -  you have now saved your 10% and surpluses and gifts. on daily bases, put those savings into your jar or piggy bank. On a monthly or bi-monthly bases put those saved money into your investment savings account. Then put your investment savings into real investments.
How to Invest:
Stocks, shares, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, Forex. Build business that can work without your involvement for 12 months. Be involved in causes you believe in financially and otherwise.

5. LEAVE A LEGACY - YOUR PURPOSE FOR MAKING MONEY IS TO FULFILL YOUR DESTINY. SET UP STRUCTURES, FIRMS AND SYSTEMS THAT WILL HELP YOU DO THAT.
How to Leave a Legacy :
Set up a foundation, outreach or charityi organisation or
Join or identify with one.
Teach younger people what you have learned from life
Adopt a school you can help with some form of donation or the other
Write a book
Etc.

SECRETS FOR SUCCESS & HAPPINESS

By Og Mandino
Fawsett Books
An imprint of Random House Pub. Group
1994
310
Welcome... Take my hand. Become my companion and friend in these pages. Fly with me to strange cities and follow me onto theater and convention hall stages, before large crowd, when I give my speech on success and happiness. Then relax with me here in my studio, in the glow from the fireplace, and take long walks by my side through pines and birches behind my old farmhouse while the snow is falling and the squirrels are waiting to be fed...as Marie Curie once reminded us... nothing in life is to be feared only understood. - Og Mandino

ORCHID: A Story of Suffering and Courage

BOOK TITLE: Orchids: A Story of Suffering and Courage
AUTHOR: Thierry Manirambona
PUBLISHER: Pauline Publication Africa/St. Paul Communications
No. OF PAGES: 94 pages
ISBN: 9966-08-651-X
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2012
REVIEWED BY: Matthew Ujah-Peter 
 

''March is in full swing. the mornings are so cold. The flowers have blossomed and the grass is growing, luxuriously green. At night, insects flocks to the lamps, and especially to the candle in my room. It rains often at night, so softly. It rains for so long that the drops seep into the drinking earth. Behind my window are beautiful, happy flowers. The tinkling of evening bells fills my room; faraway birds-calls break the silence. And close by, in the trees, from leaf to leaf, tardy raindrops joins their predecessors, dripping in shimmering silence unto the leaves carpeting the ground.
I am so weak. I am too week to get water for papa's orchids. It is so cold outside, but I cannot find the strength to get out of bed to shut the window.''

It's exactly 20 years ago when the Rwandan genocide took place. As the world, and indeed the people of Rwanda, remember and pay tributes to the victims and heroes of the genocide, I want to use this book as a reminder  to all of us and especially the people of Africa that when we kill one another it's indeed our own elves that we are killing.

When you look at the dailies each morning at the news stand, you are depressed by the figures-figures that represents lives of real humans beings but snuffed out, not by natural disasters or accidents but by fellow humans who believe that there is noble purpose to their acts. As Roberts Czerny remarked in the foreword of this book, '' I look at the numbers. I count the zeros. The more zeros I see, the more shocked I feel, or depressed and helpless, or perplexed. But people are not zeros.''

The Orchids is about one of the people behind those zeros: Lucille. Lucille didn't die during the genocide but she was a victim who lived long enough to tell her own side of the story. Lucille is a real person with real experiences of sufferings and pains brought about by atrocities and senseless killings by fellow humans. But the story of Lucille is not about sufferings and pains alone. It's also about bravery, courage, kindness and triumph. Anytime you read or hear news of sufferings from distance lands or from nearby lands about figures of the victims with few or many zeros, it's about people like Lucille - people with vision and ambitions, people with hopes and dreams - who are behind those zeros.

Meet Lucille as she takes you by the hand on a journey through her world of innocence, beauty, love pains, shame,  and the triumph of love and faith. Right from her childhood period to her young adulthood. Born in 1982, Lucille comes across at the beginning, as your average young African girl growing up from childhood to womanhood but the genocide that took place in the land of her birth in 1994 when she was only 12 changed all that.

Lucille will tell you of her experience and ordeals as she and her family moved from place to place to escape the throes of death.  Lucille also tells of her quest to make meaning out of life in the midst of the sufferings, dislocation and hopelessness that were the natural fruits of wars and genocide such that took place in April 1994 in Rwanda.You will break a tear or too as Lucille enraptures you with her descriptions of her native lands, her love of literature and as she expresses her deepest feelings with her poetic prowess.

The Orchids is Thiery Manirambora's effort that helps the reader go on a journey alongside a real person who has seen it all and has knows the hell and horror of human suffering brought about by hatred, prejudice, racism and violence.

Beginning from chapter one, The Good Old Days, Lucille relates her story from childhood experiences in Byimana in Gitarama, southern Rwanda to chapter twenty seven - the last chapter titled  Into Your Hands, Lord... where she tells of friends in school when she was only a girl of eight growing up. She recounts her ordeals in Rwanda, Congo, Burundi and back to Rwanda as she ran in the company of others from place to place, lands to lands, country to country to escape the throes of death.

Some of the most touching parts of The Orchids are the poetic ways Lucille expresses her thoughts and feelings. To one of her late female friend Assia, she expresses her feelings with this lines:

Assia, your eyes are ocean of friendship. On each shore of your gaze, there are words that sail over to the other side. Chirping birds swim airily in the clouds and inscribe paths in the middle of the desert. Migrating birds flee the winter of my heart for the warmth of your eyes. At the bottom of your silence you will see path that lead straight towards a new year. no matter how hard it is for you to believe it.

Lucille at the end challenges us all to rise above and beyond cruelties that life throws at us. She is the example  of the heroes that resides in each one of us. She urges us to fight on as far as there's breath in our nostrils - to fight on and fulfil the beauties that lies within and ahead of us all. The Orchids will leave you re-evaluating your attitudes to living, obligations to fellow suffering humans and the overall big picture.

This is one book that will take you on an emotion-filled tour of the life of a young woman who know what it mean to suffer, to love, to be loved, to loose loved ones to war and to loose one's home to an unneeded and meaningless genocide. A young woman who will tell you her side of the hell that broke loose  20 years ago in the Land of a Thousand Hills.This is the story of sufferings and pains and of courage and of resilience.

As the world remembers the Rwandan genocide of April 1994, we use this to commensurate with all those who have lost loved ones in one crises or another presently across the world, especially in Nigeria.

---

MAKE YOURSELF MEMORABLE

by Stephen G. Sherman
with V. Clayton Sherman.
AMACON
1996
180pages.
What is the difference between giving and generosity? What is sacrifice? How do you make yourself a sweet memory in the mind of those whom you encounter on daily bases.?

Make Yourself Memorable is a practical insights on how you can make your daily contacts at work place, in business, in your family and among your friends a memorable one.  You will learn how to project an appealing persona; stand out from the crowd; be thought of as better than the best and make yourself indispensable. You will also learn the difference between giving and generosity as well as sacrifice, and much much more.

WHY YOU ACT THE WAY YOU DO

by Tim LaHaye
Tyndale House Publishers
Inc.
1984 (first published)
According to Tim LaHaye,  people are temperamentally divided into  four groups. These are
Sanguine,
Choleric,
Melancholy and
Phlegmatic.

Our outlook on life, intelligence quotient, as well as mood and mood switch are all products of our dominant temperament.

 ''When I was in high school, there was a pair of identical twins in my class. We could hardly tell them apart. They tested out identically on their IQ scores (128). But that is where the similarities stopped. One was personable; The other withdrew from people. One loved sports, history, and literature, the other preferred maths, physics, and language...what made the difference? Their Temperament!...it is so essential to know your temperament and to be able to analyse other people's temperament, not to condemn them, but so you can maximize your potential and enable them to maximize theirs." Tim LaHaye said.
In this book, you will unearth your strengths and weaknesses and find ways to accentuate on the positive qualities and play down on
the negative ones.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SECRET RECIPES

Perhaps, few men in history had the kind of 'ups and downs' twists that characterized the journey of Colonel Sanders from childhood till his death. Colonel Harland David Sanders was born to an Irish-English parents, Wilbur David and Margaret Ann (née Dunlevy) Sanders on September 9, 1890 in a thin-walled, four room shack on a country road 3 miles (5 km) east of Henryville, Indiana, USA. He was the oldest of the three  children. His father who tried to make a living as a farmer later had an accident that made his profession impossible. He later worked as a butcher for a few more years. He later died of a fever in 1895 when Harland was about five. While his mother worked in a factory, young Harland was required to cook for his siblings.

At the age of 10 he began to work as a farmhand for some local farmers. When his mother remarried 1902, the family moved to Greenwoods, Indiana. After a sort of misunderstanding with his step father, he moved out of the house. At age of 13, the young Harland dropped out of school to work and live on a nearby farm. Later he took a job painting horse carriages in Indianapolis. At age the of 14 he moved to southern Indiana to work as a farmhand for Sam Wilson. 1906 with his mothers approval he left home to live in New Albany, Indiana with his uncle who worked for the streetcar company. There his uncle got him a job as a conductor. That same year Harland falsified his age to join the US Army. He was honorably discharged after three months and moved to Alabama in 1907. An uncle who worked there got him a job at the Southern Railroad as a blacksmith helper in the workshop. After three months he moved to Jasper, Alabama, where he got a job cleaning out the ash pans of trains. He however progressed to become a fireman at age 16.

Harland married Josephine King of Jasper in 1909 and started a family, but after he was fired   for insubordination at work while he was on a trip, Josephine stopped writing him. He later learned that Josephine had left him, given away all their furniture and household goods, and taken the children back to her parents. Josephine's brother wrote Harland a letter saying that, "She had no business marrying a no-good fellow like you who can’t hold a job." 

Later he found a job as a fireman and moved to Jackson, Tennessee with his family . Meanwhile, he studied law by correspondence at night  with the La Salle Extension University. But after a brawl with a colleague, he lost his job again and moved to work with the Rock Island Railroad, while Josephine and the children went to live with her parents. After a while, Sanders began to practice law which he did for three years, and he earned enough income for his family to move in with him. But his legal career came to an end after he got  into a courtroom brawl with his own client.

After this he moved back with his mother in Henryville, and went to work as a laborer on the Pennsylvanian Railroad. In 1916, he and the family moved to Jeffersonville. There he got a job as an insurance salesman for the Prudential Life Insurance Company.  He was eventually fired for insubordination. Moving to Louisville he got a salesman job with Mutual Benefit Life of New Jersey.

In 1920, Harland Sanders established a ferry boat company. Due to lack of adequate fund for the company he canvassed for funding, becoming a minority shareholder himself, and was appointed secretary of the company. The business was an instant success. In  1922 he got a job as secretary at the Columbus, Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Not being very good at the job, he voluntarily resigned after less than a year.

Sanders cashed in his ferry boat company shares for $22,000 and used the money to establish a company manufacturing acetylene lamps but the venture failed due to the  introduction of an electric lamp by Delco which they sold on credit. Sanders moved to Winchester, Kenturkey, to work as a salesman for the Michelin Tire Company. In 1924, Michelin closed their New Jersey plant, and Sanders lost his job. In 1924, by chance, he met the general manager of Standard Oil of Kenturkey, who asked him to run a service station in Nicholasville. In 1930, due to the Great Depression the station closed down.

In 1930, He was offered a service station by the Shell Oil Company  rent-free, whereby he paid them a percentage of sales. Harland Sanders began to cook chicken dishes and other meals such as country ham and steaks  for his customers. Since he did not have a restaurant, he served customers in his adjacent living quarters. He was commissioned as a Kenturkey Colonel by Kentucky governor Ruby Laffoon in 1935.

His local popularity grew rapidly and in 1939 a famous food critic Duncan Hines visited his restaurant and included it in Adventures in Good Eating, his guide to restaurants throughout the US. The entry reads:
Corbin, KY. Sanders Court and Cafe
41 — Jct. with 25, 25 E. ½ Mi. N. of Corbin. Open all year except Xmas.
A very good place to stop en route to Cumberland Falls and the Great Smokies. Continuous 24-hour service. Sizzling steaks, fried chicken, country ham, hot biscuits. L. 50¢ to $1; D., 60¢ to $1

Sanders acquired a motel in Asheville, North Carolina in 1939. His Corbin restaurant and motel was destroyed in a fire in1939 but he rebuilt it as a motel with a 140 seat restaurant. By 1940, Sanders had finalized his ''Secret Recipe" for frying chicken in a pressure fryer  that cooked the chicken faster than the normal frying pan . As World War II broke out, gas was rationed, and as tourists dried up, Sanders was forced to close his Asheville motel. He went to work as a restaurant supervisor in Seattle until the latter part of 1942.
Later he ran cafeterias for the government at an Ordinance Works in Tennessee, followed by a job as an assistant manager at a cafeteria in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
In 1949, he was "re-commissioned" as a Kentucky Colonel by his friend, Governor Lawrence Wetherby.

Colonel Sanders had to shut down his restaurant in 1950, due to then new Interstate 75 reducing his restaurant’s customer’s traffic and the need to build a highway where his restaurant was located. He decided to retire and received his first social security check, which was only $105. Left with nothing except his social security check and a recipe for fried chicken and amidst a huge setback, Colonel Sanders refused to throw a pity party but rather he decided to franchise his chicken at the age of 65 years old. He started traveling by car from restaurants to restaurants, offering his fried chicken to restaurant owners.

In 1952, he franchised "Kentucky Fried Chicken" for the first time to an operator of one of the  largest restaurants in South Salt Lake, Utah. The restaurant sales was more than tripled in the first year of selling the product with 75% of the increase coming from sales of fried chicken. For  Pete Harman the owner of the restaurant, the addition of fried chicken was a way of differentiating his restaurant from competitors in Utah. A product hailing from Kentucky was unique and evoked imagery of Southern Hospitality. Don Anderson, a sign painter hired by Harman, coined the name Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Despite his concerted efforts to visit every restaurant and cook for them on the spot, he got rejected 1009 times before he got his first “yes” answer. He never gave up but  was persistent and showed resilience in the face of adversity. By 1964  at age of 74, Colonel Sanders had 600 franchises selling his trademark friend chicken. He then sold his KFC Corporation for $2million to a partnership of businessmen headed by John Y. Brown but he continued to collect franchise and appearance fees. He enjoyed his golden years and continued to live to the age of 90.  Colonel Harland David Sanders passed away on 16th December, 1980.

"There's no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can't do any business from there."

– Colonel Harland Sanders

SHORT STORY: The Rain Came

 

By Grace Ogot

(Please note that this short story by Grace Ogot has been further shortened for our readers)

 

 The atmosphere in the village was tense and confused. Every one moved aimlessly and fussed in the yard without actually doing any work. A young woman whispered to her co-wife, ''if they have not solved this rain business today, the Chief will crack''. They have watched him getting thinner and thinner as the people kept on pestering  him. ''our cattle lies  dying in the fields,'' they reported. ''Soon it will be our children and then ourselves. Tell us what to do to save our lives, oh great Chief. So the chief had daily pray with the Almighty through the ancestors to deliver them from their distress.

Instead of calling the family together and giving them the news immediately, Lambong'o went to his own hut, a sign that he was not  to be disturbed. Having replaced the shutter, he sat in the dimly lit hut to contemplate.  It was no longer a question of being the chief of hunger-stricken people that weighed Labong'o heart . it was the life of his only daughter that was at stake. At the time when Oganda came to meet him, he saw the glisttering chain shining around her waist. The prophecy was complete. ''it is Oganda, Oganda, my only daugther, who must die so young! Labong'o burst into tears before finishing the sentence.

The chief must not weep. Society had declared him the greatest of men. But Labong'o did not care any more. He assumed the position of a simple father and wept bitterly. He loved his people, the Luo, but what were the Luo for him without Oganda? Her life had brought a new life to Labong'o's world and he ruled better than he could remember. How would the spirit of the village survive his beautiful daughter? ''There are so many homes and so many parents who have daughters. Why choose this one? She is all I have.'' Labong'o spoke as if the ancestors were there in the hut and he could see them face to face. Perhaps they were there, warning him to remember his promise on the day he was enthroned when he said aloud before the elders, ''I will lay down my life , if necessary, and the life of my household to save this tribe from the hands of the enemy'', ''Deny! Deny!'' he could hear the voice of his forefathers mocking him.

Never in his life had he been faced with such an impossible decision.  Refusing to yield to the rainmaker's request would mean sacrificing the whole tribe putting the interest of the individual above those of  the society. More than that. It would mean disobeying the ancestors, and most probably wiping the Luo people from the face of the earth. On the other hand, to let Oganda die as a ransom for the people would permanently cripple Labong'o's spirituality. He knew he would never be the same chief again. The word of Ndithi, the medicine man, still echoes in his ears. ''Podho, the ancestor of the Luo, appeared to me in the dream last night, and he asked me to speak to the Chief and the people,'' Ndithi had said to the gathering of  tribesmen. ''A young woman who has  not known a man must die so that the country may have rain.

While Podho was still talking to me, I saw a young woman standing at the lakeside, her hands raised above her head. Her skin was as fair as the skin of a young deer in the wilderness. Her tall slender figure stood like a lonely reed at the river bank. Her sleepy eyes wore a sad look like that of a bereaved mother. She  wore a gold ring on her left ear, and glistering brass chain around her waist. As I still marveled at the beauty of this young woman, Podho told me, out of the women in this land, we have chosen this one. Let her offer herself as a sacrifice to the Lake monster! And on that day, the rain will come down in torrents. Let everyone stay at home on that day lest he be carried away by the floods.''

Outside there was a strange stillness, except for the thirsty birds that sang lazily on the dying trees. The blinding mid-day heat had forced the people to retire to their huts.

When Labong'o stood to address his house hold, his voice was hoarse and the tears choked him. He started to speak but, words refused to leave his lips. His wives and sons knew there was great danger. Perhaps their enemies had declared war on them. Labong'o's eyes were red and they could see he had been weeping. At last he told them. ''One whom we love and treasured must be taken away from us. Oganda must die''.
Labong'o's voice was so faint that he could not hear it himself. But he continued. ''The ancestors have chosen her to be offered as sacrifice to the lake monster in order that we may have rain.''

They were completely stunned. As a confused murmur broke out, Oganda's mother fainted and was carried off to her own hut. But the other people rejoiced. They danced around singing and chanting.
 Oganda is the lucky one to die for the people.
 If is to save the people, let Oganda go.

In her grandmother's hut Oganda wondered what the whole family was discussing about that she could not hear. Her grandmother's hut was well away from the chief's court and,  much as she strain her ears, she could not hear what was said. ''It must be marriage'', she concluded. It was an  acceptable custom for the family to discuss their daugther's future marriage behind her back. A faint smile played on Oganda's lips as she thought of the several young men who swallowed saliva at the mere mention of her name.

The lean figure in the door way startled Oganda who was rapt in thought about the man she loved. ''You frightened me, Grandma'', said Oganda laughing. ''Tell me, is it my marriage you were discussing? You can take it from me that I won't marry any of them.'' A smile played on her lips again. She was coaxing the old lady to tell her quickly, to tell her they were pleased with Osinda. In the open space outside the excited relatives were dancing and singing . They were coming to the hut now, each carrying gift to put at Oganda's feet As their singing got nearer Oganda was able to hear what they were singing:
 If it is to save the people, 
if it is to give us rain, 
let  Oganda go. 
Let Oganda die for her people, 
and for her ancestors.

Was she mad to think that they were singing about her? How could she die? She found the lean figure of her grandmother barring the door.. She could not get out. The look on her grandmother's face warned  her that there was danger around the corner. ''Mother, it is not marriage then.'' Oganda asked urgently.  She suddenly felt panicky like a mouse cornered by a hungry cat. Forgetting that there was only one door in the hut, Oganda fought desperately to find another exit. She must fight for her life. But there was none. She closed her eyes, leaped  like a wild tiger through the door knocking her grandmother flat on the ground. There outside in mourning garments, Labong'o stood motionless, his hands folded at the back. He took his daughter's hand and led her away from the excited crowd to the little red-painted hut where her mother was resting. Here he broke the news officially to his daughter.

For a long time the three of souls who loved one another dearly sat in darkness. It was no good speaking. And even if they tried, the words could not have come out. In the past they had been like three cooking stones, sharing their burdens. Taking Oganda away from them would leave two useless stones which would not hold a cooking pot.

News that the beautiful daughter of the Chief was to be sacrificed to give the people rain spread across the country like wind. At sunset the  chief's village was full of relatives and friends who had come to congratulate Oganda. Many more were on their way coming, carrying  their gifts. They would dance till morning to keep her company. And in the morning they would prepare her a big farewell feast. All these  relatives thought it a great honor to be selected by the spirit to die, in order that the society  may live. ''Oganda's name will always remain a living name among us,'' they boasted.

But was it maternal love that prevented Minya from rejoicing with other women? Was it the memory of her agony and pain of childbirth that made her feel so sorrowful or was it the deep warmth and understanding  tha passes between a suckling babe and her mother that made Oganda a part of her life, her flesh? Of course it was an honor, a great honor, for her daughter to be chosen to die for the country. But what could she gain once her only child was blown away by the wind?  There were so many other women in the land, why choose her daughter, her only child! Had human life any meaning at all - other women had houses full of children while she, Minya, had to lose her only child!

In the cloudless sky the moon shun brightly, and the stars glitters with bewitching beauty. The dancers of all age group assembled to dance before Oganda, who sat  close to her mother, sobbing quietly. All these years she  had been with her people she thought she understood them. But now she discovered that she was a stranger among them. If they loved her as they had always professed why were they not making any attempt to save her? Did her people really understand what it felt like to die young? unable to restrain her emotion any longer, she sobbed loudly as her age-group got up to dance. They were young and beautiful and very soon they would marry and have their own children. They would have husband to love and little huts for themselves. They would have reached maturity. Oganda touched the chain around her waist as she thought of Osinda. She wished Osinda were there too, among her friends. ''Perhaps he is ill', she thought gravely. The chain comforted Oganda. She would die with it around her waist and wear it in the underground world.

In the morning a big feast was prepared for Oganda. The women prepared many different dishes so that she could pick and choose. ''People don't eat after death,'' they said. Delicious though the foods looked, Oganda touched none of it. Let the happy eat. She contented herself with sips of water from a little calabash. The time for her departure was drawing near, and each minute was precious. It was a day's journey to the lake. She was to walk all night, passing through the great forest. But nothing could touch her, not even the denisens of the forest. She was already anointed with sacred oil. From the time Oganda received the sad news she had expected Osinda to appear any moment. But he was not there. A relative told her that Osinda was away on a private visit. Oganda realized that she would never see her beloved again.

In the afternoon, the whole village stood at the gate to say goodbye and to see her for the last time. Her mother wept on her neck for a long time. The great Chief in a mourning skin came to the gate barefooted, and mingled with the people - a simple father in grief. He took off his bracelet and put it on his daughter's wrist, saying, ''you will live among us. The spirit of our forefather is with you.'' Tongue-tight and unbelieving Oganda stood there before the people. She had nothing to say. She looked at her home once more. she could hear her heart beating so painfully within her. All her childhood plans were coming to an end. She felt like a flower nipped in the bud never to enjoy the morning dew again. She looked at her weeping mother and whispered, '''whenever you want to see me, always look at the sunset. I will be there.'' Oganda turned southwards to start her trek to the lake. Her parents , relatives, friends and admirers stood at the gate and watched her go. Her beautiful slender figure grew smaller and smaller till she mingled with the thin dry trees in the forest. As Oganda walked the lonely path that wound its way in the wilderness she sang a song, and her own voice kept her company.

The ancestors have said Oganda must die.
The daughter of the Chief must be sacrificed,
When the lake monster on my flesh,
The people will have rain.
Yes, the rain will come down in torrents.
And the floods will wash away.....

A strange feeling possessed Oganda as she picked her way in the sacred land. There were strange noises that often startled her, and her first reaction was to take to her heels. But she remembered that she had to fulfill the wish of her people. She was exhausted but the path was still winding. Then suddenly, the path ended on a sandy land. The water had retreated miles away from the shore leaving a wide stretch of sand. Beyond this was the vast expanse of water. Oganda  felt afraid. She wanted to picture the size and shape of the monster, but fear would not let her. The society did not talk about it, nor did the crying children who were silence by the mention of its name.

The sun was still up, but it was no longer hot. For a long time Oganda walked angle-deep in the sand. She was exhausted and longed desperately for her calabash of water. As she moved on, she had a strange feeling that something was following her. Was it the monster? Her hairs stood erect and a cold paralyzing feeling ran along her spine. she looked behind, sideways and in front, but there was nothing except a cloud of dust. Oganda pulled up and hurried but the feeling did not leave her, and her whole body became saturated with perspiration. The sun was going down fast and the lake shore seemed to move along with it.

Oganda started to run. She must be at the lake before sunset. As she ran she heard a noise coming from behind. She loooke back sharply, and something resembling a moving bush was frantically running after her. It was about to catch up with her. Oganda ran with all her strength. She was now determined to throw herself into the water before sunset. She did not look back but the creature was upon her. She made an effort to cry out, as in a nightmare, but she could not hear her own voice. The creature caught up with Oganda. In the utter confusion as Oganda came face to face with the unidentified creature, a strong strong hand grab her . But she fell flat on the sand and fainted.

When the lake breeze brought her back to consciousness, a man was bending over her. ''O...!'' Oganda opened her mouth to speak, but she had lost her voice. She swallowed a mouthful of water poured into her mouth by the stranger. ''Osinda, Osinda! please let me die, let me run, the sun is going down. Let me die. Let them have rain.'' Osinda fondled the glittering chain around Oganda's waist and wiped the tears from her face. ''We must escape quickly to the unknown land.'' Osinda said urgently. ''We must run away from the wrath of the ancestors and the retaliations of the monster.''

''But the curse is upon me, Osinda, I am no good to you any more. And moreover the eyes of the ancestors will follow us everywher and bad luck will befall us. Nor can we escape from the monster.''
Oganda broke loose, afraid to escape, but Osinda grab her hands again.
''Listen to me Oganda! Listen! Here are two coats! He  then covered the whole of Oganda's body, except her eyes, with a leafy attire made from the twigs of Bwombwe. ''These will protect us from the eyes of the ancestors and the wrath of the monster. Now let us run out of here.''
He held Oganda's hand and they ran from the sacred land avoiding the path that Oganda had followed.

The bush was thick and the long grass entangled their feet as they ran. Half way through the sacred land they stopped and looked back. The sun was almost touching the surface of the water. They were frightened. They continued to run, now faster, to avoid the sinking sun. ''Have faith, Oganda - that things will not reach us.''
When they reached the barrier and looked behind them trembling, only a tip of the sun could be seen above the water's surface. ''It is gone! It is gone" Oganda wept, hiding her face in her hands.
''Weep not , daughter of the great Chief. Let us run, let us escape.''

There was a bright lightening . They looked up, frightened. Above them black furious cloud started to gather. They began to run. Then the thunder roared, and the rain came down in torrents.