There’s been a lot of talk lately about “Occupy Nigeria.” The problem with protests, in my humble opinion, is that it gives lazy people an excuse to be stupid. With all the protesting, the picture-taking, the concerts, and the crazyness, the true message gets lost. Yes people are frustrated. Yes people are upset. Yes things have gotten really bad in Nigeria, to the extent that many Nigerians living abroad are afraid to come back…and if you’ve ever experienced a riot (which I have), you will know that riots often harm the people more than it solves problems. There are many people who are passionate about the cause, but there are many more people looking for opportunities to loot and destroy and cause problems just because they feel like everyone else owes them…

This leads me to Stanley.

The words I can use to describe Stanley are Visionary, Dedicated, Entrepreneurial, Serious, Smart, Professional etc.

Quite frankly, I believe he is a brand to watch out for in the nearest future. I am glad I met him. – Onaivi Dania

I met Stanley (via facebook) over a year ago now, and I’ve had the great opportunity to follow his career, ask him a few questions and learn about him. See while others may be looting and trying to figure out from whom they can steal or why everyone should feel sorry for them, Stanley is out there trying to accomplish thing. It’s always interesting talking to him because his head is full of ideas. He is brilliant, talented, motivated and passionate…and oh did I mention brilliant…yeah that man is brilliant. It’s like he breathes software engineering, or maybe he dreams about it and then creates it in his sleep (websites, expense management systems, crowdsourcing platforms etc.)

His latest project is Ideas2020:

We are pleased to introduce IDEAS2020, an online platform for crowd sourcing innovative ideas from citizens towards achieving Nigeria’s Vision 2020. These ideas will be community based micro-projects realizable with maximum of N500,000. We invite you to visit the site at www.ideas2020.com.

Stanley would describe himself as a “ Technology Strategist” and an “IT enthusiast” who values “ Trust, Truth, Intelligence, Initiative and Beauty.” But I will simply describe him as inspirational and passionately brilliant (okay, I think I said that already).

Anyway, see the thing that inspires me the most about Stanley is that he wasn’t born into a privileged family, he grew up in a village where he wasn’t even encouraged to dream big dreams.

For me, i really didn’t have great plans when i was much younger because nothing in the village i grew up from inspired us to reach out for greatness. I just wanted to have money, drive good cars that i see sometimes on TV etc.

So here is Stanley doing what he can to change the lives of one person at a time and eventually change his country and his whole continent…

And of course it’s not easy, the Nigerian infrastructure (or lack of infrastructure) does not support small businesses, he had to shut down various dreams because he couldn’t financially support them, he has been robbed at gun point, he has been duped and cheated by people where they refused to pay him after he has done all the work, he has uprooted himself, just so he can accomplish his dreams…and yet he continues…

So what is your excuse?

Is Nigeria going to make it through this craziness…you bet it will. But it will not  come from those people who are looking for an excuse to destroy and steal. It will come from people like Stanley who protest every day of their lives by challenging the status quo, dreaming big, and accomplishing great things!

Go on Stanley…we’re all rooting for you!

Make sure you stop by Stanley’s site and let him know what you think: Ideas2020

The Death of Manhood | iyasostuff.com.

A post I wrote last year

Letter to a Grieving Family.

Author: Stefan Swanepoel

MUST HAVE BOOK TO TAKE ON A TRIP TO THE JUNGLES OF AFRICA!

For those of you planning a trip to the jungles of Africa – this book is for you, for those NOT planning a trip – this book will probably be more useful to you!

Why? Well we need to learn the secrets of surviving in this jungle of life, and Mr. Swanepoel (I wonder how you pronounce his name?) has provided us with Seven amazing secrets that we can learn from jungle animals…

What can we learn from the animals? (you might ask)

So much. My favorite is the “Enduring Wildebeest.”

Why? Well…we may not be amazingly brilliant, or drop-dead-gorgeous-blindingly-good-looking, but one thing we can do is endure…and guess what? Those who endure usually win!

Pick up the book and learn the 7 skills to surviving the jungles of AFRICA…I mean the jungles of life (please forgive me for getting so easily carried away!)

Until next time.

* yeah yeah…you know the drill, Thomas Nelson provided me with this book for free…and I reviewed the book for millions of dollars…ahem I meant for free.

Romans 1: 32 So even though we know that sin is wrong, and sin produces death, for some reason we continue enjoying the sin, and having pleasure in those that commit these sins.

My favorite shows on TV are filled with premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality, strife, anger, gossiping, all sorts of evil things, but for some reason I think at least they are not as bad as others…

Some of my former favorite fornication, adultery and strife shows/movie…

• When did it become okay for FRIENDS to sleep with each other just because?
• Why did we take God’s WILL & GRACE for granted?
• Who says just because you don’t have sex before JUMPING THE BROOM, but you do everything but sex, that all of a sudden you are pleasing God?

Romans 1: 28-31 Because they chose not to accept God’s truth, God let them live in the filth they wanted to live in, he let them think what they wanted to think. And when I choose not to accept God’s truth, he lets me live with the consequences, He is gracious, but he is not forceful.

When filled with our own way, we desire premarital sex, to be mean and nasty, we are full of anger, full of jealousy and envy, always arguing, always gossiping, always proud, selfish, always thinking about ourselves, having no mercy for others, having no respect for our parents, always thinking of ways to invent evil things to destroy others (porn!!!), we don’t keep our promises, we don’t understand God’s word and we are never satisfied.

Oh my word! Thank God for Jesus!

Romans 1: 26-27 Because they chose to worship nature instead of God, because they decided they would do whatever they wanted to do with their bodies, God gave them up to vile affections, the women wanted women, and the men wanted men, which was unnatural.

Vile: