Standing Tall

We stand tall because we stand on the shoulders of those that came before us
-------------Yoruba Proverbs

I am presently working on doing a self-exploratory analysis. I am trying to point out what went into making me who I am, NOW. The steps I took involved:

1. Creating a table with three column
   
2. Thinking of everything that makes me ME and list under the heading "Individual Component"; they include my name, languages spoken, clothes you wear, music you like, food you eat, your home, relationship with your friends, your job, education, your hobbies, political deposition, sexual orientation, culture. These has been listed on the first row
   
3. The 2nd column has been named the "Sense Affected". It will be a cluster of all my "Individual Components" into the senses the affect (all the five sense plus, the general act of speaking "speech", "sexual", "mood" and "orientation").
4. The last column would now reflect the resources employed towards providing that Components that make me ME.

This is how far I have been able to go.

Individual Component		Sense Affected		Resources Employed
My name - Seyi Osinowo		Speech		The English & Yoruba Language
				Parent
				Grand Parents
				Societal Status
				Culture
Sexual Preference		Sexual		Peer pressure
		Taste		Access to media information
		Smell		Society's concept of sexual beauty
		Sight		Genetic disposition
		Touch
		Hearing

Developing this report is quite complex due to the limited abilities of applied metrics to quantify every single aspect of the human experience. A full report will deviate from the point of this article.
Explore this; how did we get here? How am I able to communicate ideas and present these issues to you? Making sense over the internet requires a range of professional advisory from fields to include:

1. Software engineers
2. Computer programmers
3. Hardware engineers
4. Business analysts
5. Wireless technologists
6. Lawyers
7. Economists
8. Finance specialists
9. Teachers
10. Me (obviously)
    

The aspect here evaluated is the resources employed. Many people came together to make my present experience a reality. While a man sat under a tree trying to grapple the concept of gravity, another man was persecuted because he stated that the earth is round. All these combined efforts has been gathered by physical and mental systems towards defending our rights to survive within the environment we conceptualized.

As humans today, the knowledge economy is our strength. The future that is path dependent; implying that it depends on our collective effort in developing a reasonable today. All previous efforts, when effectively applied, should work at driving the senses of possible consumers towards being able to produce value that syncs with the overall objective of our the society. In other word, long term success depends on how sharp our collective senses are. More importantly, these sense should be aligned with the overall society's objective.

I strongly doubt the level of alignment and sharpness of our collective senses. Why, is a topic for another day.

My Newspaper Man

In the simplest form, Capitalism is the survival of the fittest

Donatus (not his real name) has been selling newspaper even before we moved to Omole Estate (in 1995). Everyday when I pass by, I cannot help but wonder, who is Donatus?Does he enjoy being a newspaper man? Sometime i want to stop and ask him but such conversations could position me for unwarranted requests on funds transfer (and I personally am not that keen on such information).

But just as a mental exercise, I cannot help but wonder how life being him is. As human we have our little habits, ways of doing things that makes us uniquely ourselves. His presence is such that he has become a permanent fixture in the Omole morning landscape come rain, sun and all the holidays taken in Nigeria.
I tend to wonder the size of his market (in terms of profit returns) as his "lucrative" business has created competitior. There are over three newspaper seller located at strategic points across my estate.To me, understanding Donatus gives insight into the Nigerian struggle. Suffering and Smiling without knowing it.

I sometimes think they are a different species entirely. Just think about this questions. I mean really think about these questions in the context of their livelihood. How is life being a newspaper man?
1.What is his perception of a lucrative business?
He earns an average of =N=10 per item sold. Assuming he sells 60 Newspaper. That is a profit of =N=600 per day; about $5
2. Does he love his jobs?
3. Beyond becoming a newspaper man, is there a career progression path in view?
3. What is his work-life balance?
4. Is he married?
5. Is he the perfect husband to his wife?
6. Are they happy?
7. Do they express their love they way we do?
8. What is a holiday to them like (because I see him in the on the street everyday)?
9. What are their day to day challenges?
I have seen him on the phone a couple of times (hands on the red button ready to cut the line.. I think he was flashing).
10. Does he have friends?
11. What jobs do they do?
12. How/where do they hang out?
13. Do they have "Recharge card" girls that disturb them daily, and who are they?
14. When they hang out what do they talk about, and find funny?

Behind that embodiment of a newspaper man is someone just like me. The failure of our welfare system has placed him in a position where his views are neglected and people over look what value he adds to our general life experiences; aiding smooth transfer of information.

Simply life

One thing that is similar amongst all humans, is the quest to be different
Mr C

It was fun hanging out with the fisherman on their boats some swimming distance away from the seashore. These Fanti locals have another perspective of living different from what I can envisage. They work everyday. The end of the day is spent gathering spoils and enjoying the little life has to offer. Some guy on dreadlocks sold weed on a boat. The other guys chatted about family, extramarital affairs and their business partners. A guy was in a distance having his shower and counting fishes caught at the same time. Ladies of the night came around to hang with them (these girls where shabbily dressed with wrappers and some had very dirty bras; I think in these environment that look is generally sexy). The aroma of Kente and other Ghanaian food filled the air. In normal times I would have found the smell repulsive. But this moment was spiritual; engaging with another civilization as they experienced life at it best.

[Question: How I did I get here? Bored out of my brains in Lagos, I took a trip to Ghana on my own, as all my fake friend had other commitments (I know you guys are reading this and yes I still haven't forgiven any of you. My thoughts will come out one day). I took a trip to Ghana to explore what the whole hype is all about. From Accra I took a trip to Cape Coast. Kofi was my taxi driver who found a hotel that way alright. I hung out with him that night as my options where very limited. And that was me but the sea shore with the Fanti fishermen, enjoying our God given rights to exist]

To the people of the Fanti region, this is life. The boundaries of their existence is contained in this. Their pains joys and moments they share is all contained within the here, by the Cape Coast Castle.

It makes me reflect and think about life, its purpose and hidden meanings we have not yet figured out. The Western World (or bad copies of it, e.g. Lagos) requires high testosterones and balls for basic survivals. Fueled by a mixture of paranormal drives, "the quest", pushes our society into the rat race struggle we presently live in.
But truthfully, life demands are basic. Food, water, sex, shelter, clothing and a sense of belonging. Simple receipt for happiness.

What I wonder about is how all these excesses came into being, and their purpose in achieving basic life objectives.
We still have a long way to go.....