All posts by Admin
He Knows Your Breaking Point
Join the #GratitudeChallengeWithTFAJ
As we count down to the final moments of 2015, how about we do things differently this year? Instead of allowing the devil to throw you into despair by reminding of the things you didn’t “achieve” yet, let’s turn it around, shall we? I am challenging myself first and foremost, and then you to start a private #GratitudeJournal, and every day from November 24th till January 2nd 2016, please enter one thing you are extremely thankful for. #CountYourBlessings #SecretToGettingMore
Are you in? Use #GratitudeChallengeWithTFAJ and follow us on Facebook or Twitter so we can keep one another accountable. Remember, this is a private journal, so no need to post your notes publicly, just make sure you make entries in your #GratitudeJournal. You may however leave comments here to inspire others as well! Lets Go!
Letting Go: Part 2
This video is dedicated to my friend, brother, and the dear husband of my UKF sister. Your shocking transition to Allah was what Allah used to push me to make this video, to remind myself and others about letting go so we can live each moment on purpose.
My brother Kabiru, may Allah forgive and have mercy on you, amin.
To those who will watch this, I pray that God uses the words to nudge you towards your purpose in life, and that God uses it to remind you and I that life is short.
Ma-asalam
Letting Go: Part 1
My inbox, whatsapp and cell phone have been on overtime duties since I made and shared this video, which has gathered almost 6,000 views in 3 days. I am truly humbled by the trust of friends and complete strangers who have since shared their all too familiar struggles with me. I have barely posted anything on my Facebook page since Sunday (which is unlike me,) because I have been reflecting on all the conversations I have had with you, and it is your overwhelming response that has made me wake up this blog again today, Alhamdulillah. Over the next couple of weeks insha Allah, I will share my thoughts and the lessons I have learned about “letting go and letting God” through texts and videos. May God help you “hear” me better than the words I use, and may He make this a reminder for me as well because I always need it. So here we go with Part 1.
- You are not alone in this struggle to find your happy place. The human desire to pursue happiness is a life long struggle, which only ends when we die, but I am learning each day that happiness and wholeness only comes from within.
- Speak your truth. When I made the video, I asked people to share it, but I never in my wildest dreams imagined that it will have almost 6,000 views in less than 72 hours. (PS: If I had known, I would have worn some make up and “glammed” up very well, laughs!) We must learn to ask for big things, speak boldly, write and dream great things about ourselves without showing off or belittling others.
- “But Tope, I have been speaking my greatness about having a child, a job I like, a spouse that loves me, money to live better etc, but the mountain is not moving.” Yes, the human reaction is to give up, in fact some “religious” people will say you should let it go because maybe God hasn’t destined it to happen. Please don’t go there with them! Did they write your destiny? If you have been praying and speaking that truth forever, but it looks like nothing is happening, it is time to transition from being religious to being spiritual. Keep speaking your truth with firm belief that it will manifest, but take notes on your journey because it is part of your testimony. How will you help someone going through unemployment heal if you haven’t been there before? How will you “speak” about the loneliness of being single and the sadness of heartbreak and betrayal if you haven’t walked these roads? How will you sing “come and see what the Lord has done for me” like my Nigerian Christian friends if the journey is a walk in the park? Your current pain is not meant to break you, it is your internship for your successful Purpose Driven Life.
“But what if I hear from Him but refuse to obey?” No worries, If God favors you, He will push you. Case study – I was unemployed twice in 8 months in the thick of the 2009 recession. Yes, God pushed me twice and instead of being hurt, I was thrown into celebration. This and more coming up in Part 2 Insha Allah…
Please share with people you love, you never know who needs to hear this message now. May God bless you and make this journey easier for you and for me, Amin.
Ma-asalam!
You Are Invited: U.S. State Department
The Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, met with Diaspora Leaders at the State Department on Tuesday, June 30 2015. About 30 Diaspora leaders, including Yours Truly were invited to the beautiful State Department building to discuss and brainstorm on ideas for strengthening the impact of Diaspora in the implementation of US – Africa policy and programs. Those invited to attend represented a wide cross-section of stakeholders representing NGOs and Advocacy groups, private sector, faith-based organizations, and others. Melvin Foote, the President of the Constituency for Africa (CFA), served as the moderator. Mr. Foote was quite pleased with the meeting. Said Foote, “It is great that the Diaspora can have such an intimate discussion with the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs inside the State Department. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield truly understands the potential of the Diaspora in impacting in Africa, and wants to bring that talent to bear. We are already talking about follow-up discussions aimed at strengthening and deepening Diaspora engagement with Africa”!
Here is the message I sent to the amazing Ms. Nicole Peacock who organized the meeting:
“First of all, I will like to say a very big thank you for organizing the African/African Diaspora working group meeting with Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. I truly hope we can have this interaction with her and among ourselves at least once every quarter or at the very least twice a year. I think this type of group is what will ensure that the US-Africa policy is alive, that African change makers work together and most importantly that we can break this African immigrants vs. African-American divide that keeps holding us back. Since many of us feel the pulse of our communities back home, we are in good positions to informally advice the U.S. government through this interaction on policies that will truly benefit our communities. I can honestly go on and on about how much I gained in less than 2 hours especially the partnerships that I am now forming, but I am sure you get the point already.”
Some Photos from the event….
My Experience at the White House!
I was convinced the invitation was either fake or a mistake. Me? Invited to attend a briefing at the White House? What a big joke, I thought. But it turned out to be real. This morning, I joined about 30 other Africans in the diaspora for a very interesting discussion session with Senior White House officials about some of President Obama’s important initiatives.
I got the invitation on Saturday but my security check and attendance wasn’t confirmed until yesterday (Tuesday), so I kept it hush hush. Once confirmed, I had a new problem. What was I going to wear to the White House? Nothing in my closet seemed appropriate, uh! Thank God the Ann Taylor store at Union station in DC had this simple black and white dress on sale! Yeah, a black and white dress was just the symbol I needed – a black girl in the white house!
As you can imagine, I woke up extra early this morning. The invitation said to arrive at the White House Visitors entrance on 17th street at 8:30 AM. Unlike earlier this year when I attended an event at the U.S. congress, I wasn’t going to let any train delay mess this up. I arrived at the White House gate at 8:00 AM, swapped my flip flops for some high heels and got checked in with a big smile on my face! I am sure the secret service folks were like: “What is up with this one?!”
I feel highly honored that I was selected to be a part of this. To have the opportunity to hear from senior administration officials, and contribute to key issues such as immigration reform, the upcoming U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, Open data, agriculture and diaspora engagement makes me feel very privileged.
I knew there wouldn’t be a huge crowd at the event, not with all the security checks that had to be done within such a short time, but I wondered how I got on their “radar.” My answer came when I saw “Impact Africa” in front of my name on the guest list. Wow! someone at the White House found my show? You don’t want to know how excited this made me feel! But I did not know the excitement was about to increase because I was going to come face to face with previous Impact Africa guests, who had joined the show via skype/phone. I was excited to meet the inspiring Chris Ategeka of CA Bikes (listen to his episode here), Okendo Lewis Gayle, Founder & Chairman of Harambe entrepreneur Alliance, who has built the strongest coalition of Africans with the brightest and boldest business ideas (listen to his episode here). I also met the most hardworking activist and champion of immigrant causes, Amaha Kassa, the founder & executive director of African Communities together (listen to his and Vienna Mbagaya’s episode here).
It was great to hear key issues from the horses’ mouths and give ideas on how we want the U.S. to engage Africa, but I have to say the best part of the event was the opportunity to network with some of Africa’s best and brightest inside The White House. I applaud the organizers for deliberately creating a networking opportunity on the agenda. I met so many wonderful people, made some serious connections and had the opportunity to sow seeds for future Impact Africa episodes: Decker Ngongang, Echoing Green; Kadiatou Diallo, President of The Amadou Diallo Foundation, who made me start humming Wyclef’s Diallo Diallo song in my head as soon as she introduced herself; Brian Kwesiga, President of Ugandan North American Association; MLK Service award recipient, Dwight Bachman from Eastern Connecticut State University; Co-Founder of the wonderful Moremi Initiative, Mawuli Dake; Beautiful Mrs. Mariam Coquillat, President of Action for Education, who is now officially my aunty from Cote D’ivoire; I am particularly glad that I met Eric Sheppard, President of Diversity Restoration Solutions, who I plan to collaborate with on a huge project that will take African Americans back to Africa, stay tuned to Impact Africa for details. I am also glad I met the respected and dedicated friend of Africa, Mr. Melvin Foote, President & CEO of Constituency for Africa. And you know an amazing event like this is not complete without powerful Nigerians! So I was not surprised when I met Orobosa Owie, the African Affairs Committee director at the UN foundation.
Big thanks to Heather Foster, Jonta Williams, Tseha Abebe and indeed everyone at the White House Office of Public Engagement for organizing this awesome event, I look forward to many more.
Today is another proof that God’s promise in Q19:57 is real, and also strong proof that Impact Africa has a big role and a space to occupy in this global African discussion, and I intend to claim it boldly with God’s help.
God Bless Africa, God Bless America and God bless you all!
The 6 Crazy Folks and Their Tipsy Driver
They had to take a bus that night, spending another night in the station was not an option. They soon began arguing about which of the three vans to board, this is normal with this group. They spend so much time arguing and fighting one another. So much so that folks wonder why they still insist on traveling and working together. “How hard can it be? If you can’t love and respect one another, bring something to the table and be fair, why don’t you all go your separate ways,” people tell them. But those people don’t understand, these 6 crazy fighters are hooked on the same drug and they are dependent on each other. Their children have inter-married, they are tenants and landlords to one another, and they have robbed one another. Let’s just say is a complicated mess!
But hey I digressed. Back to the motor park….eventually they picked Mr. Save Me oh God’s (SMOG) bus because 1 of the men knows him from Church, another feels some kinship ties to him, 2 couldn’t care less as long as they had comfortable seats in the rickety looking van, the last 2 folks were outnumbered so they had to go along. So off they went to the amazement and shock of onlookers and other drivers in the station who kept yelling, screaming and predicting their impending crash along the way.
SMOG didn’t make any promises, so no disappointment here: he didn’t use his seat belt, slept to the point of snoring at times, placed one hand on the steering and the other was texting away on his cell phone. He picked up and dropped conductors along the way, in short there was no method to his madness. The two passengers who vehemently opposed the choice of SMOG kept complaining angrily as they journeyed on, the ones who couldn’t care less fought them for complaining without providing any alternatives, they instead resorted to praying and fasting for everyone’s safety. The ones from his church and hometown thought everyone else was insane for daring to complain about SMOG, the best driver in town, hands down!
But SMOG wasn’t fazed by all the noise, he was just being himself. One mile to their destination, as usual, they were arguing about whether or not to get another van and driver for the second leg of their journey, next thing they got to a dead-end: a broken bridge and nothing but a sea of water laid ahead. Everyone was asking SMOG how come he didn’t anticipate this and find another path to their destination. At first he denied there was any water in front of him, and his kinsman and fellow congregation member agreed. “What do you mean there is no road ahead, where are you seeing the water? You all just make stuff up because you never liked SMOG from the onset” They yelled! There was so much commotion in the van, it was unreal. As the 6 folks fought and yelled, SMOG kept driving towards the sea. “Yay! Arghhhh!!! No! Jesus! Allah! Why?! Oh no! We are dead oh! Somebody help us oh!!! Don’t let us die like this oh!” Everyone was screaming and yelling on top of their voices. The entire village soon heard their voices, it was clear something was happening, and it didn’t sound good at all. The other drivers who had been shunned in the motor park kept reminding everyone that they predicted this doom but strangely didn’t really mention the alternative route SMOG should have taken.
What happened next couldn’t be more shocking………….
God Bless Nigeria!