Latiff was the poorest
beggar of the village. Every
night he slept in the hall of a
different house, in front of
the town square.
Every day he had a short
rest under a different tree,
with a widespread hand and
a far away look in his
thoughts. Every evening he
would eat the alms or the
crusts that some charitable
person brought over to him.
Without embargo, in spite of
his aspect and the way his
days happened, Latiff was
considered by all to be the
wisest man of town, perhaps
not so much because of his
intelligence, but by what he
had lived.
One sunny morning the king
appeared in the square,
surrounded by his guards,
walking between the fruits
and trinkets looking for
nothing.
Laughing at the merchants
and at the buyers, the king
and his entourage almost
stumbled over Latiff, who
was dozing in the shade of a
holm oak. Someone told the
king that he was in front of
the poorest of his subdits,
but also in front of one of
the most respected men
because of his knowledge.
The king, entertained,
approached the beggar and
said to him, “If you answer
my question, I will give you
this golden coin.”
Latiff looked at it, almost
contemptuously, and said to
him, “You can keep your
coin, what will I do with it
anyway? What is your
question?”
The king felt defied by the
response and instead of a
banal question, he asked a
question that was bothering
him for days and that he
could not solve; a problem of
goods and resources that
analysts had not solved for
him.
Latiff’s response was wise
and creative. The king was
surprised; he left the coin at
the feet of the beggar and
continued on his way to the
market, pondering the
events.
The next day he came back
directly to where Latiff was
resting; this time under an
olive grove. Again the king
posed a question and again
Latiff answered it rapidly and
wisely. The king was
surprised again at so much
intelligence. In a humble act,
he took off his sandals and
sat in front of Latiff.
“Latiff, I need you”, the king
said to him. “I am
overwhelmed by the
decisions that as king I must
make. I do not want to harm
my people and neither do I
want to be an evil king. I ask
you to come to the palace to
be my adviser. I promise you
that you should not fear at
all, that you will be respected
and that you will be able to
leave whenever you want…
Please.”
Whether it was out of
compassion, for service or
for surprise, Latiff, after
thinking a few minutes,
accepted the proposal of the
king.
That same evening Latiff
came into the palace, where
immediately a luxurious room
was assigned to him. The
room was close to the king’s
room and had a tub filled with
essences and lukewarm
water waiting for him.
During the following weeks
the consultations with the
king became habitual. Every
day, in the morning, and in
the evening, the monarch
ordered his new adviser to
consult him on the problems
of the kingdom, on his own
life or on his spiritual doubts.
Latiff always answered with
clarity and precision and
became the favourite
speaker of the king. Three
months after his arrival,
there wasn’t any decision
made by the monarch without
consulting his valued
adviser first.
Obviously this unleashed the
jealousy of all the other
advisers. They saw in the
beggar a threat against their
own influences.
One day all of the advisers
asked for a private hearing
with the king. Very
circumspect and with gravity
they said to him, “Your
friend Latif, as you call him,
is conspiring to demolish
you.”
The king said, “I cannot
believe it.”
“You can confirm it with your
own eyes”, they said. “Every
evening, at about five
o’clock, Latiff slinks away
from the palace up to the
south wing and he enters a
dark room. He meets with
someone undercover, we do
not know with whom. We
have asked him where he
was going all these
evenings. He gave us
evasive answers. His
attitude alerted us to his
conspiracy.”
The king felt defrauded and
hurt. He had to confirm these
versions.
That evening, at five o’clock,
he was waiting for Latiff
under the stairs. He saw
Latiff come to the door and
look all around, with the key
hanging from his neck. He
opened the wooden door and
slinked secretly into the
room.
“Did you see him?” The other
advisers shouted. “You saw
him?”
Followed by his personal
guard, the monarch struck
the door.
“Who is it?” Latiff asked from
the inside.
“I am the King” he said,
“Open the door to me.”
Latiff opened the door. There
was nobody inside, except
Latiff. No other doors or
windows, no secret doors or
any furniture where someone
could hide.
Inside the room, there was
only a worn out wooden
plate; in a corner, a walking
stick and in the center of the
room a shabby tunic hanging
by a hook in the roof.
“Are you conspiring against
me Latiff?” the King asked.
“How could I, your Majesty?”
Latiff answered. “No way.
Why would I do that? Only
six months ago, when I first
came here, the only thing
that I had was this tunic, this
plate and this walking stick.
Now I feel so comfortable in
the clothes that I wear, I feel
so comfortable with the bed
that I sleep in, I am so
flattered by the respect that
you give me and so
fascinated by the power you
allow me… to be close you …
that I come here every day
to touch this old tunic to
make sure that I do
Remember…
WHO I AM AND WHERE I CAME
FROM.
True:
We must never forget who
we are and where we come
from; life turns and we can
always return to the same
place.
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
Sitting under the warmth of the noon day’s sun
Flavored with the sweet ardor of the day’s breeze
My mind cogitates on things that give me joy
I reflect on my state of being and my achievements
Which arouse my amour-propre
I cast my mind also on my motherland
And my confidence got elevated
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
Nigeria a giant among its peers
Its inhabitants are unique in their diversity
From her womb come great men to this world
Men like Achebe the man of the people
Soyinka the lion that won the heart of the literary world
Gimba the great mandarin whose sun still shines
And more, and more countless
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
A land where milk and honey flows abundant
I hail my people
Great people in a great land
Great people with content and joy
The world’s happiest people
Even in their sufferings, smiles litter their faces
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
A land with countless mineral resources
From the coal in Enugu
To the crude oil in Bayelsa
From the salt in Sokoto
To the gold in Ilesha
And numerous other minerals
I pride myself in my country
My motherland rich in agriculture and human resources
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
I think of the Nigerian man
Colored like honey
Strong and firm like the timber
Hardworking and resourceful like the ant
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
I think of the Nigerian woman
With her proud honey skin that glitters under the sun
Her black long hair; beauty of its kind
I think of her caring heart and her loving spirit
Oh! What beauty the world have seen
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
My motherland, rich in her folklore and oral tradition
I reflect on the lore of the creation of the earth by olodumare
I remember the lore of the mother kite and how the tortoise has a cracked back
I also remembered the baiajjida legend
Our traditional songs makes even the firmest of trees display its dancing art
The rhythmic movements of our dances seduces even the hardest of spirits
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
Rich in culture
Beautiful in tradition
Our diversity is our stronghold
Nigeria whose nomenclature is from nature
The nature of the life flowing River Niger
Her beautiful flag represents her purity and fertility
Her magnificent coat of arm represents her power immerse
Her strength immeasurable
Her unity in diversity
Her dignity that stand her out
Her fertile land of abundant food
OH! NIGERIA MY PRIDE
I think of the Nigerian mother
She will not eat until her child has eaten
She will not sleep until her child has slept
“Oh Mama I no go forget you“
I think of the Nigerian father
He works tirelessly to put a smiling face on his wife and child
“Oh papa thank you“
I respect Nigeria
I am proudly Nigerian
Nigeria a home for all
Our hospitality is immerse
Our friendliness is unlimited even other nations attest to this
In our splendor and greatness our humility is abysmal
NIGERIA MY PRIDE
I am a proud Nigerian and I daily express gratitude to the Almighty for making me a Nigerian.
Joy is in us not in things
Most humans are really just
sleep walking through their
lives. Society tells us that if
we have this car, we are
somehow better than
another, that if we live in
this type of home we are
somehow better than
another. If we have this type
of clothes, again, we are
somehow better.
But the real story is that the
woman or man is doing all
this to be liked.
I just bought this car. Do you
like me now?
I just bought this house. Do
you like me now?
I just bought this Hugo Boss
suit, this outfit. Do you like
me now?
If we really think about
it, we just want to be
liked. From the executive to
the janitor, we just want to
be liked. We are all
struggling!
It makes one ask questions
of who they like and why
they like them?
It should be the person
inside, that something about
them. It’s not what their
assets are; rather their
asset is who they are.
Each of us, every
person, has a wonderful
story in them. Truly. We
are all children of God. At
times we just need to stop,
reflect, and perhaps quit
running from ourselves.
It’s interesting; so many
people are trying to find God.
Many get involved in a
religion only to jump to
another. In a lot of cases
they are not looking for God
at all. Many are joining
nothing dis-similar than a
gym or a club, per say. They
just want to be around
people that perhaps have a
similar interest. Or mostly
just to feel like they belong.
Most of our lives it is just
that. We just want to
belong! To be liked,
needed, or be loved! We
just need to be truly honest
with ourselves and question
our purpose in each thing we
do. That God is in each of us,
not something to go
searching for, but searching
within ourselves. And in that
lies the answer.
Each of us holds a
beautiful story only to
be told. We are all
capable of the most
beautiful things.
The mind is a very powerful
organ. Albert Einstein stated
that we only use 10% of the
brain. I was a young child
when I read that. I thought it
was a typo or just me and
my dealing with my learning
disorder.
But I never forgot it and now
years later, I understand.
Most people don’t want
to think. Thomas Edison
wrote: “Five percent of the
people think, 10 percent of
the people think they think,
and the other 85 percent
would rather die than think.”
We are conditioned in
ways from media/
society not to think. We
are banged and banged over
the head from ads and media
to be this and that and not to
think.
Mother Teresa once said:
“One of the greatest
diseases is to be nobody to
anybody.”
We need to stop and
take ownership of our
lives. To realize and
accept that happiness
isn’t in possessions. In
us, lies the happiness.
When we realize this, one
has another type of life; a
calm, a peace, a joy. A life
that we never thought was
possible.
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