ON EGC’S NOMINATION IN OYAA AWARDS

Usually, I’m not the kind of person who gets excited at any opportunity to compete for anything. I’d rather let someone else take it, even if undeserving, and wait till the subject of contention comes to me itself. But ever since this creativity in me got discovered my hitherto way of closing two eyes to anything called ‘contend’ has been modified to closing one and opening the other. That may be because it is widely believed that writers who win competitions are more reckoned with than those who don’t. Nevertheless, till date, the only two areas where I found myself contending for anything are in Nigerian Blog Awards (is that really to contend? Ok, let’s take it that way) and Common Wealth Short Story prize. Well, I have been nominated twice in Nigerian Blog Awards, but ‘no show yet’ in the latter.

Just few days ago, I was told by organizers of Online Youths Achievement Awards (OYAA) that my other blog, EGC, made it to final stage and has been nominated in Best Online Media on Literature Category. God knows, I’ve never even heard of the awards before that day. One would think I’d be excited; well, I was initially until I remembered a statement made online and directed to Melvin, a Nigerian who got to the finals of Big Brother Africa (BBA, The Chase) and didn’t win the 1^st Prize. It goes thus:

“Melvin: runner up ultimate search, runner up Mr Nigeria, Now runner up BBA, somebody is chasing your destiny just keep running.”

Remembering how I have been nominated to the final selection twice in Nigerian Blog Awards and not clinching the prize, I felt a little like doubting Thomas for my blog. But because the organizers mailed me to inform my friends and fans to vote me to win, I decided to give it a shot anyway. When I told the first friend to Vote me she said, 

“That’s how you will be getting nominations for different awards but not winning! Me, I am tired of voting you o! I’m not voting!” 

My morale was murdered instantly!

Even up till now, I’m not sure if my moral has been resurrected or I will tell people to vote my blog anymore... but, well, I get this too could do sha. If you would like to resurrect my moral, please vote EGC in OYAA awards ‘Best Online Media on Literature' category. Thanks and here is the link: http://oya-awards.com/vote

 

EGC: 31 DAYS OF POETRY- DAY 16- DREAM- by Enigmatic Olumide

EGC: 31 DAYS OF POETRY- DAY 16- DREAM- by Enigmatic Olumide:

In my dreams I saw you

In the morning, even at dawn

You were the prayer I said at bed times

Any other dream would make my furious times

How I longed to see you again

After you looked back and winked a goodbye

Yes, we met at the club in Ikeja

But  your demeanor makes you a Church girl

Like the girl I dated while in school

You treat me so nice I kept asking for more

Any other girl never came so close

If only I see them, I hate them when you come

Had I hesitated when I saw you again

Maybe I’d write this poem for a stage play

With me as the director or sitting as a guest

Now though I sit here I see me in this play

The beautiful moments were never mine to taste

Even at night you give me no way

Cuddling the pillow and screaming in your dream

Now I’ve found out he was the man in your dream

He came by last night to drop you a note

I couldn’t wait for him to leave so I could see it all

It was a DNA test and my son was his

I couldn’t believe my eyes but I had to act fast

When I woke up in the hospital my body ached

I guess that man must have beaten me so bad

But then I thought back and recalled the dream

My wife was right there relaying what the doctor said

Enigmatic Olumide Bisiriyu is a multi-gifted fellow who discovered his love for Poetry/writing early enough. He writes Poetry, Fiction, Songs, Acts stage drama, and has been featured in some films. Though he has been writing since he was in Primary school (just for fun), he started keeping record of his poems in 1999. He started Spoken word/performance poetry while in school, at a Redeemed Christian Fellowship conference, in year 2004. Little wonder he has performed more of Christian/faith based/inspirational poetry than secular poetry. He has performed at events such as Celebrity Read, Chill n Relax, Word Up, Artmosphere, book presentation of ‘If Yu Hie Se A De Prizin’, ‘Epistle of Sex’, ‘Echoes in the Web’, Poetry of love, etc. His performances cut across various states in Northern and Western Nigeria, in Creative gatherings, book presentations, and Churches. In 2011, he was a founding member of a poetry group who performs in churches under an umbrella called CODE. He also goes on an annual Poetry Tour of Churches; an event organized by Order- a network he coordinates.

    Olumide was the first NYSC member to publish a book in north-west Nigeria and the second member in entire northern Nigeria (according to National Library of Nigeria). His blog, The Enigmatic, was nominated twice in the Nigerian Blog Awards as Most Inspirational and Best Personal in year 2011 and 2012 respectively. He is the CEO of EGC, a company he formed to participate in the promotion of fellow creative people. Aside creativity, he works as a Real Estate Professional. To find more about him please visit The Enigmatic Website.

EGC: 31 Days Of Poetry- Day 23- I CAN HEAR A SONG- by Enigmatic Olumide

EGC: 31 Days Of Poetry- Day 23- I CAN HEAR A SONG- by Enigmatic...: Sounds of despair beats like bata, Making me want to dance till I exhaust my steps, But I can hear a song...

Have you seen my poem on 31 Days of Poetry? Click the link above to see.

Also please remember to Vote this blog in Nigerian Blog Awards 2012 as 'Best Personal Blog'. Click here to Vote   

Jah Bless.

Performing I Can Hear A Song with my wife @ a Praise Concert in September 2012

African Praise 4...

Hi,

Been a while huh?

Well, you know I should be on the moon by now, but this writer/creative part of me just wouldn't allow. So I arrived Lagos on Saturday morning by 12:00Am to witness a church event tagged African praise season 4. No thanks to Ibadan hold-up and my fella in the church who kept calling that I should arrive friday night and bring EGC video gadgets to cover the event.

African Praise is a concert where different ethnic choirs perform in a competition during a church service. It is an annual event organized by RCCG Pillar of The Truth Parish (Badore-AJah). It also has guest performances/ministrations such as Footprints of David, Tope Hallelujah, Mc Abbey, Emma Oh my God from Wazobia fm, etc. *Laughing* Guess you already know I performed Poetry with my wife too. Anyway, here are some of the pictures:

 

Footprints of David ministering

Reggae Band took 3rd place in the competition

Tope Hallelujah and his Chef crew at the event

EGC crew recording main shots the video

Hausa choir took 2nd place in the competition

Enigmatic Olumide performing Poetry with his wife

Efik choir, the defending champion, became 1st placed choir again

Singers of tomorrow hustling to grab the microphone

31 DAYS OF POETRY... Intro to 2012 Edition

Hi people,

Last year I did a 31 Days daily post of Poetry on my facebook wall and I bet if you were aware of it you would agree with me that it was fun. The high point for me then were the messages I got when (due to some tight schedule) I missed a day (Did I just say a day? I missed another one!). I never knew people were reading it that much! Since then Some friends have been asking when the 2012 Edition of 31 Days of Poetry will come. Lol.

Here it comes... Ladies and Gentlemen, fasten your "heartbeats" as I present to you the 2012 edition of 31 Days of Poetry.

This year, it's going to be done in a different way: It's not going to be done on facebook, it's going to be on a blog I created to contribute to the works of fellow Talented people called EGC. And most importantly, it's going to be 31 DAYS OF POETRY From various Nigerian Poets!

But before then, click to enjoy 31 Days of Poetry done in year 2011.

Day 1- One Fire
Day 2- In The Sand Of Time
Day 3- Mission Impossible
Day 4- Checkmate
Day 5- I Can Hear A Song
Day 6- Magical
Day 7- Soldier Go Soldier Come
Day 8- The Battle Within
Day 9- My 5050 Girl
Day 10- I Still See
Day 11- The Thin Red
Day 12- Inner Chambers Of Love
Day 13- Phone Call
Day 14- ...Well, the first day I missed. :(
Day 15- Teach Me How To Love You
Day 16- A Price To Die For
Day 17- Poetic Window
Day 18- Kissing On The Alter
Day 19- Carve Me A Wife
Day 20- The Point Of No Return
Day 21- The Last day I missed. :(
Day 22- Nobody
Day 23- To The Ones We Lost
Day 24- Tear Me Apart
Day 25- Smooth Criminal
Day 26- Kiss Me Again
Day 27- The Wind Of Love
Day 28- Worship
Day 29- Legend
Day 30- Writer's Passion
Day 31- The End

THIRTY THINGS ABOUT ME ON MY... BIRTHDAY!

A friend of mine once said, “A writer has no secret...” and really that statement makes me wonder if I should do this or not. But this weekend (22^nd October) I will be hitting my 30^th birthday and I want to do something different. Even up till this moment I’m pondering if I should post this note or not, but if I did, it means you are seeing 30 personal things about me on my 30^th birthday: Here we go...

1. I am a writer... I guess you know that already.
2. My childhood ambition was to become a soldier (military intelligence unit to be precise)
3. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than the presence of God
4. I am an Estate Surveyor
5. Had a 7 track musical album in 2004 that had some airplay in RayPower, Premier fm, and one Abuja station
6. I focus more on acting and writing because personal study shows my high strength there
7. Acted in 2 Christian movies... (But I neva see d cd o.)
8. Self published a book in 2009 called Recovered Generation
9. I have never had a girl who knows how to cook more than me
10. Though girls flock around me, I’ve had only 5 relationships in my lifetime, and I don’t double date
11. I love Ghana, South Africa, and Canada... Aside Nigeria I wouldn’t mind living there
12. I don’t get angry easily but when I do it boils like fire
13. When I focus on something I do it like there is nothing else in the world
14. Was offered a job if I change to Islam after NYSC and I said NO!
15. I like anything creative, in fact anything inspires me
16. There is hardly anywhere I go to that people don’t trust me
17. It takes me a while to decide, but once I do it takes only God to make me go back
18. When I pray God hears
19. I don’t joke with dreams
20. My favourite number is “7”
21. My favourite colour is white
22. My favourite soup is pepper soup
23. My favourite sport is Chess or football... but I’m no pro in either. Lol.
24. My favourite drink is anything Lemon
25. I gave my life to Christ in 1993
26. I got Holy Ghost baptised in 2001 and water baptised in 2005
27. I don’t like politics
28. I don’t like people who lack integrity
29. I have about 1000 unpublished poems, numerous articles, and short story collections.
30. I could do crazy stuffs at times, but I never take them as habit. i.e., I jumped fence/sneaked out of school in my JSS but stopped it myself, I tasted cigarette a cousin gave but later told him I can never be a smoker, I tried stout/beer too when mocked that I couldn’t but told them it’s not my nature... all these were over ten years ago.

1

I must give kudos to Myne Whitman whose recent blog post encouraged me to do this. Maybe when I get to 40^th birthday I will do ‘40 Things About Me on My 40^th Birthday’. Lol.

STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS

Ajani’s story was that of a young minister of the gospel who is like no other. His ways were always different. Some people like this; while some others frown at him. Yet they all see him as a loaded gun travelling to a place where his trigger will be pulled.

A period came when the travails of life hit him so hard. Like a tempest he felt he may just sink in the boat of life. Keeping his destination in focus; his thought was like “No! I don’t want to die without being fulfilled.” So he began to offload his belongings into the sea so as to make his weight light enough to reach his destination. Despite these he knew this was a trick of the devil to shake him and make him jump into the sea like Prophet Jonah.

Ajani took little thought of the risks: He saw a big ship approaching and he took the advantage to be safe, at least for the moment. “You are mingling with the devils” The spirit warned him. But he prayed, “I know; this is the limit of my enduring strength Oh Lord. So I admit that I am weak. But if you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I pray that you save me.”

Amidst all odds and sins, Ajani’s biggest failure was an affair with the princess of the sea. How he came out of the trap he did not understand. But the biggest shocker of his life was when the demon tested his grace. Approaching Ajani like a buffalo, all he could pray was that the power of darkness encounter the light of God. Knowing he is not worthy to call on the protection of God, he still affirms that his time to die has not come. And God was faithful to his call in a way he could never have imagined: because the earth opened up and made Ajani swallow the buffalo.

This story was not what I planned to write on this article, but I thank God for that grace. Many times so many ministers of the gospel make mistakes. Some brood over it and sink deeper into failure. Some pretend not to know their wrong and they ended up not being able to recover from their fall. But here, I want to state that I respect those who admit that they are not perfect, even if they are the biggest preachers around. And I want to state that those are the people who experience Ajani’s kind of grace.

Check out what the scripture says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “And he hath said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (ASV).


Yes! Maybe you are already getting my point, and you consider yourself to be like Ajani; see, you need to ponder on Romans 5:1-6, “Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God… For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly…” (ASV)

Nobody said it is good to make a mistake, fail, or fall into sin. But the truth is anyone can do such, since we are all in the flesh. It is the resolve that we have not to let go of God that matters in such times. And I think that was what saved David in the first place (Watch out for my book on David). Remember it is a child whom the father loves that he chastises (Hebrews 12:6), so expect to receive your punishment when you make a mistake in your walk with God and don’t think you can just mess up without being punished. However, that is not my point: For as long as you are still a child of God (Who admits weaknesses and plead when you fail) even if you are experiencing God’s punishment, He will not allow you to fall into the hand of the enemy flatly. Remember Jeremiah 1:19 “And they shall fight against you, but they shall not [finally] prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.” (AMPLIFIED)

I don’t know the wrong you have made in your walk with God; but I have come to tell you that He will not let you go just like that… And if any demon in hell thinks he/she can just mess you up because of your mistake then they should be ready to face that same God who gave Samson the strength to kill more people in his death than those he killed while he was alive! (Judges 16:28-30)


[Dedicated to Eternal Order Ministries, in honour of her Mid-Year Retreat 2011. 15-17 July @ Camp House, Winners Chapel Ota, Ogun state.]

ETERNAL ORDER MINISTRIES-NINE YEARS ANNIVERSERY

Many people talk about David as being a man after God’s heart, but most people rarely wonder why/how he attained that status. Considering the fact that David was an adulterer, murderer, and did so many things that an ordinary man who never attained that status did, and God could still describe him as “A Man After His heart”, David must have demonstrated something different from what every other person did…

The Questions are “What was inside David’s heart?”, “What are the things David did to make him a man after God’s heart?”, “Can we also become men/women after God’s heart?” All of us want to excel in life, but the number one thing is to excel with God, you know. Hence, we Present a get together to mark our 9 Years Anniversary, titled…

“DAVID: WHAT MADE HIM THICK?”

Date: 10Am, April 30- 4Pm, May 1st, 2011

Featuring Discussions, Dinner, and a Visit to Lekki Conservation Foundation; One of our key members will also be celebrating her birthday on that day.

If you'd be coming, please call Edimulo on 07034198264 or Lamide on 08035240373

Dress code: April 30 is Old school, while May 1st is Corporate.

Our Slogan still remains, “Gospel Unlimited.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Cheers!!!

THE RETREAT, THE SPIRIT… (1 Samuel 16:13-14)

THE ETERNAL ORDER MINISTRIES
Presents
Year 2011 Retreat
Titled
THE SPIRIT… (1 Samuel 16:13-14)
You are cordially invited:
(Please note that this event is meant for only those who have a gift and want to use it for God)
Date: 11-13 February 2011
Venue: Compassion of God ministries auditorium, 25 Olorunkemi Street, Ladilak-Bariga, Lagos.
Retreat due: N1000 {One Thousand Naira only}
(Please come fasting, and don’t bring any food as feeding will be taken care of)
For enquiries, please call:
Olamide: +2348035240373, Olumide: +2347034198264
Usen: +2347088174982 Oriyomi: +2348054123626