It was my birthday yesterday, April 2, 2019 and truth be told, I have not been so overwhelmed by an outpouring of love in such a long time or may be ever. When B called me on April 1 to ask me how I was feeling about my birthday as it approached, she was speaking from a place of concern and knowledge of how birthdays often led me down a contemplative path and ended with me being indifferent because I usually felt under-accomplished. So, when I told her I was indifferent about it, she retorted, “I would have been surprised if you had said anything else.”
In the few weeks leading up to yesterday, as in the past years, I did a lot of soul-searching and critical evaluation of what I had done with my life thus far and to be candid, there were moments I wondered if I had made the best use of the opportunities that had come my way. The thoughts were there as my companions on my way to work and as I ate, even taking their time to sit with me before I went to bed.
As you may be able to infer, I have dealt with such probing thoughts for many years around this time of the year and knew one remedy was to similarly give thought to the victories I have had in all those years. I did just that and I realised I also had a lot to be thankful for.
I often think my biggest individual accomplishment thus far is qualifying as a lawyer; it was a long journey to obtaining that qualification but I am grateful for the joy it brings me and the prospects it holds. Much more however, I have also come to appreciate the privilege of being surrounded by a very supportive family and many awesome friends who are always ready to listen to me, share their moments with me, help to implement my ideas and lend a helping hand every single time I needed someone to turn to.
My birthday turned out really great, actually. I spent a better part of the day learning and discussing Nigeria’s power sector, which is of great interest to me. I was similarly privileged to have a quick chat with Dafe Akpeneye, the Commissioner that leads the Legal, Licensing and Compliance Division at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
I also spent a bit of the day at Danfo Bistro, which is a great place to check out by the way, if you haven’t.
From the bottom of my heart, I express my gratitude to all friends, colleagues and family who took out time to reach out on my birthday. Thank you for the calls, voice notes, the messages and the gifts. I must confess it was quite overwhelming but I do not take any of it for granted.
Special thanks to members of the Enigma Set (super awesome people with so many kind words and such positive energy), to one of my bosses, Mrs O for calling to plead with me to leave work early to go have fun and to S for being just at the right place at the right time to make that happen.
In other news, I will be sharing more of my thoughts on various issues and subjects here in due course. You can expect to read essays (and poems) on legal, political, socio-economic and developmental issues as well as some personal stories (that touch). So, watch this space!