The Pen Creative World

Category: Articles

  • School Nah Scam”: Who’s Really to Blame?

    School Nah Scam”: Who’s Really to Blame?


    While doing my laundry and reflecting quietly, the popular Nigerian slang “School na Scam” crossed my mind. It made me pause and think deeply. So, I decided to put my thoughts into writing to address the growing misconception that education no longer holds value in today’s society.

    In Nigeria today, “school na scam” has become a common expression, especially among the youth. It reflects a growing sense of disillusionment with the educational system, a belief that going to school no longer guarantees success or financial stability. While many point fingers at the government or the system, a closer look reveals that the educated elites may also be contributing to this mindset, knowingly or unknowingly.

    Education, at its core, is supposed to be a tool for empowerment, opening doors to better opportunities, informed decision-making, and national development. Yet, ironically, many of those who have had the privilege of education are the same ones reinforcing the idea that it no longer holds value. How? By celebrating their success without acknowledging the role education played in shaping them or worse, by distancing themselves from the struggles of the uneducated.

    Instead of serving as mentors, role models, or advocates for learning, some of these elites flaunt their achievements in ways that suggest it was hustle, not education, that got them where they are. They show off wealth, cars, and connections, but say little about the discipline, exposure, and critical thinking skills that formal education instilled in them. In doing so, they unknowingly reinforce the belief that school is not the way to success.

    Even in public discourse, how often do we see educated figures using their platforms to promote the value of schooling to the underprivileged? Rarely. The focus is often on the results; money, fame, or influence, not the journey of learning that helped shape their mindset and sharpen their skills.

    It’s not enough to just “make it” and leave others to figure it out. The real responsibility of the educated elite is to bridge the gap by investing in mentorship, sharing authentic stories of how education changed their lives, and supporting systems that make quality education accessible to all. They must become visible ambassadors of learning, not just living proof of its benefits.
    Until we change this narrative, until the educated begin to make education attractive, relatable, and aspirational to the uneducated, the saying “school na scam” will continue to echo in our society.

    So the question is: If education shaped your path, why hide its light from those still in the dark?

    It’s time to speak up, mentor, and invest in the minds around us. Let’s redefine success and restore the value of learning in our communities.

  • Seeking For Peace

    Seeking For Peace

    Sometimes I wondered if some things really existed in this world or we just believed they existed. Could it be that we think these things didn’t exist because we don’t always get what we want.


    At times when we seek for love, we don’t usually get the kind of love we always dream of. In some cases when we get that love, we still feel like something is missing just like the last piece to complete a game of puzzle, without the last piece it’s an incomplete game.


    Sometimes we are just like pawn in a chess game, we are sacrificial lamb to atone for some people sins. We never see it coming, do we loose our focus? Or do we trust others too much when we become too desperate?

    We seek for happiness but we get sorrow, hardship, torment in return. Some one once said happiness is free but I always doubt the subject matter based on my instinct or should I call it my philosophy?


    I decided to give the subject a second thought after a conversation with a friend when she said happiness is free but I need to make peace with myself to feel it. “Happiness is free but you need to open thy heart to feel its beauty” – Ogunsola Ayobami Samuel. I guess making peace with myself is a price I need to pay after all everything comes with a price.

    When I was told I need to make peace with myself, those words hit me like a cyclone. I was like aren’t I in peace with myself? Telling me I didn’t have peace with myself is equivalent to telling me I didn’t love myself. But can a man not love himself? Then again I thought about it, if it could be because I never had the things I wish I had. Perhaps! Could that be the reason?

    Like telling me to make peace with myself wasn’t enough, I was asked a shocking I never once thought I could be asked. You can imagine how shocking it could be to be asked “Do you know who you are?. Who am I? That’s a big question but unanswered one.

    I realised that if I really want to be happy with my life no matter what the circumstances may be, I need to make peace with myself. I’m not doing good to anyone by making peace with myself, it’s something I’m doing for myself. People with different belief coexist at a place if that can happen among people then I should be able to make peace with myself.


    But there is a question I can’t find answer to yet “How do I make peace with myself? I hope I get some clues from your comment.

  • My Fears, My Drive

    The reason I force myself to read, the reason I can’t stop improving, the reason I’m so bent on getting better, the reason I want to be rich is because of fear.

    I fear that in the future, I might end up being broke, I fear that I might end up as nothing, I fear that If I do not do the right things now, I might end up regretting it.

    Sometimes I remember the popular quote which says, “In old age, we will regret what we didn’t do more than those things we did.”

    My fears have been my big push for along time, I don’t know where these phobias are coming from but I have a lot of them. Do you know I have a fear of being mediocre? I hate it and I don’t want to be mediocre! Sometimes when I find myself knowing nothing about somethings, I cry inside and I go all the way out to learn.

    Instead of letting your fear cripple you, let it push you to be better! Let it be your driving force! I fear that I might be poor, that’s why I strive to become better and rich. I fear that I might be mediocre, that’s why I seek so much knowledge.




    Try it! Fail at it! Try it! Do it again! At least, you are trying to b better, you would have learned a thing or two. You will be better than a mediocre.

    More like, It’s better to fail at doing something than not doing it at all. What even does failure mean? Not doing anything or learning from a path that does not work?
    Trying things out and exploring your options?


    Sometimes, I feel like it’s because the world does not encourage people to try something and fail at it the first time, that’s why young people do not want to try anything at all, perhaps, if they don’t do anything worthwhile, they won’t be held responsible for failing.

    But today, I encourage you to become better, I encourage you to read that book, eat that food, save that cash, improve that skill set, learn that thing and fail. You’ll always be better than someone afraid to try.

  • New But Old

    Life is full of ups and downs, reasons to give up and at other times, reasons to hold on and be strong. But in all, one thing remains constant and that is change. Everyone experiences change at some point in time.The kind of change experienced however is determined by the individual. There are some who change in the negative sense of it but there are some who are blessed to experience positive change.The decisions of each individual determines the resultant effect of the change a man experience. Change in the negative sense is synonymous to recycling the same bad actions of the past.Beginning a new year with fresh hopes is one thing, but pursuing the same with renewed energy and passion is another. The reason why people keep experiencing the same old results as previous years is because while physically, things seems new but in their mind, they are not renewed. They still carry the same old mindset that is responsible for the negativity they’ve experienced thus far and if questioned about it, you see a jealously guarded treasured garbage.If the coming year is going to be productive and positive, it has to start with a renewed mindset ready to take on the challenges, make adjustments where necessary and work hard for the best. Don’t enter a new year with an old mindset. Take time off activities and look deep down to see what needs to be changed!

  • The Land of Ajiun 2

    People were worried, no one could tell where Adio is. Adigun still looked troubled and his countenance was not favorable. Adio had asked his workers to immediately plant cassava stem after the harvest. Everything had seem to be going on well, but why would Adigun be this worried? Adio was already thinking of getting more land to start cocoa farm also once this new harvest of cassava sells well as projected.

    She was at home, cleaning the house, washing her husband’s clothes and gathering sticks to prepare food for her husband when suddenly Adigun ran in seeking for Adio, this frightened Asunke, the wife of Adio who answered in fear that he wasn’t at home, immediately Adigun ran out of the house again.

    Adio had gone on a trip, after he set up his goods in the market and put one of his boys in charge. He went to Itedo to conclude a business deal with his new partners who were willing to buy cassava in large quantities to process into garri. When he came back, he couldn’t understand what was happening and what people were saying. At first, he didn’t know what to do but later summoned courage and went to his farm.

    Ajiun was a village with none of the social amenities that makes life comfortable. People were seen carrying buckets of water running towards his farm. From afar, one could see smoke rising up in the air. The farm had a farmstead with lanterns kept to lighten up the place at night. Inside the lanterns was kerosene to keep the fire burning. Adio’s farm had caught fire and his storage ban and farm land had been up in flames. It took the help of some of the villagers to help put out the fire to the level that Adio met it.

    He couldn’t believe what his eyes was seeing, all his investments were up in flames. How would he start again? How could he ever survive the impact of this wreckage? At the sight of this, he slumped and was rushed to the native doctor who helped to revive him. After he got home, his wife made sure he got some rest, but she also was down in thoughts and was saddened.

    The villagers held a meeting as to how they could help Adio. They all decided to contribute a sum of money to help him revive his farm and business.

    The year after this incident, Adio was up again and his business was gradually flourishing once more. One thing that the Land of Ajiun was known for was their ability to help each other when in need. This singular act has made them the talking point among many surrounding villages. Their population increases yearly because many people get to make the Land their home as a result of this love they shared!

  • Covid19 Vaccine Fiasco In Africa

    Covid19 Vaccine Fiasco In Africa

    The year in 2021AD, an African country which shall forever remain unnamed, has just ordered for millions of doses of covid19m vaccines from China, yes it has always to be china since the Breton Woods became irrelevant and uncle Sam started churning out conspiracy theories. The ‘God-chosen’ government of this African country is holding a high level Media briefing to announce to its citizens how they managed to get the vaccine in good time since it cares for their lives. All the vaccines have been received and well stored in highly secured government warehouse. The mass mass vaccinations is to be commissioned by your loving president live on TV the following day. You only manage to catch the news later at nigh since you could not be at home to watch the live presser. You can’t help but give a sigh of relief and retire to bed hopping sooner you will get this  much needed jab.

    The following day ou wake up to the news that some of the boxes; thousands of them containing the vaccines never made it to the government warehouses as was reported by your Minister or Secretary for health. The minister hurriedly issues another written Media dispatch and warns that all those involved in the disappearance of the vaccinates would be prosecuted and if possible be electrocuted for messing up with the lives many citizens. Before you know it those busy bodies called Nothing Going On(NGOs) and some activists- for-hire hold placards on the streets demonstrating against the theft of the vaccines,but the demo doesn’t take long in fact, the intent of the organisers is to show their foreign funders that they are working. They proceed to take selfies and some other photo Ops which they quickly upload on social media and retreat to their west end offices in the quiet suburbs of the city waiting for foreign donations to hit their accounts to facilitate more demonstrations. While there they continue to issue threats and curses to the thieves by sponsoring all manner of social media hash-tags.

    As if in cue, the other stooges of the executive called The the Senate and National Parliament join the frenzy in investing the mysterious disappearance of the vaccines. They too hold countless meetings and trips soem of which to the Beijing- the source of vaccine and issue in equal measure, threats in the midst of copious amount of tea and hefty allowance running into millions. In the end you end up you local chief, the OCPD,OCS, the governors office, the local police, the DCI and a myriad of other anti-corruption bodies in the country all investigating the same theft.

    While the main substance of the investigation is cacophony of accusations and counter accusations, one of the few remaining relevant local media houses carries its own parallel instigation and reports that  some of the stolen vaccines were sold to Al-shabab in Kismayu while others were sold to Boko Haram in Nigeria, by associates of one of the prominent functionaries in the government and another by a politician sitting in the investigating committee in the Senate or National Parliament. But the government would hear non of this, it comes out gun blazing in denouncing the report. It assures the public that they are on it and that no any other report other that from the government should be trusted.

    Meanwhile the government goes ahead to roll out the vaccination, as it had promised starting with the doctors,the elderly and teachers, but, this a problem, there is shortage, grating to cripple the exercise. This shortage is as result of a number of factors: Since they represent you and must be healthy to serve you well, the politicians are the first to get the vaccines, followed by their girlfriends and boyfriends, both known and unknown. Next in line are their families, for as you know, behind every performing politician is a healthy family and relatives and of course girlfriend too. The public hospitals doctors and other public heath workers too upon receiving their vaccines go ahead to steal some thousands which they go horde to their desperate monied cooperate honchos in their private hospitals in some backstreet buildings in Abuja,Lilongwe, Nairobi or the prowls of Soweto. Due to this shortage, the price of one jab of the vaccine shoots like quasars from a black hole.

    Still held in thought as to why this is happening to you as you walk along the streets of Dzivarasekwa Slums in Harare, Mathare in Nairobi or Wandegeya market in Kampala, you are brought back life from your deep thoughts by those irritating prerecorded voice-overs announcing mobile SIM cards; this time they are advertising Covid19 Vaccine which promises to protect you for ever and ever Amen. You reach home still thinking if indeed the vaccine being advertised is genuine. So by the time the vaccine reaches cane cutters of Kakarira,fishmongers of Kado market in Abuja or rice farmers of Ahero in Kano, you would not know which of the many vaccines in the markets is genuine, which is generic or which one is just pure water labelled as covid19 vaccine.

    Suddenly you hear nothing of the once much publicize investigations on the vaccine theft. The masses of this God-forsaken country just moves on and forgets about it completely as if it never occurred in the first place.

    Just, then your banana republic is about to go to the elections towards the end of 2021 or in 2022. Your local and national political animal seizes the moment of the vaccine, offering them like Holy Water in weekend medical camps which end up to be political rallies to entice you to vote for them; and because you are gullible and fickle like them all, you gladly swallow the lies and  you line up in torturous heat or drenching rain from Eight in the morning to Five in the evening to vote the same thieves back into office, to repeat the same cycle of lies, theft and deceit one more time as you curse them.

    ***

    Merry Christmas to you all from Cane Cutter.

    Twitter: @CaneCutter2

  • The Land of Ajiun

    It was a calm morning, the sun had already risen, and people were already at their various businesses, it was their market day in the Land of Ajiun. A typical African village buzzing with palm wine tappers showcasing their products for sale, and cassava farmers ready to sell their freshly harvested farm produce. It was a busy day and Adio was very involved with business, trying to make ends meet for his family. The other day, he had already told his friend who was an hunter to help him keep a bush meat for his family to have dinner with on the market day. Surely, it was going to be a busy day and he needed something to reward himself for all the stress he would go through. But little did he know what the day had planned for him differently.

    Alamu, the first son of Adio was also busy. He is a palm wine tapper, and had gone early enough to tap some palm wine for market and for them to take at dinner also. Market has not been so favorable in recent times for him. It seemed as if people had given up the idea of drinking palm wine and would only prefer to take water. Nevertheless he still had hope and kept on giving his best, his father had assured him that once he kept on being consistent with what he does, a time will come that his effort will pay off. Akanni his junior brother has been learning the art of furniture making, getting perfect at his craft. Their father, Adio was a very popular and wealthy man in Ajiun, a cassava farmer who sells not only within the land of Ajiun but also exports his produce to lands beyond who deal more with processing the produce into gaari.

    Adigun, the head of workers in Adio’s farm had been running in search of Adio. He got to market, he didn’t find him, again he ran to the house but never met him there, with the look on his face, it’s as if something very bad happened, he looked so sad and tensed. But where could Adio be? What could it be that is making Adigun run that way? It was unusual for him to be in that posture, once he looks for Adio in the market and couldn’t find him, he would have waited till when he is able to see him but this time was not to be so. It’s like a do or die affair. The Land of Ajiun is tensed. Rumours already spreading.

    To be continued…

  • Happiness Is Free

    Happiness is and will always be the most sought after, yet most elusive, of all human desires. Day in and day out, many search for happiness, but end the day empty-handed. It isn’t something we have to have permission for or that a factor or a person has to determine before we have it. It’s free!

    It is that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can’t help but smile. It’s the opposite of sorrow or sadness. Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happy. It is a state of mind created within you I.e in the mind that gives you a sense of satisfaction, emotional well-being, and physical well-being. It is a state of relaxation and pleasure.
    Happiness is free and a choice because, it does not necessarily mean that everything is perfect or that life is not good, sometimes, it is your choice to choose whether you want to be happy or remain sad and weighed down by the things that are going on in the society.

    Two is that you have the power to love yourself and make things happen. Love who you are, love what you do, do what makes you happy, and eat what makes you healthy.
    Soon, you will find yourself happier in situations and happy enough to make the right choices.

    I have noticed that doing what makes you happy, is a sure way of staying happy. Never let anyone talk down on your happiness. Anyone who does that should never be your friend, safeguard your happiness by looking for people who love you as you are.

    Staying away from those who talk down on your happiness is a way of letting them know that your life is what you make it and should never be controlled by what people say but rather what makes you happy and what you want it to be. I can remember fighting with my elder brother who loves to constantly make choices for me but forgets to consider how I feel and what I like.

    It’s unfair to not have control over your life and over who you are. Take control of your life, do things that make you happy and healthy! Because happiness is free and it is a choice.

  • The Time We Had

    The Time We Had

    Many people are stuck in the past, simply because they can’t let go of it. They imprisoned themselves in their horrible past experience. They fail to see beyond where they stand. We don’t have control over the past there are just times in our lives when we have to realize our past is precisely what it is, and we cannot change it. But we can change the story we tell ourselves about it, and by doing that, we can change the future.

    The future will be the product of the action that is taken now but remember that now becomes then just as tomorrow becomes yesterday, the future will also become the the present then eventually becomes the past.

    The past is gone, the future is yet to come you only have now, start building a better future. We don’t really own time, the time we own is now. Let’s begin to invest in it.

    It would have been great if we could time travel, we go back to the past to correct our mistakes, then go to the future to see what it looks like so we can know how to live the time we have now but that’s not possible in real life it only happens in movies.

    Funny enough, some people go back living in the past instead of moving to the future because they fail to spend their time wisely. Let me give you an instance, you were broke yesterday and today you earned $300, if you can’t spend the money wisely you will be broke again tomorrow. The way you live now will determine what your future would look like.

    How our mind construct the past, present and future depends on our relationship with time.

    Sometimes we can’t be present to the possibilities of our future until we navigate a peaceful path through the aftermath of our past. If you want to fly to the sky, you need to leave the earth. If you want to move forward, you need to let go the past that drags you down and the time to let go is now.

    Let me share you a story;
    “Once upon a time, there was a young man who was passionate, dynamic, and hopeful. He had dreams. He was certain he would make them come true. He met a young woman. They fell in love. She was also passionate and hopeful. She also had dreams. She was also certain. They dove into life, pursuing their dreams, everything was focused on the future. They made the sacrifices they thought they had to make. They gave up on present pleasures to pursue future hopes. They kept believing, even when it was difficult. Somewhere along the way, things changed. Things didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to. The things that were sacrificed stayed gone, but the things they were sacrificed for never really materialised. The passionate, hopeful young couple became disappointed, worn-down, middle-aged. Where did it all go wrong, and what do they do now? How can we be faithful to the future without losing the present?”

    From the story, despite the couple having strong hopes towards the future they never got the future the dream of having. Didn’t they have a good relationship with time?

  • Between Now and Future

    For most people, if not all, they are always concerned about what the future holds which is further compounded by the fact that the present does not look like what they had envisioned in the past. As a result, some tend to give up when after few trials, their present situation refuses to conform to the future they saw.
    Like somebody said, the difference between ‘here’ and ‘there’ is ‘T’ which symbolises Time. In the same vein, the difference between Now and Future is Time.

    Time is the allowance given to you most importantly to invest the kind of values and virtues that will translate into the kind of future you desire for you now! While you may be there grumbling and complaining about your present challenges and tough times, why not turn them into raw materials by putting your time into good use, equipping yourself, learning valuable skills, picking up lessons from your mistakes, forgiving yourself, moving on, growing and rising.

    Understand, you can either spend time or invest time, the choice is yours. When you spend time, you have no assurance or hope of having it back but when time is invested, it returns to you as value! What makes some persons more valuable that others is the amount of time they’ve invested in adding value to themselves! Every great man you admire and wish to be like today didn’t reach their greatness all in one day, one week, one month or even one year. They kept growing silently but surely, and it came to a point where their success could no longer be hidden, they became sought after. Meanwhile during the period of dryness, where no one knew them or paid attention to them, they were not deterred but kept building up themselves.

    If those great men could do it, then you can do it also. Keep at it. Between now and the future you desire is time, use it wisely: your life depends on it.

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