Bukola Olafenwa

Taking a rest after supper, I basked effortlessly in the echoed glory, uniqueness, significance of the 320th inaugural lecture in the series of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife, Nigeria, titled, "LIVING OUR STORIES IN AFRICA: FICTION, FICTIONALITY AND THE WISDOM OF UNCERTAINTY", delivered by Professor of Literature-in-English, Chima Anyadike at Oduduwa Hall on Tuesday, 12th June, 2018. Prof Chima Anyadike and I Cheerfully, I picked, opened its published version and was richly entertained over and over again by its invaluable content. The inaugural lecture starts on an elaborately enlightening note. The giant academia's expressions wrapped in the very first paragraph note that "our individual and collective lives in Africa today are shaped in significant ways, not just by the nature of our natural and social environments, but also by the actions resulting from the stories we tell ourselves and the ones told or written by others about us and our continen...

God is God. He is the same before the beginning of the universe, since the existence of the universe, now and forever. What can we do without God? The All-knowing is indispensable. The Supreme Being remains our primary need, through which all other known or unknown needs are met. The omnipresence and omnipotence of His Excellency guarantee us confidence and hope, as well as progress, joy and fulfillment in life. I have tried as much as possible to capture the nature of the thought(s) that pops up in the mind of one of the most renowned, metaphysical poets, George Herbert, which prompts him to write ' The Pulley ', a poem arranged in twenty lines, that presents an individual, well articulated thought on why divine creation is deliberately designed to let humans live lives blessed with worldly riches but devoid of rest. I have been able to draw hot conclusions from the poet's frank stand, as inspired by concrete, Bible stories, that the denial of rest is a perfect means t...