Gist with Emshok, Akoko Edo, Bénin (2026)

18/08/2026

Why do many young Africans think the essence of life is simply to reach a certain age, get married, and have children regardless of whether they are prepared for the responsibility?

“MAN, KNOW THYSELF.” — Socrates

Before bringing another human being into existence, there should ideally be some degree of self-understanding:

Who am I?
What do I value?
What kind of life am I trying to build?
Am I emotionally, mentally and financially capable of raising another human being?
Why do I actually want children?
What can I realistically provide for them?

Deliberately refusing to consider these questions and one’s inability to provide a reasonably stable environment before having children can create undue suffering.

A child does not choose to be born. The parents make that decision on the child’s behalf, and that decision comes with an enormous responsibility.

Yet society keeps asking young people:

“When will you marry?”
“When will you have children?”

Perhaps we should also be asking:

“Who are you becoming?”

Know yourself.
Discover your purpose.
Build something meaningful.
Contribute to existence whether through academia, entrepreneurship, creativity, service, innovation, or any other meaningful pathway.

Most importantly, understand the responsibility that comes with bringing another human being into the world.

Not simply because you have reached a certain age or because society says it is what everyone is supposed to do. Parenthood must be a calculated endeavour.

A child should be the product of conscious responsibility not merely the next item on society’s checklist.

And to be clear, this is not an argument against having children.

It is an argument against having children merely because you are of a certain age, because your peers are doing it or because society expects it of you.

That distinction is crucial.

Procreation creates life; purposeful living gives that life direction.

Before asking, “When will you have children?” perhaps we should first ask:

“Do you know yourself? Do you know what you are living for? And are you prepared for the responsibility of bringing another human being into this world?”

Just a deep thought!!!!!!!!!

07/08/2026

Etunobreed Love wrote
LOCATION AND GEOGRAPHY OF ETUNO-IGARRA(Summarize from the book, Igarra Land and the people by Moses Omeiza S. & Co.)

Etuno (Igarra) is located in the southwestern part of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, Edo State, at Latitude 7°04′N and Longitude 6°12′E. It is about 150 km by road (134.4 km by air) from Benin City and is the largest community in Akoko-Edo LGA. According to the 2006 census, the LGA had a disputed population of 262,100. Igarra shares boundaries with Afuze, Auchi, Okene, and Ikare.

Traditionally, the town is divided into three quarters: Ubobo (Ugbogbo), Uffa, and Utua. Ubobo is regarded as the oldest and cultural headquarters because it was the first settlement of early migrants and the first area where people relocated from the rocky hills of Ifege to the plains between 1911 and 1917. This relocation, encouraged by the British colonial administration for easier governance, was completed with Uffa receiving the second group of settlers and Utua the third and final group.

Since 1920, Igarra has served as the administrative headquarters of what is now Akoko-Edo Local Government Area. It was originally part of the Akoko-Igarra District under the former Kukuruku Division, which was later divided into Imeri, Igarra, and Okpe Districts under British colonial administration. The district system was abolished in 1936 and replaced with the Native Authority system, establishing the Akoko-Igarra Federal Native Authority with 15 subordinate Native Authorities.

Igarra is bordered by Aiyetoro and Somorika (north), Okpe (west), Enwan (southeast), and Sasaro (south). It has a warm, wet season and a hot, partly cloudy dry season, with an average annual temperature of 26°C, 1,540 mm of rainfall, and an altitude of 335 metres above sea level.

The town’s drainage system consists of rivers and streams originating from the rocky hills of Akoko-Edo. The River Onyami (Enyi Upako) is the principal river, flowing from the Ojirami River into the River Osse, which forms part of the boundary between Edo and Ondo States. Other important streams include Anjozote, Ukufozushi, Irivodo, Orosi Adaba, Ojozariweyi, Onyioyavabe, Orosi Agava, Enyi Amune, Obetere, Enyioshimofa, Okufa Ichakachiki, Orosi Idikor, Enyi Okaigo, and Enyiobova. The town is also home to Iyokoto, a well-known natural spring located at the foot of the rocky hills near the Cultural Centre on Somorika Road.

Uffa has the streams Enyinanova, Orosi Okovido, Osue Aboro, Enyi Ireta, and Upako, while Utua has Usege and Enyi Ifege. These streams are tributaries of River Onyami, which flows southwest into River Osse, then into the Benin River, and finally the Atlantic Ocean.

Igarra is rich in mineral resources, with limestone and marble being the most economically important. Other minerals include kaolin, quartz, feldspar, and granite. Its granite rocky hills are ancient geological formations, with Ososo Hill rising over 600 metres above sea level.

The vegetation is a mix of tropical rainforest and Guinea savannah. Wildlife includes antelopes, monkeys, warthogs, squirrels, grass cutters, vipers, alligators, puff adders, lynxes, and crocodiles, while lions, tigers, and hyenas have largely disappeared due to hunting.

Major food and cash crops include cassava, yam, plantain, cashew, mango, maize, tomato, millet, oil palm, banana, coconut, guava, and citrus.

The soil is rocky and compact in the northeast but loose and loamy in the southwest, particularly along the Okpe Road axis.

07/08/2026

ITOWOJI
👑 meet the Itowoji Queen: and here’s how it all began…

I didn’t just learn to weave
I grew up inside the threads.
My grandmother’s hands taught me that weaving wasn’t just about making fabric. It was about keeping our story alive.

Mama used to tell me, “Child, our bread must come.” Back then, I thought she just meant work hard but now I know she meant create something that lasts.

I went on to study Fine Art, and that opened my eyes even more.
Suddenly, everything connected (the patterns, the colors, the history). It wasn’t just art anymore; it was heritage reborn.

Today, I proudly call myself the Itowoji Queen, the daughter of Ameri, carrying the pride of Oyi_Ameri wherever I go.

I’m not just weaving cloth. Am an artist and my work goes beyond being a weaver.

So henceforth, when you see my work, know this: every thread has a heartbeat.

04/08/2026

🔥 When culture meets combat! 🔥

Oba Femi didn’t just make an entrance… he made a statement.

Pulling up to the WWE ring in a majestic Agbada was the kind of aura only royalty can deliver. 👑🇳🇬

From the streets of Nigeria to the global wrestling stage, he carried tradition with confidence and proved that culture never goes out of style.

Agbada in the ring. Power in the presence. Respect earned before the first move.

🇳🇬💪

03/08/2026

Preaching the Gospel in China 🇨🇳 Denmark 🇩🇰 Japan 🇯🇵 Norway 🇳🇴

China, Denmark, Japan, Norway and many of the countries regarded as ungodly are far more godly than Nigeria

Godliness is not when you have Churches and Mosques scattered on every street.

What’s the crime rate in China? What’s the corruption rate in Japan? What’s the trust rate in Norway? How about Denmark?

Compare that to what’s happening in Nigeria.

Can you even leave your phone on a seat in any Nigerian Church without putting someone to guide it for you?

In Japan, you can leave your money on the road and come back the next day to pick it.

Denmark and Norway are amongst the least corrupt countries in the world yet only about 2-5% goes to Church or affiliated with any other religion.

We must understand that Godliness is not what’s preached in our religious houses but what happens in our offices, in politics, in the market, and how we relate with one another in our every day life.

That’s how godliness are measured. Nigeria, like most African countries are first in being religious but last in godliness.

That’s why our politicians attend Church services on Sunday, Mosque four times daily, and go back to their offices to inflate budgets, write contracts kickbacks, embezzle public funds, and jail innocent people who challenges them.

It’s the reason why fake products are everywhere in the market. Fake drugs are sold by elders in Churches and leaders in Mosques.

It’s the reason why university admissions are sold to those who can buy and not those who are qualified. The sellers are in our Churches and Mosques praying like Pharisees.

We must have a rethink aa a people

29/07/2026

When the accused becomes the victim !!!

4 Abuja Policemen Sue ICPC Chairman for "Misleading" Them About His Identity

ABUJA— Four Abuja-based police officers recently arrested over the alleged extortion of the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have reportedly retained a team of lawyers to institute legal proceedings against the anti-corruption chief for what they describe as "intentional concealment of material facts."

Speaking through counsel, the officers insist they are the real victims.

"Our clients merely asked a straightforward question: *'Who are you?'*" the lawyer told journalists. "Instead of truthfully identifying himself as the Chairman of the ICPC, he allegedly responded, *'I am a law-abiding Nigerian.'* That representation fundamentally altered the entire transaction."

According to the lawyer, had the Chairman disclosed his official position, "the encounter would have proceeded along an entirely different professional pathway."

"My clients have built distinguished careers on identifying opportunities with ordinary, law-abiding Nigerians," counsel explained. "They would never knowingly inconvenience the Chairman of the nation's foremost anti-corruption agency. That would be highly irregular."

The legal team further argued that the alleged omission amounted to "misrepresentation by silence," adding that lying—or failing to disclose material facts—to a police officer should not be encouraged.

The officers are reportedly seeking damages for reputational injury, emotional distress, and "loss of a perfectly ordinary day's work."

In an affidavit said to accompany the suit, one of the officers maintained:

> "We are disciplined professionals. We do not harass everybody. We have high standards. We focus our attention on *law-abiding* Nigerians because, in our experience, they are the ones most likely to cooperate."

Another officer reportedly expressed disappointment that the Chairman "allowed the situation to escalate."

"He had several opportunities to say, 'Gentlemen, I head the ICPC.' Instead, he chose to keep us in the dark. Now the whole country thinks we were doing something improper."

Yet another expressed his disappointment at the Chairman's lack of ethics. In his words, "we are in deep trouble in this country where you have the ICPC Chairman misrepresenting his identity before police officers."

28/07/2026

Financial management is not about making more money; it’s about making your money work for you.”
Every dollar without a purpose eventually finds a way to disappear.”
A budget is not a restriction; it is a roadmap to financial freedom.”
Your financial future is determined more by your habits than by your income.”

11/07/2026

These three slides say a lot.
The Governor and President playing politics as usual

10/07/2026

SOLOMON DALUNG - former Sports Minister wrote on his page

When I became Minister of Youth & Sports, one of the earliest shocks I encountered was not the complexity of governance, but the entrenched culture of corruption that had become normalised within our public institutions.

I remember vividly my first budget defence before the National Assembly. After presenting the summary of my ministry's budget, I expected questions about the figures, the programmes and our implementation strategy. Instead, I was confronted with a demand that had nothing to do with governance.

I was asked to raise ₦200 million.

I looked through the budget documents before me and replied that I had not seen any budget line titled "bribe." I told the committee that since no such provision existed in the ministry's appropriation, I had no idea where they expected me to obtain ₦200 million to satisfy their demand.

My response was obviously not what they wanted to hear.

Rather than continue the discussion, they simply told me, "Okay, Mr. Minister, you are excused. We will take it up with the Permanent Secretary."

From that day onward, my role in budget defence became largely ceremonial. I would only be invited to present the broad highlights of the ministry's budget, after which I would be asked to leave while the committee continued discussions with the Permanent Secretary behind closed doors. I was deliberately excluded from the detailed budget sessions because I had refused to participate in an illegal arrangement.

As time went on, I came to understand that this was not an isolated incident but part of a deeply entrenched system. A committee chairman later told me that some ministers, especially those considered close to the Presidency, routinely settled these demands to ensure their budgets passed without unnecessary obstacles.

This experience opened my eyes to how corruption can become institutionalised. When oversight is transformed into an avenue for extortion, accountability is compromised, public resources are diverted, and the integrity of governance is eroded.

That is precisely why I continue to argue that many of the scandals we witness today do not emerge in isolation. They flourish because institutions that should serve as checks and balances have themselves become vulnerable to illicit financial interests. When the budget process is driven by kickbacks instead of national interest, fraud, abuse and institutional failure become almost inevitable.

09/07/2026

From Igarra to the United States 🇺🇸 Air-force.

As you begin this new chapter of service, may God grant you wisdom, strength, courage, and protection in every assignment. May this journey open doors to greater opportunities, lasting success, and fulfillment in all you do. Congratulations Champion

Courtesy Etunobreed Love King Obidi

Gist with Emshok

18/08/2026

07/08/2026

07/08/2026

04/08/2026

03/08/2026

29/07/2026

28/07/2026

11/07/2026

10/07/2026

09/07/2026

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