After the Dark Clouds is my debut novel.

It

is a story of a melancholic Nigerian male graduate, Michael who struggles with complacency, joblessness and a lingering feud between his religious, pastor father and enigmatic, politician uncle.

In his attempt to reconcile the brothers, he meets Sarah, a beautiful but ambitious young lady.

His adventure with her exceeds his expectation as this does not only change him, but also reveal the dark side of the two most important men in his life, as he thirsts for a cause to live for…

The story is set in Lagos, Ibadan and Benue cities of Nigeria.

Its themes include unity, diligence, timeliness, love, studying, justice to mention but a few.

It is available now as e-copy. You can order for a copy by contacting: (+234) 703 1261 572 or email: abeybusary@gmail.com

The three phases of the man’s life are the past, present and future. Our past includes all our good and bad choices, but we don’t need to regret about them, because yesterday is gone. Rather, we should let the memories of both sides of the coin we tossed teach us how to approach today.

In the same vein, we should harness our energy and resources at the present to build a profitable life for ourselves. We shouldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past. Today counts a great deal. We should be passionate about what we do today.

Finally, as we make today work, strife for a greater tomorrow. Whatever that’s achieved today can still be made better in the future. Be hopeful that all that tomorrow holds is greater, better and stronger version of you.

When we have memories, passion and hope; and use them judiciously, our life will be outstanding as we make history.

Have a fun-filled weekend.

The story of Jesus and Zacchaeus in the Bible is beyond what our Sunday School teachers teach on restitution. It has numerous lessons. But, the one I love to open our eyes to is the focus of Zacchaeus. Focus has to do with channeling your energy on achieving your goal in the midst of distractions. This was what Zacchaeus did.

The neighbourhood learnt about the coming of Jesus to town, and they prepared to see him. Zacchaeus also desired to view the man Jesus, but he was a man of small stature. He was determined to see Jesus and the only option he had was to climb a tree that would afford him that. He didn’t mind his profession, environment, neighbours and his stature. One thing was his FOCUS – to climb the sycamore tree in order to see Jesus.

We just have to learn from this. We need to have FOCUS. There is a place we are going to, there is a person we want to befriend, there is an height we want to reach. All these and other lofty targets in our lives cannot be attained if we lose focus. We need to do away with distractions and focus on that thing we are aiming at to bring us greatness and achievements.

Sometimes, we have to neglect conventional situations that may mar our goals, and do that is necessary, which may look absurd to people. The main thing is that success is achieved without compromise.

Jesus eventually saw Zacchaeus on the tree, called out to him and feasted in his house. Life is ready to write your own story too and accord you with laurels of glory, if only you will do one thing – focus on winning. People will raise eyebrow as they did, when Jesus visited Zacchaeus. They reminded Jesus that his host was a tax collector, which by Jewish standard, was a chronic sinner who used force in the line of duty. But, Jesus never minded them because he was impressed by his character of a champion, and right there, he became a man of history we are learning from today.

Your own stature might be poverty, illiteracy, background, just to mention a few. All these may slow you down, but they can’t stop you if you focus on where you are going, and not where you are. The game is up to you. Stand up and fight to get what you desire. Just focus on it, and give all it takes to get it done.

We are champions together!

There is dignity in diligence, so be proud of your hustle, for in it lies the true mean

ing of success.

The world was agog to behold one of the greatest comebacks, if not the greatest, when Tiger Woods won the Masters Tournament on April 14, 2019 at Augusta, Georgia.

Tiger Woods had been coping with life eleven years ago. He had a scandal which claimed his marriage, suffered back surgery, lost brand endorsements and was admitted in the rehab for losing sanity. He experienced drought!

The message is life can attack anyone, but how you respond to fight back is vital to your victory. The drought of life could be sickness, debts, divorce, rejection, and disappointment. This is equally referred to as wilderness of life in which nobody sees your efforts again. You might have be written off and forgotten, but the question is have you written yourself off?

Tiger Woods was actually in the wilderness in those a decade and one year recuperating personally and professionally. He was training himself to be a winner once more. When you are in your own wilderness, what do you do? Do you fold your arms and only wish for miracles? Or you are training to gain momentum and stand aloft on the stage of play?

Examining Tiger Woods reveals to us one quality which is also found in tiger. Tiger is the biggest specie of the cat family. It is known for willpower, courage and strength. The hind legs of tiger are longer than the fore legs which are used to leap forward distance up to 10 meters.

This is important and likened to hindsight. Hindsight is understanding a situation or event after it has happened. This is called experience or knowledge. In a nutshell, whatever you have achieved in the past or going through now should be utilised as a motivation for you to triumph in any situation in life. It should be utilised for your manifestation.

Insight and foresight are crucial to our success in life, but hindsight is also key. This is how you respond to life which Tiger Woods just displayed for the whole wide world to see. We should all learn to take charge of our lives now. Make victorious history with your life, and let the world ask that we know Tiger Woods, but who is this fearless Tiger emerging again?

We all need a sponsor to achieve greatness.

A teacher left his country to go and teach in a foreign school. He was a rich and intelligent scholar, unfortunately the students and teachers he met in the school couldn’t comprehend him. His reasoning and thoughts were far above theirs. This usually led to misinterpretation of his actions and speech.

But the visiting teacher being wise changed his tactics. He wanted to achieve his plans of reforming lives in the school and the land at large. So, he came to their level. He would visit the uneducated in their shops to converse with them. He would organise outdoor and indoor workshops for them. He also helped them financially and materially to pass his message across.

In no time, the people knew that a different person had arrived in their land. He changed the status quo. The students learnt that they had talents in them that could be exchanged to get them what they ever wanted or needed in life. It wasn’t like that before the he came. They usually waited for what their teachers and leaders directed them to do.

However, the day he was leaving for his home country after spending three years, he lent them the secret of excellence as they all asked one question repeatedly. “How can we excel like you?” They demanded. “The Hustler Prince’s Principle is key to your excellence,” he answered.

He explained that for good things to be achieved in life, one should keep all the good treasures he has at home and hustle for more, as if he has nothing. If you’re a prince, pretend like a servant to get more. If you’re wise, play the fool. It’s for you to earn more. More life, more wealth, more wisdom could be achieved through the hustler prince’s principle.

Jesus is the man portrayed in the story. This isn’t about religion, but the principle of excellence. The Bible explains that though He had the nature of God, but he made himself of no reputation in order to have an excellent Name in the universe. (Reference: The Holy Bible, Philippians Chapter 2 verses 5 to 11).

This piece is applicable to all people of culture, religion and language. If you stoop so low to learn, you’ll rise so high to earn. Conclusively, it fits into the lives of Nigerian students craving for excellence. My admonition is this: go to school, get good grades. Then, keep your certificate, and hustle as if you’re a drop-out. In it lies excellence. It is what I called the Hustler Prince’s Principle.

Meet you at the top.

Would life call you too a hero,
Or score your sojourn zero?
How would records rate me,
By what they hear or see?

Life has heroes to remember,
And one of them was Madiba:
His footprints noted with fame,
He was a legend of a name

When the South Africa’s flag flied at half-mast,
And people of Xhosa and Mvezo downcast,
Africa accorded his exit with ovation;
The world honoured him with grand oration

What would the chronicles say,
Of my time: yea or nay?
As Mandela was valiantly strong,
Would you also be a legendary song?

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918 – 2013)

Whichever direction you’re looking at, look again, and see if there’s something you need to look again. Looking over and over is actually seeing. Good morning, friends.

A rat swallowed a diamond and the owner of the diamond contracted a man to kill the rat. When the rat hunter arrived to kill the rat, there were more than a thousand rats bunched up, and one sitting by itself away from the pack.

He killed the one sitting by itself and that was the exact one that had swallowed the diamond.

The owner of the diamond was amazed and asked the hunter, “How did you know it was that rat that swallowed my diamond?”

“Very easy,” the hunter smiled. “When idiots get rich they don’t mix with old friends.”

MORALS

When God blesses you, maintain your normal profile with your ‘poor’ old friends. When your hustle yields results, don’t be proud. Remember, all that you ever have are given to you by God, try not to get Him angry through your arrogance.

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