KAMPALA, UGANDA--A simple act of help did both the giver and the receiver a world of good. Emmanuel Adeniyi, a Nigerian journalist, might never know just how much difference he has made in the life of Tuli De Gita, a statistician from South Africa. But the relief in his heart after he gave out a book, Battlefield of the Mind, to a total stranger was a salute to his ideology of simple but practical sympathy.
At Jomo Kenyatta Airport Adeniyi waited for his connecting flight to Entebbe, Uganda, for the two week workshop organized by the World Journalism Institute. He clutched his book, scanning the faces of the strangers around him. Close by was a young woman, standing alone, with lines of stress and confusion edged deeply on her face. De Gita was a study in depression and dejection.
"I noticed that she had a troubled countenance and I tried to probe to find out what was wrong,'' said Adeniyi. For some reasons, Adeniyi was inspired to give this total stranger the well thumbed book: "I could see fear in her eyes and I was just divinely directed to give her the book."
That did the trick as De Gita blurted out her story. The South African had just lost her husband of five years. She was on her way to South Sudan to collect his corpse and did not know what to expect. "He had epilepsy and stroke and then he died. We were both living in South Sudan before he was transferred to South Africa and then he was posted again to Norway where he died. His corpse had been flown to South Sudan and I am going to bring him to South Africa for burial,'' she told Adeniyi.
The journalist took some time to counsel the bereaved woman, then bade her farewell as she left to catch her flight. But she promised to get in touch with him after reading the book.
Adeniyi is convinced that Battlefield of the Mind, written by Joyce Meyer, will help his new friend in the next phase of her earthly journey. He is glad for this, but Adeniyi himself had had a bigger battle with fear. He had been reading the book as a therapy to conquer fear. "My biggest fear is fear as a concept. Fear of the unknown, fear that things may not work as you planned it. I have been able to understand that fear is an emotional construction of the mind that has a negative effect if you don't work on it. We all need to work on our fears. I felt happy that I was able to put a smile on her face," he said.
But that is not all there is to Adeniyi, a father of one. A graduate of English Language from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Adeniyi flirted with the teaching profession before dropping his chalk for the pen. "I discovered I was not fulfilled as a teacher. I derived much joy writing in a creative manner and I switched to journalism. I am also not comfortable with the poor remuneration in journalism but I am fulfilled writing and changing the lives of people. For me, journalism is a means of social change. It is a means to an end,'' he declared.
Couldn't he have gone into politics then? "Everyone is a politician. I think politics should be a hobby. If you want to help people, you should not make a profession out of it.''
Adeniyi might be living his dream by sowing seeds of kindness daily, but he has a few Nigerians who have motivated and inspired him. His mother had the greatest impact on him. He is encouraged by her steadfastness and hope in tomorrow. " She did not grow up to meet her parents. Both of her parents died before she turned two months and she had to be brought up by her grandmother in the village. She would have been a banker if had been educated. "I adore her. She is very neat, very hardworking,'' he said with a big smile.
-Reporter Folashade Adebayo can be reached at sadeoladipo@yahoo.com.
At Jomo Kenyatta Airport Adeniyi waited for his connecting flight to Entebbe, Uganda, for the two week workshop organized by the World Journalism Institute. He clutched his book, scanning the faces of the strangers around him. Close by was a young woman, standing alone, with lines of stress and confusion edged deeply on her face. De Gita was a study in depression and dejection.
"I noticed that she had a troubled countenance and I tried to probe to find out what was wrong,'' said Adeniyi. For some reasons, Adeniyi was inspired to give this total stranger the well thumbed book: "I could see fear in her eyes and I was just divinely directed to give her the book."
That did the trick as De Gita blurted out her story. The South African had just lost her husband of five years. She was on her way to South Sudan to collect his corpse and did not know what to expect. "He had epilepsy and stroke and then he died. We were both living in South Sudan before he was transferred to South Africa and then he was posted again to Norway where he died. His corpse had been flown to South Sudan and I am going to bring him to South Africa for burial,'' she told Adeniyi.
The journalist took some time to counsel the bereaved woman, then bade her farewell as she left to catch her flight. But she promised to get in touch with him after reading the book.
Adeniyi is convinced that Battlefield of the Mind, written by Joyce Meyer, will help his new friend in the next phase of her earthly journey. He is glad for this, but Adeniyi himself had had a bigger battle with fear. He had been reading the book as a therapy to conquer fear. "My biggest fear is fear as a concept. Fear of the unknown, fear that things may not work as you planned it. I have been able to understand that fear is an emotional construction of the mind that has a negative effect if you don't work on it. We all need to work on our fears. I felt happy that I was able to put a smile on her face," he said.
But that is not all there is to Adeniyi, a father of one. A graduate of English Language from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Adeniyi flirted with the teaching profession before dropping his chalk for the pen. "I discovered I was not fulfilled as a teacher. I derived much joy writing in a creative manner and I switched to journalism. I am also not comfortable with the poor remuneration in journalism but I am fulfilled writing and changing the lives of people. For me, journalism is a means of social change. It is a means to an end,'' he declared.
Couldn't he have gone into politics then? "Everyone is a politician. I think politics should be a hobby. If you want to help people, you should not make a profession out of it.''
Adeniyi might be living his dream by sowing seeds of kindness daily, but he has a few Nigerians who have motivated and inspired him. His mother had the greatest impact on him. He is encouraged by her steadfastness and hope in tomorrow. " She did not grow up to meet her parents. Both of her parents died before she turned two months and she had to be brought up by her grandmother in the village. She would have been a banker if had been educated. "I adore her. She is very neat, very hardworking,'' he said with a big smile.
-Reporter Folashade Adebayo can be reached at sadeoladipo@yahoo.com.
Copyright: Times Observer, a publication of World Journalism Institute, New York, USA.
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