PhiDims' Muse

In our previous issue, we established that people are already living with the intense fear of tomorrow in addition to the unanswered and unresolved existential questions – about why we are here and the purpose of life. This mindset of inadequacy or purposelessness facilitates an endless circle of worry and anxiety in people, families and even communities. It is true that we now live in what is known as the “ age of anxiety”.   And the very first step to this great anxiety is fear. Our world today, not just Nigeria, has become a frightening place to live. Many of us live with a sense of underlying dread about things and uncertainties around us. In wind up of the year 2019, we experienced the emergence of Coronavirus which is often called Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). The World Health Organization has warned that the  coronavirus pandemic  is a "defining global health crisis of our time", as it urged countries to test all suspected cases. The United Stat...

In the break of the New Year, everyone is hopeful about the future, about goals to achieve and objectives to check as done. Everyone sets out as optimistic as they can be from December and prepare to strive to live through January. It is in this pursuit that Nigerians experienced the heightened wrath of the re-wake of the Boko Haram attack. From one attack to the other; to the killing of Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa state CAN Chairman, Reverend Lawan Andimi and Ropvil Dalyep, a student of the University of Maiduguri in addition to the abduction of Lilian Daniel Gyang and several others.  I am not concerned with recounting the ordeals we have been faced with since the inception of Boko Haram in Nigeria, but I want us to see something we all have been missing as a people and as a Nation.  Over the years and especially in recent times, this terrorism has been given a louder voice through social media. We have to realize that one of the strong tools now emp...

There are times I find that our journey is strange. The walk is like unto a wilderness. Like a dry desert walk. And we must admit for other times, quite flourishing and refreshing. But for the desert walk we find that: No road signs. No traffic lights & traffic wardens. No stops. No eateries. No rest rooms. No ATMS. Nothing. Just long quiet walks. No whispers. Just you and you, not even your shadow. Strain. Pain. Drain, no gain. Nothing. Good news is that in those moments we are never left without a map and compass. You know, some device that tells us what direction we're heading and another with details of where we ought to be and how to get there. I find that His word is the Map with every little detail. Not only of how we ought to live or how important our journey in life is or even what He has called us to be , also as "trivial" the fact that He cares for every little thing that concerns us. As simple as how perhaps we use Facebook or maybe how Facebook uses u...

The resistance and possible aggression you get when you raise certain issues or faults of social media/networks amazes me. The arguments which usually leads to verbal attacks from young people is actually something to pay attention to. The whole ball revolves around the fact that we speak of the social networks as though they do not have any good that they have brought to the table from inception. But is this the point we are making when we caution the heart of the young as regards this issue? No! Permit me to state a bit of my particulars, not to claim the position of an authority in these matters, i.e. of social media and Christian youths, but to propose that I have a valid say from my experience interacting with the young people online. I have been an active internet user for 16 years now; and have explored the nooks and crannies of the internet, including ‘uncharted territories’, places to ‘sacred’ for young saints; I have suffered the hits of being such an internet user, I...

Undoubtedly, technology and the media has served an “improving” role in the lives of people generally. This age has witnessed sophisticated advancement and amazing technological inventions that has served to make life easy for us. To this we are ever thankful, but alongside these technological developments have come many setbacks that the human race is struggling with. It is both amazing and worrisome how the Internet and social media has become so available to us that it has become so integrated into our lives and in turn has become a source of problem. For the past decade, the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America ™ survey has examined how stress affects American adults’ health and well-being (1). In 2017, the survey took a closer look at how technology and the media is affecting the lives of people in America and the findings are quite interesting and disturbing at the same time. Now, even though this research was carried out in the United States of America,...

"The worse fear is not death, but the discovery that we have never really lived when the time comes for us to die". Paul T. Wong, PhD. Death is the reality of every passing day. Every passing moment I live, I actually die. Every day given is actually one taken. The sooner I realize and accept this truth, the better for me; for the reality that one day, I shall depart this World is one which I have often avoided. Over the past few weeks, especially as I approached my birthday which I celebrated January 4th, the reality of death dawned on me with a whole new light. Death now seemed different. I was now pondering the matter...the always dreaded DEATH.  Death is more real than this life I thought, because it is as it unfolds that life is unraveled. It was through death even, that we had our lives back. In the past few days, I followed the activity of some of my friends, on Facebook, who shared the losses of either their friends or family members. I focused on two thin...

I have been compelled to write about this because of number of accounts that have been reportedly (which I have also confirmed) hacked and overridden, this month alone. This wave of hacking is different in that the hackers take over you Facebook Account, change your username, profile picture (and upload some of theirs), password, email, log you out on all devices and delete you photo album. Interestingly, they still maintain your friend list. Why? I do not fully understand. For some reasons, the profile pics and names they use indicated they MIGHT be Americans or Brits…this is only a postulation though. MY ADVICE TO YOU Step up your Facebook Security. A. Go to your SETTINGS menu Select SECURITY and LOGIN 1. Then change your password. Make it secured by using a combination of uppercases, lowercases, numbers, and symbols. This is usually difficult for the cracking robots to hack. Dont use your birthdays, special dates/events, etc. 2. After changing ...