My Dirty Boxers

One year after her passing, nothing has changed, I still feel pains and, I still have a lot of unanswered questions but, Valar Morghulis - All men must die. (Photo credit: Ramsey's iPhone) Yea, it's been one year already, and nothing has changed. I still feel as much pain as I did exactly one year ago, when the darkest of clouds usurped me. When the earth received my mother's body, it still hurts. I’ve tried many times to do this, but it is what it is. What a year it has been. There was no inkling before it happened, so there is no benchmark. However, it’s a different kind of pain, one I don’t wish on anyone. The 17th of May 2023 will forever remain where it is; hopefully, it remains the darkest ever until my dying day. The mood was obvious; Deepsea could tell in the car. Joy sent me a text message to lift my spirits, but calls from Ibadan informed me that my mom was on her way to the hospital. It didn’t take long for me to realize it wasn’t her usual attention-seeking dr...

This new year, do you, be more and most importantly, "no gree for failure". Happy New Year from me and my dirty boxers to you and yours. (Photo credit: Google) Hello everyone, it’s my first post in this space this year, and I promise it won’t be the last. I delivered next to nothing here last year on purpose, to be honest, but I’ll do better this year. I wrote a lot last year, more commercial than for personal pleasure. Besides, it was a hell of an emotional year, and I didn’t want to bring my troubles here. I wrote a couple of things at the tail end of the year that I never posted here. LOL, you should read some of them. Okay! We go again in a bit. The holiday is over, and I can’t exactly say I was on holiday because I worked throughout. It is what it is, and we’re happy to do so while we can. I was away, I traveled, and I was happy I touched Ibadan. It was the hardest part of my holiday, as I had to stare at my parents without saying a word. It’s a new year with renewed ...

This has been like a home recently but, the goal is to get stronger when it gets tougher. I'm fighting to win. (Photo credit: Ramsey's iPhone) I remember promising Bukky (formerly the Peridot of BR, now the Peridot of UK) that I'd write a lot this month; it definitely won’t be every day like I did last year, but I’ll try, and here you go. To start with, it’s been a tough year by all standards. Not sure there’s ever a year in which I felt half as much physical pain as this year; 2019 had the inglorious award until 2023 pulled up, and here’s me hoping I’ll never have to see a more painful year than this one. The past three weeks have been the toughest. I spent more days with the physiotherapists than at work, but I am probably the strongest human I know. I am not giving up anytime soon, but the pains better ease up before I do something crazy. Yesterday was the International Day of People Living with Disabilities. It should be a public holiday, but while I wasn’t physicall...

The hardest hour, moment of harsh reality. Dear Sweet Victoria, I'm in pains, if you can, send me help. (Photo credit: My baby sister) Since May 17 th , 2023, I haven’t been the same, and there’s no way in hell this would change anytime soon. It’s not for lack of effort; I am convinced within me that I am trying my best to snap out of this gloom, but it won’t just go away; it’s my biggest test yet. Just so we’re clear, I am not writing about my mom today, not even tomorrow, and I sincerely don’t know when I’ll have the courage to do so, but this is about how I feel; it’s probably the only thing I haven’t tried, so here we go. How do I feel? I feel naked, empty, and a little hopeless. I'm not sure I’m depressed; I’m certainly not suicidal, but the feeling is harrowing, and that’s me putting it mildly. Last night was tough; loneliness kind of made it worse, but for how long would I have to depend on someone’s presence? It’s unsustainable. Echoes of Mom’s last voice note won’t ...

  Queen Latifah with a man that actually married a woman named Queen. My amazing teammates. (Photo credit: Ramsey's iPhone) It’s been an amazing year by all standards and part of why I can boldly say that is the fact that I got to work with people that know their job, teammates that challenged me to be better while I already wrote about some of them, today is for my professional next of kins, my Strategy teammates. Strategy is the fulcrum that balances any agency, while I always maintain it’s never a competition and each of us is as important as all of us, I also like to throw in my all-time favorite quote: " there’s no amount of creative execution that can rescue a bad strategy." Strategy folks are like the traditional number 10 in football; close your eyes and imagine possibilities, hand it over to the guys across the room, and voila! We have a sensational experience to deliver to our clients, so in the context of Riquesa, these humans have helped me to stay alive. ...

Introducing Innocent (in Jean Jacket) and Deepsea (right behind him) on one of those days we had to work late. These are two of the amazing folks that make me shine. (Photo credit: Innodum) Today is the day the Lord has made and I’ll be glad enough to talk about my other ten gladiators; these are the amazing people, sometimes annoying but damn right productive that passed through my team this year at Riquesa Africa. I think I wrote about how unlucky I felt when a couple of them had to leave at different points under different circumstances but each and every one of them holds a place in my heart for their magic and how they individually made me shine, I present the gladiators of my Creative & Strategy agency within the agency. Trend, the one that held forth, and my John the Baptist; one wise that gives nothing away. Class of Glenfiddich this moment and on sachet action bitters the next. I rate this guy highly and we even live in the same neighborhood, dude walked not long after...

  It's been an amazing year working with these mad brains. Thank you and let's do it again next year. (Photo credit: Ramsey's iPhone) Today started off on an emotional note and I still have goosebumps as I type this. Our Monday ritual, progress meeting turned into a vote of thanks session, and this brings some electrifying feeling. I was hoping I’d write about the World Cup today or probably drag Halima for offending me on Saturday (I’m unforgiving like that) but my teammates already stole the show and it’s only right I do the honors today in my own space to appreciate every single one of them. I was going to actually talk about the gladiators, I mean the ten people that passed through my team this year at Riquesa but I’ll make this about the entire team and then pick another day to discuss my immediate family members (Strategy and creative). Step forward, my ever-demanding project folks, from Tolu Ayeola-George, to Tumi Armari – the energy goddess and even the one th...

  Guess who's in town to see me, my very own drama queen. (Photo credit: Bennie Gold) It’s a random musing day and that’s because I’m still struggling. I don’t know who is after my life by sending malaria my way. I don’t know how to feel right now but I will be fine. I know I have haters who are bent on pouring hypo on my Detty December but God will not allow them to overcome me because I don’t know why malaria is visiting the lion’s chamber at this crucial time. Again, it’s about random musings so let’s do it. Today is Dara’s wedding, my former senior art director that Noah’s Ark stole from me; great guy by all standards but today is not the day to write about him or any of my other ten gladiators that brought sunshine into my work as the Strategy Lead at Riquesa… Not today but soon. So my mom heard I’m sick and guess what? She blitzed into town to come take care of me, can your mom ever? LMAO small malaria, mamma don show. I’m already asking her to pack her load and return ...

  I'm back in my corner at the theatre of dreams, feeling good and ready to go. (Photo credit: Ramsey's iPhone) So, I’m back at work today after a whole week off due to my eye surgery. It feels good to walk into the theatre of dreams again after a whole week out. Feels good to be back at the Theatre of dreams; it’s not a full house really, Sandy Mandie is not in town and you can tell. The energy goddess herself, not like she’s not representing online, I am feeling her heat from the UK as I type, and trust me, it’s all for the win. Tolu (Pastor Asake) is standing in for the King of boys and I don’t envy him. I doubt that guy has slept for up to four hours in three days. Back-to-back executions and now he must understand the hard work Sandy does. I feel like laughing at him but I won’t because I’m a good guy. My men, Innocent the resident DJ of the kingdom is buzzing as always; a happy child with zero worries as long as yall allow him to run his P at the other end with Fisa...

  Seeth a man diligent in his works, he won't sit with mediocres but with kings... We're balling at the table of men. (Photo credit: NMA) I woke up with huge anxiety for obvious reasons; I had a date at the eye clinic, and I feared the worst already, but two great news soon cleared the air and left me feeling up to it again. Sandra’s text early on helped me feel better and just after my appointment, I got the news that we (Riquesa Africa) have been nominated among industry giants for the Experiential Agency of the year award category of the Nigerian Marketing Awards, did I hear you say, “it’s coming home”? I am not one of those that say awards are for egos, please inject it in my veins because all we do is win. I was going to share another touching story from my eye clinic but that can wait. Right now, I’m only thinking about Sandy Mandy walking that stage to receive the award, we’ll shut down Cubana. I can hear pessimists like Ebere asking “what if we don’t win”, LOL I’m...

  Happy birthday baby girl, have a mind-blowing new year. First class only and we can have a conversation. (Photo credit: Ramsey's iPhone)   For a week that started on a difficult note and even got worse at some points with strange eye problems, I am anticipating the weekend for lots of discrete fun, you heard me right. It’s been an interesting week, to be honest. After my article of last week about my struggles and broken engagement, I’ve received lots of love and I sincerely didn’t have an inkling that people love me this much LOL but then, I am grateful and I also appreciate the fact that people respected my privacy, quite crucial. I also got a memo from a friend that said I’m technically running some kind of laundry for Tinubu with my articles LOL. She’s someone I respect a lot so, I’ll keep it civil. I try to write in basic English which should not be complicated to understand, how many times do I have to say it that I won’t endorse Tinubu? Today is about vibes and ...

  From left, Ohmar, Tolu, Victor, Titi, Eniola, Rambo, Ife and Moji Coker at the finale of the customer service week. It was a great one at our end. (Photo credit: Sandra Ajayi) I was tempted to write about Anikulapo today but nah, we’ll do that another day. I’ve seen lots of takes and blame games; it has always been the standard practice, to look for who to blame instead of picking the actual lessons in the movie project. I remember how it was after people saw Tyler Perry’s Acrimony; it was more a gender war than anything else and that energy is back at play on Anikulapo; I’ll allow more people to see it before I write about it but that, certainly won’t be too far away from now. I’m knackered actually and I feel a little bit lonely but I have no explanation for that. I’ll just walk you through how my week went that’s if you agree that the week has ended already. It was a rather fast one and I’m not complaining, a lot went according to plan and I’m grateful for that. Started ...

  We had lots of despe last night and loads of others but I'm advising you, stay away from alcohol. (Photo credit: Desperados Nigeria) I woke up at few minutes before 10am, how I dragged myself into the bathroom and into the car to get to work beats my comprehension but all I will tell you is this: stay away from alcohol. Last night was dope at the table of men with Seye and the gang. Who goes to a birthday party on a Monday night? Has to be a Riquisan and I can only SMH for every single one of them in there last night; it was fun by all standards but omo! The hangover choke. It was nice seeing my people – Latifah Baba Ahmed and Trend again, chronic outsiders. The induction ritual was carried out by Titi and she also gave me edibles which I should never have taken from her, three shots fired and the rest is history. I still haven’t gotten myself back to form; Rambo isn’t Ramboing right now, it’s Ronke’s birthday and I’ll just grab some cake and exit the building. I know you w...

  Last night was dope with Desperados at the beach club. Let's do it again soon. (Photo credit: Ramsey's iPhone) Last night was dope, from the premiere of Jade Osiberu’s Brotherhood movie at Joel Aeida to Despe’s Rave on the beach, a silent disco party… everything went according to plan and I must give it up for my team. If you think we’re not the best at what we do, you might want to show me who’s better. Today’s post isn’t about finesse or any topic in particular; I mulled over a few options but coming back from the recording of the MMS podcast, I’ll rather tell you about my week and wait till tomorrow to share something interesting I learned from Tisman’s post tomorrow. It’s a challenging week. Better than last week by all standards; the brief that sent us to the war front still hasn’t been closed but we’re not doing badly and, I’m pretty sure we’ll close it by Monday. I’m excited about the new turns and maybe, it’s always cool to listen to second opinions. The highlig...

  Let's party on the beach with Desperados tonight... Shall we? (Photo credit: Ramsey's iPhone) …At about 10pm, Hillary’s phone rang and she gestured to me to not say a word; I wasn’t bothered because I’d rather act, not talk in that scenario. The voice at the other end found its way to me, I’m sure I’d written about the quality of my ear drums in the past. It wasn’t a pleasant conversation; it was her boyfriend and it was quite heated. A lot ran through my head; I thought this girl said she was single and we agreed to date? Apparently, I was a placeholder, more like a filler but I pretended I didn’t hear a thing. Moments after she dropped the call, she stepped out of the car without saying anything; She came back about five minutes later and asked we go into the party. I dragged myself out and limped after her, we got to the fourth floor and right at the entrance, I was introduced to my first embarrassment. It was a ticketed event; Hillary was supposed to be someone’s pl...

  Let me know what you think of Lush Hair's games and tasks in the Big Brother Naija house today. (Photo credit: Riquesa Africa) It’s an emotional day and I have to crave your indulgence to push the sequel to my first ever silent disco party till tomorrow. You don’t want to be me right now, just understand with me that I have you in mind and I’m honestly not playing mind games. Yo! I’m sure the show would be well underway or even over by the time most of you would be reading this but find time to watch Big Brother Naija today; It’s really crazy out here and everything is happening way too fast but hey, we don’t sit here to do easy things. I was trying to chin up at a presentation earlier today when it hit me that yet another childhood hero, Roger Federer has called it quit. I understand many see Rafael Nadal as the greatest ever based on number of grand slam victories and Novak Djokovic based on his fierceness but for me, my male tennis GOAT is Roger Federer. I am an avid spo...

  One of us is not important as all of us... (Photo credit: Always had it) So it’s my baby’s engagement event today and I’m nervous; show is about to start, don’t ask me for pictures or my look in agbada cos I won’t answer you. For those that can’t see me, don’t ask me for my whereabouts, I will not answer you. Zukwanike. I’m relieved that the pressure of the past few days has evaporated into some sense of fulfilment; we always have to find ways to understand the value of every component of a team and, when we disagree, we stay informed that we’re not fighting against one another, we’re only trying to win together. Again, I feel blessed for the guys around me; from the deceptive innocence of the one to my left, and the unpredictable sweetness and madness of the one right after her, then to the mad men that join hands with the girls to make me shine… God is good and kind to me. The ones on my right have no idea how much I love them, they will someday; it’s Olamide’s birthday t...

  It's one of those days but again, I'm not complaining. I'm grateful through this phase but I certainly can't wait for it to pass. (Photo credit: I've always had it) Earlier today, I posted a video of my teammates having fun on the table tennis and snooker board, lots of people were quick to envy us and asked I share their CVs to my HR; we truly have amazing work environment but do they know that I was in a brainstorming session from 12:30pm till past 7pm? Be careful what you wish for mhen. It's one of those days, I'm not complaining but I'm overwhelmed by lots of things on all fronts. My head is turninoninown as I type and I know for sure that I'll be behind this laptop till dead of night... It's the life we signed up for. I will not be able to continue the Headies Award reviews today; I don't even know how to explain but it sucks to be me right now. I must state it here, I'm highly blessed with amazing teammates especially the Stra...

  I am angry beyond words, standing in for someone is now risky as hell and you might want to review your decisions on behalf of people henceforth. (photo credit: Google) Mercy’s story will have to wait till tomorrow. My heart is broken right now and I can’t think straight or even feel up to it to share any story. My commitment to this journey is the only reason I’m writing something for y’all to read and I’ll just leave it at that. Know this and know peace, you can’t come good if you continue to defend people out of emotions and if you don’t have genuine substance to hold on to, potential is absolute nonsense and worthless especially in the face of raw evidence against productivity. I wish I can actually spill but it’s best I keep my anger in check and leave it. People aren’t close to the calm demeanor they post when they’re looking for opportunities and if you dare fall for how soft-spoken people can be, you’ll probably end up in jail for something you know nothing about. I...

  It's the worst kept secret, I work in a madhouse and I'm not complaining. (Photo credit: Google) Today is enlightening, you too see: I know many of you are expecting the sequel to Mercy’s story LOL, it will come but not today; speaking of Mercy, she called me last night and was just laughing like an idiot, she gave me a different side to her story and I honestly don’t know how to react… Not today though. So, it’s health week in the office and every single day I walk into office, I’m tempted to ask Olamide where she got every of my colleagues from; forget it, everyone in that building is mad and they know it, not a single human in that building is sane and guess what? No one is complaining. Sandy Mandy is back!!! I missed her but she didn’t disappoint, she’s back with the savagery intact, mamma couldn’t even disguise for a second. Wait, you don’t know Sandy Mandy? She’s the head of business at Riquesa Africa, she’s sensational and that’s on God. Back to the madness of th...