RESPONSE-ABILITY 1

Often times I ask my self if truly I am responsible. Though I do my job, carry out my roles as a husband, father, son, brother, friend and colleague. I do it to the best of my ability but again I thought about my past and how irresponsible I might have been. 

I looked at the word "RESPONSIBILITY" and the first thing I could do was to break the word down as I always did with brand names, copy lines, headers, words of poetry e.t.c to find a deeper meaning before I interpret in picture or in (more) words. 

RESPONSE-ABILITY was what I discovered and it led me to understand the reason I have really been irresponsible. The ability to respond to things determined life as it is, the pace to breakthrough, how far relationships go and how gaps and scars created would heal overtime.

Obviously, men's response-ability differs but successful men seem to have a higher ability to respond swiftly to things either negative or positive around them. 

During my high school days, my daily lunch money was N15 (fifteen Naira) to feed from 8am - 5pm and what that could buy was a N10 (Ten Naira) solo coke (25cl), and five Naira plantain chips in 1996. If I spent the money in the morning at Iya Rotimi's place (her food was awesome), I might have to tax my friends to have something for lunch. Sometimes I just have to survive someway till 5pm to be in the league of guys that could buy solo coke at closing hour to show off to the girls at least. I had to make extra money but what could a 14 year old do legitimately to make extra bucks. I started helping my (unserious) class mates write their notes and also help them with projects that required visuals.  I would stay up all night to write notes, draw, paint or do whatever the task was while my parents never understood the reason I stayed up late. 

Here I am now, and those late nights helped me to have a sense of urgency, meeting up with deadlines and also established a discipline that is still intact till date. As my response-ability was flawless in some areas, it was on a decline in some major areas too. Some people took advantage of it but to the Glory of God, I am grown up and wiser now. The Lord thought me (in my own opinion) how life should be about HIM, family, self, work, friends and other people. He taught me how man should have the ability to respond to everything around him (every stone unturned has to be turned) either by being silent at one hand and doing otherwise on the other. I also understood how wisdom is knowing what to do at a particular point and time if only we acknowledge Him.

So, to be responsible is not only about how you respond to family needs or carry out duties or buy beer for friends just to be in their good books but how we compassionately respond to challenges, problems, people and situations that surrounds us everyday.

Perhaps if our leaders responded to our challenges as they came, Nigeria might not be in the mess it is today.

Mediocrity Is Good

Designed in 2009 at Babamutum, Katsina during my NYSC. 

My hatred for mediocrity presented with all kinds of fluffiness and sweetened tongues is what informs the output of my works but I did not become 'pro' overnight.

I own up when I don't know jack and I appreciate it when people do the same. About 7 years ago, I practically knew nothing about photoshop but I knew how to use corel draw (self taught) and I did some mediocre designs with it like the one above. I wasn't really satisfied with what I was doing so I decided to learn when I got the slightest chance to do so (even if it is from someone that is way younger than I am).

Trying my hands on design themes.

I needed a personalised wall paper for my laptop.

When Obama became President in 2008.

My intention is to design sneakers.

I knew one day I was going to have a website (www.lexain.com)

Immediately I finished NYSC in 2009, my father and my elder brother gave me twenty five thousand naira each to go for a graphics design training, and I trained for two months after which I began to use and enjoy photoshop which I dreaded initially. I really had a great time (I still do) learning how to use photoshop tools as I was eager to express my art(s) using the application. I did a lot of jobs for free during that era, trying my hands on so many tricks.

My first logo using photoshop CS3

School Club logo designed for my cousin

I love to design adidas.

I love to design adidas sneakers still.

Free online party poster for my cousin

"X"- when I was still in an identity crisis, trying to discover my real self

I took some of these works for an interview at an Noah's Ark, through my great uncle and miraculously I got my first job as an art director (Thanks to Lanre Adisa for giving me a shot). Anyway(s), it would be 4 years in June since I entered the industry and www.behance.net/lexain would show you how well I have improved by not forming "I sabi" (I know) but learning under the masters, rookies and asking a lot of questions. I am still work in progress though, but at least I "sabi" wetin I dey do.

Aim to "Do epic Shit"

"The largest room in the world is the room for improvement"

The Fuel, The Queue And The Arguments

My younger brother monitoring the queue

Around 8:00am, while I was trying to put the remaining fuel I got through my wife's colleague on Friday to get ready for Church, a good samaritan passed by and hinted me that fuel was currently sold at a filling station close by. Immediately I took the jerrycans available and asked my brother to accompany me. The queue was reasonable but we decided not to join the car queue but the queue of jerrycans.

The Niger fellow in the midst of Nigerians

The Queue: Like many other queues in Lagos, had its add ons like arguments, fights which could be about politics, religion, football, women, tribe amongst many other subject matters. Funny enough there were three arguments that happened while we waited for our turn to be fuelled.

The first argument I initiated by asking my brother what role faith plays in making a decision to either be at the filling station, get fuel and be late to church/not attend church at all or go to church first and believe that fuel can be gotten later. Well, the argument ended sensibly.

The second argument was from the guy holding the 25 litres jerrycan (picture above) from Niger Republic claiming that he is a real Nigerian while we are not and also claiming the right to jump the queue and put his jerrycan ahead of others. The guy was obviously high on sniffing gum or faeces like a fellow man said in the heat of the argument.

The last one was on the car queue almost at the entrance of the filling station between a cab driver and a woman who was either just coming from church or just going. Apparently, the woman jumped the queue and she could not be dislodged. The cab man was so disgruntled that after arguing on top of his lungs, made a very outrageous statement. These were his exact words " Women are wicked, my mother is wicked, my wife is wicked even my sister is wicked!" So how did the argument end? As they were close to the fuel pump, they both discovered that they hail from the same region in the east. Well, as a Nigerian you know how that would end.

As an add on, while all of these were happening, there was this certain young man who held a 5 litres keg. He argued with a man who had two jerrycans in his Mercedes Benz C300 about something I couldn't reconcile, then later he came to me that we would not get fuel until 2:00pm. He later joined the queue, then came to tell me and my brother to try and monitor the fuel pump area as some people were jumping the queue. Later I saw him jumping the queue trying to put his 5 litres keg in the cab man's vehicle so as to get fuel. Funny people!!

The fulfilment feeling you get once in a while

Finally we got plenty of fuel and also made Church on time.

Meanwhile somewhere along Ikorodu Road, Boys gotta hustle big time to pay 'em bills.

Road service