New Twitter Account
In approximately three months, I will turn 25. Ten years ago, I was studying for WAEC and JAMB, now I am writing up the last bits of my PhD thesis. The journey in the last 10 years has not been easy, but I am grateful for all God has done.
What next? A familiar question to most people who are about to conclude events in their lives that have taken lots of effort and time. The Nigerian (or Yoruba) culture is to keep our cards to our chest lest the village people (antagonists) attempt to ruin our plans. For those, who have asked me personally, I have been very open about my plans, long term and especially short term as it is more relevant to the “what next” question. However, I will not be disclosing these plans on this post, at least not directly. Not because I am afraid of what my “enemies” would do, but because it is not very relevant at the moment. Besides, as someone who believes in the protection of God, that is the least of my worries.
A lot of people have great plans. While majority of these plans fail, a few of these plans become successful thereby thrusting their architects into uncharted terrains of success and fame. Frequently, the success of these plans comes as a surprise to the architects. Perhaps, because the failure rate is significantly higher than the rate of success. As seen in failed historical expeditions, surprises and uncharted terrains are not great partners. Thus, these architects are faced with a new challenge on how to cope with the success and fame. This challenge can be be solved or at the very least mitigated by the preparation for the fame/success that will come if your plans do succeed.
Therefore, I have spent every time I can spare to take steps that will prepare me for the life I hope for after this degree. One of these steps is the main point of the post. To cut to the chase, I have decided to create a different twitter account. I will not be closing the old account but I will change my privacy settings to “private”. Why?
Ten years ago, I created my twitter account. My opinions on some issues have improved, others have changed completely and a few have remained the same. In the current political climate, people are chastised or “cancelled” because of things they said when they were below the legal age of consent. Not only is it ridiculous, it is also a test of the legal frameworks that empower our societies. If our laws seal criminal records of juveniles, why is there not a button that seals/hides our juvenile social media posts? At the moment, I have not been cancelled for anything but I am certain that there would be antagonists who will try to search for something when I am successful.
Secondly, twitter has become more of an entertainment platform than a place where people share ideas or micro-blog. The algorithms that control our timeline use likes and retweets to determine what we should see. Although, I have loved that I could go to twitter for a hilarious escape, I find it difficult to post my serious thoughts. I am sure there is a psychological explanation behind this. Therefore, I will have two separate accounts. One for my escape to the world of comical captions and the other where I am able to indite my thoughts on serious issues as they relate to education, business, philanthropy and politics.
If you would like to converse or follow my opinions on these topics, follow my new account.
