The power of a praying mother, the joy of innovation… and golfing my way

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a prayer conference where women came together to pray for their children. To snatch time out of that particular weekend, which would have naturally seen me take the children out for a swim, was quite a tough call. To ensure that the time was made available, I had to call them in for a mini board meeting and kicked in my negotiation skills.

The conversation went fairly well and I got the permission to renege on our fortnightly ritual for a seemingly better event that will see me add to my built proficiency in parenting. I am thankful to Reverend Funke Adejumo for the awesome vision that has seen Mothers’ Summit make tremendous impact, nationwide.

Fast forward to last weekend, Femi Longe came into town. The name might not strike a ready bell if you are not in any way aware of the rising Yabacon Valley, Lagos that has steadily been taking shape as Nigeria’s version of Silicon Valley. Femi is the co-founder of the hugely popular Co-Creation Hub located in Yaba, Lagos. I remember meeting him for the first time several years ago and the passion I saw when he shared with me some of the projects that were being ideated at the Hub. The great news is that Abuja is about to enjoy some of the pristine innovations that have hitherto been the exclusive reserve of Lagos.

An Education Technology Innovation Hub aptly named ‘re:learn Open Living Laboratory’ has just been launched by Co-Creation Hub in Abuja. I am looking forward to the school holiday so I can register my children for the summer coding academy that will hold at the centre. Far flung memories of my son as a child intimating me that he would love to intern with Mark Zuckerberg after secondary school, have kept me poised to mop up every technology learning opportunity that we may both encounter. Loads of exciting opportunities certainly looms and I am excited at the possibilities.

One rare opportunity that I have increasingly embraced of recent is the joy of reconnecting with the golf course. Living in Abuja can be splendid and quite joyful especially considering the lush parks that are available for free recreational use by the residents. The wonder is that for a game like golf that was once considered a “bourgeois” hobby by Fidel Castro after the 1959 revolution and the same opinion reiterated by Hugo Chavez who out rightly stated that ‘golf is a bourgeois sport,’ may not exactly be the case in Abuja.

I recently got to know that there are about four golf courses in Abuja with some offering greatly reduced walk-in-walk-out golf sessions. For a token, you get to play by the hour and also get expert coaching from the tutors. To experience the joy that golfing brings, you can locate any of the available courses in Abuja including Parkland (Garki), IBB (Asokoro), GEJ (Abuja Airport) and Harrow Park (Central Business District).

I am definitely looking forward to a restful and equally exciting weekend filled with laughter and football. Thankfully, the week three football fixture for FC Abuja and TEAP FC was rescheduled and will hold tomorrow at 4pm at the Area 3 Pitch. You should really come as I will be there to cheer my favorite team and if I am really lucky, I will get to hang out with the buffalo boys in the locker room. I am already thinking of some exciting ways to get the children to tag along as well.

About Blossom Ozurumba

Blossom is a writer, compère and public servant. She co-founded, Digital Media Development Initiative, a non-profit that contributes to sustainable development of Nigeria’s individuals and organizations through the innovative use of Digital Media. She has increasingly become known as a gender equity advocate with her core messaging that demands non-compromise in valuing competence, capacity and character. She currently works as the Technical Assistant, New Media to the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu. To relax, she plays golf, dabbles with candid photography and reads African Literature. She hopes to write a book one day while sharpening her writing skills on her blog, www.blossomozurumba.com.