The Relentless Builder: April 2013

30 April 2013

The Gentleman Series | 5: He Must Not Be a Womanizer

Labels: Marriage, Nigerian Men, Relationships, The Gentleman Series

Initially, I had planned to use the words "morally upright," but I figured that womanizer would pass along the message faster. A womanizer, of course, is a man who is unfaithful, cheats regularly without remorse, and a generally promiscuous man. In short, a casanova.

This is the last entry in The Gentleman Series and this point needs to be made:

The Quintessential Nigerian Gentleman is

NOT a Womanizer

29 April 2013

12 comments

Pregnancy out of Wedlock Should Not Automatically lead to Marriage

Labels: Family, Marriage, Relationships

A common practice among certain ethnic groups in Nigeria (and possibly Africa too) is to marry off a girl / woman who gets pregnant out of wedlock, to the man who impregnates her. I know it is an old, traditional practice, but it is still carried out today.

26 April 2013

2 comments

This Friday's Free Downloads | Featured Artiste: Jid-Vocals

Labels: Free Downloads, Jid-Vocals, Music

I have missed this series for a few weeks now. Did you notice? I did *shines teeth*

Jid-Vocals // ReverbNation

25 April 2013

No comment

NEW VIDEO [Official] Imela - Cute Sagay

Labels: Cute Sagay, Music, Music Video

About two years ago, as I was browsing through ReverbNation. I stumbled on an artiste's profile. His name was Cute Sagay, and the songs I listened to were: Make that Change, and Changes. After that, the word that came to my mind was RESPECT.

Cute Sagay // ReverbNation

23 April 2013

5 comments

The Gentleman Series | 4: He Must Be Responsible

Labels: Character, Nigerian Men, The Gentleman Series

Can you believe we are on Number 4 already? Thank you to everyone who has been following this series.

18 April 2013

9 comments

Being Politically Correct: Are Ethnic Groups called Tribes or Nations?

Labels: Education, Ethnic Groups, Language, Politics

Growing up in Nigeria, one of the first things you learn in your social studies class is that Nigeria has three major ethnic groups: Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. For whatever reason, the teachers never mentioned that we had over 200 ethnic groups. I found out about that when I came here.

While I was in Nigeria though, it was perfectly acceptable and common to refer to ethnic groups as "tribes." I never heard anyone say it was offensive or even insinuate that it could be offensive to say a person was from a particular tribe. That is, until my college days here in the United States.

16 April 2013

10 comments

The Gentleman Series | 3: He Must Not Be Physically Abusive

Labels: Domestic Violence, Nigerian Men, Physical Abuse, The Gentleman Series

This needs to be said. I am anti-physical abuse, before, during, and even after a marriage. It is simply thuggish, bully behavior that should not be tolerated. Besides which, you cannot put the words "gentleman" and "physical abuse" together. It is contradictory.

In short:

The Quintessential Nigerian Gentleman is

NOT Physically Abusive

09 April 2013

17 comments

The Gentleman Series | 2: He Must be Well-Groomed

Labels: Fashion and Style, Nigerian Men, Physical Appearance, The Gentleman Series

Spiffy. Smart. Dapper. Those are just a few words that are related to "well-groomed." Technically, well-groomed means "well-dressed and scrupulously neat." In short:

The Quintessential Nigerian Gentleman must be well-groomed

And if you're not tired of hearing me repeat the word 'Quintessential' by now, you must be very patient ;-)

Now, let's break it down.

05 April 2013

No comment

THIS Friday's Free Downloads | Featured Artiste: Chudy

Labels: Chudy, Free Downloads, Music

How was your week? Fantastic, I hope. The songs featured here today come from an artiste whose music had already been showcased on this blog in the past. His name is Chudy.

02 April 2013

9 comments

The Gentleman Series | 1: He Must be Polite

Labels: Etiquette, Manners, Nigerian Men, The Gentleman Series

Thank you for joining me for this series. I hope we can share and learn together. Now, let's get started.

There are all kinds of gentlemen. In fact, you can tack just about any adjective in front of the word 'Gentleman' and you'll arrive at a different result. We assume that a gentleman is also a good man, but there are cases where the two are mutually exclusive. Why? Because being a gentleman has to do with etiquette and manners, while being good is a moral issue. They are two different things.

However, our focus for this series is the Quintessential Nigerian Gentleman. Because he exists.

01 April 2013

No comment

He is Alive!

Labels: Easter, Special Celebrations