My friend, Although this letter is very informal and unfortunately late, I choose to bring it out because we all know that it’s “better late than never”.

The constraints of time have made sharing of pleasantries totally irrelevant in this small piece. I therefore proceed. I know for a fact that you have begun your West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination. Some candidates have started with their Practicals already.

I know you will write the highly sensitive oral English. Cock up your ears, clean your ‘olfactory lobes’ and brace yourself up for it. My lovely friend, as for examinations, you have written a whole lot of them before. Therefore, this should not be a novelty to you.

The only difference between what you have written in the past and this one is the West Africanization of this present one. It is therefore on a large scale. This also will ensure “a small step but a giant leap” in your lifetime if you come out with flying colours (with which wings do they fly). An examination is just an assessment intended to measure the skill, knowledge, aptitude and many other things bestowed unto you for the three years you spent in that powerful four-cornered school of yours.

This, therefore, should not put you off. I have known you for the past years and can bet my life on how powerfully you can overcome this. You know we used to talk about how Labaran Mohammed blew the papers.

How Akwasi Amponkye put out a splendid and marvellous performance. How Lucy Prempeh made WAEC raise the marking scheme because she ‘hit a jackpot’ in her marks. This should spur you on to also make it because they were human beings like you. After all “Whatsoever things common to man, that man has done, man can do.” Marcus Garvey. They had two hands, two legs, two eyes and a brain to work with. You also have all these coupled with the fact that you are more ‘sophisticated’ than they were.

 I do not want to go into the nitty-gritty of the various subjects, therefore I tell you to fill yourself with an optimistic spirit and shrug off pessimism off your shoulders. Jack Layton said “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us, love, be hopeful and optimistic and we’ll change the world”. I, therefore, entreat you to fill your thoughts with positivity.

Imagine yourself as having done tremendously well and you’ll live to see it materialize. Imagine as “imagination is better than knowledge” Albert Einstein. Remember when you told me you want to be the Chairman of the African Union in the near future. We also discussed the possibility of changing the condition of Africa from the state of debility to a resplendent state. This is how you sail through to ensure all these powerful dreams come true.

You then have to push through the existing frontiers of learning, have the enthusiasm, the gusto, the zeal and come out successfully. Remember “If you decide to go for it, do it with spirit, sometimes success is due less to ability than to zeal”. Charles Buxton My friend, fine-tune your mind towards success and have a positive emotion. “Positive emotions empower but negative emotions disempower”. You are different from animals because of the power of your mind. With your mind, you can turn heaven into hell or turn the worst form of existence into heaven. Therefore win in your mind and translate it outside.

Remember “Everything is in the mind. That’s where it all starts. Knowing what you want is the first step toward getting it.” Mae West. My humble friend, before I rest my case, I want you to have faith. “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens” Gimli (The dwarf in Lord of the Rings).

Keep your dreams alive; understand that to achieve anything requires faith, belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication. Remember Jesus the Christ said, “if you can believe, all things are possible for those who believe”. Never fear. “Fear is a traitor which often makes us lose what we might achieve” Kwame Nkrumah. You block your dream when you allow your fears to grow bigger than your faith.

My friend, my body is very weary, my eyes are heavy with sleep, therefore, I’ll conclude by quoting the greatest man that ever lived on earth. Prophet Muhammad said “Seek carefully what benefits you and seek help only from only from Allah. And never lose heart. If any adversity (misfortune) comes to you do not say “If I had only acted in such and such way, it would have been such and such instead say “Allah has decreed it and what he willed is done. Verily “it opens the way for the work of Satan”.

Hope my friend! because hope is the dream of a waking man. Have an unflinching hope that you going to make it because hope is a waking dream. Have hope “for without hope life is darkness, darkness is fear and bigotry, the road to self-destruction and denial of all our human virtues” Rick Warren.

I, therefore, entreat you to “HOPE AND PRAY” Movado.

Wish you the best of luck.

Sincerely yours,

Maazi Okoro.