Nyiko Speaks...

Hello….hello…anyone out there who is in the same WhatsApp group as me? When you buy a car, you are given a user manual so that just in case you don’t know what that button on the steering wheel does you can find out on page 8 of the manual. When you buy a phone you get a user manual just in case you don’t know how to activate the Wi-Fi, you can find the answer on page 10. When you buy a TV, you get a manual, so that just in case you want to know how to change the channel, you turn to page 15 of the manual to find the answer. When you buy a fridge, you get a manual that will answer all your questions about how to command your fridge to make crushed ice. I mean, for crying out loud even when you buy the simplest kettle, you get a manual that tells you on page 1, how to switch it on! User manuals really make life so easy, even though most of us never read them; it’s comforting to know that should you get stuck with any of your gadgets you can always refer to the manual and have ...

From the many conversations that one has had with friends over lunches, dinners, holidays , spa days etc., I feel the urge to put most of these conversations on paper. More often than not these conversations are humorous as we tackle subjects such as #WFMA (waiting for my Adam), "the prototype", "DHL it or leave it?", "weapons of war" etc... Please lest I be misinterpreted and quoted out of context, my lady friends and I discuss other more important things such as: women empowerment, the role that nuclear energy can play in addressing Africa's energy crisis, the impact of globalization on development, the role of the youth in Africa's development and of course, the nexus between peace and development, and of course the age old philosophical question:  what is the meaning of life? In light of the foregoing, I feel that it is only right that I use this platform to bring these discussions to light. In order to protect the identities of those in...

My goodness, why though? Why do we like to hold on to things even well past their sell-by dates? Or is it just me? This is rather strange because when it comes to food, if anything is within two or even three days of its sell-by date (note I said sell-by date, not even expiry date ), I do not touch it. I am that girl you will see at the supermarket always reaching for the bread, milk or veggies that are at the back of the shelf! What’s worse, even my mother will tell you that if a box of milk is due to expire say on the 10 th of June, should the digital clock on my nightstand hit 00:01 on the morning of the 10 th , I would not hesitate to throw my blankets aside, march to the fridge and throw out that box of milk out before someone decides to have cereal the next morning. Why then is it that in some instances (maybe one in particular) have I not extended the same risk rating that I have given to expired milk to some situations (or one situation in particular)? It...

So at some point in 2015 I believe it must have been, I birthed a term over a pizza date with my buddies Lusanda and Akhona. The term soon gained uber popularity as I introduced it to my other friendship circles. Now, since then I have been wanting to blog about it....but I lacked adequate material so I held back. It took me a whole 12 months to actually meet someone who actually fit the profile of the term that I had coined. Yes granted the term in itself is not entirely new, but the context within which I coined it and further developed it with my girls is what gives it its originality in a way that only my girls and I appreciate. Young Black Professional. YBP. That's the term. So you see I consider myself to be a YBP ... a young black professional who is upwardly mobile. A highly ambitious, assertive and purpose driven someone... So in my humble opinion the only match for me would be someone in the very same league...I believe that only makes sense! I'm all for that ...

I have been meaning to write about this awesome experience since the day that we arrived in Mozambique several days ago. But I suppose 4 days into the holiday is the most opportune time to sit down, reflect, recall and most importantly be grateful. I could not think of a better place to do this than on the beach, at 06:17 whilst l look out into the crisp blue ocean listening to the waves crashing into each other. So, precisely 12 weeks ago I began toying with the idea of going away with my most trusted allies, my closest friends to mark my 30th birthday. The plan came to together in the most fascinating way and I could not have asked for a better group of people to spend 5 spectacular days with. Since leaving RSA 4 days ago, our time has been nothing short of mad, crazy and stupendous fun. We have had deep conversations, silly conversations, hilarious conversations, shared meals together, taken walks on the beach, played games, swam in the ocean or rather some of us got manhandled b...

You see, I’m an old school kind of girl. You see I have, for the longest time, held on to the notion of boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. And the then boy asks girl out and they live happily ever after. And by boy asks girl out I literally mean that boy is supposed to stick to the script and say these very words without any deviation: “girl will you be my girlfriend”. You see I think that works out well and has several advantages, for example as girl who keep a meticulous record of anything and everything, you will have the exact date, time, location (perhaps even dress code) of when you started dating. That will enable you to know exactly your one week, two week, one month; three month anniversary is you see. So more than anything the concept of shelling (formally asking a girl out in kasi lingo) is important for ensuring that everyone is on the same page, there are no misunderstandings, no confusion and once again it allows one to keep an admissible record of things. Hmmm, there...

What a day, what a day, a day that the history books will remember. A day that, I have no doubt has moved us closer to the realisation of the ideals of the Revolution. Who was it that once said that each generation must discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it? I believe that those must have been the words of Afro-Caribbean psychiatrist, philosopher and revolutionary whose works are influential in the fields of post-colonial studies and Marxism:   Frantz Fanon. As a keen follower of student politics (given that I myself am a student) across South Africa, I have followed with devout commitment the developments as they unfolded regarding the #RhodesMustFall Movement as well as other developments as they relate to “decolonising” our national spaces, in particular institutions of higher learning. The call for genuine transformation is long overdue. The pace of transformation, particularly in the space of higher education has, for the most part been sluggish. I unequivo...

This is one of those rare and prized moments when I am travelling with my aunts and uncles to my cousin Rhulani’s wedding celebration – or rather part 2 thereof– in Thohoyandou, Venda. The first instalment of the wedding was last week, on the 19 th of September 2015 and what a beautiful day that was! We are on the road as I write this, driving through scenic routes, with a village or a township appearing here and there.   We are a party of six: my mom, my two uncles, my two aunts and I and since my uncle is the resident DJ and co-pilot on this road trip, there is a Shangaan music blaring in the background. I must say that the iconic and rhythmic instruments together with the simple yet creative lyrics invoke a sense of nostalgia. For some reason or the other it reminds of years gone by, at my grandparent’s home in Chiawelo, Soweto. On any given day outside, you could hear this kind of music playing somewhere a few houses down the road. The sweet melodies of Thomas Chauke-...

This is one of those rare and prized moments when I am travelling with my aunts and uncles to my cousin Rhulani’s wedding celebration – or rather part 2 thereof– in Thohoyandou, Venda. The first instalment of the wedding was last week, on the 19 th of September 2015 and what a beautiful day that was! We are on the road as I write this, driving through scenic routes, with a village or a township appearing here and there.   We are a party of six: my mom, my two uncles, my two aunts and I and since my uncle is the resident DJ and co-pilot on this road trip, there is a Shangaan music blaring in the background. I must say that the iconic and rhythmic instruments together with the simple yet creative lyrics invoke a sense of nostalgia. For some reason or the other it reminds of years gone by, at my grandparent’s home in Chiawelo, Soweto. On any given day outside, you could hear this kind of music playing somewhere a few houses down the road. The sweet melodies of Thomas Chauke-...

Sometimes, she catches her mind wandering. Wandering into worlds that she had told herself were no more. Worlds that she had told herself no longer exist. Those worlds used to be beautiful places, places of serenity, and places of dreams. But she soon realised that what had made those worlds magical, was because he was there. In those worlds they had co-existed, in those worlds they had breathed the same air; they had lived under the same skies. Beautiful blue skies with no clouds in sight, the sun shone brightly. By night, the sky was a perfect black, with a big full radiant night ball suspended in the atmosphere. If that moon could sing it would have looked down upon them and render a celebratory song in an unknown language that their ears could not make sense of, but their hearts could understand perfectly. Then, as though suddenly, clouds began to gather. They gathered as though responding to the sound of a mighty horn calling all soldiers to report for duty, for a battle...

Isn't it just strange how on a random day, a song starts playing on the radio and that song evokes a certain memory? Yeah, I'm sure sure we can all identify with that. For me, it actually goes beyond music evoking memories of days gone by. In fact it's quit bizarre, and I think that as an antidote, perhaps if I write these down, it will serve some kind of therapeutic purpose. It's funny how a lot of these random things take one back to a specific time in history. But hey, don't they say that when the world gives you lemons, you make lemonade? Well, in that case here's to making lemonade - cheers to the memories of days gone by. Oh yes, let's not forget that each time we make lemonade, we ought to make double sure that the bitter seeds have been removed. So if you are reading this, fill your glass to the brim and enjoy my sweet (seed-free, figuratively speaking) lemonade. In some instances, I may offer a bit more detail regarding what I have termed the ...

Sometimes, you need to stand still in order to move forward.  The other day I was  traveling from Johannesburg to Cape Town. The flight duration is normally just under two hours on a good day, on this particular day the flight left Johannesburg and halfway towards our destination the Captain announces that we are making good progress on the trip and all conditions (weather etc) are in order and a such we should reach our destination 15 minutes earlier than scheduled! Now for me it's always great news when a flight lands much earlier than expected, because that just means that one can get on the business of the day without delay.  As I'm having a mini victory dance (in my head of course), I'm thinking "this is great, it will give me a head start in collecting my luggage, getting my rental car and generally sorting out all the necessary logistics and I will get to my meeting early, yippee..."  About thirty minutes later, the speakers come on, interruptin...

Several days ago I had a dream. A dream that left me feeling in awe, feeling excited., feeling an inexpressible joy. Throughout that day I told anyone who cared to listen about this dream!!! Well, so here goes. So it seemed like any other ordinary day...until I heard the news! Not sure whether it was e news or SABC, but either way the news anchor reported that, now wait for it......she tells the nation that Jesus is coming back!!! Now of course He is coming back, I know that. What was so striking in this dream was that they were reporting it as though it was already happening! The news anchor further stated that when Jesus arrives, He will start in Soweto (lol, I'm pretty sure that this has something to do with our Good Friday celebration at Orlando Stadium) and make His way through the country.  I was so excited, and couldn't wait to meet my  Saviour, my Redeemer face to face!!  What a dream. It left me feeling all sorts of happy and joyous and calm and excited...

What a good laugh I had with my girl Dee last week Friday, me in Pretoria and her in Beijing! It has become a habit that now and again (probably too often in Dee's view), I call or send her a WhatsApp message and re-live the good times that we have had in the past, in particular our all-inclusive, all expenses paid, green braclet holiday in Zanzibar in 2012! We then progress to recalling everything from how we "won"the holiday in the first place, our journey there, time spent in transit in Nairobi, our arrival in Zanzibar and how in our excitement we got into the first car that we saw without even first ascertaining that the driver was actually taking us to the correct resort. We talk about the food we ate, the sandbank in the middle of the ocean, rowing in the ocean and at some point being the only natives on the beach. We then noted that we cannot talk about Zanzibar without going back to our time in the DRC in 2011. That was another epic experience, Che*, Dee and ...

The 21st of January 2015. What an amazing day I had. I wonder what accounts for the feeling of excitement and happiness on one’s birthday. Perhaps it’s the knowledge of knowing that you have completed yet another 360 degree revolution – metaphorically speaking, perhaps it’s all the pressies that you know are coming your way? Well I guess different people have different reasons why they find their birthdays significant, different from the other 364 days in the year. This year, I wanted to take in every moment of the 24 hours of my birthday. I wanted to deliberately live out each of those 1440 minutes of my birthday. Well, I can’t really explain why this would be the case this year, but either way that’s what I did. When the clock struck 00:00 on the 21st of January I was actually still prancing around the house, in and out of my parent’s room and in and out of the lounge busy chatting about all sorts of things to my mom and dad. Earlier the previous day I had collected my Afric...

I feel like I must have won top prize when God was handing out older sisters. I feel like I won the jackpot in the sister lotto!!  I really could not asked for a better sister!!! Five years my senior, she plays the older sister role very well..I really don't know what would have become of me without her...no I'm serious I mean that lol. Like all that she is and all the the things she does with such zeal and love is really beyond me!  Where would I even start? Or maybe let start me with how she bowled me over today and then  I will see what other stories I can manage to fit into this blog entry. Ok so as we speak (or is it as is write?) well anyway... I am on a flight to New York. I had such a busy day. I had planned to leave the office early at about midday, go to the shops quickly, go home and start packing. I eventually only managed to leave the office at 4pm...that did not leave me anytime to go via the shops so I had made peace with the fact that I would just head home ...

Freedom.  The word carries so much meaning, especially in societies that have have waged war in the name of Freedom. My beloved South Africa is no different. Just like any other country, South Africa has experienced decades and decades of colonialism as is conventionally understood. The country also experienced a colonialism of a "special" kind in the form of apartheid, with the coming to power of the National Party in 1948.  Many men and women, most notably from the largest NGO in South Africa, the African National Congress sacrificed a lot to contribute to the concerted effort to topple the inhumane and unjust system that saw the majority of the peoples of this land treated like the scum of the earth. Both those who had gone into exile and those that had remained to fight the system from within deserve a special bow.  Today, we celebrate the youth of 1976. We salute the class of  1976 for having the courage to challenge the unjust system,that saw the African child re...

A few weeks ago, I received a watsapp message from a very good friend of mine telling me that her aunt had passed on to glory. Even though I had never met her, I knew about her and what a big role she had played in my friend, Dimakasto's upbringing and life in general.  I met Dimakatso in 2008, where we were both interns at the same department. We hit if off immediately. I have a pretty good idea why we hit the ground running! Dima, as I call her, is woman of faith, a daughter of the Most High God. So when our paths crossed, I knew that I had found a sister in Christ!  Over the years that we have known each other, there have been extended periods of time where we have not seen each other, but the fact that we share the very same foundation, has kept our friendship alive! After the service, on 20 April 2014, I met her siblings and other family members and it actually felt like I had known these people for as long as I had know Dima. Such a warm family. I ended up spending the af...

The Mighty Baobab has fallen.  I can say with a great degree of certainty that I speak for most South Africans when I say what a blessing it has been to have had a giant walk amongst us. The giant, the mighty Baobab: Nelson Mandela. I can think of no other man who has had such a profound impact on, not only South Africans, but humanity as a whole.  This mighty Baobab, lived to the ripe mold age of 95! I always say that somehow after spending all those years in prison, God had to make it up him by ensuring that he lives past the age of 80! However, even though He was old and had fulfilled his God-given mandate it was still a shock when I was told, on the morning of the 6th of December that the great hero had gone gently into the eternity the night before. A sense of numbness and bewilderment and perhaps even disorientation overcame me. As I flipped through the various tv channels, both national and international, all I saw was Madiba coverage. As I drove to work that Friday morning, ...

In Christ, there is restoration. As people, we are on a journey. We may not be of the world, but yet we live in the world. The world can be a pretty hostile place to find yourself in, especially if you are not of it. The Bible tells us that although we live in the world, we ought not to live as people of the world. We are children of the light, citizens of heaven, and ambassadors of heaven on earth. Despite, this truth that I have just mentioned above, at times we may find ourselves – even the most vigilant people- having temporarily blurred the line between ‘citizens of the world’ and ‘citizens of heaven’. But the good thing is that that internal compass that always points to our eternal home is forever on. That internal compass will forever and continually point us in the direction of home. So no matter how much or how long we may lived between the blurred lines, that compass will always speak to us to remind us of our actual citizenship in the Kingdom of God.  Okay, I think I’m s...