“madukovich’s cogitations” is 1

If you asked me, I’d say I learnt to write before I learnt to articulate words in speech, because as far back as I can remember I’d always itched to write, and had always expressed myself better in writing than in speaking.

Once, I had offended my Dad, but I was grown enough not to be punished, I wrote him a letter apologizing for my behaviour, not because I was proud but because I couldn’t have expressed what I wrote any better. That apology remains till date the most sincere I’d ever written or mouthed to anybody.

I’d always thought I’d write a book before exiting this terra firma, unfortunately, till date I’ve not been able to get any of my manuscripts published, but that is not without reason. Over the years of writing, I haven’t been able to focus and sustain a thought for longer than a week, so I guess if I am going to have to write a novel or a book on a particular subject I’d have to do it in a week, and then move on.

Unfortunately, I’m one of the few who need inspiration, or even a muse to write, and writing without any of the above usually leads to a below par performance. Lately, I’d just lay back and if it doesn’t come I simply don’t write.

George Alakhume noticed this after we became friends on Facebook and suggested I set up a website to ventilate my thoughts. That was the trigger, but it didn’t immediately materialize as the cost of setting up a website to my taste was competing with many of my pressing needs at the time.

I opted instead to blog, and my first experience was with BLOGSPOT, but twas almost impossible to understand its workings. WordPress totally fit my bill, and from the first post, “INSPIRATION AND THE COMMODE | madukovich’s cogitations – https://madukovich.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/inspiration-and-the-commode/” exactly a year ago I’ve not looked back.

In the space of 1 year, I made 160 posts on my blogs, on issues from the mundane and trivial to the serious. I have had cause to go very personal (though most times, I kinda masked stories associated with me, making it possible only for the discerning and those who know me quite well to associate such stories with me), and non-personal severally as the case may be, though I let through my feelings on every subject I touch.

I have gotten into hot water relating stories about friends and acquaintances even after taking care not to mention them by name, but in some instances I’ve had to later face these friends who had taken umbrage at my lack of respect for blowing their secrets out in the open, but at the same time taken consolation in the fact that they now know where I stand as regards their predicament, which a while back I might have failed to avail them satisfactory responses to.

Emotive issues relating to religion and culture, bought me the ire of most of my readers especially catholics; my piece on LENT set their teeth on edge towards me, but I did my best to explain my position without aggravating the provocative situation, on my blog, Facebook and on Twitter, where I totally ignored @BishopChucks’ attempt to draw me into a ròfò-rófò fight.

Interestingly Ogidi Musso James (my top contributor) seems either to agree with everything I qwerty, even strengthening my position with his contributions or simply had nothing adverse or a different opinion to my posts. It’ll be interesting to find that one piece that will stir him in the opposite direction. Also, a good writer I admire a lot, I hope he’ll consider blogging rather than posting those excellent pieces of his on Facebook.

I used to be like that too, but it was difficult to go back to many of my pieces. The NOTES section on Facebook is good too, but is too straight-jacketed and lacks the many aesthetic accoutrements that you would readily find with blogging sites. Twitter on the other hand has just enough word space to accommodate the URL that directs readers to websites and blogs, and/or a few words describing the post.

Blogging has done for me what Facebook, Twitter, Path, LinkedIn (where making Top-Conributor has become routine in recent times), Google+, Digg, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Flikr, Instagram and the likes couldn’t do. Nairaland, though has helped immensely in showcasing my work mostly to Nigerians at home and in the diaspora. Blogging is where I resolve the conflicts in my mind, and I have and continue to gain immensely from the responses and contributions that my posts elicit and generate from people who read my blog. It feels so much like I hadn’t been living before now.

Unfortunately, the bulk of those who read my blogs aren’t Nigerians, though the blog has an Afrocentric feel to it and skewed in favour of stories related to Nigeria (but then I’m glad that I’m able to educate people about events and things they didn’t know about Nigeria and Africa, while still maintaining a world and international view of and about things), and even when the most read piece on my blog is “THAT NIGERIA VS INDIA FOOTBALL MATCH | madukovich’s cogitations – https://madukovich.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/that-nigeria-vs-india-match-that-never-was/” most of those who read the piece weren’t Nigerians.

The experience I’ve had so far with blogging makes me doubt if I’d ever fulfill my lifelong ambition of publishing a book, either in the soft (eBooks) or hard copy. Uppermost in my mind now is to personalize my WordPress blog, then much later develop my own site, and who knows what will follow afterwards. This is one humble beginning I know I would cherish for a lifetime.

I’m grateful to YAHWEH for the gift of Life and possibilities, to all those who contributed in no small measure to making today happen, most especially my wife Eni, who’d endured my eraticity especially when I come upon an idea, and she requires my attention at the same time, to Tony Uba who’ve endured silent spells from me severally after sacrificing valuable time to come see a friend. Alice Irabor kept me on my toes spellingwise and raising RED FLAGS on my tautologies, she will make a good editor. My eternal critic, though with a good heart, El-Imperator Victor Okafor who once corrected my version of the Adam and Eve story in the early days of my blog and has since not failed to offer constructive criticisms. Oluoye Majekodunmi’s retorts and clarifications via whatsapp remain very valuable, and to the many others for which time and space will not permit me to mention their names, I thank Y’ALL!

I did enjoy our inaugural year of a journey on this path, the foundation of which I stand sure of than of where we are heading, as only time can and will decide that.

Let’s do this again!

‘kovich