An Open Letter To My Students

Dear all, I bring you greetings from my space and hope you are having a nice weekend. To those of you who knew and are still sad about the death of Mohbad (the deceased young singer), I join you in the mourning of the young star, and pray too that his soul rest in peace. Except for those who are not active on the social media, Mohbad's death is everywhere one goes on the internet and it saddens the heart to see the sudden fall of such a promising creative. Mohbad is gone and as a scholar I am not commenting on the stories surrounding his death since they are not proved yet. But the question that follows is: WHAT DOES THE SAD NEWS TEACH YOU?

Don't end it in the place of mourning and wait to mourn again when the next one happens, especially because we all do not know who that may be. Everyone will die but we all must try not to be responsible for our own death. It is therefore important to reflect on this awful experience, gather lessons from it and apply them to our own lives.

In this short letter to you all, dear students, I wish to share with you ten succinct tips that you may find helpful in living a good life.

1. Seek knowledge, skills, positive attitudes and the right values.

2. Place impact/value ahead of money.
3. Be willing to wait. Life and living come in turns.

4. Be very selective about your companionship.
5. Do not lose for money what money cannot buy back for you, eg your dignity.

6. Learn contentment. Don't pursue success and fame to the pit of death.

7. Don't lose the kingdom in your search for stardom.

8. Live a kind life and be genuinely good to others.

9. Don't leave your decisions to your heart; use your head.

10. Remember the day you will have everything and you will ask how much it takes to save your life and you will be told, "sorry, death takes no bribe".

However you choose to pursue your glory, whether you take it easy or move in a hurry, the only sure thing is that we all will die and become a story. I wish you and I a good life and living.

Ganiu Bamgbose, PhD
Lecturer, Department of English, Lagos State University.