INTRODUCTORY POST: ERU CONFIDENCE

I have a 60 leaves notebook I use for all my write ups and articles which range from motivational articles to poems and fictional fantasies. This notebook is my best friend. I share my joys and tears with it in form of stories; I also relax with it by writing poems about anything in sight or about whatever phase of life I was passing through at that time.

I have always sought a platform to share all these with a larger audience, so when my friend Anagbe Jennifer introduced me to blurt, like a monkey being introduced to a new booming banana farm, I was not hesitant to jump on this train. In addition to sharing my thoughts and experiences about life, I wish to learn as much from this large family.
Worry not, I wouldn't have a hard time adapting to a large family. When the Lord sent to earth on the 14th of January, 2001, it was to a polygamous family of 13. My mother was also from a large family of 1 man, 10 wives and over 60 children.

I attended primary and secondary school in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria before returning to my state of origin, Benue State for college. I had quite an adventure at Government Secondary School, Gwagwalada. I was a member of the school's Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreurship (SAGE) team, winning the state competition and finishing second at the national competition in my first year (2015) for our project on the production of Nigeria's first sachet palm oil.

The following year, I was the leader of the team and again we won at the state levels and finished fourth at the nationals for our project of Wind turbines as alternative source of electricity in our school (2016).
After winning other awards for my school, I was nominated to represent her in a debate organised by the American Embassy. I came first, earning me a participation in the Pan African Youth Leadership Programme (PAYLP) in the United States of America (2016). And in order to give back to the school, before graduation in 2017, I set up a small e-library (with seed funding from PAYLP) called 'EruTech ICT Library'

My experience in higher institution has not been as enjoyable though. My dream course is medicine and surgery, it's all I have ever dreamt of. In 2021, I was admitted to Benue State University, Makurdi but into the department of Chemistry. I finished my first year with a Grade Point (GP) of 4.30 in a 5.0 Grade Point system and applied for a change of course to Medicine but was transferred to Human Anatomy instead. Currently in my second year but I am not settling for less and will apply again for a change of course to medicine as I strive to get a higher GP hoping I will be considered this time.

In my 21 years and 1 month on planet earth, the best compliment I have ever received is, "if you were onboard Titanic, I believe you would have saved it". I received this after one of my best ever performances as a goalkeeper. It was the quarterfinals of the annual Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students (NFCS) cup 2021. I made a good number of saves including a double save where I cleared a header off the goal line and while still on the ground, blocked the rebound with my feets before saving a penalty with my feets again in added time.

Writing, playing/watching football and eating make up my list of hobbies. All my seven brothers play football too. Only one of us though has taken it as a career, playing for Nigerian Professional Football League side, Warri Wolves.

I am a Christian and a Catholic. In a bid to make sure I was close to God by being involved in church activities, my mother made me join the Altar servers immediately I received my first holy communion at age 10.

As I grew, I discovered I was more interested and gifted in sharing the Word. I joined the Catholic Biblical Movement of Nigeria (The Lectors). Proclaiming readings at mass and having the opportunity to share the word with brothers and sisters. I like to connect the messages of the holy scriptures with real life experiences that people can relate to based on the environment they live in and the times we live in.
In addition to sharing the Word of God, in my motivational articles, I try to feed my audience with the mental food we all seem to have forgotten that we need. I personally believe a total man requires physical, spiritual and mental strength. The physical is supplied in the food we consume daily, the spiritual is supplied by our involvement in religious worship but the mental seems to be neglected. It was in the light of this that I started writing, after I myself discovered I was at one point lacking mental strength, that type that breeds a strong and resilient willpower which is a necessity for success in any endeavour of life.

In all humans, there is this craving for a friend - one friend - with whom we are free and alive. Mostly, it happens to be a person of the opposite sex. With this person we want to share without any reservations, our joys and sorrows and smiles and pains and victories and shames. I found that person in Abah Catherine. We have been best friends for 2 years and started dating a month ago.

I dream of becoming an Orthopaedic surgeon; a good husband to a beautiful and loving woman; a father of responsible and God-fearing children; a source of joy and dancing to my parents; an asset to humanity and most importantly, a functional vessel of the Lord.

I AM ERU CONFIDENCE!