creativity Archives - TalkAfrique

By Olurotimi Odejayi

There can be no better time to be creative than now. The time is always right for young leaders to create or do something creative. Recall all the array of opportunities you had to access the internet, good teachers, helpful counselors, library of educating materials, access to information technology devices, and youth’s ability to ponder using the abundant potentials of the brain; as few of the encouraging reasons why you should be creative. Now and not later is the right time for you to unleash your creative potential. One important question calling for urgent answer is; “at what point will I become creative?” Simply put, when can youngsters give birth to a creative effort? The answer is, at the time youth become inspired. The key word to demystify in this column is the word ‘inspiration’.

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defined the word ‘inspiration’ to mean ‘the quality or state of being inspired’, which simply means ‘the process that takes place when somebody sees or hears something that causes him to have exciting new ideas or make them want to create something new especially in art, music or literature. For example, dreams can be a rich source of inspiration for an artist. It could be said that an individual’s time of getting inspired is the beginning of creativity. So, give birth to yours today.

You can get inspiration for any creative idea through reading intellectual book, critical thinking, dreaming, listening to great speakers, among many other means. So, on what premise is this inspiration based? Continue reading “The Birth of Creativity, By Olurotimi Odejayi”

By Darasimi Oshodi

This is a story one should hear directly from the horse’s mouth. It will make you appreciate the story better. Richard Turere is a 13-year old Kenyan whose family’s compound is behind the unfenced southern part of the Nairobi National Park. Richard is the one who tends his father’s herd of cattle. But for a long time, just like his neighbours’, his cows were at the mercy of marauding lions who migrate from the Nairobi National Park. After various unsuccessful attempts to curtail the invasion of these predators, Richard stumbled upon an ingenious idea, which so far, has proved successful in warding off wild animals.

He discovered that lions were afraid of coming near their cowshed if they thought someone was around. So he fitted a series of flashing LED bulbs onto poles around the livestock enclosure, facing outward. The lights were wired to a box with switches and to an old car battery powered by a solar panel. They were designed to flicker on and off intermittently. This would appear to the lions as if someone was moving around with a flashlight. Richard’s idea has been so successful that neighbours have been asking him to help install his invention on their farms. In fact, his idea is now being used all over Kenya to scare off predators. Continue reading “The Thirteen Year-Old African Boy Who Found a Way to Combat Lions”