Reality check with John

 This is the unfiltered "Reality Check" of a country where the state has become a spectator to our deaths and a predator to our voices. The social contract in Nigeria is currently being written in disappearing ink. For the elite, it is a shield; for the rest of us, it is a death sentence. While we are left to parry machetes with our bare hands, the system moves with "speed of light" only when its own ego is bruised. The Foundation: My 2:30 PM Miracle On the 31st of August 2025, at about 2:30 pm, our community at Independence Avenue, Ruga Fulani, Kuje Road, Gwagwalada, was thrown into chaos. A young Fulani herdsman unlawfully jumped into my neighbour’s compound. What began as trespass quickly escalated into violence. When confronted, the intruder grew aggressive, openly challenged my neighbour, and launched an attack. As I, along with two other residents, tried to intervene, the herdsman drew a cutlass and struck us. In those terrifying moments, I found myself fendin...

"Sometimes, the loudest noise in the world is the silence of a system that refuses to see you." My name is John Egwakhide Unuane , and I am a Microbiologist. But according to the current Nigerian regulatory landscape, I am also a ghost. I’ve spent a lot of time lately looking at the "confused" look people give me when I talk about my work. They see my degree from the University of Benin , my ALX graduation , and my work in Tech-Retail , and they wonder why I’m not in a lab. The truth? I was locked out. And I’m not the only one. The "Professional" Gaslight "Microbiology isn't a professional course." Every time I hear those words, I feel a surge of pure, unadulterated frustration. It is a phrase that dismisses years of sleepless nights, complex biochemical pathways, and thousands of hours spent mastering sterile techniques in the lab. It leads to one fundamental, burning question: What exactly makes a field "professional" in my countr...

                                   We live in the loudest era of human history. Between the relentless pings of our phones, the weight of societal expectations, and the "social media dress-ups" I mentioned in my last post, it is easy to feel like we are drowning in information but starving for meaning. If you look at my path, it’s easy to get lost in the "noise." I started with a degree in Microbiology from the University of Benin. I moved into Photography , becoming certified by the Indian Institute of Photography. I’ve earned recognition badges from the FAO , completed programs focused on the SDGs , and also graduated from the ALX Virtual Assistant program. To some, that looks like a series of pivots. To others, it looks like a "confused" career. But today, I want to share a reality check: Every one of those steps was a data point leading to my greatest strength. Lately, I’ve been thinking abou...

  "Sometimes, all that is needed is a real story to spark a real change." My name is John Egwakhide Unuane , and I have always been drawn to understanding people, not just by what they say, but by what they feel and often struggle to express. I think a lot about the things people don’t say. The quiet struggles. The unspoken questions. The moments that don’t make it to the surface but define so much of who we are. Over time, it became clear to me that many of these stories are left untold, not because they are unimportant, but because they are uncomfortable, complex, or simply overlooked. Yet, those are often the stories that matter the most. The Intersection of Data and Heart I’ve spent much of my life navigating two seemingly different worlds. In one, I am a director and a data science student, looking at the world through the lens of systems, fundraising targets, and analytical models. In the other, I am a musician and a storyteller, searching for the perfect harmony in a ...