Farooq Kperogi

thumb|Farooq Kperogi Farooq Kperogi (born 1973) is a Nigerian-American professor, author, media scholar, newspaper columnist, blogger, and activist. He was a reporter and news editor at many Nigerian newspapers including the Daily Trust, Daily Triumph and the now defunct New Nigerian. Quotes I wonder where I get the energy from. But I think it comes from my overpoweringly lingering passion to see Nigeria live up to its potential. I owe whatever success I have achieved in life to the foundational, highly subsidised education I received in Nigeria, and feel that my social and political interventions are my own modest ways to give back to a country that gave me so much. Having travelled to different parts of the world and interacted with diverse groups of people, I know Nigeria has all it takes to be a decent, livable country that works for most of its people if it has the right leadership. It’s this sentiment that animates my activism. On where he gets the energy to combine scholarly work with social media activism and good governance advocacy, especially on matters concerning Nigeria. I know my activism has attracted a lot of enemies for me in and out of government. That has made me more conscious of my personal safety and security than I should normally be. On paying some price for his activism. Fatherhood means being the ever-present fountain of love, protection and guardianship for one’s children. It means being the guidepost for impressionable young minds as they navigate the tortuous labyrinth that is this world. Nothing ever prepares anyone for fatherhood, in my opinion. I like to think that we are born with the instinctive urge to protect and nurture our little ones. I am aware, of course, that there are absent, irresponsible fathers who abandon their children, but I think that’s a choice, a horrible choice, that people make. It isn’t innate. I admit, too, that people can derive inspirational strength from others to become good or better fathers. I was, for instance, inspired by the example of my father. He was the most compassionate human being I’ve ever known. I like to describe him as a “maternal father” because of the unusual warmth and affection with which he performed his fatherly duties to his children. I always strive to live up to the standards of fatherhood he set for me. My father, Mallam Adamu Kperogi, taught me the virtues of hard work, of critical inquiry, of telling the truth no matter the consequence, and of striving for excellence in whatever I do. He also taught me to not covet what other people have, to be content with what I have, to be confident, and not to give in to bullies. He was an Islamic scholar; so, naturally, he also taught me religious piety and tolerance. Two days before he died in 2016, he told me I had become everything he ever wanted me to be and that even if he died that day, he would be a fulfilled father. I didn’t know it was his way of saying goodbye to me. I hope I’ll be able to say the same to my children if I’m lucky enough to live for as long as my father did. It (fatherhood) taught me self-sacrifice and self-discipline. It taught me to appreciate my parents more than I ever did before I became a father. It also taught me the inexpressible joy of filial love, that is, love from one’s children. Sharing his experience of fatherhood. Farooq Kperogi is a mild-mannered, self-possessed, even-tempered, and somewhat introverted person. I know this self-characterization is at variance with my public persona. But this is true of most human beings. Describing himself. External links Category:Living people Category:1973 births Category:Journalists from Nigeria