Category: Thought pieces

I recently read an article about the ‘World’s ugliest pig caught on camera’. In it, we were told that scientists had captured the first footage in the wild of one of the world’s rarest, and ugliest, pigs. Now, whilst the article did go on to highlight the threat that these animals (for those interested, it was a Javan warty pig, which lives in Indonesia) face from hunting and habitat loss due to human interference; the aspect of the article that really stood out to me was… the title: the ‘World’s ugliest pig caught on camera’.

I admit that I found the photograph of the pig somewhat hideous; however, what makes the picture of THIS particular pig the ugliest? What metrics have been used to objectively determine its ‘ugliness score’? Is there no other, uglier, animal?

They say beauty (and by implication ugliness) is in the eye of the beholder. Despite this, how many and how often do people accept what really is an opinion as though it were a fact?

I shocked myself at my preparedness to allow someone else, and worse – somebody I did not know or trust, tell me how to feel about the image of a pig. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, famously said “A lie told often enough becomes the truth”.

Whilst it is impossible to be entirely free from others’ influence, we can control what we watch and read (i.e. the inputs). Words have power and we should be careful that those who we allow to get close to us help and not hinder us along our journey of self-discovery and towards the best version of ourselves.

My name is Mudiaga but my friends and family call me Mudi. It took me a long time to ‘accept’ my name. As a child I remember sitting uncomfortably in class whilst the teacher took the register – knowing it was going to be called in full; and worse, mispronounced. How I longed for a normal (“English”) name.  If I’m honest, it wasn’t until my University years that I finally accepted my name and tried to ‘become it’. For those unfamiliar with the Urhobo language (one of the languages spoken in Delta State, Nigeria) my name translated to English means ‘Stand Firm’.

I have been asked by a few people what made me decide to start blogging and I wanted to share my response as I think it gives some insight About Me and my journey to ‘standing firm’.

• I wanted to create a platform for self-expression on issues and topics that genuinely move or interest me.

• I am (proud to be) Nigerian by heritage. This I neither can control nor feel guilt for. There is a fair degree of negative imagery that can sometimes be associated with people of Nigerian descent. I’m sure many are familiar with the various ‘Nigerian scam’ jokes for example all over the internet. You may even find them funny. Unfortunately, these jokes can create cognitive biases (but they’re harmless right?) and can have detrimental effects on the sense of self-worth for the abused. My wife and I love our son and will give our lives to protect him.  I hope, through my writings, to play my part in showcasing the strong, entrepreneurial and hardworking elements of a people whose image has been so badly damaged by the few.

• Above all, I wanted to put something out in the world that my unborn son could read in future to learn a little about who his father is and was. My mother is no longer here with me and I remain grateful for the digital footprint she created that allows me to continue to hear and see her in my home.

My call to action is firstly that you read (and leave comment on :-)) my blog and remember the humanity that resides in all of us; regardless of gender, race and sexual orientation we are all souls residing in borrowed bodies trying to forge a life whilst we are here.