Why I went philosophical in new book, ‘Contradictions’ – Uranta

Somi Uranta, founder of Somi Steam Car in Lagos said he went philosophical in his book, ‘Contradictions: Lessons from the school of life’, because he wanted to dig deep into man’s “Checkered existence.” Uranta said: “After pausing to ponder through all the questions that arose and attempting to proffer answers to them, it eventually led […]

Somi Uranta, founder of Somi Steam Car in Lagos said he went philosophical in his book, ‘Contradictions: Lessons from the school of life’, because he wanted to dig deep into man’s “Checkered existence.”

Uranta said: “After pausing to ponder through all the questions that arose and attempting to proffer answers to them, it eventually led to more unanswered questions. I decided to share my thoughts with regards to the paradoxes, contrariness and endless contradictions which seem to be the reality of man’s chequered mortal existence.

“For example, how does one resolve the intrinsic contradictions in the widely acceptable, yet erroneous lines that; ‘life is not a bed of roses’, while in reality, life could actually be likened to a bed of roses, because when you see a bed of roses, looking so alluring and beautiful on the surface, just beneath the blooming and alluring surface are thorns. It is these thorns that actually give impetus to the external beauty that captivates the passer-by. As it is with the bed of roses, so it is also with life, in that, the observable often times, are far from the reality, that the really real are hardly perceptible by the five senses of sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing, but rather through the sixth sense or mind, which is imperceptible.”

Uranta further posits that all of life Is a school, where daily experiences come either as a lesson or a blessing. “Depending on which comes first, we must prepare for the other, for they follow one another, like night and day.”

‘Contradictions’ is published by SPW Publishing and Company, with a forward by Professor Chedozie Okoro of the Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos, Akoka. Uranta’s first book, ‘A Date With Failure: The Art of Standing Up Again,” was published 16 years ago.