NYSC & Social Work: Enhancing the Safety of Pedestrians

When crossing roads, look left, look right, and wait until the road is not busy. Once the road appears free, look left again, look right again before taking big leaps. If in doubt, wait and check again. Those are lines often used by parents, guardians and even road safety officials when enlightening children, the aged or the general public. Perhaps, that was how many of us learnt to cross busy roads.

After reaching out to the primary and secondary school students in Victoria Island and sharing the euphoria of Christmas with gentle orphans in 2011, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members of the Drama CD group in Eti Osa 1 local government (LG) lately set out to impact their immediate environment. Their newest community development (CD) project work titled, Project Zebra Crossing, was initiated on February 17 2012 and completed on the 24th day of the same month. The project which had been chosen from a pool of ideas generated by corps members in a recent call for submissions was funded and executed by the CD group members while artisan manpower and traffic regulation resources were provided by the works personnel of the Eti Osa 1 LG. The Drama CD group coordinator, Alhaja A.O. Igara, had mandated all corps members to assemble and brainstorm for new projects some weeks ago and the Zebra crossing idea was one of the many realistic and proactive suggestions.

Chosen because of its budget-friendliness and the need for a pedestrian walk on the Muri Okunola Street in Victoria Island, the Zebra crossing project attracted the attention of many workers and inhabitants in the neighbourhood. During the project execution proper, the Drama CD group members safely redirected traffic onto one side of the two-lane road and consciously sped up the rate of the Zebra crossing’s construction. This was done to reduce the effect of their work on the ease of traffic. It is unfortunate that many road users, motorcyclists especially, do not know the meaning of a Zebra crossing. Partly because of their ignorance for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) road users’ handbooks, several drivers, pedestrians and riders guessed that the well-spaced white lines are often put for mere beautification purposes. To rectify this speculation, some of the corps members briefly orientated a few commercial motorcyclists on the implication of the newly constructed Zebra crossing.

In December last year, the FRSC reported that 171 lives were lost in 268 known crashes. In February alone, the corps has found no less than 52 dead persons in ghastly road accidents while several survivors are still on admission in specialist hospitals receiving due treatments. On Fridays, several tens of muslim faithfuls troop out of the central mosque located within the Eti Osa 1 local government office after observing their religious duty. As such, crossing the road hastily on such days could result in pernicious collisions with motorcycles, automobiles or any other moving machinery. And, considering the desire of most pedestrians to be punctual at the mosque or leave after the prayers, accidents are not impossible. In the same vein, the NYSC corps members who often cross from their local government office to the opposite commercial complex en masse and in search fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) are vulnerable to road mishaps. Consequently, the Drama CD group thought it wise to improve the safety of all pedestrians and corps members by providing a Zebra crossing on the roads in front of the Eti Osa 1 LG.

Read More at: The Nigerian Guardian

See Photos on: Flicker page

The Floods of Ibadan and Thailand

Dr Bolanle Wahab, the Oyo State Task Force Chairman on Flood Prevention and Management said, in a statement to the press last year, that 2,105 buildings were consumed by the angry floods that visited the Ibadan metropolis in August last year. The taskmaster made it clear that a sum of N4.31 billion was required to construct 25 bridges and culverts across the 11 local government areas in Ibadan. After a heavy downpour of rain, the rush of water across many streets that lacked proper drainage systems and through poorly channelled canals claimed a minimum of 25 lives and destroyed properties in the ancient city. The floods first appeared in Ibadan vanishing to Thailand. And, it did not promise to go away.

It was obvious that prior to the inundation, the state planning authorities had functionally hibernated themselves to issues of drainage and disaster exigencies. Though having a population of population 3,565,108, as documented by GeoNames, Ibadan remains one of the biggest cities sitting on African soil. However, the large city has an accompanying reputation for environmental uncleanness as many of her sewage ducts are often abused by many inhabitants. But knowing this, it is only expected of the state government to ensure that environmental protection is given a high priority. Regulations and unshakable measures should be broadcasted and enforced as regards waste disposal, especially in areas where the people seem to have grown too lazy to observe environmental cleanliness.

Speaking on behalf of the Oyo State government, Mrs. Kafayat Adebisi Adeojo, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, asserted that owners of illegal structures would not be compensated for their demolition. Also, Dr Wahab advised that drains should be kept clean always while the state Governor, Sen. Isiaka Ajimobi confirmed that structures obstructing the waterways would be demolished. Upon visiting the state to examine the effects of the floods, Mr President, Dr Jonathan Goodluck promised to rebuild the bridges and reconstruct the roads affected by the floods. But a wise counsel for the state Governor is that he should seek other means of solving the problem and not base his expectations on the President’s previous utterance. This is not because Dr Goodluck has no intentions of helping out in the predicament but his hands are probably too full with issues regarding national debts, high rate of unemployment and intense insecurity in the country.

In Thailand, Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma, the floods struck the inhabitants like it did the people of Ibadan. Statistics published at Statista.com have shown that within the 1900-2010 interregnum, flood has cost China more than any other country in the world, the U.S. trailing behind but it is probably that the inhabitants of Thailand too never saw it coming to them late last year too. According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s July 2011 estimate, 66,720,153 people live in Thailand.

The floods began in late July, fed by heavy monsoon rains and a series of tropical storms. The floodwaters swamped entire towns as they moved south through the country's central heartland to Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand, affecting more than two-thirds of the country's 77 provinces. It was Thailand's worst flooding in more than half a century with more than 600 people confirmed dead. But towards cleansing the waters and save more lives, the Thai government in conjunction with private companies and relief groups had distributed (effective microorganisms)EM balls to the public and spray the flood water with EM in liquid form.

While opinions were divided on whether the mud balls would be effective on such a massive body of water, it was worth the try, pending the time when results of relevant studies would be available. Therefore, the tennis ball-sized spheres of mud and organic material, laced with EM, were being tossed into the stagnant waters in with the intention of purifying them. Majority state-owned Airports of Thailand (AOT), which runs six airports, said it made a net profit of 160 million baht ($5.12 million) in the July-September period, against a net loss of 643 million a year earlier and a 27 million baht loss in the third quarter.

Though the difference between Ibadan and Thailand are many, the inhabitants of both areas must demonstrate more concern for their environment. Firstly, one is a city with an ancient feel while the other is a country with an isle’s panorama. Also, the predominant race, culture and level of technological know-how are different. The urban people of Ibadan eat imported rice and the farmers in Thailand grow many of them. Finally, they are on different continents and should have dissimilar experiences. But the floods overlooked that fact and visited both. Though with more intensity, the same kind of flood that affected Ibadan attacked Thailand and took lives and properties with it. This should therefore come as a warning to all and sundry; to be more responsible towards our environment. No one anywhere is left out. The globe is evolving and our lives are being affected. We will do none other than ourselves much good if we contribute our quota of activity towards a balanced environment and control adverse climate change.

The Unusual January 2012 Protests in Nigeria

In January 2012, the federal government of Nigeria gave its citizenry a New Year gift: the removal of the petrol subsidy. The President of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, had suggested 2012 as when the subsidy might be removed, but it came as a shock when he implemented the decision on the first day of January. In response, the citizens have through the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, professionals associations, activists and celebrities expressed their displeasure.

The past week has seen a nationwide strike and a series of peaceful protests. This strike action, which began on January 9 2012, has crippled the nation's economic activities. Protests meanwhile have recorded the highest turnout in the history of public demonstrations. The effects of the removal of the subsidy is an escalated cost of living as feeding, doing business, transportation, education and other things that depend on electricity become more expensive. This is because most facilities have to utilize petrol-dependent generators in the absence of reliable power from the nation's public utility company.

Though many have serious complaints about the effects of the subsidy removal on their livelihoods, protesters say they are also concerned about corruption, the high cost of governance and growing terrorism. The protesters also complained about the high incomes of government officials and the costs of running a government in Nigeria being higher than those of many developed countries in the world.

On Christmas day in 2011, the Boko Haram terrorist group bombed a group of Christians as they worshipped in churches and still, in 2012, it has not relented. Though not unconnected to politics, some citizens have claimed that the Nigerian government under the leadership of the President is too weak to extinguish the terrorist group. As such, their cry is to have him removed, much like the subsidy itself.

Spokespersons of the government in turn have justified the removal by saying that gangs have been selfishly looting the subsidy disbursement and its removal was the only solution because the cabals of corrupt persons concerned were untouchable.

The demonstrations remain remarkable because they involve an exceptional number of participants. Youths, who are concerned about their future, trooped out en masse to join the protesters nationwide. Unlike previous times, the involvement of so many Nigerians, regardless of their economic status, is an unusual feature of the January protests. The Nigerian citizens have proven that the people of any country matter and that demanding accountability and transparency from national leaders is a civic responsibility.

First Published at Commonwealth Correspondence Website

Visiting Orphans at Christmas

In the rush and exhilaration that usually come with the season of Christmas lies the tendency to ingenuously forget the opportunity it harbours; the holiday that affords us the room to spend quality time with family and friends, plan for the coming year and visit several malls with an eye for discount sales. It is also in this period that our incomes suddenly appear too small compared to the self-perceived time, commitment and efforts we have invested, working for our employers.

Even when some employees are paid the motivational thirteenth month salaries, they still grumble for more in the spirit of Oliver Twist. Yet, they hardly remember that though the times are tough, there are people who would do anything to be in their shoes; they are those who cannot satisfy the physiological or basic needs that are vital for human survival. But some of these less privileged people, precisely orphans, were lately visited with the euphoria of Christmas by a group of youths in Victoria Island.

The visitors who doubled as the NYSC corps members of Eti Osa 1 set out to have a Christmas party with the kids and staff members of the Living Fountain Orphanage at Victoria Island in continuous pursuance of their Community Development objectives. Founded to bring comfort to the abandoned, orphaned and even the poorest among the poor children in Nigeria, the orphanage has been a comfortable haven for the children since inception.

At the party sponsored by the NYSC corps members of the Drama CD group and held at the orphanage’s pavilioned playground, the founder, Mrs Bethy Obieri and her colleagues led the children in entertaining the audience with rhymes and poetic lines. Members of the Drama CD group, especially Joan Onasanya and Abimbola Akinmade, also taught the kids some juvenile lilts as melodious beats from the “corpers” local drums sounded in the background...

Click here to read the rest as published in The Nigerian Guardian

The Class 2003 Loyola College Old Boys’ Reunion

Ige, Abass & Chief Ayangbayi

On December 24 2011, some old boys met at the dinning hall of Loyola College Ibadan, one of the most prestigious mission schools taken over by the Oyo State Government and transformed into public schools in the wake of the 1980s. Founded in 1954 by Rev. Father Mackle of the catholic mission and originally distinguished by its qualitative education and adequate sporting facilities, the Loyola College which is still located along the Old Ife Road in Ibadan has produced many influential politicians, academicians, engineers, lawyers, doctors and other distinguished professionals over the years. But the eminent boys’ only school has grossly dwindled in glory as several of its most vital facilities are presently in dilapidated states while others are absolutely absent. The class 2003 which is disputably the last set of champion loyolans because of their active participation and performance at JETS competition, the Governor’s football tournament, Music, Arts, Basketball contests and Pepsi football academy recently assembled to share ideas on how to aid the restoration of the school’s lost glory.

The first speaker at the class 2003 reunion, Mrs Grace Oderinde, was one of the set’s favourite teachers, being the school’s life planning education tutor in their time. She was fondly remembered by many of the boy long after their graduation many years ago. Famous for her natural beauty and virtuousness, Mrs Oderinde offered the senior boys serial classes on sexual development and education. Most of the boys professed they were always looking forward to her lecture days to learn how to persuade the ladies from Saint Anne Girls’ High School at extramural classes. At the reunion, she made an interesting presentation on Recipe for building a good family with a focus on how to choose the right partner. She highlighted and explained the traits of a good woman or wife material and offered guidelines for having a successful marriage with someone from a different tribe. Sharing from life experience, she illustrated the problems associated with the search for greener pastures abroad and encouraged the alumni to acquire additional skills that can serve as an alternative means of livelihood in times when white-collar jobs are difficult to find. She relayed her time in Ireland with the ex-loyolans as a time of exposure, impact and redirection.

The other guest speaker, Chief S.O. Ayangbayi, who was the school principal for five out of the six years spent by the 2003 class, gave a lecture titled, self-sustenance, panacea to the dwindling Nigerian economy: our graduates’ perspective. He commenced with an enumeration of how Loyola College was built, how the school administration system was captured by the then government and the following but gradual mismanagement processes that reduced the school to what it is today. He also back-traced the failure history of government in performing its functions in our nation and identified the harnessing of local products and talents as a means of bridging the technological dichotomy between Nigeria and foreign countries. Advising the government, he said, “Let there be Igbo-made and okrika products. Government should seek ways of supporting them and improving the quality of their products. Those in government should close our borders to the importation of foreign goods.” Speaking further, Chief Ayangbayi, encouraged the many graduates of agricultural economics to continue the farming habit which they compulsorily practised while undergoing their undergraduate studies.

Though some of the 2003 set of loyolans, especially those in diaspora, were absent from the event, they sorely wished to be present. The event’s organising committee, chaired by Mr Abass Babatunde and comprising key facilitators such as Calculus, Sarofa and Owoyokun Abayomi, was severally praised by the ex-loyolans who were glad to see one another after an interlude of approximately 8years. Among those present at the reunion were Dr Olagoke Olakanmi (Ebora), Engr Tomiwa Ishola, Kunle Ola esq., Akinyemi Olayinka esq. (Sarofa), Engr. Ige Damilola (Calculus), Mr Ekene Mbalu (Oparun), Olawale Timothy esq. (Tanko), Mr Akerele Abayomi, Engr Femi Akintunde, Engr. Dimeji Adeyinka, Barr. Taiwo Egharevba, Mr Ismail Adeyemo, Segun Obisesan esq. (Senior Prefect), Mr Peter Adewoye (Ishoro), Mr Olajide, Mr Tolulope (Asst Senior Prefect), Mr Steven Bikers and many other prominent class 2003 loyolans. It is the desire of the organisers to have a recurrence of the event biennially. Until then, all class 03 loyolans are implored to keep their fingers crossed.

See More pictures here:

Loyola Reunion Photos on Flicker

When the Stakeholders of Future Lagos Met

When I first a received text message some time in November stating my nomination and invitation to attend the Lagos Youth Stakeholders Forum, I shrugged off the temptation to add it to my plans, knowing how tight time constraints would be on my schedule that week. Besides, I felt it was probably just another of those government initiatives that assemble youths to record their complaints and never do anything about it. But when the same SMS alerted my phone two more times, I had to read it more carefully. And then, I realized that though it was a programme sponsored by the Lagos State Government, it was co-sponsored and coordinated by the Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC), an organization chaired by Mrs Ibukun Awosika and managed by Mrs Detoun Ogwo. That was it. With paper magic, I squeezed out two and a half hours out of a cramped weekend schedule and planned to attend a portion of the whole event. So, when the young stakeholders in Lagos met with the Executive Governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, what did he say?

The Governor’s speech was very informative and interesting as he enlightened his audience with updates from the national frontiers. There were mixed questions, many of which could not be answered due to time constraints. I have taken time to put relevant chorused questions below each of the major points recorded.

“Job follows the economy as the night follows the day. Those who will drive the economy of the nation cannot be pre-existing companies. You cannot have twenty ExxonMobils or MTNs but you can have 20,000 massage parlours.”

Question: How will you tackle the problem of multiple taxing? Why should both Lagos and Ogun state governments tax companies along Ibafo? Should they also pay taxes to the federal government?

“The Nigerian economy has performed well to an extent in the areas of entertainment, downstream petroleum, banking, aviation, telecoms. But these areas are not labour intensive.”

Question: So what is the government doing to support indigenous private companies that are struggling to provide labour intensive opportunities? Dunlop folded up in Nigeria because of electricity. Lekki Toll Gate fare is too expensive for the average Nigerian who reportedly lives on less than one dollar a day. Can you tell us something we don't already know?

“The UAE has spent $53 billion this year alone on food importation. Nigerians, despite the fact that we travel to Dubai a lot have not participated in that exchange.”

Question: Good observation sir. How many Nigerians who are below the “fake” middle class of the economy that we have can afford the flight ticket to Dubai? Do you know there are graduates earning thirty thousand naira as their monthly salaries even in your state?

“I have often asked myself, with things so difficult, would I have chosen prostitution instead of practising as a nurse? Where is the sense of dignity?”

Question: Very well sir. We have often asked ourselves, “Do our grey-haired leaders think we are dull or what is the explanation for someone embezzling public funds to the tune of billions going to jail for 6months? Who cannot do that?

“Your pains get to me and I am ready to do something about it. I love our Ofada rice. The rice we eat here in Nigeria is 5-12 years old in storage. The Asians eat the fresh rice, which is why they can eat it with chopsticks. I do not see why government cannot create and implement policies that regulate the importation of rice and encourage the consumption of our locally cropped Ofada rice and the likes.”

Question: It is good that you love Ofada rice and want us to be planting and eating it. Please, how we get the “intelligent” people in Abuja to understand this? How to we interpret this to them since it offers no financial rewards to the loot-rich portion of high class economy?

National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Members in Lagos Challenge Students to Expand their Vocabulary

According to the Wikipedia, a spelling bee is a competition, where the contestants, usually children, are asked to spell English words. Each time a contestant is unable to spell a word correctly, they are eliminated and this removal process continues until an overall winner and some runner-ups emerge. And while the Wikipedia accounts that the phrase, spelling bee, was first used in 1825, the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary documents its date of original use as 1875. But regardless of the degree of precision of either date, the spelling bee concept, which allegedly originates from the United States,
has since its inception spread to other Anglophone countries of the world, where it is often observed as a national competition.

Towards developing better vocabulary power in the students of the Eti-Osa 1 Local Government (LG) in Victoria Island, the Drama Community Development Group of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Lagos State, Nigeria recently embarked on a spelling bee project in the community. The event was held simultaneously in six different classes for an approximate period of forty minutes. Almost all the students in each class participated but a total of 24 winners were given gift items, with 4 students making it through to the end in each classroom. The purpose of the event was to challenge the students to expand their vocabulary and actuate correct English spelling.

The gifts presented were sponsored by Addax Petroleum while the organisation of the contest was spearheaded by corps members Bode Olatunji, Chioma Obiora, Adewa Adeola, Farooq Kolawole, Grace Okey, Ugonma Udenze, Nike Adebayo, Agbo Raymond and Eke Kingsley. Each winner received the gift of a quality school bag for competing boldly and scaling through the preliminary stages of the contest. The corps members were moved by the students’ heavy participation because they were supposed to sit for some continuous assessment tests lately scheduled to hold after the competition. For the students of the Victoria Island Junior Secondary School, November 26, 2011 was a day of work and excitement.

Read More>> at www.cp-africa.com

Of Blackberries and Reckless Pinging

I was just standing outside a customer’s premises, waiting for a car to come pick me, when my eyesight caught a middle-aged lady rushing towards the same door I had exited, looking over her left shoulder and screaming loudly “Ping me! Ping me! I cannot hear you.” As she hurriedly walked past me, I tried to decipher what was happening. Obviously, she had alighted from one of the many Suzuki cars parked outside by the walkway and could not wait to hear what her driver was telling her. She was carrying filed documents so she must have been going for a meeting. And one more thing, she was probably late. In fact, very late, because my wristwatch at that exact period was showing 2.17pm. Then it occurred to me that her driver too was using a blackberry and whatever the issue was, he was going to ping her during at her meeting.

In 2009, just as the iphone fad climaxed, the next “thing” to catch people’s attention was the just around the corner. Like the iphone, it promised to be sleek, stylish and expensive, to offer uncountable applications and get many technophiles busy. Except technologists, no one expected it. It came into the scene bold and curve, holding a javelin in one hand and pointing a touch in the other. It came first to the city and then travelled to the slums before finding its way to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and everywhere the 3G telephone signal went. It is still here in Lagos where the craze first started but for how long it will stay, no one knows. It is the almighty blackberry. Nicknamed BB and developed by the Research in Motion (RIM) company, this adult’s toy or tool (depending on how it is used) is now becoming the envy of little children.

I was an industrial trainee somewhere in Victoria Island when the BB entered Lagos. It did not struggle to introduce itself because the luxurious taste and tech groove of many lagosians quickly got its demand going. Like hot cakes served with iced coke, the BB sold. Many people around me, both those who had business using it and those whose salary rebuked it, were soon scheming and strategizing on how to purchase one. Today the idea is, if you are not using a BB and planning to buy one, you have been left behind. I even overheard a big girl persuading her boyfriend to make sure he got her another type on her forthcoming birthday. But the other idea is that those whose businesses demand on-the-go internet connectivity definitely needed portable internet devices like the BB smartphone. When high school seniors, yet-to-be matriculated undergraduates and unemployed adults start declaring their want of blackberries, you should know it is just because of the craze. Bitter truth: if your job or studies does not demand the use of an expensive smartphone or if you already have a laptop and reliable internet connectivity, owning a BB might just be an unwarranted liability.

To continue reading, please click: Ayo's Opinion on Celebrating Progress Africa

NYSC Members Discover Talents at KSC

NYSC Drama CD members at the Event

These days in Nigeria and with the global economic situation, classroom education is not enough to give youths a source of income. In fact, education does not guaranty employment rather, it makes students employable. As such, youths who have seen the four walls of high schools and universities with the evidence of due certificates are not necessarily going to get jobs after graduation. This is because certificates do not provide jobs. Instead, they confer the right to be given jobs upon potential job seekers. The reality is that the Nigerian labour market cannot absorb the number of students graduating from our secondary schools and higher institutions annually. These schools graduate students who become idle due to the inadequacy of vacancies. And since idle hands are the devils laboratory, these promising young minds often fall to various negative vices that create the troubles of teenage pregnancy, theft, insecurity, violence, and even terrorism existing in our society. Only those who are able to escape the trauma of prolonged joblessness by engaging in entrepreneurship and talent exhibition survive.

It was in the light of these facts that the NYSC Drama Community Development Group of the Eti-Osa 1 local government located in Victoria Island took up the responsibility of catching tomorrow’s talents young in their own special way. Being one of the youth corps members of the drama CD group, I was privileged to witness the course of events and now bring you a briefing. The approach we utilized in impacting the life of these youths was to execute a talent hunt project titled, “The KSC Talent Hunt” and our overall objective was to discover and encourage the exceptional talents among them. The project idea, being an output of a brainstorming executive meeting suggested by the Drama CD coordinator, Alhaja Igara A.O., was initiated by a team of Drama CD leaders namely: Bode Olatunji, Oscar Odeigah, Juan Onasanya, Corper Anita and Ekeagwu Khan. These wonderful folks met on the 21st of October and came up with the talent show idea which later developed into an ongoing project. A project team consisting of the executive CD members and other dynamic corps members was set up to ensure the attainment of its deliverables. That was how the project kicked off. Today, it can be said that the Drama CD group of Eti-Osa 1 LG have not just influenced their environment but also heightened the hopes of many students in the Kuramo Senior Secondary School.

For the complete article visit: www.cp-africa.com

Minileaks

Image Name/Source: Africa / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is not a poem neither is it a story. It is merely an expression of thoughts.

I did not write a thing about Nigeria on October 1, 2011. Yes, that’s very unlike me. I was not being lazy and it was not due to lack of insights that I did not write. I only thought of ideas that could work and realized the guilt of all. I wrote nothing, I only pondered for hours.

In the paragraph above, the word “I” was used 6 times while “Nigeria” appeared just once. This is the issue with Nigeria and Nigerians, especially our leadership. Many of us, citizens and leaders alike, are full of the spirit of self and are starkly self-seeking.

We have ambitions and goals and certainly have the right to nurture and pursue them. But as we strive to attain greater heights in life, care must be taken to not live self-centredly. Other people should not suffer because we exist.

Men have responsibilities towards their wives and children. They must lead, provide and protect. Women must support the men and nurture the home. The children must go to school and come home with good report cards.

These are societal norms but they must be achieved on the basis of fairness. Should men because of family quench other lives? May women curse their husbands if they follow what is good? Is there any reason why children should cheat in examinations?

No one is perfect and if there is, he is probably not a Nigerian. Since imperfection will corrupt perfection, nothing done by man can be without errors. We err because we know in part and understand in part. Without being heavily strengthened in the inner man, we will not achieve anything perfect.

In the months of August and September 2011, I learnt two lessons. One, Persistence means not slacking when God is leading. And two, Patience means not running ahead of God. The first is the reason why we become stagnant and the second is why some get lost.

However, one thing is needful (even for Nigeria); to move forward, all stakeholders must contribute sacrifice. Some will sacrifice their selfishness; others their cowardice; and the rest, their contentment sustained by the will to survive.
We will have to die to self or self will have to die. It is the way out. The self that will not pray, love, vote, speak up, work hard or be controlled must die. We will have to commit the murder of self and take the risk of not achieving certain inordinate personal goals.

In the end, not everyone listening to motivational speakers will become a second Bill Gates or a younger Warren Buffet. But truly, time and chance will happen to all. We may not be able to change what we have but we can always change who we are and how the world sees us.

Yesterday we had problems. Today we are not without many problems and only God knows what awaits us on the streets of tomorrow. There will always be something to overcome; a challenge, a problem, a stumbling block. So, here is a finally shared microidea or “minileak”: As much as depends on you, follow peace with all men but know that He sees you and is waiting for you. He is God. He is not man.
God bless you Nigeria. We love you our country. So, do not die Nigeria, Do not die.