Five Things You Should Do in Year Twenty-Fourteen

The only things that will change about the New Year are dependent on the true changes that people make. Change is a constant variable and sometimes, it depends on all of us.

#One

Try New Perspectives

If you are used to doing things in a particular way, find new ways of doing them. That’s one lesson I learnt while watching Ben Affleck’s awesome movie titled Argo. Read books, even on issues that you think you know enough about, and you will be amazed at what you do not know. Ask honest and responsible people for ideas and if you find them realistic within the context of your values and standards, try them out. Welcome positive change and things will become new automatically.

#Two

Evaluate Your Relationships

It is true that you do not need all the keys in the world to open a door; all you need is the right key.  Hanging out with the wrong people will not move you forward but meeting the right people could do so. You need to evaluate your relationships and open your eyes to the effects of your friendships. This will help you realise where you have unduly slacked and where you actually need to be relaxed. Make appropriate changes as you find them needful; and as much as depends on you, attempt to be at peace with all men.

#Three

Bring the Game On

Pick up a new hobby or sport or return to an unknowingly abandoned one. Sometimes, learning a new game or sport could help fine-tune your thoughts and returning to an old one would make your heart merry. Whichever one you choose, the aim is to make your leisure exciting. So, get your gear on and bring the game on.

#Four

Be Grateful for the Present

If you are married, write a comprehensive “Thank You” letter to your spouse for all the good things he or she did for you last year. If you are single, appreciate your friends, colleagues and perhaps, your partner. If you are a student, appreciate your parents and teachers for their support. Thank the people who you clearly know have impacted your life positively. Also, be grateful to yourself for pursuing the goals that you set last year. Above all, be grateful to God for giving you a fresh opportunity to make amendments where necessary this year.

#Five

Do the Dew

Taking conscious steps in search of the unconscious manifestation of divine blessings is what I refer to as “doing the dew”. To perform this you need to set new goals or tweak and reinvent pending ones. Find desired opportunities. Make the right connections. Pray as though nothing depends on you and work as though everything depends on you. Have faith and try the impossible. Handle your failures with humour. Learn how to constantly generate optimism. And, find other honest means of doing the dew.

So, what are you waiting for?

On your self-drawn mark, get the resources set and go for your goals.

Wishing you a marvellous year,

Ayodeji Morakinyo

Reducing Illiteracy through Social Entrepreneurship

Photo Credit: Bayo Omoboriowo

Education is one of the best gifts that can be given to children because of its secondary advantage to the society.

When children are educated, their minds are developed through the knowledge and skills that they acquire. The knowledge they gain helps them understand their importance to society, and the skills they acquire gives them the opportunity to contribute to the socio-economic development of their communities. Therefore, the outcome of child education benefits the children as young individuals and extends to the society in terms of development.

However, education is not always available and affordable to all children. This is a common experience for the children of low-income earners in many developing countries because their parents always struggle to find and pay for good education. The free education that is sponsored by government in some African countries is not evenly efficient across all states. Hence, most parents avoid sending their children to public schools at the primary level. Yet, some of these parents are also uneducated. In fact, UNESCO reports that Africa is the only continent where more than half of parents are not able to help their children with homework due to illiteracy.

For example, in Nigeria, where 10.5 million children are presently out of school, several parents are finding it difficult to enrol their children in public primary schools. The shortcomings of public education are still visible and the cost of enrolment in private primary schools keeps escalating. Many parents say schools that have efficient teachers charge high tuition fees while the risks involved with sending their children to schools run by government are high. Again, parents who do not value education actually prevent their children from going to school and would rather engage them in local trades. If handled by government alone, the problem of illiteracy would remain unbeatable ...

 

Read more on Commonwealth Youth Portal

Education is one of the best gifts that can be given to children because of its secondary advantage to the society.
When children are educated, their minds are developed through the knowledge and skills that they acquire. The knowledge they gain helps them understand their importance to society, and the skills they acquire gives them the opportunity to contribute to the socio-economic development of their communities. Therefore, the outcome of child education benefits the children as young individuals and extends to the society in terms of development.
However, education is not always available and affordable to all children. This is a common experience for the children of low-income earners in many developing countries because their parents always struggle to find and pay for good education. The free education that is sponsored by government in some African countries is not evenly efficient across all states. Hence, most parents avoid sending their children to public schools at the primary level. Yet, some of these parents are also uneducated. In fact, UNESCO reports that Africa is the only continent where more than half of parents are not able to help their children with homework due to illiteracy.
For example, in Nigeria, where 10.5 million children are presently out of school, several parents are finding it difficult to enrol their children in public primary schools. The shortcomings of public education are still visible and the cost of enrolment in private primary schools keeps escalating. Many parents say schools that have efficient teachers charge high tuition fees while the risks involved with sending their children to schools run by government are high. Again, parents who do not value education actually prevent their children from going to school and would rather engage them in local trades. If handled by government alone, the problem of illiteracy would remain unbeatable.
- See more at: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/2013/12/17/reducing-illiteracy-through-social-entrepreneurship/#sthash.bk2kPG85.dpuf

Education is one of the best gifts that can be given to children because of its secondary advantage to the society.
When children are educated, their minds are developed through the knowledge and skills that they acquire. The knowledge they gain helps them understand their importance to society, and the skills they acquire gives them the opportunity to contribute to the socio-economic development of their communities. Therefore, the outcome of child education benefits the children as young individuals and extends to the society in terms of development.
However, education is not always available and affordable to all children. This is a common experience for the children of low-income earners in many developing countries because their parents always struggle to find and pay for good education. The free education that is sponsored by government in some African countries is not evenly efficient across all states. Hence, most parents avoid sending their children to public schools at the primary level. Yet, some of these parents are also uneducated. In fact, UNESCO reports that Africa is the only continent where more than half of parents are not able to help their children with homework due to illiteracy.
For example, in Nigeria, where 10.5 million children are presently out of school, several parents are finding it difficult to enrol their children in public primary schools. The shortcomings of public education are still visible and the cost of enrolment in private primary schools keeps escalating. Many parents say schools that have efficient teachers charge high tuition fees while the risks involved with sending their children to schools run by government are high. Again, parents who do not value education actually prevent their children from going to school and would rather engage them in local trades. If handled by government alone, the problem of illiteracy would remain unbeatable.
- See more at: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/2013/12/17/reducing-illiteracy-through-social-entrepreneurship/#sthash.bk2kPG85.dpuf

Madiba, What Can We Say?

What can we say?
That you lived a good good life
A pretty, spirited and selfless one
A life endured by you for the good of others

What can we say?
That we knew it Madiba, when
Death arrived without any shame
To knock upon the door shielding your life

That we felt within us a deep
But faint impression that you would die
And we sought God about it in our heavy hearts
And He said that you are going to die in 2013 anyway

What can be said?
About how we still prayed
Though without much faith because
We knew you would soon go away forever

What can be said Madiba?
That we doubted you'd die anymore
Until again He said, "Wait till December"
And you indeed went away in its very genesis

You could have stayed till Christmas
You could have waited till New Year Eve
You could have left on the 31st at 11:59:59PM
But for you, there was no better time to go yonder

What can we say?
You wanted to leave here
The pain was too much to bear
You only smiled just to keep us hoping

What can we say?

That you were brave, wise and selfless

And no one could take these away from you
You were just the right gift that South Africa needed

But we say goodbye to you Madiba!
Thank you for your inspiring existence
The whole of Africa appreciates your life forever
And the world in its entirety will respect you even in death

May Nigerian leaders look into your life and learn something about leadership.

Dear God, teach us all to number our days even in the flurry of our youthfulness.

Spotlight on Good Employee Relations

“We developed our business ideas in the belief that our priority should be the people who work for the companies. If staff are motivated, then customers will be happy and stakeholders benefit through the company’s success.” –Richard Branson

Good employee relations is a significant requirement for achieving teamwork and overall corporate goals. Without it, no organization can thrive or even survive.

Since every organization is made up of people who work together to perform tasks and meet objectives, the collective behavior, efforts and accomplishments of all the individuals determine the organization’s position.  Therefore, what the employees of an organization achieve is equal to what the organization achieves and vice versa.

When good relations is lacking among the employees of an organization, for instance between the managers and the people they are managing, inefficiency sets in. Managers find it difficult to drive their subordinates towards set goals, good efforts are generally wasted and progress rate is reduced. This leads to overall inefficiency and jeopardizes the organization’s ability to meets some of its timely goals. In addition to the usual constraints of cost, time, quality and scope, the organization’s projects face prolonged storming of human resources due to the new constraint of employee relations.

There is a need for managers to balance the interests of their subordinates with management demands using the organization’s values, culture and policies as their model. They must truly understand the values and culture-template of the organization and demonstrate obvious commitment by practicing them. They should stand as corporate ambassadors and hold senior and executive management accountable in this regard.

When subordinates lose confidence in their managers, it is usually because they feel betrayed. In this wise, some employees suppose or even see evidences that their bosses are self-seeking, deceptive, unethical or exhibiting eye-service. They are either not convinced that their interests are respected or do not see traits of sacrificial, committed and exemplary leadership in them.

Perhaps, this is because while management thinks in terms of figures (i.e. financial implication, cost-cutting possibilities and profit projections), other employees think about general welfare, income increment and promotion. Yet, all other factors being equal, the gap between set goals and present situation can only be bridged by motivated employees. Therefore, there is a need to continuously strike an unequal but realistic balance between the two sides.

In a business environment like Nigeria’s, where the government is still struggling to fight the problems of poor infrastructure, unreliable power supply, insecurity, unstandardized transportation networks and inadequate financial support, business development is a difficult task. This is not unconnected to why business owners and management executives in Nigeria tend to place strong emphasis on prevalent cost-cutting even when it undermines employee welfare and safety.

To promote good relations between managers and their subordinates, teams must be able to have confidence in their managers. Where necessary, employees should be helped to understand the importance of their minor roles in achieving major strategic objectives. Also, managers should champion good relations and help their subordinates see the connection between teamwork and the unit’s productivity.

In the end, if the organization’s growth continues to reflect in the lives of its employees, everyone would be eager to work together to make things better. That’s good employee relations.

Talking About Scams & Spams

Several months ago I was having an e-conversation with some friends. One of them was attending a particular Model United Nations (MUN) conference at a school in Europe under sponsorship. Somehow, I got the idea to have a debut experience at HNMUN. But the information I received was different from what was obtainable. I later realized that I could not access sponsorship for my application. It happened due to miscommunication. Weeks later, I heard about someone who paid the wrong guys for his MUN application. He had been sent spams and thought he was communicating with the right folks. By the time he knew the truth, he had lost his money. Now, that was a scam.

  

One could easily assume that most internet users know how to identify scam mails. But recent happenings have proven otherwise. The amount of spammed mails received by internet users is not abating, especially for those using free email accounts in developing countries. In addition, when people have their email addresses enlisted on websites that do not have adequate data protection mechanisms, they expose themselves to heavy spams from prospective scammers. The simple use of email crawlers is efficient enough for scammers to create databases containing thousands of email addresses.

Spams are different from credit, debit or prepaid card fraud in that the former does not require specialized hacking or programming skills. Spams are unwanted or unsolicited emails that are randomly sent to the mailboxes of internet users who may or may not have an interest in the content of such messages. They can be in form of any language that the scammer finds suitable. To scam someone, a cybercriminal just needs to deceive the mail recipients by phishing (sending fake emails) and taking advantage of their impatience, ignorance, carelessness or greed.

  

It is now common practice for fraudsters to defraud consumers of online banking through phishing. ACI’s 2012 survey results of 5,200 respondents in 17 various countries showed that 1 in 4 consumers are victims of bank fraud.

I heard of a lady who lost her monthly salary to fraudsters during her national youth service corps (NYSC). They had deceived her by sending a duplicate of her bank’s original email to her mailbox. In the email, she was warned about the need to update her account for security reasons. They also asked her to click a link to her personal banking portal and enter her personal identification details. The mail contained the bank’s logo, usual sign-offs and exact outline. But unknown to her, the domain name of the sender’s email address was different from her bank’s actual address by a single character. By simply mousing over the suggested link, she could have seen the full domain name of the fake website and realized the difference.

Below is an example of the scam mails I have been receiving since someone (I do not know who exactly) enlisted my email address on the unsafe webpage of a particular training company.

Scam Mail Begins

The Telefónica Notification
Liverpool L70 1NL United Kingdom
Customer service Notification Desk.
Tel: +44 702 409 6807

Congratulation!!! Dear Account Holder.

We are happy to announce to you that your active e-mail account attached to computer generated ticket number: DS41457482
has won prize Sum of £850,000.00 Britain Pound in our 1st Category of international lottery Jackpot.

Download the attachment file for claims and payment details: (Telefónica Lottery Jackpot.doc)..
_________________________________________________
Sign,
Selby Duffield.
Online coordinator.
The UK (O2) Telefónica International Promotion Inc.

End of Scam Mail

Needless to say, I did not play any lottery or jackpot. So, why should I be told that I have won the sum? If I were greedy enough, maybe I would have shown interest. But unfortunately for them, I am not.

 To read more about scams, visit www.scamwatch.gov.au

How to Become Better while ASUU Strike Lasts

            If you are presently studying in any public Nigerian university at undergraduate level and are affected by the ongoing strike, this information is for you. You should strive to add value to yourself in this season but first, let me tell you why.

            It is possible that you do not owe any fees at the Nigerian academic institution where you are a registered student. It is likely that your parents or sponsors have done their best to get your tuition, departmental, students’ association, accommodation and miscellaneous fees paid accordingly this semester. It is certain that you did not sign up at the university simply because you would like to grow grey hairs in an academic environment. Even if you owe your school some fees presently, creating a season of unending idleness in your life does not guaranty its payment. There are surer and better ways to make you comply. Therefore, you do not deserve the striking deadlock that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Nigerian government have created. You are a student under oath, so what you deserve is predictable education.

            I do not blame ASUU for going on the strike. What else would a union of workers do to influence their employer? Yet, I cannot find absolute fault with the consultation team of President Goodluck Jonathan (who is a PhD holder himself) because they did not create the mess in the public tier of our educational sector. The mess in the sector had been smelly and obvious long before his tenure. In fact during my undergrad days of 2005-2010, I once sat under a lecturer who boasted that the browned, torn and long-suffering notes given to us to photocopy were the actual notes he copied 15 years ago under the tutelage of a renowned late professor. Yes, I also put my hands on my head in awe saying, “Mo Gbe!” when I heard him. That was just one out of a hundred experiences.

            Now, ASUU is trying to fight for improvement in the quality of tertiary education in our country and it is obvious that mainly the generation of students after you would partake in the fruits of their struggle. So, what can you do to ensure that when the strike is over you do not return to school like a victimised Methuselah? How can you add value during this strike or any forthcoming one?

Take free courses online.

If you are lucky enough to have access to Internet service through smartphones, notepads or computers at home, on campus, in your neighbourhood or relative’s workplace, find time to take free courses at any of www.alison.com, www.coursera.org, www.edx.org, www.iversity.org. You may also contact dinehintop(at)yahoo(dot)com to be considered for courses on www.ikronikles.com by quoting “Edupower Crew” in your email.

Volunteer to work for NGOs.

Some organisations are constantly seeking volunteers and interns who can work for them physically or online. They are not obliged to pay you but the experience gained is usually a boost for your CV. It is also an opportunity to build professional contacts and get useful recommendations. To find volunteer opportunities, visit www.idealist.org, www.unv.org, www.leapafrica.com or send an email to ayodeji(at)easy(dot)com to get more specific information or even join Edupower Crew.

Work for your parents, their friends or some relative.

If your parents are self-employed, you could negotiate for a pay and work for them. Otherwise, you could ask them to link you up with people who are doing something you like and could employ you. However, you must be able to prove that they need you and ensure you don’t disappoint your recommender.

Start a small business.

If you are a risk-taker, you can start a small business. Otherwise, if you have friends that have certain IT or vocational skills, collaborate with them and work for them. After learning from them for a while, you might just be daring enough to start something.

Register at a library and study.

Find a library in your neighbourhood where you can study and form a discussion group at a public location. Review your academic results and find students that can help you understand them. Prepare yourself ahead of school.

Sometimes, doing a mixture of the above would help you add much value before returning to school. Whichever one you choose, I wish you the best!