A DAY WITH YOUNG LEADERS OF NIGERIA

There are currently over 72 million youths (between 18 – 35 years) in the Nigeria. Thus, youth, more than oil, could be Nigeria’s asset in the following decades.
The Nigerian Government recognizes the important role of the youth in Nigeria’s overall development, and is creating strategic implementation in key areas such as Education and Skills Development, job Creation and Infrastructure, and Health Programs.

On May 29th 2014 (Democracy Day), The Nigerian Youths had the opportunity to interact directly with the President, asking questions, sharing comments and discuss development in Nigeria at the Abuja International Conference Centre in an event tagged “A day with young leaders of Nigeria” to mark the nation’s Democracy Day. The social media was not left out as a channel was open for people to ask through the #AskGEJ.

(PICTURES) EDITORIAL BOARD CDS VISIT TO KINGS CARE HOSPITAL, KUBWA AND PISON HOSPITAL & MATERNITY, KUBWA

(PICTURES) EDITORIAL BOARD CDS VISIT ANGLICAN GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL

EDITOR’S NOTE

While I was in secondary school, everyone told me that when I get to the university I will encounter “life”, in the university, they also told me that when I finished from the university I will encounter “life”, as you may be guessing about now, I wondered what really is “life”?

After one year with the National Youth Service Corps I will say indeed I have encountered “life” even if it may not be as they intended in their admonitions. I met and worked with people of different backgrounds, different perceptions and work ethics, the good the bad and definitely, the ugly. These entire work diversities added up to constitute a very eventful and effective work experience for this past year.

EDITORIAL BOARD CDS VISIT ANGLICAN GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL

The Editorial Board CDS group spearheaded by the socio-enlightenment sub-group visited Anglican Girls Grammar School (AGGS), Apo, Abuja. This was the second of similar visits by the group to the school for a 45 minute subject choices and career development presentation.

The CDS group was welcomed by over 150 SS1 students at the school dining hall. The day started off with a presentation by corps member Agekoya Rhoda, who teaches Civic Education at AGSS and runs a leadership club. She introduced the presentation and discussed the importance of choosing the right class, enjoying your subjects, making the right choices for your future independent of parental influence and peer pressure, and assessing one’s self and interests.

DEAR DIANA

5th November 2013

I can never forget the first day I stepped into Kubwa Camp for my N.Y.S.C orientation, it was the most memorable day ever and here’s why. As I narrowly escaped a furious soldier, I bumped into the most beautiful girl ever. It wasn’t the fact that she almost caused me to land on the floor but there was something about her that radiated and caught my attention. It was the first time I saw Diana Okwudili.

Diana was tall, fair and very beautiful. It was like she wasn’t of this world. I stared for a while before another soldier coming from behind jerked me into reality muttering “My friend move out of the way”. In the twinkle of an eye, Diana was gone. I had to find her soon. Those were the last words I thought about before I sauntered off to begin the rigorous clearance process.

A TALE OF A HERO

Everyone says that children are the leaders of tomorrow, and many have argued that the youths should be at the helm of affairs or of leadership in this country. In other words, the youths are supposed to be the leaders of today.

Growing up for me wasn’t very luxurious. I became very responsible at a very tender age, never really having the typical childhood that most kids had. I never played much football with the boys, never played spinning the bottle, or anything spin-able, for that matter, and throughout my secondary school year, video games or SLUM BOOKS were not part of my adventures. To add to my repertoire of “childlikelessness” (back then), I didn’t appreciate the simple playfulness of the idea that SS3 students write all over their shirts in plain ink as a way to celebrate the completionof their WAEC and NECO examinations.

SOMEBODY SAVE SABRINA

2nd March 2013.

It was the 2nd of May 2005. I had just finished from evening lectures when I received a call from an unknown number. Puzzled, I answered the call mouthing “Hello!”
“Please, am I on to Sabrina Ademoriyo” the caller responded calmly.
The voice was very unfamiliar but my major concern was what the caller had said before ending the call “Please come to Zoe Medical Hospital, Gbagada”. 

I wearily boarded a bus going towards Gbagada as I sincerely hoped that nothing was wrong. The last time I entered a hospital was to mourn the death of my twin sister who passed away due to lungs cancer at twenty (20) years old. I had cried, prayed, read scriptures, prayed again then cried some more but that night, when I came to drop flowers for her with the intention of telling her that God was going to heal her, I saw a still body on the bed who the doctor later confirmed as dead. 

DEVELOPMENT AND RISK FACTORS OF JUVENILE ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND DELINQUENCY

People particularly adolescents have repeatedly behaved in ways that are perceived or potentially disruptive or social expectations or processes. The behavior may injure someone; deprive another of his or her property; offend the moral values of group of people, perhaps outrageously; or be of a type that is presumed to be indicative of future, more severe problems. In the attempt to control such behaviors, small, informal groups have rules, larger more formal organizations have rules and regulations.

The prevalence of antisocial and delinquent behavior in juveniles has increased dramatically over the past 2 decades, along with the prevalence of other health-endangering behaviors, such as substance use and suicide.

MY CONCERNS

I am concerned about a better world. I'm concerned about justice. I'm concerned about brotherhood. I'm concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about these, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer but you can't murder murder. 

Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. 

Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that. -Dr MartinLuther King, Jr. 

THE “GODLY” YOUTH IN AN EVOLVING WORLD

The fact that we are Godly youths does not in any way mean we should be ignorant, uninformed, benighted, unaware, and backward or even lost in the constantly advancing and evolving world we find ourselves. Contrary to this, the bible in Ecclesiastes 11:9a says “Young people, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in.” (NLT), the King James Version (KJV) says “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes.” In light of this, we can say that following trends (whether they are in fashion, music, social media etc) is not in itself wrong at all because as youths these are the things that give our youthful heart cheer & delight our eyes. However, there are a few things we must consider;

THE DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE

Human consumption of psychoactive substances has been in existence almost since the beginning of human civilization itself. Also the issue of drug abuse has highly been a major problem especially within the industrialized world during the past century especially in Nigeria.

Drug abuse includes addictions to alcohol, illicit and prescribed drugs. In urban and rural populations, youth and adolescents are most vulnerable to drug abuse as of a result of the unemployment rate across the world. Some of these illicit drugs include heroin, cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, syrups and tablets with codeine, alcohol, tramadol, flunitrazepam (roofies) and others.

NIGERIA MY COUNTRY

I look up to seeing a country where corruption is myth and our leaders inspired by patriotism; actuated by love of one's country; zealously and selfishly devoted to the service of one's country; as a patriotic statesman, vigilance; people with keen interest in building a nation strong and catering for everyone in it.
I see leaders rising up to the challenge confronting the Nigerian State and stop gambling with the lives of the innocent.

BEYOND NYSC ALLOWEE

Every beginning of a new month rings a bell in the ear of most corps members. It heralds a new adventure; visits to the Cinemas, Spa, Wuse Market, Yahuza Suya spot, “Abacha” joint, just name it!
These are signs that "Allawee don show". However the question is "is this all about the National Youth Service Corps?"

The National Youth Corps was founded in the year 1973. Its aim and objectives were to build graduate youths who are Passionate and selfless to the growth and development of their “father land" Nigeria.
The Pioneers of the National Youth Service Corps did just that. They worked tirelessly through tough and very rigorous conditions. They went to rural communities not thinking of what they would gain from these communities but rather, shared their knowledge and ideas to the populace through voluntary education and awareness, farming, erection of sculptures and construction of various amenities such as bridges, wells, market places and much more. At the end of their service year, they were greatly missed by the communities in which they served.

RELATIONSHIPS THAT WORK

“Everyone desires a perfect relationship; a relationship that is void of quarrels, challenges, obstacles and so on. But the truth is this: there is no such relationship”

A wise person once said that relationships are like houses and when a light bulb is faulty, you don’t buy another house, you fix the light bulb. What this simply implies is that, there are steps you must take for a relationship to work before you think of quitting on the relationship. Every relationship has its own difficulties and that’s why I’ll like to show you factors which when adopted work out any relationship.

1) Be patient and wait for Mr Right
2) Build your relationship
3) Hold on to God

WE FOUND LOVE IN AN UNUSUAL PLACE

Until the first day of my NYSC orientation camp, I had never believed in love at first sight. In fact, I had never truly believed in the concept of love before that fateful morning.

After praying, fasting and basically begging God and my parents to help me get posted to Lagos, I had been shocked and disappointed when I found out I would be serving in Abuja, a city where I had no family, no friends, no car and no accommodation. All the plans I had made to spend my service year in Lagos with my friends had fallen apart and there was nothing I could do about it, it was very upsetting.

I was still in a foul mood when I got to the NYSC camp in Kubwa that morning and a soldier asked me to carry my luggage on my head. He looked like he was joking but the horsewhip in his hand and the stern faces of his colleagues pointed otherwise. I decided to look around for clues and that was when I first caught a glimpse of her, the proverbial damsel in distress, struggling to balance a heavy bag on her head with one hand and carry her stuffed bucket with the other. It was a funny sight to behold, but there was something cute about it, I wanted to see more.

TEN (10) TIPS TO MAKE YOU MORE EFFECTIVE AT WORK

As we round up our Service year- it’s all about job searching and for those of us that got jobs already. How effective are we at our Jobs.
We hear a lot about being effective- What is being effective, what does it actually mean? Well the dictionary definition is productive, persuasive, having a desired result or effect. Synonyms include able, competent, energetic, forceful, and powerful.
The effective person is the person who works smart and hard. One of the real keys is organisation, and for most of us that means having a system that works for us and helps to plan and manage our time.
So whether you use the latest electronic gadgetry or just plain old paper and pencil, you need to devote some “headspace” to thinking about your work, planning and organising it. You don’t want to be the person caught on the hop, totally unprepared for today’s big meeting.

Here are my top ten (10) tips for getting organised.

STILL ON THE CHIBOK MATTER

Chibok, a small town in Maiduguri has ceased to be an unpopular name as it will go down in history for creating a lot of buzz in the international scenery. If one was to search for international trends, it will be noticed that the Chibok girls hash tag, popularly known as #bringbackourgirls, will be at least amongst the top 10, if not number 1.

A lot of vibe has been generated, and developing stories come up almost regularly. Top news channels like CNN and BBC are not left out as they sometimes break their programs in order to provide viewers with developing stories on the matter.

Top celebrities that would have sworn that they had not heard the name “Nigeria” have even contributed their quota by promoting the awareness. Until now, most people abroad unintentionally disregarded African countries -- one may get a glimpse of this attitude from the way the rest of the world refers to Africa as though it were a single state. But all this has eventually come to an end as Chibok has placed Nigeria on the international map. This development, I must say is very regrettable, because I would have wanted this grand recognition to come from something glorious.

A PEEK INTO THE MIND OF GUYS

Guys can't help but stare at other Ladies
It's true, guys just can't control themselves. Ladies the same way when they walk by a window filled with gorgeous shoes, tops, jewelry etc - they just have to look, its natural.

Guys don't take hints
Ladies pride themselves on being able to know intuitively what their friends or boyfriends are thinking, but guys have no interest in reading minds or body language. The secret is "If you don't tell him, he will never know."

NEGLECT

Is the scent of apple boughs smoking

in the woodstove what I will remember

of the Red delicious I brought down, ashamed

that I could not convince its limbs to render fruit?

Too much neglect will do that, skew the sap's

passage, blacken leaves, dry the bark and heart.

NYSC

Ours is a protracted year of service… Parcelled and distributed,
then abandoned in wretched areas of the earth the devil tempts us;
tempts our innateness for survival just to prove our president’s boast hearts committed to nothing
minds bleeding to death suckling babies hounded away from their mothers’ breasts
and abandoned to die in the cold night but failing, no,
refusing to die from the dictator’s drones survival is the name of the game living, no,
barely surviving on dribs and drabs all in the name of service
while the henchmen of folly sing discordant tunes of loyalty of serving one’s nation to death
they themselves are the very antithesis of their warped doctrines

HER TALE AS A CORPS MEMBER

Her watchword is courage; Courage, oh please let me love you because I need your company."If you love me like I love only you, no knife could ever cut our love in two"

At first, Vera was well received by the management and staff of her Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) as a corps member. Later, she became popular in her department because of her intelligence and dedication to work. Little did she know that, she was creating a prospect that will metamorphose into hatred between her and the staff.

She thought of living the place but dismissed it right away because she was already in the 7th month of her service. She became confused of what to do. She was no longer comfortable serving with them and couldn’t think of requesting for a rejection letter because she was afraid of what will be her fate if she changes to another place.

FEW TIPS WOMEN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS

1.   The number one trait of an attractive woman is her pride: Men do not like women that lack pride. As a woman you must learn how to carry yourself, you do not have to wait to hear it from someone else that you are special. Keep telling yourself you are special and others will get to see it. Beauty is a state of mind; you can only be ugly if you think you are ugly. Pride is not a bad thing as long as you do not over do it. A woman that lacks pride, no matter how pretty she is will never be seen as attractive in the eyes of men.

2. Always make the person wait; soon the waiting will turn to interest: most men lose interest in women that go crazy over them first. As a lady you are not meant to release all your feelings first because it might be too much and it will end up driving him away. You have to be sure of how he feels about you first before expressing all the love you have for him. Some women go crazy over a guy so much that they do not want him to wait, so they dress up in a hurry and end up looking ridiculous. Don’t always race out when a man calls you.

NAIJA PIKIN

People judge you in the green white green
Servant of the nation, on minimum wage lean
You are who you are and you remain unseen

It started as a small flame
and then it raged into a furnace
But soon you realize… the year’s so lame

THE ABUJA ANKARA FESTIVAL

The Ankara Festival is a celebration of the local fabric which is very much a part of our everyday life. It is an important aspect of the Nigerian culture and showcases the Ankara fabric which has become more than just an item of clothing and is, in fact, a form of national identification. Ankara works have evolved from the well known wrapper and dresses and is now being used in the making of handbags, footwear, jewelry, head-gears and interior designs in the form of furniture, carpets, curtains and framed artworks.

The Ankara festival is more of a trade fair than a fashion show. It comprises of showcased items, crafted into numerous shapes and patterns, displayed by different designers and artists on different days through the course of the festival. Astonishing works such as creatively printed Ankara designs on silk and chiffon by a mix and match of different artists as well as exquisite bead making have taken the artistry required to produce such astounding works to a whole new level of finesse.

TEN (10) THINGS BETTER THAN MONEY

1. Life
It is easy to forget that the mere fact of conscious existence, that you are alive is itself a miracle. As the old saying goes "every day above ground is a good day."
2. Health
Rather than thinking of illness as something bad that happens to you, start thinking of health as something good that's happening to you.
3. Purpose
There is nothing more conducive to long-term happiness than knowing that your actions are making the world a better place.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY

The statement “There is no free lunch” is made very often and if asked, everybody knows it is true. Isn’t it still surprising that most times when it is said it is buried behind laughter and smiles and when the reverse is the case i.e said in painful situations or situations that have caused hurt, it does not come as a “beware” but as a “you should have known better” or “know this for next time”.

Isn’t it amazing that when you want to download an application or sign a contract, the Terms and Conditions are usually bulky and written in very small letters, still the option of click to agree or decline is boldly written?

DESPERATION, THE EVIL WIND

There are some people who have their lives all planned out such that nothing really worries them. Some other people are lucky to be born into families that have planned their lives for them.

But most people have not been as lucky, as they have worked for everything they now have. These people have the tendency to get desperate at times when all hope seems to be lost. They tend to develop into this state, because they perhaps don’t see solution coming in from anywhere else asides the buttons they claim to push. These buttons could be those of desperation.

What really is desperation?

Desperation is a state in which all hope seems to be lost.

CIGARETTE SMOKING, A FALSE ADDICTION

Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g. alcohol, nicotine) or engages in any activity (e.g. gambling) that can be pleasurable, but the continued use of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities such as relationships, or health.

There are different types of addiction

There is physical addition, which is a state in which the body adapts to a drug so that the drug no longer has the same effect. This is known as tolerance. As a result of tolerance, there is a biological reaction when the drug is withdrawn.

Another form of physical addiction is a phenomenon of overreaction by the brain to drugs (or to the cues associated with drugs).

Likewise, there is psychological addiction whereby people naturally pick up habits as a result of trying to deal with stress.

THE POWER OF HASHTAGS

A hashtag is a word or an unspaced phrase prefixed with the number sign ("#"). It is a form of metadata tag. Words in messages on micro blogging and social networking services such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Instagram may be tagged by putting "#" before them.
Hashtags are an efficient method to find content related to specific topics, as well as the people talking about those topics.

Hashtags have been used to streamline communication around situations where other mediums of communication such as television, radio and print are not accessible or effective in reaching audiences. Example of this is when Nigerians were able to solicit support from the international community in expressing themselves from twitter users around the world using the hashtag #BringBackourGirls.

DOCTORS ARE NOT GODS

When I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew older, I hurriedly said I wanted to be an engineer.
I didn’t even realize that there were different types of engineers. I just liked the title and the swag that followed the bearers.

Presently, if I am asked what I want to be, I am sure I won’t answer hurriedly. If am any honest, I probably won’t answer at all. The reason being that there are no jobs in the country and there is no need going through school for five years. Sometimes, some additional time for “strike” purposes, just to graduate and sit at home doing nothing like those players that coaches “bench” – except in their case, they still get paid.

A LITTLE MORE THAN A LOT

Do for me Mr
What will make me glad
Give to me dear
Rescue me from sad
You claim to have done
You announce u have given
You specify that u have done a lot
But, I beg for some more

CHANGE

It is a pity Nigerians have decided to look away from the truth and choose a biased viewpoint at issues which affects us as a Nation . Why have we chosen this rot of a government over sanity which is clear? Why have we chosen suffering over joy? Why have we chosen the minority who squander our public funds over the majority who suffer,work and pay for these funds? Why have we chosen vested interests over public interests? Why do we deceive ourselves into electing corrupt leaders, then beg God to grant us faithful ones?
Why haven't our prospects turned into reality?