ERADICATING CORRUPTION

Among discussions between Nigerians, corruption is a major topic of the day, how it has become a way of life for us and the systemic failure it has promoted. Public Officials have looted so much, our country may never recover from the onslaught. If one public official can be caught with billions of naira under his bed and another with millions of dollars worth of property then imagine what a brood of these vipers have collectively stolen for decades. Anyway, calculating how much Nigeria has lost in trillions of dollars to corruption is a topic for another day, right now let us concern ourselves with how to rid ourselves of this hydra- headed monster.

12 - 12 - 12

Everyday history is made, so why not make history everyday.  
I bet you know today is Wednesday, the 12th day of the 12th month in the year 2012 and the last day the human race will ever see a repetitive date in both our history and future, now don't be scared and mistake it for the day the Mayans said the world would end, that's still on the 21st, about 9 days from now and yes you still have time to ask for forgiveness of your sins, lol. My friend, @punthief  tweeted that if rain

Justice is on slow- motion

In the Nigerian Law School, it is mandatory that each student participates in a court attachment exercise,a period whereby students are attached to courts in other for them to experience first hand the rules and procedures of the court system. I remember walking into the halls of the Federal High Court, Abuja during my attachment dressed in my white shirt, dark suit

#JUST - SAYING

REVOLUTIONARY ACTION begins with REVOLUTIONARY THINKING.

 If you are familiar with Lagos, i do not mean the geographical location of the State but the way of life and mentality of millions of people who lived there in the late 90s, you would be familiar with the unwritten rule especially among the males, that it was wrong to talk to strangers. Now I do not mean people new in the community but anyone you met along the way who was not your family or friend, all this fear because we believed such persons may steal our male genital organs  or even rob us of our will and thus order us to provide all our valuables without question. Even i still unconsciously hold the boys whenever a stranger inquires for directions from me, hoping that i had not fallen victim.  

If you are American or British, the thought of a seemingly innocent traveller stealing your male organ just by exchanging innocent words about his destination with you may seem absolutely ridiculous and may sound like a story used to scare recalcitrant children. But, trust me, it is our reality, a reality as strong and evident as that shared by the people of Romania who believe in the existence of vampires; ancient creatures who live among us and  feed on the blood of their innocent and unsuspecting victims.  

But that is not all, there are quite a number of superstitious theories that guide the actions of an average native Nigerian, superstitions such as : one should not plant a banana tree in his house as it will serve as a meeting point for witches; that it was wrong to do laundry at night as it was an omen; that if a wife was childless or a man was unlucky, he or she was the target of offended village members or extended relations who were not happy with their success and happiness. At this point, let me state that i just planted a banana tree in my house a few months ago.  

This is not an article into the existence of evil or the potency of charms concorted by dibias or a babalawo, it is rather a peripheral look into the effect our cultural heritage has over us as a people and how it affects our society as a whole. Believe it or not, the society is hostile  and our experiences have helped build this abnormalcy. Mistrust and false suspicion are the order of the day. Every tribe and interest group has an agenda for their benefits, we all shun collective gain. If you doubt this, look at the crop of public officers we have in Nigeria who are worldwide renowned experts at syphoning public funds or the struggle between the Yorubas, Hausas, Ibos and Minority tribes on who will be the number one citizen of this nation, this feud is as old as the country itself.  

If we really must change the rioutous direction affairs of this nation are going, we must take a great look at our culture and rid ourselves of some norms that promote the malady. Norms like those of the Ibo who praise their sons and daughters who return home with stupendous wealth without regard for how it was made; or the norm of the Hausas which makes a person lord and master over others because "the others" are poor and have no means of surviving but for the handouts of this fellow who uses the restless nature of the illiterate youths to his advantage; or the yoruba norm of owanbe that promotes an excessive display of wealth.

This seemingly un-important cultural ethics in the larger society promote wide spread corruption and a way of life where the rich and smarter thieves are worshipped while the righteous man who is filled with integrity is hardly recognised or even applauded. How then can we build a society we hope will be based on the tenets of equality and social tolerance? We are our own problems and our solutions also lie with us. If we must change society, we must first change ourselves.  Revolutionary actions begin with revolutionary thinking.

- @adedunmade
Adedunmade Onibokun Esq.

ANOTHER GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ACCOUNTANTS WITH LSBF

Please  send mail to dunmadeo@yahoo.com for registration forms.

Adedunmade Onibokun Esq.

WHO IS DINO MELAYE

Adedunmade: Your twitter Bio describes you as an ACN Chieftain, former member House of Representatives and Human Right Activist; however we want to know who really is Dino Melaye?

Dino Melaye: Dino Melaye is a beautifully ugly guy who lives below the poverty line; I am from Kogi State, a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria, former member of the House of Representatives and a human right activist that is all about this unemployed Nigerian.

Adedunmade: Did you have shoes as a child?

Dino Melaye: Of course I had shoes and I will thank my father because I remember tellaralf, I remember Bata shop, I remember Kingsway, I had shoes, I was not shoeless.

Adedunmade: What qualifies you to be a human right activist?

Dino Melaye: What qualifies anybody for that matter to become a human right activist is once you become a voice of the voiceless and you speak for those who can’t speak for themselves you become a human right activists, in an unjust society challenge is a crime, once you try to advocate for change and the emancipation of the less privileged and the oppressed of society, I regard you as an human right activist.

Adedunmade: what led you into politics?

Dino Melaye: I will say it is inborn and I have been indoctrinated and imbibed with the rudiments for a while having been the head boy in primary school and secondary school, student union leader, I think I have always had a flare for politics.

Adedunmade: You live a flashy life style and are very rich, what do you do for a living?

Dino Melaye: The truth of the matter is except you have access to my bank account, I wouldn’t know your yard stick for being rich but I will say I am not a waster, I am a responsible Nigerian, I am comfortable, I wouldn’t regard myself as rich, if you ask what I do for a living, I am a social worker, I believe in social re-engineering, that’s basically what I do and I also have interest in real estate.

Adedunmade: As a member of the House of Representatives, what led to your fight at the house and your suspension?

Dino Melaye: In very simple language, what led to my fight in the house and suspension is actually our fight against corruption, we discovered corruption on the floor of the house and we raised questions and those questions were ignored, we petitioned the EFCC and the ICPC and instead of responding to our petitions, the leadership of the house instigated our members into violence, particularly what led to it was that a point of order was raised, I raised a point of order and by our rules, once a point of order is raised, it must be taken immediately but that day, the speaker deliberately created anarchy on the floor by disregarding the rules of the house, immediately the speaker refused to recognise the point of order, he created a state of anarchy and that led to pandemonium on the floor, the beaten of some of us, even embarrassing us by tearing our clothes and eventual suspension and to God be the glory, truth has no colour, we went to the court of law and we won our case.

Adedunmade: During your tenure as Honourable member of the House of Representatives, what constituency projects did you execute?

Dino Melaye: I will start by correcting an erroneous impression that many people have that there is something called constituency project or constituency allowance, there is nothing that constituency allowance, honourable members have no access whatsoever to projects. You can as a legislator, influence the citing of a project within your constituency but nobody gives a legislator money to build anything, to supply anything or contract anything whatsoever, so I will say that as a legislator within my meager resources, personally I carried out some social activities, from youth empowerment to building schools, roads, supply of books, skill acquisition for the underprivileged, I provided scholarship for indigent students above all I got a number of my constituents employed into the Federal civil service. A legislator has got 2 responsibilities, one is the act of law making which I tried my best to do that, second is the act of representation, speaking for your people and trying to defend their own share of the national cake, last one is over sight function over the MDH, i think i did my best in this regard.

Adedunmade: You are said to have benefitted from the rot in the society as a former member of PDP, why are you now laundering your image via social media just because you have fallen out of favour?

Dino Melaye: I will start by saying that statement is fallacious, unfair and it’s not true, even as a member of the PDP, I moved a motion against the sitting president as he then was, the late President Umar Yaradua, I moved a motion on the floor of the house when he wanted to borrow 300 million from the world bank, as a member of the PDP, I moved a motion against the sale of Ajaokuta steel, the sale of Delta steel, the construction of the second runway in the airport at Abuja, the construction of the airport road in Abuja and a number of anti – corruption motions that saved this country billions of naira, so I will not concur to the fallacious statement that its because I left PDP that I started agitation, I have no image to launder, I have never done government contracts at any time of my life, I say this with all sincerity that I have never done a government contract whether at state or federal level and I want to tell you that if I have any skeleton in my cupboard or I was part of the rot and corruption in the National Assembly or the country at large, I wouldn’t be fighting corruption today because you know definitely that government would have come after me, like I said boastfully, the only thing the federal government and PDP is yet to find out about me is where my grandfather was buried because I have been investigated and I will like to say to the glory of God I have tried to be upright.

It is actually erroneous and capricious for anybody to think that because I was in the PDP, I was also as dangerous and draconian as the people that are there and the truth of the matter is that party politics is like religion, people convert form Islam to Christianity , from Christianity to Islam, depending on where you find succor, I was a member of the PDP, and driving on that road, I saw a lot of potholes and driving down the line I started seeing hurdles so I had to leave the PDP for the Action congress of Nigeria and I have no attitude or character problem for me to even ask for amelioration or try to launder , I have no personality to launder, all I am doing is my best way of contributing my quota to building a just egalitarian society, a new Nigeria where my grandchildren whom I may never know may have a life structure for them.

Adedunmade: how have you helped youths in your home state of Kogi outside your influence as Honourable member of the House of Representatives?

Dino Melaye: Yes , apart from being a member of the House of representatives, I am very high chief in Kogi state,I am the Otunba of Bunuland, a first class traditional ruler in the state and the truth of the matter is I have really tried for the people of Kogi state, as a matter of fact as I speak to you I am in court with the former governor of kogi state who embezzled the money of our state and personalized the state for a while and if you are aware I have petitioned at the EFCC a good number of appointees and workers in the state, I have done my best in the state , we are still fighting for a better kogi state, I have no other state to call my own, I was still there last week and we continue to work towards promoting the peace and development of the state.

Adedunmade: What is your rating of President Jonathan’s government?
Dino Melaye: I may not have the yard stick or parameter or indices to rate President Jonathan’s government but I can describe Nigeria as a car being driven by a drunken driver.

Adedunmade: Why are you vehemently against President Jonathan?

Dino Melaye: I want to start by correcting an impression that I have nothing personal against the personality and character or President Goodluck Jonathan , I have no personal conflict or disagreement with him but as a Nigerian I am also entitled to my opinion about how I am being governed , my grouse is against this government and not president Jonathan as an individual, I see corruption has been the bane of our development as a Nation and when it is not being fought with every vigour and commitment then we have no option than to complain because every Nigerian must at the end of the day decide to either work in light or perish in darkness. A typical example, the NNPC has been indicted by the report of the House on subsidy, the PPPRA has been indicted, infact, federal government has gone ahead to sack the management staff of the NNPC and even dissolved the board of NNPC mean while Diezani Allison Madueke is the chairman of the board of NNPC and on whose table the bulk stops but she is still there as the minister of petroleum and the chairman of the board of NNPC, you cannot sack the management board of NNPC and leave the chairman of the board. Even the PPPRA that has been indicted, she oversees PPPRA. During President Yaradua’ s tenure, the then minister for health, Professor Grange was indicted in a case of corruption, even before the EFCC commenced investigation ,they were dropped as ministers, another typical example is the case of Osuji who was minister of education during the time of Obasanjo, immediately he was indicted he was dropped as minister and in the National Assembly when the speaker was indicted of a bribery scandal of 65 million naira , he was removed as speaker, so we are saying there is precedent to it and even the public service act is clear that once you are indicted in a case of corruption, you go on suspension without salary until investigation is concluded, so we are surprised that the president is condoling corruption and this government is promoting corruption by keeping those who have been indicted over corruption and now that the NNPC is being investigated and the minister is still seating, definitely she will impede on investigation, you cannot be a judge in your own case, this has created a lot of disappointment and disbelief in our president and we see the president as a very weak president and we do believe that except the president wakes up from his slumber and fights corruption sincerely then we will continue to have a great disrespect for this government .

Adedunmade: why did you tell a certain person who engaged you on twitter to take 2 litres of acid and shut up?

Dino Melaye: The truth of the matter is that many people on twitter are hired thugs to fight those who are fighting this government, we are aware that money has exchanged hands between the presidency and some hired guns on twitter, that most of them when you open their account on twitter , they have zero followers and they are following only one or two people, so they just open twitter accounts to attack some of us whom they believe are fighting corruption but be that as it may, my statement to that young man on twitter was actually from the point of a joke because he said that he does not know why people take me serious and he made a statement which I cannot recall any longer so I advised him to just take 2 litres of acid and shut up, if he doesn’t want to see my face again and hear my voice, moreover he is following me on twitter and I am not following him, so he can to unfollow me or block me but it was actually on a lighter note though I have no apologies for whatever action I had taken.

Adedunmade: what is National Association of Democratic youths (NADY) and what role did you play in it?

Dino Melaye: National association of Democratic youths was a non - governmental organization I formed in 1999 and it became the leading youth organization in the north then, I was the founder and the head office was in kaduna, that’s all about NADY.

Adedunmade: Nigerians have seen so many human right activists who have always had hidden personal agendas, what makes you so different?

Dino Melaye: I think sincerely commitment and approach, I was incarcerated during the Abacha government , I was also locked up during the fuel susbsidy crisis, I am not running for the president of this country, there are people who are naturally called as change agents in every society and I want to believe that is my calling and that’s why we are doing what we are doing, we have no regrets doing what we are doing, the movement will not be discouraged and I want to assure Nigerians that I will not betray them, I want to assure those who believe that we will not compromise, we shall not commercialise our consciences or I will not commercialise my conscience, I will not monetize my belief in this struggle, they will have no reason to say I betrayed them.

Adedunmade: Thank you so very much for your time sir.

Dino Melaye: Thank you very much.

Youth Empowerment Programme 2012 Registration (YouWiN! Women)

YouWiN! stands for Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria. It is an innovative business plan competition aimed at job creation by encouraging and supporting aspiring entrepreneurial youth in Nigeria to develop and execute business ideas.

The accomplishments of the 1,200 YouWiN! awardees were celebrated at the Presidential Villa on April 12, 2012.YouWiN! Women is the second edition of the entrepreneurial scheme which is designed for only female entrepreneurs aged 45 years or less.

YOUWIN Youth Empowerment Programme 2012 RegistrationObjectives of the programmeThe main objective of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (You WiN!) Programme is to generate jobs by encouraging and supporting aspiring entrepreneurial youth in Nigeria to develop and execute business ideas that will lead to job creation.

The programme will provide aspiring youth with a platform to show case their business acumen, skills and aspirations to business leaders, investors and mentors in Nigeria.Specific Objectives of the Programme include to:

· Attract ideas and innovations from young entrepreneurial aspirants from Universities, Polytechnics, Technical colleges, and other post-Secondary institutions in Nigeria;

·Provide a one time Equity grant for 1,200 selected aspiring entrepreneurs to start or expand their business concepts and mitigate start up risks;

·Generate 80,000 to 110,000 new jobs for currently unemployed Nigerian youth over the three years during which the three cycles will be implemented;Provide business training for up to 6,000 aspiring youth entrepreneurs spread across all geo-political zones in Nigeria;

·Encourage expansion, specialization and spin-offs of existing businesses in Nigeria; and,Enable young entrepreneurs to access a wide business professional network and improve their visibility.

Please NoteYouWiN is an equity contribution to your business. It is therefore NOT A LOAN but a grant.Award recipients will be paid according to the needs of the business and specific mile-stones stated in the business plan.

Award recipients must be registered with CAC before disbursment of funds even though they do not need to be registered  to apply. YouWiN will support the registration process.Award recipients will opperate accounts using their registered companies with any of the participating commercial banks prior to disbursment.Award recipients must sign a grant agreement with the managers of YouWiN before disbursment of funds.

Competition Timeline

-Mon. Sep 3, 2012 Launch of 2012/2013 Edition of the YouWiN! Business Plan Competition tagged "YouWiN! Women".

-Mon. Sep 3, 2012 First stage business concept submission starts after launch by President Goodluck Jonathan.

-Sun. Oct 14, 2012 First stage business concept submission closes. No entries accepted after this date.

-Mon. Oct 15, 2012 Marking of first stage submission by an International Business School.

-Fri. Nov 30, 2012Notification of successful first stage candidates and invitation for training in each state of the nation.

-Mon. Dec 10, 2012Training of the 1st set of second stage candidate starts.

-Trainings will be held in sets on 10 – 21 December 2012 and 2 – 11 January 2013.

-Mon. Dec 10, 2012 Submission of second stage business plan starts on 10 December 2012 and ends 8 February 2013. Please note that only entries from candidates who attended the training and had their biometrics information collected are eligible and will be reviewed.

-Fri. Feb 8, 2013 Submission of second stage business plan entries closes. All qualifying candidates must submit their business plans by this date.

-Mon. Feb 11, 2013 Business plan marking commences with an international business school providing quality assurance.

-Wed. May 1, 2013 Winners are notified and published on website and major national dailies.

Click here to apply; https://www.youwin.org.ng/howapply.php

From; www.informationnigeria.org

SPEED with Olakunle Soriyan

On Saturday, 25th August, 2012 i was opportuned to be at the SPEED Master Class with Olakunle Soriyan, if you dont know him then you must be living under a rock,LOL. 

It was such a wonderful experience and this page can never be enough to express every revolutionary thought changing principle that was learnt. A number of great men and women were in attendance as well including Olakanmi Amoo-Onidundu and Temitop Atiba Esq.Here are a few pictures. 

Adedunmade Onibokun Esq.

LETS OUTSOURCE THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

"Should we outsource government because for the past 50 years of democracy, the common Nigerian is still yet to reap its dividends?"  

Kindly do me a little favour, read the above line again and ponder on it. i am sure as a Nigerian you must agree with me that the Nigerian society should have evolved past our present state of violence and uncertainty, rather than live by experiencing security and economic prosperity, we are sorrounded by unemployment and poverty, a large percentage of Nigerians live below a dollar a day, little wonder Japheth Omojuwa once described Nigeria as a failed state.  

"our system is similar to a basket of eggs, where all the eggs came together to select 3 eggs to represent them in governance for a period of 4 years, however after the four year term, it was discovered that the chosen eggs were rotten, so people got angry, abandoned the eggs and another set of eggs were selected to replace them for another 4 years, but that also yielded the same results", these are the words of Olakunle Soriyan.  

Thats terrible right, we have had rotten leaders for about 50 years, i know, but thats not the worst of it, the worst is that we have failed to realise that maybe the basket is actually filled with rotten eggs, so there is no egg in that basket that can ever perform different from the others. It is a proof of insanity to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.  Now that we  have realised Nigeria is a basket of rotten eggs, should we out source governance to the Chinese or the Americans, the British, French, Indians or the Russians perharps. Would our society be better for it or do we just do the needful and embrace PERSONAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

 Our government since independence has never been outsourced, rather it is Nigerians like you and I who are at the helm of affairs, it is a Nigerian that plunders our treasuries and demands bribes in other to perform his official duties, moreso, over and over again we have realised those whom we put in charge of our affairs are the very devourers who betray us. We have criticised, occupied and blamed govt for our problems but all still remains the same. What more is the way forward, PERSONAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY i say.  

We have been naive to believe that govt is the answer to our problems, rather govt is secondary. We on the other hand are the masters of our faith, it is the duty of this generation to solve the problems we face; power, unemployment, poor infrastructure, lack of funds for business,e.t.c. All these challenges are opportunities for us to create home grown, ground breaking solutions.   If we continue to wait for our govt, we will wait till Jesus comes. Rather, we must do things differntly, we must create solutions, we must challenge ourselves, we must not be critics of government but critics of society. We must push society to demand a higher degree of awareness from ourselves, only then can we change society.

The problems we face in Nigeria are challenges that are being solved by great business men and women in other countries.   70% of our population are youth which is great, but most of this youths are more intersted in gossip, parties, trips, fun and entertainment rather than nation building, personal growth and using their existence to improve society, that's why a computer science graduate in Nigeria cannot build a website.   In the next few years, this young leaders will be at the helms of governance, what should we expect from ourselves, if we cannot vouch that we expect a fresh generation of thinkers and solution providers, we had better start making plans to out source governance right  now.

  @adedunmade

FAILING EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS

For its numerous contribution, especially to national development, education has been receiving special attention from the federal, state and local governments. This has resulted in several capital projects all geared towards enhancing basic training and better manpower building for the future generations. These dreams are however not shared by some secondary schools in Lagos.

Some students of a public secondary school in Lagos were recently seen altering their examination report cards. In a show of defiance, they changed their low grades in full glare of the public. On investigation, it was revealed that the students. were among those who were asked to repeat due to poor examination results.

Journalists approached the vice principal of the school who confirmed the revelations, "We know them", she said, "We deal with them everyday, even some teachers are involved. Once the initial marking is complete, we make sure that the master report is submitted to the principal, this minimises to the barest minimum any chances of success.

Seated in her book-laden office,however, the vice principal seems more concerned about inflicting eternal punishment of these students rather than repatriating them."We have other important things to do than dealing with those fraudulent students," she said, slamming her hand on her dusty woody table. She also revealed other pranks of the students including buying new examination result sheets among others.

At the state education board, a staff of the board disclosed that principals have been adviced to make use of duplicating paper so as to foil any mischief. This development is coming at a time when the Lagos state government mandated that every student must pass with at least six credits including English and Mathematics before being promoted.

With reports,such as this, its a no brainer why general failure rates are highly recorded in the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) result yearly. With no punitive system or will by school authourities, pupils and some teachers within the system and are compromising effective training of these wards, efforts at resuscitating this latent sector may well be a long shot, if these anomalies are not tackled.

By Odedeyi Abiodun
www.donabiodun.blogspot.com

SCHOLARSHIP AT LONDON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE

I met a very great humanitarian in Lagos and his name is Bishop Aluko. He is an accountant by profession and has been living in the U.K for over 50 years where has a reputable accounting firm. What I love about this gentleman is his passion for helping others and for contributing his quota to National development in the little ways that he can.

In his usual attitude, he noticed the lack of proper education in Nigeria and approached the London School of Business and Finance to help provide aid to Nigerian students who yearn for better education and opportunities. He has now been successful in gaining LSBF’s support and thus a flood gate of scholarships has been opened to Nigerians.

Please visit www.lsbf.org.uk to find the courses covered, enrolment forms and Scholarship award forms for students/participants completion. Please return the completed enrolment forms and the Scholarship Award forms to alukojoseph@gmail.com who will then forward them to LSBF UK. The scholarship award ranges from 20% to 80% of the COURSE FEES; subject to the criteria to be applied by the LSBF Awarding Committee in UK.

Also please take note that those students/participants that are unable to go to UK, Canada, Malaysia or Middle East; can conveniently do their courses ONLINE in Nigeria, and take the examinations of the awarding Universities, Professional Bodies and the Certificates will be issued by the Global Awarding Recognised Universities/Professional Bodies. For those who want to take up Work Placement with their studies abroad, LSBF will assist in job placement with their global Partners.

THERE IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY OF MEETING WITH LSBF STAFF AT CIMAN OFFICE, 3RD FLOOR, NO 7 WESTERN AVENUE, SURULERE, LAGOS ON 27 AUGUST 2012 FROM 9:30 AM TO 4:00 PM.

Please do not miss it.

For further enquires call 07030398065 or 08059501020.

LAST NIGHT by OLAKUNLE SORIYAN

12% of the world’s population uses 85% of its water, and more of the 12% live in developing countries. 2,500 children die each day due to conditions of poverty. Every five seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases. More than 11million children die each year from preventable health issues such as Malaria, Diarrhea, and Pneumonia. 925million people do not have enough to eat—this is more than the population of the USA, Canada, and the European Union combined. Every year, 15million children die of hunger.

Since you have started reading this post, at least 200 people have died of starvation. Nearly one in four people, 1.3billion—a majority of humanity—live on less than $1 a day, while the world’s 358billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45% of the world’s people; and 3billion people today struggle to survive on $2 per day. Throughout the 1990s, more than 100milllion children died from illness and starvation. Those 100million deaths could be prevented for the price of 10 stealth bombers, or what the world spends on its military in two days.

Even in the USA, one of every eight children under the age of twelve goes to bed hungry every night. Interestingly, to satisfy the world’s sanitation and food requirements would cost only $13billion—this is what the people of the United States and the European Union spend on perfume each year. Again, millions are trafficked in slavery, and pandemic diseases are ravaging entire nations. Each year, nearly 2million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade. More than half of all Africans do not have access to modern health facilities.

Do you know that a mere 2% of the world’s grain harvest would be enough, if shared, to erase the problems of hunger and malnutrition around the world? Amazing isn’t it? There is enough food on the planet to offer every person twenty-five hundred calories of substance a day. We actually have enough food to feed the hungry. But of course, policies stalemate the best of efforts. International relations are strained. Officials drag the system. What’s true however is that there’s enough available. The problem is not the availability; the problem is in the distribution. God has given this generation, our generation, everything we need to alter the cause of human suffering.

But our problems continue to prevail inspite of the fact that they are artificial-–they are manmade. My issue is not just with the facts of the challenges. It’s actually no longer news and these problems have been there for decades. My challenge tonight is that a lot of people are not even aware. How can we not be aware? How can all of these be happening around us and we are not aware? The average young person can tell you about the latest R&B songs from America or the latest movie. They know the latest fashion and the newest model of cars. University graduates can tell you everything about Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Rihana but they know next to nothing about Climate change and Global warming. 70% of our people are supposed to be youths and that’s future energy.

It’s heart-breaking to note that over 80% of this 70% are lost on sports, entertainment and fashion. It’s sobering! A student of international politics does not know about the Rwandan genocide, and a Geography student didn’t know about Hurricane Katrina. But he knows about Dbanj and knows the lyrics to all the songs. The strange truth is that these young minds are the first to complain about the government; and part of their concern is to wonder how the government is not aware of their plight. They forget that the same reason the government is not aware is the same reason they are not aware of what’s going on in the world around them.

The government is concerned about what interests them and the young people and the masses are also only concerned about what interests them. So, interest is the common denominator. Those asking for a better economy are doing so to ask for adequate purchasing power to fund their superior commitment to enjoy sports, entertainment and use fashion—all at the expense of necessary social equilibrium and welfare economics. The care that government officials don’t show is the kind of life they have mastered before they became governors.

The citizens who could not do anything about the social evil around them will not do too much if they make it into public as governor or president. He’s simply used to not feeling the pulse of society. He only took care of his friends, family and relatives for many years before he became a public office holder; nothing in his new life in office says he will do so. We are all the same and we only hide under the cloak of government’s irresponsibility to shield our own selfishness and greed. It’s all about responsibility.

If the government is responsible for governance, every human being is also responsible for love, empathy, benevolence and the kind of kindness that defines our humanity. When the government is responsible and takes care of its people, that is robust welfare economics. When the government neglects this, it is poor leadership. Likewise, when human beings accept responsibility for the societal peace and balace they can individually create, it’s called Personal Social Responsibility and it is the expression of human dignity. When individuals neglect this responsibility for any reason, it is wickedness.

With the social disequilibrium prevailing in our space, shame on any Nigerian or African who makes more than N40,000 ($300) and will not share at least N1,000 ($7) of it to bless someone monthly. While none of us can solve all the problems, each of us can all do something. It’ll be tough to sleep well tonight but I will eventually. Good night and God bless.

KEY THOUGHT:

We CAN have a MILLION REASONS for NOT DOING SOMETHING, but NOT ONE EXCUSE.

LESSON:

LOVE is a DUTY, KINDNESS is a MUST. And the commitment for you to DO SOMETHING is a NECESSITY for the WEAK and HELPLESS around YOU. Your CONSCIENCE is your GUIDE.

- from www.olakunlesoriyan.wordpress.com

PROTECTING OUR PRECIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA

There is no statement as true as the fact that social media has revolutionised life in Nigeria and the entire world. From politics to business, personal relationships to security, religion and the sharing of information, social media has provided a platform with which all may excel. As a tool for seeking political change, critics, activists and other political agents continually engage each other in a battle to champion the course of their principles, beliefs and actions.

 

The youths have also found an avenue for creating friendships, building relationships and expressing themselves. Lives have been saved, stolen properties recovered and useful information shared all thanks to the advent of social media. Politicians also are wary of it because it has become a strong force in shaping public opinion, little wonder most public officers are now more conscious of the message their actions and in actions convey in the virual world of social media.

 

Social media however has a down side which is misinformation. Many atimes, i have received false messages from well meaning friends, who out of the abundant care in their hearts, have shared some of such false information without taking the time to verify the source or truth of these statements, i have since deceased from sharing information  whenever i am not sure of its authenticity.

 

No doubt, our precious platform for expression must be protected, i observed that it pours its wrath on who ever tries to curb it's freedom, you can ask David Mark, he was trending for about 6 days and not for the right reasons, when he made a comment which was construed to be an indication of the ruling class' intention to censor social media. We,on the other hand, however have a responsibility to keep social media pure, reliable and relevant in the scheme of things.

 

We can achieve this simply by being cautious of the messages we share. This is not a call for you to stop abusing politicians who have erred, the fundamental right of freedom of speech has already taken care of that. This however, is a call for awareness. We must be aware of the effects our massages may have if they are false.

 

From today, i humbly charge you to always confirm any information before you share, lest we give those seeking to scuttle our freedom ammunition with which to shoot us down.

Cheers.

@adedunmade

GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA by TOBI ASEKUN

I recently started working with a rights based NGO called Project Alert on Violence Against Women somewhere in Lagos State. Our major work involves Gender based violence issues involving women and young girls' rights and other things in between. We also have a shelter for women to "cool off" or to live temporarily if they are having issues on the home front or suddenly homeless.I'd like to share some information that I've gathered in my short time working here.

GBV(gender based violence) is real! It is very common and it is grossly under-reported. Mostly because of the usual "what will people say" behaviour and the lackadaisical attitude of the Police. Violence here includes psychological trauma, physical beating,assault, rape(even in marriage, yes, it happens) and so many other things.

A lot of women go through some form of violence in their home,mostly from their partners(husbands,lovers). They are beaten, raped, starved, deprived of a social life, some depend on their husbands financially, some are hated because they earn more than their partners or because they are more educated, others have their children taken away and some, their partners decide to keep malice for weeks and weeks. And these women go through these things with little or no support even from fellow women! Some of them wait until the beating has landed them in the hospital or, resulted in the death of a child. We had a case where the husband of a certain woman, poured acid on his wife and then killed their only child!

Some of them say, "oh he started beating me when we where newly married, but I thought he would change" others say, "my family pressured me into marrying". There are a few that married the men against their family's advice not to.Abuse does not no age or class, it affects everyone! Please do not keep silent, speak up and seek help! This culture of silence should be discouraged. The men too should help by reporting any known case to the nearest police station and ensure that there is a follow up.

Young girls should be encouraged to report any form of abuse by anyone to their parents or an older person.Ill say this, a woman is entitled to bodily integrity, not inhuman treatment and no form of discrimination!

If you are experiencing any form of abuse or violence or you just have a need to talk to someone and share your burden through counselling, please call Project Alert on 08180091072. Or visit our website at projectalertnig.org. We will be glad to help.

WHAT HAS PRESIDENT JONATHAN GOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS?

I came across this article on sahara reporters, if the facts and figures are true, then President Jonathan has got to defend himself and tell Nigerians his side of the story. Surely he must have an explanation. I thought to share anyway;


Caption:Former house of reps member Dino Melaye