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.