Lead City students diss 2shotz; in POOR English...

I checked out this website by Lead City University students yesterday, and I wanted to cry. Don't they like have compulsory English courses, electives or what have you?

I wanted to cry for the Nigerian educational system... These are Nigerian undergraduates... People that will leave school within the next few months/years and join the labor pool... And they cannot even express themselves in good English! Honestly, they should have just put up the website in pidgin English or Yoruba...

As the story goes, they invited 2shotz to Ibadan for an event, and he showed up (after much ado) - but did not perform... If you want to view the website and can cope with their English, please click here. Excerpts below:

UNILAG - MAULAG: What is in a name?

I have tried hard to refrain from saying anything about this UNILAG/MAULAG 'ish', but it is just not working... I have to say something!

I don't particularly care much for the renaming of UNILAG. I must have been in Secondary School when NEPA was renamed PHCN; today - almost everyone refers to them as NEPA! The University of Ife was renamed Obafemi Awolowo University in 1987, before I was born; today, I refer to myself as a graduate of 'Ife' - reserving the name 'Obafemi Awolowo University' for my resume and job interviews. Last I checked, we were still human - creatures of habit - such name changes just don't stick!

What I care for is the logic behind the name change, and the choice of date to announce it. I have long thought that there is a National Distraction Committee at work somewhere in Aso Rock, whose responsibility it is to distract Nigerians from the real issues...

I mean, Mr. President gives a speech on the first year anniversary of his election (about two years since he has been in office) - and the only thing Nigerians can take away from his speech is the name change! The Distraction Committee must all be on vacations to Las Vegas for a job well done... They got us!

Insecurity has grown wings... There is still no light, despite the various promises made since 1986... The cost of doing business continues to rise by the day... The number of unemployed youth has never been larger... Foreign nationals dare not go out in many cities without police escorts, and yet - kidnappings are on the rise... The roads have never been worse... And Mr. President has the presence of mind to rename a Federal University!!! You've got to be kidding me.

The new name does not guarantee UNILAG graduates any more jobs on graduation... It does not provide them direly needed funding and power to start their own businesses... It does not improve their status in foreign embassies... It does not change anything!

We need to grow up as a country... Or these guys will take us on a ride till the end of time... Imagine Obama renaming a University during a State of the Union address... Go figure!

Those are my thoughts... Hardly coherent, I guess, but that's just my anger coming across in my thoughts... Differing thoughts? Please share...

PS:
Next year, it will be the University of Ibadan becoming the Lamidi Adedibu University or the Bola Ige University... Just watch. :)

Happy Birthday, Wale Osideinde

All of us have that one friend that is always there...

You know, the type that you go to for a loan even when you have owed them since forever; the type that you drop into their house unannounced and bounce them from their own bed; the type that continues to give you a 'second' chance even after you have turned 'messing up' into a full-time job; the type that sticks so close - you forget you don't share the same second name... (doesn't apply when it comes to their girlfriend/wifey though)... :D

Well, maybe I have a couple of friends that fit this description - but there's one that stands heads and shoulders above all others, Adewale Osideinde, and he's a year older today...

Happy birthday to my friend, brother, and role-model in many ways...

May God make you bigger!

(Please comment if you know Wale and want to wish him a Happy Birthday)

Unilever IdeaTrophy 2nd Edition

Unilever Nigeria's IdeaTrophy competition is now in its second edition.

How to participate:

• Form a team: this competition is only open to teams with 3 members.
• come up with a mind-blowing business idea; you will be up against some of the brightest young people in Nigeria, so put in your very best.
• register your idea at www.ideatrophy.com.

The winning team gets to discuss it with Unilever Vice Presidents in the UK and in Singapore!

Open only to full-time University students below 24yrs, with at least a 2nd Class Lower.

Proposed Wage Increase for Nigerian Policemen

I read today that the acting Inspector General of Police, M. D. Abubakar, is advocating a wage increase for Nigerian policemen. In my opinion, this is a good move.

Nigeria needs to restore dignity to the profession of policing. Educated young men and women considering a career in the Police Force need to be assured of a respectable quality of life. They need to know that they will be able to afford decent housing, a respectable school for their kids, and an overall good quality of life.

However, more stringent entry requirements should accompany such a wage increase. The present case where many people become policemen (at the rank-and-file level) only after failing at every thing else needs to stop. We need to start demanding higher education levels (an OND might be fine, but definitely not SSCE), better communication skills (orally and in writing), and so on...

Also, on the point of the highway checkpoints - the IG seems to mean business... Every chance he gets, he reiterates that the checkpoints are not coming back, and I also think that a good move - with a balance however. He needs to establish a working highway patrol mechanism...

My thoughts... :)

Is Life Living You?

One of my earliest posts on this blog leaned heavily on the following saying by Philip Larkin:

"Life has a practice of living you, if you do not live it".

Today, talking to a friend about short term plans for our lives and stuff, I was again reminded of the importance of that statement...

We all need to learn to consciously choose how we spend our time, who we spend it with, what we spend it doing... After all, in the end, the only difference between high achievers and average people may be found in their daily schedules...

When do you wake up? What do you splurge on? What do you do with your leisure time? How many hours do you spend messaging and using Twitter? How much do you save?

If we don't find answers to these questions consciously, life will find answers for us...and then we will have to live with the consequences of those answers...

Peace.

On Saving and Spending...

Yesterday, I discovered the following quote by Warren Buffet:

"Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving."

And then this morning, in a totally unrelated search - I discovered the following quote, also by Warren Buffet:

"People invariably do the very opposite of what is best for their personal wealth creation."

It is well known that expenses always rise to meet income, i.e. the more you earn, the more you tend to spend. Hence, the practice of saving what is left after spending will inevitably lead to fewer and fewer savings... :)

On the other hand, saving before spending ensures that earlier-set targets are met, conscious choices are made about spending, and more value is demanded per Naira spent.

As we approach a month end (with the attendant salary disbursement), remember to take out your savings first (after your tithe of course) - and to make sure your savings are safe from you. You may read my earlier financial article about escrow accounts here.

To your financial success!

Youtube Video of Rashidi Yekini's Famous Goal (Nigeria vs Bulgaria, 1994)

So I finally found a Youtube link to Yekini's famous goal... RIP Yekini.

Jonathan signs bill for new retirement ages

I read this morning that Jonathan signed into law a bill enabling University professors to retire at 70. This was one of ASUU's major demands, as it is a quick-fix to a problem that runs even deeper, but I think otherwise... Nigeria seems to have a fixation with treating symptoms - and not fighting the underlying causes of her problems.

Problem: Many professors (those that manage to stay in Nigeria) are retiring and we are having increasingly fewer professors in our Universities. Solution: increase retirement age so that they can serve for 5 years longer.

In my opinion, this is not very wise.

In my opinion, we do not need older professors to lecture for longer, we need younger people who are knowledge-driven to become professors. Nigeria needs to make a life of academia attractive. Students considering a PhD need to know they will maintain a similar quality of life in the future as their colleagues who choose careers in oil companies. PhDs need to be respected, and they should be granted opportunities outside of the classroom to contribute to societal development.

If we do not strike at the root-causes, we might be surprised to have ASUU go on strike in another 5 years for the retirement age to be increased to 75.

Any thoughts?

Happy 28th Birthday, Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg turns 28 today. I couldn't quite believe that when I saw it on a friend's wall, so I did a quick double-check on his Wikipedia page.

It is quite impressive that in those 28 years, he has given the world its foremost social networking tool: reconnecting long-lost friends and re-defining sharing and communication. Yes, and did you know he was Time Person of the Year in 2010? It is of little consequence that he has amassed great personal wealth in the process (a whooping $17.5 billion) - he still strikes me as the kind of guy that would do what he does without the money.

Evidently, the length of our lives is not the point. What we do with the time we have is all that matters. Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, and you (yes, you) all have one thing in common - 24 hours a day. What do you do with your own 24 hours?

Think on these things... :)