Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

Ten-year-old Nigerian Esther Okade is United Kingdom’s youngest college fresh candidate. She told CNN in this report that she would wish to do her Phd in financial maths when she is 13.

At first glance Esther Okade seems like a normal 10-year-old. She loves dressing up as Elsa in “Frozen,” playing with Barbie dolls and going to the park or shopping.

But what makes the British-Nigerian youngster stand out is that she’s also a university undergraduate. Esther, from Walsall, an industrial town in the UK’s West Midlands region, is one of the country’s youngest college freshmen.

The talented 10-year-old enrolled at the Open University, a UK-based distance learning college, in January and is already top of the class, having scored 100% in a recent exam.

“It’s so interesting. It has the type of maths I love. It’s real maths – theories, complex numbers, all that type of stuff,” she giggles. “It was super easy. My mum taught me in a nice way.”She adds: “I want to (finish the course) in two years. Then I’m going to do my Ph.D in financial maths when I’m 13. I want to have my own bank by the time I’m 15 because I like numbers and I like people and banking is a great way to help people.”

And in case people think her parents have pushed her into starting university early, Esther emphatically disagrees.”I actually wanted to start when I was seven. But my mum was like, “you’re too young, calm down.” After three years of begging, mother Efe finally agreed to explore the idea.

A marvelous mathematical mind

Esther has always jumped ahead of her peers. She sat her first Math GSCE exam, a British high school qualification, at Ounsdale High School in Wolverhampton at just six, where she received a C-grade. A year later, she outdid herself and got the A-grade she wanted. Then last year she scored a B-grade when she sat the Math A-level exam.

Esther’s mother noticed her daughter’s flair for figures shortly after she began homeschooling her at the age of three. Initially, Esther’s parents had enrolled her in a private school but after a few short weeks, the pair began noticing changes in the usually-vibrant youngster.

Efe says: “One day we were coming back home and she burst out in tears and she said ‘I don’t ever want to go back to that school – they don’t even let me talk!’

“In the UK, you don’t have to start school until you are five. Education is not compulsory until that age so I thought OK, we’ll be doing little things at home until then. Maybe by the time she’s five she will change her mind.”

Efe started by teaching basic number skills but Esther was miles ahead. By four, her natural aptitude for maths had seen the eager student move on to algebra and quadratic equations.

And Esther isn’t the only maths prodigy in the family. Her younger brother Isaiah, 6, will soon be sitting his first A-level exam in June.

A philanthropic family

Not content with breaking barriers to attend college at just 10 years old, Esther is also writing a series of math workbooks for children called “Yummy Yummy Algebra.”

“It starts at a beginner level – that’s volume one. But then there will be volume two, and volume three, and then volume four. But I’ve only written the first one.

“As long as you can add or subtract, you’ll be able to do it. I want to show other children they are special,” she says.

Meanwhile, Esther’s parents are also trying to trail blaze their own educational journey back in Nigeria.

The couple have set up a foundation and are in the process of building a nursery and primary school in Nigeria’s Delta region (where the family are from). Named “Shakespeare’s Academy,” they hope to open the school’s doors in September.

The proposed curriculum will have all the usual subjects such as English, languages, math and science, as well as more unconventional additions including morality and ethics, public speaking, entrepreneurship and etiquette. The couple say they want to emulate the teaching methods that worked for their children rather than focus on one way of learning.

“Some children learn very well with kinesthetics where they learn with their hands – when they draw they remember things. Some children have extremely creative imaginations. Instead of trying to make children learn one way, you teach them based on their learning style,” explains Efe.

The educational facility will have a capacity of 2,000 to 2,500 students with up to 30% of students being local children offered scholarships to attend.

Efe says: “On one hand, billions of dollars’ worth of crude oil is pumped out from that region on a monthly basis and yet the poverty rate of the indigenous community is astronomical.”

While Paul adds: “(The region has) poor quality of nursery and primary education. So by the time the children get secondary education they haven’t got a clue. They haven’t developed their core skills.”The school is designed to give children an aim so they can study for something, not just for the sake of acquiring certifications. There is an end goal.

• Culled from CNN.com

The experience of being stuck is a state almost everyone can relate to, for some people it could last for a short period of time, while for others they live the entirety of their lives being or feeling stuck. A lot of people define being stuck as a state of not knowing what todo, or not having a clear picture of the way forward.

Why do people get stuck, and how can they avoid being stuck, this short piece seeks to share three major reasons why you may be feeling stuck.

• Lack of Clarity: Too many people are not satisfied with where they are, they know theyare tired of their current situation and deserve to do more with life, sadly if you asked them what exactly they wanted their answer will be ‘I don’t know’ not knowing what you want is the very first step to being stuck at life, it leaves you dancing in a limbo between dissatisfaction and uncertainty.

One tip I use with clients that you can implement is to ask yourself  ‘if nothing was impossible and I could travel three years into the future, what would I want my outcome in this situation to be’ the essence of this is to help you psychologically get out of your current reality. Albert Einstein said ‘no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it’ this simple yet effective question helps you solve your problem from a different level of consciousness.

• A False sense of independence: I once heard John Maxwell make a profound statement at a leadership seminar he said ‘when your dream is bigger than you are, you only have two choices, give up or get help’ too many people have been sold a false idea of independence. You are probably stuck because you have refused to get help, your vision or dream or idea is big and that is fine, but why have you refused to get help, who deceived you into thinking that you can do it all by yourself. The vision supposed to elevate you is now a weight that keeps you stuck. Get a coach or a mentor, decide not to go alone, rid yourself of your ego and embrace the much needed help you need.

Remember ‘if you want to go far, go with others’

• Lack of contentment: Contentment is a mental or emotional state of satisfaction, often triggered from being at ease and at peace with one’s situation, body and mind. So many people are stuck in the rat race of chasing a mirage of something that seems better and in this endless pursuit they find themselves stuck, because what they are chasing is unreal.

If you always look at what you want from the angle of ingratitude, the grass will always be greener on the other side, and what this does is it keeps you constantly chasing the other persons grass which may just be synthetic grass and not organic grass, instead stay where you are and water your grass. Embrace contentment. Contentment has the potential to greatly:

–                  Help us develop the ability to enjoy what we already have, instead of being relentlessly driven by desire.

–                  Help us find peace and happiness in our everyday life and relationships

–                  Slow down the cycle of living faster, consuming more, and destroying ourselves

One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is the ability to look inwards for our own answers, too often we are fond of looking to external forces for answers. The above points although not exhaustive help you to first of all look to yourself for answers before seeking external answers. The much needed change you need to get unstuck will not happen to you, it will come from within you, it may be scary but it is necessary if you want to get unstuck.

For more information on how you can get unstuck send me an email at gbemieobadan@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram at @coachgbemz.

Remember to look inwards first before looking outwards.

Four years after it was published, Mr. Arinze Felix Echeta’s book, Integrity In Governance: The Nigerian Experience, is still very relevant and instructive. In this chat with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME, Echeta shares his thoughts on issues of integrity in governance, expectations of Nigeria’s leadership and hope for a new beginning, among others.

A Lagos lawyer and author of Integrity in Governance: The Nigerian Experience, Mr. Arinze Felix Echeta, has urged politicians to be inspired by a collective determination for a new beginning by a people disoriented by the political arrangement of the nation. He said such determination should forge a new society built on forbearance, give and take, mutual respect and understanding as well as a wilful effort at forgiveness, having experienced shared history, pain and hope of a new beginning. He was, however, doubtful if Nigeria can come to such point.

According to Echeta, unless and until drastic and sincere measures devoid of deceit, hypocrisy and self-serving agenda of leaders are systematically put together by such leaders, whom we are yet to have, the eventual disintegration of the country would not be a matter of probability. He spoke on the crux of his new book, Integrity in Governance: The Nigerian Experience, in Lagos while reacting to challenges that confronted the nation vis-a-vis the on-going general elections across the country.

He noted that to salvage the society from decay, especially corruption, a three-pronged strategy of a spiritual re-orientation of the adult population, the catch them young initiative targeted at infant and the more malleable segments of the population and the punishment and sanction regime against deviance should be adopted.

The promotion of the 238-page book published by Solifem Nigeria in 2015 is not only timely, but appropriate and handy for the current administration whose thrust is fight against corruption.

“Knowing that the thrust of this present administration is fight against corruption and the present leader came up as a man of integrity, if there is anything that the book has achieved, it is to be timely at a time like this when it is a material that will support the vision of the government.

“Whether the government is actually achieving it is another matter, but what has been written in the book as a printed matter is there. The book is a chronicle as well as a check list, a chronicle for posterity that generations yet unborn may someday come to know the otherwise forgotten or neglected fact about the integrity of those who once ruled Nigeria. Through this book also, these young ones will appreciate the growing deprivations and the sacrifices of their fathers who had laboured sometimes at the risk of their very life to mitigate or stem the ravaging onslaught of corruption,” he said.

Echeta described the book as check list, which comes handy for every incoming administration or a sitting government to focus on and intermittently appraise itself, its accomplishment and performance knowing that what the book has presented is a general overview of a deteriorated Nigeria.

He stressed that Nigerians need immediate rescue from the shackles that hold them down, noting that a society that has slayed back from a reasonable degree of decency and development to perhaps the crudest level of human existence, needs immediate emancipation from the shackles of humility.

“If we don’t take time, the kinds of experiences people are having here and there, a time will come when people will be ready to do the necessary things to liberate themselves and be free. If one continues to be in a suffocating environment, a time will come when the resistance will come,“ he said.

The author, who put the blame of the sordid state of the nation on the shoulders of the leaders and the political class, observed that it would be unrealistic expectation for Nigeria’s leadership to hope to achieve peace and good governance or hope to win the war against corruption without first shoring up for itself the requisite integrity and staunch political will to match the challenges of the moment.

On the challenges he faced in publishing the book, he said apart from the task of reconciling the need to fend for the family, pursuing something that will benefit the country, getting materials was common place. According to him, materials for the book are everywhere, which you can gather along the streets of any city in the country.

He lamented the unpatriotic and shocking experience of National Assembly, which turned down his plan to supply some copies of the book.

The three-part book has 23 chapters, which include The town hall meeting; Integrity in perspective; The final disengagement; Beyond a joke; A paradise lost; Law-the will of the stronger; The dilemma of citizenship; An unpopular option; Indices of hope; Our early mistakes and The challenge.

Performance poet and photographer, Evelyn Osagie, known on stage as Evelyn ‘D’Poet’ has held the third edition of Words Meet Images (WMI), an art-to-the-street project, which featured an outdoor art exhibition, open-air poetry and musical performances.

With the theme: “Vote with ink, not blood”, the exhibition held on Red Street, Bungalow Area, Jakande Estate, Isolo, Lagos, drawing guests from all walks of life. It had the former Arts Editor of The  Guardian, Ben Tomoloju, as Chairman.

Words Meet Images (WMI), according to its organiser, is a melting pot that seeks to promote the appreciation of the arts (poetry and photography) while bringing together different art forms and people from various places and social strata. This time, poetry and visual art (photography) were used to drive home the need for PEACE, UNITY and LOVE.

As the 2019 general elections are ongonig, the outdoor art installation on trees, tagged: “Together Series”, sought to reawaken the importance of love/peace as indispensable continuum in the polity, while rekindling the appreciation of art by the general public and showcasing how art can beautify the environment and help. It was followed by a poetry concert tagged: ‘”Love Lines’.

Besides Evelyn D’Poet, who is also a journalist with The Nation, the concert featured other poets and musical acts between the ages of 12 and 70. They included a 12-year-old singing sensation, Chidindu Okorie; Oyin Gbadé; Tunde Ara; George Chjioke Amadi, the famed Igbo Flutist Mazi Ngozi Osuji; Yusuf Balogun Gemini and Poetic Justice, among others.

Tomoloju, who is also a renowned thespian, lauded the art to the street initiative, stressing that it is an intelligent way to intimate the man on the street about the beauty of the theatre and art appreciation. “It is always amazing to see literary minds come together to achieve a feat of this nature. Evelyn D’Poet has overtime, proven to be a force to be reckoned with in the art world as she blends her poetry work with modern and traditional motifs, elements of folklore, myths, songs, and sometimes employs masks, drum rhythms, music and dance, images, songs, and speech patterns while drawing inspiration from traditional African theatre to express her brand of poetry,” he said.

The event also featured a drama entitled: ‘Our Vote; Our Bullet’, which was meant to educate the populace about the importance of coming together to elect their preferred candidate into political offices, while extoling the importance of unity.  The drama, written by Evelyn D’Poet, featured lots of talented people, who participated in the interdisciplinary arts event. They included market women, artisans, school  children, journalists and thespians. The casts were Gboyega Alaka, Ibrahim Yusuf, Oyebola Owolabi, Mrs Amaka Ojei, Atiku Orija, William Ogele, Oladapo Akinduntire, Atanda Sheriff, Mrs Tope Fajebe and Mrs Aminat Abiola, among others.

“The unique timing of this third edition makes it special as it is holding at a crucial point in our country. I am advocating for the beautification of our spaces, homes, offices, market places and environment using art. Each piece in this body of art is symbolic of the silent cry in our country today which is peace. I have also made three new additions to the series,” she said.

According to Evelyn D’Poet, the images in the series captured the metaphoric interaction between man, his environment, animal and inanimate objects (bags) towards harmony and the attendant power play, especially during elections.

“And as the world is celebrating the season of Love, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we are also joining our voice to the universal message of Love. And in addition to rekindling the appreciation of art, the display is driven by conversation and the need to preserve the environment,” she added.

It would be recalled that the previous editions of the Word Meet Images had held at Agege and Somolu Local Government Areas of Lagos State. The third edition, which is also the first anniversary of the project, was supported by Parliament Bar, GSR 360, Laurel Schools, Minds and Brains Ltd, Print 360, Sixthframe, Komsom Ltd and Kutel Photography.

Speaking on the choice of Isolo as a desired place for the event, Evelyn D’Poet said: “Isolo has a high concentration of people of different tribes, and has nurtured and produced lots of talents on its streets. They include Chidindu and Oyin who are fixtures in the concert. The choice of using the Red Street is also deliberate. The street houses popular thespians/artists, particularly Uncle Tomoloju and Washington Uba. And we are forever grateful to owners of Parliament Bar and Laurel Schools, and the CDA executives of Red Street for giving us the spaces we used, not forgetting our sponsors. And this time we are holding the exhibition in front of a school in “catching them young”. And there are more talents that need to be discovered and nurtured on the street. It is, therefore, hoped that this event will remind the people/parents of the need to tap what has become Isolo’s selling points – their talents.”

On stage, she blended her poetry with contemporary and traditional motifs, images, songs, and speech patterns while drawing from traditional African theatre. She also mixed performance with elements of folklore, myths, songs, and sometimes employed masks, drum rhythms, music and dance to express her poetic thoughts.

Evelyn has performed her poems and others before diverse artistic events/festival in Edo and Oyo states (Iseyin, Ibadan – the 65th birthday of Prof Ayo Olukotun in May, 2018 at Lead City University); Ogun State (at the First Lady Olufunso Amosun’s 50th birthday) and across Lagos. She also featured at places such as the United States Consulate, Lagos, German Embassy in Lagos, CORA’s Lagos State Book and Arts Festival (LABAF), The Night of The Poet during Lagos Black Heritage Festival, WORDSLAM, Bogobiri (Ire CELEBRATES) and the Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA), MUSON Centre, among others.