The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Insurgency Impasse

    The plangent vociferation

    Of the Northeasterner torments my soul.

    My sleep has taken flight

    For the anguish of Boko Haram victims.

    My nights have been consumed by the distant wailings

    Of orphans living with strange families

    My humanity has been violated by the slaughtered innocence

    Of hapless girls dispersed asunder by brainwashed ragtag terrorists.

    My heart bleeds for youths running errands in Sambisa Forest For the abductors of their future.

    My days are pensive with unanswered queries

    About who is in charge in my country.

    I have grown weary of fanciful peroration

    Of government officials: ‘we’ll soon end insurgency’.

    The taste of lies must be sweet

    In the ears of the conscienceless.

    Who is enjoying the perfidious oration

    Of the godless politician dancing Azonto

    On the graves of his people?

  • Artist mentors students

    Last year’s winner of the National Art Competition Mr Erasmus Onyishi has urged  fine art students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG),  to remain steadfast and  focused as challenges are inevitable in the art field.

    He urged them to start producing works while in school as the money they make will take some burdens off their parents. shoulders. He also encouraged them to create artworks even if the works are not bought because “The time will come when someone will discover you.”

    Onyishi spoke during a mentorship programme organised by the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) during its second edition of Meet the Artist. The event took place at the Creative Art Department of UNILAG.

    He told the students that producing outstanding works and discovering their strength are some of the ingredients that will make them standout as the art industry is very competitive. “If there are 100 artists in Nigeria, only 20 are practicing, others do other jobs. It is only the dogged ones that succeed.”

    Sharing how he was able to succeed in school without depending on his parents, he said: “Art was perceived as luxury, and in order to foot my university education, I produced art objects within the understanding and patronage of the common man. I predominantly made carved wall clocks, mirrors, stools and chair at this stage.” Onyishi called this era of his career, “From Hand to Mouth-surviving the challenges of being independent.

    Onyishi is known for his use of waste to create beautiful artworks. Line, Patches and Pathos according to him explore the ironies between facts and representations, like the refuse (plastic waste) that now in use (work of art). “Plastic waste is my principle medium. Plastic wastes are the refugees, the used and abused useless ones, the victims of violence-induced displacement, which I recover and entrust with a visual eloquence to enjoy the freedom of speech. Just like the irony of harmful beauty in the images of diseases viewed from a microscope, the killer is beautiful. Thus beauty is relative and could have ugliness as its vapour trial.

    “My earliest works were functional and utilitarian. Such is still silent in my practice till date.  He fell in love with art when he came in contact with “Uche” and he left his first love, Law, for Fine Art. “Uche read sculpture and teaches the same at his almameta, The University of Nigeria, Nusukka (UNN). I assisted in different levels of his practice during his undergraduate days. This must have triggered my artistic traits,’ he told the students. “I willingly joined in doing what I love. I gave up my ambition to read Law and took to art.”

    Onyishi studied sculpture at the University of Nigeria. He has participated in more than thirty exhibitions both locally and internationally. He is one of the earliest exponents of Video Art in Nigeria. He has also won many awards including the National University Commission (NUC) for Research and Development in the Humanities. He is currently teaching Sculpture at the Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State.

     

  • POLLS DAY FALLOUT: Wives narrate impact of Election Day ‘holidays’

    POLLS DAY FALLOUT: Wives narrate impact of Election Day ‘holidays’

    Medinat Kanabe catalogues the fall-out of the recently concluded elections and the restriction on movement, as it affected housewives, under-age children and commercial motorcycle riders.

    Except for states where there have been judicial interventions, elections in Nigeria come once every four years. It therefore goes without saying that it is always a special exercise when it comes and Nigerians give it that special attention. The fact that it usually comes with a great deal of tension and threats of violence also means that a good number of people make it a point of duty to shut down their businesses and stay indoors. Even establishments as big as banks closed very early on Fridays preceding the two election weekends for fear of pre and post election violence.

    The flipsides to this however, is that many homes had their usually absent loved ones suddenly off work and indoors.

    For newlywed Deborah Yunus, were it not for the fact that one needs to work for a living, she would have wished that every day were Election Days. “The serenity and tranquillity is unique and unusual for the highly tensed, pre-election day reports in the media. There were speculations of chaos and unrest everywhere but it exceeded our expectations. That I have my husband at home with me is one of the best parts of the exercise to me. I have him to myself to discuss issues, plan and play.” And so she concluded by saying “I like am oooooo.”

    The story is similar with Basirat Owodunni, a banker who hardly has time to spend with her family and husband, who is also a banker. For once, they had time to stay indoors and savour great moments of unity and love with their children. “I am very happy my husband is home today. I work in the bank and sometimes I go to the office on Saturdays, but today, I didn’t; neither did my husband. I am at home with my husband and baby and I am so happy about it.”

    Odion Oshoma, a housewife also expressed her excitement at the opportunity to have her husband at home on the election weekends, but said it went beyond just that. Coincidentally, she said her husband, has also changed from his old ways.

    “I am happy my husband is at home today. But it is not because of the election. He just does not go out anyhow like before. If it was when he used to go out every weekend to hang-out with his friends, not even an election will make him stay at home. Some men cannot just stay at home! Even if there is a curfew, they will still look for a way to go out. I am talking from experience because I have been a victim. Before my husband changed, I know what I went through. He would go out anytime he likes and come back at anytime, but now, I can predict his movement. So it is the individual, not the election.”

    For Hauwa Shodeinde, a proprietress, the election days didn’t offer much difference in terms of having her husband at home, because he was very much involved in the election process and watched the news judiciously.

    “It is difficult to say if I enjoyed his company or not, because although he was at home, there really wasn’t much difference as he had to go out for accreditation, then for voting and then came back to put on the television to follow the news. So for me, it makes little difference.”

    Deborah Adedeji however said she was home alone on both days and didn’t benefit from the so-called advantage accruing there-from. “I was home alone. My husband wasn’t at home as usual. He went to attend to his business. I really don’t think the election is enough to keep him at home. So I really don’t see why I should wish everyday were Election Days.

    Mariam Akinremi however missed out on whatever gains housewives were supposed to enjoy on the polls days, as her husband travelled before the election. “I wish my husband were here to spend this day with me and my daughter, but he is not. He travelled before the Election Day.”

    Zeenat Asseh, a business woman, fell in the same group with Akinremi, as her husband, a Naval Officer was on duty during the periods.  “My husband is a military man, so he went to the office because he was on duty.”

    Precious Akpan’s response was however peculiar. A housewife, Akpan said she really does not like it whenever her husband is at home. “I don’t like it when my husband is at home because we fight all the time. I prefer that he goes out as usual to meet with his numerous girlfriends. So he will not even be at home today. He must have called his girlfriend to meet him somewhere. Besides, I am tired of fighting him, so I prefer it when he is not at home.”

    Akpan said she is also likely to get pregnant whenever her husband chooses to stay at home, which she no longer wants. “Four children are okay for me. If he stays at home, I will get pregnant again.”

    Strangely, Faustina Chukwuma, an MTN staff could not say if she was happy or sad that her husband was at home. She wondered if it wasn’t better for her husband to be away at work, since that would guaranty meals on the table. On second thought, she however said “I like it because he would ordinarily have been out hustling. The bad news however is that we’ve not had power all day.”

    As for Mary Adelomo, a nursing mother and baker, the election weekends were occasions to sleep and avail herself of those scarce resting opportunities. “I would like everyday to be like election days because I was able to sleep all day, while my husband who was at home attended to the baby.”

    Rita Biose, a proprietress is one of those really lucky women. Her husband spends every weekend with her and their son. She told The Nation that “There is not much difference because we always spend our weekends together. So today is just like any other day.”

    Tessy Aigbokhaode, an Admin Manager with FUMMAN Juice however said it is her husband who should be happier to have her at home, since his job is more flexible and she was usually the absentee. She thus said she was happy for the opportunity to be at home with the whole family.

    Highways of football

    For youths and teenagers, it was an opportunity to play football games on the smooth highways unhindered. Due to the restriction order on movement, both highways and inner streets were totally deserted and children, who incidentally were on holidays, took advantage and transformed the usually busy roads in Lagos and across major cities in the country to football fields and bicycle tracks.

    14 year-old Emeka Okoro, who was seen riding his bicycle with his friends along Isolo Road, Lagos told this reporter that “I am happy today is Election Day and I want everyday to be like this. We have the roads to ourselves to play ball and ride bicycle. We played football in the morning and now we’re riding bicycle in the evening without any disturbance.”

    Oluwaseyi Olushola, who will be 15 in May, said he is always happy when the roads are deserted and his parents are at home. “I am happy and want everyday to be like this. I am underage and cannot vote, so I’m seizing the opportunity to play football with my friends. We cannot play football on the road like this on a normal day because the roads will be very busy. I am also happy that my daddy and mummy are home today because they are not usually at home.”

    Another happy boy, Busayo Raheem said: “I am happy that I can play football on the road today without bothering about anything or any car coming to disturb. We played football in the morning and went home to take a rest when the sun came out. We came out again this evening to play. Any day there is election, like the last one, we play football like never before. We cannot play on the field because the big boys are there, so we play on the road.”

    Tobi Ayo, another football playing kid would like every day to be election days: “I want everyday to be election days so that we are not restricted on where we can set our posts and play.”

    Commercial bike riders too

    Curiously, The Nation also encountered commercial bike-riders, who braved the restriction order to do brisk business and make quick money.

    One of them, who refused to give his name, and who gave one of The Nation’s reporter a ride on the Governorship and State House of Assembly Election Day said it was a big risk but well worth it, as he charged thrice the normal fare for trips. For the ride between Ikotun and Iyana-Isolo, the riders charged up to N600 per passenger. This was three times the usual N200 charged for the route. To top it up, he ferried two passengers at a go, making a whopping N1,200 on a journey he ordinarily would have made N200.

    He also confessed to this reporter that he had already done about ten trips and would continue until the restrictions were over.

    Asked how he has managed to evade the security agencies, the bike-rider said, “I simply turn or veer into any nearby street once I sight them or I’m told they are at a certain spot.”

  • ‘Why I never stopped Orlando Owoh from smoking Indian hemp’

    ‘Why I never stopped Orlando Owoh from smoking Indian hemp’

    Samuel Olayiwola aka Musese was manager to the late Kennery Hi-life musician Dr. Orlando Owoh and probably one of the closest people to him. In this encounter with Taiwo Abiodun, he shared the story of how he used to hide the illicit weed in his stockings while travelling with the singer, even though he never for once smoked it.

    His name is Samuel Olayiwola but the name by which he is popularly known is Musese and he was manager to late popular Yoruba hi-life musician, Dr. Orlando Owoh, notorious for his love for marijuana, which he popularly called ‘ganja’.

    Musese is of average height, dark-complexioned and sports grey bushy beard and moustache, which draws attention everywhere he goes and which he ‘celebrates’ by combing it at every opportunity. Sensing this reporter’s curiousity, he tells this reporter that “I cherish my beard and take proper care of it. It makes me stand out like an albino in the market.”

    An interesting character you may say, but a major highlight of this interview was when 68 year-old Musese revealed that he neither smokes Indian hemp nor cigarette. For a man who was probably the closest to the late Owoh, this was news, as many erroneously believed he couldn’t be much different from his principal. He explained that the reason he still looks so young and bubbly even at his age is because “I don’t do all these things that would make me go old prematurely. I don’t smoke or drink alcohol, but I take special wine. Many believe I also indulge in smoking because I used to keep Indian hemp for the late Orlando, but let me use this opportunity to set the record straight: I have never for once smoked Indian hemp in my life.”

    The name, Musese and his deportation from Italy

    “When I was young, I had an Italian pen-pal living in Italy, who became my girlfriend, even though we were miles and ocean apart.  She it was who gave me the nickname ‘Muzeze’; but my people at home did not know how to spell or pronounce it, and they started calling me ‘Musese.’

    When he eventually travelled to meet the lady in Italy (he can no longer remember her name), his girlfriend at home (Dupe), whom he had hitherto introduced to the Italian as his sister, was constantly writing him. Naturally, she did not worry and never bothered about the contents of the letters, until one fateful day, when the bubble finally burst.

    “She stumbled on the letters and found out that Dupe was in actual fact my girlfriend. She   reported me to the authorities and that was how I was deported back to Nigeria. That was in 1971 and I went straight to Ibadan to settle down.”

    He revealed that Dupe died a long time ago and that it was unfortunate that they never got married, even though they became quite an item on the social scene, with Orlando Owoh waxed a song in their honour during one of her birthdays in the ’70s. They started dating while she was a student of St Louis Grammar School, Owo, and he was a student at Imade College, Owo, Ondo State. He recalls with nostalgia how Dupe’s parents accommodated him while he was living in Lagos, adding that “they were great people.”

    How he met Orlando

    Speaking on how he met the late musician, Musese goes down memory lane.  “On my deportation from Italy, I went to Ibadan to settle down. Anytime my older brother who was serving in the Nigerian Army in Kaduna came home, he would bring Orlando’s records. My street was very close to  Orlando’s own; while I was living in Omodigbo Street, he was living in Oremeji Street. There was a man called Orimaro; he was a palm-wine tapper and we (me and my late friend, Kanakana Olympio) used to go to his place to drink anytime I went to Orlando’s place. Kanakana Olympio was in the Custom Service. One day, we asked Orlando what his problem was, and he said there was no Owo native who had ever come forward to help him financially. He also said he had nobody from Owo to manage his band. He then asked me pointedly to come and manage him. That was how I became his Manager. “

    Orlando’s many Obstacles

    Musese who spent over 30 years with the late musician said it was not easy managing him.  “Orlando Owoh was a great man no doubt, but he faced so many obstacles in back then. First, he had no instrument; in fact, he had nothing. But because I had some money with me, having just come back from Italy, we started hiring instruments. He was very appreciative and told virtually everybody about what I was doing.”

    But why did he never try to stop Orlando Owoh’s hemp-smoking habit? Why did he practically support and even defend him despite the fact that he himself never inhaled the banned weed? We asked.

    Here he raised his voice, betraying subdued anger. “He was smoking ‘Igbo’, so what! I supported his smoking of Indian hemp because it did not affect him. Even as he smoked, he knew what he was doing. Orlando had a secluded area in Decca Studio’s compound where he would sit and smoke, and whenever it was time to start recording, he would come into the studio and start recording without rehearsal.”

    Continuing he said, “I never bought Igbo for him; once in a while, I drank beer anytime I had money, but he always had his stuff in stock. Whenever we were travelling and I was wearing knickers, I would put it in my stockings for him. I spent over 30 years with him as a manager before he died and I can tell you he was a great man.”

    On Orlando’s cocaine saga

    Musese recalled vividly his boss’s most trying time. He said the cocaine saga that culminated in Owoh’s time in police cells and prison and which led to the song on Alagbon was real.

    “I was in Kano when I read it in the papers that a top musician was arrested for cocaine. Immediately, I knew it was my boss. If I was around, I would have been taken away too. Nobody would have believed that I didn’t smoke or sniff cocaine, because I was the closest person to him. Do you know that Nigerian security officials went to King Sunny Ade to ask him if I smoked? But he told them that I only drank. They (security men) also went to Chief Edebo, one of our friends who lived in Ibadan to inquire about me, but they missed me narrowly, as I left through a footpath. It was a celebrated case, if you’d recall.”

    One other reason he never bothered about Orlando’s smoking habit was because “He was never a troublesome person. He was like Fela. Some people take Indian hemp and go mad, but when these people take it, they became more alert and sang songs that made great sense.”

    He recalled that it was only Orlando whom Fela allowed to play at his African shrine. And I remember that he (Fela) used to say he does not want cocaine or heroin in his shrine. He also once said if it was only Igbo (Indian hemp) that Orlando was accused of and that he could have come and fight for him when he was jailed.”

    Asked to tell who smoked more between the two late musicians, Musese declared without mincing words that “Fela was greater than Orlando in smoking of Indian hemp.”

    On Owoh’s poverty in the face of success

    Asked why Orlando remained poor despite his success as a musician, Musese said the late Kennery king never placed much value on money. Besides, he said “Nigerian producers are rip-offs. They are not trustworthy. When they make 100,000 naira, they would falsify the figure. That is why people like Orlando never made it before they died.

    “Another factor, which was an offshoot of the little value he placed on money, was that he was overgenerous. Orlando was generous to a fault, and was always after other people’s welfare. He would not eat alone; and he had a lot of people living with him at his expense. Little wonder people like one-time governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola,  Abiola of Ilesha, Die the Matter, The king of Apata, the Olugbenga of Ugbe and Ayesoro, a car dealer in Akure stood by him by him when he was alive. “

    Ooni’ s contribution

    Musese also recalls the role of Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse played during the musician’s crisis, declaring that he has never seen any person or king like him. “He stood solidly by Orlando and anytime we came back from the court, the Ooni ‘s palace was always our first point of call. Kabiyesi will be forever remembered for his great assistance during those trying times.

    On the controversy that marred Owoh’s burial

    What still pains Musese till date is the fact that the musician was made to rest in Lagos against his wish.  “He had wanted to be buried in Ifon, his country home in Ondo State. I was the chairman of the Burial Committee with Oblazo. After series of meetings, we went to the late Olusegun Agagu, the then governor of Ondo state; there was this commissioner from Ifon, whom Agagu asked to take over. They had completed Orlando’s building in Ifon, with only the roofing left; so we went to Lagos to see his wives, but they insisted he should be buried in Lagos. They discouraged us. They probably thought they could make money out of it. But we were not happy. We told Sunny Ade, but somehow he backed out.”

    Musese’s early life

    Samuel Olayiwola revealed to this reporter that he was a great sprinter in his youthful days. “In 1956, I represented my school in the 100 meters race, when Queen Elizabeth came to Nigeria. Up until 1970, I represented Imade College. I was also the Senior Boy at All Saints’ Modern School. That was 1963/64.”

  • 2015 Polls: Inside the online war

    2015 Polls: Inside the online war

    With the elections over, Gboyega Alaka takes a retrospective look at the online campaigners and the numerous wars of words and photo-shop creations that dotted the social media, as they all struggled to score points for their favourite candidates, while putting down their opponents.

    It’s almost impossible to tell when it actually began. But the most poignant and earliest that comes to mind would be that twitter posting by ex-Super Eagles international, Victor Ikpeba that “Even if Buhari presents NEPA bill as certificate, I will vote for him.” That was in January when the campaigns was literally kicking off and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) director of media and publicity, Femi Fani-Kayode ostensibly went for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates jugular by accusing the General of not having a high school certificate.

    Although Ikpeba was later rumoured to have disowned the statement and the twitter handle that spewed it, an exciting stage was already set for what would turn out to be Nigeria’s most exciting political campaign on the social media. In no time, the frenzy mounted and friends and foes from the opposing sides squared up, throwing banters upon banters. Some played dirty, while some for some reasons thought it wise to be mild, knowing that the elections will one day come and go. It goes without saying that some were outrightly offensive and insulting of the candidates and their supporters’ sensibilities.

    By far one of the most offensive of the online posting would be when a character casted President Goodluck Jonathan in the image of a baboon and posted it on his facebook page. To say the list, even this writer was embarrassed and nauseated. This was really going too far. And one of his online friends didn’t mince words in telling him that “there has to be a limit to this campaign recklessness and we mustn’t take the online freedom for granted and offend our friends’ sensibilities.” The friend went further to tutor the overzealous APC fanatic on lessons in patriotism and how not to embarrass the symbol of Nigeria’s nationhood, which President Jonathan represents.

    Nigerians had begun to get a picture of how the whole campaign period will play out on the internet, when the first lady Mrs. Patience Jonathan’s ‘Diaris God o” gaffe on the Chibok girls went viral online and virtually every one with an internet device had the ‘comedy’ downloaded and viewed for entertainment. Add this to the Photoshop genius that suddenly sprung up everywhere and Nigerians had suddenly become aware that they could do just about anything with the help of the computer and the online media. Everyone just wanted to outwit the other.

    On another occasion, the gentleman based in Benin posted on facebook that he suddenly felt like slapping Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose over his offensive front-page advert deriding General Muhammadu Buhari for his old age and wishing him dead. Expectedly, his comments generated banters from both ‘friends’ and ‘enemies’; some goading him on to go ahead and slap the recalcitrant governor; and some, like this writer cautioning him and telling him to temper his anger with reason (as if he really could have access to the governor). The exchanges continued until a die-hard PDP and Jonathan advocate posted a most succinct message, asking “E be like say cry dey hungry you?”  To say the least, that was hilarious and it put paid to the exchanges, as one could almost hear all the participants reeling in laughter.

    In one rather bizarre posting obviously achieved by photo-shop wizardry, former president Obasanjo, who had been engaged in a barrage of onslaught on President Jonathan on account of his handling of the insecurity in the country, corruption and plundering of the huge foreign reserve his administration left behind, was seen mocking a weeping President Jonathan, who was apparently bemoaning his dwindling popularity.

    Another showed President Jonathan in his trademark Niger-delta bowler hat hawking soft-drink in the Lagos traffic, his Vice, Namadi Sambo, dutifully in tow, hawking pirated CDs.

    Yet another, as the election date wound nearer captured the president and his wife, Dame Patience saddled on a motor-bike, their peasant-like luggage in front, as they rode on a dusty road. The caption read, ‘Otuoke Straight’.

    Almost similar to this is a creation that showed Jonathan comfortably seated behind, Charlie Boy, the Okada rider, as he prepared for his return journey to Otuoke.

    Not done with the Jonathan harassment, another photo-shop work showed the rear-view of a defeated Jonathan wading through a pool of water with his luggage. The mischief makers left little to the imagination, as it could safely be deduced that he was on his way to Otuoke.

    The aspiring opposition camp also received enough bashing. One which rounded off the campaigns depicted a dumbfounded Asiwaju Tinubu looking visibly horrified, with eyes popping, as Oba Akiolu of Lagos, pronounced his now infamous lagoon fatwa on the ‘stubborn’ Igbo in Lagos. Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola was also captured in the picture, with mouth wide open in consternation, as he wondered in Yoruba if the Oba weighed the implication of what he was saying.

    In the same vein, virtually every hate documentary literally went viral, as thousands of people shared, reposted or re-twitted them.  This way, it really didn’t matter whether a court had served an injunction to stop their broadcast, as they were just a click or two away.

    At this point, it is difficult to remember which came first between the Capt. Sagir Koli Ekiti election voice tape saga that went viral and became a big stain on the credibility of the PDP, and the Rev. Fr. Mbaka’s tirade on Jonathan’s goodluck that has turned badluck delivered on the eve of the New Year. One thing that was however certain is that they did quite enough damage to the PDP campaign and prospects going into the elections.

    And this is not forgetting the numerous bloggers who openly took side in their reportage and still regaled their readers with how impartial and unbiased they were.

    One of them, took delight in trumpeting every perceived APC shortcomings, and yet insisted on being impartial. On one occasion, just after the presidential election, he regaled his audience of how his plane was about to land and how from his vantage bird-view, he suddenly discovered why the APC government in Lagos struggled to deliver Lagos to its presidential candidate. He said the number or un-tarred roads in the state far outnumber those tarred, which he considered gross under-development in the face of the state’s huge revenue.

    On another occasion, he wrote about how the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari with his impeccable anti-graft CV is surrounded by corrupt party leaders, and wondered how he is expected to maintain his anti-corruption posture and achieve results.  Of course he received a mixture of responses, with some applauding his frank views while others thoroughly tongue-lashed him. One of his friends, a cheeky fellow did not forget to remind him that “…the last time I checked, you are not even a Nigerian.”

  • Where the blind dare to dream

    Where the blind dare to dream

    TAIWO ALIMI captures the tales of a group of visually-impaired young men and women, daring to learn, hope, live and dream again. He brings to the fore their plight in an otherwise hostile society and the courage of one lone woman, championing their cause, welfare and education.

    Christopher Essien, 22, has been to hell and back – that is speaking figuratively. Standing before The Nation on Sunday crew, he is over six feet tall; his eyeballs are clear and radiate excitement and enthusiasm. He looks well-fed and his voice is equally cheerful, making this reporter wonder to himself: What is he doing here? Here in this context refers to Bethesda Home for the Blind (BHB), a settlement that has become home to 72 visually-impaired students. They have come from different parts of the country to reclaim lost grounds, time, pride, and glory in an otherwise, hostile society.

    Founded by Mrs. Chioma Ohakwe, a deeply religious social worker in 2005, Bethesda Home for the Blind prepares these special students to adequately face the world through formal education – reading and writing, and vocational skills acquisition such as music, hand-craft, moral teaching and philosophy.

    Standing before the young man, Christopher, it was hard to believe he was totally devoid of sight, as his gaze seemed to pry through this reporter. To clear his doubt, he had to ask (though embarrassingly) that ‘Can you see me?’

    But his answer in the negative was calm and calculated, even as he managed a smile. “No I can’t see you. I can’t see anything.”

    His story looks pretty much like your typical Nollywood movie plot, yet his is real.

    A vibrant youngster with lofty dreams of conquering the world, his eye problem started six years ago when he turned 15. As the first-born of a family of nine – five boys and two girls, he was in the final lap of preparation for his West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) examinations, when fate played a ‘blind’ joke on him. His sight gradually evaporated.

    “I was about to seat for my school leaving certificate examination, as an SS3 student of Ajayi Crowther Memorial Grammar School Lagos, when the problem started. I just started losing my sight. At first, I felt it would pass quickly, like something that corrective glasses would remedy. I had planned to quickly return to my studies,” Christopher began his cheerless story, though in a cheerful and clear tone.

    He did not write the exams. He lost his sight completely to ‘the silent thief of sight,’ Glaucoma.

    But that was just the beginning of his life crisis.

    “Before long, I could not recognise people again; I could not differentiate colours, and going out became a serious issue. I visited several hospitals, specialists, and spiritual homes. At a point, my mother moved me to Calabar, Cross River State for spiritual cleansing and healing, all to no avail.”

    Thereafter, his fate was sealed and he came back to Lagos to be locked-up for six years, living like a prisoner in his own home. “I became an embarrassment to my parents, siblings, and friends. They all abandoned me, but for my mum, who stood by me and looked out for me at all times.”

    For the blind, lonesome teenager, living a life of a social outcast affected him, so much so that he contemplated suicide several times.

    ‘It was a better option for me,” he confided. “My friends left me. Even my father and church members deserted me. My siblings didn’t have my time. So what was there to live for?” Christopher asked rhetorically.

    To compound his woes, he lost his only friend and helper, his mum, in a ghastly auto accident along Benin-Ore road; and that aggravated his desire to end it all, until his pastor stepped in.

    “If not for my pastor, who brought me to Bethesda after I broke out of the house, I would have committed suicide because she was the only one I had. It was at BHB that I regained my sanity and began to live life to the fullest again.”

    Christopher’s tale however paled significantly when compared with that of Ibadan-born Tunde Olatunji, 36, who came into BHB three years ago. He is now a trainer in the house and earns a stipend to keep himself and his family of four- wife and three children together.

    Interestingly, Olatunji could see perfectly for the first 26 years of his life. He qualified as a driver after obtaining his Primary and Secondary School certificates. “At first, I was driving a Professor in Ibadan; then I left him to drive a commercial bus. I was doing well. I met my wife and we got married in 2001 and God blessed us with three children in quick succession.”

    The Olatunji family was enjoying a great life and working towards a brighter one, when his sight became the central issue and their world came crashing.

    “This blindness started like child’s play in 2005. I would wake up in the morning and would not be able to see anything for some seconds. Gradually it became worse and when I got to the hospital, it was attributed to cataract. My parents and wife stood by me. A lot of money was spent to get my sight back, but it was no use. I went totally blind and darkness became my companion,” Olatunji lamented.

    As breadwinner, he could not afford to give in or sit still. For seven years without his eyesight, he ventured into menial jobs to keep food on the table. “We were hoping for solution, but all my friends and family members deserted; except for my wife and brother. So I had to go out and do something to fend for my family.”

    He commenced with general house cleaning. “My wife and I helped people clean their houses and later we started carrying blocks at building sites. Both of us would carry the block and my wife would lead me. I stopped after I fell into a well and the contractor drove us away. I also tried my hands at farming. I weeded other people’s farms for money and in 2010, I went into animal rearing.”

    Two years later, he enrolled at Bethesda Home. “It is here that I learned how to read and right again, and today I am teaching others and also earning money to feed my family.”

    In BHB, teachers and pupils live together. They know their ways around the one-story building and vast compound. Aside learning, they have also formed such a strong bond that inspires great comradeship. They do all things together and yet, individually. “Here, we wash our cloth, dry it, iron it; we also cook and clean our room and surroundings.” Olatunji revealed.

    Glaucoma also claimed the vision of Miss Ifeanyi Ukwueze, who hails from Enugu. In her 20s, she went blind in 2007, leading to a halt in her schooling.

     “For six years, I was moved from one hospital to the other and had to stop schooling because my parents did not have the financial muscle to register me at any of the special schools for the blind. It was not easy. I felt abandoned by everyone – my family and society. I was incarcerated for many years and only go out at night to bath. I would be in that room for days, made to urinate and defecate there. It was when I came here (BHB) on November 6, 2013, that I got my life back. I can read and write now. I have completed my Joint Examination Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations, and right now, I’m studying for WAEC.

    More tales of sorrow

    From one student to the other, the tales were similar and reeked of their losses and abandonment by parents, siblings, friends, religious institutions and society. They were also lace with suicidal tendencies.

    Christopher recalled his fear and frustration as a prisoner in his home.

    “To be alone in a room for a long time is about the worst thing that can happen to a blind person. When you are outside, the sun will shine into your eyes, and that makes you feel alive. But when you are holed up in a room, it is as if there is a cloud of fog around you.”

    Samuel Olusegun Dabiri suffered emotional stress growing up, leading to anger, frustration and suicidal trend. He lost his sight when he was barely four, after a bout of measles. Through no fault of his, poor handling of the sickness by his parents, who were torn apart by marital misunderstanding, robbed him of his right to happiness.

    “In 1996, I developed measles around the time my parents had a quarrel and my mother left home. That contributed to my blindness because while I was in the hospital undergoing treatment, my mother came and took me away and I missed my appointments for months. I did not get back to the hospital until after three months and by then, it was already too late. Thereafter, my mother dumped me for 10 years.”

    By the time Samuel entered teenage years, he had become distraught with life, and always fighting.

    “I used to be very rough and angry. Little things made me angry and I could stay without talking to anyone for days on end. Life meant nothing to me and I did things without caring for others or myself. I was hot-tempered and tried taking my life more than once but God did not allow my plans to work.”

    A complex world

    The world of the blind is complex and they suffer psychological and emotional challenges aside the physical that others can see.

    Christopher, Ifeanyi, Samuel, and Mrs. Chioma Ohakwe, who are the brain and brawn behind Bethesda Home for the Blind, attest to this.

    According to Christopher, the first challenge a visually impaired person faces is fear.

    “Fear is a hindrance. The fear that you can knock your head on something if you venture to go out; fear that you will be knocked down by a car or other moving objects. But once you conquer that fear, it is the beginning of living again.”

     “I conquered fear when I started sneaking out of our house. Sometimes, I would pay a person to just take me out and bring me back home. I would find my way to Church and stay there listening to inspiring words from men of God or music. That was when I began to reflect again. From there I learned to play musical instruments and then my pastor told me about Bethesda. I came here and met new opportunities, new friends and could even go out on my own. I now know how to read and write through Braille and will soon be writing my WAEC exams. I can also play all kind of drums, lead guitar and bass guitar.”

    Samuel on his part says blind persons suffer negative complex, which makes them give in to blind frustration. It also makes them vulnerable to mood swings, such as anger, frustration and suicide. But he advised that ‘they should rather have blind fate in living life to the fullest, in spite of their handicap.’

    “As I talk with you, I have done my JAMB and scored over 200. I am getting ready for WAEC. I hope to study Sociology at the University of Lagos and that is all I live for now. I see myself in the near future, working, having a family, and living well. I have conquered my anger, rough manners, and hot temper. Chioma (as they call the BHB director) has taught us that hot temper means destruction. In addition, I am learning handcraft and music. Out there, life was difficult, and coming from a semi-polygamous home did not help too. At a point, my father felt that he could not spend money on my condition, forgetting that life is about trying repeatedly. He also stopped my schooling on the basis that I am useless to the society. Today, I know better because I have a lot to offer my world. My mentors are Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King (Jnr.), Oprah Winfry, and others who believe in touching the lives of others and bringing change.”

    Ifeanyi firmly believes that illiteracy, shallow-mindedness and poverty is a big challenge and offers education and vocational training as the liberation path.

    “Before I came to Bethesda, my condition was hopeless. I had stopped schooling. It was at BHB that I learnt Braille and how to read and write. Our educational materials are expensive, yet we don’t pay for anything. We have two music teachers, and I can sing well. Education is key to life and I can tell you that I am happy to be alive because I can dream of a great life ahead of me.”

    Chioma, as the Home director is called, corroborated her students’ opinion with vivid illustrations. She says blind people are highly suicidal and suffer emotional stress, hence their handlers need to be patient and learn to love and care for them. “Many of them have planned to kill themselves many times. They dread been alone than any other thing. They are also hot-tempered and moody. Often time, they have mood swings. They can get up in foul mood and begin to react to little things, leading to arguments and physical fights. Most of the time, it is not because anybody did something to them; it’s just that they are thinking about their lives and condition, which regularly gets to them. You have to understand, calm them down, and talk to them.”

    She added; “Most of the time, parental and sibling support is missing in their lives. One of them lost his mum and she was the only one there for him; he almost killed himself. His church brought him here and his father has never been here to see him. I don’t know his father.”

    “The society is also not kind to them. For example, I met a blind young man named Gideon in a village in the Eastern part of the country. This man was dumped at the outskirt of the village to live in improvised shelter like a mad person. When I saw him, he was as a mad person, totally neglected, and had been nursing acute malaria for a long time. I brought him back to Lagos and when we got him to a hospital, they rejected him as near dead. It took five pints of blood and two days to get him into shape for treatment. When he was okay and responding to treatment, we took him to an eye specialist where he underwent operation and today he can see. He is now a responsible citizen of this country and married with kids. The operation cost only N15, 000.00 and that young man suffered greatly because of the way we treat our blind folks.”

    Ignorance and poverty, as major causes

    After interviewing a cross section of people living with this disability, it became apparent that over 99 percent of blind people in Nigeria were not born blind.

    For instance, a blend of negligence, poverty, and medical ignorance led to Samuel’s everlasting plunge into darkness. As a child suffering from measles, he could not do anything for himself, but his parents could have done something.

    According to a medical review released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2014, while measles is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, and is the cause of over 40 percent of blind children in these regions; effective vaccines and method have been put in place to reduce and check its spread.

    The report reads in part, “The cornea, the front transparent layer of the eye, requires vitamin A to work. The retina, which is the back layer of the eye that receives visual images (like the film in a camera), also requires vitamin A in order to see at night. A measles infection can reduce the levels of vitamin A that the body needs for normal health. As a result, during a measles episode, a child can develop ulcers in the cornea, which makes it hard for them to see at night. The result is “a devastating loss of vision and blindness.”

    It adds; “Countries with vaccination programs for measles have reduced the problem of widespread eye disease and it is recommended that children in developing countries who contract measles receive two doses of vitamin A supplements a day apart. Vitamin A supplements have been shown to reduce the number of deaths from measles by 50 percent.”

    Therefore, simple Vitamin A dosage, a cheap and regular across-the-counter prescription in Nigeria, would have restored their son’s failing sight. Samuel is today, rock blind.

    At other time, early surgery, which goes for as little as N15, 000.00 and N25, 000.00 could have saved a sufferer from eternal dusk. This is mostly so in cases of people suffering from cataract, which is the better of the twin-evil; the other being glaucoma. This is because, while cataract is more prevalent in Nigeria and can be detected easily, there is established and proven cure for it, but for glaucoma, it comes like a thief in the night and cure is more or less at infant stage.

    Medical challenges

    According to former Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and leading health consultant, Prof Akin Osibogun, cataract is the most common cause of blindness in Nigeria with 1 percent of the population, about 1.5milion living with the curable disease.

    “Cataract is responsible for 30  60% of partial and complete blindness in the country, so a great deal of blindness prevention activity should center on cataract surgery, if we are to clear out the cataract back log.”

    Yet, it is avertable with routine check up and careful handling of the eye. Prof. Osibogun advised regular check of the eyes from qualified ophthalmologist. “When you are above 30 or 35, there is need to check your eyes regularly because some regenerating changes start occurring from the age of 35. Children should not be slapped on the eyes because when you do they might develop cataract later in life.”

    He also affirmed that surgery remains the best option for treatment of cataract.

    Ophthalmologists; Josephine N. Ubah, Micheline A. Isawumi and, Caroline O. Adeoti in a paper presented after research on cataract sufferers in Osun State, also confirmed the prevalent rate of cataract incident in Nigeria. They admitted that it is curable by surgery.

    Thankfully, Osibogun says the federal government as well as some state governments has taken positive actions to bring down the cost of surgery to a bearable level of between N15, 000.00 and N25, 000.00.

     “In 2013, only 106 cataract surgeries were performed in the 24 months reviewed by this team in Osun state and this is like a drop in the ocean when you consider the number of people on awaiting list.” Of course, a greater number of them are children and the elderly.

    “Though, free and highly subsidized cataracts surgeries are becoming a regular practice in Nigeria, despite this practice, many people continue to turn out blind from cataract, either in one or both eyes. Through interview-assisted questionnaires, a descriptive study was carried out among cataract blind patients who turned up for cataract surgery during an eye camp. About 1570 persons were screened. Of this number, 297 were found to have cataract with visual acuity of 6/60 or worse. 167 were bilaterally blind. Questionnaire was administered to the 297 persons. Complete information was obtained from 211 of the respondents. Cost of surgery was the greatest cause of delay in uptake of cataract surgery in 171 (81%) persons. Ignorance in18 persons followed this. Therefore, the current study has identified cost as the greatest cause of delay of cataract operation in Osun State of Nigeria. This seems to be the general trend in the other parts of the country where this type of study has been conducted.”

    The good thing here, according to Prof Osibogun, is that cataract surgery is near 100 percent effective and a patient can regain his or her sight almost immediately. “The technique to be used involves removing the cataract and putting the artificial lens and the person will be able to see almost immediately.”

    Gloucoma

    While cataract is curable, no form of effective treatment has been established for glaucoma otherwise known as ‘the silent thief of sight.’

    Dr. Chigozie Onyesonwu, an expert optometrist observed that “There is no cure for glaucoma yet, except through surgery. Aside surgery, the patient can be placed on medication to manage the condition. The drugs would be taken throughout a patient’s lifetime. Improved awareness and better perception can however positively influence the accuracy of the eye health education messages glaucoma patients share and are key to the development of a positive outlook. A positive outlook can motivate patients to ensure that family members undergo glaucoma screening regularly, thereby enhancing prompt diagnosis and reducing the risk of blindness.”

    Bethesda Home for the Blind

    This, according to Mrs. Chioma Ohakwe, is where Bethesda home for the blind comes in. “To live with blindness is not easy. It takes away your right to live and your freedom to associate. It is like living the life of a social outcast. Sadly, our society feels that way about blind people. They therefore need love and support of everyone. That is what we are providing in BHB.”

    She revealed that fate and love entrusted with this calling.

    “After the Nigerian civil war, the Eastern part of this country where I was born and living with my family, was plagued with general poverty and diseases. Many people went blind due to measles infection and malnutrition and it affected two of my brothers and my husband’s sister. Blindness became a permanent feature in our environment because virtually every family had at least one member suffering from it. A special school for the blind was thereafter established at Ogiri River, Enugu, where my brothers and sister-in-law attended. When we got married, the three of them moved in with us. Sometimes they would bring their friends and our house will be packed with blind people.”

    It was during those encounters that she developed deep love and interest in visually impaired and completely blind people. “I began to observe them. No matter what you give them, I realised that they do not like to be left alone. I also observed the way some families treat their own blind folks like social outcasts. Some families do not even want neighbours to know that they have blind people in their household, so they lock them up in the house. Some even give them bucket to urinate and defecate in while they are out, so they don’t have to come out of their rooms. They only come out in the night to

  • Not on our lives ! Candidates reject admission into Colleges of Education

    Not on our lives ! Candidates reject admission into Colleges of Education

    Almost half a decade after the government introduced the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, to encourage enrolment into the Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, students continue to snub the Polytechnics, while they expressly reject admission into colleges of Education. Medinat Kanabe who interacted with college administrators and high school graduates reports.

    Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). That was in an attempt to find a lasting solution to the problems graduating high school students in Nigeria faced accessing higher education, and especially to even out the traffic of students to the various institutions of higher learning, as against the total preference for universities. The situation at the time had become such that students no longer considered the colleges of education and much less were giving consideration to the monotechnic or polytechnic options. It was either the universities or nothing.

    Even though Egwu did not last long enough in the office to see the policy come into fruition, it nevertheless got the blessing of the Federal Executive Council and promptly took off with the first examination in April 2010.

    The new system according to Prof. Sam Ukpabi, chairman of the examination board was to address the challenges of limited space in Nigerian universities and eliminate the phony rampart the students had inadvertently constructed to limit themselves. He also hoped it would change the history of tertiary education in Nigeria for good, with the youth of the country being the better for it.

    Before then, the situation had been such that JAMB (the Joint matriculation Examination Board) founded 1978 conducted a separate matriculation examination for the universities. That was later replaced with the Universities Matriculation Examination (UME), with the Monotechnics, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Examination (MPCEME) introduced in 1989 to cater for all other cadre of schools. The introduction of the UTME therefore meant that the millions of candidates seeking admission into all higher institutions will be subjected to the same examinations.

    The new system, according to Prof. Ukpabi, has several advantages, including saving cost, since candidates no longer have to take multiple examinations. They also get to save energy, and there is a greater likelihood of the students gaining admission to at least a university, polytechnic or college of education, rather than wasting at home and waiting for another year.

    Most importantly, he explained that going forward; it will also help in dismantling the long-existing dichotomy between graduates of the universities and their counterparts from the polytechnics/monotechnics.

    Not much have changed

    But have things really changed? Do high school graduates now willingly accept admissions into colleges of education for instance? Or do those whose preference has always been with universities now accept polytechnic or monotechnic admissions?

    A chance interaction with a group of colleges of education provosts during their annual meeting at the  Michael Otedola College of Primary Education,MOCPED Lagos recently, provided the semblance of an answer.

    According to Dr. Ignatius Ezoem, Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba, the introduction of the UTME has not achieved much in terms of increasing enrolment into his college. Rather, he shocked this reporter with the news that it has actually continued to decrease.

    Even as he acknowledged that he, as a government employee, shouldn’t be criticising government policies; he nevertheless professed that “we must look for ways to address the lapses” that might have emerged there-from.

    He advised that the government should first address the issue of teachers’ welfare and elevate teaching to the level of profession, if indeed they want students to start seeing colleges of education in a different manner.

    “If a teacher is well remunerated and the condition of service is improved, many people will go to colleges of education because they want to be teachers. Right now nobody wants to be a teacher; everybody wants to be a lawyer, an engineer, a medical practitioner, a pilot, but nobody wants to be a teacher. The fear is there.  The age-long thinking that teachers are not well paid, that teachers are the downtrodden in the economy is still there.”

    His position was corroborated by the Provost, Federal College of Education, Zaria, Dr Maccido Mukhtar, who argued that the status quo would remain, “until such a time when government decides to implement teachers’ salary scheme.”

    “What I am trying to say is that you can be a professor but choose to teach in the primary school and get a professor’s salary. And if you decide to teach in the university, you will get the same salary. Once that is implemented and their salary is enhanced, there is no way teaching or teacher education will take a back seat. All over the world, they respect the teacher more than any other person. If you go to Japan, the highest paid salary earners are teachers. And so it is with many other countries; but as far as the rich and influential are concerned here, teaching can go to hell. The question therefore remains, if nobody cares for teaching, what happens to the schools?”

    Dr Bashorun Olalekan Wasiu of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Ijanikin, also agrees that the population is dwindling.

    The AOCOED provost’s suggestion however is that government should “train teachers for basic education. They might actually be given the mandate of training first degree students. They should be able to award degrees in education. That might be a solution and that might give the opportunity of being able to increase the enrolment and enhance the quality.”

    He also said the fact that they are teachers puts them in better stead to train teachers than the universities. “Students can then progress to the university for their masters and PhD.”

    Another solution, he said is to enrich our curriculum, with entrepreneurship programmes to benefit the students. “The students should be able to come out and be employers of labour when they finish because unemployment is everywhere. If the programme is enriched, students will not feel inferior to the university graduates,” he concluded.

    On her part, Professor Francisca Ladejanu of the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti insists that an average student will always prefer to go to a university, and next to that, a polytechnic. “Colleges of education come last (even on the form) and that makes it more difficult for us to get students that will make them first choice.

    “It is not that colleges of education are not acceptable to students, it is just that they see products of colleges of education as not enjoying the same social status like others in other higher institutions. If teaching profession is made more attractive, then more students will want to come into education.”

    Asked if she thinks candidates are scared of becoming teachers, she said “I don’t think they are afraid; it’s just that everybody wants a good thing. If someone gets something good out of his college of education certificate, the most obvious thing is he would advice others to do same. If teachers are well paid; if they enjoy good standing in the society; then more students will want to come into education.”

    Candidates thumb down for colleges of education

    Benard Clement wrote the last UTME. It was the 20 year-old’s second attempt and he told this reporter matter-of-factly that “I cannot attend a college of education. I wrote UTME last year and scored 189. I could easily have gotten admission into any polytechnic or college of education but I decided to write another exam this year and I will continue to write until I meet the cut-off mark needed to go into the university of my choice.”

    Continuing, he said “In Nigeria, the NCE certificate is not recognised and I don’t want a useless certificate. I don’t want a situation whereby I will waste my time and money going to a college of education and at the end of the day I will be running up and down looking for a job.”

    Another candidate who has written UTME twice and scored 172 and 192 respectively; also told The Nation that he is writing again, albeit in fear that he might not score the cut off mark yet again. Speaking with a dint of regret, Saka Sadiq said: “If I had known I would have accepted the offer of polytechnic admission given me in the past sittings, because I am not sure I will score up to what I want this time.”

    Even then, he insists that “No matter what, I cannot attend a college of education. I can manage to attend a polytechnic but never will I attend a college of education. Even Bsc holders in Nigeria have not got jobs and you say I should attend a college of education, I will not.”

    17 year-old Habibat Rasheed is writing UTME for the first time, but she sure she will not attend a college of education. “The only thing that will make me consider a polytechnic is because it can afford me the opportunity to take a direct entry to the university and I will only do that because I wouldn’t like to just stay at home waiting to write another UTME.” She said.

    Habeeb Abideen however hates teaching, and makes no attempt to be civil about it. “I cannot even touch it with a long spoon. They are not well paid, they go on strike, and they are not accorded the right recognition in Nigeria. I can make the salary of a teacher in one week if I go into business; that is why I want to study business administration.”

    Hope for candidates

    The Public Relations Officer for JAMB, Dr Fabien Benjamin took time to further explain to candidates why it was necessary to introduce the UTME, assuring them that with time, polytechnics and even colleges of education will be on the same level with degree holders.

    He explained that the problem of HND/degree dichotomy and the problem of people preferring degree over polytechnic and colleges of education led to the introduction of the UTME, “to bridge the gap so that we will have the same entry requirement.”

    “If you say that degree is the same with HND and you are giving them different entry requirement, then you have already told them from the beginning that they are not the same. So we want to ensure uniformity, the same three requirements, the same standard, the same, certificate, the same grading and the same consideration.

    “We want to encourage technical education because the polytechnics are established to enhance technical education and if you don’t give these candidates any reason to go to polytechnics or colleges of education, then they will not go.

    “A situation whereby somebody will go to the polytechnic and finish and you come and tell him that he is an educative officer and that a degree is far above whatever he has acquired would not encourage others to attend.”

    Asked why enrolment into these colleges has not increased since the introduction of UTME, Dr. Benjamin said any policy that is introduced must go through a process.

    “The board has taken up a step to unify the entry requirement and what the ministry of education is doing at the top level is to ensure that the HND/NCE dichotomy is completely eradicated. And they are seriously working on it, but it is not a magic wand that you just swing and it happens. It is a process and the candidates are also watching to see how employers of labour will react to this policy. So you’re not likely to get a different reaction from the students or schools, until it gets to the market and the market accepts it,” he explained.

    He also said that one of the measures being considered as an immediate incentive is to have the government make it such that “if someone has an HND, let him go straight to do his Masters. He does not have to do a Post Graduate Diploma first; and if you have an HND and are employed, you should be taken in as an administrative officer and also have the same terminal point with degree holders.”

    That way, he said, students will begin to have positive attitude towards polytechnic education.

    Make degrees minimum qualification for teachers

    Responding to the clamour to make a degree the minimum qualification for teachers, Dr. Benjamin said: “That is part of the comprehensive policy we are talking about. What educationists want to do in Nigeria is for teachers to be able to teach well. You cannot teach what you don’t have and under normal circumstance, people that are teaching are supposed to be the best; and even if other companies are taking less than first degree, a teacher should not be anything less.

    “Government is therefore considering upgrading colleges of education to degree awarding institutions, so that teachers will come in, do their degree programmes and no longer NCE; and even if they do their NCE, they will be able to proceed immediately to do their degree programmes. That will very likely encourage them not to stop at NCE, but go further and obtain their degree.”

    He concluded that “Most people don’t want to go to colleges of education because they think all they would get is an NCE, but if they know that they can be awarded a degree, chances are they’ll go the long haul.”

  • Foundation calls for entries

    OYASAF Foundation and UFUK Dialogue Foundation has called for entries from artists and photographers for a photography competition titled: Colours of Harmony, which will hold in April at Abuja.

    Selected works will be exhibited in a travelling exhibition. Deadline for submission is April 6.

    According to the organisers, the competition is the second collaborative efforts at promoting Nigerian art.

    The first collaboration between the two foundations was titled: Art For Peace: Paint African Values. It resulted in a travelling exhibition of works of 13 artists in Abuja, Ethiopia, Istanbul and New York.

    This second is a photo competition of different parts of Nigeria, depicting the togetherness and cultural co-existence in our diversity. The photography competition will explore Nigerian culture, diversity and relationship of the different aspects of Nigeria’s cultural lives through the lenses of Nigerian photographers. It will be followed with a travelling exhibition in Nigeria, Turkey, United States, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Benin Republic and United Kingdom.

    Each participant is expected to enter a maximum of 4 images of their choice with a 600 word description of each photograph being submitted. Fifty works will be recommended by a jury in Lagos for the Abuja photo competition. Submission of  passport photograph of each applicant, submission of filled out form accompanying the works submitted per artist, submission of detailed biography per artist, submission of details of each photograph submitted indicating, title, dimension and year of production.

    All entries must be of three megabytes in JPEG or JPG format, at least 300dpi per photograph, digital format and submitted online to our contact e-mail address: oyasaf2000@yahoo.com

    Participants should indicate the suggested price per artwork and the edition number of each photograph being submitted.

    The five prizes will be given out. They are: first prize N250, 000, second N200, 000, third  N150, 000, fourth 70, 000 and fifth N50, 000.

     

  • Winners emerge in SLCF series

    Following its call for entries into the Splendid Literature Series last August, winners have emerged for Splendid Literature Series Competition.

    The winning entries for the 2014 Splendid Literature Series Competition are Nnamdi Momah’s The Journey to Nigeria, Izuchukwu Udokwu’s Life in Broken Piece, The Taming of Ekwensu by Ezechukwu Emmanuel Amarachi, Uchenna Ofili’s A Time Machine Surprise, Lesson for Fathers by Elijah Faith, and winning story in the Junior Category is Chibuihe Obi’s Emelda.

    The competition, which was established by the Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation (SLCF) for young writers of children’s literature, has become a yearly affair since 2013. According to its organisers, the winning stories would be publish in an anthology and the writers would have public presentation of their works, with readings, book signing and tours arranged for them. They added that each writer would receive royalties for their works.

    SLCF’s founder, Mrs Mobolaji Adenubi said the competition is part of its efforts at encouraging young Nigerian writers of children’s literature, resident in Nigeria, within the age range of 11 and 21 to produce imaginative stories that will entertain, enlighten and educate children, as well as encourage them to think in novel ways.

    The judges of the 2014 competition are Mr Dagga Tolla, poet, musician and past Chairman of ANA (Lagos); Ms. Sola Alamutu, Winner of the ANA/ATIKU ABUBAKAR Prize for Children Literature in 2004 and the Executive Director of Children and The Environment, CATE; Mr Folu Agoi, lecturer at the Department of English, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED); Noforija, Epe, adjunct lecturer at Lagos State University (LASU), Vice President of Nigerian Centre of PEN International and past Chairman of Association of Nigerian Authors, Lagos Branch.

    “SLCF aims at ensuring that books written by young writers for children readers satisfy parents who continue to buy books for their children, and meet with the necessary standards of interest, development, moral regeneration and enlightenment of the children who read them. The Foundation also runs an annual Creative Writing Workshop for young writers during the long vacation. The Foundation now has a website: www.splendidfoundation.com,” Mrs Adenubi said.

  • ‘Help save my son’

    ‘Help save my son’

    You can help save the life of three-year-old Fatai Owolabi who was born like every other normal baby. The mother gave birth to him without complications but problem began after she was discharged from hospital. The child has  to be flown to abroad for special treatment in order to live a normal life.

    Fatai was diagnosed of Cerebral Palsy at the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja. He requires about N4.8million for special medical treatment in Indian.

    His father, Sulaimon Owolabi told The Nation that Fatai cannot talk, sit or stand. According to him, Fatai does not eat or take breast milk but sometimes takes some fluid. He said he had gone to many traditional medicine practitioners, spiritualists and churches seeking solution to the problem. He stated that he had spent all the money he had on the boy’s health, yet there is no positive  result.

    He said he sold his piece of land to raise money to secure adequate treatment for the child.

    He lamented: “I cannot even calculate or say exactly how much I have spent on him. I have been on this matter since his birth and I didn’t know it was a medical issue. The problem the boy has is from the brain and the doctor said it is called cerebral palsy and that we need to fly him out for special treatment, and that will cost us N4.8million.”

    He is, therefore, appealing to the Lagos State Government and other good spirited individuals to rally support for him to raise this sum of money to enable him take his son to overseas for treatment

    “I started carrying him about for help, some gave us stipend, some did not respond to our request at all. Even the Governor of Lagos State, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, who saw the boy promised that he would help us. He sent someone to us but we are yet to hear from him,’’ he said.

    On how the problem started, Owolabi narrated: “The mother gave birth to him a normal delivery and after about five minutes he cried but when we took him home the following day he could neither cry, take water nor breast, his eyes began to go up. We took him to hospital where he spent about a month and half and when they discharged him to us we felt that the problem was over, but after three months we expected him to respond, but he couldn’t respond to us”.

    “The mother began to get worried but I tried to calm her down urging her to still examine him for some time but after the sixth and seventh months he couldn’t respond even to the call of his name that was when I started looking for solutions

    The Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Dr. M. A. Salisu, in a telephone call confirmed that Fatai was diagnosed of Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy of moderate severity. In addition, the boy suffers from sensory deficits, including visual, hearing and speech impairment.

    In a report presented to The Nation, Dr. Salisu said that management of the boy’s condition would be long-term and would involve the use of medications, rehabilitative procedures and expected inter-current illnesses. It is recommended that he attends the paediatric neurology clinic bimonthly.

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