The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday magazine

  • USA Bishop leads prayer for Nigeria

    Bishop Nelson Ugwuzor, founding pastor of Church of the Anointing –one of the fastest growing churches in Los Angeles, California–is continuing to use his voice to speak into the lives of many in America and across the globe.Most recently, Pastor Nelson, as he is popularly known, called on listeners to join him in a nationwide prayer for Nigeria and his home state of Abia, during his weekly broadcast on Stevie Wonder’s legendary radio station in Los Angeles, KJLH 102.3 FM.

    A global voice and leader, Pastor Nelson (Bishop) received the 2012 Stellar Award for his “Spread the Word” radio program on KJLH, which attracts a listening capacity of over one million listeners weekly across the USA and Canada.He led the city of Los Angeles in a prayer of victory for President Barack Obama before his 2012 election at a gathering of over 300,000 people during the city’s annual Taste of Soul Family Festival.  He is a constant force and voice on the world’s largest Christian television network, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), through which he reaches over three billion people in over 125 nations worldwide.

    During his recent radio show broadcast, Bishop Nelson declared, “I feel in heart that my beloved country, Nigeria is at a place where it needs the best leaders to continue to lead that great nation and lead it to where it needs to be so it can be an example in all levels to the world and to Africa as a continent.  Wherever Nigeria goes, the entire continent of Africa goes. That’s why I am asking everyone across the United States and Africa to join me to pray for a peaceful, fair, transparent election process in Nigeria. I am praying for worthy, experienced, accountable, God-fearing leaders to emerge and lead Nigeria next.  I know that the world is watching Nigeria. I am praying for President GoodluckEbele Jonathan, all the Governors, all elected officials and political appointees and aspirants who desire to lead to do so with the love of country at heart. I am praying for wisdom and God’s guidance over all of them.”

    Bishop Nelson also said a special prayer for his state of origin, Abia State:”I am also praying for Governor T.A. Orji and ChiefEmekaWogu, the formerMinister of Labour and Productivity, who is aspiring to be nominated as a candidate for the next Governor of Abia State. Chief Wogu is a man worthy of that office; experienced, tested and proven in both local and national leadership…a God-fearing leader with accountability, a man of integrity and a visionary. I am asking the world to keep praying for the will of God to be done in Nigeria.  Long live Nigeria, long live President GoodluckEbele Jonathan, long live my beloved Abia State, long live all who aspire to lead.”  In closing, Bishop declared that If God be for you, no one can be against you.

  • Soyinka visits mission home

    Soyinka visits mission home

    It will remain one of the most memorable days in the lives of the children of Stephen Children Home, Abeokuta, as Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, after a long expectation by the children, visited on Saturday, 6th December, 2014.

    The children who earlier played host to a team from Oyedepo Foundation on the same day were seen in joyous mood as it was fun all through before the sudden arrival of the Nobel Laureate who immediately changed his name from Prof. Oluwole Soyinka to Prof. Oluwole Somorin (literally translated ‘I met you well’) to amaze the children because of the aroma he perceived from the cooking competition by the children.

    Professor Soyinka admonished the children to be good ambassadors of the African race and said his visit to the home was just a stop-over as his schedule was tight for the day and promised to re-visit the children in a grand style.

    Earlier in his welcome address, the Director of Stephen Children Home Abeokuta, who is also the Director, Voice of the Christian Martyrs, Nigeria, Rev.  Isaac Oluwole Newton Wusu, revealed that Stephen Children Home earlier known as  Nigeria Special Children Home with over 400 children from mostly the northern part of Nigeria enjoying free feeding, shelter, education and health care  services at the primary, secondary and higher education levels started with just eight children. Rev. Newton Wusu, a Nigerian who served for over 35 years under the leadership of Richard Wurmbrand, appreciated Christians all over the world, various groups, collective and individual donors and supporters of the children of the martyrs in all ramifications.

  • Parents urged to instill godliness in their children

    The Chairman of the Elders Council of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Province 27, Elder Seni Adegbite, has advised parents to instill the virtues of love, patriotism and godly principles in the lives of their children so that they would become change agents in our world.

    Adegbite said this at the Family Week celebration of the RCCG, Province 27 headquarters last Sunday in Ikeja, Lagos.

    The programme, which was held simultaneously across the RCCG parishes worldwide, brought together hundreds of Christian’s faithful. There were bible teaching, drama, song rendition, fun and entertainment for the children and their parents.

    According to Adegbite, the family remains the melting pot for love, oneness, togetherness and mutual understanding in any nation of the world. Families built on love, fairness, equity and godliness will rub off on the nation.

    He lauded the patriotic spirit exhibited by an average American which according to him makes them think about the wellbeing of their country first, above self, tribe or language sentiments.

    Adegbite posited further that when families are united and put their focus, interest and ambition on God and his word, intruders will stay far away from them and peace that passes all understanding will reign in such homes.

    He took a swipe at the federal government’s commitment to the release of the abducted Chibok girls. Said he: “Americans are ready to die for one citizen of theirs in captivity, not to talk of over 200 children who have been held hostage without any clue of their release soon.”

    He challenged Nigerians to rise above tribal, religious and ethnic sentiment and work together to build the nation that is currently in dire need of honest, forthright and faithful individuals to bring the desired development in our country.

  • ‘We work as a family’

    ‘We work as a family’

    Atsuko Toda, a development expert from Japan, is the Country Programme Manager, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Nigeria, an arm of the United Nations dedicated to assisting the rural poor get a new lease of life through numerous intervention programmes. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, Toda shares her riveting experience working in Nigeria in the last two and half years, her work ethics and style, among others. Excerpts: 

    Working in IFAD Nigeria

    In all the countries where International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works, there is a Country Programme Manager with a Country Programme Office. With regards to the management style that we experience in Nigeria, as you mentioned, I have been here for two and half years and we just closed and completed a programme in the north. We are starting a programme in the middle belt and then we have also a programme in the Niger Delta and the management style we experience is that there is a lot of room for improvement in delegation because you find that with Nigerian leadership, all the powers are centred on the leader. But the ability to delegate, set goals and responsibility needs to be clarified so that team work can be improved. It’s something that we really need to work on, that’s number one.

    As I said, the number one issue of delegation in leadership and team work needs to be strengthened. Secondly, with regards to management, the other thing is strengthening institutions. I think in terms of institutions and administration, that’s another area that truly needs a lot of work, in order for initiatives like Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) to become much more sustainable in Nigeria.

    I think we work in the agriculture sector but sustainability is a major challenge and the reason why it has remained such a major challenge is there are successes which are demonstrated by the government, by the funders, by development partners, by the NGOs, but they tend to become isolated packet of success, which have not scaled through.

    I think more recently with the Transformation Agenda, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Adesina Akinwunmi, has been trying much more to align everything to the Agriculture Transformation Agenda.

    But still, in terms of execution, institutional capacity to follow that up, to monitor it to date, to have good data, these are all challenges that we need to look at.

    First impression about Nigeria

    With regards to my experience in Nigeria in the past two and half years, before I came to Nigeria, I think I heard lots of stories about Nigeria, you hear about the corruption, violence, robbery and stuffs like that.

    But actually when one comes, one realises how hard working the people are. You have people who are just struggling to make ends meet. There is a lot of innovation, freedom, thinking and there is a lot of good people, there is a lot faith.

    For me, it’s been such a very wonderful experience working here and everyday brings a new challenge and new experience. I think Nigerians are so industrious. Having said that, I think the difficulty again is that sometimes we get stock in bureaucratic procedures which are difficult and transparency is not necessarily always there. So that’s something that we struggle with. However, I think really working in Nigeria has been such a joy and living here and experiencing the differences of each of the regions in the Niger Delta, in the middle belt, in the north, we have very different organisational patterns that we see, and that’s been very interesting. I think working here has taught me a lot about Nigeria and I wouldn’t want to work in any other African country if I had the choice.

    About RUFIN

    RUFIN is a seven-year programme designed to improve the performance of member-based non-bank rural finance institutions to enable them develop to sustainable rural microfinance institutions in the programme participating states.

    The goal of this programme is to improve the income, food security and general living conditions of poor rural households, particularly women-headed households, youth and the physically challenged.

    RUFIN covers 12 states with three local governments from each of the states participating. 36 local governments are involved. Specifically, in the North West/North East zone states we have Adamawa, Bauchi, Katsina, Zamfara. In South West/North Central zone states, we have Benue, Nasarawa, Lagos, Oyo while in South East/South South zone states we have Anambra, Imo, Edo, Akwa-Ibom respectively.

    Now with regards to RUFIN and how to position it, it is one of the pillars of the Agriculture Transformation Agenda, to provide access to finance for smallholder farmers, which are majority of the farming population in Nigeria today. What we thought is, Nigeria does not lack liquidity, there is money in the system.

    However, for smallholder farmers to access it is very difficult. So, what we try to do is to go to the customers, go to the hinterland and ensure that they form groups. Once they form groups they don’t need collateral and also once they form groups they start savings so they can do internal lending. Once you save, another person saves, they can actually take turns in getting credit, that’s number one.

    Seconding because of the good collateral they can get loans from microfinance banks and financial NGOs. So, the idea was to harness the strength of the existing institutions, build their capacity to reach the rural populace. And we wanted to show that microfinance can be a business. That microfinance banks and financial NGOs if they can actually mobilise depositors’ savings they can make profit collecting deposits and lending on interest. And this is a relatively virgin market which still needs to be explored because of a lot of the population are not financially included.

    So, we believe that it is a business opportunity; we don’t believe it is charity. We see microfinance as a business and that’s what we have been trying to promote through RUFIN.

    Management style

    On a personal note, my management style encourages delegation. I invest people with responsibility and try to give them the tools to work with. I would consider myself really fortunate to have the crop of excellent colleagues that I’m working with. These are people who are very professional in their own right and have continued to support the vision of the programme that we do.

    Even though I have worked in the development community in the past 14 years,  here in Nigeria, I think I must give it to my colleagues here when it comes to taking initiatives because as locals, they understand the terrain better much than I do and I really do appreciate their expertise and local knowledge.

    I don’t try to micromanage at all and this is because as I said, I believe in the expertise of my team, and once I see you have what it takes to deliver on a project, I just push it to you and see how you succeed with it. If there is a problem along the line, I expect you take responsibility afterwards as we find ways of resolving the issues.

    Idea of staff motivation

    For me personally, I like to commend the efforts of my colleagues all the time. We see ourselves as family and as such try to look out for each other. The workplace environment is such that encourages cordiality. There are no barriers as such because we all share the common vision and do everything within our power to make sure we achieve the set goals. Where this is being delayed for whatever reasons, we also try to sit down together and iron out those grey areas.  So, it might interest you to know that in the last two and half years, I have worked here, we have had zero staff turnover. We work like one big happy family, feel the pain of each other and try to be there for each other as best as we can. So, if you have such a workplace, where there is such an understanding, you really have to count yourself lucky. So, I feel very lucky to have this kind of workplace environment.

    But one thing is clear, here we don’t necessarily place monetary value on everything. One best way we try to reward our staff is through additional training to scale build their skills set and everybody is happy and grateful for that because the kind of training we give ordinarily is not easy to come by. Such trainings are geared towards preparing them for the future endeavours and they are made for life. So, that’s our own way of saying thank you and encouraging our staff to do more.

    Lessons Nigeria can learn from Japan

    In Japan, after the Hiroshima bombing and all, we sort of looked inwards to see how to rejuvenate our country from the ashes of the war. It took quite a lot of efforts for us. But we were able to surmount all the challenges through a dint of hard work, unity of purpose and common faith in our strength as a people. So, looking back after the terrors of that war to where we are today, the common thing story that runs through and truly resonates is that with peace and unity of purpose, a country can achieve anything and everything it sets out to achieve. Nigeria can take a cue from that.

    Love of local cuisine

    When it comes to local cuisine, I’m an adventurer. In the last two years and more, I have tried everything from amala, egusi, tuwo, semo, bitter leaf soup, rice, pepper soup, but not the draw soup… (laughs).

    Legacy for Nigeria

    What I would most likely want to be remembered for after my exit in Nigeria is that most of the programmes we have brought on board are better sustained with the same drive and vision just as it was in the beginning. I’m concerned about sustainability, of growth and development.

  • Lower trade and higher poverty rate are cousins

    Lower trade and higher poverty rate are cousins

    The relationship between trade and poverty is inverted. Countries with higher proportions of global trade tend to have less of poverty. Conversely, countries which contribute the least to global trade have higher poverty rates. This shows the importance of good trade policies in reducing poverty rates and increasing prosperity. Also, this shows why there is intense competition for export markets even by countries that already control significant share of global trade. Little wonder trade facilitation has become an economic policy of great importance.

    Development experts can’t agree more. Jim Yong Kim, the World Bank president, said in a recent statement that, “Trade is a critical component to ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity.” The foregoing therefore suggests that developing countries have to trade their way out of poverty. For African countries to reduce poverty, they must increase their share of global trade. But how to bring this about is anything but easy.

    Trade Challenge

    Sub Saharan Africa is reputed to be the least developed region of the world. The SSA region is also the least integrated into the global economy through trade. Since the 1960s, the share of sub Saharan Africa in international trade has become progressively smaller: less than 5% for all merchandise and 3% for agricultural products in 2010 (World Foundation for Agriculture and Rurality 2012). Trade within the SSA region is also dismal. Tariff and non-tariff barriers have been obstacles to intra-regional trade. Although the higher hurdles are non-tariff barriers, the ECOWAS goal of free movement of person and goods across member countries remains more of a wish than reality.

    Exports from Africa are mainly mineral resources and agricultural produce. With very low industrial base, the commodities are exported to other regions of the world and returned later to the continent as costlier finished products. This trade pattern results in “jobless growth” in the exporting countries when the prices of the commodities are high in the international market. The jobs that are created and sustained during commodity boom are mainly in the countries that “refine” and turn the commodities to finished products through industrial activities.

    But when prices of commodities are depressed, fiscal shocks are transmitted through the trade channel to the exporting countries, with severe human and economic implications. Apart from being pro-cyclical, trade in commodities is generally noted for volatility of current account positions and exertion of pressure on the exchange rate. The persistence of weak or negative growth in Europe and slower growth in China has dented economic growth in countries that depend very much on the export markets including Germany. But this does not build a case against active play in the export markets; it probably asserts the importance of domestic consumption as a cushion during a period of weaker exports.

    Export Diversification

    Having established the role of trade in reducing poverty on the one hand, and the deleterious effects of export of mainly primary products on the other, it therefore means that the way to reduce poverty in developing countries is through export diversification by boosting industrial activities. Gaining a mileage in export diversification does entail formalisation of informal trade. To achieve this, empowerment of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) is of utmost importance, both in itself and in gaining more share of global trade.

    The key problem with informal trade is that it deprives policymakers of the major tool of policymaking, which is data. Informal trade usually takes place off the radar, making data gathering and processing virtually impossible. But policymakers need to know areas where it is important to scale up positive results in trade activities. Understanding the obstacles that confront informal sector operators will aid intervention and will eventually prepare the operators toward making due contribution to fiscal policy by coming under the tax net.

    SME Incubation

    Evidently, the Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has identified the SME sector as critical for boosting economic growth and job creation. On its part, the Nigerian Export – Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) is aware of the potentials of Nigerian SMEs. They can leverage domestic consumption, using access to over 170 million population to harness opportunities in foreign markets. Accordingly, our interventions are now geared towards such firms that we believe are relatively well-structured to be able to stabilize their operations and then foray into external markets.

    Several programmes under this Administration are incubating the SME segment for a major turnaround. In the traditional areas of providing infrastructure and electricity power, the country is seen to have made big leaps in policy formulation and execution, notwithstanding the milestones that are yet to be reached. Most recent perhaps is the launch of the N220 billion SME fund by the President in August, under the auspices of Central Bank of Nigeria. Specific programmes under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda, infrastructural development for ICT utilization, local content development in oil and gas, the programme of industrialisation as encapsulated in the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) and the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Programme (NIRP) all speak of the resolve of President Jonathan to use the instrumentality of state policy to mediate market performance and SME growth. On-going implementation of the programmes is concomitant with job creation, which is vital for eradication of extreme poverty.

    Unmasking Poverty

    Poverty eradication has once again climbed to the top of global development policy agenda. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have announced twin programmes of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity by 2030. Feelers from post-2015 policy debates suggest that global development goals will focus on eradication of extreme poverty, going forward from next year. In the meantime, reports from some global institutions are making some important prescriptions on poverty reduction.

    A recent publication by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – Trade Policies, Household Welfare and Poverty Alleviation: Case Studies from the Virtual Institute Academic Network – strongly associates trade and poverty, offering policymakers insights on what it called “pro-poor trade policies.”

    Another new literature which focuses on economic growth – a sine qua non for poverty reduction – reaffirms what we already know: that export diversification is the “gateway” to higher growth. To achieve export diversification however, Chris Papageorgiou, Lisa Kolovich and Sean Nolan, all of the IMF, identify manufacturing of high quality products as a necessity. They suggest therefore that the world has gone past the Chinese industrialization model of producing cheap and low quality products to unleash price competition in the export market. Accordingly, Chris and his colleagues listed human capital, infrastructure, institutional quality, financial deepening and proximity to markets as drivers of export diversification. These are very important recommendations which are familiar but which cannot be overemphasized. I will therefore run commentaries on them in the context of the Nigerian policy environment and readiness for trade as I conclude this piece.

    Quality products: The Nigerian middle class and wealthy Nigerians are noted to be pretty sophisticated. As such, an industrial development model that manufactures cheap and inferior products would be mistargeted at Nigerians with means. Nowhere is this recognized more than in the cable manufacturing industry where Nigerian cables are noted for higher quality than some imported brands. Once known for exporting inferior products, China has been reforming its industrial policy to emphasize the manufacturing of high quality products. This is the direction Nigeria should go to ensure we can trade in the global market of today and not of yesterday.

    Human capital: Within a practical framework, multi-level support for human capital development has been a key goal of this Administration. School enrolment has improved generally. Specific programmes have targeted areas that had lagged behind due to past neglect. Tertiary education is being strengthened to be able to absorb more university candidates. Another area that has benefited from government’s programme of industrial development is vocational education. For example, there are ongoing efforts to develop skills that will support growth in the power sector and automobile production and assembly plants. Also, the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) embeds training for skill acquisitions in the areas of public works, including road construction and maintenance, railway rehabilitation and dredging.

    Infrastructure: The foregoing already highlights the fact that the country is moving in the right direction with infrastructure development. The pace may be slow, but there is no doubt that we will attain a tipping point sooner than later. At that point, it will become more obvious to global investors that so-called infrastructure deficiency in Nigeria represents investment opportunities which are being harnessed. This is a key lesson we have taken from the implementation of the power sector reform.

    Institutional quality:  The truth is evident that Nigeria is building and strengthening its institutions again. As a constitutional democracy, the governance framework is stable and predictable. Market regulators do their jobs without the fear of any political backlash. This is what has helped to put in place a sustainable path for the turn-around of our financial market, since the introduction of reforms in 2004. NEXIM Bank itself is an institution that has been revamped as part of government decision to strengthen public sector institutions and support private sector actors.

    Financial deepening: There is perhaps no other country or jurisdiction that has introduced more far-reaching reforms in its financial market than Nigeria over the past ten years. The proliferation of marginal banks has given way to stronger and sounder private sector financial institutions including “mega” banks. A poorly organized and unfunded pension system has given way for the contributory system that has exceeded N4.5 trillion ($24 billion) in pension asset. Yet regulation and innovation have continued to characterize the Nigerian financial system, including the capital market.

    Proximity to markets: Nigeria is not just a place to set up a business. The country is a big and growing market. Investing in Nigeria is tantamount to connecting to a big market. Nevertheless, the country is also well-linked to the sub-regional markets by all popular means – road, sea and air – except by rail.

    As the country continues to develop capacity for trade through economic diversification, it is expected that the poverty rate will continue to fall.

    – Roberts Orya is Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export – Import Bank.

  • 101 fashion tips for petite woman

    101 fashion tips for petite woman

    PETITE women can rock any style, but the key thing is to pick a fashion tune and work your wardrobe. The most important thing for petite women to do is to construct an image for her. And while everyone assumes that petite means tiny, dainty and delicate, a lady can actually be a large petite or even a huge petite. Before shopping for clothes, a petite woman should decide what she wants her image to be.

    Fashion tips that help
    •Understand how to create the illusion of height.
    •Discover which prints and patterns will work for your small frame.
    •Know how to use colour and match it to your skin and hair tone.
    •Learn how to balance your body shape by understanding your body symmetry.
    •Find out the easy way to effortlessly accessorise.
    •Know how to avoid clothes that foreshorten your body.
    •No wide-leg pants.
    •Don’t dismiss jumpsuits as a trend only for the column-shaped woman.

  • ‘Nigeria needs restoration’

    For Nigeria to go back to being a blessed and peaceful nation, Venerable Emmanuel Gbadebo, Pastor, St. John’s African Chruch, Arigbajo, Ogun State, has said that she needs restoration.

    He said if one looked at Nigeria before and now, one would realise that Nigeria is no longer as blessed as before because of the sins Nigerians commit.

    The Ven., who spoke at the church’s adult harvest and thanksgiving service themed Harvest of restoration, explained that restoration to a Christian is the replacement or something that has been lost.

    He said: “Everyone has passed through something this year and expect that God helps them in that area. Someone also might have lost something this year and is expecting that God restores it by 2015. We want God to put Nigeria back where she used to be. This is what informed the theme of the harvest.”

    The Church Warden, Mr. Jacob Akande, called on government to assist the church, especially in the creation of an overhead bridge.

    “People come from villages to this church but they have to cross the express before they get here, which is very dangerous. Because of fear, many, especially the old, don’t come to the church as they cannot cross over the pavement and then the road to get here,” he said.

    He also requested for a police post for the community, saying as big as the community is, there is no police post.

    “People can come here anytime to rob us of our belongings. The church has been burgled many times too,” he noted.

  • Timeless classiness in Agbada

    Timeless classiness in Agbada

    GUESS you know the trend the guys are ending the year with fashion-wise?

    Agbada is newly trending for guys on the runway! Some fashion styles never go out of the scene, no matter how many new ones emerge.One of such is agbada; this style is very masculine and it comes in different flashy designs.

    Contemporary designers of clothing are drawing a great deal of inspiration from ethnic textiles and designs. The good thing is that it is not only women who go the extra mile to enjoy this ethnic touch in order to be different. A look around, especially at socials and other events, shows that men are joining the queue.

    If you are a doubting Thomas, check out what fashionable men rocked to the venue of The Future Award Africa 2014 held in Lagos last Sunday.

    Most men of all ages have to wear agbada at some point in their lives and agbada affix a stroke of good grooming and sophistication to men in native attires.

    There are some Nigerians that have made the agbada a part of their total turn-out. There is ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, among others.

  • Styles of the Season

    Styles of the Season

    Here are some style items you shouldn’t be without this season; they are must-have fashion items:

    Clutch purse, oversized handbag, patent leather bag, floral print, animal print, ankara dress, bold belt, flat strap sandal, chandelier earrings, strand cuff, wooden bangles, big rock, LBD, green dress, patent shoes.

    Red & Green: all shades of red and green are this season’s queen of colours. They both look cool and peaceful. Mix green or red with other colours to make you look glamorous.

    Floral- the influx of this vibrant dress is still strikingly evident; it adds a sexy, and at the same time, feminine appeal to one’s look.

    Little black dress (LBD) – A little black dress is an evening or cocktail dress and it is chic and versatile. Black is always in season and no matter where you are in the world, whether you are going to a dinner, luncheon, or going on a tour, you can always wear a LBD. You can dress it up or down.

    Glittering clutch purse – makes the ultimate red carpet statement in gold and silver accessories garnished with sequins and diamond.

    •Chandelier earrings
    •Strap sandals
    •Oversized bag

  • What you need to know

    Mass communi-cation is a study of how individual, group of people, institution communicate an information, ideas, believes, opinion through a medium to a widely disperse audience at the same time.
    Although there have traditional ways of communicating in years gone bye, but with new technology and discovery, mass communication emerge and its cover a wide area which include, advertisement, mass media (radio and television) and public relations. Mass communication as a profession is needed  across puvlic and private institutions which offers so much opportunities for young people who are interested in the profession.
    Areas of specialization Print (newspaper, maga-zines), Electronic (radio, television, online radio,)
    Social media platforms
    Photojournalism
    Firm and documentary
    Pubic relation’
    Advertising
    Marketing and research.
    Where you can work
    Media house (newspaper, radio, television stations)
    Advertising agencies
    Public relation firms
    Government agencies
    Multinational companies
    Small businesses owners
    Research firm
    Skill needed to thrive
    You must be an avid reader
    Be open to knowledge
    Ability to manage information
    Ability to write
    Time management