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Universities and other tertiary institutions running degree programmes can no longer admit candidates on their sandwich, distance learning, part-time and other programmes directly, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said.

The board also said it has cancelled the regularisation of “backdoor admissions” conducted by higher institutions going forward.

The board said henceforth, all admissions into the various programmes in tertiary institutions must be processed through it, warning the institutions against flouting the new rule.

JAMB announced the new advisory in its weekly news bulletin on Monday in Abuja by its Head of Media and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin.

“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board would no longer condone any illegal/ irregular admission by any institution,” the board said.

The bulletin reads: “The advisory further made it clear that the new hardline position taken by the Board was informed by the quantum of applications received for candidates for condonement of illegal admissions popularly known by candidates as ‘Regularisation’ adding that such ignoble acts would no longer be tolerated by the Board.

“The advisory further reiterated that all applications for admissions to First Degree, National Diploma, National Innovation Diploma and the Nigeria Certificate in Education into Full-Time, Distance Learning, Part-Time, Outreach, Sandwich, etc., must be processed only through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

“Consequently, institutions which are still involved in advertising or selling “application forms” for admissions into the programmes listed above were advised to desist forthwith.

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“The advisory, therefore, enjoined institutions to advise their candidates to apply to them through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), adding that duplication of application forms is also not allowed.

“On the other hand, candidates are to ensure that any admission issued to them by any institution is routed through the Board even before considering to accept such offers.

“The advisory stated that the Board would not succumb to pressure from any quarter to clear any candidate for the NYSC or other essential needs if he/she had accepted any admission from any institution which did not follow laid down regulations as emphasised above.

“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the three Regulatory Agencies: (National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) will ensure that all Tertiary Institutions comply with this policy directive.

“Other Professional Regulatory Agencies are also expected to play critical roles in sanitising the process. In the same vein, the Board restated the need to streamline academic standards and maintained that the duration of all Non- Full Time Studies must be maintained as approved by the Regulatory Agencies.

“This, he said, is generally not less than one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the equivalence of Full Time.

“Institutions which desire to place advertisement to source for candidates can do so but they have to advise potential candidates, beginning from those who sat the current UTME (or DE candidates), to change to or pick these institutions as First (1st) Choice rather than the tortuous route of requesting candidates to purchase another application form. This, the advisory noted would prevent the issue of double registration.”

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday remanded in Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) custody a suspected ponzi scheme operator, Osita David Ikpah a.k.a King David, for allegedly defrauding depositors of N571,692,640.00.

Justice Abimbola Awogboro made the order following Ikpah’s arraignment by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) Ikoyi, Lagos, on a 26-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence and fraud.

Ikpah’s co-defendant on the charge marked FHC/L/234c/2021 was his firm, KD Likeminds Stakeholders Ltd.

Prosecution counsel Henry Obiazi told the court that the defendant, his firm and his unnamed accomplices, committed the offences between February and March 2021, at 4, Dikem Farm Close, Ishashi Road, Ojo, Lagos.

They were alleged to have between January and June 2021, operated as an unlicensed insurance or stockbroking company and without a valid Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) license.

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The offences, according to the prosecutor, contravened Section 8(a) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 as well as Section 58 (i) and 59 (6)(b) of the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act, 2004.

Following the defendant’s plea, his counsel, S. C. Ukairo, prayed the court to admit Ikpah to bail “in the most liberal terms”, adding that credible sureties were available to stand for the defendant.

But in opposing the application, Obiazi contended that there was a likelihood of Ikpah jumping bail and continuing to defraud “innocent citizens.”

He argued further that by refusing the bail application, the court would be doing Ikpah “a great favour because most of the fraud victims are determined to lynch him if they set their eyes on him.”

Upon remanding the defendant, the judge adjourned till October 29 for ruling on the bail application and commencement of trial.

South Africa music star DBN Gogo has joined Nigeria’s Tiwa Savage for the Spotify music programme, Equal.

According to a statement from Spotify, DBN Gogo made the list as Africa artist of the month after the popular AmaPiano DJ emerged as the first South African artist to join a growing roster of influential female creators.

After DBN Gogo’s energetic performance at the UK-based festival AMA Fest 2021, where she dished out the ‘best of AmaPiano’ to fans, with her energy and signature dance moves, she joins Tiwa Savage and US rapper Saweetie, who have featured on the programme that aims at providing a platform to highlight women in music.

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“DBN Gogo has managed to dominate two spheres within the music industry traditionally driven by the opposite sex: DJing and AmaPiano. For us, putting our support behind DBN Gogo not only speaks to what we do under the EQUAL umbrella, but further drives the support we have continued to show the AmaPiano genre since it came to the fore,” says Phiona Okumu, Spotify Head of Music, Sub Saharan Africa.

DBN Gogo recently claimed a spot on the top 10 list of the most streamed artists by South African youth on Spotify.

“Being a part of Spotify’s EQUAL Music Programme is a reminder that I do not need to apologise for being a powerful woman. I had a dream and realised that old ways don’t open new doors. So, I decided to make every moment count to ensure that I become everything I wanted,” says DBN Gogo.

The House of Representatives has said that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that failed to implement their 2021 budget because they were not given 100 per cent allocation may not be accommodated in the 2022 appropriation.

Briefing reporters, spokesperson of the House, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, described such attitude from the MDAs as sabotaging the efforts of the government.

As the House breaks into committees to scrutinise the budget proposal and assess the performance of MDAs from next week, Kalu said defaulters would be sent back.

He assured that the lawmakers would do a thorough job on the budget for the benefit of Nigerians.

He said: “It is one thing to move the budget early enough. It is another thing to return the budget to the January to December calendar. It is another thing to sabotage the government by saying you have not received 100 per cent and so there would be no implementation.

“There is nowhere the appropriation committee stated that you must receive 100 per cent funding before you start implementing the budget.

“We actually frown at the agencies or ministries who say they have only received 75 per cent or 60 per cent and are waiting for more to come before implementation. Why don’t you start with that 50 per cent that you have received and when the other ones come, you mobilise, especially on capital projects?

“To wait till the dying minutes and then start giving somebody 100 per cent for him to be able to perform on that before coming for presentation is a very wrong strategy, and this is one thing that we want the MDAs to change and that is what we are going to be looking out for in the budget implementation defence when they appear before us.

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“Yes, most of them would be sent back. MDAs that took the money of the government and kept it in the bank and refused to use it and came to tell us that it was not complete, they would be sent back. And some of them may not get appropriation in this new budget because you have to justify what you took before. What is the essence of asking to give you more?

“Another thing we are going to be looking out for in this budget is those various resolutions that we reached as a parliament, which were supposed to be handled by the various MDAs for them to capture it in their budget. If you ignored the resolutions of the parliament and you drafted your own budget without reference to what the representatives of the Nigerian people have asked you to please consider while preparing your budget, you have acted on the frolick of your own.

“It is an exercise in futility because we are going to pick it up and we are going to match it against the legislative compliance committee’s report, who would find out whether the MDAS are complying with legislative resolutions. It is no longer an all comers affair.

“If we move for resolution for example and say while they are considering projects that had to do with ecology in this particular area, considered one, two, three, four projects, and then you ignore them and then out of the blues introduce something that is strange to us, be sure that we are going to question you on that and you will justify it or we take it out.

“I want to guarantee Nigerians that the budget would not be as it came to the National Assembly. It is either it goes up or it goes down. But it would not be garbage in, garbage out. A lot of work is going to be done, and as you know, the House has adjourned to the 9th of November to enable us consider at the committee level this budget, so that by the time we come back, we would be looking at the work done so far. And if there is need to go back again, we would go back. So from now till the 9th of November we will be meeting you mostly at the committee level.”

 

Leaders, elders and prominent stakeholders from the Southsouth geopolitical zone have clashed over their Governors’ demand for 50 per cent upward review in derivation.

Most of the stakeholders argued that the Governors’ demand was unjustifiable as most of them had failed to judiciously utilise the existing 13 per cent derivation.

Others said increase in derivation was long overdue following the provisions of the Constitution.

The South-South Elders Forum (SEF) said oil and gas bearing and impacted communities in the Niger Delta region would oppose any increase in derivation unless the governors of the region rendered an account of the 13% derivation.

The National Coordinator of the forum, His Highness, Anabs Sarah-Igbe lamented that the governors had been collecting 13 per cent without considering or developing the oil and gas bearing and impacted communities.

He said: “Most of the oil and gas bearing and impacted communities are still in squalor without drinkable water, hospitals, electricity, jetties, roads, schools, employment, scholarship, embankment and reclamation amongst others.

“So, why are the governors asking for more allocation on behalf of the oil and gas bearing and impacted communities without anything to show for the 13% derivation they have been collecting”.

A civil rights activist and Coordinator, Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged (CENTREP), Oghenejabor Ikimi, lambasted the governors for making such a demand.

He said the governors ought to be demanding true fiscal federalism rather than increase in derivation fund, stressing that the dominant mood in the region was in favour of fiscal federalism.

He said: “The Southsouth governors are bereft of ideas. They do not know what they are doing. The mood in the region is one of fiscal federalism and here you leaders of the region demanding for increment of the derivation fund.

“We want every state in the federation to control their resources and not the current situation where States troop to Abuja to collect handouts. The call for an increment is not justified”.

The National President, Host communities for Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) High Chief Styles Benjamin Tamarakeni blasted the governors for making such demand.

Tamarakeni stressed that it was disingenuous for the governors to have ignored calls by stakeholders for the release of 50 out of the 13 per cent derivation fund to the communities.

He lamented that the 13 per cent derivation fund meant for oil communities had been hijacked by governors of the region, stressing that it was not fair for Southsouth governors to ask for increase.

While supporting the governors in their demand for an increase in oil derivation, the Ibibio Youth Council (IYC), however, insisted the governors had not judiciously utilized the 13 per cent to warrant them asking for an increase.

Chairman Ibibio Youth Council, Chief Imoh Okoko, maintained that the problem was not with the increment but with the utilization of oil revenues by the governors saying it was evident the governors had mismanaged the 13 per cent.

He said: “I support their call for 50 per cent oil derivation because the region produces the golden egg Nigeria feeds on.

“My worry is that even if the 50 percent is achieved we may not see any positive impact because they haven’t acquitted themselves with the current 13 percent.

“For crying out loud there are states in this country which do not get the 13 percent oil revenue yet are doing much better than the oil producing states.

“There is so much poverty amongst the people and this is troubling considering the resources at the disposal of our governors”.

Former Deputy Speaker Cross River State House of Assembly, Chief Orok Otu Duke said the governors’ demand was saying they should focus on granting real autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary.

He said with the autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary, the governors would be compelled to account for the huge sums so far released to them by the federal government.

On his part, Prof. Eyo Etim Nyong, wondered why the governors had been implementing the 13% derivation questioning the impact of the existing derivation.

Nyong said: “The management of the 13 per cent so far does not encourage us to ask for more because it will still not make any impact. The way the 13 per cent is managed and implemented, is not seen; even the host communities are not away.”

“My second point is this, I have heard of their decision also that sometime unique should be done for Cross River State over the loss of Bakassi oil-rich peninsula without the consent of the people; That itself should be properly defined. What is the content of the unique provision? Those of us from Cross River need to know if we are to key into the idea.

“The third issue is how did they arrive at 50 per cent? We are still part of the Federation and if we take 50 per cent from the main source of income of the country, how will the country handle the issues of insecurity and all other issues on the table?

“We should rather be looking at achieving true federalism where power devolution to the state and local government and autonomy of the judiciary and the legislature.”

A former National Vice-Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Southsouth zone, Ntufam Hilliard Eta on his part said he did not believe that the Federal Government should be in charge of the natural resources.

A former governorship aspirant and chieftain of the APC in Cross River State, Mr. James Ebri, said his state would not benefit from any increase.

He said: “Cross River as a Southsouth state derives nothing from any increase or decrease. Our state is the only state in the South South that does not benefit from derivation even with the ecological problems it suffers. I will not cry louder than the bereaved.”

But the Ijaw National Council (INC), the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and the Urhobo Progressives Union (UPU) defended the governors saying percentage increase in revenue was long overdue.

President, INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, said that the demand by the governors was justifiable going by principles of federalism upon which the nation was founded at Independence and as a Republic.

Okaba stated: “The fact of prudent management of the 13 per cent derivation doesn’t arise. Instead, we (people of the geopolitical zone) must put in place the relevant internal and external check mechanism to ensure the proper use of the present and the demanded 50 per cent. Fifty per cent is line with our call for resource control and must not be taken for granted.”

PANDEF’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Robinson, stated that prior to Nigeria’s independence and before oil became the major economic revenue for Nigeria, derivation was 50 percent.

“PANDEF’s position is that the demand is germane. That is what the people of the Niger Delta want. Derivation used to be 50 per cent or even more, before independence and immediately after independence, until oil became the main stay of the nation’s economy and then the conspiracy against the Niger Delta.

“Why the disparity now? It should go back to 50 percent. We want derivation to go back to what it used to be. That is what we have been saying, that is what the governor’s area saying. There is nothing wrong with it”.

Concerning how the governors had managed 13 per cent, the PANDEF Spokesman queried the Federal Government’s use of the 87 per cent.

He said: “How has the federal government first of all, managed the 87 percent? Are we satisfied with how the governors have done? Generally, ‘no’. They can do better.

“We have asked that constitutional structures and institutions should be in place to encourage good governance and of course reduce the powers the president and the governors. That is a different matter all together. Because it is not peculiar to the Niger Delta or the Southsouth governors. It is about Nigeria. How has Nigeria managed 87 percent of our resources?”

The Itsekiri Liberation Group (ILG) alsk backed the 50 percent derivation fund demand of the governors.

According to the ILG Coordinator, Oris Mone, the law provides that there should be an increase in the percentage after about seven years.

Asked if the 13 per cent derivation fund had been well utilized, he said federal government had been silent on the actual amount made available to the states.

The Urhobo apex social cultural group, Urhobo Progressive Union, (UPU) declared its support for the call.

The group’s President-General, Olorogun Moses Taiga, who spoke through its National Publicity Secretary, Abel Oshevire said the law stipulated a gradual upward review of the derivation fund, stressing that for over 20 years no such review had been done.

He said: “We are in alignment with the Southsouth governors on this. The UPU agrees in totality with them. We recollect that there was supposed to be gradual increase in the derivation allocation. Having been in operation for over twenty years, there should be an upward review by now.

“This is unfair to the region given the developmental challenges in the region. It is most wicked, callous on the part of the federal government to continue to ignore the call of the people for an increment of the derivation fund. We wholeheartedly support the demand by the South/ South governors. They are in order and they represent our views.”

By Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor (Arts)

Tanzanian writer and novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah has won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature.

He was announced the winner by Swedish Academy on Thursday “for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents,” according to the Academy.

Gurnah, 73, has made history in many ways with this award. He is the first Black winner of the award since Toni Morrison in 1993, the second Black African person after Wole Soyinka and the first East and Southern African.

He said he was surprised and humbled to be awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature noting that “it’s just great – it’s just a big prize, and such a huge list of wonderful writers – I am still taking it in. It was such a complete surprise that I really had to wait until I heard it announced before I could believe it.”

The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10million Swedish kronor ($1.14m).

The award ceremony will hold on December 10 in Stockholm in a televised format because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ ALSO: ‘I believe in literary philosophy of liberation’

Gurnah, who writes in English and based in the United Kingdom, recently retired as a professor of post-colonial literature at the University of Kent.

The most famous of his novels are Paradise (1994), which was shortlisted for both the Booker and the Whitbread Prize, Desertion (2005) and By the Sea (2001), which was long listed for the Booker and shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Award.

His other titles are Memory of Departure (1987), Pilgrims Way (1988), Dottie (1990), Admiring Silence (1996), The Last Gift (2011), Gravel Heart (2017), and Afterlives (2020) which made the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2021 shortlist.

He also wrote the short story collection My Mother Lived on a Farm in Africa (2006). He was a Man Booker Prize judge in 2016

It is not uncommon to find students who are into various businesses on campus. Some combine schooling with business not because they are passionate about such, but due to  a lack  of sponsors and the dire economic situation of  the country. In this report,  AYO ADESHINA (UNILORIN) OMOJOWO AJOSANMI (AAUA),  and GLORY THOMAS (OGITECH) examine the world of student-entrepreneurs.

With the economy in a precarious situation, even before the Coronavirus pandemic,students had been admonished to channel and utilise  their entrepreneurial skills. This would save them the stress and trouble of seeking employment after graduating. The sad reality today is that the labour market is saturated and unemployment level has shot high.

Nevertheless, several tertiary institutions introduced entrepreneurial studies to ensure students are taught the nitty gritty of business while also encouraging practical application of what is being learnt.

Early this year at the the 27th Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Clinics in Gombe State, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN noted that a major strength of the  economy lies in the innovation and entrepreneurship of its young people, which is a key reason the Buhari administration is focused on supporting small businesses and the innovative ideas of young Nigerians.

Students who have resorted to doing business  on campus either due to passion or as a matter of necessity and survival said juggling academics with business is challenging and cumbersome. They struggle to get good grades and make money to sponsor themselves amid other challenges.

Posame Elizabeth Oluwatosin, a  Mass Communication student of Ogun State Institute of Technology (OGITECH), Igbesa, said:”Business and academics  are two important aspects  that need attention. What a student wants to achieve determines full attention.Required  attention  is expected to make success in business or studies. It is essential to give maximum attention to studies on one hand,then business on the other to get money.

“Combining both could be quite challenging. For me, attending social and academic programmes was difficult. I work in a cafe, and at times it is difficult to  meet up with tests and assignments. Again, I miss tests and do not have enough time to prepare for examinations because of my business,” she said.

For Seyi Agboola, a Public Administration student of Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), determination, dedication and consistency are key to be successful in business and studies.

His words: “Although it hasn’t been easy managing the two, I have been able to record successes on both. This is as a result of my love for rendering services to people and also not forgetting the main reason I am on campus (Academics).

“ Both  have their challenges. However, determination,consistency, and commitment have over time, helped me to record successes in both.”

Mulikat Oluwatoyin, a 300-Level  Political Science student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) Ondo State, has learnt to balance business and academics. She said she reads at night while she pays attention to her business during the day.

“Combining academics and business hasn’t been easy. There are  challenges, how to get good grades and also becoming the best in one’s field. I have been able to balance both.

“Having discovered that I do not  assimilate easily, I start reading immediately school resumes. I do not wait till we start receiving lectures before getting materials to read. I do that  often at night while using the day to attend  to my business,” she said.

Umeh Christianah Chisom, a 300-Level

Public Administration student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), said: “It  hasn’t been easy.  Before I started the business, I asked myself if I  will be able to balance business and academics.

“I  thought about it thoroughly. I didn’t want to regress in my studies. I have passion for business and love to be an independent lady and the main reason I was sent to school by my parents was to acquire knowledge which makes academics my first priority.

“When I started the business,  it was going smoothly even though it was   stressful going for lectures and coming back to shop to work. I faced some minor challenges whereby a customer would  call or  send a message on WhatsApp that he/she needed a frame to be done within the next two hours. Sometimes it would clash with my lecture time but would still collect the work, do it as fast as I could, deliver it and then go to class late.

“ I don’t like missing lectures and also don’t go to class late,  but ever  since I started the business, I only missed lecture once because a customer gave me work to do, it clashed with my lecture time and I couldn’t meet up so I had to miss class that  day.

“During examination, I inform my customers that  if they have any work for me,  they should let me know in advance. So far,my  business has not really affected my studies. I’m coping fine and doing well in both.”

Victoria Chinecherem  Igwe, a 200-Level Educational Management student of University of Lagos (UNILAG), who is a  designer, is grappling with financial challenges and the pressure that comes with schooling.

Her words:” It’s not an easy task as I can’t really do my fashion designing in the hostel. I cope by focusing more on my academics and take few business orders from people when I’m a bit free. During holidays, I engage more in my business.

“It is not easy to effectively combine studies with my ‘time-consuming’ trade. I also have  financial challenges to contend with.”

Adeyemi Tiwalade, a 300-Level Political Science student of AAUA said: ”The  only challenge I see is stress. Combining academics with business is stressful, especially when they are online works where one will have to visit the school ICT centre to fix. But, I have learnt not to  overstress myself.  I work with time, my works are done as quick as possible to meet the needs of my clients. Should any work clash with my academics, I do inform the client to wait till another day while I get the service rendered to the person.

‘’In all, I learn in academics and my business. Passion matters in everything. So, I have passion in my academics and the business I do.  I do not give in to  challenges. They help me to build up my learning process.”

Olubayo Alice Olutayo, a 200-Level English Language and Education student of University of Ilorin said:  “I am into fabrics.I sell both male and female fabrics.

It’s stressful atimes when you have customers asking for fabrics and needs immediate delivery and having  a class to attend. I often plead with them for time to get their order ready for delivery.

“It can be stressful to be honest because there are some extra curricular activities in school that would beg for your attention. I still find time to go to library, attend classes, do test. It doesn’t stop me.

‘’God has been my helper in this journey, realising my strength and weakness is a major factor of how I have been able to manage well.

‘’I study at night, so I  am able do my business during the day, run deliveries, get orders ready. And I have the whole night to rest and study.I also make use of riders to help dispatch orders so it helps and gives me room to attend class and concentrate on other things.”

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Adetimehin Cynthia Adeola, a 300-Level Business Administration student of AAUA, said: “To me, academics and business in school are interwoven. Academics is like doing business; you transact via learning and you pay to school management, the same is  applicable when  doing business; you transact by rendering  services and getting money in return. Through academics, I learn, I also learn through business.

“To every AAUAITES; studying in AAUA comes with its challenges, just like other institutions. But, AAUA comes  with lots of stress which an average AAUAITE can testify to.  Looking at all these challenges, a serious student will have to face his academics squarely.

“Juxtaposing my business with academics alongside the challenges involved; I won’t say I find it difficult to do business with my academics. First, my parents didn’t send me to do business; I am sent to school to learn. So, my academics comes first in all.

“Also, I can’t really say there are challenges in my academics and business. The business I do is to render services to people . Most of the services I render are 90 per cent  online, while  10 per cent  is done via physical contact. Rendering services online is just like chatting with my friends during my leisure time which doesn’t stop my academics.

“As a student and a politician on campus, I must learn to balance all I do alongside my education without one affecting the other. So, I chose to render educational services like getting educational materials for students, doing bio-data registration, course registration, assignment and research works. Looking at all these listed works, they are all in one. By helping people with their educational materials for study and assignment work, all these help me in increasing my knowledge in research projects and aid my learning process.

“Before I give anyone a material to read or give someone his/her assignment, I will have to read through to make sure I know all the contents before giving the work to such person. By so doing, I’m doing business and learning,” he said.

She continued: “As for the bio-data registration and other online works, all these equip me with the skills to solving challenges. As a matter of fact, I have passion to help people in need. I have come to realise AAUA comes with lot of challenges on students, I believe school management can’t solve all these, so I find pleasure in rendering assistance to those students in need.

“Looking at all these, while it’s true that they come with stress and challenges, my academics is my priority.My  department- Political Science comes with loads of work for students.

“In coping with the challenges, I work with time in whatever I do. I know the time to read, time to work and time to play. As a matter of fact, I play a lot and also read a lot.”

Ojajuni Dorcas Oluwadamilare, another student of OGITECH, said despite the challenges she faces, she is trying to juggle both effectively.

“Coping with business and school is not easy at all but I always try my  best to balance them well. At times, I do not meet up with morning lectures.

“When it is time for exam or test, I stop my business so that I can read my books,” she said.

Abigail Bassey, a 200-Level student at UNILORIN,  said: ‘’Schooling and working come with stress and challenges.

“For those who are full time students, trying to balance work and academic activities is a huge problem.

“ I  work after the close of school at a super market and at the same time try to do makeup for clients. I am usually tired  when I get  home everyday and reading becomes a huge problem. So,  it is not really easy to be a student and at the same time be an entrepreneur. When trying to balance the two,  one  has to be very careful because if you do one thing the wrong way it will definitely  affect the other.

“You have to set time for yourself and do things at the right time. I work and at the same time, have to set time for reading. At the end of the day, I won’t fail in one while excelling in the other.”

By Deborah Olaoye

With a conscious and deliberate effort about what you eat, drink, see and think, you can decide on how you would look like in 20 years.

Nonchalant attitude towards what we consume poses great risks to our health.

It is quite crucial to sensitise people on what to eat, most importantly, where to get and eat it.

Nowadays, anybody can now stay in one corner of his  house, mix some things together or cook some things together and sell. Sadly, people will buy even when the seller looks filthy. This is not because of poverty but ignorance. Most people do not even know the effect of what they eat. Food is not only to stem hunger but to nourish the body. A large portion of what we eat is processed, stored and used by the body, just few are excreted.

It is shocking when  people prioritise quantity over quality.

Food should be selected with caution because it is crucial to overall health. It also determines how you will look like in 10, 20, and 40 years time. Bad food does not only affect the skin, it affects all areas of the body including the  brain. Most diseases and infections come from  what is consumed. Therefore, we should be careful on what we eat.

When we settle to eat or drink what should we look out for? Watch the environment where it is being prepared whether it is hygienically recommendable. The seller, equipment used and the appearance of the food should be noted. The assessment of food shouldn’t just be the duty of the government, individually we can contribute our own quota to the wellbeing of ourselves and the society at large, indirectly saving ourselves thousands of money in the hospital.

Here are a list of four simple steps to take both as a buyer and seller.

Firstly is cleanliness. Wash your hands, utensils and surface before, during and after cooking.

A lot of illnesses can be prevented by   maintaining cleanliness. Also, another step is the observance of  right temperature in cooking food. Food is safe when the internal temperature is enough to kill germs that can cause poisoning, infections, diseases or sicknesses. It is advisable to cook to the right temperature and degree. As a buyer, the temperature at which you eat certain food should be considered. Third, the environment where cooking takes place should be clean. Environment devoid of flying and crawling insects, dust particles, decaying or rotten items.

Lastly, it is important to use of safe clean water, fresh groceries and veggies to cook.

It is worthy of note that no matter how many times the issue of hygiene is being discussed, some people will still not listen. There are bodies like NAFDAC set up by the government to check the atrocities committed by food vendors, yet people still consume  contaminated foods.

For a better and healthier society, an attitude of  conscious consumption of good food  is important. By guarding what we eat, we save ourselves from a lot of illnesses, thereby elongating our life span. On the opposite, if care is not taken, people may not like how they would look like in 20 years as a result of bad food.

 

• Olaoye is a student of Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE).

By Precious Adeshina

Nigeria has gone through a lot of difficulties even after independence.

Talk of  political unrest and economic instability. So, since it was obvious then that the solution of  having a better Nigeria wasn’t forthcoming from our leaders, the citizens hoped for a better result from youths or the future leaders as we may call it.

So,  now we have  dreams and aspirations for a better Nigeria, yet no one wants to start the process. The words of  Mother Teresa are relevant here. She said:  “Do not wait for the leaders; do it alone, person to person.”

The importance of every youth in the society can’t be undermined. They can simply be said to be the future of the nation. That’s why in Nigeria it’s  disheartening  to see some  youths as thugs and hooligans,  although not all, we have youths who  engage in lucrative legal businesses and use their skills productively.

As a youth, there are a lot of ways to be  part of the emergence of a new Nigeria, there is no small role; it doesn’t necessarily mean all youths have to join a particular political party and be voted for. There are other roles apart from being in a political party or having an official position.

Empowering youths is quite important and as such we have youth empowerment programmes organised by  government and some private organisations.  They include:  Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (Youwin), Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, Youth Empowering People (YEP), (AYEN) African Youth Empowerment Nigeria,  TraderMoni and the popular N power. In these programmes, there is room for  skill acquisition, improving entrepreneurship skills and so on.

Youths can also come together and form a political party, while they vote for the  best candidate. To free from corruption, they should also be admonished and encouraged to stop any form of electoral malpractice,  as sometimes they are used to steal ballot papers and rig elections. They should be enlightened that rigging the elections is not in their best interest at all,  as the outcome poses grave danger to them and unborn children.

Youths should also encourage each other to stop receiving and giving bribes.

Due to the situation of  financial insecurity in the country, some youths resort to using illegal and wicked means to earn money and feel financially comfortable,  even at the detriment of another person’s life.

A study revealed that a lot of challenges are being faced by youths,thus they resort to various criminal activities, drug abuse,  prostitution and violence of one kind or the other. This is very true but even at that youths should realise that there are other ways of making money apart from rituals and  selling of body parts.

All online businesses should be put  under serious scrutiny and illegal online businesses should also be shunned as it is the sole contributor to  scam. Rape and other sexual crimes should be discouraged among the youths. The females are also included in the fight for the emergence of a new Nigeria, apart from  doing the above, they have to participate and not leave it all to the males.  In schools, especially at the tertiary level,  the admission  to the graduation process should be  adequately monitored and devoid of shortcuts.

All youths have to rise up and come together  for the future to indeed become bright.They have a lot of roles to play because after all, they  will  contribute  to future leadership.  If all youths commit themselves to this  cause, it will be worth all the risk for  the emergence of a new Nigeria.