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Tag: Teen

  • Foundation calls on FG to invest in ICT for teens

    Foundation calls on FG to invest in ICT for teens

    The Director General of Teen Ambassador Foundation (TAF) Dr Paul Adiwu has urged the Federal Government to invest more in teenagers in the area of Information Communication Technology (ICT).

    Adiwu made the call at the closing ceremony of a Summer Programme organised by the Foundation in collaboration with the Net Access Communication Ltd in Abuja.

    The summer which began on July 24 and ended September 2 was targeted at training teenagers and youths on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics education.

    Adiwu said the centre was not a training institute but his passion to develop the potential of the children motivated him to carry out the exercise which was done free of charge.

    He said his passion was to expose the children to science, technology engineering, mathematics and robotics by employing experts to engage them.

    Read Also: Simon Ekpa gives FG ultimatum on Kanu, declares curfew

    Several teenagers and youths were trained in robotics and were presented with certificates, while some of them demonstrated what they have learnt in robotics.

    Also speaking at the event, Babatunde Bamigboye, Head, Legal Enforcement and Regulation,The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) also warned Nigerians especially teenagers against sharing personal information on the internet.

    Bamigboye who represented, the Director General of the commission, Dr Vincent Olatunji said Nigerians should be wary of putting all their data on the internet.

    He said, “At the commission, we protect data, and most of what you will need to develop apps depends on data.

    “You must protect your information when you go online. It is important that this form part of our curriculum as teacher of children because they are now exposed to what adults are exposed to.”

    Bamigboye said he was hopeful that from the kids who attended the summer organised by Teen Ambassador, the country would have renowned innovators among them.

    He commended TAF for organising such a programme to keep the children busy during the holiday,.

    Rep. Avia Agah, member, representing Jos North, Bassa Federal Constituency of Plateau State commended the Director General of TAF Dr Paul Adiwu, adding that the gesture was laudable.

    He said, “I am overwhelmed and happy, you have chosen humanity at a time when the country is grappling with so many challenges, you have chosen to keep our children in this endeavour. “

    Mr Victor Taiba, Chief Executive Officer, Net Access Communication Ltd., who trained the teenagers said the training would provide a solid foundation for the children.

  • Teen sexting on the rise, study finds

    Teen sexting on the rise, study finds

    A Sexting, using digital technology to send sexualised text, images or videos, has increased  among youth under 18, according to a report published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

    An analysis of 39 studies with over 110,000 participants conducted between January 1990 and June 2016 showed that one in four young people said they’d received sexts, which included sexually explicit images, videos, or messages, and one in seven reported sending them.

    “The prevalence of forwarding a sext without consent and having a sext forwarded without consent were 12.0 and 8.4 per cent respectively,” the researchers added.

    Researchers also mentioned that the prevalence increased with age and greater accessibility to electronic devices, such as smartphones.

    According to CNN, co-author of the study Jeff Temple said the phenomenon was “not terribly surprising” considering teens’ interest in sexuality grows as they grow older.

    Of the 39 researches, 22 were from the United States, 12 from Europe and the rest from Australia, Canada, South Africa and South Korea.

    On average, 47.2 per cent of the participants were male.

    The analysis said there was no significant gender difference in the rate of sending or receiving sexts.

    Some experts said the digital and physical safety of youth should be taken more seriously.

    The study called for further research on nonconsensual sexting so as to target and inform intervention, as well as to improve sex education and policy efforts

  • Three teen heroes get scholarship awards

    Three teen heroes get scholarship awards

    One would have expected them to look perplexed; considering that they are still teens. But they looked unruffled even as huge crowd gathered to witness the event at which they were “crowned” heroes.

    Even though they had inkling about the day’s event, as teenagers, it was expected that they would feel a bit shy. They didn’t. That indicates that they were made to be future heroes.

    Three of them: Babatimileyin Daomi 15; Salisu Ibrahim 14 and Favour Uwene 11 emerged winners at this year’s Indomie Independence Day Award.

    They were rewarded at an award ceremony which held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.  Babatimileyin, a Senior Secondary School 3 (SSS3) student of Dobar College, Ikorodu Lagos State, won the Intellectual Bravery Award for inventing a vacuum cleaner, USB charger, USB fan, a collapsible bridge (a model of the 4th Mainland Bridge), a hydrogen separator which could also be used to make bombs and a water-level indicator-the specific invention for which he won the award.

    But surprisingly, Timileyin (as he is fondly called), is much inclined to art subjects as his favourites. His most favourite subject is English Language. He, however, hopes to be an engineer in the future and to do more with his winning.

    According to Timileyin, his challenges were basically funding as he had to create his models from scrap.

    “I feel happy and hope to be able to do more with this money,” he said.

    Favour Archibong Uwene, a Junior Secondary School 3 (JSS 3) pupil of Government Secondary School, Akwa Ibom State, won the Physical Bravery Award for raising the alarm which led to the rescue of one of three sisters who are her friends.

    During one of the holiday periods, she went to their house and no one was there. She, at first, thought they were hiding from her but as she was about to leave, she heard muffled sounds. She peeped through the window and saw two dead bodies, with the killer getting ready to kill the third girl.

    Favour immediately ran to call her mother who then alerted their neighbours and they all rushed to the girls’ house. The killer was apprehended and handed over to the police.

    According to Favour, she was not afraid to raise the alarm because all she wanted was for her friends to be saved.

    Favour hopes to be a teacher in future.

    Salisu Ibrahim’s story sounds a bit pathetic. He won the Social Bravery Award for his determination to live beyond his disability.

    Salisu was born blind but he chose not to beg. He is learning to be a cobbler and from the proceeds of his sales, he sponsors himself in school–Special Education Centre, Bauchi.

    Each award category attracts N1 million in scholarships but with Salisu’s story, the audience was moved to do more.

    Ace comedian, Ali Baba, gave him an additional N500, 000; Executive Director of Zenith Bank, Mr. Ebenezer donated N500, 000; Managing Director of Transatlantic Shipping Agency, Dr. Uche Ohafia donated N250, 000; Managing Director of Micro-Media donated N100, 000 while Managing Director of First Registrars, Bayo Olugbemi donated N250, 000 each to Salisu and Babatimileyin.

    Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora also promised to add a token to Salisu’s prize while a former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chief Joseph Sanusi also promised to add a token to Favour’s win. An anonymous donor also gave N100, 000 to each of the three heroes.

    The Indomie Independence Day Award is an initiative of Dufil Prima Foods, makers of Indomie noodles and other household brands, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR).

    The Group Managing Director, Mr. Deepak Singhal said the Indomie Independence Day Awards (IIDA) was established in 2007 to recognise and reward heroism in children, adding that 24 winners had emerged in the last eight editions.

    He reiterated that the award, in its ninth year, seeks to recognise heroic deeds in children between the ages of five and 15. This year’s award was divided into three categories, namely intellectual bravery, social bravery and physical bravery.

    Singhal noted that selecting the winners was taxing for the judges as so many inspiring heroic stories were received.

    Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, who was represented by Mr. Odeyemi, praised Dufil for the gesture.

    She urged parents and guardians to be more committed to the proper upbringing of their children, even as she reiterated government’s determination to continue to fight violence against children.

    Keynote speaker and Managing Director of The Educational Partnership Centre (EPC), Dr. Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, who spoke on The Nigerian Child: Our Biggest but yet Untapped Resource, noted that the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had indicated that children under 15 years account for about 45 per cent of Nigeria’s population.

    She noted that “the Nigerian child has the capacity and ability to contribute significantly to the development of the country. Stakeholders have a responsibility to cultivate these abilities by increasing access to affordable, high quality education for every child. A child’s socio-economic background and geographical location should not be a barrier to receiving quality education,” she said.

    She said an estimated 10.5 million children are out of school, accounting for one-fifth of the global population of out-of-school children.

    Adefeso-Olateju said: “I am pleased that Dufil has taken this bold step with the IIDA initiative which provides millions of Naira worth of scholarships to deserving children. This contributes to the development of the Nigerian child and relieving the pressure off the parents.

    “I cannot over-emphasise the need to do right by the Nigerian children as they, without any doubt, are the leaders of tomorrow.  We need to get things right with them and only then can they become assets to the country. We need to create an environment where they can develop their natural talents; they must be given a chance to contribute to their societies and, thus, to economic development and the growth of the country.

    “Economic growth is necessary for development. However, this growth is very reliant on the cognitive skills of the population. This is why children, as human capital, are fundamental to the success of our nation.”

    The panel of judges, chaired by Executive Director of Corona Schools, Olufunto Igun, urged the people to  support the Nigerian child as, according to her, there were many more of Salisus out there who should be supported.

    Dignitaries that attended the event were wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, who was represented by Mrs. Ronke Solomon, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, former CBN Governor Chief Joseph Sanusi and wife, movie producer Tunji Bamishigbin and Sound Sultan, among others.

    The award ceremony was co-sponsored by Daar Communications Plc and Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.

  • ANA mentors teen authors

    The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) wishes to announce The First ANA National Teen Authorship Conference holding at Logos International Secondary Schools Awommama, Owerri Imo State, from September 27-29, 2016.

    With the theme: Mentoring Teen Authors for National Development, the conference will feature talks and a number of literary presentations devoted to encouraging literary creativity, reading and writing among young persons and teenagers in our schools.

    According to ANA President, Denja Abdullahi, the occasion will also feature the launch of A BOOK-A CHILD-A WEEK Nationwide project of the Association, which is aimed at encouraging every child in secondary school to read at least one literature book a week outside the school syllabus. The event will also feature a one day, TRAINING THE MENTORS, seminar designed to train prospective mentors for the ANA teen authorship project.

    Keynote Speaker: Prof Sam Ukala, Professor of Theatre and Drama, Delta State University Abraka, Nigeria; winner Nigerian Prize for Literature, 2014

  • Teen shines at international summit

    Teen shines at international summit

    The EF Academy, Torbay Campus, United Kingdom, an institution that offers International Baccalaureate (IB), IGCSE, A-Levels preparation programmes, is proud of Oluwatosin Onaolapo’s performance at the Global Student Leaders’ Summit held at The Hague in the Netherlands in June.

    The 16-year-old was one of the 23 students that represented the academy at the summit.

    Tosin, an IB student, serving as an intern for the summit, was praised for how she handled her role at the summit, which was to  to give a speech introducing Ndaba Mandela (grandson of Nelson Mandela).

    She was chosen out of 1,500 international high school students for this role at the three-day leadership conference focused on human rights issues.

    Other keynote speakers were Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, an alumna of the African Leadership Academy (ALA), South Africa.

    Oluwatosin said she learnt a lot from the summit.

    “The summit gives us the confidence to raise our voice higher and add our thoughts, our ideas to global issues. My entire internship experience was centered on learning from everyone around me and being bigger than some of the limitations that are typically associated with youth or race. It was all truly amazing,” she said.

    Students at the summit attended human rights and leadership workshops and participated in innovation sessions.

    The innovation sessions gave small groups of students opportunity to work together to solve a current human rights issue, using the ‘design thinking methodology’.

    They chose from four case studies of individuals who overcame situations where their human rights were diminished or disregarded, which were featured on the “Humans of New York” blog.

    Tosin’s group worked on finding a solution for women like Bhavani, an Indian now living in the U.S. after her husband died 15 years ago. She, and other women like her, have had to move past the gender roles that restrict them.

    “As a group, we realised that Bhavani needed support from other women who had been in, and risen above similar circumstances. One group member suggested we send letters of encouragement from such women to Bhavani. We then decided to fold those letters into origami cranes and have them mailed to her personally,” she said.

    From her experience at the summit, Oluwatosin believes young students should be given similar opportunities which challenge youths to seek solutions to problems.

    “Some of the other interns and I are thinking of creating an international non-profit organization where we can use what we’ve learned about leadership and storytelling to teach others to take leadership positions in the student council and become better ambassadors for EF Academy and for our countries. Being part of the conference allowed me to get a glimpse of where I stand in the global community,” she said.

    Oluwatosin, who lives in Port Harcourt and likes chemistry and economics, hopes to land a career that will allow her to combine her love for both the natural and social sciences.

  • Teen shines at international summit

    Teen shines at international summit

    The EF Academy, Torbay Campus, United Kingdom, an institution that offers International Baccalaureate (IB), IGCSE, A-Levels preparation programmes, is proud of Oluwatosin Onaolapo’s performance at the Global Student Leaders’ Summit held at The Hague in the Netherlands in June.

    The 16-year-old was one of the 23 students that represented the academy at the summit.

    Tosin, an IB student, serving as an intern for the summit, was praised for how she handled her role at the summit, which was to  to give a speech introducing Ndaba Mandela (grandson of Nelson Mandela).

    She was chosen out of 1,500 international high school students for this role at the three-day leadership conference focused on human rights issues.

    Other keynote speakers were Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, an alumna of the African Leadership Academy (ALA), South Africa.

    Oluwatosin said she learnt a lot from the summit.

    “The summit gives us the confidence to raise our voice higher and add our thoughts, our ideas to global issues. My entire internship experience was centered on learning from everyone around me and being bigger than some of the limitations that are typically associated with youth or race. It was all truly amazing,” she said.

    Students at the summit attended human rights and leadership workshops and participated in innovation sessions.

    The innovation sessions gave small groups of students opportunity to work together to solve a current human rights issue, using the ‘design thinking methodology’.

    They chose from four case studies of individuals who overcame situations where their human rights were diminished or disregarded, which were featured on the “Humans of New York” blog.

    Tosin’s group worked on finding a solution for women like Bhavani, an Indian now living in the U.S. after her husband died 15 years ago. She, and other women like her, have had to move past the gender roles that restrict them.

    “As a group, we realised that Bhavani needed support from other women who had been in, and risen above similar circumstances. One group member suggested we send letters of encouragement from such women to Bhavani. We then decided to fold those letters into origami cranes and have them mailed to her personally,” she said.

    From her experience at the summit, Oluwatosin believes young students should be given similar opportunities which challenge youths to seek solutions to problems.

    “Some of the other interns and I are thinking of creating an international non-profit organization where we can use what we’ve learned about leadership and storytelling to teach others to take leadership positions in the student council and become better ambassadors for EF Academy and for our countries. Being part of the conference allowed me to get a glimpse of where I stand in the global community,” she said.

    Oluwatosin, who lives in Port Harcourt and likes chemistry and economics, hopes to land a career that will allow her to combine her love for both the natural and social sciences.

  • Autistic teen shows special children can shine too

    Autistic teen shows special children can shine too

    Chidubem Emuwa was one of the athletes who brought back 71 medals (36 Gold, 26 Silver and 9 Bronze) from the World Special Olympics Games held in United States.  The teenager, a pupil of Greensprings School, Lekki, Lagos won a gold medal in Cycling, a first for Nigeria.  His mother, Angela, urges parents and schools to give opportunities to special needs children, reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

    MRS Angela Emuwa is as proud of Chidubem, her autistic son, as she is of his older siblings who do not battle any intellectual challenges.

    Today, she is glad she invested resources, time, and love in the teenager despite his challenges.  This is because he has moved from an 18-month-old who could not achieve the milestones for his age to an award winning athlete who now has two gold medals to his credit.

    He won the latest medal in cycling during the 2015 World Special Olympics Games held in United States held recently.  It was the first time Nigeria was participating in the cycling event.  In 2011, Chidubem also won a gold medal in the basketball event of the competition held in Athens, Greece.

    Mrs Emuwa attributes her son’s success in sports to the opportunities he got to learn despite his disability.

    “Sports has helped him discover new abilities in himself. I’ve always believed that children should be exposed to as many opportunities as possible in order to discover their strengths and areas of interest. This is very important especially when a child has intellectual challenges/learning difficulties.

    “I got to know about the Special Olympics through Greensprings. The school was very much involved with Special Olympics Nigeria (SONigeria) at the time and three students from Greensprings qualified for the basketball team for Athens 2011,” she said.

    Despite no assurances that her son would be able to excel, Mrs Emuwa was not discouraged and gave him all the resources and support she could afford.

    She said: “I have always been extremely proud of Chidubem because he works twice as hard to achieve the results he gets because his brain processes information slower than his other ‘neurotypical’ children. On a typical school day, he’s reading and learning from 8am – 8pm. After school, his home tutor is waiting for him and he does another four hours minimum with him. His French teacher also comes thrice a week. Experience and observing other children abroad and seeing the progress made with consistent input from parents and teachers who believe in them have taught me not to limit my expectations for Chidubem. We know we are coming from a total loss of speech and memory of things previously learnt by 18months. And we know where we are now to the glory of God.”

    Mrs Emuwa is also grateful that Greensprings helps challenged children to excel.

    “The school has always supported children from challenging backgrounds, intellectual, behavioural etc. Mrs Lai Koiki, director of the school has always believed that children, should be given a chance to maximise their potential no matter their circumstances. Implementation is sometimes a challenge but there is no doubt that Greensprings is putting in a great deal of effort in this regard,” she said.

     

  • Teen wins Spelling Bee

    Teen wins Spelling Bee

    •To witness U.S. version

    For winning the Spelling Bee competition 2015 organised by Young Education Foundation, Chinenye Onyiyechi Onwubhuwa of Cherry Field College, Abuja, will be traveling to the United States to witness the 88th edition of the renowned Scripps Spelling Bee Competition in Washington DC.

    Chinenye beat 44 other pupils from two states (Oyo and Lagos) as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the final to emerge winner.

    She is being sponsored on the trip by Beta Malt, Indomie, Voltic, Etisalat, and Virgin Atlantic.  She will also be the face of Beta Malt for the next one year – with her photograph and her school’s name beamed on billboards across the country – in addition to a year’s supply of Beta Malt drink.

    The representative of the Young Education Foundation, Mr. Akinleye Olu Philips, said their version of the spelling bee was different from others.

    “It is a total package.  We look at the educational modules in Nigeria and realised that kids most times are not composed when they are standing up to issues. We made our primary ethics of spelling bees composure. Students must learn composure for them to win,” he said.

    The Principal of the college, Mrs Olga Igbo, expressed satisfaction with the school’s success in the competition, especially as another pupil of the school, Okechukwu Odo, came fifth.

    She said that the credit goes to teachers of the Cherrfield College, whom she described as hard working.

  • EPL teams target Greensprings’ teen sensations

    EPL teams target Greensprings’ teen sensations

    For their exceptional display during the just concluded 2014 Warrior Keele International Football Cup, three top English Premier League (EPL) teams are now targeting Greensprings’ duo of Musa Alli and Elvis Onyenze.

    Alli and Onyenze were part of the victorious Greensprings School team that won this year’s U-13 event of the Warrior Keele Cup and Alli was also named the best player of the tournament by the organisers.

    Two of the EPL teams are former champions of the Premiership and they have all officially expressed their interest to engage the players.

    After watching the players at the 2014 Warrior Keele Cup in Manchester last week, scouts from these teams were convinced that the two players are future stars that can be nurtured to stardom.  At the Keele tourney, Alli was adjudged the most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament for his impressive performance.

    According to Head of Sports, Greensprings School, Oluseyi Oyebode, the teams are willing to sign the players having officially expressed their interest in the players.

    “I think the scouts from these EPL sides were convinced that the players are future materials for the EPL and they are willing to engage them in their youth teams,” Oyebode said.

    Prior to the Keele Cup in United Kingdom (UK), Alli and Onyenze distinguished themselves at the football event of the African Youth Games (AYG) held in Gaborone, Botswana and their efforts ensured that Nigeria clinched gold in the event.

    The players were products of public schools in Lagos Island, and through their conduct on and off the pitch during the annual Greensprings/Kanu Football Camp in 2013, the management of Greensprings School decided to award them scholarships to proceed with their studies.

    After securing the scholarships to continue their education at Greensprings School, their fortunes on and off the pitch have changed positively.

    As members of the team, they were outstanding and also contributed immensely to the success of Nigeria in Botswana.

    Before the AYG in Botswana, Alli led the Lagos State team to the national U-13 championship in Abuja and his performance ensured that Lagos made it to the final before the team finally lost to Niger.

    But the exceptional display of Alli was recognized and he was awarded the most valuable player (MVP) award of the competition.

    Alli’s performance at the national U-13 tournament also earned him a call-up to the national during the build up to the AYG. Also, two new students- Murtala Toheeb and Haruna Hadi, who were awarded scholarships by Greensprings in 2014 made the team to the Keele Cup in UK.

    Commenting on the feat achieved by Greensprings, Chairman, Lagos State Football Association, Seyi Akinwunmi said: “I have noted with pride the feat performed by our worthy ambassadors. I also acknowledge the great impact Greensprings School is having in the lives of the kids, some of whom have never travelled out of the country prior to this trip, I’m sure they will never forget it.

    “I must say well done to the indefatigable Coach Oyebode and also finally a big thank you to our dear, Mrs. Lai Koiki, Director of the school, who always makes good things happen. A big congrats to Greensprings,” Akinwunmi said.

  • Teen author fights vice in book

    Teen author fights vice in book

    At 16, he wrote an inspirational book. At 18, he is already in his second year at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. What will he do next upon graduation or even before?

    It is not the easiest of tasks grasping the phenomenon called Vincent Anioke. When did he start preparing for authorship or even leadership? But this much is clear: the teenage writer looks set for the heights. In his 547-page book, “Whirlwind of Metamorphosis”, he tackles some of the nation’s most distressing challenges: kidnapping, cultism and family tribulations.

    He is studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at it he hopes to keep writing in order to help bring about change in the world, starting with his native Nigeria. Vincent was born in Enugu on August 26, 1996. He started writing the book at the age of 15 while in the Nigerian Turkish International College, Abuja where he developed a passion for Mathematics and writing. While in primary school in Enugu, Vincent won prizes for his academic excellence. Twice he represented Nigeria at the International Mathematics Olympiad, and was the overall best student in his school’s graduating class of 2012.

    His “Whirlwind of Metamorphosis” was recently presented to the Nigerian public. At the launch, chairman of the event, former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, in a recorded message,  praised the writer for producing such a monumental work.

    “I cannot tell you how impressed I am about this book. For being a matured writer, this is tremendous. For a young man, it is extraordinary,” Nnaji said.

    The professor of Engineering applauded the writer’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Uche Anioke who guided their prodigious son to the path of greatness. Nnaji congratulated Vincent, hoping that he would write more books.

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bora Farms and former Chairman of Enugu North Local Government Area, Hon. Herbert Oji, spoke in a similar vein.

    Oji said it is impressive that a young man at the age of 15 started writing such a captivating book, concluding it at16.The former council boss described Vincent as a literary giant and mathematician, pointing out that his achievements across the two fields, is a measure of his intelligence.

    “It is amazing and we are very proud of him. It is a credit to Enugu State. He took off from there and came to Abuja. Now, he is in the United States studying at MIT,” Oji said.

    Whirlwind of Metamorphosis received more accolades from the book reviewer, Professor Frank Asogwa who is Dean, Faculty of Law, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT).

    Asogwa said the book makes for scintillating and captivating reading, while capturing the travails and tribulations of the Nigerian society. Although the author would be 18 years this August, Asogwa assured that adults would find the way he captured things in the Nigerian society quite amazing.

    “It is amazing in the sense that you pick a copy of the book and you find out that he is somebody who has given a lot of thought to Nigerian society. We take things for granted. Nigerians read a lot but the converse is the case. Nigerians don’t read,” Asogwa said.

    On the impact the book would make on the lives of Nigerians, the Law Professor stated: “It will influence people to think twice, He addressed parents. He addressed youths. He addressed Nigerian society and once you read the book, you need to think twice on burning and topical issues he raised in the book.”

    Here are excerpts of a telephone interview with the author:

    Where did you get the inspiration to write this book?

    At times when I am just walking around or sitting at home, I really get ideas about people’s lives and things like that and when the idea comes, I like to write about it. I do like watching television. There was one night I was watching the news with my parents and there was a kidnapping on television, someone who had been kidnapped. So, I was with them when they were talking about it. And I just had to imagine what it felt like to be kidnapped. And so, from there, I wanted to write a story about someone who has been kidnapped and how it will affect the family. From there I felt the passion to write about Nigeria’s problems and how the problems of our country can affect the family. So, it is there on TV that I just became inspired to write about our problems in the country.

    At what age did you get inspired to write?

    I have been writing short, short stories since primary four. Then I was about 7 or 8, but I wrote this particular book when I was 16.

    Do you have other books in the pipeline?

    Yes, I have a lot of them. There are some I have begun and have not finished. There are some I am just starting right now. I have a lot on the line.

    How do you manage to cope with your studies and then writing?

    Yeah, if you just have time, let’s say about two hours in a day, you do it. In just two hours it will accumulate. My writing, I do it about one or two hours every day. I spent the rest of the time, may be about 12 hours or more in a day studying. So, writing is what I do about one hour or two hours a day but over time it begins to accumulate.

    Do you have a role model in writing?

    Yes, I have two. One is Stephen king. He is an American writer. The other one is Chimamanda Adichie, the famous Nigerian writer. I read her book, Americana and I was so blown away by it.

    Are you proud to be a Nigerian?

    Yes, I am very proud to be a Nigerian. Most of my stories now are focused on the country. The next book I am going to come out with is different from this one. It is going to talk about poverty. The characters will be broken in that kind of way.

    There is this fear that you end up as a writer than an engineer.

    Yeah. I hope so. In future, maybe I have a job in an engineering company or along these lines. But on the side, I have always cherished writing. It is a balanced I maintained in the past and it is balance I intend to maintain throughout my life.

    Can you tell us the role your parents played in your writing career?

    Well, I don’t think I will have the interest or urge to write if I didn’t grow with the kind of books that they gave me that I read. And the more stories that I read, the more I wanted to write my own stories. So, they supplied me with the materials that inspired the passion. They always inspired me.

    Does writing run in your family?

    I believe so. I know that my father  writes a lot too. And ever since the book launch, my younger brother has been trying to write his own book. But I think his own purpose is to make money.