Anja Ringren Loven recieves Danish medal of honour

 I remember writing about Anja and how brave she is. Well I’m not the only one who thinks so. Anja has been been given the Danish medal of her honour for her extraordinary work in Nigeria where she gives children hope and a chance at a better life.

 

       She shared the news of her achievement on Facebook and here is whay she wrote "Today I received the Danish medal of honor called "The Niels Ebbesen Medal" in the City Hall of Randers, Denmark.

The motivation for the medal: "Anja, you make a brave, selfless and

extraordinary effort to save the vulnerable children in Nigeria. Few people knowhow dangerous a mission it is - but everyone is aware of what it means for the vulnerable children who without help will end up lonely on the streets."

I will bring this medal of honor to Nigeria and give it to David ❤️ Without him I would not be where I am today. He is not only the father of my son. He is my biggest inspiration and my hero! ❤️ He is the most amazing man and this medal is undisputed because of his extraordinary efforts ❤️

Love from Anja ❤️

Congratulations Anja, you deserve this I wish I had half the gumption that you have.

Haneefa Adams winner of the #TechMeetsArtNG competition talks about the inspiration behind her winning pieces

     

  

      Hannefa Adams @muslimahanie on Instagram, talks about the inspiratiobehind her award winning food arts. She says "over the past few weeks a lot of people tagged me in the #TechMeetsArtNG competition. So I created the first three pieces to submit. It was actually  pretty racking, I loved what I made and I just wanted them to speak to the viewer as well.

       The first was inspired by the true African beauty, what's cooking is ogbono soup. Using all ingredients of thi South East Nigerian delicacy, this potrait expresses and celebrates the beauty of an African woman and their uniqueness as a vibrant and colourful spirit. She is a beautiful strong womn that wears her deep sense of heritage with pride.

      The second art work inspired by Fela, to celebrate uniqueness and creativity. Qualities that reflect through my art. It celebrates a pioneer and a Nigerian Icon.

      The third art work was inspired by our rich Nigerian culture whi features and celebrates indigenous music and dance, the hibiscus plant(zobo) is used in three ways, as a part in its droplet liquid form(like this Coke art) and the dried purple zobo leaf on its own.

     The Jollof art was inspired by John Boyega's tweets about fried plantain and Jollof. Since it was a star wars day, I decided to make something. I almost gave up actually. Spent a whole day making it and just planning just the day before.

      It was really worth it as he prayed for me(on Twitter) about my kitchen overflowing with jollof and reposted it on his Instagram as well! I'd love to frame it for him though. He is the first person of colour to play a storm trooper in the Star Wars franchise. This art work celebrates him, everybody loves Jollof.

        What I learnt while making these is that, although I have been making mixed media art involving food, plants and other solid items, I never fully explored Nigerian dishes for my food art. The possibilities I discovered now are amazing! looking forward to exploring more of the food medium".

Corruption and the peculiar theory of the National Moin-Moin

                            Divide the National moin-moin, 
                            Share the National cake,
                            You chop your own, I chop my own
                             Our government will not suffer.


      These are part lyrics from Mama G’s famous song "National moin-moin". The song which glorified corruption and its vices was well recieved by Nigerians. People danced to this song in public places including schools and government parastatals with reckless abandon. What baffles me even today is why this song was not banned by the NBC.

        A few days back the British Prime Minister, David Cameron was heard saying that Nigerians were fantastically corrupt and I totally agree with his analogy. I also think that Nigerians suffer from varied cases of the "okpolor eye" syndrome. Nigerians are greedy, greed has become part of the culture, it has sadly become the norm. It is Nigerian to want more than has been served on the plate, its Nigerian to be expliotative.

         In Nigeria a man can not own a modest bungalow and two cars and be called a rich man. Everything must be done over the top and in the most flamboyant and bourgiose way possible before you can get any form of respect or for your opinion to matter.

       The Nigerian Idealogy of the rich man is the quintessential obessed, slightly potruding bellied man, with over ten state of the art cars, properties in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, most times he is expected to fly  in a private jet but if he flys commercial he declares eye popping sums in his finest baritone.

        When he goes to his place of worship, he is given the best sitting arrangement even when his lifestyle is worse than that of the people of Sodom and Gommorah, he pays his tithes to his church from the 2billion US dollars he just stole, he also makes sure to give the prophets offering. He is his pastors favourite church member.

        When he travels outside the country( usually on government funds) he lodges in 7 star hotels as anything less is beneath him. Musicians sing his praises, he is a role model, he is invited to events to "share his wisdom", he is highly respected, he's name is spoken in homes with reverence as one would a diety. He is the "big man" every Nigerian aspires to become.

     

Yoruba Demon

          A Yoruba Demon is any guy of Yoruba descent who is a serial heart breaker. Like every girl who has even been with a Yoruba demon, I have my share of experiences. My first experience with a Yoruba demon was when I was 7 and so was he, apparently there is no age limit to the prerequisites that come with the Job description.  Deji was class captain and I was the shy newbie and like all Yoruba Demons worldwide he was exceptionally charming and really cute. Deji was my knight in shining armor and my personal voltron. He warded off my bullies, he shared his choco biscuit, jenka gum and saccharine laced juice with me during lunch. He became my best friend. well besties I taught we were until the day he took me behind the block of primary 2 classes and Pouting his chubby lips, asked me if I liked him. I replied in the affirmative he then told me to prove it by kissing him. I ran away as fast as my skinny legs could carry me that was my very first experience with a Yoruba Demon.

             My next experience was with Jide I had meet him on my way to the school cafeteria during one of the visiting days in my all girls boarding school, he had been looking for directions to marigold house. Jide had this smile that could melt a thousand glaciers, beautiful dark ebony skin and I was smitten I decided to forgo the days lunch of jollof rice and fish and rather walk him down to his destination. Like all typical girl meets boy, girl likes boy stories Jide became my favorite person I looked forward to his “from my fountain of love,I pick this  golden pen to write you this letter”  notes, his cards and other cheap sentimental knick knacks he sent my way. I thought our love story was one written in the stars by Venus herself I mean who just randomly bumps into the love of their live on their way to the cafeteria? I came down from seventh heaven the day I heard Nneka and Tochi talking about same ol’ Jide and how he even got them lavish gifts like perfumes, teddies and rose flowers. My 13 year old heart was crushed apparently I wasn’t the only mosquitoe in his net as he liked to call me. There were many of us, three others besides Nneka and Tochi as I would later get to know.

         Tosin was the next Yoruba Demon that would come into my life, Tosin fine Tosin with with his well groomed facial hair, glistening caramel skin, wash board abbs…  Tosin was your typical eye candy. What you would also get to know about Tosin when you struck a conversation with him was that he was an intellectual and like all sapiosexuals, I was charmed. The first day I met him, we had talked about our take on life and the world in general for hours on end. We shared the same outlook on a lot of issues and he was polite about proclivities of mine that he didn’t quite agree with. I and tosin became Boo and Bae two weeks after our first meeting. This time around and at 21 I felt that I was older and wiser and could distinguish between toxic and healthy plus I knew within my soul that he was the one! I was happy, was in Love, I thought we where basking in the euphoria of the kind of romance spanish soap operas are made of until the day the bubble busted. He had gotten a message from customer care earlier about a refund policy of some sort so I thought it strange when I saw customer care on caller ID, I decided to pick the call. From that call and from extensively snooping his list of contacts I later get to know that he had a bevy of baby mamas and apparently I had only been a side chick.

          Adekunle wasn't exactly easy on the eyes with his short and pudgy physique,I thought that if they  if werent good looking they could at least be faithful. I had meet him in church, I joined the hospitality unit of my church and that was where we met. The first time we met he told me that I was his Iyawo and that it was God ordained, he said that he had been believing God for a wife and that the moment he saw me he knew that God had answered his prayers. Adekunle went as far as a proposal with a lovely engagement ring to booth, all his friends(fellow demons) addressed me as our wife. I thought finally! here is one yoruba man that will prove the rest of them wrong but alas! like all yoruba men world wide it is in their genome to be unfaithful, break your heart, hit the high road and leave you high and dry.

NIGERIAN GRADUATES AND UNEMPLOYABILITY: WHICH WAY FORWARD?

  some time ago I sent this article in as my piece for a competition unfortunately I didn't win. I thought to share it with the world from this platform. 

            A very ubiquitous American aphorism coined by one time American president John. F. Kennedy says “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. This premise though American is quite plausible when related to the situation of the “Nigerian unemployable graduate”. According to the bureau of statistics, the unemployment rate in Nigeria in the year 2010 was 21.1%, in 2011 it was 23.9%, in 2012 it was 28.9, and in 2013 it progressed to 32.7%.
          The evidence of the critical situation of unemployment in the country was best portrayed by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment exercise where approximately one million job seekers applied for positions available to only a few hundred.

           The enormous number of unemployed graduates in the country is disturbing but what is even more perturbing is the number of graduates that are adjudged to be unemployable or rather unknowledgeable. The derelict nature of the Nigerian education system without gain-say is very much responsible for this problem. In a situation where these so called unemployable graduates have being written off as consequences of several failed government administrations what remedy then should be given to ensure that there a place in the scheme of things in society for this social group who have been adjudged unfit for the Nigerian labor market?

             Every malady has a cure, every problem has a solution. A graduate who has been deemed unemployable by the powers that be of an organization should not use that as an avenue to start a pity-party rather he/she should see that as a challenge. John Milton in his book, Paradise Lost says “the mind is its own place , and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven” what this implies is that every individual has the capacity to broaden his/her minds horizons by reading books related to his/her discipline. Reading books besides those assigned in the school curriculum go a long way in making an individual achieve the feat of being very knowledgeable. This can be done by inculcating a good reading culture. Unfortunately, the reading culture is almost none existent in the domain of the youths of the Nigerian society

                 The importance of entrepreneurship is one that cannot be over emphasized. There is no short cut to achieving success either in the public or private sectors. Unemployed graduates need to get irrational illusions of some day working in oil industries and come to terms with actualities. Money spent trying to keep up with the ever changing trends in technology, the social media, or the fashion industry should be invested in more remunerative endeavors or better yet investing in learning vocational or survival skills that will enable them become job creators instead of job seekers and in the long run bring them out of the throes of poverty and want.

               To encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country, incentives should be created that would encourage and motivate graduates who have taken the brave decision to start up their very own enterprises. Low interest loans should be given to such individuals or better yet basic materials that their businesses will require to take-off smoothly. Again, free symposiums and capacity development services such as leadership and entrepreneurship seminars hosted by well established individuals or business organizations should be carried in form of corporate social responsibility to encourage such graduates who are desirous to become or who are young entrepreneurs.

       The media should produce programs that portray the merits of graduate entrepreneurship. This move will trigger the interests of other unemployed graduates in the country and in the long run will lead to an influx of more self employed graduates.

An entitled Generation

      Get an Education they said, that way you will be sure to get a good job. You don't need to get some random skill set in some useless vocation like making jewelry its for people who can not afford to get an education they said. Study hard at school and make good grades you will certainly get a good job once you are done with school they said.

         Now they have the effrontery  to call me entitled. You should note that I am quite familiar with the term entitlement what I do not understand is why its become an important part of their vocabulary whenever I walk into the room.

         When you brush your teeth with their water they say ah! your generation is so entitled when I was your age I already had a house of my own, when you watch the news on their TV they say ah! your generation is so entitled we didn't have the opportunities you have now.

         Oh yes entitlement but allow me to ask  are we still basking in the euphoria of entitlement when we have to struggle with one million other "entitletees" for twelve slots in a government parastatal?

          Are we still entitled when we have to create jobs that have never existed, jobs that you didn't even know could exist. If you think I lie then please by all means introduce me to one of your fifty year old friends who is a social media manager or better yet an online PR personnel or even perhaps a gossip blogger. Yes that's how entitled we are.

         Are we still basking in the euphoria of entitlement when we have to pay through our noses to learn those skill sets we used to call mediocre because now our options are few I mean its either the blue collar or no collar at all right? Oh how entitled we must be!

         

10 things Nigerians do on Sundays

    If you are Nigerian or live in Nigeria then you most probably have one or a few of the following habits. Here is a list of 10 habits that are popular with Nigerians on Sundays.

1, Going to your religious place of worship
        Nigerians are a very religious lot, going to church or your place of religious inclination is one habit that Nigerians do not joke with. You hear them in their churches or mosques singing, praying and doing whatever it is that makes them happy.

2, Wearing their best clothes
          Nigerians love to look good, Nigerians love to dress and on Sundays they wear their "Sunday bests" as they are popularly called. From exotic lace material and big head gears to flowing agbadas , Beautiful george laces and expensive sequined blouses, designer purses and designer shoes you name it. Its always a huge fashion show on a Sunday in Nigeria.

3, Eating rice
        There is something special about eating rice on Sundays, from jollof rice to fried rice and rice and stew. There is always rice on Sundays.

4,  Sleeping
            People try to get as much sleep as they can on Sundays for the week ahead.

5, Spending time with the family
              Parents try to spend quality time with their kids on sundays they do this by going to bakeries, food bistros, shopping malls, cinemas, swimming pools, parks e.tc or they might just decide to stay at home and eat rice and chill.

6, Hanging out with friends
        On Sundays most Nigerians love to go to recreational centers like football viewing centers, high life bars, hotels, cinemas e.tc they do this to have fun and catch up on events with their friends before the week ahead, its also an avenue for networking.

7, Visiting
          If you don't feel too tired to cook your Sunday rice you could always go visiting you are sure to eat rice and stew and drink malt when you go visiting.

8, Preparing for Monday
          Nigerians hate Mondays but they still have to face it. So they preparations for the week ahead by ironing their clothes or doing the laundry, cooking soups and refrigerating as well as preparing an itinerary for the week ahead.

9, Watching movies
          This is probably the only time of the week you will have to watch the Korean DVD collection or the Nollywood Movie titled "Missing Budget"  you bought from Uche's shop last week.

10, House fellowship
            If you didn't have enough of the message from the service in the morning, fret not as there is always the Sunday evening house fellowship or home cells as they popularly called.

Lassa fever; All you need to know about the virus

What is Lassa Fever?
         Lassa Fever is a severe and often hemorrhagic illness caused by the lassa virus. Since its original discovery in 1969 in the village of Lassa in Borno State, Nigeria. Lassa virus is a member of the Arenaviridae virus family. Humans contact the virus primarily through contact with the contaminated excreta of the Mastomys natelensis rodents(multiple breasted rats)
            The rodents live in houses with humans and deposit excreta on floors, tables, beds and in food. Consequently the virus is transmitted to humans through cuts and scratches or inhaled dust particles in the air In some regions, Mastomys(the rats) are consumed as food.

Symptoms of Lassa Fever
       Death from Lassa Fever occurs 10-14 days after symptom onset. Its symptoms are

fever
sore throat
diarrhea
pink eye(conjunctivitis)
back pain
swelling of the face
protein in the urine
mucosal bleeding(nose, mouth, lungs and digestive tract)
cough
stomach pain
vomiting
loss of hearing
tremors
encephalitis(inflammation of the brain)

Treatment and cure
        Like Ebola and any other diseases bedevilling the world today, there is no cure. However ribavirin an antiviral has been used with success in people affected by the virus. It has shown to be most effective when it is administered early in the course of the illness.

THE CONNOISSEUR OF SILENCE

Nobody sings anymore
I remember when we where kids we used to sing alot
we used to play in the sand and build sand castles
we used to hold hands, play in the moon light and tell stories
remember who is the garden? that game we played back then
remember our definition of fun back then?
when life was simple and the only thing that looked like the complicated was
when you didn't know the answer to 11×12
Remember when you used to sing the National Anthem chest strutting out, your
voice bellowing with holy emotion because you truly truly believed that the
labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.
Its gone, yes that Nigeria its gone!
If you tried to unlock those memories so you could recreate them,
you would fine nothing else but grey silence.
yes, silence.

How to be a successful Okada rider in Nigeria

    If you say you are Nigerian and you have never flagged down a bike then I really don't know what to make of you. The okada man is a professional bike rider who people pay to take them to their various destinations. The bike men have been around for as long as I remember.
         I remember the really noisy bikes they called them "vespas" the lady machines favoured by female bike riders, then came yahama and now the jincheng(the one that says welcome to bla bla bla...no wahala and left,left, left when the bike is turing)
        The okada business is no walk in the park so one wonders why okada men are a dine in a dozen in any part of the country.To be an okada man, the job requirements are simple no need for a university degree or professional certificates. All you need are a bike(obviously), sunshades, a thick cardigan and an umbrella(for those in the south) and viola! you are an okada rider.
         To thrive in the business you must be very good at bargaining and negotiating especially during feul scarcities, having a bad temper as I have come to understand should also be part of your charm.
           You must also be very prayerful or diabolical as you will be needing a lot of spiritual backing considering the fact that the line of your job entails that you meet all sorts of people from all works of life and of your customers might be a warlock or an escapee from yaba left.
              Last and not the least you must always have smaller denominations of the naira on you. Change as they are popularly called must always be handy, you do not want to know the extent of damage not being able to give a balance of #10 change to your customer can cause

Good luck, from here onwards its not so smooth sailing and a life of  unabashed mediocrity.

I have spotted a black flamingo in Nigeria

    What are the odds that you will find a black flamingo in the world? what are the odds that it would be in Nigeria? prior to the 13th of October 2015 I had never seen a flamingo except on television. But when i did get to see one in Nigeria it was hard to miss. A flamingo is supposed to be pink but this one was black i couldn't believe it, I tried to take a picture but it was way too far away and the awful lens of my 5MP andriod device couldn't take a good picture( I regret not taking that picture none the less).
       I asked the locals around about the bird but none of them seemed to know what I was referring to, the word flamingo wasn't something they were quite familiar with. My guess, is that they probably knew what it was but could only identify it by a different name something in the local language(Ibibio) perhaps.
        When I got home, I decided to Google black flamingo and i realised that there had only ever been one sighting of a black flamingo in Cyprus in the year 2014. Indepent.co.uk even called it "the only black flamingo in the world" but I am saying that it isn't, I am saying that there are other black flamingoes out there, I am saying that i have spotted a black flamingo in Ikot Abasi Local government area in Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria.

How to save your NYSC allowee

     Trying to save is no easy job especially when the amount in question is a paltry sum of #19,800. The chances are, that you might end up spending the money before you even receive it. Since I pride my self in being altruistic I'm willing to share a few tips on how to save your NYSC allowee irrespective of  what the additional state allowance may be. I saved over #150,000 during my youth service and mind you I had never made an attempt at saving a dime any day in my life before I went for service in fact the money in my bank account was just only #10,000 but I had clothes worth over #8,000 and shoes worth #12,000 that I had never worn all sitting pretty in my closet. Why am I saying this? Anyone can save.  You mustn't be Chijioke or Obinna before you have money in your  account. So, here's how to save your #19,800.

1, Draw out a plan of the things you intend to achieve during your Youth Service, writing your goals on paper always helps to keep you in focus.

2, Don't try to save your first allowee, I'm talking about the first one you received in camp because you are going to need all that money for the errands you will need to run once you leave camp. Don't worry there's still eleven more 19,800's to go.

3, If you get lucky and your star is very bright you may get posted to a PPA like Exxon Mobil where you will be paid #50,000 per month, for the majority of us, many thanks to the witches in our villages who get posted to places like Ijebu grammar school don't expect anything more than #5,000 per month so any chance of saving rests solely on your #19,800.

4, Make friends with an Igbo person, nobody can save money like an Igbo man or woman, all my Igbo friends saved over #250,000 from their NYSC hustle. An Igbo friend is the best motivation and inspiration for you to save. You will understand why am saying this when you see the contents of Emeka's bank account. Emeka your friend who has only one blue jean and one black trouser has money in the bank that can buy land in your states capital.

5, After settling down nicely in your place do a feasibility study of what you can do to earn an extra income. Most corp members run tutoring programmes and so that line of business has become highly saturated. Look around you and find out what problem you can solve that would fetch you an extra income I have friends that supplied shear butter and honey to companies and for household consumption. I also have friends that supplied fish and crayfish from the state I served in to other states where it was more expensive.You could also get a part time job.

6, Make a spending plan, things like feeding and transportation should be at the top of your priorities and things like new clothes or shoes should be considered as frivolities. You have to learn to be content. Many corp members who bought new phones with their proceeds from the last elections didn't enjoy them well enough before they got stolen. Priorities!

7, Start by saving a little bit of your #19,800 every month. If you want to save say 50% of your allowee it is advisable to start by saving may be 30% percent when you can conveniently save that you save 40% and then 50% eventually.

8, Invest in yourself; learn a skill or two, getting HSE/PRINCE2 or NIM certifications are much cheaper as a serving corp and it will give your resume an edge over that of other job seekers in future who don't have those skills. Also, you could learn a non vocational skill from the NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme (SAED) organised for corp members.

9, Make sure you take good care of your health, mixing your PPA  job with your business or second job and at the same time learning a skill or getting a certification why trying to save some money could be a lot to take in.This is where you learn the act of time management and also ensuring that the whole process doesn't take it's toll on your health.

10, Make out time to take yourself on a treat once in a while, you can do this when you have achieved one of your goals, its your way of telling yourself job well done!

This isn't only about saving your allowee, this is about becoming more responsible, setting your priorities and preparing yourself to be an adult. Good Luck!