Scrap this NYSC NOW!!!

I started a series on Inflation and its effects last week but we have to take a pause to examine what is actually happening in the NYSC camps in Nigeria especially after the death of Ifedolapo and Udeme, corpers who lost their lives in the training camp in Kano and Zamfara States due to human negligence.

*****
Brief history of NYSC

National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was created in a bid to reconcile, reconstruct and rebuild the country after the civil war. The Civil war lasted from 6th July, 1967 till 15th January, 1970. General Yakubu Gowon promulgated the NYSC decree 24 of 22nd May, 1973. It was stated that NYSC is being established with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity.

After Tertiary education, young Nigerians who are less than 30 years old 'serve' the country under the NYSC scheme. Community Development Service (CDS) is a major feature of the 1 year compulsory service, and I should quickly add that corpers are deployed to serve in areas different from the ones where they were born in or the ones where they schooled in.

***
The main issue...

Tragic events have happened over the years that  have made people question the relevance of NYSC. Nigeria covers an area of about 925000 km sq.(just for the records, this is really large!) and has 36 states + Federal Capital Territory. To serve the country, people are usually posted to geo-political zones which they probably have never been to or have no idea of what living there looks like.

One of the major tragic occurrences that has made people really question the relevance of NYSC is the fatal accidents on the roads while travelling from a zone to another. Last year, I know of 2 very promising youth corpers who lost their lives to fatal car accidents on Nigerian highways.  These guys had already graduated from University for goodness sake! Imagine what their parents went through putting them through school, only to lose them to the wicked claws of death, no thanks to TERRIBLE Nigerian roads.

The second tragic occurrence I can recall was mainly political. We had an election in Nigeria, parties won and lost as the case is in normal democracy, and next thing we heard was that corpers were being killed all over the country. Again, Imagine what their parents went through putting them through school, only to lose them to unapologetic claws of death, no thanks to political instability.

The third occurrence, which is most painful is the death of corpers even right in the training camp due to lack of facilities human beings need for basic survival. I just heard 3 corpers are dead now! What is going on Nigeria? Can someone on the floor of the senate or house of rep do something about this? These deaths are majorly due to lack of good medical facilities. Ifedolapo had an ánaphylactic reaction and Udeme had diarrhoea. Does this mean the medical guys on ground could do nothing about this? This is disheartening

*****
Way forward...

We need an action plan....Nigerians what do we say, and how do we go about this? Has NYSC outlived its usefulness?

Go on, paste your comment and let's see how we can make something positive happen in the right direction. This is NO joke, this is serious business

What our current inflation rate means for the average Nigerian (1/x)

I was on my way back home today when I saw a woman hawking fried fish. She was wailing bitterly about the state of things in the country. Shortly before I saw her, I considered putting up a post on 'Inflation and the current state of the Nigerian economy' - when I saw and heard her, I figured it was time to write on this topic. (I'll be touching on a couple of economic terms in this series and I promise to break-it-down so we can all understand what's up presently in Nigeria).

Okay. Back to the woman. She looked like she was in her late 30s or early 40s. She carried a baby on her back. Just beside her was a young boy (about 6 years old) who was walking about with her as she hawked. She looked tired and stressed, but still kept on hawking, like her life depended on the day's sales. I looked at her, wishing I had the money to start her up in another business that will require less physical stress compared to what she was currently going through. A rough estimate of the total sales of the fish she hawked was about N700 (Seven hundred naira), and I imagined how she was going to live on that with 2 children (or more).

She represents the average Nigerian. If not in every way, in little variants here and there. (Think about it)

The question that comes quickly to my mind after this sight becomes: What does the current inflation rate mean for a woman like this?

To start with, Inflation is the persistent, continual and sustained increase in price of goods and services. This means things become more expensive such that I can only buy less with my naira. Take for example: I, Similoluwa entered University in 2010. As at this time (2010), higher education notebooks cost N100 each. I graduated in 2016, and now, the same higher education notebook costs N220. In 2010, I would have bought 2 books with N220 (at N100 each), and I would still have been left with N20 change. Inflation occurred over the years, and prices rose.

The value of the naira is defined by its purchasing power i.e. what you can do with your money  determines its worth. Now, when there is inflation, there is a reduction in what you can actually do with your money. In other words, your money(naira in this case) loses worth.

Having defined Inflation, what then does an inflation rate say and what are the implications of an increase in rate for me as a Nigerian?

Join me in the next post for a continuation of this series.

Cheers to the freaking weekend.

Simex lori gangan. (Dad calls me this, still don't know what it means)

About my sabbatical leave...

Hey guys!

I'm not sure sabbatical is the word BUT it's good to be back. Gosh! I haven't blogged in MONTHS.

The essence of my blog is to journey through life with you remember? I really have to apologize for journeying alone since April...Jeez! I  have to confess that the 'after-school' period of my life (the period of time after one graduates from the University) was filled with over 10,000 bumps...I mean, I had to really sit down and ask myself, 'Simi, what exactly did we say we wanted to make out of life again?

One thing I have realized is that life itself is a journey and you sometimes don't have the full picture- It is usually line upon line, precept upon precept. The beauty of everything is that we can always hope to, and work towards getting to our destinations safely, no matter the type of bumps, twists or turns we meet on the way.

It's really good to be back. 

So in my world of blogging, I'm opening the back seat of the door once again for YOU. Come in, will you?

See you in a jiffy!

Mosimiloluwa.

Decisions

You get to some stages in life where you make some critical 'life-determining' decisions.

For some, it's the decision to donate a kidney to a loved one; for another, it is the decision to give away their last meal.

Whatever your decision, just ensure you can look back in time and say 'I MADE THAT DECISION, no matter the consequence you had to face.

It's Goodnight from me.

Mosimiloluwa.

OKAFOR'S LAW: The law of repeatable action

I was gisting with my 'about-to-be Doctor' friend about her ward rounds and medical sessions they had in the hospital that morning.

By the way, Dr Tayo Adisa is my longest standing friend. She's sooooooooooo much fun to be with and when she starts the gist....just sit back, relax and listen to her.

This ensued between us

***
Tayo: Simi, guess what I heard today?
Simi: What?
Tayo: I heard about Okafor's law. The law says if people had once done something, they can do it again. So if lovers once had sex together, they can do it again, no matter the number of years that have elapsed.
Simi: Really???????
Tayo: I heard it o. I was shocked. It's even published in an academic paper as I heard.

We then moved on to talk about other things. But the law stuck in my mind-Okafor's Law

****
While I have my reservations. I mean....the fact that something occurred once does not necessarily mean it will happen again, I still strongly think it is better not to start some things.

A whole lot happens around habits, addictions and behavioral patterns that it is just very safe to play safe.

Moralists will tell you the difference between right and wrong. Religious beliefs also frame the way we see rights and wrongs. Notwithstanding, when choices are made, consequences follow.

If going by your value system,'it' is wrong, then kindly gather the strength in you and stay away from it. Don't start it. Period.

And if you've started, well, good news, YOU CAN STOP. You can reach me on koyesimi@gmail.com for further discussions on this.

Cheers to the ending week!. Countdown to graduation, by the way (Yipeee!)

Mosimiloluwa.

They are part of us

Gboyega Bisileko, this is for you and for every other person who has seen a 'gap' that should be filled.

Go ahead, meet that need; fill that gap!

****

The cycle of dawn ends

Unmasking the reign of shades

Then rouse daughters of the night

Plying their flesh-art trade

Scantily clad

Provocative in their poses

I saw them at night

A starry night of lights

Incandescence…hues of red

And in sorrow I’m bowed

Transported to another world

Another place……yet another picture

Where these ones are worthy matriarchs

Moulding policy from cradles

Pioneering souls

Blazing thought paths anew

And then I know

To them must dignity be restored

They are part of us…….

Aye !!! They are us.

He bid me come...

I was scared and he was too.

I looked into his tired eyes.

He'll be leaving school soon, I will too
He's at the edge of making life-shaping decisions, I am too
He's concerned, he hopes he will make the right choices. Same here.
He wishes he could have a peep into the future, I do too

In times like this, my hope lies in the fact that Jesus 'bid me come' and that He's with me all the way.
There are times I'm not sure. Times I wish I could run away from some things. Times that make me wonder what the future really holds.

So I'll conclude with what I told him- Trust God.

I look forward to saying- Yes, I trusted God and this happened...

Cheers to the coming week.

Similolu.

Remembering the Nigerian Fallen Heroes this day...

I looked at the man. It was 31st December, 2015. I wondered why he was not home with his family. I wondered if he had emotions and could express them. He looked strong like steel and stood firmly as a rock, ready to protect and defend- not fearing death itself if it met him right on that spot. He was an 'army man'.

The Mission Statement of the Nigerian Army; 'To win all Land Battles in defence of the Territorial integrity of Nigeria, protect Her National Interests and accomplish other Tasks in aid of Civil authority'.

People (fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters) lose their lives to make the above happen.

This is to honour them all, both living and dead.

You guys make Nigeria, Nigeria.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

#IStandWithBuhari

Outliers...machines in human form

First, Happy New Year.

Each time a new year comes, I am reminded that one of the 'simple joys' of life is having new beginnings. If you ask me to define 'new', I'll define it as 'never existing before'- this consequently means life itself presents us with fresh opportunities to do things we have never done before.

May God help us to do new things, go new places and do new stuff this year

*******

Second, He won it for the 5th time! Like, H.e w.o.n i.t f.o.r t.h.e f.i.f.t.h t.i.m.e!!!

I was about to trip for him when I remembered my new year resolution not to trip in vain.

Funnily, I don't agree with the text on the picture above. Messi is human...very human sef. He was asked in a Guardian story how he was able to get so good. He said:
     
 'First of all you've got to love the game'. How much? 'Well, from the age of three I played every day: every morning, afternoon and night. Inside the house, too...I'd break things. My mum would go mad...'

Dassit!!! Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice and more Practice. However, I am quickly reminded that you cannot take God out of any success story. Things don't randomly happen, there's a planner behind the scenes- GOD.

I congratulate him on this unbelievable feat and I think he got a beautiful wife to match the Ballon d'Or *TeethySmile*

Cheers to the New Year.

Similoluwa