Unemployment in Nigeria : Who's really to blame?

I wasn't too sure the title to give this post but anyway here we are. I guess anything goes ; so let's get down to business.

I know youth unemployment is no longer news in Nigeria. It's something that we all have come to accept, something we've gotten so used to, and probably, something that would remain an integral part of the Nigerian society if fast action isn't taken as soon as possible. Government has a very big role to play to avert unemployment but at the same time I feel those involved have a bigger role to play  in breaking themselves free from the clutches of unemployment. It's sad that these days we all wait for the 'government' to do virtually everything for us- from providing jobs, feeding us and our families, providing social amenities (which of course we expect to enjoy FOC), to catering for most of our needs. Infact the list is just endless. 

It pains me when I see a young university graduate or a healthy young guy/girl sitting at home and lamenting about the sorry state of affairs of the Nigerian nation. Yes! I'm aware of the fact that white-collar jobs are hard to come by and getting the kind of jobs we often desire are based on the 'who-you-sabi' syndrome, I'm also aware of the fact that hustling in Nigeria requires a lot of patience, perseverance, determination and sheer doggedness just like I'm aware of the dwindling nature of the country's economy. But I feel this shouldn't be an excuse for youths to dedicate themselves to laziness as they curse and blame the government for their woes.

We all heard about the bizarre immigration recruitment test in Abuja sometime last year where thousands of young graduates lost their lives( some were injured) as they came to take a recruitment test that later resulted in a stampede. Well, few days ago I saw in the news that some of those who 'survived' that test came out to protest the FG's inaction concerning the matter whilst others demanded they be given jobs to compensate for all they went through. That really got me thinking. How long would these guys keep blaming the government for their woes, how long would they fold their arms and wait for the government to come to their rescue, and how long will Buhari continue to be the reason for their joblessness. Not like I totally blame them though but I feel helping ourselves first should be paramount before we begin to seek help from other sources. Whatever happened to skills acquisition, blue-collar jobs, self development, etc??

It's a pity that majority of Nigerian youths know nothing outside the 'book' they were sent to school to learn. While you're studying that book in school, developing yourself or learning a skill / trade wouldn't hurt anyone. Who knows when it would come in handy. You think celebrity designers like Mai Atafo, Toju Foyeh, and Lanre Da Silva Ajayi all started out big? Not at all. Infact all of them are tailors - only that their consistency, love/passion for what they do, and patience gave them the 'swag' they have today. This world doesn't end with 'book' jare(it's very important though). Please let's embrace creativity, hard work, perseverance, and continuous self-development as these are very only but a few of the traits needed to achieve our goals and realise even our tallest dreams.

Let's go out there and make something out of nothing!!

P.S: For those waiting for the #5,000 Buhari promised unemployed youths, I'll gladly help you with a bottle of Coke and Popcorn to entertain yourselves while you wait because it's really going to be a long wait.

#AcquireASkillToday.

My Valentine's Day Experience: Anonymous' Story

Valentine’s Day in the year of 2010 will always be on my mind. I had been dating Solomon for some months before that day and everyone thought that we were the perfect couple. He was a very calm and loving guy and even though he was much older than me (11 years older, to be precise), it meant nothing to either of us. We connected really well and the s ex was awesome… In fact, it was almost out of the world. I fell (madly) in love with him so naturally, I began to have dreams and expectations like any other young lady.

I dreamt of getting married to him and becoming his wife. I mean, he was everything that I desired and we were from the same village too. It couldn’t have been any more natural, could it? I didn’t slack in any way to show him that I was the perfect woman for him. I took my time to cook for him at least three times a week (Thank my stars that I’m a very good cook), I was never used to washing clothes since my childhood but I turned into a washing machine for love, I respected his every wish and tried to never argue with him, I kept giving him hints about my marriage preferences like how I didn’t really care for a big wedding.


Now, as Valentine’s day was approaching that year, I began to notice and suspect some signs from him that made me think that he was hinting at a proposal. I mean, he kept asking me specific details about my wedding preferences e.g. my choice for a honeymoon, wedding day etc. In fact, that week, I was convinced that he was going to propose to me. I didn’t know how to contain myself or react within me. All I knew (for sure) was that I had to look my best on the d-day. I mean, I had to represent my family well!

That year, Val’s day was to be on Sunday. I rushed over to Jumoke’s salon on Friday to get my hair done and on Saturday, I basically went to all the boutiques in Kaduna searching for the perfect dress. In fact, it was by the grace of God that the money for the shopping came because I had none. I even had to beg my former sugar daddy for money just to look good for Solomon. Finally, I got the dress and I was ready for the show

That Sunday morning, I just looked casual to go to church. I planned to unveil my stunning look that afternoon. I remember that I almost left church because the sermon was taking too much time but I thank God that I didn’t. I was so excited. Immediately after church service, I rushed home and had a quick bath. I also brushed my mouth thoroughly (expecting plenty kisses and all). I told my mom that I was off for my Valentine’s outing and I told her to expect a special gift from me when I got back (for my mind I don calculate say ring go follow me come back house). She gave me her blessings and I left.

I suddenly remembered that my nails needed to be done… I had to take plenty pictures with the ring and they were going to be posted up on Facebook and all. I called my salon girl, Jumoke… I was willing to pay double for the nails but it turned out that she was out of town. Kai, I almost died of frustration. On a normal day I couldn’t even pick a spoon with artificial nails oh. I rushed over to the market but it was like all the people doing nails planned not to open that Sunday.

After I had failed in all my efforts, I went to over to my lover’s house without doing the nails. When I got there, I saw about four cars parked outside, I entered the sitting room and I found his male friends sitting and chilling with each other. They all hailed my dress. I felt on top of the world and I told myself he had invited his friends to witness the proposal. I entered the kitchen as a wife-to-be and I cooked three different meals for his guys (to earn extra points, of course). They were all so happy with the meals and I got compliment after compliment.

When all that was done, I went into his room to take a bath and he came around. We made love and all but I was half-interested in all of that… I was just waiting for my ring. I took a bath after and I refreshed my makeup. On getting to the sitting room, I saw that all his guys were gone. At that moment it was becoming clear to me that there was no ring. To say that my heart was breaking is an understatement. I stayed with him a while then, I informed him that I was going home and he offered to drop me off.


When we got to my house, there was still no ring. I got down and after he left, I just dropped my bag and trekked to church to get the last-minute blessing of the evening service. Kai, That thing made me feel rough for a long time. I had to buy something for my mom that evening and I claimed that it was the special gift I promised her.

SOURCE : GREENNEWS.NG 

My Valentine's Day Experience : Chidinma's Story

How do I start? I have never been one to hold a grudge. I usually forgive easily but this is one story that aches every time I remember. I was a young fresh secondary school graduate when I met Michael; he was a diploma student in my summer coaching school where I was applying for the university. I never really believed in love at first sight and I still don’t so, it was really confusing when I heard him say it. I was a bit of a geek so relationships were not on my agenda at the time but there was something about Michael. He successfully drove away other guys by letting them know I was what he really wanted even when he never told me a word about his feelings.


Initially, I heard it from other guys then a friend of his somehow boosted his moral and he came forward and said it. It took long for me to accept it but I finally did and from that day, things took a turn for the worst. He was either cheating or lying; In fact, he was just a total douche bag but I was young and naive and stupid in love that I always forgave him. I got an admission and things were going great for me in school except the fact that I was still so in love with Michael that as a guy, u couldn’t even make advances because you could sense my hostility from a yard away.

Michael kept up with his ways and it became worse because of the distance. Little by little, I began to lose my cool – Why was I busy being a good girl when he was having fun. My crazy roommates didn’t help my situation one bit. They kept filling my head with ideas. One day, a friend of ours was having a birthday party in a club and for the first time in my life I went to a club. I resolved within myself that I was going to let loose and I did. I met a guy – Steven. He was what we tag the three C’s- cool, calm and collected.

Somehow, we were able to share our experiences and we realized that we were both going through similar situations. We both hit it off immediately. He was great and soon without knowing it, I put Michael on the side line. I never really missed Michael because with Steven I had everything. I guess Michael started noticing the distance and kept complaining until I ended it with him. Michael was shocked, he couldn’t believe that I could move on or to talk of being without him.

The story gets juicy from here: My relationship with Steven blossomed. He met my parents; Nine months into our relationship he was talking marriage and I accepted. All of a sudden, Michael came back seeking forgiveness, which I gladly gave him. We became friends and once in a while he would make comments about wanting to come back which I will ignore. It was during that same period that Steven suddenly started acting strangely. I was shocked at his new behavior.

He was always busy or looking for something to fight about after which we would makeup and he would blame it on stress. This was a guy who owned his company. All this while, Michael kept preaching change and reconciliation but I couldn’t think of it. Feb 14 that year, I decided to use my babe’s phone to call my boo in the spirit of Valentine because my phone had issues and he was out of town but he wasn’t picking up.

I decided to send him a text then it hit me. My boo (Steven) was among my babe’s BBM contacts and he just pinged her. I couldn’t wait to read and I saw everything. He had shared my problems with her, they both sent each other nudes, It was like I became a constant disturbance and she was his joy. Then I saw that they were supposed to meet at a hotel that night and I didn’t know if I should throw the phone away or reply back. I decided to talk to someone else and I could only think of Michael at that moment. I decided to text so he would call back and another shock – he was also on her contact list and their text messages were worse than Steven’s own. Long story short, they all later found that I knew. They begged me for forgiveness and all but it wasn’t the same and since then, I hardly believe in Valentine not to talk of remembering that it should be celebrated.

SOURCE : GREENNEWS.NG 

My Valentine's Day Experience : Agnes' Story

My name is Agnes. I live in lagos. I met daniel when I was in secondary school, SS3 to be precise. Those days were one of the best days of my life especially the period he asked me out because he was like one of the finest boys in school and I just felt good about myself. Well, the only problem I had then was the fact that my parents weren’t supposed to know I had a boyfriend cause they were very strict and they would have killed me if they found out so we had to sneak around a lot, spending as much time as we could together.

After we both graduated from secondary school our relationship continued from then because we got accepted into the same university as we planned and we were studying the same course. We both got into private hostels but we didn’t stay together and this was only because he didnt agree to it. We had beautiful days together and I had my first with him just after we graduated. I can say that it was literally our best since (at least for me it was)

Like I said, we had beautiful days but he had his many flaws which turned some of my days upside down but my major problem with him was girls. We had this problem since we were in secondary school. At that time, my friends would tell me of how he used to put up pictures of other girls on facebook. I didn’t know about any of it because I didn’t have a phone then; my parents didn’t get me one until I graduated from secondary school. Now, Daniel’s problem with girls persisted and sometimes, I would catch him in the midst of girls touching at least one of them inappropriately or he would put up pictures of other girls and only put mine up as his display pictur when I complained. I confronted him about all these a few times and he would brush it off and sometimes yell at me telling me to stop trying to control him.            

As it got worse, all I wanted to do was fight for him cause I was convinced we had something and I cared about him a lot. A week before Valentine’s day that year, we made plans to go to dinner and to later go back to his place (actually, i basically made the plans) but on the morning of Valentine’s day, Daniel called me and told me he wasn’t feeling too well and asking whether we could shift our date to a week after that. Before he hung up he told me to just relax in my room, watch a movie and think about him which I told him I would do.

I was disappointed but I didn’t take it too hard. I decided to just stay in my room and watch a movie.  An hour or so later I called my friend Mary up telling her about what happened with Daniel cancelling our plans. She tried to cheer me up and asked me to come with her to see a movie. I was reluctant at first but I later agreed. We got to the cinema and as we were buying tickets to enter, I saw a guy holding a girl and entering the showroom. It was not just any guy, I didn’t see his face but I was sure that it was Daniel.

When I told Mary about it as we were settling for the movie, she told me I was wrong insisting that Daniel was just on my mind too much. I agreed with her even though my mind still bugged me. When the movie was over and everyone was stepping out, I saw the the same  guy again holding the same girl and laughing.  This time, I was convinced it was Daniel. I dragged Mary to get to where he was so I could see his face. When I did, it was truly him… It was Daniel.

At that point, I knew what was going on and I had never been so broken. It felt as if my heart was ripped out of my chest (I wanted to faint). As if someone tapped him, he just suddenly looked my way. He seemed confused at first then, he relaxed. He started walking towards me(still holding the girl!) I wanted to scream. When he got to me, (Mary was busy looking at him in shock), he just asked me, sounding angry what I was doing there.

I couldn’t even talk, I was just staring at him, tears stinging my eyes. I was waiting for an explanation. Then the worst happened, he introduced me to the girl he was with as his girlfriend. He then whispered something to her and she left. I still didnt speak I was still staring at him in disbelieve . He said that that was what he was planing on telling me the week we were supposed to meet, he was very sorry but we were growing apart and blah blah blah.

My world went still at that point and all I could hear after that was Mary raining insults in Yoruba on him. At that point, I had already started crying, I just ran to the toilet so no one would see me and I cried ehhhh. That was the worst day of my life and I don’t think I had ever cried as I cried that day. For me, things hadn’t been the same since then. Every Valentine’s day reminds me of that horrible day.


SOURCE : GREENNEWS.NG

Happy Valentine's Day

So urrmmmm...it's Valentine's day and I'm quite sure the patronage gift shops, eateries, restaurants, hotels, etc would get today would be overwhelming. Well yes, it's a beautiful thing to be in that thing called love and it's even more beautiful to want to show your partner how much you're into them. Well, in which ever way we choose to mark St. Valentines day, we shouldn't forget to spread love to our families, friends, and everyone around us. For me, everyday should be Valentine.

To mark Valentine's day here, I'll be posting a couple of interesting real life Valentine's day stories written by people who felt others should share in their experiences. These stories would be sourced from Greennews.ng