Life is an interesting book that ends when we stop existing, until then we keep pursuing happiness, wealth, truth and everything in between. The success of social media sites such as Facebook, Linkedin shows that man has an innate need to connect with one other. Think about this for a second. As soon as we receive good or bad news especially the former, we almost can't wait to update our Facebook status. It is not uncommon to see status updates centered on a new marriage, relationship issues, child birth and even death. The person with the update expects comments to follow from friends who either celebrate, sympathize or make fun of the situation. Somehow like most animals man needs man to survive.
As such we crave approval of people we trust when making decisions. From our parents who sometimes tell us to marry only from our race or ethnic background, to teachers, opinion leaders and friends. They all help shape our thoughts, behaviour and opinions. This makes it only common sense to be careful who we allow into our lives to influence us. Some young people run into huge debts trying to impress others. We want to wear what we cannot afford, live in posh apartments and stay trendy at the expense of future gains. I am not against living the good life as many call it, but it worries me that many find it okay to live above their means.
Individuals with a strong sense of self change the world not people who can be won by any doctrine. I like to watch Steve Jobs give a presentation, he always look brilliant. He is his own man and people accept him because he is a technology and marketing genius. We cannot all be Steve Jobs but it is okay to be you. Find your style stick with it and watch others appreciate you for who you truly are. Most of my life for as long as I can remember I have been described as a non conformist. I try to think with my own brain,analyze and draw conclusions based on varied evidence. It does not make me better than anyone but atleast when I make mistakes I accept responsibility.
The journey of self discovery is a long one and I am still walking that road. We can help others by admitting our own private pains where necessary and encouraging as many as we can. We are all trying to find meaning in this world, there is no point making it difficult for the next man.
Until next time, remain young, hip and proudly Naija!
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Monday, 18 July 2011
BEATING UNEMPLOYMENT, By Caeser Keluro
We are in the age of turbulence. Every giant leap in history comes with nightmarish challenges like we are experiencing today. In the agrarian age, man was troubled as he made the hard changes into the industrial age. While the current process of globalization has underlined the need for us to brand themselves on four different dimensions (public diplomacy, tourism, exports, foreign direct investment) and in an integrated manner (Jorge de Vicente, May 2004), it is glaring we have fall short in all ramifications. What is our foreign policy without regard to growing our domestic economy and building a skilled workforce in tandem with 21st century needs? In this global chaos, Nigeria is not left out. We have discussed the problems and holler out of our fears. The time comes for us youth to create that solution that reaches deep to the crevices of our challenges; unemployment is just one of them.
Precious Ogbomo in her article, Nigeria Young Population - the scary facts on iqnews.com pointed out the grave statistics which across borders have sent nations to war and tumbled undemocratic governments. The orgy of violence as a result of this still continues to date. Urban unemployment hovering around 30-32 percent makes the reality of a systemic crisis possible. Even with recently pursuit of infrastructural development, it is critical to state here that they are less labour intensive-based which makes it impossible to employ a large chunk of our youths. Promoting new technologies and ignoring the grave need for mass engagement of our youth is just foul play.
More so, insight garnered from Otaviano Canuto article, “Navigating the road to riches” in last weekend BusinessDay papers pointed out that Asian developing countries have relied extensively on international trade to accelerate their labour transfer by inserting themselves in the labour-intensive segment of global value chain. Finding a holistic approach to addressing our large pool of unskilled labour and the recent snatching of our jobs from our artisans by neighbouring state citizens who have showed skill and fine delivery will not stretch our imagination. It calls for retooling and a national reorientation in attitude and value creation. Responding to rapid urbanization also demands we critically put soft and hard infrastructure in place as well as gradually move our subsistence-level workers to more modern manufacturing or service activities that do not require much upgrading of these workers’ skills. A technology that works for us with less capital demand will make our triumph possible.
Growing up on the street of Lagos was an amazing experience. There were middle income class people engaging in what I will call carnal farming. This is farming along dredged carnals meant to relieve resident the pains of flooding. Families were busy growing crops and so were their sons and daughters. Not far from my house, you could walk a little distance into Kirikiri Industrial town where young people find meaning in working. Everything has melted into dense urbanization with the industrial estate a shadow of itself. There were large crowd of kids playing games along the street and in the open fields. We rode in our makeshift cars, bicycles, and played football and scrabble games. The days of summer were filled with crowd of friends and lots of micro-competitions going on. We were engaged and that was just a few years ago. Times changed but not any better here, as a poorly managed economy which has remained in perpetual recession kept parents and the kids out of job.
Then James Adore experience living in a rural setting will make your heart churn in anger. This is after the father lost his business to bank fraud and sudden consolidation. He watched young people work in shops where garri (a staple food in Nigeria) are processed, mixed and hauled in Lorries heading for the big cities like Lagos. In curiosity and the excitement of seeing neighbourhood kids making money he joined them. That will not last. After saving money by that means to get to a university, he would come back to meet an empty store. The owner had gone to Lagos and the reason for the close of the store was the collapsing infrastructure and the fact that everything was in a flux-growing foreign demand for gari has made it more expensive to find it in a supper meal. Now joblessness walked the street in anger and he had James. No jobs, no garri store to work in.
As young people, should we will look at these times ‘dazed and angry’ or put on our thinking cap? I think we have a fair chance to put our brains together to address the challenges before us. We can make input with profound impact. We would not be holding anyone responsible for our future because youth is short and melts like vapour at sunrise. How do we address youth unemployment? It is like saying how do we save ourselves from the creeping dangers around not even ahead. No blame game but real solutions can only address real problems. Report provides us with damning statistics that while graduate employment persists, school leavers wander the streets without any hope of jobs. In our capacity, we can bring the best of ourselves by creating micro-competitions in any field of our knowing and ensuring that with this we are engaged constructively, taking on local charity works, sporting activities, and finding that thing that enlivens our being which is for the common good matters now.
On the policy front, political leaders play essential roles in any state-building process. The simple fact is that states are founded by leaders, and the relationship between these founding leaders and their supporters can determine the nature of the state (Roger B. Myerson in ‘Rethinking the Fundamentals of State building’). State building for us now resides in putting the right processes and systems in place to lead to our competitiveness in the global marketplace and encourage job-led growth and higher wages with interest rates kept low.
In this age of uncertainty, it is critical we begin to shortening strategic planning times and ensure execution is swift and factors in sensitivity to external events. This is because addressing unemployment here would not just mean long term but short too. A more localization approach cannot be ignored. One of the ways we can address youth unemployment is by increasing in local competitions with the goal to engage youth energy. The OPS has been doing a lot to tap into this huge market. Although borne out more of the need to win their affinity for their brands and capture the market and grow their bottom-line.
It is important for us to recognize, street enterprise across the federation. Littering across the landscape are street entrepreneurs. For example, there are lots of video game shops across the nation. It has served as one immeasurable ways youths have engaged themselves. A policy thrust in that direction can lead to more micro-enterprises by these street entrepreneurs. This should be replicated in areas across the nation where it is lacking.
Of importance too, is the need to equip unemployed graduates with new skillset. While we have not yet gotten to the enterprise design/idea generation phase of great societies like the Western nations, we can do a lot with this new skillset in ensuring mass customization and mass production like the likes of China, India and others and export same to the world. From here it is possible for us to get into the middle income country class. Mass training and skill transfer from our trading partners should form the plank of our diplomacy and any form of relationship. It is also important to move into intensive manufacturing away from our crisis-ridden resource-based manufacturing. It is now we should start creating industrial hubs and business synergy centers.
More so, subsidizing the cost of I.T training across the country is a fine way to creating a competitive workforce. We should design an industry plan that will enable us to provide products or services to neighbouring states as trade between African countries remains extremely low. This is a big opportunity. It is crucial for us now to have a harmonized database. A well design program to grow the domestic economy cannot be possible without harmonizing our databases with credit rating agencies a fulcrum of this. By this we can have a critical of amount of people we can provide soft credit to. With this we are poised to building a consumer society and a robust economy.
Finally, this contribution serves to ticker with our thought pattern. It calls for all stakeholders to look inward so we can start that journey to a great economy. The pride here is the possibility that I feel within and how much we can accomplish if we can dare. Every problem has a seed of solution and opportunity within-the opportunity could be this fresh start to unleash our workforce into 21stcentury competitiveness and send unemployment into a quick retreat. It is hard to see dawn when it is all dark. But dawn comes-A youthful generation rides the crest of her challenge to global prominence.
Precious Ogbomo in her article, Nigeria Young Population - the scary facts on iqnews.com pointed out the grave statistics which across borders have sent nations to war and tumbled undemocratic governments. The orgy of violence as a result of this still continues to date. Urban unemployment hovering around 30-32 percent makes the reality of a systemic crisis possible. Even with recently pursuit of infrastructural development, it is critical to state here that they are less labour intensive-based which makes it impossible to employ a large chunk of our youths. Promoting new technologies and ignoring the grave need for mass engagement of our youth is just foul play.
More so, insight garnered from Otaviano Canuto article, “Navigating the road to riches” in last weekend BusinessDay papers pointed out that Asian developing countries have relied extensively on international trade to accelerate their labour transfer by inserting themselves in the labour-intensive segment of global value chain. Finding a holistic approach to addressing our large pool of unskilled labour and the recent snatching of our jobs from our artisans by neighbouring state citizens who have showed skill and fine delivery will not stretch our imagination. It calls for retooling and a national reorientation in attitude and value creation. Responding to rapid urbanization also demands we critically put soft and hard infrastructure in place as well as gradually move our subsistence-level workers to more modern manufacturing or service activities that do not require much upgrading of these workers’ skills. A technology that works for us with less capital demand will make our triumph possible.
Growing up on the street of Lagos was an amazing experience. There were middle income class people engaging in what I will call carnal farming. This is farming along dredged carnals meant to relieve resident the pains of flooding. Families were busy growing crops and so were their sons and daughters. Not far from my house, you could walk a little distance into Kirikiri Industrial town where young people find meaning in working. Everything has melted into dense urbanization with the industrial estate a shadow of itself. There were large crowd of kids playing games along the street and in the open fields. We rode in our makeshift cars, bicycles, and played football and scrabble games. The days of summer were filled with crowd of friends and lots of micro-competitions going on. We were engaged and that was just a few years ago. Times changed but not any better here, as a poorly managed economy which has remained in perpetual recession kept parents and the kids out of job.
Then James Adore experience living in a rural setting will make your heart churn in anger. This is after the father lost his business to bank fraud and sudden consolidation. He watched young people work in shops where garri (a staple food in Nigeria) are processed, mixed and hauled in Lorries heading for the big cities like Lagos. In curiosity and the excitement of seeing neighbourhood kids making money he joined them. That will not last. After saving money by that means to get to a university, he would come back to meet an empty store. The owner had gone to Lagos and the reason for the close of the store was the collapsing infrastructure and the fact that everything was in a flux-growing foreign demand for gari has made it more expensive to find it in a supper meal. Now joblessness walked the street in anger and he had James. No jobs, no garri store to work in.
As young people, should we will look at these times ‘dazed and angry’ or put on our thinking cap? I think we have a fair chance to put our brains together to address the challenges before us. We can make input with profound impact. We would not be holding anyone responsible for our future because youth is short and melts like vapour at sunrise. How do we address youth unemployment? It is like saying how do we save ourselves from the creeping dangers around not even ahead. No blame game but real solutions can only address real problems. Report provides us with damning statistics that while graduate employment persists, school leavers wander the streets without any hope of jobs. In our capacity, we can bring the best of ourselves by creating micro-competitions in any field of our knowing and ensuring that with this we are engaged constructively, taking on local charity works, sporting activities, and finding that thing that enlivens our being which is for the common good matters now.
On the policy front, political leaders play essential roles in any state-building process. The simple fact is that states are founded by leaders, and the relationship between these founding leaders and their supporters can determine the nature of the state (Roger B. Myerson in ‘Rethinking the Fundamentals of State building’). State building for us now resides in putting the right processes and systems in place to lead to our competitiveness in the global marketplace and encourage job-led growth and higher wages with interest rates kept low.
In this age of uncertainty, it is critical we begin to shortening strategic planning times and ensure execution is swift and factors in sensitivity to external events. This is because addressing unemployment here would not just mean long term but short too. A more localization approach cannot be ignored. One of the ways we can address youth unemployment is by increasing in local competitions with the goal to engage youth energy. The OPS has been doing a lot to tap into this huge market. Although borne out more of the need to win their affinity for their brands and capture the market and grow their bottom-line.
It is important for us to recognize, street enterprise across the federation. Littering across the landscape are street entrepreneurs. For example, there are lots of video game shops across the nation. It has served as one immeasurable ways youths have engaged themselves. A policy thrust in that direction can lead to more micro-enterprises by these street entrepreneurs. This should be replicated in areas across the nation where it is lacking.
Of importance too, is the need to equip unemployed graduates with new skillset. While we have not yet gotten to the enterprise design/idea generation phase of great societies like the Western nations, we can do a lot with this new skillset in ensuring mass customization and mass production like the likes of China, India and others and export same to the world. From here it is possible for us to get into the middle income country class. Mass training and skill transfer from our trading partners should form the plank of our diplomacy and any form of relationship. It is also important to move into intensive manufacturing away from our crisis-ridden resource-based manufacturing. It is now we should start creating industrial hubs and business synergy centers.
More so, subsidizing the cost of I.T training across the country is a fine way to creating a competitive workforce. We should design an industry plan that will enable us to provide products or services to neighbouring states as trade between African countries remains extremely low. This is a big opportunity. It is crucial for us now to have a harmonized database. A well design program to grow the domestic economy cannot be possible without harmonizing our databases with credit rating agencies a fulcrum of this. By this we can have a critical of amount of people we can provide soft credit to. With this we are poised to building a consumer society and a robust economy.
Finally, this contribution serves to ticker with our thought pattern. It calls for all stakeholders to look inward so we can start that journey to a great economy. The pride here is the possibility that I feel within and how much we can accomplish if we can dare. Every problem has a seed of solution and opportunity within-the opportunity could be this fresh start to unleash our workforce into 21stcentury competitiveness and send unemployment into a quick retreat. It is hard to see dawn when it is all dark. But dawn comes-A youthful generation rides the crest of her challenge to global prominence.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
The Power of Motivation
My virgin blog post was very exciting to write, because I have wanted to do this for a long time. Young, hip, Naija celebrates everything that is authentically Nigerian and challenges us to "think" and upset the norm. I remember asking us to answer a few questions in the earlier post. Maybe you did, maybe you did not. The reoccurring themes of all my future posts will be centered around topics that require some level of thinking and action. This is the only way I know we can develop our minds to effect positive change.
Thursday, July 14, 2011, was a memorable day for me. I had the unique opportunity of speaking to a gathering of a large number of young people in a university seminar organized by an education consulting firm. They were all secondary school leavers moving to the ivory towers in different countries. Some chose to study in India, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Ukraine, South Africa, whilst a small number will study in Nigeria. Interestingly, the students traveling abroad seemed more excited than their Nigerian counterparts. The euphoria of leaving the shores of Naija for a few years was hard to miss.
During the lunch break I was chatting with a 16 year old UK bound student who kept asking me about life in London. He wanted to know everything in 15 minutes and I tried my best to tell as much as I knew, between hot snacks. The hope in his eyes shone through as he kept up the pressure. He assured me he will get a girlfriend from Mexico, he said they all looked so pretty in the television soaps. Young player that one, to think his parents paid for him to listen to academic jargon only. Soon other kids joined him and the seminar resumed with me taking all their anxious questions. This remains one of the most exciting and fulfilling days of my young life. I have participated in quite a few seminars, but this one stood out in my mind. The students were all willing to learn and asked a whole lot of questions.
Did it worry me that the participating students preferred to travel abroad than study in Nigeria if given the opportunity? Yes it did. However, that is not the focus of this 'article". I could not think of a better term sorry, so we will call this an article. The most amazing thing about Thursday 14th July, was the question and answers session after my nearly four hours presentation with careful breaks in between. One of the topics discussed in the seminar was "strategies for top academic performance at the University". This yours truly, was able to discuss flawlessly having earned a distinction from the University of Aberdeen. The participants made me feel like an academic celebrity, they all promised me that their aim will be to make distinctions, first class or any other top score available. This was the highlight of my day for sure.
Back to the questions and answers raised in the "University Preparatory Seminar". One question, this writer will never forget was asked by a girl called Remi (not real name as permission was not given). She wanted to know the other factors that enabled me succeed in school, outside the classroom. She explained this further, did your parents play any role in encouraging you? Or were you always brilliant knowing that you will always excel no matter the academic challenge? This question got me thinking and like we now know I love to think! It's a habit! I went on to tell a shocked Remi and my audience how I was once a below average struggling student. My senior secondary school results were so bad that one time I came 40th position out of 60 students. That was my lowest point. The highest was 15th position and the celebration that followed during the holidays was unbelievable, you would have thought I came first in class. My senior school leaving certificates were at best a disaster. My WAEC result was so bad I could not eat for days. Many thanks to NECO for giving me the necessary five credits that enabled me proceed to the University.
The interesting thing is throughout all these, my parents insisted that I was a genius. I remember, looking up that word in the dictionary and thinking they must be patronizing me. Genius? You have got to be kidding me! The funny thing is, if you hear something all the time it sticks, so when I got to the university this genius decided to try something new. I drew up a reading plan which I shared with participants and it worked. I read everything before the lecturer had a chance to mention it in class and made friends with intelligent students. Somehow, the experiment worked. Interestingly I still enjoy reading till this day. Remi, made me realize that my parents were my motivating force. They believed in me even when there was no evidence of brilliance and it challenged me to be better.
Everyone needs someone that believes in them no matter what. It could be a friend, an Imam, a Pastor, a herbalist or a lover but everyone deserves to have someone cheering them on through life struggles. We can all be exceptionally brilliant at something, all we need is a positive force in our lives that makes us want to be better. Humans need each other not just for procreation but to survive on this planet. As soon as the seminar ended, I called my parents to thank them for never giving up on me. They just laughed it off.
There is always someone that can feed off positive energy from you in your community. Motivate, share, love there is no greater cause than these. In Naija it sometimes seem like the government are immune to the sufferings of young people. We cannot keep waiting for them to accept us, let us believe in ourselves and move forward. There is nothing we cannot do if we believe, preserve and work our hardest.
Until my next post, be a light to someone, stay positively energized!
Yours truly,
Young, hip, Naija!
Thursday, July 14, 2011, was a memorable day for me. I had the unique opportunity of speaking to a gathering of a large number of young people in a university seminar organized by an education consulting firm. They were all secondary school leavers moving to the ivory towers in different countries. Some chose to study in India, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Ukraine, South Africa, whilst a small number will study in Nigeria. Interestingly, the students traveling abroad seemed more excited than their Nigerian counterparts. The euphoria of leaving the shores of Naija for a few years was hard to miss.
During the lunch break I was chatting with a 16 year old UK bound student who kept asking me about life in London. He wanted to know everything in 15 minutes and I tried my best to tell as much as I knew, between hot snacks. The hope in his eyes shone through as he kept up the pressure. He assured me he will get a girlfriend from Mexico, he said they all looked so pretty in the television soaps. Young player that one, to think his parents paid for him to listen to academic jargon only. Soon other kids joined him and the seminar resumed with me taking all their anxious questions. This remains one of the most exciting and fulfilling days of my young life. I have participated in quite a few seminars, but this one stood out in my mind. The students were all willing to learn and asked a whole lot of questions.
Did it worry me that the participating students preferred to travel abroad than study in Nigeria if given the opportunity? Yes it did. However, that is not the focus of this 'article". I could not think of a better term sorry, so we will call this an article. The most amazing thing about Thursday 14th July, was the question and answers session after my nearly four hours presentation with careful breaks in between. One of the topics discussed in the seminar was "strategies for top academic performance at the University". This yours truly, was able to discuss flawlessly having earned a distinction from the University of Aberdeen. The participants made me feel like an academic celebrity, they all promised me that their aim will be to make distinctions, first class or any other top score available. This was the highlight of my day for sure.
Back to the questions and answers raised in the "University Preparatory Seminar". One question, this writer will never forget was asked by a girl called Remi (not real name as permission was not given). She wanted to know the other factors that enabled me succeed in school, outside the classroom. She explained this further, did your parents play any role in encouraging you? Or were you always brilliant knowing that you will always excel no matter the academic challenge? This question got me thinking and like we now know I love to think! It's a habit! I went on to tell a shocked Remi and my audience how I was once a below average struggling student. My senior secondary school results were so bad that one time I came 40th position out of 60 students. That was my lowest point. The highest was 15th position and the celebration that followed during the holidays was unbelievable, you would have thought I came first in class. My senior school leaving certificates were at best a disaster. My WAEC result was so bad I could not eat for days. Many thanks to NECO for giving me the necessary five credits that enabled me proceed to the University.
The interesting thing is throughout all these, my parents insisted that I was a genius. I remember, looking up that word in the dictionary and thinking they must be patronizing me. Genius? You have got to be kidding me! The funny thing is, if you hear something all the time it sticks, so when I got to the university this genius decided to try something new. I drew up a reading plan which I shared with participants and it worked. I read everything before the lecturer had a chance to mention it in class and made friends with intelligent students. Somehow, the experiment worked. Interestingly I still enjoy reading till this day. Remi, made me realize that my parents were my motivating force. They believed in me even when there was no evidence of brilliance and it challenged me to be better.
Everyone needs someone that believes in them no matter what. It could be a friend, an Imam, a Pastor, a herbalist or a lover but everyone deserves to have someone cheering them on through life struggles. We can all be exceptionally brilliant at something, all we need is a positive force in our lives that makes us want to be better. Humans need each other not just for procreation but to survive on this planet. As soon as the seminar ended, I called my parents to thank them for never giving up on me. They just laughed it off.
There is always someone that can feed off positive energy from you in your community. Motivate, share, love there is no greater cause than these. In Naija it sometimes seem like the government are immune to the sufferings of young people. We cannot keep waiting for them to accept us, let us believe in ourselves and move forward. There is nothing we cannot do if we believe, preserve and work our hardest.
Until my next post, be a light to someone, stay positively energized!
Yours truly,
Young, hip, Naija!
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Young, Hip, Naija
I have planned this blog in my head ever since, I heard that inner voice that won't stay still. I promise not to bore you or waste your valuable time but rather get as many people as possible to stop for a few minutes and "think". Now someone may say this is just boring, why will I need to be told to "think"? I do that all the time without some anonymous blogger asking me to, thank you very much! Let me sincerely apologize for asking this of us, I know we are programmed to think and act as human beings, sadly many of us do not control channel our thoughts. Somehow, like a detective in a well scripted crime movie, I have found that many young proudly Naija people focus too much on "empty swagger".
Naija young people are hip which means cool, stylish, contemporary and like we say in Las gidi, highly mobile. We love our blackberries, range rover sports, MI, Tuface, Psquare and all the other artists in between, Wiz Kid, I see you. The cool thing about us is that whether we can afford the blackberry or range rover is not the question, somehow it becomes a necessity and before long many people have them. Think "Brazilian hair"! I do not know if India, Brazil or China is ready for the demand that will come from Naija women in years to come. Everyone has moved on from "darling yaki", it's all about the hair extensions. A visit to any good club in Las gidi will reveal a bevy of beautiful women in all types of hair extensions.
Need more proof on how hip we are? As soon as a trend starts in America, London, Paris, we modify it and make it our own. We have revolutionized the music industry in Africa with almost no meaningful government assistance. Nollywood, love or hate it has surpassed expectations and continued to gain rave reviews. Somehow Genevieve Nnaji got her CNN prime time interview and some Hollywood actors have featured in Naija flicks. We have comedians making bank and young swagger loving professionals enjoying the good life.
All seems well in our land doesn't it? Asa a young hip Naija babe did rightly say and I quote "there is fire on the mountain and no seems to be on the run". Inside these seemingly glowing positive developments that can be attributed to resilience, there is a brewing fire. The median age of Naija people is 19. The population is young, unemployed and without a clear purpose. There are over 150million people in Naija with 90% of us under the age of 65 according to the National Population Commission. The people are young, ambitious and mostly outside the blackberry, Brazilian hair or elite entertainers category. The percentage described above is minute compared to the larger "have not" army of young people. Many of these people may never read this blog or join facebook. You see wahala dey!
We need to start "thinking" and changing the current approach to our beloved Naija. I have a few questions we can take as homework. I feel like I can ask you to do an assignment in your spare time. Many thanks in advance. Firstly, why are we unable to feed ourselves through mechanized farming? Secondly, since the bulk of the population are young people, why is there little positive change? Thirdly, are we comfortable with the way things are? Fourthly, considering our demographics and population strengths shouldn't there be enough opportunities for the majority, think China, Brazil, India? Lastly, who will change Naija?
This is the first of many blog posts to come, let's get "thinking" not talking. The solution to Naija's challenges are in our brains. Think, think and think.
Until next time stay young, hip and proudly Naija. Naija will rock, because of you.
Young, hip, Naija!
Naija young people are hip which means cool, stylish, contemporary and like we say in Las gidi, highly mobile. We love our blackberries, range rover sports, MI, Tuface, Psquare and all the other artists in between, Wiz Kid, I see you. The cool thing about us is that whether we can afford the blackberry or range rover is not the question, somehow it becomes a necessity and before long many people have them. Think "Brazilian hair"! I do not know if India, Brazil or China is ready for the demand that will come from Naija women in years to come. Everyone has moved on from "darling yaki", it's all about the hair extensions. A visit to any good club in Las gidi will reveal a bevy of beautiful women in all types of hair extensions.
Need more proof on how hip we are? As soon as a trend starts in America, London, Paris, we modify it and make it our own. We have revolutionized the music industry in Africa with almost no meaningful government assistance. Nollywood, love or hate it has surpassed expectations and continued to gain rave reviews. Somehow Genevieve Nnaji got her CNN prime time interview and some Hollywood actors have featured in Naija flicks. We have comedians making bank and young swagger loving professionals enjoying the good life.
All seems well in our land doesn't it? Asa a young hip Naija babe did rightly say and I quote "there is fire on the mountain and no seems to be on the run". Inside these seemingly glowing positive developments that can be attributed to resilience, there is a brewing fire. The median age of Naija people is 19. The population is young, unemployed and without a clear purpose. There are over 150million people in Naija with 90% of us under the age of 65 according to the National Population Commission. The people are young, ambitious and mostly outside the blackberry, Brazilian hair or elite entertainers category. The percentage described above is minute compared to the larger "have not" army of young people. Many of these people may never read this blog or join facebook. You see wahala dey!
We need to start "thinking" and changing the current approach to our beloved Naija. I have a few questions we can take as homework. I feel like I can ask you to do an assignment in your spare time. Many thanks in advance. Firstly, why are we unable to feed ourselves through mechanized farming? Secondly, since the bulk of the population are young people, why is there little positive change? Thirdly, are we comfortable with the way things are? Fourthly, considering our demographics and population strengths shouldn't there be enough opportunities for the majority, think China, Brazil, India? Lastly, who will change Naija?
This is the first of many blog posts to come, let's get "thinking" not talking. The solution to Naija's challenges are in our brains. Think, think and think.
Until next time stay young, hip and proudly Naija. Naija will rock, because of you.
Young, hip, Naija!
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