Tribalism, the biggest threat to Nigeria s greatness

  My country Nigeria, The biggest black nation in the face of the earth,  member of OPEC(organization of petroleum exporting countries) and also one of the richest African countries. Quite an achievement one would said and I agree with it.
      There is a major problem affecting Nigeria and every Nigerian and those that have had the oppurtunity to stay with Nigerians from different tribes would understand. This problem is the issue of Tribalism.
       This issue has eaten very deep into the Nigerian system that it is ranked on the same level as corruption or even greater. It is quite sad that after fifty-six years of independence, we still have not gotten  over this issue.
      Expressions like and I quote "Na Igbo people, they too like money,  Na Yoruba people, they too dey smell" and so on and so forth are quite common words you hear from the mouth of Nigerians. Let me share a personal experience of what I witnessed in Nigeria.
        Sometime last week, I was travelling from Benin to Lagos and I boarded one of those inter state travelling buses and I had this guy sitting behind me who had a low battery so he asked me to pass his phone to another guy that was sitting in the front close to the driver so that the guy can help him charge his phone using the  in car charger. I did as I was told but the guy at the front told me that he was using the charger to charge his phone. I passed the information back to the guy and what happened next surprised me.
       The next thing I heard was " Na Igbo people, they too greedy, even if him battery don full, e no go still allow me charge"  The guy was saying that the man sitting at the front is Igbo and   that Igbo people are  greedy and even if his phone was full, he still won't allow him charge. This guy said this to me and was waiting for me to say something to support him or contradict him which is quite common in Nigeria when you having a discussion or argument but I kept quiet because I have learnt from past experience that you don't respond to everything.
        Throughout the rest of the Journey, I could not stop thinking of what the guy said. How did he know that the guy sitting at the front was Igbo? Have they met before for him to know he was Igbo or was he judging from physical appearance?  How certain was he that the guy s battery was full and he did not want him to charge? All this and many more was all I could think about throughout the duration of my Journey.
       The example above is a classical example of what is wrong in Nigeria. Most times in Nigeria, you are not judged as an individual rather you are judged based on your tribe especially if you do something wrong and this is so wrong. People in Nigeria loose contracts, help and all other stuff just because they are not of the same ethnic group as the person awarding the contract. If a Nigerian finds himself in a public office, Most times, he only helps those that are from the same ethnic group as him. This does not happen all the time but most times .
       Another way of breaking the barriers of tribalism  is by Marriage but there are some people that have sworn that none of the Children must get married  to someone that is not of the same ethnic group and any of their Child that goes against  their wishes will be disowned.  And we claim we are one Nigeria?? Frankly speaking, I think we are deceiving ourselves because we are just like a pastor that preaches but don't practice what he preaches.
         The Igbo s which is my tribe have a strong hatred for the Hausa s and they don't consider the Yoruba s as people which is not right. I have been in a gathering with Igbo people where they say things like " I can never associate myself with Yoruba people". This is quite sad because these people are youths that are well enlightened and educated. In Nigeria we are taught by our parents that "United we stand and divided we fall".
       Nigeria as a country is very influenced by the western countries. Nigerians love emulating the western countries.We dress like them,  Some of us even speak like them, Hollywood  has a big audience in Nigeria,  Almost all Nigerian men watch the English primer league and so on and so forth.            
          Even the western countries know the Importance of Diversity because there is strength in Diversity. I have been opportuned to have studied in the United kingdom and I can happily say that my time there was one of the most enjoyable moments of my life and I really enjoyed my student experience. The reason for this was because of the diversity of the country. I had the opportunity to meet with people from all part of the world and also learnt about the cultures of other people. In the UK, you see people from all part of the world peacefully co-habiting together. I have also been to a marriage ceremony between a black guy and an Asian lady.  Things like this strengthens ties among countries and also makes the world a better place.  The USA conducts a scheme known as the Visa lottery whereby certain individuals from most countries in the world are randomly  selected to come and work and stay in the US permanently. This reason for all of this is because these countries believe in the strength of Diversity.
      If Nigeria wants to be great, then Tribalism needs to go. This is the most important thing to do to make this country great like the people we emulate.

Thanks for reading, pls share

Advice on money and investment

         So the other day, I was looking at a Fifty Naira note and It made me to start thinking about some certain things. Money answers all prayers but it is also the root of all evil. I was pondering how this world has turned into this stage or phase whereby an individual is being respected based on the amount of paper money he/she can accumulate during his/her life time. Sad Isn't it was the thought that came to my head. The day that  paper finishes in your hand then that's the day all respect is gone. And the funniest thing about that particular paper money I was holding was that it looks so old and the reason for this was because that particular paper money has changed hands. Upon the time of printing, it was quite new but due to the fact that this particular note has changed hands, the note has no order choice than to start detoriating.
        This same law applies to everyone, you have some little amount of money today and you feel as if you 've arrived. Some even go as far as oppressing others because they can afford what that particular person cannot afford. A popular Nigerian musician named fela sang one song titled water no get enemy. I can also say that money no get friend so while you are there showing off with that money you have, always remember that money is not your friend and it might not be with you for the rest of your life. It will start changing hands and very soon will leave your hands and go to another and might not come back if you don't invest wisely.

Thanks for reading
 

Word for the day

Get up each day feeling content and happy.
Some people wish to see today but they are not alive.
So wake up happy and be ready to fight the challenges of life.
You should be able to make a lemonade out of the lemon that life gives to you.
So make very good use of any opportunity you get and be ready to wow people for the rest of your life.
If life was a human being, it would certainly be black because life is not fair.
But also remember that you can never ever get a second chance for a first impression.
So live life to the fullest but remember there is a future out there waiting for you to conquer.
And the sooner you start, the better it is for you and your future.

Children s day at Iguobazuwa, Ovia South west, Edo state

The 27th of May is a public holiday in Nigeria and it happens to be Children day. As you guys know, I am a serving Corp member and the school in which I teach in has been invited for a marching ceremony at the local government council and I am the co-ordinator of the marching ceremony in my school. 

 Some pictures of the event can be found below

My school when they started marching 

When they were marching towards the officials

Marching continues

The students of the school performing a cultural dance

Unfortunately, my school came third in the marching competition and first in the cultural dance.  It was a good day for the kids and one they would not forget in a hurry.

Thanks for reading

Youths of Nigeria, where are thou??

So I was having a chit chat with my fellow Corp members in our lodge. We were all discussing about how social media s like Facebook has influenced our life and an idea came to my mind.

Now if you look at the population of Nigeria, Nigeria has a population of more than 191million plus as of my time of checking and half of this population are youths. A country with this high number of youths and workforce still cannot boast of producing mere tooth pick. We import everything. To me, it is a thing of shame and disgrace. We claim to be the giants of Africa but that's a big lie because I believe that in order for one to be a giant, you must have a strong economy that manufactures goods.

Countries with high population like The United states, China and India all use their population to their advantage and that's why these countries  have some of the strongest economies. We claim we are rich but the day oil dries up in this our land, that's the day we will realize we are actually poor.

Some people might be saying that it is the Government fault which I partially agree with but we youths can't leave everything for the Government . I was reading some article online and I read something that caught my attention "Do not always say what has the country done for me rather it should be what have you done for the country". We youths are creative but our creativity ends on social networks. We spend countless number of time on social networks and many has become addicted to it.

If you look at Facebook, the owner dropped out of school to pursue his dream, he was not that smart, he was creative. Creativity is the key factor. We have many youths that are creative as Zuckberg but they channel their creativity towards the wrong medium. We youths have a huge role to play in order to make Nigeria great because at the moment, we are just a bunch of losers and a laughing stock to the international community.

Every youth has a role to play unless you want your kids to suffer what you suffered which is the highest regret a parent can have.

So while  you are slaying on Fbk, clubbing, joining all the gangs( pepperthem, onionthem and crayfishthem), remember that time does not wait for anyone and the sooner we start doing something about our future, the better for us.

From a citizen of Nigeria that truly cares

Thanks for reading, pls share and comment.

I0 Important factors noticed in the community where I serve

Hi everyone. As you guys know, I am currently obeying the clarion call by doing my National youth service in Nigeria and I am serving in a secondary school in Iguobazuwa, Edo state, Nigeria. In this article I will be listing out some few things I noticed about the community and it's people based on the area that I stay in which is Iguobazuwa.

1 Everyone knows each other
In the conmunity that I am staying, everyone literally knows each other. Just show them a picture of the person and they can tell you his life history including when the person moved to the town, the profession of the father and mother, the name of his/her siblings and what they do.  That is for indigene s .

2 Everyone looks up to the weekend
I know some people might not agree on this one but this is something that I have noticed here. You will certainly hear music blasting out from a speaker almost every weekend and also people dressed nicely going to a ceremony.  It could either be   naming ceremony, burial, remembrance, someone powerful died or a baby was born. Whatever occasion it is, Music blasting out from speakers is something that reminds you that is weekend already.

3 Rain is a precious commodity that you get once in every blue moon.
I have stayed in Iguobazuwa for close to four months now and in my stay there, I can literally count the number of times rain fell. Although we not in raining season, but the number of times rain falls is pretty low compared to states in the same geographical location.

4 Everyone seems to have a sibling, friend or even parents abroad.
Nigeria is suffering from brain drain and it is all over the country but I think the brain drain in this part of the country is high. The amount of people abroad from this part of the country is very high and everyone seems to know someone that had left the shores of the country in exchange of a better life abroad which is certainly not guaranteed.

5 Almost all youth both male and female have mastered or still learning a handwork.
In my stay in this community, I have seen young boys and girls striving hard to make ends meet. Most of them are students but after schooling, they also go to their various shops where they are learning a handwork. Majority of the handwork s been learned are tailoring, hair dressing, catering, barbing. Majority of this kids would end up being entrepreneurs in the future and this would help them to contribute postively to their society and the country as a whole. In Nigeria , Edo people are known for their tailoring and hair dressing skills.

6 The market women don't like it when you bargain with them on their goods.
One important thing I ve noticed about the market is that the market women just hate it when you bargain with them on their goods. They expect you to just pay whatever they tell you and find it very offensive when you try to bargain with them. I am speaking based on my personal experience. This happens with majority of the women in the market place but not all of them. They are still some that are quite alright when you bargain.

7 Infrastructural maintenance is a no go area.
In the community where I stay, there is a school that was funded and built by the European Union, Federal Government and the local government. The standard of the building is very high compared to some government secondary schools that I know of but the problem is maintenance. The buildings are not been maintained properly and this has caused the buildings to detoriate immensely.

8 Electricity is top notch
In my stay here so far, I have been quite impressed with the electricity supply. One advantage of this place is the constant supply of electricity which is something I thought might be difficult but the power holding company keeps on proving me wrong. The only downside of this is when the electricity equipment becomes faulty. It might take some time before it becomes fully stable again.

9 Getting water can be quiet stressful
As a corper serving in this community, I become very tired whenever I have to get water and it is not because of laziness because I am not lazy. The problem is the stress involved before you get water. Firstly, one has to look for a truck and after searching and getting one, you have to push the truck to the borehole, get the water and then push the truck back to your house. The process involved is the reason why getting water can be stressful.

10 Corpers are not respected.
This final factor is one that makes me sad. As a corper, I expect  the community that I serve in to fully accord me with my due respect and this is far from true in this community. There are still some that respect corpers but not even up to majority.  Many people see corpers as cash cows and would jump at every opportunity they get to milk the corpers.

This are some of the factors that I have noticed in the community where I serve. Thanks for taking your time to read this. Pls comment and share to support me. Many thanks.

Different codes used to transfer money in Nigerian banks

*Bank transfers.*
*Knowledge is Power*.....And I thought someone might need this.  You can thank me later

How to transfer money and recharge  phone from your bank account. (All banks)

1. Access Bank:
----*901*amount#

2. EcoBank:
----*326*amount#

3. Fidelity Bank:
----*770*amount#

4. FCMB:
----*389*214*amount#

5. First Bank
----*894*amount#

6. GTB:
----*737*amount#

7. Heritage Bank:
----*322*030*amount#

8. Keystone Bank:
----*322*082*amount#

9. Sky Bank:
----*389*076*1*amount#

10. Stanbic IBTC:
----*909*amount#

11. Sterling Bank:
----*822*amount#

12. UBA:
----*389*033*1*amount#

13. Unity Bank:
----*322*215*amount#

14. Zenith Bank:
----*966*amount# or
----*302*amount# (for MTN users)

15. Diamond Bank (Yellow Acct. only):
----*710*555*phone no*amount*pin#

To know your BVN, dial
----*565*0#.

Good morning 😀