AGRICULTURE FOR YOUTHS, WHO CARES?

I remember when my grandpa told me how they used to go hunting, how they grew and collected fresh healthy foods without buying them. When meat, vegetables and fruits were scarce, they were still able to collect “survival foods” of roots, seeds, tree bark and small animals. That was then, and I wish I can turn the hands of times.

Naturally, Africa is conditioned for farming given its rich vegetation and soil. Africans are more energetic to manually cultivate lands for harvest right from the days of slavery in tobacco farms in America till tomorrow. But this energy has not been taken advantage of and we remain primitive. One would have presumed that things should be done differently by this time of age: for Africa to be able to feed Africa by itself. But is that a reality? It's still a long walk.

THE MIX

If there’s one good thing we have lost that you will see, it is the tradition of raising youthful farmers in Africa. Another is the tradition of eating healthy foods for lasting living. All that is gone out of our laziness. From the way things are, we’ll all go hungry tomorrow if we still don't really care about food security.

I ask again,  why are farm lands becoming scarce, why are soil not yielding bountifully any longer,  water is never available and streams are drying up,? seedlings are just too expensive to afford, food produce are affected by all newest kind of diseases, our climate is changing, more people are faced with difficult access or with no storage facilities, and youths are migrating to cities etc and etc? Imagine if there are no solutions to this questions what that means?  To my mind, these could be one or some of the reasons why agriculture is fading off in Africa speedily if I have to put lens into it. Is like we farm to feed and then feed to farm. This is the cycle we hace found ourselves year in, year out. Should we continue this way?

In reality, farming is becoming more and more unattractive to young people as I see. Farming age is rapidly overstretched with no transition to younger generation. Take a view when no African child grows up aspiring to be a farmer like pilots and doctors, and other professional careers. That’s bad news to many but is real. Few ones that would have aspired for career in farming have been rebuked by their parents and they have lost interest. Today, parents no longer wish their children to be farmers, as farmers as seen as laborers and failures in our societies by the societies. Children grow up, viewing farming as huge problem and suffering. They see it as poor and rural, a trade only meant for illiterates and  "old school"-  who made nothing out of it. It is farming that actually have greater image problem than the youths itself, yet our Government pretend there’s none and I wonder why farming has not been rebranded if that would be?

PICTURE THAT ONE AND SEE

All over Africa, Government is working hard to open agriculture up and attract teeming number of unemployed youths, and this has continued to fail. There are no clear farming policies by Government especially to small holder farmers, for instance- what policies are there that promotes the use of land for family farms? What protection is there against farmland pollution?  What of credit availability to small holder farmers? How is Government helping them solve problems? Why do they support big farms that produce only for export while we die of hunger? There are questions you may find it difficult to answer me of course .  

When Government can not offer subsidies as a way to improve food security? What do they mean? When Government loans and support is misused by giving it to corporation or rich associate (farmers) that owns large industrial farms, what do they mean? When we set Agriculture as options meant for the old and retirees, what picture are we painting to youths? When collateral for loans are made too difficult for small holder farmers to meet? Tell me, how would farming then be attractive to youths?If I think about it, it bothers my mind.

THE WAY FORWARD- hope rising

With or without Government support, there are many ways you and I can improve local food security. From planting a small garden in our backyards, to raring domestic animals for our use and for commercial purposes, there lies our hope for food security if they don't really care. In this economic drought and circumstance not to buy all the foods you eat, but to augment them.  A small garden by your backyard can help you lot : in saving cost and keeping you healthy like in the days of our grandpas to eat healthy living fresh food. Let's eat to stay alive, agriculture is life.    

 

Volunteering, the new spirit

Every year in the United States for instance, millions of people donate their time, effort and money to help make their communities and their country a better place to live. But this aspect is missing greatly in Africa. I mean spirit of patriotism. And hasn’t helped Africa go far. If there must be a change, then there must be a new kind of spirit igniting from Africa to the world. Young people are crucial in playing this new role as future leaders, and can't afford to ignore it. I mean volunteering, the new spirit.

Volunteering is giving service above self. Volunteer works can bring real change, change  you can be part of, change you can feel it, change you can see with your own eyes. That you don’t need any politicians or security personnel or law enforcement to tell you things to do.  You can see it and feel it for yourself and know you are part of it….. There’s pride involved in this kind.  Because we are involved, we‘re part of community.

FILLING THE GAP AND NEED

It is rather unfortunate that Africans rely on Government for everything from local police protection to national defense, from collecting household trash to ensuring clean water, electricity etc. But in all these among others, it is our shared responsibility for meeting community needs.  You may know that Government can not do everything nor respond timely to all our needs. That’s just the truth.

If I can remember in the word of John F. Kennedy “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”. So I ask what has been your contribution to your community. Have you joined others in your community to give service? I mean mobilizing youths like you to clean gutters, help children to cross road to schools, help out in an emergency situation, teach children who can not afford education, create website to offer free information etc. You can save a soul by offering your time. Serve others without payment. That's is the new spirit.

PAYBACK TIME

Even though Africa has not been known as a continent with spirit of volunteerism, but is never too young to learn. So let the spirit begins now.

When Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political writer, visited America in 1830s, He was amazed to see citizens pitching in to solve community problems rather than relying on the Government. He explained it as “self interest highly understood”. And I concur.

 In other words, by binding together to serve our community, we also serve ourselves. By volunteering, we make our community better places to live,  gain new opportunities to learn, make friends, and improve our teamwork, leadership, and problem solving skills. It is satisfying to know that you can make a difference in someone else life. Keep on keeping on, because that’s the new spirit of African youths. Say it loud!  

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Football betting and youth empowerment scam

                

Africans love football more than any other sport, especially among the youths. Foot ball gambling or betting is old enough in developed world where the game is played. But not in Africa where it is watched. Betting was a taboo in those days according to Africa values and culture. People were hiding to play but not these days any more. If you check 10 youths trouser pockets, you will find 8 out of the 10 youths with long teller papers of betting in their pockets.

Gambling crept into Africa through football coupon or poll as it was called. In Africa, coupon or poll were played by those the society considered hopeless. These people were mostly old rogue poor men, who played and won at times, and then loose all the other times.  They followed the game through late or early morning listener-ship to BBC radio commentaries and forecast and perm. Some dreams scores and numbers out of high typhoid and malaria and hence play and loose their hard earned monies. This is simply a game of robbing Peter to pay Paul and nothing more, nothing less. 

Turned Table

Globalization has opened the game and is watched live on cable TV networks and online channels. As you know, youths have clubs they belong to as fans. They are so passionate about this clubs irrespective if  the club may knows they exist or not. They talk about their clubs every time and argue about it so much that they can fight and kill for this clubs.

Football gambling is no more coupons or poll. Today it is modernized with tech to attract younger generation and is referred to as betting. It is popular now in Africa and is no longer seen as taboo. High rate of unemployment has made it relieving to 70% population of youths that bets everyday to find hope in the game.  It embraces the educated and the uneducated, workers and jobless, skilled and unskilled, religious and faithless based people. They are all gamblers in the jungle.  “A gambler is a man who makes living out of hope” according to William Bolitho. But don’t ask me what kind of  hope?

Hope that one day his/her luck on betting will shine and make him/her a millionaire! I ask you again? How many millionaire gamblers you know. If not, I know how many THAT HAVE lost from betting and as a result attracted sadness, high BP, depression and madness, I tell you. I know of one that slumped and died, while we thought it was witchcraft from village? We only got to know that he had taken loan/ borrowed some amount of money to play the bet the other day. So which and where or how can that be witchcraft? It is the borrowing or betting that is rather witchcraft to  many.  

Sport betting companies are growing faster and are opening branches than banks and mobile telecom in Africa, everywhere you go.  In the morning, youths in thousands moves idly to sit in betting viewing centers to play betting games. This activity usually engages them and has only helped reduced petty theft in poor local communities. We see and say “boys are busy”.  But most worrisome, is that school children and women have joined in playing the game. Some women bet/play with household maintenance fees to keep the home hungry. This betting has made so many youths to quit their jobs into full time gambling.  If this betting if not tamed, it will promote laziness, blurred dreams, unwillingness for young people to work, dormancy  and quick money mentality which may not augur well for all.

The Other ones

"DO NOT INVEST YOUR LIFE SAVINGS" is what you will see once you log on to MMM website and yet people are lees concern of this warning. 

 

MMM is online social empowerment scheme in Nigeria that is driving so many crazy for wealth.  The scheme promises to return 30% interest on investment.  Whatever it is, is  really a scam no matter how it is colored. The scheme will only prove to be real by paying for sometimes and swindle many more when you had invested so much and least expected them to varnish like vapor.

They have done it before in Russia where it first started. Then in America where the scheme swindled Americans and  led its founder to be jail term. The scheme then moved to South Africa and was forced or pushed out of the country because of shadiness of the scheme.

Now it has moved into Nigeria and found it’s veritable because Nigeria is where many youths want to build castles in the air. By becoming a a multi millionaires without working for it. By trying luck to success.

 Despite past experience of similar scheme where people's  life’s saving, bank loans etc went away, people are yet learn. They jump at any, and you will begin to wonder why we forget so easily. I remember that central bank of Nigeria came out bold to announce that MMM is a scam, and yet people wouldn’t hear. Till they are scammed, they will then turn to blame Government for being careless.

Central Bank is the regulatory financial institution in Nigeria.  I learn that the National Assembly has moved that the Nigeria security agencies should arrest any one promoting MMM in Nigeria. But the people are kicking against it, challenging Government to provide jobs or empower them before clamping down on MMM. So I ask who is right and who is wrong? Give us your opinion now and save our souls.         

#footballbetting

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Exam malpractices and effect on quality education

You can no longer argue more than to agree that education and quality of education in Africa has been watered and schools are springing up every where, yet it is unaffordable to many.  it seems as if the more the schools, the more quality drops. Many people go through school and school had not gone through them. This is made worst when corporate employers are complaining that they find it difficult to find or recruit best hands from graduates churned out of our tertiary institutions this days.  I tend to believe what Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps, Director General once said and I quote - “It is worrisome to see and know that most of our graduates in Nigeria do not know how to read and write”. That is worrisome, but too late a blame.         

The original game            

Examination in schools in Africa is really lucrative and big time business for Shylock educational stakeholders and down lines.  Students and parents know about it; is a matter of cash. Student who pays shall pass exams. It is that bad, it is that, simply.

It starts from the cradle like play, like play when teachers in primary schools help to answer questions for pupils during common entrance examination. Then it grows bigger at the secondary school level, where students already know they will be helped by teachers during exams. Parents negotiate with schools at a cost for cheating in exam on behalf of their wards. Parents call such school "good schools".     

West Africa Examination Council aka WAEC for instance, is a regulated regional examination body that conducts exams across West Africa countries for secondary students for over 64 years running. The exam is prerequisite for admission into tertiary institutions from secondary school. But the body has consistently raised alarm of examination malpractices, and Nigeria taking the lead.There are rogue websites where students pay to registered and logged in to access leaked and fake exams question papers with answers. Student no longer read their books because of this, teachers no longer teach and cover syllabus, and schools are careless with teaching facilities, all doesn’t matter to them anymore. In as much as they aid and abate exam malpractices for their students to pass. I wonder what morals school teaches young people this days. We are after certificates, Certificate they can barely defend.  
    

I remember when WAEC exams are drawing closer, parents will begin to swap their wards to "miracle schools" and exam centers where teachers answer questions on board for students to copy. And you call that exam? Exam Miracle centers usually charges high fees far more than other. The school charges these high fees - called“corporation money", which is meant to be shared among examiners, typists, WAEC staff, printers, transporters and security agents.  These chain-of-people are involved in WAEC examination, and it is with their corporation and alignment that malpractice in exam can succeed.

Then, into the tertiary institution it gets worst. Mercenaries are brought in to write exams, Lecturers sleeps with girls (students) to score them high points, those that reject the approach fails. Handouts are produced and sold to students at exorbitant prices and if you don’t buy, you will fail. And on, and on and on!  It is like a story of a child stealing his/her way through school into office. What will you expect? He/she must steal in that office. This is what is happening in Africa now. Education has become certificated and  is clear our content is diluted. 

Is there hope 

I am told of UNESCO idea for counties to fund education by 26% GDP from budget, and for the period of  five years and I am learning the sense in this. I can explain why we find it difficult to implement it Africa. In Nigeria for instance, giving 26% of our budget to education is not really a difficult deal as a country. But Nigeria will not do that? Never, tell me why is it that Nigeria spends less than 9% of its budget is on education?  And I will tell you why students are leaving schools in Nigeria to schools in smaller African countries in droves. I will tell more why our school certificates are ignored at world stage and many more. 

To the point, WAEC in a wake is introducing the use of technology to verify candidates by bio metrics and I hope this works. I read that World Bank has again approved $45 million to boost education in Nigeria, believing that investing in people is essential part of Nigeria’s strategy to reduce poverty and achieve steady economic growth. The money is meant to boost employment opportunities for young people and improve education quality for Nigerian students. That’s right. But my greatest fear is that this money should not get into bottomless pit like the others. You know the one I am talking about.   

Look at smaller African nations like Botswana spend 19%, Swaziland 24.6%, Cote d’ Ivoire 30%, Burkina Faso16.8%, Ghana 31%, Kenya 23%, Uganda 27%, Tunisia 17% and Morocco 17.7%  of their budget on education. And schools in these countries are relatively better. According to Economists Intelligence Unit for Pearson, USA, a body that analyses school systems performances globally, found that, Finland’ education system is the best in the world and is 100% state funded. It is my belief that if African leaders give attention to education, by increasing funds allocated to education sector in budget; it can help revive the system. System where teachers/ lecturers are paid well and on good time, system where exam stakeholders are contented and truthful, system where students knows that exam is  proof of knowledge, system where parents refuses to pay money for teachers to help their children during exams, system where everybody will be responsible and accountable. That system will give new hope to Africa and to the world.     

#education

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