Political Apathy in Nigeria: way forward.
Author: ███████
Area: Political Apathy/Civic engagement

Political Apathy in Nigeria: way forward.


In the parliamentary election held in Egypt in 2012, Sharif Shinawi, a 55 year old woman who was spotted on a long queue to cast her vote told reporters: “this is the first time in 55 years that I can vote. It was never in the history of Egypt, since Adam and Eve that we’ve had this opportunity. I am willing to wait 10 hours or until tomorrow morning if I have to but I will vote.”, In Nigeria’s 2011 general elections, less than 35% of the about 70 million people who registered actually turned up to cast their votes.

Nigeria has many problems: Insecurity; corruption; poor leadership etc., but in keeping with the theme; let’s address the one that offers you and I the most opportunity to effect positive change, starting now: Political apathy, an issue that has been silently smothering our democracy with disinterest and ignorance.

Political participation is a right, but it’s a duty too. People say “politics is a dirty game”, yes; that is true, but it’s a game we cannot afford to sit and watch from the sidelines, cheering and jeering in time to the antics being displayed on-pitch, because our lives: education; security; healthcare... are what make up the ball in this game. Spectators don’t score goals, only players do.

G.J Nathan proclaimed that “bad leaders are elected by good citizens who do not vote”. At the recent area elections in Abuja, less than 15% of registered voters turned up to vote. Excuses like “my vote will not count” and “it’s not safe” abound, and while these are legitimate concerns in Nigeria’s political climate; the truth is that not voting exacerbates these problems, making votes count even less and violence more certain at the next elections. There is a finite number of votes that can be cast at any given election and the fewer people actually vote, the more wiggle room it gives unscrupulous politicians to rig and manipulate the results, invariably leading to less credible elections, with the attendant effects.
Campaigning for and supporting a candidate standing for election is another way to effectively entrench our democracy. Openly supporting a candidate not only works to improve voters turnout, but gives one a basis to influence and direct for good, the governmental actions of that candidate once he/she is in power, as it is the usual practice, worldwide; for politicians to toe the line of their party and backers.

Standing for elections , although restricted as it is to the brave of heart, remains the single most effective way to effect change in the democratic polity, with infinitely more possibilities. Daunting as it is, a willingness to start at the bottom will make the journey much easier, think councilor of a local government; serving as a positive influence there while working to move up the ladder and continue the good work.
Advocacy, or activism, is the more vibrant (and active) cousin of armchair criticism, and basically, it involves being a thorn in the side of the government, something which has ever been necessary for a democracy to thrive. As one author put it; “Democracy is like a muscle, exercise it and it will grow bigger and stronger, under-utilize it and it will atrophy”. Constantly testing the limits of the government’s dedication and adherence to its purpose of benefiting the people will keep it on its toes, and get more work done. This can be done physically or virtually (social media like Nairaland).

The Government has a role to play too, in effecting this much needed paradigm shift: provide conducive atmosphere of security and respect of human rights, as well as streamlining the voting process, from registration to actual casting.

As Professor M.E Aluko put it: “Here is the bottom line: if elections in a democracy do not lead to accountable governance where inept officers fear losing the next elections, effective officers are reasonably confident of being returned and promising candidates who offer themselves have a good chance of being elected, then democracy is under threat, and the chances for political, economic and social development in that national polity are remote” This is our goal, let’s play our roles.

EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE: ITS EVILS AND POSSIBLE REMEDIES
Author: ███████
Area: Education

EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE: ITS EVILS AND POSSIBLE REMEDIES


Permit me to write on this cankerworm that has really eaten deep into the fabrics of our educational system. It has become a general trend in our dear nation. We see it every now and then, experience it everyday, breath it, swim in it, enjoy it, but fail (either deliberately or ignorantly) to put into consideration its devastating consequences which are grievous. By all these, I mean examination malpractice.

Examination malpractice is a crooked, illegal and unauthorized act or behaviour displayed by a candidate, parent, lecturer, teacher or supervisor with the aim of aiding the candidate to gain undue success. This dangerous trend has spread to all levels of our educational institutions ; the tertiary, secondary and elementary schools.

The parents have failed in this regard. The government, teachers and ofcourse, we students are also to be blamed for this ugly development.

However, shifting blames is not necessary. We should rather channel our energy to the means of eliminating the menace as it has become systematic and therefore requires that strong-willed, decisive and determined measures be taken in order to curb it.

The evils of examination malpractice are too numerous but few are discussed below:

Firstly, it promotes mediocrity in the society. A 'professional' who passed through the back door would surely be an incompetent fellow. This to a great extent, explains why there are thousands of certificates but little results. A nation that parades mediocres at the helm of affairs is doomed.

In addiction, it breeds corruption. We all know that corruption is a major problem in Nigeria but few know the rudiments. An average Nigerian believes that corruption is only associated to those in the government houses. A parent who pays for his child to cheat is not just corrupt but has also succeeded in inculcating the act into the ward.

Also, examination malpractice hinders creativity and resourcefulness. It hampers self-development on the part of the student by making him or her lazy and weak. The candidates abilities and potentials are not discovered and guided. In the long run, greater harm is done to the fellow.

It also creates the avenue for the young ones to take things for granted by demorizing the serious ones among them.

Notwithstanding, a problem clearly stated is half solved. We have been able to establish that examination malpractice is a major problem in Nigeria. Its deadly evils have been examined, but are there remedies? Can the nation ever get rid of the cankerworm? Certainly yes. It starts from you and I.

The parents must teach their wards good morals and godly acts. They should let the children know the benefits of hardwork through practical means. Afterall, charity begins at home.

The government has a lot to do in this regard. They should provide enabling environment, equip our schools, employ the best teachers and lecturers alike, train them periodically, give them incentives and regulate the administration of the schools. They should also extend the regulation to private institutions.

P.T.A. Should be allowed to play more prominent roles in school administration as its importance cannot be over-emphasized.

I will sugest that all schools employ counsellors to help provide guidance to the students.
More attention should be paid to continous assesment (CA) since it does not give much room for cheating.


Finally, we (the students) must realize that examination malpractice does more harm than good to us. Run away from it.
Let us make honesty our best policy.

CURBING ELECTORAL MALPRACTICES AND DEFICIENCIES IN NIGERIA
Author: ███████
Area: Elections

CURBING ELECTORAL MALPRACTICES AND DEFICIENCIES IN NIGERIA


The average Nigerian on the street will always complain, most probably in pidgin, “Government no good ooh”. One might argue, Nigeria is so famous, known as the Giant of Africa, the largest economy in Africa and all other unnecessary stuff like being one time happiest people in the world. Redirect these folks to see our position in charts like most corrupt nations, most dangerous nation, most poor nation or highest child and maternity rate and they would have no choice than to eat their words. Well, the general consensus is largely that the government has failed us. Rather than complaining about these problems, we can all stand up as Nigerians to effect a change. The first step on the recovery course is to give the mantle of leadership to capable hands.

The electoral system in various countries all over the world is seen as a time to replace leaders who failed or uphold those who have performed effectively. All done under a well managed process. Here in Nigeria, our electoral system contains reports such as ballot box snatching, ballot box stuffing, deliberate disenfranchising and intimidation of voters. The products of this flawed electoral process are leaders who, rather than lead efficiently, from time to time perform fight scenes that would make the dead bones of Bruce Lee grin after they have finished copying Jackie Chan’s gate climbing skills.

With this being an essay concerning politics, what better way to begin than in the grammar of a famous politician. As a matter of exigency, the crinkum crankum lineament of our electoral processes needs to be deracinated. To begin, installing cameras in every single polling station would help deter fraudulent movements towards ballot boxes and also identify the wannabe Usain Bolt who decides to practice his running skills with the ballot box. Such videos can also help election tribunals make decisions to annul elections in certain areas. These cameras can be hooked up on-line real-time to a central defense control room so that the instant something bad happens, appropriate measures can be put in place.

Next, the Nigerian Bar Association together with the Nigerian Judicial Council have to establish a good election tribunal. These self acclaimed learned Homo sapiens who refer to the rest of us as unlearned have delivered plenty unlearned stories to us. An example being a situation where a Deltan lawmaker was removed after being in office for two years and asked to pay back the salaries and allowances he received. To prevent further delay in election suits the election tribunals should have well stated guidelines to help them make swift decisions. The Judiciary should see this as an important role to be developed upon. No where is it more true than in election suits that justice delayed is justice denied.

Finally, the nation should gradually start making a shift to E-voting. This is a type of voting carried out through various electronic channels. Such channels include telephone, internet and electronic voting machines. Nigeria has recorded some success in electronic advances. Many can attest to the fact that e-payment channels have made various payments easier. This success can also be achieved in the electoral process. Gujarat state in India, an equaling developing nation as Nigeria, as at April 2011 used electronic voting machines to great success. First off, the cost benefit analysis far outstrips the ballot paper system when taken on a long term calculation. The initial setup costs are huge, but choosing the right channel which can last for many years is cheaper than always printing election materials. Electronic voting would reduce costs of paying huge personnel and frequent ballot paper printing costs. Electronic voting can also reduce the rate of bogus voting and invalid voting. Like all other voting methods, E-voting has its limitations but with technology it is always easier to make improvements than with simple paper voting.

I now rephrase the beautiful SHELL television advert. It is not a question of place, religion, tribe, age, sex or literacy level, our government has to be better. It is our responsibility and commitment to make it better for us and our future generation.

The long awaited moment is here...

Welcome back Missmeiya.

Goodluck to all contestants.

Am so loving all the entries sent in by the contestant... Its good to know that they youths are fully aware of the problem facing our country and have a probably solution to tackle the problems...

@MissMeiya

Maybe after the contest, can you like create a thread of all the entries and send it to the FP(iknwuandoit) for all to see...
Kudos to all involved in this competition.

Sharing the Shame: Confronting Sexual Violence in Nigeria
Author: ███████
Area: Sexual Violence

Sharing the Shame: Confronting Sexual Violence in Nigeria


You called him Brother Uche. He lived nearby, and he went to your church, and he taught you your assignments. Then one day, you went to his house and he grabbed you and tore your dress, and forced himself into you. His sweat mingled with your tears and stung your eyes. When your parents saw you limping gingerly with your tear-streaked face and swollen eyes, they shouted and they swore, and you hung your head and closed your eyes against the shame. You were 11.

Years later, two men from AIT came to your secondary school. They wanted a teenage perspective of Nigeria’s problems. Your classmates said things like bad roads and no electricity. You raised your hand and said sexual violence. Everyone turned to look at you. With a shaky breath and burning eyes, you continued. You said, "It is a shame that the “Giant of Africa” treats sexual assault cases against women and children with levity, or worse, dismissiveness." You said, "It is a shame that many Nigerians do not believe that rape happens at all, and if it does, it was the victim’s fault—she provoked him, she was a bad girl, she wanted it, she didn’t fight, she deserved it; when in fact, studies have clearly and numerously shown that what survivors do before a rape has little, if anything, to do with the rapist’s decision to assault." "It is a shame", you said, "that out of an estimated 2 million rapes annually, only 28 percent of them are ever reported, and only 3 percent result in convictions. Is it any wonder they act with such impunity? But the biggest shame of all? Most victims suffer their first assault before the age of 20. And of those, half are assaulted before the age of 10. Assaulted by their fathers and brothers, uncles and neighbors, then by their husbands and boyfriends--these are no strangers, but their would-be protectors!" You halted and looked down.

"Out of fear of social stigmatization, of further shame, humiliation, and victimization, and out of guilt, guilt that somehow, somehow it was their fault; they never report their assaulters. And those brave few that do, only to have their cases thrown away because of bungling law enforcement and a disinterested prosecution. The shame these victims bear, silently, and alone, that shame belongs to you. It belongs to you and you, and to all of us. We fail to protect them, we fail to avenge them, we force them to bear the shame of our entire society, and then we pretend not to see. That is Nigeria's shame." Finally, you sat down. There was a scattering of applause throughout the room. As you looked around, you saw people looking away hastily as you met their stares, people nodding righteously, and... one girl gazing at you with red, dry eyes. Silently, she mouthed, "Thank you."

~

WHAT TO DO:

1. Intense public enlightenment and education at schools, social clubs, cultural groups, churches, mosques and the media, to debunk the myths about sexual assault that detract from tackling the real cause of sexual assault, which is the attacker, not the victim. Without this, preventive efforts are futile.[4]

2. Free and compulsory education for children, especially female children. There is a persistent practice in Nigeria, due to ignorance and poverty, where children and teenagers, instead of being in the classroom, are used for street hawking of petty wares or as "housegirls", thus making them vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse. Parents or guardians must be monitored and those who do not comply must be prosecuted. Cases of such child labor should be reported to the authorities. And those cases must be dealt with.[4]

3. Prevention of sexual assault will remain a mirage until Nigeria puts in place an institutional framework to deal comprehensively with cases of sexual assault by using the criminal justice system, the police, social services, and sexual assault services in unison. Making such services freely available and the successful prosecution of perpetrators will encourage victims of sexual assault to break their silence and change the way sexual assault is treated in Nigeria.[4]

--

References:
1. Prof. Odu, Bimbolakemi, Dr. Falana, Bernard Akinlabi, Olotu, Olukoyaadewale. "PREVALENCE OF VIOLENT SEXUAL ASSAULT
ON SOUTH WEST NIGERIA GIRLS." European Scientific Journal 10.7 (2014): 471-481.
2. Akinbobola, Yemisi. "Social Media Stimulates Nigerian Debate on Sexual Violence." UN Africa Renewal Online. http://www.un.org/africarenewal/web-features/social-media-stimulates-nigerian-debate-sexual-violence
3. Fatimat M Akinlusi, Kabiru A Rabiu, Tawa A Olawepo, Adeniyi A Adewunmi, Tawaqualit A Ottun, Oluwarotimi I Akinola. "Sexual assault in Lagos, Nigeria: a five year retrospective review." BMC Women's Health (2014): http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6874/14/115
4. U.O. Eze. "PREVENTION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN NIGERIA." Annals of Ibadan Postgraduate Medicine. 1.2 (2013): 65-70.

EDUCATION SYSTEM IN NIGERIA
Author: ███████
Area: Education

TOPIC: EDUCATION SYSTEM IN NIGERIA

Every nations of the world today has in it the influence of education-the health sector, the oil sector, the development of science and technology. Education is one of the stronghold of any prosperous nation. Education is the best legacy. Every year, a country like Nigeria has a particular proportion of the National budget being allocated to the education sector. In spite of these, the education system is yet to boast of a perfect system.

To start with, it is a known and accepted fact that capital is strongly needed to do almost all things. We would observe that the allocations given to the education sector is quite small compared to the needed allocation. The table below shows the allocation of the budget to education since 2011 till date.

Budget of Nigerian government on education since 2010:
2010 6.4%
2011 7.2%
2012 8.43%
2013 8.7%
2014 10.7%

Even though UNESCO had stipulated that countries allocated at least 26% on Education.

From the statistics above, it becomes obvious that sufficient capital is not usually pumped into the education sector and this thus form the
basis for the first challenge facing education in Nigeria-insufficient allocation. It is important to note that no matter how much finance is given to other sector; education is still the grassroots to the progress and growth of the Nation. When the mind is not educated, such becomes a menace to the society.

Furthermore, the problems caused by school teachers also cannot be overlooked. Most teachers do not really understand their positions and responsibilities as the nation builders. Their attitude towards their profession is not found impressive. It starts with modest dressing;
good conduct and sound intellectual build up by the teachers. Good mastery of the subject matter to be taught in class should be ensured,
coupled with the appropriate use of instructional material (teaching aid) as it relates to what is being taught. Disrespect to the teachers
by the students, especially the female students could mostly be traced to sexual advances by the male teachers at one point or the other,
this is against the ethics of teaching profession. With this, the teacher looses his respect and integrity to the students, thus, no proper teaching is achieved.

Professionally, a medical doctor cannot be called to a construction site as an engineer; a legal practitioner's service will not be needed in the theatre. With respect to this, it is discovered that most individuals employed into the teaching profession at this time does not have any orientation about teaching. Teaching is a professional job, which goes beyond teaching any coordinating examinations. It implies understanding students and getting a means to attend to their academic and psychological needs. A teacher is a disciplinarian, an educator, a counselor and a guardian e.t.c

However, Nigerian education can still become a standard to less developed countries around if we restrategise and carry out some restructuring in the sector. Firstly, only the qualified personals should be appointed to the ministry of the education, right from the ministry of education down to the board of education at the local level. Even the teachers should have a degree in education course no matter how low the level could be.

Secondly, consistent seminar and retreats should be organized for teachers of various schools. This will consistently help to keep them
in tune with their objectives and obligations as teacher. Also, appropriate allocations should be given to the education sector and
private organizations and even the government parastatals should invest in education sector.

In conclusion, building the education sector of the Nation is an investment which is highly beneficial to all and sundry in the nation. It is the right of every child to be well educated, purposely for the growth of the nation and an assurance of the future.

Thank God our judges are back!

Missmeiya, CFCfan


Please, when would the results be published?

██████████████
Author: ███████
Area: ████████

removed at author's request

DutchesSsS:
Missmeiya, CFCfan


Please, when would the results be published?

We're talking about it right now. Just give us a sec.

These latter essays are very captivating! Keep them coming missmeya

smithsammy:
These latter essays are very captivating! Keep them coming missmeya

Yes, they really are.

MissMeiya:


We're talking about it right now. Just give us a sec.

Okay...

I don't know if you missed the arguments earlier on but I request that before the judges release the results, they should briefly define what plaigarism is.

I think it will be fair enough for all the contestants to be aware of this.

DutchesSsS:


Okay...

I don't know if you missed the arguments earlier on but I request that before the judges release the results, they should briefly define what plaigarism is.

I think it will be fair enough for all the contestants to be aware of this.

Yes, I did miss the argument. I will do that.

DutchesSsS:



Yes, they really are.

Especially that one on sexual violence
It is superb

babyosisi:


Especially that one on sexual violence
It is superb

Yes it is, well written and inspiring.

Aisha2,CFCfan,contact Missmeiya pronto

Kuzaku:


or is Seun crushing on her??

Haha! If Seun catch u ehn, na sorry go be ur name....

MissMeiya:
THE POLITICS OF CORRUPTION
Author: ███████
Area: Corruption

Well said. This sums it up. Kudos to this author

The time is... no later than 11:45PM WAT.

*whew* Thanks CFCfan

Akposy:

Check her signature na

OMG! My signature is gone! What the heck!!!

I know you didn't delete it Seun, right? Something else must have happened.

babyosisi:


Especially that one on sexual violence
It is superb

pretty good write up but for a 700 words essay and all those references. the contestant wrote nothing by him or herself.

oga martins come do ur work o

MissMeiya:


OMG! My signature is gone! What the heck!!!

I know you didn't delete it Seun, right? Something else must have happened.

Haha! U don enter one chance oo! That niggur takes no prisoner, ask Sexkillz and Ogugua666.

Ukeachu1:

oga martins come do ur work o

lol...

That essay on sexual violence with so much reference? oh boy.... The person wrote little or nothing

MissMeiya:


OMG! My signature is gone! What the heck!!!

I know you didn't delete it Seun, right? Something else must have happened.

are u sure u did not remove it urself

Patiently waiting for the result to be announced

Otunbajega,just4jesu,moca,shaggy007 please darlings can you contact Missmeiya for you know what
God bless you as you contact her

Neyoor:
Patiently waiting for the result to be announced

My patience has entered into longsuffering

The essay on sexual violence would have been the best but the author did 5% or nothing.

The essay on sexual violence would have been the best but the author did 5% or nothing by him/herself