₦airaland Forum

Vl3ly:
this is it

Palm tree or bamboo?

Story! That's for those who didn't reside in Lagos before 1999. The most annoying thing is that we had water flowing from taps at home and public taps on the streets before then. All the mini waterworks built by Jakande seem to be non functional now. It's either boreholes or mairuwa all the way.

Ikeja, Ilupeju etc and all the industrial estates were built in the era of Awolowo. The former Western Region started from Fadeyi on Ikorodu Road. The seat of government was on the Island extending only to Yaba and Surulere. Lagos had decent places to live in not slums.

Lekki exists today because Jakande built the road to Epe which was hitherto only accessible through Ikorodu/Ijebu axis. Most of the major institutions and agencies were built by LKJ apart from his truly low cost housing and masses oriented transportation system.

EriMma1:
Will it change anything? Ive grown so thick in this mindset. Marriage Is now like intrusion or even insurrection in my life or maybe how I now see it.

You need to work on your mind. Your current state is based on what what you have thought is right over the years and adjusted to. You can reprogram your mind if you so wish.

talk2hb1:
Our Thoughts Become our Reality, it's what you feed your thoughts about everything that paralyses your action leading to inaction.

You're absolutely right! Our deep thoughts tend to manifest in our lives. That's why the Bible says we should think about good things (positive thoughts) always.

Ariketolu:
THIS HAS BEEN BOTH A COMMON CONCERN OF EVERY RESPONSIBLE MAN AS WELL AS A FAMILIAR TOPIC AMONG MEN THROUGH AGES, But unfortunately, it is a lost battle

Not long ago, I stumbled on a discussion in relation to how some women abandon their husbands at advanced ages and pitch their tents with their children under the guise of helping them to nurse their (children's) children. In some other cases, the men have been abandoned at old age by their wives because they felt it was 'pay back time' for unforgivable sins allegedly committed by the old man when he was younger. Such sins don't necessarily have anything to do with infidelity or taking a younger wife, but it's enough if the wife and the children all concluded he was too harsh with (or to) them when the marriage was younger or the children were growing up. They carefully elect to wait until the old man has retired and needs the company of his wife and the affection of the children most before they embark on a revenge mission!

In most, if not all, cases, the man must have worked day and night towards the physical, economic, and educational advancement of the family, most especially the children when they were growing up. Ironically, but for what the children now label as 'high-handedness', most, if not all, of them would have ended up as wayward children and unable to make anything worthwhile out of their lives. But they don't appreciate that!

The most painful part of it is that, the wife it was who used to obtain the children's submission to her 'dictations' by mentioning their Daddy's name each time they tended towards obstinacy! 'Your daddy is coming', 'your daddy will soon come', 'if you don't listen to me, I will report you to your daddy when he comes back', and so on. Expectedly, the children would not like to incur the wrath of their daddy, hence, they will 'maintain'! Where the children refused to listen to the mother and she was constrained to report them to the father, the father's reaction by way of punishment is what is now being used against the man as being too high-handed.

Another reason for the children's resentment towards their father is the mistaken impression that the father never contributed towards their education. While this can be true in some extreme cases where the father is irredeemably irresponsible, the truth is that in most other cases, because the father had to pursue money most of the time, he would give money for school fees and upkeep to the wife to go and settle whilst he goes 'hustling'. These facts are usually unknown to the children and the mother never told them it was their father who provided the money. Such children would later grow up and rebel against the father for his 'irresponsible' behaviours when they were growing up!

It will amount to over-generalisation to conclude that all women and children do this. Far from it! Recently, I was discussing with a former colleague in one of the banks where I previously worked. She told me that she was outside the country with Daddy. What for? One of their children just gave birth and both of them had travelled abroad to 'baby sit'! I think that's how it should be unless the old man elects not to travel!

Even in very extreme cases where the man had been beastly during the 'sinning' period, why should the woman wait until the husband's old age to 'pay him back'? Why not call it a day with the relationship when the man could still have been able to find someone with compatible behavioural patterns?

What Shall Men Do?

In the first place, a man must learn to be responsible and responsive in matrimonial homes! He must be actively involved in the children's affairs! Where some roles have been delegated to the mother, he should let the children be aware!

Second, no father must allow the woman to surreptitiously turn him into a masquerade in the estimation of the children. That you went out and you're returning home should be something that your children are looking forward to. If you continue to allow yourself to be portrayed as the family masquerade, in your old age you will definitely pay for it.

Furthermore, as a father, learn to correct your children in and with love. Let them know the reason a particular course of punishment was administered. Whatever level of punishment to be administered must be commensurate to the act of misdemeanour! Just like the Yorubas would say: 'Abéré ò gbudò sonù, ká lo gbé Ṣàngó síta'! Let the punishment fit the offence!

Finally, fathers must learn to provide for any 'incasity' at old age! In other words, learn not to eat with both hands. If you haven't been doing that before, start saving for the rainy day (old age) today. If your spouse and children decide to be supportive at old age, all well and good, but if it turns out to be otherwise, there will be no regrets. Times are changing fast too! The children also have their own lives to live. If anything comes from them to the parents at old age, fine, otherwise try and be prepared! Whatever you have as savings would eventually go to them upon your inevitable departure anyway. No parent knows the art of raising or bringing up children. Only God does!

This battle of mother and children in relation to men, in most cases, is a lost battle for men. You cannot win it. The most deceptive belief a man can have is to think that he knows everything that goes on under his roof. This is because there's usually a lot of 'Má jé kí Daddy ẹ ó mò tàbí gbó o' in all homes! In other words, 'don't let your daddy know or hear that o'! This usually exists between the mother and the children to the exclusion of the father! They understandably spend more time together than men do, no matter how hard the fathers try! I think it's unconscionable for any woman to 'conspire' with the children to dub her husband a devil after using him as a tool to train the children to achieve greatness! God bless our homes, Amen!

Caleb Arogundade

Good write up based on experience it seems!

Mostly true but it's not a lost battle. Both men and women need a new orientation. The ways of the past won't work with today's generation who tend to overreact to every situation.

Men need to spend more time with their kids. It creates a bond that no mother can break. I was close to my dad till he died. Nothing could have changed that even as he wasn't a perfect human being. No one is. Despite his busy schedule, he always created time to relate with us at home and during outings. He had personal files for each of us to monitor our progress and proffer advice or discuss problems as they arise. He paid the bills mostly through our mother who never denied same. Of course, our mum supported him as much as she could. He also never pretended that he was the sole financier.

However, men who honor side chicks while allowing their wives and children to suffer should plan for and expect anything. You can't have the love and respect of your family when you're paying the bills of mistresses and denying your family love and care. It's too emotionally, financially and physically tasking for a woman living under that condition. Of course the children see things oftentimes without being told.

Mothers should let their children show gratitude and respect their fathers. It's actually a spiritually rewarding thing for them. Hiding the fact that a father pays the bills (if he does) is grossly unfair. He loses the respect of the children while sacrificing so much for them. Mothers should separate issues between them and their husbands from the relationship between him and his children. They are two different things. It's never wise to use the children to fight battles between couples. It's probably one of the reasons why we have so many dysfunctional children these days.

A mother's attitude and actions has a great impact. Don't tell your children stories that will make them hate their father. If you feel terribly disenchanted, it's better to leave than to wait for revenge. It's a waste of valuable time and most unhealthy. Bitterness is a slow poison, avoid it.

Above all, both men and women should save towards their old age. A mix of investments makes it easy to have access to funds at all times. Even when the children are willing to do their bit, circumstances may make things difficult e.g. ill health that requires a lot of funds to manage. Whatever the child can provide should not be the main income source. Over dependence could hamper the child's progress too.

As Yorubas say, a jere omo. On the other hand, a ni woju omo ka to jeun. Amin (We'll reap from our children but we won't have to wait on them to be fed.)

God help us all.

Ikamandoncome:
Ask anyone from his village,they will confirm it.

The man is a nice man,but according to his kinsmen the problem is that he's an OSU.

Na wa! Discrimination within a tribe is outrageous and ridiculous. I thought this was a thing of the past.

Great move! I've wondered about how students who registered at home while ASUU will get their PVCs. I pray this works out. The younger generation must make a choice to secure their future. Get involved in politics. We need to move this nation forward. You own the future. Nigeria was a great nation. It's not too late to restore it to those glorious years. Focus on how to build a new restructured and powerful nation in all ways. The labors of our heroes past shall not be in vain.
God bless you all.

Years ago, the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) was active and made a huge impact on the political space. That agency, NIPSS and Centre for Democratic Studies would have been better places to host the Presidential aspirants so they can talk to us, the PVC holders.

jahsharon:
There is only one of this virtuous woman left in Heaven and Earth, the last one before this woman was Holy Mary the Mother of Christ

My mum is like this. Same with me. Those are the values we grew up with. The essence of being an omoluabi. Great pity that many have lost our sense of good values. Ise logun ise... Iwalewa

This is an old school mum. You're not allowed to bring home what is not legitimately earned. That's the true Nigerian culture. The fact that there's so much laxity and greed now doesn't mean some people don't still have our old value system at heart.

Even if it's legitimate income, what the woman needs for now is probably not a car. Expanding her business or making her life more comfortable would have been more appropriate.

Obakoolex:
I wonder what people gain from all this lies just to score cheap points.

Few years ago, I personally employed 3 guys in their late 20s from this said town working in my animal farm at ilora just 50 naira bike from ilu aje.
Ilora that the Op called bankless is just 5 minutes drive from Oyo town and most of its houses almost mixing up with oyo because they share boundary.
Now farm produce that they export from ilora weekly can feed the whole oyo state and that town is blessed with several multi millionaires and off course electricity, market, good houses and big churches (85% are Christian)
Now ilu aje is notoriously known for their JuJu practice so most of their youth stylishly claim ilora instead and reside there and oyo town because of civilization.
There's nothing you want in Oyo town that's not available or what do you expect from a place that have 5 higher institutions, a first class king and historical legacy.

Thanks for this clarification. I was beginning to wonder how this was allowed to happen in a place that is not so remote. They need to check themselves. Perhaps some spiritual cleansing too so that whatever the government or philanthropists decide to do there will truly make a difference.

Wow! So sad. May God comfort her husband and family. Aljannah firdaus.

This is Mapo, a small area with markets nearby. The centre of Old Ibadan.

SpecialAdviser:
IBB is the culprit. For a record. A south Easterner declared Abiola winner and a northerner annulled it. Immediately after the annulment, south westerners went after South Eastern people property. This is not to bring back old wound but to be guided on future occurrence.

Igbo people are really good.

Wrong narrative. Some of us remember all that transpired. SE people left on their own accord as Abacha descended heavily on the SW.

Chukwumerije, then Information Minister made announcements spelling doom for NADECO and the SW in general. We saw hell but we thank God that the battle for democracy was won. We appreciate people like late Ndubuisi Kanu who stood by NADECO against all odds.

winner37:
My brother as you are coming be careful oo Ibadan has crazy people too though the place is nice but you have to use your tongue to count your teeth, Some people here tribalism and religious beliefs want kill them you have to be wise.
cost of living is very less expensive .

There are a lot of hostels at RING ROAD and OLUYELE but I don't really know the price oo..

You obviously know very little about Ibadan. Ring road for someone going to Secretariat? Haba!

@OP
The Federal Secretariat is within Agodi GRA and close to Bodija, Idi Ape/Bashorun, Gate. Try to get somewhere to stay within that area for your convenience. UI isn't so far too as someone suggested.

Interesting story. Perhaps a good storyline for Nollywood. It will be a great movie with lessons to learn.

It seems that God judged the dubious Judge ( if the story is true) in a wonderful way.

If every agency of government dealing with crime worked diligently like NDLEA and our courts are fair in their processes, we'll have less criminals in our midst.

Too many idle minds are wasting their time poking their noses in other people's affairs instead of getting busy on making progress in their own lives.

Story, story....He can deceive only those who don't know the Ajaokuta Steel history.

@OP

Abandoning her is not a wise decision at this point in time. The phone chat shows deep frustration on her part.

A woman doesn't need to find another man before realising that she must maintain her sanity and stay safe. Don't think along that line of her having a new man for now.

A man who is verbally abusive can drive one nuts and could become violent. It seems she found her father's house to be a place where she's happy and peaceful. Only for you to offload your usual rants and provide for her an escape route. The fact that her father and brother support her speaks volumes. She'll probably calm down after a while provided you're willing to sort out your anger issues. Seek help ASAP.

TheGoodAmerican:
You told her you don't want to see her anymore simply because she couldn't pick up the phone the first few times you called her. This is a woman you're married to and the mother of your child, and you're talking to her anyhow. From your post, this was probably not the first time you're telling her such words. You also mention nagging. You cannot be verbally abusive towards your wife repeatedly and be difficult to live with and expect her to not get fed up one day.

On point!

This type of scenario is becoming a regular feature in our banks. What is baffling is that the recipient is always known. I don't understand why it's difficult to recover the funds from them and try them for fraud.

Thinkam:
I know my experience in South west recently , the best Obi can do is below 12k votes and that's even exaggerating..

That's a joke abi? Which South West?
Many more may decide to vote for Obi just to have a change.

flakkypastries:
Thanks for this Sir

It's a pleasure. Try to link up with event planners so you can have opportunities to supply food/snacks etc at events. You'll grow with good referrals.

I pray you experience divine favor and amazing grace to propel you to greater heights in 2023.

I'm female by the way.

Those searching for jobs should read the above. It may be a good option for some.

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Why artisans from neighbouring countries are flooding Nigeria – LASTVEB boss
8th January 2023
Morenike Azeez
Azeez

By
Oluwafemi Morgan
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The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board, Mrs Moronke Azeez, tells OLUWAFEMI MORGAN about the state of technical education in the country

What has been your experience heading Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board?

I come from a social development background and the work here fits into social development, so I am sort of familiar with different processes and systems to bring about change. The work here, as I see it, is really about managing change, creating transformation and also building relationships by bringing in partnerships.

Before now, we were a training provider; once we trained, we said goodbye (to our students). But for me, coming from that social background, I said no, we are trainers but our work has not stopped until we see our products getting employment or being self-employed. I believe that that is when we can say we have done our job.




How do you describe the education routes provided by LASTVEB schools?

Under the national policy on education, we have in the secondary education, there is what we call the general education. The general education is the secondary school, SS1, SS2, SS3; you take WASSCE and then you then UTME, leading to university admission. You have that route.

On the other hand, under that policy, they have provided another route and that route is what we call the technical education route. It says that for those ones who do not want to have the general education, you can go into the technical college. The technical side is three years. And then they take NABTEB exams and after the exams, they have three options, go for self-employment, or even go into higher education.

What is the level of enrolment at the moment. I read the website and it said that you had 7,000 students as at 2015. So, what is the level of enrolment now in 2022?

In 2022, we are getting close to 9,000 students, and I think that is because there is a lot more awareness around, not just technical education, but also the vocational, and also the skills and competency in terms of getting employment using technical or vocational or artisanal skills.

So, there has been a lot of awareness and there has been a lot of drive and that drive has come through the encouragement of the Lagos State Government. It has also come through the encouragement and participation of international donor organisations and even the private sector.

Do you have enough teachers to cater for the number of students that have come into the technical colleges?

What I would say is that I am not sure whether any form of education, general education or technical education,can say ‘I got extra teachers.’ There are different reasons why you cannot have 100 per cent teachers. But at the moment I will say we have adequate teachers but we could do with some more.

By this I mean that we are stretching the instructors. We could do with some more, especially when it comes to the practical sessions where we need the smaller group of students to participate in practical sessions. We could probably do with some more teachers in certain skill areas.

I can give you an example of that. We were talking to somebody about refrigeration and air-conditioning. We could do with some more people, because the ones that used to do it are now retired, and it’s difficult to find that skill. They will probably do electronics, but when it comes to that real master craftsmen, you wouldn’t find them. So, in those kind of areas we have shortage. But usually what we do is to say ‘what kind of creative, innovative way can we use to get good craftsmen into the system to support us in doing that?’


Do you have modern machines and equipment for training?

I have already told you that we are not sitting still, we know that the world is moving, we know that there are new equipment, we know that there are new technologies, but it doesn’t mean that the old is not working for training purposes. This is one of the reasons we say we have developing partners to bring in investment into our technical schools, so that we can get new machines, new tools, new experiences for our teachers and students.

The other thing is that I am not sure that we will be able to get every single equipment that we need in technical schools and that is why the students’ industrial work experience is important. This is so that even if we can’t get every single equipment, they can go out for industrial training and get experience see new tools, new machines and learn how to operate them and so on.

Do teachers in the technical colleges have training from time to time?

First of all, we have developed our strategy and we have three core areas in our strategy. The first focus area is continuous professional development of our instructors, teachers and our administrators. We very much believe that if we do not continuously train our instructors and our teachers, they cannot give us the best in terms of modernising, making changes to our curriculum, developing and imbibing new things into the colleges.

So, that is a key area for us, and as a result of that we have been pushing to make sure that as many teachers as possible are getting training over time. We are not going to train everyone of them in one year; economically, the state can’t do that, but we can do as much as possible in phases. For example, we were able to get GIZ, an international development agency, they supported us to train 35 of our instructors in Germany for three weeks. Through our own internal budget, we also organise some training for our teachers, and then we have some other partners that we seek to get their support in training our teachers.

How do you transit your students from learning to the world of work?


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Most of our students don’t think of white collar jobs. Our aim is to develop and build highly skilled technicians that will be suitable for the industry, for the world of work and if they choose, self-employment, as well. This starts from inside the classrooms, having practicals, taking NABTEB, to make sure that they pass after their three years. Every year, we send an average of about 3,000 students out to do Student Industrial Work Experience (SIWES). So, that starts to prepare them for the world of work. They go out for three months, they are there learning the ropes around their own specific trade area, and understanding what it means to work. On completion of SIWES, they return to school to take their exams.

I told you that partnership is very key to us. Some of our graduates will go and look for jobs by themselves, afterwards. Some of them, because of our own relationship with some of our partners, our partners can come to us and say, ‘Please we need 15 students from your electrical department, we will interview them and take the ones that we want,’ or they can say, ‘We will like people to come for six months internship and so on, and at the end of the programme, probably we will employ a few of them.’

So, we are always getting those kinds of requests because of the relationships that we have with a lot of our partners. We have over 400 partners that we have developed relationships over time. It is a lot of work, in terms of cultivating relationships with these partners.

Can the five colleges being operated by the Lagos State Technical Board take care of the demand for technical education?

No, they don’t. The five technical colleges are situated in the Ibile zones, but their set-up was during the late 80s and 90s, not to forget that a lot of people are coming into Lagos State, and they want either general or technical education. So, what we are now looking at is to set up new technical colleges in certain areas.

Don’t forget, if you really want to get very good quality technical education, you have to be ready to give it all it takes, because it is very expensive in terms of the tools and equipment. You can build classrooms, these are the basic, but it is when you start equipping it with all those tools that you spend so much more; you have to really invest properly. We are looking at that for next year.

In addition, under the Ministry of Education, we have what we call the comprehensive schools and what they have done is to create vocational centres inside those comprehensive schools, so that those students in those schools can easily go into vocational training, or they do a little bit of vocation and can now come to us to finish a vocational course.


What is your response to the report that Nigerians hire craftsmen from neighbouring countries like Benin Republic, Ghana, Niger to do tiling, bricklaying, construction, and if we have that much skills that we say we have, why are we not using our people?

You see, that question is very loaded and I am answering for myself. Don’t forget that we have neglected technical and vocational skills in our own country. So, because we neglected it, we had very poor skills. We started building and maintaining (infrastructures), but we had not prepared ourselves for that future of construction. So they (the employers) had to go outside to look for people to work for them. So when people start complaining that we don’t have skills, yes, we don’t have skills, because we didn’t invest enough. We were investing in universities, now they are complaining. They (people), the government, the private sector didn’t invest, so the easiest option they could resort to is to say, ‘Let’s go to Benin (Republic), let’s get people to work for us.’

Meanwhile, we have many people coming out of the university, they don’t want to go into the vocational route, they don’t want to do all those kinds of things. They also want to be wearing their jackets and tie but then, there are no jobs. So that is how we started having this huge skills gap in the country. This people need a certain requirement, a certain skill.

We have realised this situation and we have started getting our act together, but you see, there is always an incubation period. You cannot train somebody to be very competent and highly skilled in one day or two days. So, at the moment, there are competent, skilled ones going into the market, but they are not as many as the demand. So, it means that the more we are training over time, then those competent ones will be available and we will not need to go bring foreigners to do the jobs.

The other side of the argument is that when something (bad) happens, we say, ‘ We don’t have skills. It is the artisan’. When you get to a building site, is it the artisan that is the ‘oga’ there? There is (always) a supervisor, and above the supervisor, there is a project manager, and above him, the consultants. But when something bad happens everyone will point accusing fingers at the people on the lowest rung of the ladder.

The good thing is that we are all working together, whether it is the private sector or the Federal Government, to develop the curriculum, especially around the construction industry at the moment. We are all working together with NBTE to develop national occupational standards that says, ‘These are the minimum set of guidelines when you are training these ones’. So, if we all share that and we are all working towards that, it means that we are going to be developing more competent hands for the construction industry and other industries.

Recently the Senate raised issues on trying to regularise the apprenticeship systems in the country and also to make sure that their certificate is worth it as well. Is Lagos State trying to do that?

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We are also regulated by the National Board of Technical Education, and the NBTE is the lead on what you call National Skills Qualification; they have been developing the framework for sometime now. There are other partners who are working with them to drive this NSQ. The NSQ gives people who are in apprenticeship the option to formalise their training and learning. So that it can fit into certain grades within that NSQ framework, that goes from Level One, all the way to Level Seven or so. We are working with them and there are also international agencies working with them so that we can get this standards and certification right.

What is the demography of the students coming into the technical colleges?

I would say that when it comes to technical colleges they are more of the underprivileged ones, but there are also some from middle-class backgrounds.

But when it comes to the vocational side, you are going to find all sorts of strata within that vocational side, and the reason is that they have gone to the university, they have gone to learn English, Law, and others and they can’t find work. They then go to the vocational route, they do short-term courses in fashion design, media and others. They do that short-term and before you know it they are using it for self-employment. So, when it comes to vocational training, there is really an array of people.

Now, people have realised that there is a lot of money to be made in music. They have seen some very popular and successful fashion designers, now they are all saying to their wards, ‘It doesn’t matter, you too, if that is the case, go and do what your heart tells you; because you too can do the same thing and succeed in life.’

You are working in a male dominated space, how are you navigating the terrain?

I am working in a male-dominated space, that is right. The setup has a lot of male, but you will find that when you go to some departments you will find a lot of females as well. I am an experienced manager. You need to build relationships; you need to work together with teams, our teams need to have clear directions. They need to know and understand that this is where they are going and everybody is working towards that, and that brings harmony.


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@OP
You could try to upgrade your skills at a Lagos State Vocational Centre nearest to you. I learnt that companies and SMEs recruit interns from there. With some experience, it becomes easier to make progress.

BATified2023:
I guess he’s d best cos he’s supporting obi or it’s not the same obj that fayose claim they write election result on his bed

The same obj that stole 16 billion dollars electricity fund?

The same obj that removed governor ladoja of oyo state simply because he told him 3rd term bid is not possible

At this stage even if d devil support obi u people will whitewash him

No one stole $16billion. Nigerians minds are just fixated on the figure. It is more of propaganda. No such amount was released according to reports. Read up on the power issue. The equipment purchased were subsequently cleared from the ports for installation. All the details are available online.

opalu:
I remember when we were in my hometown. Political rallies were the only thing that made the town very interesting. All of us young men will pack ourselves to every rally and shout. Bike men will do acrobatics with bikes.
At the end we vote for only those who we want to vote.

I wish the politicians know this.

He has a voter's card?

Superwave16320:
Lagos is already building park like that of Oshodi at major bstop that will automatically eliminate Agbero completely. If you have beta suggestions let's have it.

If the governor ban them now na una go still complain n opposition will recruit them to cause mayhem across the state. Na still Tinubu n governor you all will blame. Show me a state with Nurtw in Nigeria.

When will the Obalende park be built? So much roadies around there sometimes.