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My dear Country.
Do you remember the old good days?
When life was easy and simple?
You can actually move around the street without been molested for who you are?
The days where the Hausas, Igbos and Yorubas all live in harmony?
Those days where the word 'terrorism' was abstract
We only hear about it in news and watch it in movies?
Terrorism has destroyed many families in Nigeria
Political figures have destroyed more
Ethnicity quarrel is destroying more
Let's us all wake up before we lose the idea of what a country should be
Let's not settle for less
Let's aim for a better country
For our future generations
I want a country where ethnicity is just a form of identification not segregation
I desire for a country where we have leaders that actually CARE
Nigeria is our fatherland
There's no place like home no matter where go
So let's pray
For the bloods of the innocent that has been shed
For the wrongs we are doing to ourselves
For a better Nigeria.
For a better world for our future generations.

copyright ©Ishaq .A. Faisal

There is this girl you have had a crush on for a while, and you are not sure if she likes you or not. How will you get to know that, only one way to find out, talk to her! But talking to any girl may seem hard or scary, many things could go wrong, she might not be into you and a list of other things but most atimes the reason a girl will ignore you the first time you talk to her is because of how and when you tried to spark a conversation.
It may seem rather irrelevant but there are few things as a guy, you have to consider before approaching any girl. Trust me on this, a good number of guys have been slapped because of some of these reasons. From ‘personal experience’ as well as a little research, I was able to gather few tips that will get you on the girl’s good side, and who knows, you might just get lucky.
. Approaching them in the wrong setting
Location. Location. Location. A lot of guys make this mistake of approaching a lady almost anywhere, but trust me, there are places you do not want to try your luck in, else you end up getting snubbed mor worse getting slapped. Stressful environment like workplace, class (most cases immediately after a long lecture), emotional environment like funeral, I mean who asks a girl out at a funeral? Respect the dead, brother!
. Bad joke
If it is not necessary don’t make any joke, show how serious you are, but don’t be all ‘Mr Agent-saving-the-world’ kind of serious, just serious enough for her to understand you mean ‘business’. A bad joke won’t be good on your resume, you are still at the getting-to-know-each-other-phase, an ignorant or sexist joke will allow her to make up her mind about your personality.
. Talking about yourself a lot
‘ ‘ This guy is self centered!’’ These are the kind of thoughts that will be running through her head when the whole discussion is geared towards YOU. Everybody enjoys talking about theirselves especially when there is something to brag about, but think about how she feels, ask her about her work or school and make the discussion of mutual interest.
. Starting out shy or timid
Believe me I know the feeling, walking up to a girl and expressing yourself in words can sometimes be the most difficult thing to do at that moment but don’t, I repeat don’t walk up to a girl and start out shy. Just approach her in a friendly, honest way, most women will respond positively to that.
. Using corny pick up lines
Believe me, this is not a movie where you meet a girl and tell her she looks like an angel that fell from heaven and she will be grinning with all her teeth. This is real life, pick up lines…….. well I will preferably not use any.
. Try and take it to the next level too quickly
As a guy, I understand the feeling when the girl is laughing hysterically at your jokes or from time to time she rests on your shoulder or touches your arm. Still don’t get that feeling she’s so into you, there are still boundaries, be patient, allow there to be some mystery from her end as well to wonder if you really like her or not. Play it cool bro!
. Assuming she’s already into you
Being confident might have its advantage but being too confident is not ideal. Just because you flash her a smile from afar and she returns the favor doesn’t mean she’s into, maybe she is just being polite. Believe, a lot of girls have met good looking guys with bad personality, no matter how good looking you are, you still need to show how nice and funny you are.
These are a few out of many do’s and don’ts of first meeting with a girl, mind you, following these rules doesn’t exactly mean you will get the girl, but they will save you from embarrassing yourself (maybe she’s just not into you)

I know most people will assume the question is a very simple one, I also at a point thought I had it all figured out until when I was 'attacked' by a close friend, funny enough I found it hard to give a straight answer, I was just mumbling dozen of things that don't add up. I am sure if I ask a number of final year students only a few of them will be able to give me a straight answer on what they will do, some are lucky enough to come from a wealthy or influential family and as such, regardless of the degree they have on their certificate, a job is waiting for them but the majority of us that are from the average family, it is a struggle.
Most of us in higher institution these days are studying courses we did not apply and as such, it takes us a while before we align ourselves with the new course we are given and think of how to make a future out of it. I have met a lot of people that are 'just' in school, they have no passion or zeal towards the course they are studying and as a result they really do not have any plan after graduating, most of them end up graduating and turn to job seekers when instead they are meant to use the knowledge gained to become self employed. The typical example of such scenario is a student that applied for Medicine and surgery in a higher institution but was given Agriculture instead, the student ends up graduating with probably a pass degree and starts going to ministries or Agro industries in search of job instead of using the little knowledge gained to start a farm or poultry or something related to agriculture which by the way are many that requires little capital.
So I put it out to all students and graduates alike, start thinking of your future, it is never too early to make a plan. As the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail, let's start making plan for our future so that we won't end up asking ourselves 'What can I even do?'. As funny as that may sound, there are graduates that actually ask this rhetorical question after several trials of job interview. Let's try to adapt from 'do what you love' to 'love what you do' because in life, you don't always have it your way, just because life decides to change your ambition doesn't mean you shouldn't have any. Adapt, explore, learn and plan for your future so that you won't end up adding to the number of unemployed graduates that is booming year by year.

'Health is wealth’ is a common quote we all grew up knowing. Being healthy is a privilege not everyone have, some people are financially rich but health-wise they are struggling, changing hospitals and consultants and at the long run, they might end up spending all their wealth on the pursuit of sound health. As graceful as God is, most of the poor people are sound in health, a privilege they tend to abuse from time to time.
Medical checkup is a thorough physical examination, which includes a variety of tests depending on the age, sex and health of the individual. You don’t have to be sick before you go for a medical checkup, as they say prevention is better than cure. We are in a world today where our environments are polluted, the air, water and land. Everything we eat always come in a can or polythene package, almost 80% of our food are grown inorganically i.e there is use of synthetics such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow the food crops. With all these factors 'eating' us little by little, are we fit to be called healthy?
Visiting an hospital may sound scary, I know a good number of people who haven’t actually being to an hospital as a patient before, but to keep it that way, we need to checkup our health status on a regular basis as prevention is far more powerful than cure. Some people may have a family history of some genetic disease, yet they still ignore it and never try to prevent themselves from being victims of such disease. As you grow older, your body grows weaker and is more susceptible to microbial invasion.
People atimes will complain about the cost, but believe me no cost is too high to ensure your sound health because when you fall sick, you are definitely going to spend more than you fear. Visit a hospital today in your locality and know your health status, don’t procrastinate because your health is a very important aspect of your life and everyday our body systems are exposed to the exhaust fumes from engines, smokes from industries, leachates contaminating our water bodies e.t.c. With all this pollution around us, we can never be too sure about how healthy we really are.

Fashion is the popular or latest style, most especially in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup e.t.c. Fashion is what we deal with everyday, even people who are not very enthusiastic about how they look choose clothes every morning that reflects their mood. One certain thing in the fashion world is change, we are constantly being bombarded with new fashion ideas from music, movies, books e.t.c. Most of today’s fashion is influenced by models and celebrities.
Fashion mistakes are simply the fashion blunders we make when trying to look good or stand out, most times they are honest mistakes we make on regular basis or when we try to copy what we see on the T.V, below are some common fashion mistakes we make without even noticing although some are obvious.
Not dressing for your body type
I have seen people forcing themselves into clothes that are obviously too small or too large for them, i know there are some styles that involves you wearing a baggy or a skinny but regardless, do not, I repeat do not wear a clothe that does not suit your body type. You see a guy with a dry chest and a pot belly forcing himself into a body hug, like seriously? Dude, you have nothing impressive to show, hide it till you do some work out, we don’t want to see your flabby stomach! Same goes for the ladies, hide your little ‘bump’ under a more convenient clothe, believe me, you will feel more comfortable and also look more presentable.
Blindly following trends
Believe me, not all trends are for everyone, if a certain trend doesn’t fit you, sit it out, don’t go into it because you saw your favorite celebrity wearing it on t.v and you think it will look cool on you. Not all trends are for our ‘normal’ daily activities. Infact to me, having your own style seems better.
Not dressing properly for the occasion
Following a dress code is about being respectful to the host of the event you are attending, following a dress code doesn’t necessary mean you shouldn’t explore your creative side, but don’t entirely disregard it. People attend events that has a dress code that strictly reads ‘CORPORATE DRESSING’, but they still choose to wear traditional attire like agbada, I mean, we know you have a fine agbada you want to show off but wait till you are attending a wedding or something.
Spending on the wrong things
Spend money on the basic staple items you need in your wardrobe, the trendy pieces that you may regret a few months later are not the items to blow you cash on. People end up buying clothe they won’t even wear at the long run just because it is the trend. That is wrong, buy clothes you need, clothes that will fit you.
These are just a few of the many fashion mistakes we make just to look fashionable but remember ‘SIMPLICITY IS THE BEST FORM OF SOPHISTICATION’. You don’t have to wear a bling to look dope, you don’t have to carry a Louis Vuitton handbag to be fashionable, just have your style!

I don't know much about heartache and misery but I am certain an unrequited love is a painful feeling. The moment you are stuck on someone that doesn't see you as a possible partner or doesn't have any interest in you, believe I understand the feeling, the heartache, the pain of been in a one-sided love, it is hard to move on. People claim they are strong hearted and thus can easily move on but no! That's a fallacy, if you truly liked someone, it will take you a while and a hit of reality before you get over such person.

     Some people make the mistake of going into a relationship with someone else just to get over their feelings, but that is wrong on many levels, you will just end up comparing your partner with the person you would have loved to be with. That won't end well and you would just fall more into depression and have that notion you cannot be happy with someone else other than who you love.

     Getting over your feelings for someone requires you to accept the fact that you love such person, in fact the number one rule of getting over anything in life is acceptance. You must first accept the reality of the situation (Yes I am in love with this guy/girl, but I cannot be with him/her). That's a reality you have to accept and admit, you don't have to lie about it. Own it, there's no shame in doing that and when you have accepted that reality, it will help you in understanding why you actually even liked the person in the first instance. Was it the smile? Or the face? Or how the person talks? Or the individual's personality as a whole?Knowing why you liked the person is ideal but not necessary, sometimes we don't know why we actually love someone. We just do and there's no problem with that.

     If you have accepted the fact that you are in love with someone you cannot be with, then you look at the reason why you cannot be with that person, is it something you have power over? If you can do something about it, then fine, get on with it and be with your lover but most atimes, it is something beyond our control and we just have to come in terms with it. Instead of sitting and mopping around, work on yourself, if the person doesn't want you then make him/her regret their decision. Check your flaws and try to overcome the ones you can deal with, develop into a better version of yourself. By doing this, you are occupying yourself and you will have no time to sit and think of the person, and by the time you are done with upgrading yourself, you will have that boost of confidence and self esteem and believe me, when you have reached that stage, you will realize this person you claim to love so much is just another human being on this planet.

What is storage in agriculture? Storage in agriculture is simply the act of keeping farm produce ‘safe’ after harvest before taking it to the market for sale or for further processing (Take note of the word safe, the farm produce you intend to keep have to be in good condition or else they get spoilt and you lose your crops even before taking them to the market). Meanwhile, storage facilities are infrastructures that are built primarily to keep farm produce safe before marketing or other intended use, examples include barn, jute bags, silos e.t.c. Storage of farm produce has a lot of significance in agriculture which affects the development of agriculture in Nigeria, although most farmers themselves give little significance to storing of farm produce. I’m not insinuating that farmers don’t store their farm produce, but when we talk about storage, it doesn’t just mean keeping your farm produce in a room and that’s it. No! There are factors to be considered before deeming a room fit to be used as a storage facility (also it could be a bag); temperature, moisture content, security, location e.t.c. The most important function of storage is to keep the farm produce safe from damage by pest or disease before marketing, and for a storage facility to keep the farm produce safe especially the easily perishable ones, the condition of the storage facility has to be optimum. Other importance of storage includes:
1. The storage of goods, from the time of production to the time of consumption, therefore ensuring a continuous flow of goods in the market
2. Storage protects the quality of perishable and semi-perishable products from deterioration
3. Some of the goods e.g woolen garments have a seasonal demand. To cope with this demand, production on a continuous basis and storage becomes necessary
4. It helps in the stabilization of prices by adjusting demand and supply
5. Storage is necessary for some period, for performance of other marketing functions
6. Storage provides employment and income through price advantages.
These are a few of the many importance of storage facilities in agriculture, but most of our farmers lack these facilities and as a result, it affects the development of agriculture in Nigeria on a large scale. The problems of lack of storage facilities in Nigeria are numerous, but on a broader scale, they can be divided under the following:
1. Farmer’s income: Without functional storage facilities, farmers are forced to either produce crop on a small scale or produce on a large scale and sell at a very cheap price, therefore making little or no profit. Storage of produce is almost as important as growing of crops because when crops are harvested and not stored properly, they are prone to be attacked by storage pest and disease which reduces the quantity and quality of the farm produce, thus reducing the income of the farmer.
2. Food scarcity: Generally most farmers in Nigeria practice subsistence farming, but the few ones that engage in commercial farming encounter the problem of food storage. As a result of this, there is fluctuation in the availability of farm produce in the market, atimes even when the produce are available, the prices are high because of their scarcity and as a result, consumers find it difficult to purchase most of these farm produce.
3. Price fluctuation: There is price fluctuation in the market, when the crops are immediately harvested, without functional storage facilities, farmers will be eager to sell their produce quickly especially the easily perishable crops mostly the horticultural crops at cheap prices, and when these produce are scarce their price rises up, and also because during the time when these produce are being sold at a cheaper price, the middle men buy them in bulk and hoard until they become scarce. This particular situation makes farming discouraging to young farmers, as the farmers do all the hardwork but the people that benefits more from it are the middle men.
4. Post harvest losses: Due to lack of adequate storage facilities, the rate of post harvest losses is increasing. Post harvest losses are caused by a number of factors including poor transportation, poor preservation of produce e.t.c, but the major factor of post harvest losses is inadequate storage facilities. According to the permanent secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Sonny Echono, post harvest losses have been estimated to range between 5% and 20% for grains, 20% for fish and as high as 50-60% for tubers, fruits and vegetables. All these losses are due to several factors but when closely studied, lack of storage facilities constitutes about 75%.
These are some of the major effects of lack of storage facilities in Nigeria and if not taken into cognizance, they all pose a threat to food security and agricultural development in Nigeria, certain measure have to be taken. These measures include:
1. Provision of standard storage facilities by the authorities to localities or communities for general use.
2. The government should take the responsibility of buying most of the farm produce from farmers to store and release based on market demand so as to efficiently control market price fluctuation.
3. Farmers should be enlightened on the importance of keeping the condition of the room optimum so as to reduce pest and disease build up.
4. The authorities can provide storage chemicals to use against pest and disease and also teach them how to use it properly to avoid contamination of farm produce.
5. Farmers can be enlightened on use of traditional materials to store farm produce e.g jute bags can be effectively used to store cereals. Jute bags have a lot of advantage over many other bags like plastic as it is natural and keeps for long.
6. Farmers can also be taught on how to build for themselves simple storage places like silos, silage, barn e.t.c. These type of storage facilities are not expensive and can easily be built even by the locals.
These are a few simple measures the appropriate authorities can take to ensure there is adequate storage facilities available to almost every farmer in Nigeria to ensure proper development of agriculture, because when there is an all year round supply of farm produce, Nigeria as a country will have the means necessary to compete with other Nations on international scale when it comes to exporting of farm produce and this will help in adding to the country’s gross income and diversifying the country’s economy.

Certificate; an official document attesting a fact, in this sense an academic certificate is a document that certifies that a person has received specific education or has passed a test or series of tests i.e a proof of knowledge. So much importance has been given to the certificate that we almost forgot the reason why we go to school. I am not insinuating that the certificate is useless or not needed, the fact is the certificate was created to show proof of moral and academic excellence, but today people carry around certificate they do not even deserve, how is that for excellence?
‘They say knowledge cannot be bought, it can only be acquired’, I agree with that 100% but when having a certificate is regarded to as almost acquiring knowledge itself, then that saying fails to be true because as we all know, currently certificate are gotten illegally and used for seeking jobs and other posts in various walks of life.
Knowledge is the reason school was created, parents sends their children to school primarily to gain knowledge and it is with this knowledge an educated individual can differentiate himself/herself from a literate. The certificate is supposed to be given to an individual that has proven himself/herself to be academically and morally sound through various examinations and tests. That is supposed to be the norm but I feel little significance is given as people are awarded certificate they cannot defend. People have forgotten the primary purpose of education, we all attend classes just to write test, pass exams and graduate with a certificate. The lectures we take flies away from our heads immediately after an exam. Graduates find it hard to defend their certificate during job interviews obviously because they do not deserve what is showing on their certificate.
We need to remember why we are in school, KNOWLEDGE! Not CERTIFICATE!!.

In a typical African home, the aim or desire of the parent is to see their child pass through school, graduate and start working. Any work that pays the highest is regarded as the best choice for the child regardless of his/her talents. Most of us grew up wanting to be doctors, lawyers, engineers e.t.c. not because we actually want to be doctors or engineers but the profession has been portrayed to be the only profession we can actually pursue. As a child growing up, i had no idea there were even other professions other than being a medical doctor, everybody around me were either encouraging me to pursue such career or they themselves are pursuing it.
Talent is given little or no attention, everybody wants to make it big, and by making it big i mean it is either you are a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer or an accountant. Any career that sways from these already 'destined' careers is disregarded. Many students find it hard to cope with school life not because they are dull but because they are in the wrong pursuit of life. I mean you can't expect a child that literally sucks at arithmetic and calculus to make a good engineer, before you know it such student will be battling with several carry overs in the university and it will reach that threshold limit where he/she cannot cope anymore, such student drops out and is regarded as a disappointment by both the parent and the society. Nobody ever cared to know what he/she is passionate about, you either be an engineer or forget about school and as a result we just lost ourselves an upcoming Nobel laureate, fine artist, fashion designer e.t.c
Education is the process of gaining knowledge and i might also add proper utilization of the knowledge gained to better oneself. If you learn something new and you haven't put it into practice, or haven't understood the message sent, i suppose we can't say you have been educated. For you to call yourself an educated fellow, you need to have an understanding of the knowledge you claim to have. For an individual to understand or fully grasp the content of the knowledge being taught, the person needs to have a keen interest in that knowledge being passed. This is found lacking in over 50% of students in tertiary institution these days. It is either the student is studying a course his/her parent want or the institution changes ones chosen course to another due to result and other reasons.
Many students end up graduating and pursuing careers they have no interest in, they say true happiness comes when your are doing what you love to do not trying to love what you are doing. I mean how do you expect me to reach my potentials when i have zero interest in what i am doing, work becomes something you do just to survive not something you do because you love doing it and wish to better your community through your work. How can you develop proper work ethic when you have no interest in the work, we claim customer services are poor, have we ever cared to ask the attendant or cashier at the bank what he/she wanted to be?

Who do we blame? Our parents or the society or even the school system that segregates us when we were still innocent, why assign students to either science, arts or commercial class based on result, why not based on I.Q level and interest? Why?!