₦airaland Forum

Zonefree:
The long awaited war is upon us. Brace up.

Long awaited war on YOU!

ednut1:
Wbf is not even a recognized boxing federation lol. Abeg go fight for wbc or wba

Boxing for any boxing Federation easy?

chatinent:
The billboard apart, may we not become boy-boy to our younger brothers because of money.

With this mindset, it will take an extraordinary grace of God for you to be rich!

House of Representatives has reacted to the statistics by the World Health Organization that 3 out of every 10 Nigerians have one form of mental illness or another.

The house during its plenary on Thursday, January 20, averred that over 20,000,000 Nigerians were currently suffering from various degrees of mental illness or disorder without psychiatric health care. The House mandated its Committees on Health Institutions and Healthcare Services to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Health towards improving mental health facilities around the country and further carry out serious sensitization of Nigerians on this issue.

The resolution followed a motion titled “Need to Address the Rising Cases of Mental Health in Nigeria” presented by Hon. Uchechuku Nnam-Obi from Rivers State and considered by the House at Thursday plenary.

Presenting his motion, Nnam-Obi noted that the World Health Organization, WHO considers mental health as a state of wellbeing in which the individual can cope with the stress of life, work productively and contribute to the community. According to him, mental illness manifests in mood disorder, anxiety disorder, trauma-related disorder, personality disorder, old age-related disorder, substance abuse disorder or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning.

He said;
“According to the World Health Organization statistics, over twenty million Nigerians are currently suffering from various degrees of mental illness or disorder without psychiatric health care.
3 out of 10 Nigerians have one form of mental illness or the other, presently there is no mental health legislation in Nigeria. However, the Nigerian mental health policy is the only framework that has access to mental healthcare, dealing with mental and neurological disorders in Nigeria, discouraging stigmatization against persons with mental disorders and has institutionalized standards for Psychiatric practice.
The increase in cases of depression is traceable to multifactorial inter and intrapersonal issues which leads to suicidal death in the country and this requires urgent attention.
Nigeria has only 130 Psychiatrists with over 20 million citizens suffering from mental disorders.
With the few functional Mental Health Facilities and inadequate mental health Practitioners in the country, mental health cases are left for traditional practitioners, hence the upsurge in mental health in Nigeria.
The statistics are troubling and the continued lack of a legal framework on mental health in the country will simply cause the situation to degenerate”he said

Adopting the motion, the House gave 6 weeks to the Committees within which to carry out the assignment and report back to it for further legislative action.

BlackfireX:
One ...lagos is an overhyped slum

Two... poor people eeeehhhh, tuuehh

You are right! An overhyped slum inhabited by every tribe in Nigeria!

flokii:
She is so fine.. hasn't aged a bit.

Someone like you is the cause of the problem of this lady! You keep on saying she is ageless,whereas right in the corner of her room she knows the blatant truth and time is flying away for her!

I wonder ooo

Manigie:
When your village people decide to dust your file and make it top of the list before hanging hanging it outside for all to see.
How on Earth will you logically climb an electric pole to save a bird in Nigeria? This isn't right
Rip Sir

Abi ooo. Think say na oyinbo ooo

Kajaard:
My thoughts exactly. No organisation will come out openly and say such. They risk being sued. The story is a big lie.

Being sued for what? Have you forgotten that appearance is a marketing plus for any organisation.I employ who I think is in alignment with the image my company represents.

CrownOfClay724:
Wow!

Is that all you could pick from that whole talk?

Illiteracy is a disease!

OluchiDelly:
Can you outline step by step the method you used so that we can see wether you got it right or is the seed issue? Also, check the expiry date of the seed.

I prepared a bed normally and spray it like in a nursery.

Can anyone advise me on how to plant this tomato seeds Pls. I have tried countless times and only see weeds.

Can anyone advise me on how to plant this tomato seeds Pls. I have tried countless times and only see weeds.

I could remember with nostalgia those long holidays which we looked forward to with relish. We must have really worked hard and just like a famished soul, we truly deserved our rest. If our preoccupation during the holidays were to be a trip to spend the period with a relative, my parents would have advised us to write a letter to facilitate this, thereby giving us ample opportunity to hone our writing skills in the process.

Many years down the line especially in a place like our dear country- As soon as the third term ends, adverts are simultaneously shooting out in different directions from schools advertising different shades of summer educational programmes. I understand the dynamics of school management and aware that most schools that may not have the financial muscle to pay full salaries would seize the opportunity to earn extra income during the period. There are also schools that are even financially virile that would still see as an opportunity to make that extra income and promote school enrollment. I also understand the dilemma of most parents especially in major cities who work round the clock in order to earn a living. Many would rather have their children cocooned in summer schools to save them from any harm occasioned by lack of supervision.

What are the consequences of all these? The children that deserve some rest are denied the opportunity. This is especially gruesome for a lot of city children that have already begun the rat-race survival routine of their parents, waking up as early as 5am and returning so late like a typical Lagosian worker at 9pm! This is apart from the fact that they would have attended an extra lesson class from 2pm to 4pm and would have to hang around somewhere till their parents’ arrival. I personally don’t think this is healthy for the mental well-being of the child and even the slave-drivers; the teachers. Nothing can take the place of resting the body and brain. The children may not complain because this is the only life they know and see, but the dire repercussion may be waiting to happen in future- a human programmed like a robot, without emotion, having the head knowledge, but lacking emotional intelligence and ‘clear thinking’. One would have thought that with all these pressurized learning there would be visible improvement in our standard of education and there no need for any child to cheat in exams!

No one can deny the reality of our times which calls for some adjustments. There is nothing wrong with summer schools per se, but are better suited to teach life skills rather than hard-core subjects. The methodologies too should be relaxed, flexible and not necessarily formally assessed. For parents also, they should not be cajoled with the excuse that if their children do not attend the summer book, they would have forgotten everything learnt in anticipation of the following academic session.

Try this experiment. Send your child not necessarily to a so-called summer school but a skill acquisition place and observe the all round mental development such a child would have had. For the first time , such a child would see the end-result of all the things being taught in school which is to learn a skill and be independent to earn a living. There would also be relaxation of the pressure piled on the brain such that when he or she resumes, it will be with renewed vigour.

The holiday time is also the best time to introduce your children to how you earn a living whether a white collar or blue collar job .It is important they appreciate the process that brings the resources that take care of the home front, apart from the skill acquisition benefit. My wife was sharing what she observed in the major textile stores on Lagos Island, where the mothers she used to know had either died or retired due to old age and the stores are now being managed by the children, most of them foreign trained university graduates with even more business astuteness. The memories I still keep till date are those days spent in my father’s architectural firm occupied with drawings and watching the architects at work or the time spent with my grandfather on his farm. Today, farming is one of my multiple streams of income.


While many not have the luxury of summer trips abroad which is the trend overseas, there are a lot ways to productively engage our children without breaking the bank. Just ask yourself once again, how were engaged as a child? And just see what you have turned out today!
Kunle Abrahams
08178333447

Lost my mum last year so no one to call again.

Can anyone assist with how I can buy seeds for vegetables such as Spinach,Ugu etc pls

This is IPOB at work! Following the dictate of their leader Mazi Kalu

Eryyy92:
is this how they want to govern their selves as Biafrans?

If they dont like themselves,how can they fight together with one voice against the outsider.Even among themselves,they still discriminate!

Remember Joseph's story in the Bible! One of the scary things that may happen is - Your daddy may not believe you and in that case you have your step mum to contend with and she will totally destroy you.I grew up in a community where there were so much adultery and infidelity and what it has taught me is to learn to keep my mouth shut till date.I am over 50 now!

Esseite:
Dont body shame people.. just say he is not your spec while condemning the act.

So he is now your own spec?

This write-up is for those that want to relocate abroad genuinely and honestly too. Unlike anytime in our contemporary world, the process is simple and straightforward if you are only ready to do it right. So if you are the kind that wants to sneak in illegally to any of the top countries such as Canada, Europe, Australia, this is probably not for you and you can stop reading.

That singular thing you need is the IELTS- What is IELTS? -The full meaning of IELTS is International English Language Testing System and it is designed to assess the language ability of people who want to study or work where English is the language of communication.

The test is designed to test English language skills in four major areas: Speaking, Writing, Listening and Reading. Results range from 0-9 and there is no such thing as a pass or fail.


There are two options for anybody that wants to take the IELTS: Academic Training which is for test takers wishing to study at undergraduate or postgraduate levels and for those seeking professional registration. The second one: General Training is for test takers wishing to migrate to an English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, New-Zealand, UK) and for those wishing to train or study at below degree level.

MISCONCEPTIONS
• It is a money making examination tailored to exploit hapless Nigerians-This is one of the opinions often expressed by candidates, especially those that have probably written the exams a couple of times or those that must cross the IELTS hurdle to achieve their career goals and aspirations. It may be one of the revenue avenues for the British Council, but profit is not the main motive.

• They deliberately mark Nigerians down-This is not exactly true, because the exam is a standardized one, from setting the questions and even its assessment. The quality control prescribed for the administering body; the British Council is top-notch. It is so high that the administering body has to be on its toes to ensure standard at all times. The exam does not have any intention of marking any Nigerian candidate down, because everything about it is transparent and standardized. The same examination set for Nigerian candidates is what is set for the Chinese, with the same marking standard.

• If you haven’t written IELTS many times, you won’t be able to make your desired band-[/b]This is also not true. I have met many candidates, especially those fresh from secondary schools that have made straight band 9 .Such students were definitely in a better academic mood, which most working class candidates may lack due to distractions and academic staleness . I have also met working class candidates that have written the exam, and came out with top bands. From experience however, it is always a challenge working with a candidate with a past history of low IELTS band, because most of these candidates are stuck in the mindset that passing IELTS requires building your ability on formulas (would explain this later) Another group of candidates I have met, have continuously repeated the same way of approaching the exam and what do you expect? You can’t be doing the same thing and expect a different result!

• [b]You have to rely on formulas to answer all questions correctly-Sadly, many candidates have relied on foreign online tutors who themselves are just ordinary English teachers, with no intrinsic knowledge of IELTS assessment .Such tutors reduce everything to formulas, and one thing I always say is that an English test like IELTS is not Mathematics, that can be reduced to formula. I can bet, if you rely on formula to write, you can’t go beyond band 6! The reason is very simple, what is mass-produced is different from tailored made or a designer product! All your answers for every stream of the IELTS exams must be an offshoot of your personal creativity and effort.


• The mark scheme doesn’t take cognizance of Nigerian environment-From my experience as an examiner, this is partially true, but really, what a candidate has to do is to ensure he or she uses examples or illustrations that have global appeal. If for example you are using a word like Ojuelegba and you didn’t indicate that it is a street, in a city in Nigeria called Lagos, how do you expect a foreign examiner to comprehend this? What about an abbreviation like EFCC-How do you expect a foreign examiner to understand that this a crime fighting agency in your country?

• IELTS is a very tough examination-It was not until I started training IELTS candidates that I realized that many would have written the exam up to 4- 8 times! This is unlike the picture I had as an examiner. To me then, I saw from my estimation that 45% made band 6, 30% band 7,10% band 8 and above, while the remaining 15% fell below band 5.Frankly,it is one of the easiest exams to pass if you understand the expectations very well. The simple reason is that, you can accurately predict the format of questions to expect. For a skill like Listening, most Nigerians may be disadvantaged because of our deficient English Language, which does not teach Listening effectively. (As people always say, we Nigerians tend to Hear, we do not Listen!)For Writing, an essay is made of components which one must understand. The knowledge of grammar needed is minimal, if you can manage an essay’s overall structure.

THE REALITY
• Your speed also being tested-For all the papers, your speed is directly and indirectly being tested. I often say that in all the papers except Speaking, the candidate is programmed not to complete the paper. So what is the way out? You must practise with speed in mind. If for example you are able to complete a 40 minute exercise in 37 minutes, then you know you are really ready for the examination.

• Your composure is being tested-Because of the limited time, if you are not able to psychologically calm down yourself to produce your best effort; you are already disadvantaged by over 30%.This also comes with having a winning technique to answer questions. It is composure for instance that would help you to follow instructions in even answering questions. Many candidates would have made a good grade in the Reading exercise, if not that they must have failed to present their answers correctly. Composure would also come handy in always having a structured plan for every task ,for instance in the Writing part.

• Writing is the only part that could actually be taught and learnt. If you really want to make an appreciable impact in your overall band score, then work on your Writing.This is the reason . With a basic knowledge of English, a willing candidate can actually be tutored through what I call a structured writing approach, with appreciable result. The same cannot be said of other sections such as Speaking, Reading and Listening. All these are based on techniques and practice.

• Reading and Listening are mostly technique based and not necessarily core knowledge based. For Reading, a candidate simply has to be taught the best techniques to use to glean the necessary information, process and present .If the candidate is very weak, then he or she has to spend more time reading across board to gain some reading weight and experience. The major skill needed is speed reading in form of skimming and scanning.

• Speaking is the simplest part of the test. [/b]There are many reasons for this. First, the structure of the questions is pretty predictable. Second, with structured practice on how to speak ,a candidate can easily make a band 7 and above. Lastly, most Nigerian candidates do more of speaking than others such as Writing,Listening and Reading. Speaking within a short time could be mastered- So with rigorous practice, with a good tutor, a candidate should be able to make a band 7 at least, for an average user of English language

• [b]The capacity of your ability determines your success rate-If you come from a background where you write often, especially in your workplace , then you are privileged and this would reflect on your performance, but if since you left school you have never had anything to do with reading and writing, then you have a lot of work to do. Now in the course of your practice and training, you should be able to honestly determine where you stand before the exam and be realistic about it! I for instance only need to read your essay just once to know where you stand!

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
• You don’t need to rely on any formula to pass-For most candidates that have relied on online tutors, I have observed that they mostly bank on certain formulas to write .It is not wise to rely on a particular formula especially in Writing, which is an art that gives much room for individual expression and creativity. What would stand you out is to do something different, especially in your opening paragraph (introduction).If for instance you start an essay with the normal definition kind of introduction, you are definitely programming yourself for a band 6 range. While not advocating a formula approach especially in Writing, you however need a structure or framework to work with , which however still gives room for individual expression. There is a simple structure to writing that is not formula-based

• Leverage much on your Writing- The reason is because it is the only part of the paper that can actually be taught and learnt unlike other streams of the IELTS exams.

• You can work out Listening and Reading on your own-If you are the determined and self-motivated type, you can actually and definitely work your way round Listening and Reading and this comes with rigorous practice over and over again by familiarizing yourself with the patterns of how questions are set. There are many sites where you can get a lot of practice questions to work with.

• Lastly, get a good tutor and work on your own too- It is not about being an English graduate only .Get a tutor with the following qualifications : An English graduate, somebody that had written the IELTS as a candidate and if possible a former IELTS examiner.

All the best!

Kunle Abrahams
(a certified ex-IELTS examiner lives in Lagos)
08178333447/kunleabrahams046@gmail.com

You can join our next September training

30naira:
But ladies can raise their hands on a man?

Yes, ladies can lay their hands on men. That is the way the world rolls.

seanwilliam:
Until u start a private school , you will know how he be... most students/pupils would not pay until exam and even if some go pay, na 30%, dem go dey beg make dem allow their wards do exam.. some parents self fit take their children away from the school in the following term and going to another when the debt accumulated is too much.... except super standard private school oo, but an average private school in naija na doom.. it's not the fault of the proprietors all the time.. they pay mostly on what they earn..

It is very easy for you to sit here and be churning out garbage about private schools not paying you! If it that easy why don't you go and start your own school? Now that these teachers are going round doing private lessons and smiling to the bank have they asked how the school owners are surviving?

My wife runs a school and not until this pandemic period have we realised and seen the true picture that we have been running a charity outfit.

This is especially so if your school is located in a low income area, where paying school fees is a big issue to most parents .

The post that 95% of fees have been paid is erroneous, because for us, just 30% of parents have paid before the lock down.

Most of these schools you think are doing well are struggling like most industries in Nigeria.

During the pandemic, we sat down and asked the question - if the school being run by my wife had been paying the rent for the school for the past 6 years , (it is our property) how much do we have as profit? Nothing! I have even been subsidising the running cost!

When that musician sang the song 'School Na Scan' , I never knew he was referring to school owners too. Our immediate plan now is to close the two flats being used for school space and rent them out!

Praxtech:
If the deputy is killed don't complain

Go and kill her now!

bigfish3k:
Your comparison is absurd

Christianity had good intentions

What was the intention of the cultists from the beginning if not to oppress

See their logo self

My brother it is always good to be a student of history.Unfortunately the subject was removed from the curriculum some time ago.The objective of the Pirates Confraternity then was as a tool to fight colonialism with the ultimate aim of making Nigerian self-ruled via independence

I am not in support of cultism but for those blaming Wole Soyinka this is my submission-It is like blaming the missionaries for bringing Christianity to Nigeria,looking at what we Nigerians have turned it to today.

[/b]7 WAYS CORONA VIRUS WILL AFFECT YOUR SCHOOL FOR EVER![b]
The sudden emergence of Corona-virus has one unique feature-No one was prepared for it, not even our so called ‘men of God.’ Once again, God showed His unique and unparalleled supremacy! Whoever with the benefit of hindsight is trying to vicariously link a past speculation to the emergence of Covid -19, is only trying to play a smart one.

Now the pandemic has been with us and it appears to have come to stay, so how can we as school owners adjust to this reality? These are the 7 ways this scourge will affect your school either positively or negatively. It all depends on your perception and attitude. This knowledge is important because knowing and applying it will determine whether your school will survive or not.

1.IF IT CAN HAPPEN ,THEN FOR THE WISE IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN!-There are two ways we react or respond to issues especially a tragic one- ‘Oh thank God it happened once and may it never happen again in Jesus name, then we go to sleep! The other response from a wiseman is that if it can happen , then there is a possibility of it happening again, so how do I prepare myself for it?



This would make a huge difference in how every school owner would respond to this pandemic. Nature has a way of preparing us with a warning for every situation. A husband that would eventually be caught by his wife in infidelity would have had a close slip in the past. When Ebola appeared in 2014, it was a warning to make all of us sit -up and prepare for the current reality, but nobody paid any attention then .

This is the reality now and it can happen again, even in a more serious dimension and proportion, so BE PREPARED as the Boys Scout motto would say!

Please don’t see me as a pessimist. It is just the way the world rolls. Create a computer system and follow it up with an anti-virus. Coronavirus has created its lucrative industry and other models would definitely follow which can be unleashed at anytime !

2.ANOTHER STREAM OF INCOME-This is not only applicable to schools but to virtually all of us. There is this thing in everyman that makes us not want to tax ourselves until we are faced with adversity. There are many opportunities open to many schools and school owners that have not been explored. We are so much many times buried in the 7- 4 routine of school administration that we don’t leave any mental space to think of other opportunities .

We used to have this joke when I used to teach that because we had spent all our years with children, we were literally behaving like them! If we tell ourselves there are no opportunities, then there are no opportunities, but it is obvious there are many opportunities that many of us as school owners have not fully explored. It could be within the school space or something totally outside running a school.

When we were growing up, there was a school called Comprehensive College in Ikere-Ekiti, where the Principal ,Chief Jegede made his school then, such self-sustaining in all areas that it earned him a national honour (MON) from the Nigerian Head of State.

So take a look around, what do you have that is constituting a leak or just not being utilized to earn extra income?

3. MANY SCHOOLS WILL GO UNDER- This is not an apocalyptic statement. Many schools will go down after this Covid 19 pandemic! It is true because a lot of schools lack sound footing in terms of their vision, sustainability and other survival indices. If you are observant, you would have noticed that many schools are already selling their buses, while many after a month were unable to pay their staff salary. One question nobody has not been able to give an accurate answer is, if a school has been running successfully and profitably for at least 4 years, what should stop it from being able to stay afloat cash-wise for at least for 6 months? This period is truly a litmus-test of how solid your school is!

4. THOSE THAT INNOVATE WILL WAX STRONGER AND WILL SURVIVE THE STORM- One’s strength is not in the training or lecture room, but when faced with the reality of adversity. Schools that are open-minded enough and with the attendant resources would benefit hugely from this scourge. Any problem or challenge always engenders its on attendant solution and this only comes through creativity. I won’t deceive you, this pandemic has yielded and will continue to yield new and interesting opportunities,but would only be perceived,harvested and utilized by the few creative ones.


5. THE POWER OF VIRTUAL LEARNING-[/b]Some 6 years ago I wrote a proposal for the school I was working for then in the aftermath of the Ebola that we build a mini-studio where we could record lectures and virtually transmit them.(I actually spearheaded the committee for virtual learning then). The proposal was ignored then because of the cost implication. Without mincing words, this is what a wise school should do. On resumption, establish a separate department to be in charge of learning-Infact make virtual learning an integral part of learning- at least 20% for now. The current scenario is a precursor of future learning, where it is taken outside the four walls of the classroom. There are even more unusual learning innovations that many schools in Africa may not be ready for, but this would do for now! It is my hope that this pandemic will wake us up to the reality of the future which is already here!


[b]6. .THE CURRICULUM ANGLE-I have a unique advantage which I am always proud to boast about and it is that I have my legs stretched over two worlds- The traditional world of the 80’s / 90’s and the current dispensation. I am also a keen observer of how much of learning has really impacted me both as a student and a teacher .After my over 20 years of observation and research in this area I have come to the realization that curriculum,which is the system of what we teach our children should be as fluid as possible, taking cognizance of our ever-changing realities. While it is good to have a standard curriculum where the traditional subjects are taught,it is also important to prepare every child for that subject that is yet to be invented. In view of this,every child must be imbued with underlying principles that cross every field such that they are applicable and independently usable. The suddenness of Covid 19 should teach any

discerning person that no one can say specifically –this is the skill-set our children would need in future!


7.COST –CUTTING- Inevitably, you will have to cut cost. For now take a critical look at your current projects and pick out the one you are suspending. There are also some projects that are not so germane to the survival of your school, so let them go. The bulk of the school income goes into the salary ,this I know, so what can you do? Don’t be quick to sack your teachers, but find a way round it. If your school has the buffer and can sustain it, continue paying your teacher their full salary until hopefully when things get back to normal. If however you are not so buoyant, have a chat with your teachers for a pay-cut until things improve financially for your school. Afterall ,half bread is better than none. Dont forget ,your teachers and staff are your greatest assets and if they would be reasonable to stay with you during this trying time, it is a good thing,but don’t forget when things get better in future,remember these set of staff!


SO WHAT DO I DO NOW? –Use this period to plan ahead as minutely as possible on how your school would run on resumption which could be anytime from now,so that when schools resume, you won’t be caught napping and you can hit the ground running. It is always better to have a plan written down than not having any plan at all. You can have virtual brainstorming sessions with your management team on the way forward. Don’t forget, you are as good as your preparation!

Kunle Abrahams
Educational Strategist
Kunleabrahams046@gmail.com

What is wrong with Nigerians? Anything that walks on four legs is kill and eat!

Fineboy444:
Your english has the virus.

CORRECTION - Your English has the virus