I remember when i needed a contact of an old time friend and i couldn’t get it even from other close friends, I opted for Facebook, I typed his name and saw list of different profiles, I couldn’t get him because I can’t even picture the way he looks again. The only thing i can remember is that we went to the same primary school so that how i lost his contact. Am sure one or more persons can relate to this kind of experience.
In this technology age, the rate at which young graduates keep connected after university days has improved compared to how it was in time past. Thank God for social media and CEO of Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg), if not, i wonder how many will remember birthday of loved ones or still link up with old folks and so on. Anyways it goes beyond that, do we really have connection with those networks we share common values with at one point in our life time? If yes, Thumbs up, if otherwise it is not encouraging and there is need to merge this gap. What is this gap about? It is about investment in your social capital.
There are various kinds of capital, it can be Natural (renewable and non-renewable resources, talents), Human (knowledge, skills) Financial (in terms of cash) but Social Capital is a form of economic and cultural capital in which social networks are central and are featured with shared values, reciprocity, trust etc. It concerns the institution that helps maintain and develop human capital such institution as families, communities, voluntary organization, universities etc. from the above I deduce social capital also as social resources.
Now, it will be so appalling, if a university campus is designed to just come get academic knowledge and a certificate and graduate, can you imagine what will happen over the years if this continues without building a link of social networks, but the truth is some undergraduates aren’t aware that a university campus is a perfect avenue to build tangible social capital. University Campus is the environment of fresh minds that are ready to discover purpose, share ideas, vision and support each other. While some can actually share ideas and support each other or discover scientific fact while doing the academic thing, some others do that on a different platform, take for instance knowing your proficiency in football can’t be discovered in class but rather on the pitch and that is outside academic and inside sporting activities. Similar to sporting activities are intellectual talk shows, church activities, seminar, debates just to mention few and all are seen as extra-curriculum activities in which they are not put in place for just beauty, it is to serve a purpose which is to bring people with common grounds, If it were to be academics only, oh goodness me! University will be so boring, imagine me going for lectures only for 4-6 years, please don’t get me wrong, lectures are important and priority but other activity should complement that. All you just need to do is discover your area of interest or develop new interest, just try something new.
Not all the friends you have on campus are your social capital they are just possibilities for building good social capital. Your real social capital are those networks that have the same shared moral values with you and in which you have developed enough trust, security and you are willing to participate and give your commitment for the common benefit of all (In proverbs 27:17(MSG)…steel sharpens steel, and one friend sharpens another). That why people who share this common attribute and vision still have a strong connection even after graduation from school some are business partners, couples, leaders in various organization. I tell you one secret of successful people is the level of social resources they have pulled together over years, tell me the story of a successful man and see if he/ she will not attribute to another successful man, How will Pastor E.A Adeboye an anointed man of God be talked about and late pa Akindayomi will not be mentioned.
One of the secrets of growing your social capital is you grooming yourself rightly in other words self-development on all platform be it physique, spiritual, personal morals, career among others. When you do this, you will have what it takes to connect and meet good people, develop right acquaintances which in turn links you with other network of like minds and thus your social capital gets bigger. However in selecting or choosing the right social capital, it must be noted to make that choice in accordance with your vision in life in other words it should be based on what you stand for and what you are ordained to do in life, this will in turn help making your social capital worth the while.
In conclusion, University campus is just one of the various avenues in which social capital is built. Social capital is part of our daily activities so let us begin to develop it consciously because it brings about easy disposal and access to information which is a greater way to build a nation economy, it promotes equality, it gives birth to love thus developing strong and lasting relationship.
The hub of it all is that social capital is not just network of people but networks that share value, respect, reciprocity and have a sense of belonging so has to harness, synergize and effectually utilize resources efficiently and grow the economy at large.


Stay blessed as come your way with my next write up on adolescents tagged: Saving the sons and daughters of humanity!
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Thank you and God Bless!

What is life without purpose?
Is living just the mere inhaling of oxygen and exhaling of carbon dioxide?
Is living the filling of gap for which you were created by God?
These questions came when I stumble on this picture taken on one of the great mountains in Obafemi Awolowo University, I thought for a second, am I seeing life beyond the confinements of this university. Funny enough that thought brought another one which is, are you living that life of purpose in other words am I filling that gap I was created for. However, those questions inspired this piece.
Life is viewed on the premise of purpose, are you filling the gap you were created for by God, any creation is meant for a purpose either by God or man. God creating us is for a purpose, the idea of the wright brothers’ in creation of an aircraft is for a purpose which is inspired by God because the invention actually came from the thought of a bird flying in air which is also God’s creation. The purpose of an aircraft is to fly in the air and not move on water that why if an airplane is flying in the sky it looks pleasant and beautiful to the eye because it is fulfilling its purpose but you just can’t imagine an aircraft moving on water, it just abuse of purpose in other words anything created for a purpose and is thus fulfilling that purpose automatically looks beautiful, so when you are living your life filling that gap you were created for, your life looks beautiful.
This piece is just to charge every individual out there especially to young folks aspiring to be admitted into college and those already in higher institution across the world that is in their penultimate year or final year. My colleagues were once discussing about final year brethren and were saying a lot and I went into my own thought and from my own perspective and experience so far I see that as a final year brethren you need to see life beyond the four walls of this confinement you find yourself. It is not until you get out of your confinement, don’t wait till you get out of the university, or you are done with your youth service(NIGERIA) or until you get to the cross road before you start trying to fill that gap you were created for.
There is this other aspect of life outside college walls aside academic success, your kind of financial success, marriage success, career success, family success, parenting success start now, you should prepare for leadership, professionalism, parenthood and accept responsibility among others. Great men of valor and virtuous women were able to break boundaries by discovery of their purpose. One of the greatest ways to discover purpose is to identify your passion, when you begin to solve problems and you fill the gap that were open, automatically you become valuable. You only become valuable when you live the life of purpose you were created for by God. Don’t get me wrong young folks, academic is a priority, that why you are in school but still its application determines how far you go in life, so practice personal development, get certification, acquire skills, volunteer for jobs etc. all these helps to increase your value and acquire the skills of multi taking early enough in life.
Now, a lot of youth in colleges don’t get theirselves equipped thereby getting carried away by what they see around campus and by the time they get out there it becomes a different field of play simply maybe because they didn’t discover purpose early, or they didn’t view life beyond the college walls and probably some discovered but got distracted along the way. Just like one of my mentor ‘Akinropo Akinola’ will say ON PARENTING, “parenting is not a skill you learn on the day you get married or start having children, rather they are skills you should have learnt, developed, and cultivated when you were single i.e. in your youthful age ” when you start cultivating the skill of parenting on the day you got married or give birth, it gives more stress but when you cultivated the skills when you are young it will be so easy because there is a lot of preparedness and there is a saying that success in a thing that is guaranteed when preparation meets opportunity i.e. opportunity to parent.
The bottom line is, life is going to be harsh at times and we are to get prepared for it, life is beyond the breathing in and breathing out thing, getting to know the purpose you were created and having that conviction knowing that gap to fill is the secret to easy life. The only way to that secret “PURPOSE” is God because he created you himself and knows you than you know yourself. So seek him (According to Matthew 6:33 seek ye therefore the kingdom of god and his righteousness and these things shall be added unto you.) not only seek him but also early enough (according to Ecclesiastes 12:1 remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor year draw nigh, when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them.
No wonder, the aircraft find it easy to fly in the sky because its filling the gap it was created for, even the fish swims perfectly well because it is created for that purpose and when it jumps in and out of the water it gives such a robust feeling and experience, more so the fish live well in water because that is the suitable environment God has created for its purpose. So if you are created in any part of the world it is not a mistake, you were in that environment for a purpose, go ahead and discover that purpose in God and start living life you were created for.

Meet Samuel Omishina who is currently a 400 level undergraduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Department of Urban and Regional Planning who professionally has keen interest in city architecture and a social motivator who is passionate about the moral growth and development of young individuals especially adolescent.
For more info, email: samuelomishina@gmail.com
Stay blessed as I come your way with the next theme -University campus; An avenue to build Great social capital