The Tenacity of Hope

The tenacity of Hope

By Folarin Samson

I dedicate this to all the Nigerian youths out there struggling to survive. I hope you would find comfort from this little effort at reinventing in print the common experience of societal disappointment and elusive expectations.

From childhood, we all had dreams. We wanted to hit the ground running from birth; we aimed at setting the Thames on fire. Out of sheer exuberance, we built castles in the air through fanciful dreams and wishes that left the older generation jealous of our innocent delusion of grandeur. Even when we had no idea of the entrails of our lofty ambition, we thought we would blaze through with lightning speed.

Then as we grew older, the reality of societal restrictions began to dawn on us and shrink the size of our vision. Your Parents must have enough money to send you to school and when you get into college, the teacher will have to like your face before you can earn good grades. At this stage, you will begin to realize the actualization of your childhood dream does not lie squarely on your shoulders; environment is a powerful determinant factor.

The deciding moment comes when on the verge of entrance into higher institution, you will need to write an exam that most times displaces and replaces many a youth ambition with undesirable discipline. The young man who wanted to study medicine had to settle for Yoruba science because the examination process did not favour him (research has shown many people in education found themselves there by accident rather than design, and that’s why the educational sector reeks of discontent and the resultant labour inefficiency that translates into students poor performance). The beautiful lady who all her life had hoped to end up an engineer had to opt for Igbo Technology because she’s tired of repeating the entrance exam.

But people in this category always find solace in religious and parental exhortations that situate their predicament in fate and irreversible acts of God. After all, nothing happens without God’s knowledge. Hence they must take whatever life throws at them and carry their cross dutifully. Not many find it easy coursing through the tertiary institution with this yoke. For me, at the earlier stage of my studies there were times I had to go to a popular Lagos market to carry loads for people so I could raise money for my upkeep. Afterall, I had raised money through the same medium for past exams. Some sacrifice study time to go work as bus drivers and conductors. Some who cannot stoop low to conquer, take to anti-social vices such as prostitution and thefts to make out for the deficiency of parenting. And all in a desperate bid to become a graduate and eke out moderate livelihood. The belief is that your school certificate is your passport to becoming a respectable and responsible Nigerian. How true?

Babadara (not real name) is a personal friend. He graduated as the best student in his department. He almost swept all the prizes and awards during the school’s convocation which was attended by friends and distant relatives and celebrated with much funfair. He got his first job with a little difficulty, thanks to his phenomenal show of intelligence with which he marginalized myriads of other highly qualified applicants for the same job. He would be paid fifty thousand naira (N50, 000), although he has to take transport of about a thousand naira every day. And he wakes up early, kits up in his well ironed suit to join the morning rush for transport.

But Babadara must consider himself lucky because Eliot, another first class student with a cumulative GPA of 4.97 out of a possible 5.00 who studied Food Science, months after his graduation is still ‘job hunting’. A colleague decided to remain in Yola where he had his youth service and teach in a primary school since there’s no guarantee of automatic employment upon his return to Lagos. Another friend since he returned from service has been home for years, still submitting application letter and probably having ceaseless vigils of prayer for deliverance from unknown family curse and satanic jinx. Many youths who burnt the candle at both ends in campus days are still searching for the reward of their hard labour. The product is an aggravated generation of youths, desperate to get back at society for the delusion of childhood dreams, the refashion of ambition during admission process and the frustration of unemployment.

My eyes got opened to the perplexity of a fresh graduate when I finished youth service. The two world of work opened up before me with astonishing effect. I discovered the stints and strictures of the private sector and the boredom and uninspiring tendencies of the civil service. It occurred to me that not all those in the early morning throng, drabbed in executive shirts and blouses are happy people. They are merely complying with forced rules of office. They are merely window dressing for the genuflection of people who can’t see the fire burning beneath.

The government should create more jobs. President Jonathan promised to create 370, 000 jobs upon the removal of subsidy, where are the jobs? The government is trying with a few commendable initiatives, but the impact is too minimal. In 2006, unemployment rate pegged at 5.30 percent, but as at December 2011, we had steeped to 23.9 percent. Current economic indices show the unemployment rate has worsened. President Barack Obama promised to reduce unemployment in America. Their unemployment rate as at August 2012 stood at 8.1 percent. Whither Nigeria? To re-echo the cries of the Nigerian Trade Union in a communiqué cited recently in the media, the federal government need to create an enabling environment for businesses and industry to thrive and create new workplaces for greater employment opportunities.

The government should be genuinely bothered about the economic conditions of its citizens. The world record book says an average Nigerian lives below a dollar per day. That’s nothing to be happy about. The situation may have grown worse with recent data release. A situation where a graduate earns twenty to forty thousand naira per month does not commensurate with the huge investment in payment for school fees and textbooks. It’s a mockery of hard work and it makes absolute nonsense of education.

The new graduate may consider gleaming some instruction from here. We now live in a different society that is far from those days of yore when there’s a plum job awaiting every graduate after school. To use Biblical parlance, if the first class, masters degree holders are scarcely saved, where will the second class and third class job applicants appear? Bank jobs used to be the rallying point for all comers, but the commercial houses are bursting at the seams and shutting down as evident in the massive lay-offs that now dominate news items. Equity aids only the vigilant. To be relevant, you must make yourself indispensable to society, then you can break the rules and set your wages. While waiting, invest in yourself. Further studies will help, private personal development and acquisition of relevant skills will make a great difference. Not having a job is no excuse for anti-social behavior because the chicks will one day come home to roost and you may end up spending the rest of your life in regrets and belated repentance. We have nurtured great hope and faith since birth and we have carried on even until now despite the environmental limitation, so this is not the time to lose heart. Better days are ahead.

Folarin Samson

08030572852/childofdkingdom@gmail.com

Folarin who just finished serving in Ebonyi, now resides in Lagos

Celebrating Intellectual suicide (Published in The Punch and BusinessDay)

Celebrating Intellectual Suicide

Folarin Samson

                                                                                                     

Two Nigerian youths made news headline recently for their extra-ordinary academic feats far away from home. Emmanuel Ohuabunwa, 22, broke America’s John Hopkins University record after he obtained a Grade Point Average of 3.98 out of a possible 4.0. His phenomenal achievement not only opened up a new vista in his medical pursuit, but also earned him a place in Phi Beta Kappa Society, a group that has past American presidents, US Supreme Court Justices and 136 Nobel Prize winners as members. That’s no mean feat. In far away Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, Tunji Anthony dusted his Engineering faculty with a sweeping Cummulative Grade point of 4.00 out of 4.00. For many Nigerians, the news offered consoling break from the blasts of bombs and bullets together with the accompanying sorrow, tears and blood. Their exploits may have mopped up a little the bloody trail to the mention of the country’s name in foreign media.

Be that as it may, the performance of these young men has shown that Nigeria is no push over in intellectual business. Although we possess oil mines, we are also rich in sound minds. Again, it was 16 year old Oluwaseun Alamu of Ogun State who emerged the best science student in Africa in a keenly contested UNICEF World Science Day competition. The world stood still for the young lad who made a strong statement of the brand of Nigeria’s coming generation. This concatenation of events should strike the right chord in the heart of our policy makers and stakeholders. Beyond the euphoria and flurry of half-hearted accolades, there is need to examine the extent to which we have explored our intellectual resources. There’s the need to critically analyze our priority and value system, and the collateral and posterior damage we will suffer if we continue in our present policy path. This is a case for the Nigerian youth.

To quote business mogul Aliko Dangote in a statement he made to Reuters, Nigeria is the best kept secret in the world. Although Mr. Dangote understandably spoke in terms of business opportunities, the matter is beyond monetary exploitation. Nigeria is full of young intelligent and brilliant minds that are wasting away due to poor academic programmes, dysfunctional educational structures and unstable academic calendar resulting from recurrent strike actions. The testimony of Ohuabunwa in this regard seriously indicts the handlers of our educational sector of negligence and gross incompetence. Or why should a four year academic programme take eight to ten years? What of the issue of immoral compromises for grades that is fast turning our ivory tower into brothels, and the general problem of lack of adequate state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructures especially for those in the peculiar fields of science and engineering. These frustrating learning conditions have been killing our potential and few lucky Ohuabunwas and Anthonys are fleeing the country on a regular basis for rock-solid education.

The danger in that? The more our youth exit the country to improve their academic profile, the more we endanger the future of our nation. It was nice reading Ohuabunwa and Anthony talk so passionately about returning to Nigeria upon the completion of their studies to contribute to nation building. That’s cheap talk friends. Why would a foreign country invest into a young man that has shown promise, only to throw him overboard when it knew he could help develop their economy? Nigeria-born super computer genius, Philip Emeagwali was passionate about Nigeria too when he left the shores of the country for America. His experience will suffice at this juncture:

“On the day I left Nigeria, I felt sad because I was leaving my family behind. I believed I would return eight years later, probably marry an Ibo girl, and then spend the rest of my life in Nigeria. But 25 years ago, I fell in love with an American girl, married her three years later, and became eligible to sponsor a Green Card Visa for my 35 closest relatives, including my parents and all my siblings, nieces and nephews. The story of how I brought 35 people to the US exemplifies how 10 million skilled people have emigrated out of Africa during the past 30 years. We came to the US on student visas and then changed our status to become permanent residents and then naturalized citizens.”

So, our loss becomes their gain. The more the emigration of our brilliant minds to overseas countries, the more the depletion in our intellectual capital. We seem to have a bigger problem here. We have perfected the art of outsourcing. We have lost faith in the ability of our own structures and institutions to deliver so, we send our resources abroad. We export our crude oil to be refined in the US because our refineries are in state of disrepair. We do the same in education. Instead of providing the necessary facilities and buying or borrowing technology for the upgrade of our tertiary institutions, we send our best brains abroad to study, hoping they would return. The average are returned, the best are retained. Worse still, we try to create more mushroom institutions to continue to churn out charlatans into the intellectual community.

The clincher here is if government does not take a radical step at stemming this tide, then we’ll soon fall off the precipice. Capitalist Europe will continue to exploit our ignorance and entice our youths with visas and scholarships. There will be a massive wealth transfer both in fiscal and professional expertise. According to the United Nations, an African professional working in the US contributes about 150, 000 dollars per year to the US economy. Money does not equate wealth, so that’s a loss on a relative ground. Another recent survey by World Bank shows that African universities are exporting a large percentage of their graduating manpower to the United States. In a given year, the World Bank estimates that 70,000 skilled Africans immigrate to Europe and the United States. That’s the disaster!

It is true this matter belongs to the bigger subject of brain-drain, but this writer is particular about the unchecked and encouraged exodus of our youth on educational ground. Our private universities are nowhere near enviable standards and that’s why many of them don’t even come close in national ranking. The National Universities Commission must keep pruning like it did recently when it suspended the operational license of seven private universities.

We must begin a process of repairing our structures and institutions to match world standards. The full implementation of the agreement between Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government will be a step in the right direction. Of note is the recommendation which demanded a progressive increase of annual budgetary allocation to 26 per cent and that for a three year gestation period all federal universities would require about N1.5 trillion, while each state university would require about N3.6 million per student. That may be a stint in comparison with Ghana which devotes 28 to 40 per cent of its national budget to education. But it’s a way to begin.

We need to also review our academic curricular to compare international best practices. Junks and extraneous courses must be purged from our syllabus for our graduates to be sufficiently trained in their area of specialization. It is pathetic students are saddled with distracting courses with no relevance to their calling. A redirection for more focus on research work and practical will provide considerable fillip to our learning than outdated and soporific theories with no application.

Our academics need a wake-up call. It is high time we stopped the frequent disruption of academic activities with strike actions. It weakens confidence in our institutions. We are also in dire need of a government that does not need to be threatened before it honours mutual agreement. And now that our professors have the latitude of 70 years retirement, it is hoped they would impart more into our institutions and not lapse into the senility of old age.

But this essay will not be complete without a mention of job opportunities. Many youths have left the country in search of greener pastures. The lopsided nature of our education makes job a challenge. Sound education should not only develop the capacity to work in a man, but train him on how to make ends meet. Nigeria is full of opportunities that can be tapped when the mind is lucidly innovative and creative. From a dialectic standpoint, Nigeria has problems. The presence of problems means there are works to be done, but only few people with discernment will see the possibilities in the perplexities.

If the likes of Mr. Aliko Dangote could invest into our education, we would be the better for it. If our rich men could be more proactive about the coming generation, then Nigerian youths will not think of schooling in Ghana or South-Africa. If the federal government could pay more attention to our education, then we’ll not be losing our Ohuabunwas, Anthonys and Emeagwalis. Many more of these brilliant chaps are about taking the next flight for Europe. Let’s create a good environment for learning and stop frustrating the hope of this nation.

Folarin Samson

NYSC Ebonyi

08030572852/ childofdkingdom@yahoo.com

NYSC: What did I do wrong(Published in The Punch, The Guardian, The Nation)

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NYSC: What did I do wrong?

By Folarin Samson 13/08/2012

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What does it feel like to nurture great hope, visions and aspirations and work so assiduously at it, only to be shattered with the reality of shame and disgrace? How does it feel to love one’s nation dearly and serve her with all exuberant vigour and youthful zeal, far and beyond the call of duty, only to be rewarded with scorn, reproach and punishment because subsisting social structures and mores do not support such extinct ideals? The feeling is obviously one of dejection, frustration and near collapse that prompts quick re-evaluation of strategy. While some youths have stoically waded through such ugly experiences and re-launch dramatic comebacks managing to keep their tattered virtues, many others have been too wounded to survive; they turn around polishing their crafts and grafts to hunt the system they once craved to serve. The puritan blends with the system and learns the art of corruption even faster than the masters.

I am a youth presently distraught with the reality of unreciprocated love for fatherland and I wonder if there is hope for my kind in this nation. While at the NYSC Orientation Camp, I had planned to draw attention to needs in my place of assignment through the media by virtue of my communication discipline. But I was told corps members were not allowed to speak with the press. I was unhappy. How can that be? Do they want to repress my spirit? I might faint if I didn’t write for a fortnight. How much more for a year? I read the rules and discovered the bye-laws forbid ‘’...granting interviews on matters affecting NYSC policies...’’ Eureka! I found the answer. We were only forbidden from granting interviews, so I still had my freedom of expression. In fact, I knew NYSC wouldn’t have mounted any contradiction to Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution which expressly endows every Nigerian with freedom of expression.

I started writing and publishing right from camp, basking in the euphoria of serving my nation. Aside delivering one of the most evocative speeches at the orientation camp, urging fellow corps members to sincere service, I re-oriented many outsiders who had no idea of what fun awaits in the uncharted hearts of the jungles. From my interior village, I darted in writing, defending Ebonyi youths after the state government’s unpopular decision to stop full payment of their certificate examinations under the flimsy, faulty pretext of meeting up with minimum wage. I wrote for the Abia State University girl gang-raped by five monsters, urging justice for the poor girl. I wrote for the NYSC girl allegedly raped by a monarch in Osun. I wrote in defense of NYSC itself, telling the scrap proponents to be more constructive in their arguments. Despite the hail of accolade I was drawing from external readers, NYSC never communicated praise or warning. Then came the delay in corps members’ allowance. I thought if I could speak for the right of others, why should I be silent now? I wrote in defense of corps members in the country who were going through unimaginable hardship. I succinctly painted the horrid pictures like a skilled artist.

I must admit it was indeed the angry piece of a hungry corper. If you are in government and you read it, you will understandably be angry at the spunky brat who wrote it. And if you are outside government, you will be angry at government for treating corps members the way the writer portrayed. It was an angry piece that invoked anger. Where you direct the anger depends on what side of the divide you belong. The piece probably reflected in raw terms the mood of corps members in the country at the time. That was when NYSC Ebonyi woke up and invoked one of its rules against me. 

The writer must be made a public example. For daring to ask questions when he should have kept quiet, he deserved query and extension. NYSC is highly regimented, and you are expected to always play the yes-man. You can’t fight your employer or else you will be fired. In fact, it was not wise to have written such a reckless piece putting yourself in unnecessary risk. You dey do oversabi, ehn? Na only you fit write? Did you say the query came seven days to your passing out? What a rude shock that must have been. It was perfectly timed for you. And now, with that extension twig in your file, your viability for public office in the future is endangered. Those were some of the thoughts of people who had reacted out of genuine concern for Folarin.

But you know what? I have no regret. I have no regret for serving with so much innocence. I have no regret for writing because it’s my calling; I take my ordeal in good faith. I am no bad writer, except when I’m angry, literary anger, mind you. At such times, I write with fire and brimstone dripping off my pen. Like a jury, I summon offenders before the table of public conscience and examine their conduct in the light of their sworn obligations to society. 

And was I not supposed to be angry? You must know I saved 50% of that stipend, paid 10% as tithe, fed, transported, supported siblings, fulfilled financial obligations and commitments with the remaining 40%. And how much is the 40%? 7,800. Sincerely, there are corps members with stricter financial plans. So, when there is delay payment, you can only imagine the hardship and torture.

I was slammed with one month extension that led to two months delay even when none of the officials could open the particular section I breached. Together with the PRO, we perused the NYSC Bye-law searching for the appropriate section I violated. Then he finally fingered one: disclosure of official information. Laughable, isn’t it? Was I the one who disclosed the information to the public?  The former Minister for Youth Affairs, Bolaji Abdullahi had announced before I published? Little wonder even the query I was issued reflected confusion and distortion in citation. The offence was publishing; the citation was dereliction of duty. Worse, I was not paid a farthing despite the recommendation of the same invoked 2011/2012 Bye-laws that there should be half payment in certain cases. My situation must be worse than that of a prisoner, because even prisoners get fed no matter their crime. I was whisked back to my village, to the consternation of my principal and his staff. Many of the teachers were too shocked to say a word. Few who found their voice wondered why the best always get the worst treatments.

When the extension letter was handed to me, my initial reaction was that of utter disbelief, sorrow, frustration and disappointment that gave vent to the morbid thought of suicide. A top government officer, formerly in the media, who was briefed and had promised to help look ‘immediately’ at the matter, did nothing to save me. His promise petered out like the gentle snuffing of a flickering candle flame. I bled deeply within. I wept. I remembered all I had showed and showered was love and passion for my nation. My June 3rd page 10, full-page clincher in The Guardian Newspaper captured my excitement for NYSC. Funny enough, I gave the State secretariat my only copy which they gladly accepted. And when I expected appreciation, commendation and reward from a grateful people, I got the back-stab of extension because I asked an innocent, genuine question: NYSC, where is our allowee? The system does not tolerate questions. The system does not tolerate criticisms. 

Despite pressure to go public, I said nothing throughout my ordeal in deference to the section of the NYSC Bye-laws which frowns at seeking redress to grievances of this nature through the media. In my quest for justice, I would not want to be guilty of wrong doing. Hence, I bore the shame of the extension knowing the time will come to tell my story and let the people judge.

As I get my certificate this month and return home into the waiting hands of loving parents, friends and loved ones, some questions trouble me that I deem fit for national meditation. What are the parameters of our reward system? A corrupt politician is garlanded with honours, a Taiwo Akinkunmi languishes unrecognized in a shanty. Clearance corpers, ghost corpers, lazy corpers cheat the system and get applauded for playing smart, an acclaimed hard-working village corper without any blot of wrong-doing gets extension even when there’s no established offence? What do I have to show for my hard labour and passion? What will be my new exhortation to my generation? Does it pay to serve Nigeria with heart and might? Will this infringement go unaddressed? Will I go, my wounds undressed?

NB: The Punch and The Guardian published it under the title: NYSC: Tears of a wounded corper

President Jonathan and the 2015 distraction (published in Tribune, Sunday Trust, Osun Defender, The Punch, et al)

Jonathan and the 2015 distraction

Written by Folarin Samson Sunday, 03 June 2012 05:00

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Barely a year into the life of the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the talks had started about who succeeds him in 2015. The debate has been strong and heated to the point of name-calling and direct abuse on the person of Mr President who is accused of eying a second term ticket. Those who have completely dismissed the possibility of a Jonathan re-election based on current performance have started throwing up potential heirs to the throne. The political class has been negotiating the geo-political swing for the presidency. The media in particular have never been so active in their agenda-setting function as they have put the issue on their front burners with screaming headlines. The papers with vested interest have made no pretentions of their motives in their piloted interviews and twisted analysis.

It is sad that at this critical time in our national life, trivial matters of this nature have stolen the minds of our think-tanks from grave state concerns. Worse, it is pathetic that bent under the debilitating crush of Boko Haram insurgency that has advertised the yawning lapses in our security system to the international community, we could not concentrate our strained energy on strengthening our unity to fight the scourge and sustaining our fragile democratic experiment with constructive and critical debate. One is forced to question if our politicians have become so desperate in their lust for power that the common good does not matter any longer. Have we given up so early on the Jonathan presidency a year after majority of Nigerians voted for him, even if the figures were exaggerated or inflated as alleged? This is shameful.

As expected, the presidency replied his detractors. Mr. President would not want to be drawn into discussions bothering on the future of his political career. This should have been adequate to lay the matter to rest. But not so fast with Nigerian politics. Many are clamouring for a direct answer. Again I wonder what answer could be clearer than in the declaration of Mr President at the outset of his presidential campaign not to contest a second term if given a first opportunity. And if he reneged on his words as Nigerian politicians are wont, will he not be judged by performance? These premises may sound too simplistic for a skeptical mind, which believes the elections can always be manipulated and it is easier to steer the results in personal favour as incumbent. This probably informed the recent vituperations of General Muhammadu Buhari who spoke against the Federal Government in unprintable terms.

However, no matter how tense the political climate may be and the fears about tomorrow in the political caucus, does wisdom not suggest we live one day at a time? It is rather unfortunate and saddening that we have suddenly come to the conclusion that there can be no light at the end of our tunnel and the solution is to begin to search for alternatives, including threatening death and hell. It only portrays our politicians as self-serving and power thirsty. Opposition politics in other climes is not so adversarial. The opposition is there to provide an alternative to government through well reasoned and thought out solutions to nagging social troubles. They are to point out the lapses in the sitting government for the greater good. When are we going to get it right in this country that power is only a means to an end and not an end in itself? The desire of many politicians is just to grab the power by hook or crook even when they lack quality programmes and transformational policies.

Nigerians should insist on improved governance and better policy direction. Although a year down the line there’s a general let down in the Jonathan administration, we cannot afford to pull it down more with subversive talks. We must stop listening to the grandstanding demagogues who paint our leaders black to worm their way into power. They would make worse leaders. To my mind, Jonathan was elected by popular votes despite the widespread malpractices that soiled the credibility of that election and we owe his administration support and constructive criticisms.

Mr President has to up his game or do the honourable thing if he finds the Nigerian task herculean. In objective retrospect, his first year was marred with certain ill-thought policies that threw Nigerians into hardship and regrets. We are still waiting for the much vaunted “breath of fresh air”. Hence the noise and campaign by his “loyalists” for a re-election in 2015 is not only premature but misguided and indeed tragic. Dr Jonathan owes the nation the urgent duty of halting the unsolicited campaign. 2015 can wait, we are not in a hurry and all those throwing themselves up as viable substitutes should get busy with more social works to improve their credentials. Our primary concern is the success of this running tenure and three years is still a long time for President Jonathan to prove his critics wrong, redeem his reputation and change the fortune of millions of disenchanted Nigerians.

The role of the media in propagating the 2015 agenda is quite regrettable. Dennis Mcquail, a respected communication scholar, once proposed a typology for the media in developing countries, which was that they should answer to the development needs of their country. Let’s get back to the basics. The media must through its gate-keeping thresholds sieve all unhealthy stories likely to inflame the polity or bring about political instability in the country. Such is the disturbing and destabilising talk about 2015 in a fledging administration. The editors should kill such stories until an opportune time. Those to whom I can make no such prescriptions are people who work in media houses established and run to score political points. The journalists and editors in such places have lost grip of the ethics of the profession and cannot operate a socially responsible media because as the saying goes, he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Finally, I urge the political class to be mindful of the common good. 2015 is still three years away and to begin to prognosticate on a seat newly occupied runs against the grain of common sense and morality. Folarin Samson wrote from Abakaliki

Tales of a corps member (Published in The Guardian, June 3rd, 2012)

Tales Of A Corps Member

by Folarin Samson

THE time was 3am. It was icy cold outside and the earth was still submerged in heavy darkness. Even the sharp chirping of the night crickets had thinned out. I was fast asleep in my room when a quick rap on my window rudely ruptured my rest. I froze and curled up on my mattress with a start.

I gently pried my eyes open with the back of my hand, still feeling sleepy and waiting to hear the owner of the hand speak. “Folarin, you no go wake up make we go fetch water,” a rough Benin voice called out. I recognised it immediately. It was Oboh, my CLO. He was a fairly tall, light complexioned corps member, who, in his school days, held sway as a keggite chief. He thrilled us with stories of how he shook his campus with gyration.

“See, the handle of the tap don break o and we go trek go Ugbodo to go fetch water,” he added sadly, his falling intonation betraying fear and transferring the same to me.

I caught it mid air. “The handle of the pumping tap has broken? My God!” Cold sweats seeped from my brow. Fear seized me. My head spinned. The pumping tap Oboh mentioned was the closest to us. How do we cope without it?

I could remember how the long iron rod, used as lever to pump the water, had worn out from frequent friction. We had hoped it would still be intact before we finish our service in three months’ time, to escape the hardship of travelling far in search of water. But that was not to be.

Our present decision to be going out to fetch water at midnight was to avert joining the army of villagers that besiege the tap in the daytime. And even at that, we would still meet villagers queuing to fetch water. Some of them slept at the tap despite the risk of being stung by scorpions.

Our situation was worsened by the dry season and to pump out water in the day could be a life threatening exercise. I once told a friend that the technology behind the tap was punitive.

And now, to think of Ugbodo as a substitute, as suggested by Oboh, was madness. Nothing else came to my mind than that. That place was hellish far.

I shuffled my feet to our little kitchen, to carry some of the buckets we would use to fetch the water. Ikupoluyi had joined us. Okwose was already ahead in his faded blue short sleeves, his grey fraying knickers dancing to the tune of the cool breeze. We were four, the remaining Batch B corps members.

MY eyes roved round the environment as we trudged on, side by side. Tangible darkness enveloped us as the moon slightly peeked out from its shade to gape on these daring corpers who have defied sleep to go in search of water. She smiled, bade us goodnight and slowly retreated into hiding. The stars winked at us with childlike shyness.

The road was completely deserted except for some huddled sheep lying on the road and staring vacantly at us. There was something sinister in their look that I hated.

It was the lone shimmering light in their eye, which bore wickedly into my fragile courage. It increased my heartbeat and I quickly looked away in fright. The sheep all rose as we approached. They want to fight? Jesus, help us. I marched on with faked courage. Then they scattered and made way for us, only to regroup later.

The torch from our phones came handy, as it shone with forceful intrusion a little metre ahead to announce the portholes and gallops before fading out. It was a long dreadful walk.

We headed for another tap by the dusty road that led to Abakaliki, the State capital, not Ugbodo again. We met two scantily dressed girls at the tap. I imagined what risk they had exposed themselves to by coming out at such ungodly hour of the night.

We didn’t talk to them because you never could even tell if they were not humans after all. When they were done, they left and vanished into the looming darkness.

We took our turn. Oboh pumped the water while I exchanged the buckets. Everything was distilled in silence except for the squeak and screech of the lever Oboh was belabouring.

Returning was hard. Each of us clutched tightly to two buckets. Torch in mouth; buckets in hand. The thin semi-circle iron rod that provided the handle etched sore lines on our fingers. We felt scalding pain.

At intervals, we stopped to relax, catch our breath and stretch our fingers. After the pain had ebbed, we continued our tottering in the cold night. My mind was, however, on how I would not be behind or ahead: two dangerous positions.

As safety precaution, I tried to keep pace with someone after making each stop.  Thankfully, we reached our lodge without any incidence.

THIS week, my one year of national youth service ends, together with many enterprising and adventurous stories like this. I took a look back and I saw no regrets. I couldn’t have served in a better place than Ebonyi.

I was one of those youths who almost influenced their state of deployment. But it just didn’t work out and I resigned to destiny, believing there was a purpose behind my deployment to Ebonyi, a state I reckoned not to be anywhere near my expectation in terms of resources and post-service opportunities.

True to my fear, though I studied Mass Communication, I was sent into an interior village to teach CRK of all subjects. I was disappointed and embarrassed. I could hardly share this with anyone when asked the subject I was teaching.

What good will I do the students’ intellectual capability teaching what they can ordinarily learn in their churches? I was worried although I did not show it. I just accepted as an obedient servant.

Soon enough, we got started and I saw it was fun teaching those boisterous youths about God. They enjoyed my classes and looked forward to it. But I was still not satisfied; their level of communication was poor.

The teachers seemed not to help matters, as they were constantly conversing with them in their vernacular. They found it convenient. Hence, my decision to begin a ‘Press Club’ where I taught as many of them who showed interests the basics of communication.

It was a chance to bring my communication skills into play and impart it in the young lads who appeared bemused many times I spoke on their assemblies during moral instructions.

Then, there were moments of sharing together, talking together and playing together. But I guess some of them took this for something else. I had heard of how corps members messed up with some of the female students in the past.

One in particular threw herself to me, coming to my room at 11pm for English coaching. Sho, what English will I be teaching at such time of the day? I understood the message clearly like a magician studying his crystal ball.

Being human, I almost fell for it. But on the second thought of my mission in the village, I withdrew and stylishly dismissed the poor girl. Several of such temptations came. This was probably one of my trying times at Ojiegbe.

The rural rugged outreaches offered the best opportunities to reach those the government might not even have oversight of due to distance. On such occasions, we would go with detergents, footwears, clothes, and other welfare packages to distribute freely to the villagers.

Doctors were also at hand to offer medical services to the old women and children some of whom were plagued with ailments fast draining life from their systems.

In such places, you’d find youths fast wasting away in vices, children suffering from malnutrition, men who had worked themselves out on their farms because the sustenance of their large families depended on it.  The people drank water from the same stream in which they bathed and washed their clothes.

It’s usually the most exciting moments spreading the good news of Jesus around those jungles singing, dancing and watching the excitement and gratitude on the pale faces of those villagers.

The truth is that not all of us will get state or federal awards and we are not driven by such trifles. Some of us went hungry throughout our service year, running around and borrowing to see to the completion of a project.

Some of us felt so concerned about the state of our communities, we willingly sacrificed our life’s savings to finance life-saving projects. The need is great.

Many of us have seen the enormity of the development challenges of the country where we served and have been shaken to the marrow. We are no longer the same. Despite the challenges and difficulties of environment, we still forged on.

Some of us had miraculous escaped from snake and scorpion bites. Some of us lived and served where there was no electric pole running through the roads. Some of us stayed where we needed to climb hills, trees and mountains to catch fluctuating telecommunication networks.

All these have made us to see the many sides of the mammoth called Nigeria. Nigeria is bigger than what many city minds conceive in the cocoon and comfort of their bedrooms!

MY first parting shot goes to the Federal Government, to treasure the youth of this country. Many times, we are being placated with the platitudinous refrain of being leaders of tomorrow and yet, the leaders of yesterday have refused to relinquish power to the leaders of tomorrow.

This probably explains why, as a nation, we have been living in the past and groping in the dark when the whole world keeps marching ahead in quantum leap. Please, give us space and let us bring freshness into governance and public administration.

It is also unfair for us to go through all these and get back home only to become redundant. We need to be rewarded with gainful employment. Some of us have caught the vision of a new Nigeria, and we need room for exploration.

My challenge to prospective corps members is to step out of their shells. There’s a lot of excitement and fun in the NYSC. There’s a lot of adventure in the uncharted lands of the interiors. Nigeria is bigger and wider than what you can read up in any geography text.

I wish to state that any Nigerian youth that refused, boycotted or bought his way out of the NYSC has missed a lifetime opportunity of making the investment that never depreciates, memories that never fades, and impact that is not soon forgotten. Because he only has lived who has done something for someone who can never repay him. That probably summarises the essence of the NYSC to my mind.

I will spare a word for parents and guardians who, out of genuine love and concern for the security of their wards, influence their postings to choice companies and towns. It may profit in the short run, but the trail does not wipe out easily.

Such youths don’t grow up to have a comprehensive knowledge of the diversity of the country and if by any twist of chance they find themselves in leadership tomorrow, they will make bad leaders.

It’s true tragedy strikes sometimes, but to generalise from such isolated cases will tantamount to irrational judgment and irrelevant conclusion. Let your children be, and leave them in the hands of your God if you truly believe He’s almighty.

The NYSC must hear this. Since its inception in 1973, many Nigerian graduates have passed through the scheme with varying degrees of experiences, fairy tales, sights and stories. Many of these have gone without being passed on to people who probably have not visited such places or seen such glorious sights.

This writer thought it would not be out of place if the NYSC could institute a project to annually compile and document the experiences of corps members from the 36 States of the federation. The stories will certainly make interesting reads and will help keep memories of corps members alive.

I tried doing this via social networking site, Facebook, but the time frame was just too short and I could not muster the human resources.

The NYSC should also pay attention to the security of corps members, especially those posted into the interiors. And allowee should be paid on time so corps members don’t become derelicts in their places of primary assignments. We had this challenge in my time.

But I have no regrets for serving my fatherland. It’s been full of fun. I will miss the animal community in Randa. The musical bleating of the black goats in my neighbourhood gives a poignant presence of nature. The ducklings with their human interactions, the dogs and their pranks and barks, the hen with their troublesome male counterparts, especially the games they play before mating. I enjoyed the scene whenever they played out like theatre.

I will miss Nigeria Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF) and the Deeper Life Corpers Fellowship (DLCF) for all the rural rugged evangelisms we went for touching the lives of those villagers.

I will miss my students at Nkaleke Achara Community Secondary School, Ojiegbe, especially my Press Club members. I will miss my colleagues in Randa: Stephen, Jo, Frank, Jawa, Samson, and Alfa Ibrahim.

I want to thank the good people of Ebonyi State for the salt they have added into the lives of thousands of those who have served in the state and the state coordinator in particular, Mr. Otaru Eshimakhe, for his fatherly disposition to all the corps members.

The state is blessed with such resources that can provide good exports for the country. The Federal Government will need to give serious attention to the nutritious Abakaliki rice and promote its consumption in the country.

Dear Nigerians, I have served! I look forward to opportunities for higher calling to national service. Aru go mi ya, I have served!

• Samson, outgoing Batch B corps member in Ebonyi State

08030572852/ childofdkingdom@gmail.comchildofdkingdom@gmail.com

NYSC: where is our allowee? (Published in The Nation, The Punch, The Guardian, Blueprint Newspapers)

NYSC: Where is our allowee?

Folarin Samson

It is high time the Federal Government looked into the unbearable delay in the payment of corps members’ monthly allowance. This trend is assuming a very dangerous proportion and corps members are not happy with it. Many are already threatening fire and brimstone. If the Federal Government is not aware, corps members across the federation under the auspices of National Association of Aggrieved Youth Corpers are planning to embark on strike actions which they termed ‘No Pay, No work’. It is unfortunate and shameful things have degenerated to this nauseating stage that corps members now think of strike. We have never had it so bad. The rumour is rife that there are people diverting the money into private accounts on fixed deposit. We want to know the truth.

Corps members in the country certainly deserve better treatment going by the pain many of us go through. Our uniform gives many of the people in our host communities the false impression we are living large. Some of them surcharge us for every small item we buy because we are government ‘pikin’ and yet, we are as hungry and angry as some of them are.

I want to appeal to the Director General of the NYSC, Brigadier Okorie-Affa to please use his good offices to urgently look into the matter. There was tension in the country sometime ago when the salary of the nation’s servicemen was delayed by just few days prompting the government to issue circular to calm frayed nerves. I wonder if we are not important too or our selfless national service is not valued for us to be treated with such shoddiness. And yet, we are not on salary, all we collect is allowance. We depend on this stipend not only for our upkeeps, as there are some of us who are also saddled with responsibilities from home.

I don’t want to believe the statement credited to coordinating minister of the economy Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala recently on Sahara Reporters has anything to do with this. The coordinating minister was quoted as saying Nigeria is cash strapped and can’t pay monthly allocations including NYSC allowance. That must be a big joke. The take home package of our senators and reps makes it a joke. The allocation for the President’s feeding allowances makes it a big joke. The billions of money being bandied with reckless abandon at the investigative committees set up to probe the various scandals make it a big joke. But we are not laughing at this cruel, wicked, sardonic, lugubrious joke. Only action, quick urgent action will save corps members from declaring "to thy tents oh Israel".

NYSC: Abuse of Nigerian Graduates (Published in This Day)

NYSC: Abuse of Nigerian Graduates?

By Folarin Samson

The NYSC scheme has been in the news for two major reasons this year. First was in the conduct of the April election in which the scheme provided the platform for the use of Nigerian graduates. The results of the election gained international applause and endorsement and the scheme largely shared in the credit. An African president even said Nigeria has opened their eyes to the usefulness of corps members and promised to take a cue from us in the future. Well said. Second was the hoopla subsequently generated from the harassments and assaults on some of the corps members in which ten of them tragically lost their lives. Many stakeholders understandably called for the scraping of the scheme but reason prevailed when many other respected Nigerians and the media especially canvassed for its continuity. We don’t have to cut off our nose to spite our face, they argued. However, an important issue emanated from the discourse which was the need for a review of the scheme.

Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu in particular took it to the floor of the National Assembly for consideration. It is instructive that another member of the Assembly, Senator Sahabi Yau and 33 others have reopened the discussion recently. I was a prospective corps member when the issue first came up and was privileged to make contributions including writing an open letter to Mr. President on the matter.  But now as a serving corps member seeing with an improved prism, I perceive important issues which the new director general of NYSC, General Nnamdi Okorie-Affia need to critically examine. This could help advance the primary objectives of the scheme. I see the need for some adjustments in programmes and policies especially as the ones presently in place seem tantamount to abusing the intelligence and integrity of Nigerian graduates.

To be candid, it appears there are states where youth corps members are not needed. Through audible and unmistakable actions these states do not attach much importance to the scheme and do not appreciate the efforts of corps members. They probably have excess workforce. In such states, corps members are rejected at their place of primary assignments.  In such places, corps members are not entitled to the usual state allowance approved by NYSC in lieu of accommodation. You will pardon me for not being specific here.

NYSC need to make its findings. In such states, youth corps members only roam the streets, idle because they have been rejected in several places. They end up wasting the one year of youth service not adding values to themselves let alone to the nation. NYSC is duty-bound to enquire from states if they really need the services of corps members and what number to forestall time wastage of Nigerian youths. It is an insult on me to show up where my service is presumed to be needed only to be turned back.

Worse still, some states not finding places to post corps members circulate them among private individuals who have link with government. Those saddled with the duty of posting corps members to their place of primary assignment make fortune selling to bidders and distributing them among their circles of friends and acolytes. It is therefore not surprising to find corps members at business centres doing some odd, degrading and disgusting jobs. Is that not an abuse of our graduates and an open scorn of their years of rigorous academic labour? The excuse of some states for putting corps members in questionable places is shortage of funds. If a state cannot accommodate corps members, is it compulsory it accepts a responsibility it cannot discharge?

The three weeks orientation programme also needs overhauling. As fascinating and educative as the camp activities are, some swindlers find their way into the camp to extort corps members albeit professionally and diplomatically. They do some motivational gymnastics laced with ideas of money making picked up from foreign books and in the end issue certificates of participation at a sum. They tell fake stories to impress listeners, their gleaming three-piece suit testifying to their mojo. Some simpletons usually fall for this sophistry for the single reason of upgrading their CV. But I wonder how NYSC permitted such people into the camp to hoodwink impressionable minds.

It’s unfortunate these speakers who parade themselves as representatives of their principals who head some nebulous consulting firms and professional institutes come talking about how to grab white collar jobs, implicitly discouraging the entrepreneurship spirit the organisers intend to inculcate into the corps members. NYSC shoots itself in the foot by planting these subversive elements with trained persuasive but delusive tongues. I should make a point clear here. It is good to listen to a motivational talk, but where the speaker has ulterior motive or is primarily motivated by despicable greed and pecuniary gains, then there is need for a check.

Some Nigerians have suggested the incorporation of some forms of defensive military training during the orientation programme. I wish to accentuate the essence of this point. In the prevailing condition of abject insecurity in the country plus Boko Haram unpredictable dastardly onslaught, such trainings come handy. When corps members are confronted with impossible situations where their lives are threatened, they can courageously switch either to the fight or flight mode. The ladies especially need training on how to fight rape, a malaise that is becoming endemic in the nation if recent media reports are anything to go by. The corps members that have been victims of rape would have fared better if well oriented. This means the orientation curriculum is not complete at the moment.  
It is also worthy of note that the uniform distributed to corps members in the camp is disgraceful and reproachful to say the least. The khaki wear is of two types. One is good and durable while the other is substandard and a single wash turns it into instant rag. The crested vest is also ticky-tacky. Youth corps members pay heavily to procure substitutes. One wonders to whom the federal government contracts the job of producing the wears for the NYSC. The individual or company is grossly incompetent and can be dubbed a cheat that deserves to be prosecuted for short-changing Nigerians except if the government is not paying its dues which is very doubtful.
•Folarin Samson is a serving corps member in Ebonyi State

Our government is notorious for preposterous spendings.

There is the most important issue of the lot. The NYSC needs to come out clear and tell the Nigerian public its policy on posting of Nigerian graduates. This year for instance, Lagos was unusually overcrowded to the point that NYSC was forced to issue an order that some graduates posted to Lagos should have their orientation programmes in certain designated states. What do we make of that? Struggle for the soul of Lagos? Insinuations are also rife that private tertiary institutions in the country get preferential postings. I have no grouse against people who seek relocation after being posted to troubled states or on grounds of health, marriage and other genuine reasons (It is however laughable how corps members desperate for redeployment feign mental problems, epilepsy, et al). But I am miffed at redeployment or influencing of posts for the sake of convenience and comfort.

How do you know your country well when all your life you’re restricted to the confine of your small state? What will be your world view, or is it national view, when in position of national leadership if your story begins and ends in one locale? While I don’t expect to attract a wide following on this sore note, I intend to drive it home to everyone that it is an issue we cannot continue to gloss over because it strikes at the heart of our corruption crisis.

Surprisingly, even religious institutions are divided over the moral and spiritual implications of such practice. My questions will however be better directed to the NYSC. What is NYSC stance on the issue? Does it try to check such partial and unethical practice? If a Nigerian graduate could decide where he wants to serve and no eye brow is raised, the liberality of choice may as well be extended to all; no discrimination. For instance, I would have rather chosen to serve in the luxurious office of Mr. President in Aso Rock villa and not the village school where I now find myself teaching some noisy youths. I’m not complaining. It’s good to see the other side of Nigeria and appreciate the depth of our national predicament.

As recommendations, I wish to admonish that influencing of posting on untenable and intangible grounds should be halted. The NYSC should use its discretion and the guiding lights of NYSC--national integration and cohesion, cultural appreciation and cross-fertilization of ideas--to decide where corps members serve. States having internal crisis should be tactically avoided without making any fuss or attracting media attention to such decision which could heat up the polity. Their indigenes could be sent to them to prevent a distracting lacuna. The NYSC should investigate the allegations raised here and find urgent answers to the questions posed for the future of the scheme.

The NYSC scheme is doing a lot for corps members, thanks to the visionary leadership of the past Director General, Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga who was both a father and friend to all corps members. His travail and triumph in the critical moments of the April polls bespeak him as a colossus worth national celebration. Brigadier General Nnamdi has a great challenge ahead of him and on behalf of corps members nationwide, I pledge unalloyed support for his leadership.

The Deeper Life Massacre and the rest of us (Published in Sahara Reporters)

The Deeper Life Massacre And The Rest Of Us

Posted: August 12, 2012 - 14:08

By Folarin Samson

They were in church listening to the word of God. Three different districts converged on a location because the service was by satellite transmission. There was no premonition of danger as the atmosphere steeped in specious breath. Many of them just returned from their places of work and although fatigued, they still found time to be at the evening service.
A few who came late hurriedly sandwiched themselves into empty backseats to avoiding causing distractions. Their pastor was nearing the end of his life-streamed teaching, when there was a power cut. Many of them gasped, PHCN will not let them enjoy their Bible study. So, they thought. Suddenly, they heard confused shouts at the gate. “We are here to finish off all of you”, a husky voice hollered, impelling them to lie flat on the floor. Hails of bullets ricocheted the aisles and pews in a war fashion, riddling frightened bodies. Shrieks and growls in the throes of death with last-minute meditative spasms followed. Fresh hot blood gushed out from ruptured veins, splattering opened Bibles. It’s another murder in the cathedral. Dead silence. Forced eternity.

That may depict the sad fate of the twenty people who recently lost their lives in yet another gruesome onslaught by some “unidentified gun-men” whose mode of operation is not in doubt. Report has it that some of the worshippers who scuttled out searching for escape routes were apprehended and their throat slit in a bloody flash.  One can at best imagine the thoughts that ran through their minds in that deciding moment of their existence. Many of them must have been anguished by the irretrievable reality of being the next victim of Boko Haram.

The reaction so far has been less impressive as in past cases where top government officials perfunctorily visit the site of the murder with their entourage as if on a tourist stroll and dish out mindless condolences with empty threats and uninspiring promises. We are getting used to this ritual of enraging graveyard elocution which has continued to advertise failure of government in performing its primary constitutional duty of safeguarding lives. Sometimes to save their face, some rouges are paraded before television cameras typical of a circus show, we hear no more about it. In other climes, situations like this would have led to massive revolt that could topple an incumbent for repeated breach of the social contract bond. But Nigerians are the happiest people on earth just as the Global Peace Index tips us as the 6th most dangerous country in Africa, coming behind war-torn Somalia and Sudan. We are happy but insecure.

But everybody cannot be happy. The families of victims of Boko Haram’s numerous bloody blasts and booms cannot be happy. Christians in general who appear the prime target in this apocalypse cannot be happy. They now live in fear and suspicion that make worship a charade. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as a body cannot be happy as evidenced by some of its critical releases in recent times.

A serious cause for concern however is the rather uncoordinated reaction of Christendom to these consistent attacks. Denominational and doctrinal differences which have often created wedge among religious leaders and invariably their teeming followers in the past have precluded a clear-cut, agreed solution. While a group thinks defensive and retaliatory might should be employed to repel the confrontations, another believes an eye for an eye will only make the world blind and hence says Christians should rather pray for the enemies; no fight back. A radical set dismisses both approaches as unintelligent and advices Christians to bear their cross fatefully and faithfully, because theirs is a fait accompli. Its end-time and things like these are bound to happen. In other words, Boko Haram can continue to enter churches and blast the pulpit and the pews unchallenged.

The time has come for our religious leaders to unite and speak with one voice. It is instructive that Jesus who commanded prayer for enemies, was the same who admonished his disciples to ward off avoidable attacks by getting swords. His noble intention became obvious when he rebuked Peter for cutting someone’s ear with it, including healing the victim. The same Scriptures that enjoin turning the right cheek after a first assault, shows Paul the Apostle challenging an unlawful slap. He was in a law court and his assault was a sign he had been convicted even when he had barely said anything. These are situations that if not put in proper context could warrant childish arguments and misinterpretations. The point here is that although the Bible preaches tolerance and good neighbourliness, it does not encourage foolish martyrdom. The end time does not make Christians sacrificial lambs. It is lack of discretion that predisposes some Christians to parochial sentiments in the face of danger. It is high time the Catholics and Protestants, Charismatics and Pentecostals, Evangelicals and Non-evangelicals formed a strong shield of solidarity and unity to crush this common enemy of their faith. A uniformed action plan of prayer and adequate security, with proper defense mechanism must be drafted for the security of people who leave the safety of their homes for church meetings.

However, it will be wrong to claim Christians are the only victims of the rising challenge of insecurity in the country. After the Deeper Life strike, report says the same killer gang stormed a mosque killing some security operatives around the area. A few Muslims that are perceived as liberals are attacked and killed.

The Boko Haram members certainly have a different interpretation of the injunction: “Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious...let there be no compulsion in religion: truth stands out clear from error” Al-Quran16:125; 2:256. This makes it important the Muslims not only join in condemning the terrorist group, but preach and pray against their continued existence. It is not unlikely some of these destructive elements attend some of the services and a continued denouncement of their infernal activities could break the spell on them.

Nigeria has never been this troubled. Many of our statesmen have now painfully submitted that the country is under siege. Aside the Boko Haram albatross, we have a president that is cumbered with an impeachment threat, underperforming armed forces, a divided country, corruption of unprecedented scales, a perceptibly incompetent cabinet and swelling opposition heat. The political climate is hotter than usual. An evil agenda is unraveling before our eyes. The government is failing the people and no one appears moved by the mere window dressing in economic apologetics and humdrum statistics that don’t translate to societal development. The finding that says Nigerians are the happiest people on earth may need to be reviewed if current realities mean anything to the researchers.

I urge the Federal Government to indeed implement the full, 24-hour surveillance of worship centres as directed by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar. The religious centres must also be vigilant. If there is any time the “Watch and pray” admonition should be cherished, it is now. Security is essential to worship hence watch and pray, and not pray and watch.

Folarin Samson
Abakaliki, Ebonyi State
childofdkingdom@gmail.com/ 08030572