House of Assembly (A poem)

They gather in a hallow

Belching with rotund bellies

The ringleader ensconced on the podium

Facing fellow coterie

Vilipending the destinies

Of the rest of us

Suddenly they bicker

Like the sun from the east

Their tempers rose

Like the whirl wind battles a frail tree

They brawl in belligerence

The hallowed chamber

Metamorphosed to a prize-ring

The revered maze

Used as arbalest

The honourables deteriorating

Becoming bats in the belfry

The rest of us

Gaze in agony

Ravaged by biting appetence

Yarning for crumbs from their buffet

Hoping for an effulgent tomorrow

Citizens of Sodom (A poem)

They lurk about

Hustling in the dark

Escorting their silhouettes

With their bodies stark

They solicit

For randy swains

Who could elicit

Banknotes and champagnes

Romeos come calling

Gathering like vultures

In abattoirs, beholding

Their licentious postures

How much for the night?

Have you got condom?

Off to bed they flight

Strolling to Sodom

GRASSROOT SPORT AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Grassroots sport is the factory for future world champions. The importance of grassroots sport to national development cannot be over-emphasized. Countries that have won important world tournaments like the Olympics, the FIFA world cup and so on, have made huge investments in grassroots sports. It is said that most sports people who are champions in different endeavors were caught young when they were tender and groomed to become great in their chosen fields. A look at countries with well developed system of grassroots sports will show that the better the grassroots system, the more laurels they win in regional and international competitions. A case study of the United States of America, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, China and England will show that their grassroots sport systems is blossoming. This explains why these nations have dominated - and are still dominating - major sporting competitions internationally. Nigeria has not fared well in regional and international competitions. Apart from a few medals in the Olympics and some other triumphs in the African Cup of Nations, the country’s outings in international competitions are generally dismal. This is due to the meager premium Nigerian sports administrators pay on the grassroots sports scheme. They fail to understand that grassroots sport is the starting point of future champions.

Grassroots sport in Nigeria is in a state of coma and need to be revitalized.  Sport in Nigeria is neglected at the lower ebb. In general, grassroots sports are not encouraged especially in primary and secondary schools. A visit to a typical primary or secondary school would expose the flippant attitude we place on grassroots sports. Most schools have no sporting facilities, only a handful has got football pitches, which are not even up to standard. Other sports like athletics, cricket, swimming, basketball and so on are unpopular among the youths in Nigeria. There is also a dearth of sporting academies in Nigeria. Apart from few football academies that are not up to standard, there are no academies in other sports.

The benefits of getting sportsmen and women when they are tender cannot be over-emphasized. It is no news that most times, Nigeria would have to grapple with the shame of fielding overage players in youth competitions. Just recently, in the 2013 African Under-17 Football tournament, it was discovered that some of the players who we paraded were over-aged, thanks to the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Such mendacious acts happen because there are no good programmes set aside to groom future champions from the scratch. Age cheat is common in our nation because most of our sports people begin to pick interest in sports after they must have left secondary school. Most of them take to sports after they have explored other option without much success; this is appalling.

The government, through the National Sports Commission, should begin to invest in grassroots sport. Sporting facilities and equipments should be provided to every school, be it primary, secondary or tertiary. More so, sporting facilities should be provided in neighborhoods so as to enable young people have access to them. Government should also overhaul our sport policy, and propound a better one that would give precedence to grassroots sport. I am of the opinion that if the government give priority to grassroots sport, our sport would be better for it.

MY TYPE OF JOBS

I wish to ask for pardon from the followers of my blog for the long hiatus. It is really regretted. I had relocated from Uyo to Jos on transfer. The process of transiting from the very humid ambience of Uyo to the wintery upland of Jos isn’t a child’s play. Actually, Jos is a town I cherish so much. I had longed to settle down here again. Suffice me to say that my mum gave birth to me in Jos. Not only that I was born in Jos, I also spent most of my childhood and early adulthood in Jos: I attended primary and secondary schools in Jos. So it was ecstasy for my wife and me when we received the message that I have been transferred to the beleaguered city of Jos. I had to start packing my belongings one after the other back to the troubled town. It wasn’t easy. That is why I have been somehow missing in the blogosphere.

That is by the way. Today, I would like to discuss the type of jobs I do. As a matter of fact, I venture into a lot of jobs; some of which I do to earn money, and others for self-aggrandizement. I am 70% a public servant, 20% a writer, 5% a teacher and 5% a businessman. Yes, I do business. I am into retailing of honey. I travel to my village in Enugu state to buy honey in bulk from bee-keepers and distribute them to my colleagues in the office, patients in the hospitals and other people who appreciate the health benefits of pure honey. I like the honey business because it is lucrative and less stressful; however, at first, when I started, I had difficulties convincing my customers that my product is pure and unadulterated. Due to the experiences they’ve had from buying sullied honey from scoundrels who sell cooked sugar as honey, I had to summon my innate marketing prowess to convince them that mine is different. As God may have it, those who took the ‘risk’ to buy my product had later ringed my phone after exhausting them. They had confessed that my product is untainted. They had also referred some of their family members and friends to me, to patronize my unsullied honey. An incident had happened when I started the honey enterprise, I had gone to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) to introduce my product to the staffs and patients. The nurses had mocked me and had dismissed my product as ersatz. Fortunately, one of the Senior Midwives in one of the wards had taken the ‘risk’ to buy a bottle of honey from me. After using it, she testified to her colleagues that my product was ultrapure. From that day onwards, they always called my phone number when they run out of honey.

On weekends, I facilitate at the Uyo Centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). I lecture Criminology and Security Studies students. This is one of the side jobs that give me real joy and gaiety. Actually, I had longed to be a lecturer when I was an undergraduate. Then, I use to take my course-mates in tutorial classes and many of them had confessed that they comprehend what I taught them better than from the lecturers. After graduating from the university and served my nation for one year, I retired to teaching secondary school students. Then, my students were enthusiastic to attending my classes, and even the dullards participated actively in my classes. The Proprietor of the school had noticed my efficiency, and had increased my salary after two months of employing me to teach Geography. I was surprised when he summoned me one fateful day and beckoned on me that he would like me to take the senior students in mathematics, while Mr. Gollu, a trained teacher who had been taking them in that subject, was demoted to taking the junior students. He had increased my pay by a whooping three thousand naira on the nine thousand naira I was receiving. For me, money is not the issue when it comes to teaching. I enjoy teaching a lot that I don’t mind doing it without pay. Infact, when I was teaching in the secondary school, I had used my monthly salaries to buy textbooks and writing instruments for indigent students whose parents could not afford to buy them textbooks. When I resigned from the job, my students had cried and sobbed endlessly. Even my boss and fellow teachers had bawled and whimpered at my exit. My boss had appealed to me to stay back that he would increase my salary. But I have to move on. I took up an appointment with the Federal Government. Since then, I had no opportunity to teach again until a friend of mine invited me to take up a teaching job with the National Open University, Uyo Study Centre, as an adjunct facilitator. I was filled with joy and euphoria. I had taught my students, most of who are older than me, with enthusiasm and vigor. They always looked forward to weekends for my lectures.

I do the Public Service and the writers jobs simultaneously. In Nigeria, public service job is a sit-down-and-look kind of work where all you do is report in the morning, do some little paper works. When it is 30 minutes before the time of dismissal, you lock your office and to your tents oh Israel. Most times, I do my write-ups in the office when I am less busy. I write mostly about the penal administration in Nigeria. I am not happy with the way the government and the society in general treat the penal institutions in Nigeria, therefore, most of my writings are based on the numerous loopholes I observe as an insider in the penal subsector of Nigeria’s organigram.

Yes, those are the things that keep me busy. Not forgetting to mention that I am also a very good husband at home. At first when I started writing, my wife had been furious that I give more time to my laptop computer more than I give to her. She had needed more time. I had to regulate my writing so as to give her the time she required. After all, she owns me.

DRIVING HABITS THAT CAUSE ACCIDENTS

Driving a car is an ecstatic activity if the driver obeys the rules and regulations of the highway to the later. However, driving could turn sour if the driver does not abide by the laid down road ethics. A good driver is expected to abide by stipulated highway codes and respect the rights of other road users. Therefore, to minimize road havoc, every driver is expected to know and observe the dos and don’ts of the highways. This article aims at highlighting the dos and don’ts that every driver plying the highway should observe to avoid accidents. Every road user looks forward to arrive at his or her destination safely, hence the need to be cautious and careful when driving on the roads.

According to a report by Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in 2012, bad driving habits constitute about 80% of accidents on the highways in Nigeria. Therefore, drivers should be wary of the bad habits that may cause road mishaps and desist from them. It is said that good habits are hard to acquire but easy to live with, while bad habits are easy to acquire but difficult to live with. If the reader of this article would imbibe to the guidelines provided herein, he or she would make a good driver and consequently, reduce the road mishaps that pervade our roads.

One of the major causes of road accident, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), is driving under the influence of drugs. Many drivers are fond of driving while high on marijuana or tipsy on alcohol. Many drivers, especially in Nigeria, are culprits to this. It is commonplace to drive to drinking bars and drink to stupor, and thereafter drive back home.  Many of such driver are never lucky to drive back home alive, as they crashed on their way home. In Nigeria, alcohol and other psychoactive substances are freely sold at motor parks to drivers and other road users. The drivers would consume these drugs before getting behind the steering. This accounts for the high rate of road accidents in Nigeria.  Another cause of road accident is driving while tired or drowsy. Many drivers hit the road even when they are not fully alert. This, however, has caused numerous road mishaps as the driver may sleep off while driving. In this part of the world where people embark on travelling at nights, it usually occurs that the driver may sleep off and the result may be debilitating. The human circadian rhythm is programmed to sleep at nights and stay awake during the day. Anything to the contrary may result to drowsiness, and if a driver would want to cheat the body’s internal clock by denying him or herself rest, an accident may occur.

Over-speeding and reckless driving is another major cause of road accident. Non-adherence to speed limits on the highways causes accidents. Many drivers do not restrict themselves to the stipulated speed limits of the roads they are plying. Others engage in reckless driving such as swerving dangerously and applying the break suddenly. Driving slowly on the left lane which is supposed to be for fast acceleration could also cause accidents. 

Distracted driving also leads to road mishaps. Talking on the phone while driving could cause the driver to lose concentration and subsequently lead to an accident. It is a very dangerous habit to talk on the phone while driving; the consequences could be deadly. The act of using the phone while driving has sent many drivers to their early graves. Again, turning around to talk to passengers is also a bad driving habit which may lead the driver into trouble. It may cause the driver to swerve into the opposite lane or even jeer off the road. Listening to loud music is distracting and could cause accident. Many drivers don’t enjoy driving without listening to music. Music makes driving enjoyable. But it becomes a problem when it is too loud that the driver cannot hear horns from other vehicles. Drivers should endeavor to keep the volumes of music at a bearable minimum when driving. Another distractive habit is eating while driving. Driving requires total attention and also involves the use of the legs and hands (depending on the transmission system of the car). Therefore, using the hands or legs to do other things such as eating may lead to accident. Other distractions that may lead to accident include; reading while driving, looking at signposts or pedestrians while driving and scrounging for things at the backseat while in motion.

Failure to cut speed when the weather is bad could cause accidents- driving too fast for the weather condition. It is expected that drivers should reduce speed when driving in the rains. The driver should also make sure that the windscreen wiper and headlights are functional before driving in unfavorable weather. Over speeding in the rains may lead to a serious accident. When it is raining, the roads are slippery and the tire grip is very low. Therefore it is advisable that the driver should drive at a minimal speed in the rains. Drivers are also expected to put on their headlights while driving in the night to illuminate their paths. However, in extreme weather conditions where the driver senses that it would be very difficult to drive, he or she is expected to park and wait for the weather to get better.

The poor condition of the automobile is also an accident-causing factor. Before one should embark on a journey, he or she is expected to check the general condition of the car. The driver is expected to check the engine oil level and the water level in the radiator and ensure they are gauged; and most importantly, check the tires. Most times, the lack of proper maintenance of the car can lead to accident. For example, over- inflated tires may burst while driving, and may lead to accident and death. The driver is expected to check out for anomalies before moving the car. 

Not wearing seatbelt and not adjusting the seats properly may also cause road mishaps. The driver is expected to wear seatbelt at all times. Car airbags makes cars safer but they are designed to work in tandem with seatbelts. It helps to prevent drivers and passengers from ejecting during high speed crashes and rollovers. Therefore, it is mandatory for all drivers to put their seatbelt when they are driving. They are also expected to adjust the seats to their comforts and safety so as to facilitate good driving. The driver should ensure the seats are well adjusted so that their feet can reach the pedal. They should also make sure that their arms are slightly bent with their shoulder back in the seat. Their legs should also have a slight bend at the knee when pedals are pushed downwards. The driver should also adjust the three mirrors so that he or she can see everyone around them.

Bad roads can causes accidents too. In this part of the world where roads are in a deplorable condition, drivers need to be on high alert when driving to avoid running into pot-holes. Many roads in Nigeria are characterized by potholes. Other roads are very narrow and have dangerous bends which may cause accidents if care is not taken by the driver.

Tailgating is another cause of most road mishaps in Nigeria. It is a dangerous and intimating driving habit which causes road accidents. It is allowed that at 100km/hr, one should allow a gap of at least three seconds between the driver and the car in the front.

To avoid road accident, a driver must imbibe good driving habits. A good driver would ensure he or she is mentally and physically ready to drive, and that the vehicle is also ready for use. A good driver does not drive under the influence of drugs nor get behind the steering when they are tired and/or drowsy. Before they move the car, good drivers would put their seatbelts, ensure that the doors are locked, adjusts all the three mirrors for the best view and ensure that the headlights are on (at nights and in bad weather). The driver should also check to make sure that the passengers are safely seated. A good driver would also make smooth and gradual start after ensuring that the targeting path is clear, and stops or halts appropriately.

A good driver obeys traffic lights. He or she stops when the light shows red and moves when it turns green. It is a good driving habit to check and make sure that the road is clear before entering any intersection, irrespective of whether you have the right to way. Most times, many drivers are not courteous of oncoming vehicles at intersections because they have the right of way. However, the other driver may be oblivious of that fact and may lead to collusion. Therefore, a good driver slows down at intersections and look out for other vehicles even if they have the right of way.

Again, it is good driving habit to ensure that before matching down the break, a driver should check the rearview mirror. A good driver keeps his or her eyes scanning the situation all around. The good driver ensures that he or she keeps to the speed limits while driving, and uses the indicator properly. It is proper for a good driver to indicate for at least five seconds before entering the highway from the kerb. He or she is also to indicate at least for three seconds before negotiating a turn. Before a good driver would change lanes, he or she would indicate for at least three seconds.

A good driver ensures that he or she strictly abides by the rules and regulations expected from him or her. He or she drives to stay alive. Therefore, if all drivers would abide to the expected codes of conduct on the highways, road carnages will be minimal and lives and property will not be lost unnecessarily. Drive to stay alive.

THE BENEFITS OF SPORTS TO PERSONAL AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The role of sports to individual and national development cannot be over-emphasised. In Nigeria for instance, sports has being a uniting factor, as well as an economic booster. As a matter of fact, sport is an activity that has brought goodwill, national pride and economic prosperity to Nigeria. More importantly, sport is a vehicle to personal development to those that are involved in it.  It is an exhilarating activity and has many benefits on a person's life as well. Sports serve two main purpose; for entertainment purposes and for physical and mental exercise. There are many kinds of sport which includes; amateur, athletics, blood, demonstration, disabled and team sports. Other kinds of sports include; the fantasy, motor, extreme, individual, professional, underwater, and electronic sports. Among these types of sports, the football, athletics and some extreme sports such as boxing and wrestling, are the most popular. Tennis, polo, cycling and swimming are other sports that are well known. This article aims at highlighting some of the personal and national benefits of sports.

Living is a struggle filled with ups and downs. With the pace of life becoming ever-more rapid, people are constantly on the look-out for an outlet to divert their minds from the daily mundane tasks of life. Sports have emerged as a favorite avenue where people can take a break out of life’s many challenges. It has a wide range of benefits to offer and that is why it is a preferred activity that many people find interesting, and take solace in them. Sport is important in the formative years of a typical human being. Its role in education can be seen in the way it helps in bequeathing morals and values such as dedication, discipline and responsibility in children and adults alike; at the same time teaching these minors relevant tactics of surmounting some of life’s challenges. This writer will, in the proceeding paragraphs, highlight the benefits of sports to national and personal development.

One of the personal benefits of sports is that it helps to improve body fitness. Most sports such as athletics, football, basketball and so no are physically demanding; this helps the individual to foster bodily fitness and well-being. Sports and exercise are mutually inclusive, or in other words, they go hand-in hand. In sports, the persons playing them are required to have a good amount of energy, agility, alertness and endurance because of how physically tasking they are. Hence, people who do sports are usually fitter and healthier. Though many would argue that fitness and health can be achieved by dieting and using the gym on a regular basis; sports makes this process exciting, as the sportsperson would be carried away by the fun inherent in it, enjoying him or herself that he or she loses track of time and forgets the tasking aspect of the activity. A sportsperson hardly falls sick and is always in the right mentality as a result of the way the body is being tasked and exercised.  It is therefore not a surprise that most sports involving aerobic activities and a lot of exercise facilitates good mental state because in the course of it, the feel-good-hormones of the body, called endorphins, are released. Endorphins are natural stress relievers and induce a relaxing feeling. Also, exercising improves the condition of the skin and makes the individual look younger. It is obvious that many sportspersons look younger than their age, and also look attractive too. They are always trimmed and agile as a result of constant flexing of the muscle; they are not quick to fall ill because of their state of constant activity. Therefore sports improve fitness and the general well-being of the individual. Involving in sports on a regular basis helps to keep the body’s immune system strong, thereby helping to prevent all kinds of diseases and ailments from occurring. It also helps to increase appetite for food and water of the person’s body. Thus, sports promote good health.

Due to the fact that regular exercise improves the mental wellbeing of the person, the sportspersons makes decisions wisely and quickly too. In many sports, a person has to make quick decisions depending upon the situation that he or she is in. Many sports like football, basketball, hockey and so on, requires the person to take fast decisions in order to be able to outwit the opponent. Other sports like the chess game, draught, monopoly, scrabble and other mental games imbibe in the person the ability to make wise and accurate decisions. Thus, a person who is involved in sports is able to make wise and quick decisions in other areas of life’s endeavor as well.

Sports boost self-confidence in the person. When something is improving your health, making you
physically fitter, earning you respect among people and generally making you feel better about yourself, it is safe to say that such a thing does a whole lot of good to your self-confidence and self worth. Most professional sportspersons perform in an environment whereby a lot of spectators come around to watch them; many of them have overcome stage fright and anxiety thereby improving their self confidence and the can-do attitude.  So if you’ve not ventured into the world of sports, do not while away precious time in doubt. Make up your mind today on which of the sports to do because it is one of the few things out there that does not have any demerits. With sports, your self confidence and worth will be aiming at the sky.

Sports provide occupation to a lot of people. Many sportsmen and women eke out a living from doing what they know how to do best. Sports can turn around the live of the sportsperson. Getting better at a sport is a skill that may have an impact on the monetary and quality of an individual’s life. People respect those who show excellence in any field, and sport is no exception. If this
is turned into an expertise, then it can even lead to avenues for developing a career. Some of the richest and most accomplished people on earth today are sportspersons.

Sport bequeaths in the individual with the quality of leadership, cooperation, teamwork and participation. Many popular sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball, rugby etc., are played in teams. This inculcates values and skills like leadership, cooperation, communication, and sacrifice in the sportsperson. Not only does this benefit the person in developing a better game, but it
actually helps in other life’s endeavor, as these values and traits are indispensable if one is to lead a good life. Many sports persons have turned out to be good leaders in other walks of life. After retirement, many of them take up leadership jobs such as coaching, business, politics, and so on.

 Many sports, if not all of them, involves two or more people coming together to play it. This improves socialization and healthy relationships among sportspersons. Unless one is referring to playing chess against a computer, almost every sport involves interaction with other people, whether they are teammates or opponents. Therefore, sports serve as an avenue for meeting new people and making friends, as people of diverse cultures come together to achieve a common goal. For instance, thousands of sportspeople meet and become friends and acquaintances in continental and intercontinental competitions like the Olympics, the FIFA World cup and so on. This has fostered friendship and camaraderie. By so doing, sports enhances the social life of a person.  

Sport promotes maturity and character building in the person. It fosters the spirit of sportsmanship in the individual; this is because all sports have an outcome- you either win or lose. Winning and losing is an everyday thing for the sports person. Sportspersons are inculcated in them, the
lesson of life that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Some people glide along as long as there are no hardships in life, but the moment the odds are against them, they find their emotional strength dwindling. This is not to say sport is a one-stop solution for this, but it definitely teaches a person how to take losses with grace and move on to achieve greater things in the face of difficulties and challenges.

Sports help the person to channel their energies into constructive ventures. Youths possess a great deal of physical energy. When they are involved in sports, their physical energies are used up in a
constructive way. If the youths are not allowed to channel their energies into productive ventures, they might get involved in wrong activities such as crime and other antisocial behaviours. Therefore, sports helps in keeping the society free from crime and unnecessary disturbances.

Many countries have also benefitted from the good omen of sports. It has improved the national pride of many countries, and also has shot them into limelight. For example, a country like Brazil is known for its excellent performances of their national football teams in intercontinental competitions. They have won the FIFA world cup severally, and a force to reckon with in international football. This has helped to uplift the fortunes of the country and improved its revenues too. Therefore, sport is an avenue to improve the global awareness of a country.

It behoves on us all to make the best of the benefits that sports provides for the betterment of ourselves and our nation. Take up interest in a sport today and begin to benefit from the largesse therein.