RURAL INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT AS A SOLUTION TO RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION

RURAL INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT AS A SOLUTION TO RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION

(A CASE STUDY OF LOKOJA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KOGI STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Man is a social being who cannot stay in a place according to William’s theory on clash of pyramids. This is especially were most things needed are not in site.

The fulani’s who are known to be the normadic people migrated from Mali according to Mgbogunje (1996). These people settled where they found green vegetation to feed their cattle. They keep moving and taking refuge from one place to another in search of betterment. People who now form communities, state and countries today were migrant from one continent or the other.

The major problem facing Lokoja local government area of Kogi State and some other parastatals of similar magnitude is not merely the scarcity of well trained manpower but their inability to effectively utilize the skill of the few available one’s. The ability to manage involves a lot more than the technical and conceptual skills, and this has to do with the managers ability to work and interact effectively with other members of the organization. In order to spur other members of the organization to strive willingly to accomplish the organizational task, the administrator who manages people must be able to put in place the necessary motivational techniques which can galvanize subordinate to low productivity. The level of productivity is therefore determined by individual rewards and needs.

1.2  STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Over years, people have showed considerable concern from all walks of life for the development of rural areas both in advanced and developing countries. The crux of the matter, however, is that the new nations of west Africa with particular reference to Nigeria have given priority to their urban population as they leave the rural population frustrated in such areas as provision of social amenities, recreational centres or facilities, higher education, and employment opportunities among others.

This has led to the problem of rural migration, which this research is designed to address. The problem that causes rural urban migration is slated below: poor access road, poor school/colleges, high level of poverty, lack of recreational centres, poor electricity etc.

1.3  SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The topic of this research project will be treated within the cycle of the case study but other relevant issues concerning the topic outside the case study will be used to compare or justify the topic as wide range phenomenon.

It will look at the effects of rural urban migration both on the case study and outside the case study in general.

Relevant solutions to the problems of rural areas will be preferred.

1.4  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objectives of the following can be seen in the below:

1. To throw more light on the rural infrastructural development as a solution to rural urban migration
2. To encourage people to stay and develop their communities
3. To suggest way by which rural urban migration can be checked and minimized and reduced to the barest minimum
4. To suggest ways by which the government can encourage the development of rural areas.

1.5  RESEARCH QUESTIONS

For the purpose of satisfying the demands of this study, the following research questions are to be looked into:

1. Does the provision of rural infrastructure cause any reduction in rural-urban migration?
2. Does rural-urban migration cause inefficiency in public service?
3. Does low financial capacity cause rural urban migration?
4. How can we solve the problems of rural areas so as to stop mad rush to urban centre?
5. How can we control rural-urban migration?

1.6  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Research of this kind is important in many ways to a good number of people, government and other developmental institutions.

Firstly, it will add value to an existing literature on rural development and urbanization.

Secondly, it will assist all students within the realm of social science particularly those in public administration and regional planning department.

Thirdly, the study will be of immense value to government particularly the policy makers at all level on how best to develop rural areas.

Finally, other people who may wish to conduct research on rural-urban migration as it affects educational development at the rural level will equally find this work very helpful or useful.

1.7  LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In this process of embarking on this research study, the following problem were encountered.

1. Time factor: There was no adequate time for the researcher to cope with the demands of the study
2. Information: This researcher was unable to get adequate information in the course of the study
3. Geographical location: This is also another limitation of this rigorous work. That is, the researcher does not have adequate time to travel from one geographical location to the other
4. Financial problem: Lack of adequate fund is also another problem of this rigorous work.

1.8  DEFINITION OF RELEVANT TERMS

The following key terms will be defined briefly:

1. Development: Emize (1979) See development as involving progression, movement and of advance towards something better. Its improvement on the material and non material aspect of life.
2. Effects: Simply mean the result of an action, the outcomes, the impression produced (Chambers mini dictionary of mark costable 1989).
3. Migration: According to Ayodele (1995), it is the movement of people from one place e.g. village to cities are towns, or movement from one country to another country.
4. Solution: According to Oxford mini dictionary (1999), it simply refers to remedy to rural diseases or trouble
5. Rural infrastructural development: This simply mean creation of infrastructures that assist in developing a place such as dam, road, communication network, electricity etc.
6. Rural area: This is an area that lack some development maturity e.g. in population size, occupation, communication, information, education system, nature etc.

1.9  ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one is the introduction to research project, other sub-headings in chapter one are background to the study, statements of the problem, research questions, scope of the study, limitation and definitions of terms, were discussed in details in chapter one.

Chapter two bothers on review of related literature.

Chapter three of the project is research methodology where the researcher shows the methods used to obtain data and samples.

In chapter four, the presentation and analysis of data was done in tables as the findings of the researcher.

Finally, chapter five of this work deals with summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations.

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EMPOWERING THE YOUTH FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

EMPOWERING THE YOUTH FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

The youthful age is an eagles age, an age of strength required for any nation’s development therefore, Any nation that refuses to invest in her young does that at her own risk. This is because youth characterises the foundation of any society. By demographical classification, Nigeria has a large youthful population. Hence, the need of collective work by parent, government and the youth themselves is very necessary since youth empowerment has to do with the triune accord basically.

Generally, Youth Empowerment is misconceived, ill-defined and wrongly perceived by parents, the youth themselves and even the government. Parent as major factors in this task often perceive youth empowerment as the sole responsibility of the government. Youth themselves don’t see themselves as factors that could implement it, thereby neglecting self development and relying on jobs of white collar; while the government sees it as an avenue to initiate policies and programmes which are nonetheless impactive as it is not fully implemented.

For a clearer picture of this article conceptual analysis is therefore necessary. The duo terminologies to be considered in this write up has myriads of definitions. However, any definition given herein would be limited to the scope of the write up and not be the best.

The national youths policy defines a ‘Youth’ as citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 years; while United Nations defines it as any individual within the age of fifteen and thirty five years irrespective of gender or sex. Herein the formal would be considered in it scope. More so, the 2012 National Baseline of youth survey report has stated that the population of youth (15-35 years) in Nigeria is estimated to be 64.1 million.

Empowerment is a term that has become popular in the recent decade with few operational definition. Still lacking a definition, the word has become common political rhetoric, with a flexibility of meaning so broad that it seems to be in danger of losing it inherent meaning. However we simply confide to “the act of giving power or authority”.

While Youths Empowerment according to Varus and Fletcher in their 2006 edition of guide to social change define it as an “attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults”. The causative agent of this could be their parents, themselves or the government other private groups and bodies may be involve.

URGENT CALL

Is it not a truism that where struggle for survival is acute, values become secondary? From what I have observed so far, I have never seen a demographic group so marginalized and disillusioned as I have seen here among Nigeria’s youth. It is even worsening when youth are being used as canon folders by some unscrupulous politicians who were once youth. In fact it is a recipe for disaster if the politicians do not realize that reversing the trend in favor of the nation’s youth is crucial, because as the saying goes an “idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”

The Nigerian youthful population is contending with myriads of limiting factors, which include but not limited to, unemployment, illiteracy, electoral,religious and tribal violence among others. This is, though, not denying the fact that there is a percentage thriving in various career and other aspect of life but it could be more if the Nigeria government is youthful friendly.

If youths are the leaders of tomorrow then government should be fast in feathering our nest. No wonder St. John Paul II Pope challenge the Nigeria government and Church during his 1998 visit to assist the young in “overcoming the obstacles which might thwart their development; illiteracy, unemployment, idleness, drugs.” Given the increasing plight of Nigeria youths, is the time not overripe for concrete responses to these challenges?

The situation is bad though, but it has not out run remedy. Hence, it requires an iron cast resolve from all stakeholders that is; parent, youth themselves and indeed the government to ameliorate and such resolve should be jet speeded.

Instead of using the youth as “Trojan Horse” for violence we should be used instead to ravage poverty, cleanse the society and indeed the government.

We need to begin to imbibe tolerance as in the halcyon days, when the value of tolerance was actually a norm. When youth positioned themselves as a beacon of hope and strong voice of the voiceless as it is made manifest in their struggle against societal repression. Their combating of societal injustice as the constitute themselves as unstoppable fire in fighting numerous ills besetting the society.

OUR FUTURE TOMORROW

In Nigeria, the youth have been playing prominent roles in nation building from time immemorial. They were, for instance, active dur­ing the anti-colonial struggle.

This patriotic tradition of Nigerian youth continued in the independence period on several occasions. For ex­ample, in 1962, it was Nigerian uni­versity students who prevented the Nigerian government from signing a secret and unjust agreement with the British called the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact, which would have allowed the British to leave their soldiers permanently on Nigerian soil despite our indepen­dence.

However, in recent in the last two decade the youth have lost its relevance by issues which I called man made clogs because this age bracket where once functional and active in the Nation building. In the words of Prof. Oluwole Soyinka I echo ” Where do we go wrong.”

Thank God for the former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for at least re-awakening the sensibility of the youth to the core values of nation. There should be a deliberate and systematic process of value orientation and social re-engineering with particular emphasis on the youths to avert the moral cataclysm staring us in the face. If Nigeria government would have paid great attention to they youth then, youth empowerment would have been a dead letter not find it selves in our lexicon and the youth would have been in arcadian life. Hence, the present administration should cleanse Augean stables so that the change would be in praxis and not just a barmicide’s feast.

The day is bright perhaps for the elders but our tomorrow is not yet ripe our future is still blinking. Our modern world is changing, and everyone is busy blaming the youth of today; But how can you blame the future, when it you who made their world this way. Even though we sang in our elementary school that ‘we are the leaders of tomorrow’, character development in building the future leaders has been more lyricised than actualized in Nigeria. Empowered, the youth can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, we are left on society’s margin, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their society because a nation is developed by the wisdom of the old and the strength of the young.

The benefit and outcome of youth empowerment cannot all be consumed in totality. Therefore an understanding of the dynamics of youth empowerment by the government and the general citizenry would salvage Nigeria and will also registered her in the comity of the world economy.

THE ANXIETY OF TIME

THE ANXIETY OF TIME

The popular song “Time on my hands” has far deeper significance than is generally envisage. It could very well be that time is one of the greatest obstacles to happiness and for two reasons.

Time makes the combination of pleasure impossible, because we live in time we cannot simultaneously listen to Cicero Demosthenes and Bossiest; because the heart beats out the lease on life, one cannot, despite the advertisements, “dine and dance” at one and the same time.

It is an interesting psychological fact that the more pleasurable are our moments, the less we are conscious of time.

At the end of a pleasant evening with friends, or listening to good music, or being spiritually uplifted in prayer, we say, “Time Passed like anything”.

When, however, work is a bore, visits a trail in patience and an appointment with the dentist a cross, time never seems to end.

Hidden in this psychological and subjective judgement of the passing hours is already a hint of immortality and the necessity of a timeless existences in order to find perfect happiness.

If the more we eel ourselves outside of time, the greater is our happiness, it follows that enjoyed at one and the same time.

This, curiously enough, is the definition that the philosophers give of eternity: tota simul, all please at once.

But in recent decades, with the decline of faith and belief in immortality, time has become one of the major causes of many psychotic and neurotic disorders.

If there is no other life than this, if the daily burden of life leads to nothing more than the grave, if existence has no meaning, then time is the root of most of our anxieties.

What then is life but a long corridor through which one passes closing doors,  not knowing which door will be the last?

Even crisis in life, every new turning in the road of existence, diminishes possibilities.

The anxiety of the temporal then begins to press us down so that we are like a criminal awaiting a death sentence.

The passing parade of time, the slamming of the gates of opportunity, the calming of passions, forced retirements – all of these produce an existential anxiety which makes one wonder if it is worthwhile carrying on.

Because life does not end here, the closing of the doors of time and the burden of the years become bearable – because they lead to something better when properly utilized.

That was why St Paul said that for the sake of Christ he “glorified in his infirmities” and in his anxieties and in his sorrows. This was nothing but the continuation of the message of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Be not anxious”.

This means, “Have no existential anxiety about acquiring too much in time, for it ends and leads to judgement”. (Matt. 6:25-34).

So long as one lives for treasures that moths consume and rust eats and thieves steal, there is no possible escape from anxiety and worry.

We cannot cast these care upon God, for God has no interest whatever in making a person rich.

As William James once wrote, “The Sovereign care for worry is religious faith. The turbulent billows of the fretful surface leave the deep parts of the ocean undisturbed, and to him who has a hold of vaster and more permanent realities, the hourly vicissitudes of his personal destiny seem relatively insignificant things.”

It is only to the external that timeless existence,  or eternity, is brought to bear upon all of our actions in time, that we become liberated from the awful, frustrating anxiety of the temporal.

YOUTH MUST WAKE UP TO REALITY

YOUTH MUST WAKE UP TO REALITY

 This is no longer a hidden thing but the reality call to get the youth on their toes and face the situation of things in our present country. Nigeria has gone pass the era of spoon feeding or laziness only the hard worken man who has the fear of God makes it in this present dispensation.

There was a time, in this country when a student write Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam and sit at home for his chosen university or polytechnic to send him/her admission letter but we can all see what is happening now the issue has turned around after.

After JAMB there is post JAMB later in the future there will be pre – JAMB the youth must wake up to reality.

There used to be a time in this country when graduate are paid salary even without them having the work and even a car to drive but we can answer the present situation for ourselves. Now, Nigerian has the highest number of graduate without job in Africa , the youth have to wake up to reality.

There use to be a time in this country where schools teachers beg student to go to school and a time when government pay scholarship to student in tertiary institution to keep them in school but the country has gone terrible that most rich men send their wards outside to school, it is no longer a joke that Nigeria has the highest number of students who study aboard. The youth has to wake up and stand up to face reality.

There use to be a time when Nigerian’s N1 was a couple of dollars and when investors want to invest in Nigeria, when developers rush to Nigeria to develop, when Nigeria was an area of attraction, when Nigeria was a place for relaxation when peace, love, joy was the motto and watch word of this country.

When life was valued and watch word of this country.

When life was valued and appreciated by the government but we can comprehend them present situation of the country this calls for awakeness to the present youth who had not enjoy this privilege to work hard and make the country return to it formed glory when peace and tranquility was the order of the day when fight stand for his father’s land.

Nigeria is ours to rebuild not the foreigners not the leaders but us.

I remember the days of the civil war, when France came to offer a helping hand to agreed to allow than milk that area after the war but this dog led fighter preferred to loose rather than allowing France milk his country this is an example o patriot even though people sew him as a traitor because he fought his country but when this men died it become clear that he loved his country.

Can we mediate on the country’s National Anthem Arise, O Compatriots Do we act as compatriots. Nigeria’s call obey (Do we obey the call of Nigeria) To serve our fatherland (Do we really do this nowadays) with love and strength and faith (Do we put our strength to use for our country, Do we have faith for a better Nigeria, do we love ourselves talkless of our neighbour).

The labour of our heroes past (How do we expect the founding fathers of Nigeria to feel people like Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi, Elbert Udo Udome, Murtala Mohammed, Aminu Kano, Joseph Tarka etc who fought to build Nigeria for us.

Shall never be in vein (Can we the present youth stand before God and repeat that word?).

To serve with heart and might (only few youth do this in this present dispensation; are you of them). One nation bound in Freedom (Yes this one is true because it is only in this country freedom to misbehave and get away with it is ensure).

Peace and Unity (This is really hard to answer because we have no peace no unity, no love, no joy for every time now long). We the youth are the only hope of this country, if we don’t stand on our toes and face reality, this country would be in shambles but with “A prayer for Nigeria in distress” and collective prayer and hard work Nigeria can be a place we want it to be.

Rise up you and me and shine, have a part to play in uplifting this country

BUILDING AN AUTHENTIC CATHOLIC FAMILY

Man as a social being has his root from the family.

The family is the first point as an agent of socialisation where culture, laws, values, norms, etc. are learnt. Families these days are not living up to the expectation of what they were used to as DISCIPLINE was the core norm.

We see an insecurity epidemic that is raging among families in the society. Now we see it most vividly in the spread of “Am I hot or not?” and “Am I ugly?” Some videos even YouTube, which not surprisingly led to vicious, hateful comments by commenters.

There will inevitably be a new trend that highlights the ubiquity of this societal problem. For educators, parents, and other observers, these trends are unfortunately not surprising.

Far too many children are being stripped of their childhood and subjected to pressures and events that destroy their authenticity, sense of worth, and trust in others. They are transformed from little children who will speak their minds, dance and sing in public, act silly as they play blissfully, and eat whatever they feel like without hesitation to sullen, insure adolescents, obsessed with their image, popularity, conformity, and physical appearance.

The most serious repercussions of this transformation are truly pernicious, including self-harm (cutting), eating disorders, depression, substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, and suicide.

In addition, academic performance often suffers. The reality is that too many children face a joyless childhood filled with anxiety, which tears their souls and hinders their spiritual development.

The impact of these repercussions of unhappiness and insecurity do not stop with the end of adolescence, but unfortunately often on the well-being of countless people.

What is “Catholic Character,” why does it matter, and what can we do as members of the family to develop it in our family?

The best way to answer those questions is to begin with an even more basic one: what is the meaning of life? Scripture and the Church teach us that we have three divinely ordained purposes that give our lives meaning:

1.     SALVATION: Seeking to save our eternal souls and help save the souls of others (that salvation, the Church teaches, is God’s free gift but requires our cooperation through faith in God, obedience to His commandment, and repentance of our grave sins).

2.     SERVICE: Using our God-given talents to build God’s kingdom here on earth.

3.     SANCTITY: Growing in Holiness.

The third of these life goals, Sanctity, is central to building Catholic Character. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says something that is stunning: “Be thou made perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). St. Gregory put it this way “The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God”. Scripture tells us, “God is love” (1 John 4:16).

If we want to be like God, our vocation is to love. The essence of love is to sacrifice for the sake of another, as Jesus did. Love is self-gift. What, then, is our goal if we want to develop Catholic Character in ourselves and others especially in the family? The character of Christ.

A life of self-giving. In short, the ultimate mission of every Catholic Family, like the mission of the Church as a whole, is to turn us into little Christ. It is to foster, with the help of God’s grace, the “transformation in Christ” that the Holy Spirit jumpstarts in our baptism – a process that is meant to continue through our entire lives.

What Virtues Should We Foster?

The high goal of Christ-like character builds on a base of what the Church calls “natural virtues”. Among the natural virtues that families should nurture are the four advanced by the ancient Greeks, named in Scripture (Wisdom 8:7), and adopted by the Church as “the Cardinal Virtues”.

1.     Prudence, which enables us to judge what we should do;

2.     Justice, which enables us to respect the right of others and give them what they are due;

3.     Fortitude, which enables us to do what is right in the face of difficulties;

4.     Temperance, which enables us to control our desires and avoid abuse of even legitimate pleasure.

They are called cardinal virtues because they are as it were the hinges on which all other moral virtues turn.

These natural virtues are developed through effort and practice, aided by God’s grace.

In order to develop Christ-like character, however, we need more than the cardinal virtues; we also need the three supernatural, or “theological virtues”:

1.     Faith in God, which enable us to believe in God and teaching of His Church.

2.     Hope in God, which leads us to view eternal life as our most important goal and to place total trust in God.

3.     Love of God, which enables us to love God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves for the love of God.

The three theological virtues are considered supernatural because they come from God and have as their purpose our participation in God’s divine life.

As the Catechism (1813) teaches, the theological virtues are not separate from the cardinal virtues; rather, they “are the foundation of Christian moral activity; thy animate it and give it its special character”.

The Catholic writer Peter Kreeft points out, “The Christian is prudent, just, courageous, and self-controlled out of faith in God, hope in God, and love of God”.

The supernatural virtues, like the natural virtues, grow stronger through our effort and practice, in cooperation with God’s grace. What can we do as parents or singles to build Catholic character both the natural and supernatural virtues?

Let us realise that to prepare our kids, wards or ourselves to follow Christ is to prepare us to take the road less traveled. Living a life of Christian virtue has always been counter cultural but never more so than in today’s media-driven, materialistic, sexually decadent, and morally relativistic world. With that in mind, here are five fundamentals of parenting/guides for Catholic Character.

Build a loving relationship: Time shared together is important as kids will care about values when they know we care about them. Emotionally, intimate time is especially important for helping our children feel loved and for maximising our influence on the kind of person they are becoming.

Love as communication; the quality of our love often comes down to the quality of our communication. Love as sacrifice; say one mother: “The most important thing parents can do for their children is to love each other and stay together”.

Use the power of good example: The example we set – especially when it is coupled with a loving relationship – is one of the most important ways we affect the character of our kids.

Teach directly: If we want our example to have maximum impact, our kids, brothers and sisters need to know the values and beliefs that lie behind it. We need to practice what we preach, but we also need to preach what we practice. We should directly teach every mariner. We should directly teach the fundamentals of our faith. We should make a list of the Catholic truths we want to teach the members of the family like: there is such a thing as truth; sacraments are important, when the Pope teaches, he speaks with voice of Christ; life is sacred, from conception until natural death; we have a special duty to help Christ’s “Least ones” – the poor, homeless, disabled, sick, oppressed, and unborn; sex is the beautiful gift of a good God but reserved by God for the marriage of a husband and wife; when we join our suffering with the Cross of Christ, we become more like Jesus and participate in His work of saving souls; the mass is the single most important part of our faith, through which Jesus continues to redeem the world (and we are obligated to go to Sunday or Vigil mass under pain of mortal sin); a relationship with the blessed mother is a sure path to a relationship with her son.

Exercise authority wisely: We must have a strong sense of our moral authority and then exercise it wisely. We must take strong stands that are consistent with our Catholic values like: prohibition of all forms of pornography, music with profane, lewd, or denigrating lyrics, immodest dress, etc. We must discipline wisely. We must practice vigilant supervision over our family members.

Provide authentic experiences of the faith: Building Catholic Character requires authentic personal experiences of the faith, within and beyond the family. These can be gain in assistance to the less privileged people, partial or full fast for the family on selected days in a week, attending masses, confession and praying the Rosary.

Conclusively, the words of Pope John Paul II on the family: “The family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God’s love -for humanity and the love Christ the Lord has for the Church His bride”. We know that our ministry does not happen in a vacuum. If the Church wants to truly serve young people they need to be reaching out to the families. Supporting marriages and families is vital. Some parents find themselves parenting alone or in less than ideal circumstances and the Church needs to support and encourage them as well. Creating an authentic Catholic culture in the family can be a challenge. There is no checklist of what makes a family Catholic and no official resources exist that tells us how to create a Catholic home. Finding ways to live to our faith everyday is the best way to foster a Catholic Culture in our various families.

KNOWING YOUR HEALTH STATUS

KNOWING YOUR HEALTH STATUS

You would agreed with me that health status is a vast topic. It cannot be exhausted in a single article such as this. Let us define the term “Health” and “Status”.

Health means the condition of a person’s body or mind. A person’s health could be good or poor.

Status means a condition or situation of a person, things or process. Put together, by health status, we mean the state of a person body physically and mentally.

When status is mentioned in relation to health, what readily comes to our mind is HIV status. Don’t blame us for that mindset, for HIV has caused a lot of havoc to our society. Its mortality rate is unprecedented.

To many of us health means absence of diseases. This is not correct. Even in the absence of diseases, we still engage ourselves in prophylactic or preventive health measures.

It is even more important to know your health status at the point when you are not sick. This can only be done through routine medical examination and investigations.

Many chronic and debilitating disease conditions are picked up on routine investigations e.g. Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Diabetes mellitus, HIV infection, cardiac and renal diseases etc.

At this juncture, let us look at the organs and disease condition that are worrisome when we talk about health status:

These are: Heart, kidney, liver, brain, lungs, breast, cervix, prostate gland, colon, and endocrine glands such as the pancrease, thyroid glad, pituary gland, testis, ovaries and the adrenal glands etc. disease condition are: Diabetes, AIDS, Sickle cell disease, tuberculosis, hepatitis, malignant tumours, bleeding disorders, syphilis, ABO and Rhesus grouping disorders, Hypertension etc.

In conclusion, if we knew our health status we could be able to prevent diseases like, stroke, cardiac arrest, cancers, thrombo-embolism. With sophistication in medicine, now we can know the state of our organ easily.

Note that some behaviours make us prone to disease e.g. excessive intake of alcohol, abusing of drugs especially the hard drugs, poor hygienic environment, sedentary life style, multiple sex partners etc. If we can address these issues properly we would surely have a good health status.

HOMOSEXUALITY AND LESBIANISM A ROAD TO DESTRUCTION

HOMOSEXUALITY AND LESBIANISM A ROAD TO DESTRUCTION

Many years ago it was not proper to speak in public about homosexuality. It was something that polite, decent people just did not talk about. They knew it existed, but they knew it was wrong.

Religious people knew the bible condemned it as a sin. Perhaps too many Christians have been silent too long on the subject. In the last 20years there has been tremendous change in public attitudes. This has come about through the influence of magazines, newspapers and books, which have advocated a soft and sympathetic attitude towards this sin.

Some doctors, psychologists and psychologists have defended homosexuality.

The movie industry has portrayed homosexuality and lesbianism in a sympathetic way. In movie theaters and over the television, sodomy has been introduced to adults and children alike.

It has had an impact on public opinion now the homosexuals are coming out in the open and bragging about their practice. Many “Gay parades” have been held. Some cities have had “gay pride week” (Gay is a slang word that homosexuals use to describe themselves).

So it is high times that this subject be discussed in the light of the bible, that we proposed to do, as plainly as we know how. I have no intention of using offensive language or wind descriptions of homosexuality.

We trust that carnal curiosity will not be aroused, but that the reader will be brought to a greater realization of the holiness of God. Sex is not dirty or immoral, if it is used according to Bible teaching.

“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge Hebrew 13:4.

Homosexuality => Sexual desire for those of the same sex or sexual relations between individuals of the same sex.

Lesbian => A Homosexual woman

Lesbianism => The sexual practices of lesbians, homosexuality between woman.

Homosexuality is contrary to nature God told Adam and Noah to “Multiply and replenish the earth.

If Adam or Noah and his sons had adapted a total homosexual way of life, then the human race would have come to an end.

It is obvious today, if all the earth’s people become homosexuals, the human race would come to an end of course some homosexuals are bisexuals and do bear children.

Lets look at the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. This certainly holds true on homosexuality.

The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. Gen 13:13. God revealed to Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom, “Because the city of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous”. Gen 18:20.

Presently in our generation where religious beliefs and morals exist, letting homosexuality and lesbianism eat into our moral and religious standards is definitely a turn towards destruction.

Each of us as individuals need to fight against this evil trend and kill it before it kills us.

Let us all ask God for the grace and zeal to keep to our standards of holiness and moral uprightness.

By this, we can rescue our country and its citizens from impending doom and ruin.

DATING, COURTING AND PROBLEM OF FORNICATION

DATING, COURTING AND PROBLEM OF FORNICATION

Dating means a meeting or appointment with somebody, especially the opposite sex. It could be once, twice, even regularly.

Courtship is a process of developing a close relationship with a person of the opposite sex, especially with the idea of marriage. It is actually a social process that socializes men and women into accepting forms of relationship that maximizes the chances of successfully raising children.

In earlier centuries, young adults were expected to court with the intention of finding a marriage partners rather than for social reasons. With time, dating for fun was becoming an expectation, though it was usually chaster than is seen today because sex was not considered the norm.

These days, this form of dating has warned in popularity. Couples are more likely to hook up and hang out. From hanging out, they go into exclusive relationship without engaging on what their parents might have called dating. They allow themselves into situation where the movement of sexual attraction and desire can be stimulated, encouraged and built up to the point of being acted on. This is sex before marriage.

THESE ARE THE CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM:

1.     Spirit of lust, lack of education and peer pressure

2.     Curiosity of teenagers, waywardness and bad gangs

3.     Alcohol consumption, poor children upbringing and poverty

4.     Lack of fear of God and rape.

There is nothing wrong with sex. It is a good and pleasurable thing. God has made it so, but God designed our sexuality to be appropriately when you weigh the pros and cons, you realize that on the positive side it shows maturity of sex organs because of hormone secretion. There is acceptance from your peers. There is pleasure and fulfillment of sexual desire which is normal because if unsatisfied, it affects work, learning and life. The negative side of the scale is the weights of morals, fear of pregnancy or disease and guilt.

How does this scale balance? Is premarital sex moral?

Morality is a factor for many people when deciding whether or not to have pre-marital sex. Before you indulge in it, there is usually a voice that queries you whether or not it is a right or wrong action. That voice is your conscience. But the bible is the best moral book, and what does the bible say about premarital sex.

The Bible refers to it as FORNICATION, fornication is defined as sexual intercourse between people who are not married to each other. The difference between pre-marital sex and adultery is that adultery involves married persons while fornication involves unmarried persons. They both involve having sex with someone you are not married to. Premarital sex is just as much of a sin as adultery and all other forms of sexual immorality.

The Bible explains that the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body (1Cor 6:13 & 18) goes on to say “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sin a man commits are outside his/her body, but he who commits fornication sin against his own body”. The bible said “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people”. Eph. 5:19. it is implies from these verses that the Bible promote complete and total abstinence from premarital sex.

The consequence of this premarital sex are:

(i)                HIV/AIDS

(ii)             Sexually transmitted disease (STD) such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and genital herpes among others.

Even the use of condoms does not significantly reduce the risk of contracting these STDs.

Premarital sex: is it for Recreation or Re-creation:

Sex is pleasurable, God our creator designed it that way, though it may be hard to think of God creating sex. In Gods’ plan sex was designed for married couples to enjoy the pleasure and excitement of sexual relations.

At the same time, it is clear in the Bible that God restricted sexual activity to married couple. The Bible says in Heb. 13:14 “Marriage should be honoured by all, and marriage be kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexual immoral”. This shows that the primary purpose of sex is not recreation, but rather re-creation (Procreation).

The implication of this is that sex is mainly for reproduction. This equally does not mean that God want to rob the unmarried of pleasure of sex. No he only want to protect them from unwanted pregnancies as well as protect the children from parents who are not prepared for them, and most of all from sin.

Do you think there is a solution to either stop or alleviate the prevalence of premarital sex? The following are some way out:

1)    Good Christian upbringing and the fear of God

2)    The 3 capital P’s which are:    Planning your life before marriage

Praying that God will see you through Preparation, because you must be ready for it, and that is when you are married.

3)      Sex education, premarital counseling and chastity

4)    Abstinence is God’s only policy when it comes to premarital sex. It saves lives, protects babies, gives sexual relation the proper value, and most importantly, abstinence honor God.

CONCLUSION 

Courtship is expected to expose men and women into the possible union as husband and wife. God also created sex act for a man and a woman within a marriage. Apart from being pleasurable, sex is meant to be a spiritual experience that locks the couples together in the purpose that God has set before them. These includes procreation.

Rarely does a premarital sexual relationship stay together long enough to lead to marriage vows. Those engaged in this act usually experience physical, temperamental, psychological and emotional damages such as unwanted pregnancies, abortion, degradation, tension among others. We must therefore understand that we are inflicting terrible damages to ourselves by engaging in premarital sex. The more promiscuous you are, the more damages caused. The longer the damages is not dealt with aggressively, appropriately and effectively, the more incapable of making marriage vows and keeping that covenant. By extension marriage by this group experience challenges such as infertility, barrenness, sexually transmitted diseases, and these will in turn lead to depression, anger, separation or even divorces.

The best option therefore, is CHASTITY,  stay chaste. Stay a virgin if you are one, if you are not a virgin, never, ever, give in to sexual activity again, being man or woman. It is a sacred gift only meant for a spouse. Premarital sex is not worth the mess and garbage it produces; no matter how pleasurable and harmless or even forgivable you think it is, God commands and expects no sexual activity before marriage.

MY LIFE MY CHOICE

MY LIFE MY CHOICE

There comes a time in a man’s life when he/she would have to take a decision, nothing describes our character more than the choice we make, our choice is determined by our character. It is so important because it’s like a compass which directs the course of our destiny and the outcome our live today, is as a result of the choice we took yesterday. A huge number of youth are being influence in making the wrong choice which is the cause of the high rate of immorality in our society and it is unfortunate that we have little or no role model in our society, our politicians encourages corruption, men of God preaches prosperity without hard work and the music and movie industry is not helping the matter. If the youth will not know why they should and stand for what is right, when it comes to making choice, I will say that the future of the “leaders of tomorrow” looks blink and its outcome of this in the nearest future will be more deadly than the bombing of the Boko Haram.

However, Joshua 24:15 says “choose you today who you will serve……” we come across this type of question on a daily bases and the type of answer we give will determine our stand and at what direction we are going, in a situation where by, during Sunday mass, a large number of youth will prefer to stay outside the church jesting even when there are space inside, what kind of choice do you think they have taken?. Life gives us option to choose from (Prov 14:12), that is to say that the choice to serve God is not a probability but a necessity (john15:5) and this is the foundation of our character as the leaders of tomorrow because in life, this is the first decision we as individual will have to make.

Thus, every choice comes with responsibility, there is no easy way to success apart from hard work, however most of us fail to understand that, “one is only poor only when he choose to be” and because most of us want a short cut process, that is why the rate of prostitution, rubbery, cultism etc is at its peak. It is not making choice that is the problem but carrying the responsibility attached, is what matters. To study Mechanical Engineering is a choice but to study hard is the responsibility.

I have come to know that a large number of catholic youth are been misled when it comes to making the right choice and this is because a large number of our youth are “Nominal Catholics”, these set of people believe in God but they have a shallow knowledge about the things of God and that of the catholic doctrine, they believe in coming to Sunday mass alone. Once you don’t know your right as a child of God, the devil will take advantage of you and that is why so many are addicted to different thing (Drugs, porn, sex etc). Coming to Sunday mass is not all but joining a society that will help build our live spiritually and be free from the slavery of the devil as in Gal 4:5-6.

Nevertheless, our culture is also contributing or affecting our choice as youth. Some of our culture don’t believe in the girl child education, they believe that the duty of a girl child is to marry and make children, some believe in early marriage for their children while some believe that the father should be the one to make decision for his children, this is the reason why so many youth are studying course or learning trade out of their will. Just because a father loves a particular profession does not mean that his children must practice it. The government on the other hand has also contributed to this menace because in all our public school, there are no guardian and counseling unit , whose role is to counsel the young once on how to take decision and not to talk of our private schools, this is a big problem.

In summary, we live in a society where the rate of moral decadence is so high, where the educational standard has fallen, where there are little or no role model and in a society where unemployment rat is so high and someone will say “why will one not be misguided”, but the bible says, “that we are in the world but not of the world”. It is “your choice and our life”, whatsoever decision you will take, you shall give account of it Ecc11:9. Also Ecc7:1 says, “a good name is better than precious ointment. The kind of choice we take will determine how far we can go in life. To leave a healthy life is a choice, to be successful is a choice, to leave a good legacy is also a choice and we the youth must make the right once because the dignity of our family, the church and the society at large is at stake. It is your life and your choice, so do the right thing.

KNOWING YOUR HEALTH STATUS

KNOWING YOUR HEALTH STATUS

You would agreed with me that health status is a vast topic. It cannot be exhausted in a single article such as this. Let us define the term “Health” and “Status”.

Health means the condition of a person’s body or mind. A person’s health could be good or poor.

Status means a condition or situation of a person, things or process. Put together, by health status, we mean the state of a person body physically and mentally.

When status is mentioned in relation to health, what readily comes to our mind is HIV status. Don’t blame us for that mindset, for HIV has caused a lot of havoc to our society. Its mortality rate is unprecedented.

To many of us health means absence of diseases. This is not correct. Even in the absence of diseases, we still engage ourselves in prophylactic or preventive health measures.

It is even more important to know your health status at the point when you are not sick. This can only be done through routine medical examination and investigations.

Many chronic and debilitating disease conditions are picked up on routine investigations e.g. Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Diabetes mellitus, HIV infection, cardiac and renal diseases etc.

At this juncture, let us look at the organs and disease condition that are worrisome when we talk about health status:

These are: Heart, kidney, liver, brain, lungs, breast, cervix, prostate gland, colon, and endocrine glands such as the pancrease, thyroid glad, pituary gland, testis, ovaries and the adrenal glands etc. disease condition are: Diabetes, AIDS, Sickle cell disease, tuberculosis, hepatitis, malignant tumours, bleeding disorders, syphilis, ABO and Rhesus grouping disorders, Hypertension etc.

In conclusion, if we knew our health status we could be able to prevent diseases like, stroke, cardiac arrest, cancers, thrombo-embolism. With sophistication in medicine, now we can know the state of our organ easily.

Note that some behaviours make us prone to disease e.g. excessive intake of alcohol, abusing of drugs especially the hard drugs, poor hygienic environment, sedentary life style, multiple sex partners etc. If we can address these issues properly we would surely have a good health status.

SECURITY SYSTEM OF NIGERIA

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SECURITY SYSTEM OF NIGERIA

Nigeria is a country in western part of a continent called Africa; and is a country filled with diverse ethnic groups and richly blessed with various forms of natural resources you could everly imagine.

Overtime Nigeria has not performed badly in the areas of: industrial development, Agricultural activities, Local and international trading, massive creation of jobs, free Education and many more only to mention but a few.

It was of lately that things or the fortune of this noble country so to speak started going bad or derailing; for we to be able to re-tract from this present situation that we are in right now, all hands must be on deck and must be ready to embraced change.

The highest form of insanity is to believe that you would continue to be doing the same kind of thing and yet expect the desired result; it is either you change your strategies or try something else. Change in all it ramification is what we need right now.

Well, before I proceed I would like to bring in to light what is Security? According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Security is the activities involved in protecting a country, building, or person against attack or danger e.t.c Or protection against something bad that might happen in the future.

If you look at the security system of our country you will discover that it is fast decaying every now and then in spite the fact that recruitment of security personnel by both Government and Private sector that has being on; almost on a daily basis; could not still contain the threat on the masses live.

The issue with our security system today is that there are loop-holes that allow for easy manipulation; and that of course is not good enough for us. Until such a time that we become conscious of the danger insecurity can posed only then we can addressed these issue properly.

If we look closely at the recent happening such as : Bomb blast at the police force head quarter, Maiduguri and several other places, is as a result of inadequate security and likewise a slap on the faces of security personnel. It simply means that if they cannot guarantee their security what more of ours.

Gone are those days where we capitalize adequate security based on the numbers of the security personnel we have. This had really gone beyond that right now, what we need to make things right is to upgrade on our security system by introducing sophisticated devices to tackle security challenges in the country at large.

This can be achieve by establishing agencies like CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit ), which will in turn mount cameras in strategic places to monitor crime when they are being committed and also use a call tracking device to note peoples conversation and know when to react.

Also, arms x-raying devices should be mounted at the entry and exit of cars, people etc into the building and also reward people for any vital information as applicable in other countries.

If these few recommendation are taken into cognizance by the appropriate Authority, I assure you that this menace will be taken care of in our noble country.

YOUTH MUST WAKE UP TO REALITY

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YOUTH MUST WAKE UP TO THE REALITY OF OUR TIME

This is no longer a hidden thing but the reality call to get the youth on their toes and face the situation of things in our present country. Nigeria has gone pass the era of spoon feeding or laziness only the hard worken man who has the fear of God makes it in this present dispensation.

There was a time, in this country when a student write Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam and sit at home for his chosen university or polytechnic to send him/her admission letter but we can all see what is happening now the issue has turned around after. After JAMB there is post JAMB later in the future there will be pre – JAMB the youth must wake up to reality.

There used to be a time in this country when graduate are paid salary even without them having the work and even a car to drive but we can answer the present situation for ourselves. Now, Nigerian has the highest number of graduate without job in Africa , the youth have to wake up to reality.

There use to be a time in this country where schools teachers beg student to go to school and a time when government pay scholarship to student in tertiary institution to keep them in school but the country has gone terrible that most rich men send their wards outside to school, it is no longer a joke that Nigeria has the highest number of students who study aboard. The youth has to wake up and stand up to face reality.

There use to be a time when Nigerian’s N1 was a couple of dollars and when investors want to invest in Nigeria, when developers rush to Nigeria to develop, when Nigeria was an area of attraction, when Nigeria was a place for relaxation when peace, love, joy was the motto and watch word of this country. When life was valued and watch word of this country. When life was valued and appreciated by the government but we can comprehend them present situation of the country this calls for awakeness to the present youth who had not enjoy this privilege to work hard and make the country return to it formed glory when peace and tranquility was the order of the day when fight stand for his father’s land. Nigeria is ours to rebuild not the foreigners not the leaders but us.

I remember the days of the civil war, when France came to offer a helping hand to agreed to allow than milk that area after the war but this dog led fighter preferred to loose rather than allowing France milk his country this is an example o patriot even though people sew him as a traitor because he fought his country but when this men died it become clear that he loved his country.

Can we mediate on the country’s National Anthem Arise, O Compatriots Do we act as compatriots. Nigeria’s call obey (Do we obey the call of Nigeria) To serve our fatherland (Do we really do this nowadays) with love and strength and faith (Do we put our strength to use for our country, Do we have faith for a better Nigeria, do we love ourselves talkless of our neighbour). The labour of our heroes past (How do we expect the founding fathers of Nigeria to feel people like Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi, Elbert Udo Udome, Murtala Mohammed, Aminu Kano, Joseph Tarka etc who fought to build Nigeria for us.

Shall never be in vein (Can we the present youth stand before God and repeat that word?).

To serve with heart and might (only few youth do this in this present dispensation; are you of them). One nation bound in Freedom (Yes this one is true because it is only in this country freedom to misbehave and get away with it is ensure).

Peace and Unity (This is really hard to answer because we have no peace no unity, no love, no joy for every time now long). We the youth are the only hope of this country, if we don’t stand on our toes and face reality, this country would be in shambles but with “A prayer for Nigeria in distress” and collective prayer and hard work Nigeria can be a place we want it to be.

Rise up you and me and shine, have a part to play in uplifting this country 

THE ANXIETY OF TIME

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THE ANXIETY OF TIME

The popular song “Time on my hands” has far deeper significance than is generally envisage. It could very well be that time is one of the greatest obstacles to happiness and for two reasons.

Time makes the combination of pleasure impossible, because we live in time we cannot simultaneously listen to Cicero Demosthenes and Bossiest; because the heart beats out the lease on life, one cannot, despite the advertisements, “dine and dance” at one and the same time.

It is an interesting psychological fact that the more pleasurable are our moments, the less we are conscious of time. At the end of a pleasant evening with friends, or listening to good music, or being spiritually uplifted in prayer, we say, “Time Passed like anything”. When, however, work is a bore, visits a trail in patience and an appointment with the dentist a cross, time never seems to end. Hidden in this psychological and subjective judgement of the passing hours is already a hint of immortality and the necessity of a timeless existences in order to find perfect happiness. If the more we eel ourselves outside of time, the greater is our happiness, it follows that enjoyed at one and the same time. This, curiously enough, is the definition that the philosophers give of eternity: tota simul, all please at once.

But in recent decades, with the decline of faith and belief in immortality, time has become one of the major causes of many psychotic and neurotic disorders. If there is no other life than this, if the daily burden of life leads to nothing more than the grave, if existence has no meaning, then time is the root of most of our anxieties. What then is life but a long corridor through which one passes closing doors,  not knowing which door will be the last? Even crisis in life, every new turning in the road of existence, diminishes possibilities. The anxiety of the temporal then begins to press us down so that we are like a criminal awaiting a death sentence.

The passing parade of time, the slamming of the gates of opportunity, the calming of passions, forced retirements – all of these produce an existential anxiety which makes one wonder if it is worthwhile carrying on.

Because life does not end here, the closing of the doors of time and the burden of the years become bearable – because they lead to something better when properly utilized. That was why St Paul said that for the sake of Christ he “glorified in his infirmities” and in his anxieties and in his sorrows. This was nothing but the continuation of the message of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Be not anxious”. This means, “Have no existential anxiety about acquiring too much in time, for it ends and leads to judgement”. (Matt. 6:25-34). So long as one lives for treasures that moths consume and rust eats and thieves steal, there is no possible escape from anxiety and worry.

We cannot cast these care upon God, for God has no interest whatever in making a person rich. As William James once wrote, “The Sovereign care for worry is religious faith. The turbulent billows of the fretful surface leave the deep parts of the ocean undisturbed, and to him who has a hold of vaster and more permanent realities, the hourly vicissitudes of his personal destiny seem relatively insignificant things.” It is only to the external that timeless existence,  or eternity, is brought to bear upon all of our actions in time, that we become liberated from the awful, frustrating anxiety of the temporal.