Rest In Peace-John Ekomhenmhen

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I was to continue my post on choices until i received some shocking news today. A teenager whom i respect so much passed on in the early hours of today. He died of typhiod fever.(that's very strange considering that there are loads of drugs that can cure it!!!).

John was highly talented.He could play almost every musical instrument i could think about plus sing  better than the late Micheal Jackson. He could also do choral arrangement and as a result he became the choir head of our teens church.

He also loved the Lord, you could tell from the way he sang that not only did he enjoy the music, he enjoy singing it to God. He also wrote many, many songs, in short he was a modern day David. He motivated a lot of teens to explore and use their musical talents to praise God instead of wasting their time loitering around.

John had been attending the prestigeous Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) music school hoping to study music in the university. His pixs are shown above.

John, I will definately miss you, rest in the Father's arms

Choices-Part 1

I have always wondered why i wasn't born in the many developed countries in the world. Maybe if was, i would not have enjoyed the various choices that life has to offer. ooops, am so sorry, let me introduce myself, my name is Korede ,am a Nigerian and am enterprenuer.So where were we? oh yes, Choices.

As a child growing up in a third world country , we were exposed to limited choices about the future inre schools,jobs/work and life as a whole. Nigeria being colonised by the British followed some of their ways and after our independence,we did not do an excellent job of designing our own educational system.
So basically,every child started scholling at the age of three in the Nursery school then after 3 years at the age of six (6) you are moved to primary school for six (6) years , Next comes secondary school (or High school) for another six (6) years before you either go on to the University ,Polythenic (college) or Teacher's training college.  The idea of going to work after Secondary school wasn't advisable as the potential of getting a job was very low if not impossible.Anybody who went on to start a trade or business without a university or polythenic education was considered a failure. So you HAD to go to a Higher institute.It didnt matter whether you enjoyed the course you studied or not, just get a diploma /degree!! You family wouldnt be happy with you either, so you were under pressure to go to college/university.

After graduation, there is a mandatory service programme organised by the government for all graduates.The programme lasts for a year(1) . The essence of the programme is to expose the graduates to different states in the country so you are posted as far as possible from home. I was sent to a state 8hrs away from my home but i had a lovely time while i was there, met new people, had a nice job, got my pay regularly , served the state via enviromental trainings.it was wonderful! however a lot of people cant say the same thing. some died, kidnapped, didnt get jobs or got nasty postings , some even lived in villages where they didnt have the luxury of electricity and clean water!

So what are am getting at? after all these mandatory steps so as to get a decent job and settle down. You discover that there are either no jobs to suit your trainning or you have to work somewhere that has nothing to do WITH your training, like a lawyer working in the bank as a banker!! It can be very frustrating.

The most recent development is with graduates going into vocational skills like baking, cooking, selling, fashion design, comedy, acting, photography, event managment and farming to mention a few, now these options were there all along so why did we have to spend four (4) ,five(5) or even (6) years in the universities, then one(1) mandatory year of service just to go back and work as a photography with the skills obtained from Secondary school!!

Imagine the time wasted and monies spent  . If i was in a developed country, i would have the option whether to go to college/university or not, and if i chose not to go, it would not affect my standard of living or ability to support my family. If i chose to attend a higher institution, i could freely choose my major out of desire not pressure considering if it had job possibilities. I have a friend who wanted to attend a culinary school to be a continental chef, trust her african dad to force her to study medicene!!! she fluncked most of her courses and had to drop out of medical school after 3 years!! Another friend studied Zoology , he hated his 4 years in school.

I had a problem with one of  my S.S.C.E (SAT/GCE) subjects,physics hence i couldnt get my desired major i.e.chemical engineering. I asked my dad to let me repeat the exam, he refused and rather the university offered me  FISHERIES which i was not interested in, my dad didnt care, as long as i came back home with a degree, that was all that mattered to him.

Choices! The opportunity to make the decision you want to make, it may turn out well , it may not, thats the risk we all have to bear but every man/woman has a right to make his own choice.

“Make the decision, make it with confidence, and the world will be yours.”

 

Jaren L. Davis -