My Opinion on ASUU Strike

Nigerian universities have been buffeted with agonising months of strike over a decade and until now,  the story is pretty much the same. Government is still unwilling to give the education sector a shot in arm.
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has been on strike since June 30 and has dialogued with FG over 11 times, albeit inconclusively.
This underscores the lukewarm posture of government towards the striking lecturers and from ASUU's body language and utterances, they have made it abundantly clear to anyone who cares to listen that they are ready to continue the strike even if it takes years, insisting that their decision was adequately taken in a bid to revitalise Nigerian Universities.
The bone of contention is lucid in itself. An agreement was reached in 2009 that all federal universities would require a total sum of N1.5 trillion spread over three years (2009-2011) to address the rot and decay in the universities.
But, in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the union and the government in 2012, FG decided to extend the gesture to include both federal and state universities. After the 2012 review, it was agreed that instead of the N1.5 trillion,  FG would infuse a total of N1.3 trillion into the universities over four years.
Almost four years down the line. FG has refused to fulfill its end of the bargain. Rather than respond to the issues at raised by the union that would ensure quick resolution to the imbroglio, government boycotted ASUUto summon a meeting with Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of universities, offering them N130 billion with a matching order to lecturers to resume work immediately.
It is ridiculous that government officials were quoted as saying ASUU's N1.3 trillion demand is capable of shutting down the country. No. Their insatiable and rapacious greed will.
The private jets in the presidential fleet can fly, centenary celebrations is a priority to government, there's enough money to pay humongous salaries and allowances to federal legislators and other political office holders, enough to forfeit to oil subsidy thieves, enough to pay militants bogus amnesty cheques and phantom contracts while they continue to bunker our crude oil like never before, there's enough money to beg Boko Haram to accept amnesty but there is no money for law abiding Nigerian students who want to eke out a living using university education as a stepping stone. It is this kind of attitude from the government that provokes the use of brute force by some regional groups to attract government's attention to their problems.
Government cannot claim it has no money to fulfill this agreement. A country with 109 senators earning about N19.6 billion a year, while N51.8 billion is spent on members of House of Representatives for the same period, totalling N71.4 billion. This sum, N71.4 billion represents 17.8% of the N400 billion yearly intervention fund recommended by the Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities. Surely, our lecturers and universities where they were trained deserve more.
When we talk of health care, government officials and the ruling elite go abroad for medical attention: we talk of bad roads, they fly private jets, we talk of electrical power, they run their homes on 24-7 alternative electricity source : now we are talking Education, their wards are in some of the best universities abroad. There is no way the myriad of problems bedeviling the country can be tackled if the political elite don't feel the pangs just like the average Joe on the street does.
That our dear Mr. President has taken time from his 'busy' schedule to constantly parley with the warring factions of his party, PDP, but has never sat down with ASUU members to chart a course for Nigeria's leaders of tomorrow clearly shows his priorities. Party affairs and chasing perceived enemies of his 2015 ambition around with apparatus of state are far more important things than bending over backwards to pander to the demands of the striking lecturers.
But then, government must take into cognisance the fact that, the longer the students remain at home, chances are that they will be lured into social vices. The aftermath can be disastrous for the state.
There are misplaced calls in some quarters for ASUU to be 'reasonable' and accept the FG's offer and return to classrooms. Others lambast them for being greedy, self-centered and unpatriotic. It is unfortunate that Nigerians are always looking for quick fix solutions to monumental problems. Less endowed countries like Ghana, Botswana and Angola are making giant strides on all fronts because the citizenry have at one point or the other insisted that the needful be done. Here, anything thrown at us is accepted with glee. We must get our priorities right as a country. Government must curb its own excesses. Education must be given the attention it deserves. Education of the citizenry should not be subjected to any form of negotiation. Negotiating the education of the leaders of tomorrow is more or less negotiating the future of the country.
Government deliberately wants the strike to linger, first to blackmail the opposition. There have been several unsavoury comments from the government's divide of the negotiation table that ASUU has been infiltrated by moles from the opposition, alleging that the strike has lingered to gain political capital.
That is how low this government can stoop.  We have seen it before. It is an irresponsible and shameless government, one that lacks integrity and honesty that will blame the opposition for all its woes. It is unbecoming for the government of the day to continue to heap its failure onbthe doorstep of the opposition and ASUU strike is just another avenue to paint the opposition black before the public.
Second, is to send a strong signal to other unions who might be contemplating similar action to have a rethink. Perhaps, government thinks by acceding to ASUU's demands, other Labour unions might toe that same path at the slightest excuse.
Third, the ultimate aim of the government is to paint a bad image of the association to Nigerians, at least, for as long as the strike persists. The Governor Gabriel Suswan-led NEEDS Report Implementation Committee mediating on behalf of the government has unfortunately taken a position that is false, dishonest, and calculated to misinform the public and cause disaffection towards the union.
Rather than seek cheap popularity, Governor Suswan and the rest of the FG team should tow the part of honour by asking President Goodluck Jonathan to honour the 2009 agreement. There is no basis for turning the heat on ASUU and the campaign of calumny.
It calls for worry, that same government that has always maintained that 'our graduates are unemployable' and our universities churn out 'half-baked graduates' find it difficult to commit the much needed funds to revamp the universities.

Thank goodness the ultimatum has been withdrawn and a new Memorandum of Understanding is signed between ASUU and the Federal Government (yet again).

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God! Your playing small doesn't' serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Break away from the shackles holding you back and be liberated.
Live and see how things/people around you will come alive.

Against All The Odds - Conviction

Don't listen to those who say, "It's not done that way." Maybe it's not, but maybe you will.

Don't listen to those who say, "You're taking too big a chance." Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be rubbed out by today.

Most importantly, don't listen when the little voice of fear inside of you rears its ugly head and says, "They're all smarter than you out there. They're more talented, they're taller, blonder, prettier, luckier and have connections …"

I firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you, not to the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and co-operation with others, but with the strength of conviction that you can move others by your own efforts, and do not make success or failure the criteria by which you live, the chances are you'll be a person worthy of your own respect.

Perception

It is not a question of non-existent things being conjured up. It is just that all through life we protect ourselves in so many ways from so many hurtful truths just by being a bit blind here, a bit short-sighted there, and by squinting against the incoming light all the time simply because we are afraid that its weight might hit us real bad and hard. That is what the prudent chose to call LIFE.

The 'destructive' thing philosophy does is to lift the blindness and to let you see the whole of your life laid out in front of you. Now what you see, whether it comes up from hidden things inside your soul or from the common facts of the waking life you lead, is not false.

But its truth is the deep, dangerous kind of truth that you've managed to side-stepped all along, and that can certainly frighten you into depression. A desperate, gloomy act if the life you have been living is already of itself deeply gloomy and deeply desperate.

Now after seeing your life flashed right across your face, you can choose to accept it as it is laid out before you or just ignore it as you've always done.

The choice is yours, but, I reckon accepting it the way it is laid down before you is the beginning of living right.

Think about it.

Down Here

Before I start, let me point this out. It is not all gloomy out here, some people have managed to leap beyond it, but to the average man on the streets, it is enough to lead him into depression.

I'm grateful for the good times, tired of the whole despondent drama but thanks to my parents for bringing me up in the way of the Lord, for letting me know that it's not an easy world. For making me able to see the light from the darkness, but now the light has almost been eclipsed by what I can only describe as 'madness' which is evident all over the nation.

It is like loosing your mind in the middle of crying, like dying before you are old enough to harness your potentials not to talk of reaching your prime. It's all up in the fighting, the shooting and the killing, political deceiving, corruption of the highest order, scams, prostituting for grades, insecurity, back-biting, and more recently and most worryingly, kidnapping. How can a man describe being a captive (not by the law but by dejected souls who feel nothing at all for the next man) in his own country?

Now imagine if you had the choice to choose and be choosy if you really want to come down here, imagine if you had the chance to preview and review all things that you will meet down here. I bet you your answer would be 'I don't want to go down there', out of fear and despair. I bet you will be screaming that we are crazy down here. We are not crazy but the sad reality of our situation has brought us to our knees without our knowing it. We accept and appraise mediocrity when we should be aiming higher.

Nine months in your mother's belly, preparing for the ultimate journey, oblivious of the things that you will meet out here. It is like being born into slavery and living in captivity. You could have the spirit of a hustler, the peace of of a dove or the instincts of a leader, on the other side, you could have a training for terror with the mind of a murderer. It is all down to how mentally strong you are, even in the midst of such uncertainty, we still have the power to choose how to fight it.

The big question is how are you fighting it???

NB: This article's inspired by 2face's song.

The Importance of Life

To realise the importance of a year, ask a student who has just failed his final exams; To realise the importance of a month, ask a woman who gave birth to a premature baby; To realise the importance of a week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper; To realise the importance of a day, ask a footballer who got injured a day to the final of a World Cup; To realise the importance of an hour, ask a man who lost his well-paid job for resuming work one-hour late; To realise the importance of a minute, ask a man who just missed a bus, train, flight or an important appointment; To realise the importance of a second, ask a man who just escaped an accident; To realise the importance of a milli-second, ask an Olympic Silver medallist who lost the Gold medal only after a photo-finish.

Just appreciate what's going on in your life: Happy, sad, good, bad, it's happening you're alive!

Hakuna Matata! It means 'No worries'...

Who Am I?

There is a struggle in every man's heart, a search for himself. This is the most difficult phase of growing up. It is not easy to be so conscious of oneself as to devote much time wanting to know oneself even though it is the best gift we can ever give to ourselves and the very beginning of living right.

Maturity comes when you are able to identify with your individuality, accept and assert yourself with your strengths and weaknesses. Knowing that you have found yourself is the most important instrument you need to conquer the world. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of you but what you think of yourself is most important. The reason why we often miss the best part of ourselves is because we don't reflect as much as we should on and about our lives, past, present and we don't set standards for our future. There is a stage we come to in life when we begin to question ourselves about our deepest values and the things that keep us in the midst of others. Oftentimes we jump to certain conclusions when judging ourselves and deciding who we think we are and who we have come to be. You see I once read that the best way to know a man is to watch what he laughs and weeps at. This was said to be the greatest measure of a man's value.

Forming your identity is not easy but it has to be sought after because discovering your identity makes it easier to identify your gifts and put it all together to fulfill your destiny. Many times people mix things up; they get caught up between their potentials and their conflicting self. The only way to get ahead is to first find yourself and discover your deepest values, passions and the things that delight you to be able to bring your gift into operation. Because your values, which is what you delight in, directs you to discover more of your potentials and to harness them. All you need is a desire from inside; there is no need for anyone's approval but your own cry to be yourself.

Knowing yourself means, this is me and I accept it that way, this is what I believe in and can't do otherwise. You don't compromise when you know your deeper yes, because you know that your deeper yes means that if I do otherwise it is going to affect my whole being. This doesn't mean you are going to be too rigid a person but to some extent it gives you a great idea of when to be flexible and when not to be. Sometime ago I could identify with my values but was yet in conflict with acting them out especially when I had to say no to something my deeper being rejected. This was because I was afraid of making people feel bad and unaccepted but as I grew older it became obvious to me that I am the architect of my fortune or misfortune, and that the earlier I learnt to say yes the closer I would be to coming to terms with myself and my uniqueness.

The beautiful thing about it all is that you attract what you are. The moment you can get in touch with yourself it is easier to get in touch with someone else especially when your saying yes to so many things are similar. This is when you can identify your soul mate of life, that is your friends with whom you can build the foundation of life together and this doesn't necessarily mean you and these people agree on everything in life. It only means that you have nearly the same values, which might not be a hundred percent but reasonable enough to keep you together. You see most of us have friends we think are difficult to be with or friends that don't mind having the same clothes and hair cut we have because we are still struggling with who we are and who our friends think we should be.

The sooner you set your own standards for yourself the better or else people will set standards for you. The problem with most of us is that we feel we need everyone else's approval to do the things we value the most, and that is where we miss it. There is no problem in listening to other people's opinions but when it involves you, your own opinion matters the most, which must be based on who you have found out God wants you to be.

It's interesting when you dare to be different. Live your life and people will begin to question why you are you. It is such a life we live that you are the one that matters the most as to what opinion the man in you should be. Take delight in being yourself, you do not need any mask to be loved.

Another problem with virtually everyone of us is conformity and the fear of what people will say if you choose to live your life the way you want to. There is nothing wrong with that fear, but there is something wrong in not being fulfilled and happy especially when you are doing what your inner being is saying yes to. Our predicament is not in our fear of discovering ourselves but the fear of what to do with what we discover.

No one can live your life for you. If you are fortunate enough you may meet people that will help reveal your strength and help you deal with your weaknesses but these people are very few. You may come in contact with people who don't care what happens to you and wouldn't mind enslaving you, judging you and condemning you. Why allow yourself such a life, why not go through a self search and give yourself a lot of value so that no one can treat you anyhow but give you your due honour and respect?

The more your life reveals your dream, the more your face reveals your light. It is having enough worth that little things get to be little.

For How Long Will Africa Be Cursed With It's Leaders?

I was recently going through the findings of a research carried out on Africa by a foreign-based research firm and there was one statistic that really struck me deeply. Can you believe that the average African live under just 'a dollar' per day?

Now, can you fault anyone for labelling our beloved continent 'the poorest in the world'? But where have we gone wrong? Who is to blame? Is it those at the helm of affairs or the masses? All these questions hang loosely in the air begging for answers but with no one ready to provide them. We (the masses) - with the exception of our leaders who perhaps have been blinded by the pursuit of personal gains or 'National Cake' as they like to call it - seems to know where the problems lie but what can we do?

What can you do, when all around you there is a feeling of uncertainty? What can you do when the children that are supposed to be the future leaders are brought up to the knowledge that the only way to get to the top is to cut corners? What can you do when you are going to bed at night with not the slightest insight as to what tomorrow have in store for you? When your vote that is supposed to be your power during election or S-election, if you please, is nothing more than another futile effort. The system, yes the SYSTEM will always win.

Before their S-election, so many laudable plans (vision 2020, 7-point agenda etc) had been bandied around the media - owned or financed by big political moguls who in-turn influenced their writings and as such the joy of journalism is lost and it's etiquettes trampled upon - but the moment they assume office the reverse is the case. Take the political instability in my 'dear' Nigeria as a case-study, where a nation is run like a family business. The 'Giant of Africa' has suddenly grown so big that she developed bow legs, or how else can you describe a nation of over 140 million people having no president for over two months (during the Yar'Adua administration).

But what do we really feel towards our leaders? Is it hatred or jealousy? I believe it is the latter, for who can see the lure of long shiny cars or houses built with so much efficacy and grandeur to make the jaws of onlookers drop and say that he truly detest them deep down? Certainly, not anyone I know. It is not hatred because those are the things we ourselves have always longed for. But if a leader is not able to meet the demands of his followers, why can't he just do the most honorable thing, RESIGN? I guess that is not part of the agenda. For how long will Africa continue to be cursed with it's Leaders?

Despite all of these uncertainties, Africans are widely regarded as the most religious people in the world be it Christianity, Islam or Traditional worshippers. The most famous word in our dictionary is HOPE, or what else can we do other than to pray and hope that someday somehow we will reach the height of our potentials. If living is cruel then death is not so kind. Nobody wants to die but we all wanna go to heaven, and so, we manage to live through the rot and hope for a better tomorrow.

Happy Eid 'El Fitri to all our Muslim folks, especially to my Mum, my lovely siblings and Sanusi Kafayat, I love you all. May Almighty Allah guide and protect you all.

You Are Better Than That

Let me tell you something you already know.

The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it, or why do you think the phrase: 'Survival Of The Fittest' was coined?

People will kick you from behind till you are down and still ask you 'WHY?'
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ain't how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much of it you can take and still stand strong with BELIEF. That's how winning is done.

Even when life throws unexpected happenings at you, see it as a phase that will soon phase out and move on. Life is what it is, life. Imagine knowing what will happen to you tomorrow, the joy of living would have been taking away.

Be strong and stand tall. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going and stay tough.

Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get it. But you've got to be willing to take the hit and not pointing accusing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you.

YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT!

NB: This is dedicated to someone special, you know who you are. Everything's gonna be alright.

Who Says It Can't Be Done?

The man who makes a success of an important venture never waits for the crowd. He strikes out for himself.

It takes nerve, it takes a great lot of grit; but the man that succeeds has both. Anyone can fail.

The public admires the man who has enough confidence in himself to take a chance. These chances are the main things after all.

The man who tries to succeed must expect to be criticised. Nothing important was ever done but the greater number consulted previously doubted the possibility.

Keep steadily before you the fact that all true success depends at last upon yourself. You can't go through life blaming other people for your own situation.

The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach; but we shut our eyes and like people in the dark, we fall foul upon the very thing we search for, without finding it.

Success is the accomplishment of that which most people think can't be done.

How Old Is She?

A policeman is on night patrol near a local well-known Lovers' Lane parking spot, when he sees a car. The light is on inside and he can see a couple - a young man in the driver's seat reading a computer magazine, and a girl in the back seat calmly knitting. Suspicious, he wanders over the driver's window and knocks.

"Yes, officer?" says the young man, obliginly winding down the window,
"Can I help?"

"What do you think you're doing?" the policeman barks.

"What does it look like?" answers the young man, "I'm reading this magazine."

The cop points at the girl in the back seat. "And what is she doing?" he mutters.

The young man glances over his shoulder.
"I think," he says, "she's knitting a scarf."

Confused, the officer asks, "How old are you, young man?"

"I'm 19," he replies.

"And how old is she?" asked the officer, glancing at the young lady.

The young man looks at his watch.
"Well," he says after a thoughtful pause, "in about twelve minutes she'll be 16".

Yaba College of Technology Application For HND {F/T and P/T} and ND {P/T}

BRIEF:
Yaba College of Technology is the foremost tertiary institution and highly rated Federal Polytechnic in Nigeria which offers various Full Time Programmes at National Diploma Level through the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board

CONTENT:
Advertisement for application for 2013/2014 admission into Higher National Diploma (Full and Part Time), National Diploma (Part Time) and Certificate programme.
Yaba College of Technology is the foremost tertiary institution and highly rated Federal Polytechnic in Nigeria which offers various Full Time Programmes at National Diploma Level through the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), also offers admission into National Diploma Part Time and Higher National Diploma Full Time/Part Time Programmes.
Applications are hereby invited for admission into Higher Diploma (Full and Part Time), National Diploma (Part Time) and Certificate Programmes for the 2013/2014 academic session. Only candidates who are of good character and possess a burning desire for high quality knowledge and practical skill-based education with entrepreneurial disposition, are encouraged to apply.
The available programmes are as follows

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2 YEAR FULL-TIME HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA (HND) PROGRAMMES
A SCHOOL OF ART, DESIGN &
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i) Science Laboratory Technology,
II) Ceramics with the following options:
III) Fashinon/Textile Design
a) Blochemistry
IV) Graphic Design
b) Chemistry
V) Painting c) Environmental Biology
VI) Printing Technology
d) Microbiology
VII) Sculpture                              e) Physics with Electronics
II) Statistics

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TECHNOLOGY

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OF ENGINEERING
I) Computer
Science i) Civil Engineering with options in
ii) Food Technology structures & Transportation
iii) Hospitality Management
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iv) Textile Technology
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v) Mechanical Engineering (Power Option)
vi) Computer Engineering

E. SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL

F. SCHOOL OF MANGEMENT AND
BUSINESS STUDIES
I) Architecture i)
Accountancy
ii) Building Technology ii)
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iii) Estate Management & Valuation
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iv) Quantity Surveying iv)
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v) Surveying and Geo-informatics
vi)Urban & Regional Planning

Candidates for the Bilingual
programme should report to the Department of Office Technology and Management with a Photocopy of their application form and the originals of their credentials for pre-selection interview test

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
The general entry requirements for all Higher National Diploma (HND)
Programmes are as follows:
1. SSCE/JAMB entry requirements for the corresponding National
Diploma Programmes as
Published in the current JAMB
brochure.
2.    Relevant National Diploma at not below LOWER CREDIT Grade.
3. Applicants with National
Diploma (ND) (Lower Credit) in
Electrical Engineering,
Computer Engineering,
Industrial Maintenance Engineering, Polymer & Textile
Technology are eligible for
admission into Higher National Diploma (HND) Physics with Electronics.
4. Applicants with ND (Lower
Credit) in Polymer & Textile
Technology are eligible for
admission into HND (Chemistry Option).
5. At least one year Post-National Diploma relevant industrial experience.
2. PART-TIME PROGRAMMES
6 SEMESTER ND & HND
WEEKENDS/WEEKDAY PT
PROGRAMMES
(a) HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA (WEEKDAY/EVENING MODE)
i) Building Technology
vi) Civil Engineering
ii) Computer Science
vii) Mechanical Engineering
iii) Food Technology
vii) Industrial Maintenance &
iv) Statistics Engineering
v) Electrical Engineering
ix) Graphics Design
(b) NATIONAL DIPLOMA
(WEEKDAY/EVENING MODE)
i) Building Technology
ix) Mechanical Engineering
ii) Civil Engineering
xii) Industrial Maintenance
iii) Computer Engineering Engineering (IME)
iv) Computer Science
(xvi) printing Technology
v) Electrical Engineering
xv) Quantity Surveying
vi) Food Technology
xv) Science Laboratory
vii) General Art Technology
viii) Hospitality management
xvi) Statistics
ix) Estate Mgt. and Valuation
xvii) Mass Communication
(C). NATIONAL DIPLOMA & HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA (HND) WEEKEND (SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS) PROGRAMMES
i) Accountancy
iv) Office Technology &
ii) Business Administrations Management
iii) Banking & Finance (ND Only)
v) Marketing (HND Only)

General Entry Requirement for
National Diploma (ND) Programmers:

SSCE (SSCE/NABTEB) with at least 5 credits obtained at not more than two (2) sittings, which must include English, Mathematics and three other relevant subjects from the minimum entry requirements in JAMB Brochure.
Requirements for HND Part-Time programmes are the same with Full-Time Programmes.
(D) CERTIFICATE PROGRAMMES
SCHOOL OF ART, DESIGN AND
PRINTING
i) Certificate in Visual Art (1Year)
ii) Certificate Course in
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Assembly)
iii) Certificate Course in
photography (1year)
iv) Certificate Course in Dress
Making (1 year)
v) Advance Certificate in
Printing Technology (1Year)
SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
i) Technician Certificate
Course in Paint and Coatings Technology (1Year)
METHOD OF APPLICATION
Applicants should visit the College website at www.yabatech.edu.ng .
Click on on-line application and complete the basic details form.
Applicants should pay N10,000.00 on-line using ATM card by clicking on ‘pay now’ (Please note that transaction charges is (N700,00). Kindly complete the on-line application form after payment.
Click and ‘submit’ to conclude the application process.
Applicants without an ATM card should approach any bank for a reloadable card and load the required amount to enable them pay on-line.
Candidates applying for full-time and part time HND must ensure that their transcripts of the ND programme reach the office of the Registrar, Yaba College of Technology, within six weeks from the date of publication.
For details on available programmes of study and entry requirements visits Yaba tech website at www.yabatech.edu.ng . for further enquires, applicants should contact the Admissions and Records Department,
Room AA24 Administrative Building.

The deadline for submission of
application is 6 weeks from the date of publication. Any application received after the deadline will not be considered.

Signed
Biekoroma C. Amapakabo
Registrar

ASUP Suspends Strike

After 81 days of inactivity, polytechnic students across the country are expected to return to their classrooms as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) suspends its strike today.

The ASUP Chairman, Dr. Chibuzor Asumogba, told Vanguard in a phone interview that the decision
was made by the National Executive Committee of the Union as a result of the intervention of the Joint committee of the Senate and House of Representative on Education.

He said the union gave the government representatives one month to accede to their demands and release the white paper on the visitation panel to federal polytechnics.

The ASUP Chairman however, called on all lecturers to go back to work. “All lecturers are to resume work at their various institutions today”, He said.

No Matter What...

I'm not naive anymore because I have better understanding and it is time for me to 'express' what I have learnt so far. I feel wiser though still thirsty to know a lot more.
I feel calmer because I now know the truth and I am more at peace with myself and the world.

I count my blessings and understand that I had to lose to win the things and people I am left with.
I am ready for new experiences, I value being comfortable.
I have fewer delusions and I am less concerned with what other people think because I have learnt that oftentimes they all don't mean what they say.
I can make choices, I am free, I can fly.

It might take me a long time. It doesn't matter where I turn and which way I go, my focus will be my destiny. It doesn't matter the number of times I stumble but my willingness to stand and move on is all that matters to me.

Why will I wallow in self pity, anger and bitterness? I am not perfect and it is quite alright that sometimes I slip and make wrong moves, do the wrong things and get wrong results. But it will be unfair if I allow that to take all the joy I have experienced when I got it right most other times.
Knowing that my happiness in life depends only on me, I have to learn to accept the consequences of every word spoken by me and deeds done by me no matter how bitter condemning it might seem.

Not living to please any person other than God has helped to make it easier for me not to be carried away by my environment, knowing that most times what people say, they don't mean. So why should I get myself excited and come back to zero afterwards or get myself worked up and realize it wasn't worth it in the first place?

My conclusion thus far is that no matter what, destiny has to be fulfilled and that I do not need anyone's approval to get on in life or anyone's answer to answer my own life questions.

Touches

The touch of a loving human's hands
Someone who cares and understands
Feels like the warming summer sun
Right when the day has just begun.

The touch of a dog's or cat's wet nose
Can make you flourish like a rose
Nothing compares to the love it gives
If you give it love as long as it lives

The touch of a gentle summer breeze
Blowing through the giant trees
Giving you a soft caress
Makes your heart ache a little less.

The absence of the one you love
Makes you appreciate life's lil stuffs
Even if the journey appears rough
Knowing someone loves you makes the fall a lil soft.

A Peep Into Growing Up!

As you grow each day and face the daily beats of life, we realize that it is not just about the events but about our own selves,in the process of growth.As it becomes obvious to us that the realities of life are the bitter pills which many a man runs away from that entraps them into poverty,mind disorders and all sorts of negativities all to run away from facing the truth about growth and change. It is tremendously baffling and most interesting to realize that we can't remain the same everyday as we all know that the most constant thing in life is change. There is so much joy in growing,knowing that we increase in age,going through the normal processes of the pains and hurts of life and yet joyous at the product we become after learning a whole lot from our mistakes. It's not only about the mistakes we learn from that stretches our soul but also getting to a point of maturity in our lives where our values can define who we truly are,at a point when we can accept and assert ourselves as who we really are;having to shed some of our attitudes and fantasies to face the realities of life. It is then that you come to a point in your life when you realized that some of the things you believed in so strongly yesterday were mere fantasies that come with youthful exuberance and that you have to learn to live with the realities & disappointments of today and possibly tomorrow. Growing up can be scary sometimes especially when we are faced with something unexpected that hurts so bad or we're betrayed by friends,or along the way,life takes a new turn from what it normally was and we are to cope with certain situations we've never faced before;how faint our spirit being often gets at such times. But God in his thrilling way always has a way of seeing us through and thus building our faith in him as we grow. Growth is in stages, moving from the unknown or the ignorant to enlightenment,utilizing the capacity that is inherent in us to track our course and be corrected when we go wrong. It's a beautiful thing to be human especially if you are willing to explore life,taking-in all it has in store for you and giving back all you can make of it often in geometrical form. It's easier to choose not to open your heart to opportunities of growth than to choose to grow in the right direction,because it is painful and sacrificial.Inspite of the entire fear attributed to growth,it is really interesting and amazing because if we were all sure of what was going to happen to us,then the fun of living would've been taken away from us,so why don't we just get ourselves equipped for these total experiences of life and make the best of it so that we can be all that God has designed for us to be. The most interesting part of growth is when you come face to face to face with yourself,when who you are is revealed to you.This is a most dramatic phase of growth because you have the choice of whether you will accept yourself as you've come to know and make the best of the discovered man or deny it and continue to struggle with life and place little or no worth on yourself. Growing up,I've been far from perfect but I'm always willing to learn from both old and young.I've taken all sorts from people because I had always seen every one I met as my superior so I can learn from them,even though some have taken advantage of me.I try not to get upset because I know that I'm in the process of learning and I just need to have a non- offensive attitude so that I can learn every possible lesson from the character of every person I met in my life.But my greatest weapon and joy has been the acceptance of who I discovered I was and my willingness to make the best of it no matter what anyone feels or thinks about it.That is the core of my existence and that determines how far I will go in life,otherwise I wouldn't have appreciated God the way I do today and my eyes wouldn't have been opened to all that I need to learn or do in life. If you're willing to grow,your heart and mind will have to be open and not closed,you have to be closed to God and be willing to stand and confront all that life has to offer you.There's no better way to learn and be a child of God except you allow yourself to go through the normal processes of life.Let God move you his own way;don't try to force yourself to move because this is one of the secrets I've learnt along the way that humbles my heart and makes it easier for me to cope with situations and people in my life. I hope I've left you a better person than I met you!

An Extraordinary Mix of Different Characters

Wanna get the real feel of the life of an ordinary Joe on the streets of Lagos? Wake up around 5am and take a walk around a major road/axis and see things for yourself.

The often packed bus-stops with 'shepe' joints, despite the early chill of the morning you can't escape the heat, then comes the usual commuter/driver brouhaha, the cause is usually over the balancing of change. Get down from the bus and you'll see the look on the faces of folks around you, the willful ignorance of what beckons, the uncertainty of what the day will bring forth, and the hope somewhere in their heart of hearts that their luck will better yesterday's or at least hold out...



In the coming coming posts I hope to share a lot of these moments that somewhat inspired this blog with y'all.


Every single day you go through without a major disappointment or problem somewhere is a scarce and precious one in Lagos...