ASUU STRIKE: a hub of adventurism part 2

Since I published the first part of this article, several meetings have been held by ASUU and the Federal government with a view to resolving their differences and arriving at a favourable bargain that would benefit them both. The meeting which was held on the 13^th of August 2013, between the officials of the union and the Benue state governor among other personalities who represented the interest of the Federal government at the meeting ended up in a deadlock as ASUU maintained that the agreement reached in 2009 by the two parties was non-negotiable. The meeting was however budged to Monday, the 19^th of August 2013 for further negotiations and as it turned out to be the same thing happened. The hopes of many were shattered at the news of the impasse and it is now more evident that the strike may take longer than anticipated and the quicker the students realised this, the better for them.

I will at this juncture put paid to this issue so as to continue with what I started the last time.

Exploit Your Potentials

 If you are a Christian, I suppose you will be familiar with this biblical aphorism that goes thus “a man’s gift will make way for him”

It will shock you to note that majority of persons making it big in our world today and the household names we are familiar with are not fed by the certificates they earned from school, rather their talents got them there. The popular comedian “lepacious Bose” for instance, is a graduate of law but as you and I well know she is today making waves in the comedy industry. She realized early the need to exploit her gifts while still in school. There are numerous other examples I would have loved to mention which but for space cannot be mentioned in this article. The truth remains that we cannot over emphasize the importance of our innate potentials. It is therefore left to us to look for avenues to exploit them.
What is it that you are gifted at? What do you like doing most of the times that you would not mind doing it the rest of your life? Whatever it is, this strike period affords you the ample opportunity to develop it and build momentum before you graduate from the university. For me, I love writing like I love pounded yam and egusi soup. I am so in love with it that I sometimes forget I had not eaten. In a bid to develop my writing skills I ensure I write at least an article everyday because by so doing I am making way for myself in the future just in case my certificate cannot earn me my desired living. This is so imperative for the reason that just as a pencil needs sharpening before it can be used to write so also do our gifts require honing before they can be of any use to us. Develop your gift, I say again!

Learn a Trade

I know that this is a very unconventional advice to give to any student at a time like this but I can guarantee that anyone who assiduously tags along with it will have me to thank for it in the end. The reason is not farfetched seeing that the society we live in is a dynamic one and has evolved over time. Indeed the days when Jack, a whiz of all of trades was master of none are long gone and the days of ambidexterity have emerged - yes these are the days when we can effectively do a lot of things at the same time. It therefore follows that each and every student must now begin to think of creating other streams of income while still in school so as to minimize the overt reliance on their parents for their every need. Since the schools are currently on strike I advice that students should take up the challenge of fending for themselves by learning any trade of their choice. Trades like tailoring, barbing, weaving, indomie sales joints, recharge card printing etc are examples of trades that can be learned without much ado. Tailoring in particular, is said to be one of the hit businesses these days. I have been reliably informed that to sow a first-rate Ankara shirt anywhere now in Nigeria is worth 2000 naira and more depending on the style. I personally did not realize the importance of learning a trade until the day my dad needed help with his hair. I remember that that particular day he had attempted to cut his hair himself when he realized he could not continue and asked if I could help. I told him I could and I went on to impress him with my remarkable skills - I barbed him clean and he was thankful for it. I think he even squeezed a stainless naira note in my hand for my work and it saved me a lot of troubles. So go learn a trade this strike period instead of sitting at home and watching TV all day long.

Do an Internship

It has been said and I believe same to be true, that the problem with most Nigerian youths today is not that there are no jobs but that they are simply unemployable! A lot of company executives have complained that majority of the job applicants who come to them for employment in their organisations are not competent enough for the jobs they seek. Those who eventually get employed on the basis of their certificates are found to be highly incapable and simply unfit for the jobs. I personally believe this is because most students only go to school to study their textbooks in order to pass their examinations without caring to consolidate on what they have been taught in the classroom with the practical aspects of the courses they offer. In view of this, I recommend that every student should do an internship at least twice before they graduate from the university so as to acquire the requisite practical knowledge in their chosen fields. Law students for example should attach themselves to chambers or law firms so as to equip themselves beforehand with court processes. Medical students can also take up jobs at the hospitals to better acquaint themselves with medicine in practice. This also applies to every other field of study. So instead of whiling away time during this strike period why not do an internship in one of those organisations that are engaged in work related to your field of study so as to equip yourself before hand? Some professions like the law profession even accept 2 years internship or more in place of 2 years experience for job applicants.      

finally, “Remember that the fight for global relevance is a deliberate one and if you must win then you must daylily live your life deliberately, fighting consciously and never leaving your life to chance”... Ayuk Kure