YOUTHVILLE ISSUE #200
Friday, September 28, 2018 08078068532
youthville@dailytrust.com
I realised I was cut out for writing at 18 years — Thomas
By Francis Arinze Iloani
H
ow did you develop the flair to write? Writing enabled me to escape into another realm while in plain sight of the real environment. For me, writing was a kind of drug that costs less but gives more in terms of satisfaction. When I got to secondary school, I got better, wrote more poems and short stories. But it was when I got to the university, at 18 years of age that I realized I was cut out for writing. My writing became more visuallyoriented. I learned about narrative structure, sociology and psychology of writing and this when my writing
deepened and became more thoughtful. Apart from ‘Secrets,’ what other pieces have you worked on? Before secrets, I was doing work on two series, both nonfictions. One was ‘Ekology: Lagos through the eyes of an outsider’. ‘Ekology’ was a chronicle of my everyday experiences of Lagos from job hunting to living in completely different world as I know it. The other was ‘Maiduguri: the untold stories.’ This was more of testimonies of men and women from civilians, social workers to uniformed personnel who were witnesses to the Boko haram crisis in Maiduguri.
Some find peace in my poems, others don’t – Sabeeha Bamas Victoria @BamasVictoria Sabeeha Hussain has said some people find peace through her poetic works as they see her share a part in their pains; but there are others who are not comfortable with the poems. The young poet from Kano state who spoke to Daily Trust YOUTHVILLE recently had a book reading and signing of her book ‘SoulUnraveled: Rising from the ashes’. The event which held in Abuja at Tarbiyah Books Plus had her reading from her book, signing copies of the book and interacting with readers. She said ‘SoulUnraveled: Rising from the ashes’ is a poetry book themed after the mythical bird, the Phoenix that is said to be reborn from the ashes ashe after being burnt to the ground. It has six chapters tagged differently: spark, ignite, burn, ashes, embers and rising. Sabeeha said, “My work makes a “ lot of people uncomfortable, and un I get backlash for fo it. But it means absolutely nothing nothin because I have many more that find peace in it, in knowing they are not alone in their pain. “In realizing that tthere is strength left to be found le ssomewhere in the ashes. If I can give a hope, to just one h ssoul out there, it is enough for me,” e said Sabeeha as she reflected on her expectations.
...young at heart
“Fame is like caviar, you know — it’s good to have caviar but not when you have it at every meal” – Marilyn y Monroe
Isaac Thomas is a 27-year old novelist, velist, poet, and cinematographer. The e graduate of Mass Communication on from the University of Maiduguri recently ently published his first novel ‘Secrets..’ In this exclusive interview with YouthVille, he explains how he developed the flair for writing.
What inspired you to write your novel ‘Secrets’? ‘Secrets’ was inspired by a number of things. The first few materials I ever got to read were the works of James Hadley Chase and Ian Fleming. Secondly, it’s always been my conviction that there’s one or two, even several, stories, about powerful government agencies, faceless individuals and secret programs that is worth telling in Nigeria. In 2017, I decided it was time to come up with something. I didn’t know what the story was going to be about; all I knew was it got to be a book about the intelligence community.
What was your experience writing ng the novel? In the course se of writing secrets, I learned a lot of things especially in sourcing out materials during the research period. Classified is classified. There was a lot of information out there on the DSS, the central agency in my story. I did approached a few guys both retired and in active service for information but I got none. I had to make do with what I had. Another thing, Nigerians are unwilling to try out new things.. People kept asking me why write a thriller? Why not romance or comedy?
How would you assess the publishing industry in Nigeria? Honestly, I do feel that the publishing sphere in Nigeria is the toughest place anyone can be. It’s almost cruel. First, getting a traditional publishing deal is almost an alien dream for a first time author. One has to be connected, well connected with someone influential or be able to afford the ridiculous charges of an agent to stand a chance. In most cases, young writer have none. It’s actually frustrating.
Mandela Fellows’ leadership assembly to promote SDGs — President By Philip Shimnom Clement President of Mandela Washington Fellows Alumni Association of Nigeria (MWFAAN), Segun Fatudimu said the Young Leaders Assembly which hosted over 1000 active was designed to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and drive national development through the youth. Fatudimu said the vision of the programme is to over time become like a local replica of the United Nations’ youth assembly where young leaders, including young civic leaders, entrepreneurs, public
managers, activists and student leaders working to promote national development and the sustainable development goals are recognized and celebrated. “The project is envisioned strategically to position Nigerian youths on the pivotal roles in the realization of Sustainable Development Goals in all critical sectors of the economy by 2030 through a coordinated infusion of entrepreneurial and leadership skills through Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) network” he said. The President explained that the Beyond School Community Challenge will host the top 10
finalists selected schools and students to compete for the grand prizes in the Beyond School Challenge final pitching competition. The summit with the theme “Paradigm shift; Creating a youth-led development agenda for Nigeria” featured the YALI Leadership Awards which aims to recognize, celebrate and encourage youths and individuals who are contributing immensely towards the pursuit of the sustainable development goals as well as youth and economic development in Nigeria well as Beyond School Community (BSC) Challenge.
Why Farafina is targeted at youth creativity — Chimamanda Adichie From Nurudeen Oyewole, Lagos Award-winning author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has explained that the need to provide a platform for youthful and emerging writers to discover and explore their potentials formed the basis for the launch of her pet project: Farafina Workshop. Chimamanda who gave the explanation at a briefing with journalists in Lagos also disclosed that the annual ‘Creative Writing Workshop’ which is now being sponsored by Trace Nigeria will hold between November 20 and 30, 2018. According to the author, the Farafina workshop which she conceived as an idea 12 years ago but now in its 11th year, has made tremendous impact on
the lives of its past cohorts who have since gone on to achieve greater things. She added that the sort of story tellers being churned out of the annual workshop are the type the country needs “because every society needs story tellers”. “I remember in the past that people used to host receptions in my honour for one thing or the other. While I was not against that, I said to myself at a time that ‘instead of people spending these lots to host receptions for me, why shouldn’t they put the money in a workshop?” The Managing Director of Venator Partners/Trace Nigeria, Sam Onyemelukwe said, “We are very pleased to partner with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She is an inspiration to youth in Africa and around the world.”
The workshop, formerly known as the Farafina Trust Creative Writing workshop is now to be called the Purple Hibiscus Trust Writing Workshop.
DAILY TRUST, Friday, September 28, 2018
YOUTHVILLE
The pains and gains of being a fish farmer — Ugochukwu Bamas Victoria @BamasVictoria
U
gochukwu Cyril-Okere, a graduate of logistic management is an Abuja based fish farmer and trainner who told YOUTHVILLE that he went into fish farming because he saw a market there. Ugochukwu said the high point of his venturing into fish farming has been being able to increase “the number of catfish he can now raise comfortably from hatching to table size. He added that three years ago he started with a single pound but he has been able to grow it into several ponds, a hatchery room and has used the proceed to start a soft drink distribution business. Talking about the challenges he said new entrants into the business tend to sell their table size fish at a low price because they often make the mistake of not factoring in production and logistic costs. He added that the high mortality rate of the fishes is also a challenge. “If not properly checked,
mortality will be very high and lead to serious loss, and the costs of their feed is on a very high side.” On getting his customers he said “Customers for catfish are readily available from the doorstep of business to the open market.” He said the fishes can be sold at retail or wholesale. To those who want to venture into the business he said they “should first go for training and do a proper feasibility study depending on the number of fingerlings or juveniles they choose to start with.” He added that such a person should have money for fish feed in addition to a standby source of water supply. To graduates ugochukwu said “My advice to graduates looking for government jobs is simple, They shouldn’t give up in their search but it’s also desirable to engage themselves in a skill or the other because being employed by someone means you’ll be laid off one day Or if retired, what will happen to ones source of income?”
Youth inclusiveness panacea to good governance By Taiwo Adeniyi The president of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Malam Bello Shagari had said that youth inclusiveness in politics is important to good governance. He said proper representation of youths is crucial to Nigeria’s development. Shagari who spoke at the
inauguration of the newly elected executives of NYCN said youth inclusiveness remains panacea to the nation’s development, adding that the nation becomes vibrant and resourceful when youths are empowered. The minister of Youth and Sports Development, Barr Solomon Dalung in his address tasked the newly elected
executives of the National Youth Council of Nigerian (NYCN) to work collectively as a team to achieve the common goal of representing the Nigerian youth effectively. He said their inauguration is new dawn, urging them to be goal oriented, organised, committed to the plans of the organisation to realize their leadership goals.
Business writing, work place ethics should be included in tertiary institutions — dGrammarQueen By Bamas Victoria @BamasVictoria Stella Nnodi also known as dGrammarQueen has said that Nigeria’s youth have a lot to benefit from grammar and communication services. Stella a Language and Communications Coach who works in HR & Training Consulting as well as a freelance editor told YOUTHVILLE that as a recruiter, she encounters very poorly-written CVs from young school leavers, “By poorly-written, I mean as per syntax and semantics, sentence construction and structure, layout and thought flow, tone, vocabulary, diction, punctuation marks”. She added that how some young Nigerians speak at public leaves a lot to be desired as such she recommends that tertiary institutions should include business writing and workplace ethics in their finalyear curriculum to hone and prepare students for life after school. She said Young entrepreneurs need guidance on writing as it pertains to their business ventures: proposals, letters, tenders, and quotations. She became a communication coach to help individuals and corporate bodies communicate effectively, which in turn, impacts positively on their bottom line. “I help individuals and organisations grow and work their spoken and written communications skills. I also coach and tutor candidates for the IELTS exam. I like it when people put across their thoughts and ideas in clear unambiguous terms. How we communicate tells our audience a lot about how professional and serious-minded we are”, she explains.
For young people who want to become grammar coaches, she said they would need passion and zeal to want to help people in addition to having excellent communication skills. “They “T They hey also allso need nee eed d to take tak ake ke on courses that certifyy them to coach coac co ach h and and teach teac te ach h language lang la ngua uage ge and communication,, viz,, TESOL, CELTA, Cambridge courses for ((certificate) (c ertificate)) teachers and trainers. They can ca n also also make mak ake e a detour deto de tour to ur in Psychology, HRM, Business Management, etc. No knowledge a is waste” dGrammarQueen dGrammarQu Q een explains. ex plains. l
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Teen pregnancy, female genital mutilation still rife in Kaduna, C/River — Report By Francis Arinze Iloani A recent report has shown that teen pregnancy and female genital mutilation are among top sexual and reproductive health challenge confronting young people in Cross River, Kaduna and Ondo States. The report, tagged “Youth Sexual Health Alliance Situational Analysis Report, which was unveiled in Abuja this week by Education as Vaccine (EVA) showed that young people are exposed to sex early in life and do not have adequate access to contraceptives. The Executive Director of EVA, Olabukunola Williams, who was represented by Mr. Patrick Ewerem at the event, said there was need for increased awareness on the sexual and reproductive challenges of young people. He said most parents do not start sex education for their children on time and this creates challenges for the children. The report found that the average age at sexual debut is 15 in Cross River State and approximately 58 percent of young people aged 20 to 24 have had their first sexual
encounter within this age range. The report stated that a comprehensive knowledge about HIV prevention is limited to 26 percent of the 15 to 24 age group in Cross River. In Cross River, 32 percent of women aged 15 to 49 have experienced some form of female genital mutilation ranging from cutting with no flesh removed to infibulation. S i m i l a r l y , Approximately 52 per cent of youth, 15 to 24 use condoms with non-regular partners in Kaduna and only about 17 per cent of them engaged in highrisk sexual behaviors in the year preceding the survey. The report indicated that with the high numbers of adolescents and young women in marriages, it is not surprising that 21 percent of teenagers aged 15 to 19 have been pregnant in Kaduna. Only about 33 percent of young people in Ondo State engage in condom use with non- regular partners. In Ondo State, 39 per cent of ages 20-24 and 10 per cent of ages 15 to 19 respectively, reported sexual debut in those age brackets.
Group tasks FG on skill sets for scientific innovations By Abbas Jimoh A former Minister of Communication and Information, Frank Nweke-Junior, has urged the Federal Government to develop skill sets to sustain innovations and drive development in the country. He made the call in Abuja, at a media conference organised by iCreate Skill Fest, as part of activities for this year’s SkillsFest technical and vocational skill competition labeled “The Olympics of Technical Skills” coming up in Abuja in October 26-27. “The high level of unemployment in the country can be ameliorated if Government institutions recognise that technical and vocational skills are the bedrock for a thriving economy,” Nweke-Junior
said. Also, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) iCreate Skill Fest, Mr Bright JaJa, expressed optimism that a platform for Youth to showcase technical and vocational skills will empower Nigerian Youths to meet global standard. He said that the iCreate Skill Fest 2018 edition would host a participation of 150 competitors across 17 Skill Sets including tailoring, art, photography, web design, app development and graphics design among others. According to him, the government over the years had invested considerable efforts on improving university education with insignificant attention paid to technical and vocational education.
It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs - Jillian Michaels