This year, over the course of a specified timeframe, over one million expectant students will sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, popularly called JAMB after the agency in charge. When the results start rolling in, some will have cause for joy, while for some others, JAMB will “jam” them for yet another year. For the latter group, JAMB is a yearly story of wasted funds and unfulfilled dreams. Continue reading “Jammed by JAMB”
Category: Randoms
A Tale of Two Fortunes
When I started this blog, my creed was to describe “the world as I see it”. Looking at the over hundred posts since then, it appears that from my viewpoint, the world is political—very political. Most articles have been inspired by happenings in the political landscape. Today, I take an apolitical route. I write about two persons, or rather, two groups of persons, as each person represents more than one person’s experience. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Fortunes”
The Bad Bad West
“How una dey na? Una hear about the katakata for Zaria?”
“O boy! I hear am oh. Heard that the Army went up against a Shia group”
“What are you guys talking about?
“See this bros oh! U no hear say some people get mind attack Chief of Army Staff. Now Army wan use them act Odi and Zaki-Biam. Wetin dey vex me na say some people say na the West cause this wahala, say them dey back the Shiites to fight Islam.” Continue reading “The Bad Bad West”
#ParisAttacks: Lessons for Nigeria
The Paris attacks have come and gone, leaving in their wake a trail of blood—hundreds dead, hundreds more injured, and many more traumatized by the sad incident. Days after the attacks in Paris, bombs went off in the Nigerian cities of Kano and Yola. This time, the murderous Boko Haram group, in line with their oath of allegiance to the demonic ISIL, chose to continue their reign of terror with attacks on “soft targets” in public places. Continue reading “#ParisAttacks: Lessons for Nigeria”
#ParisAttacks: Matters Arising
Parisians were welcomed into this year with a deadly attack on popular satirist, Charlie Hebdo’s offices. This attack was followed by attacks on a Jewish shop and some public spaces. As the year ends, they have received an early wicked present—a horrendous mass attack. Continue reading “#ParisAttacks: Matters Arising”
Proud But without Pride
The paradoxical title ensued from a discussion with a friend. How can a person be described as being proud, yet not having pride? Is there more to the expression? Or is it just a play of words? Continue reading “Proud But without Pride”
So Quick a Year
On October 1, 2014, as Nigeria celebrated 54 years of independence, I published my first post on this blog. Today, a year later, I look back at a year in which my notebook became my friend. Continue reading “So Quick a Year”
October 1 is Christmas Day
When it’s Christmas season, one doesn’t need to be told. The decorations, the excitement that chokes the air, the giving of gifts, visits and lots more proclaim the Christmas season. Christmas is in December, right? What if you were told that for a community in northern Nigeria, October 1 has more “swag” than December 25? You would say it’s a Muslim community. Wrong! This community is more than 90% Christian. Yet for them, October 1 is “Christmas”. Continue reading “October 1 is Christmas Day”
Sins of a Teacher
The life of a teacher is quite rosy. Maybe it’s not, but that’s the idea I had about teachers. What do teachers even do? Come into a class, act like the know-it-all, dish out notes, classwork and assignments. Now that I’m wearing a teacher’s shoes, I see that there’s more than meets the eyes. Continue reading “Sins of a Teacher”
The Marriage Question
This article was adapted from a post I made in a WhatsApp group chat. The issue of marriage formed the cause of disagreement. The combatants could not agree on whether marriage is merely physical (Side 1) or both physical and spiritual (Side 2). After observing the discussion for a while, I decided to contribute to the discussion. This is my viewpoint.
Jilomes 