Fine, alot of youth-driven initiatives are on to change our world. If you ever have the oppurtunity to be in their meeting, you'll understand what they go through before they come out at all to act.

For the organizations that have been very active, it is not by virtue of how large their membership are, but the passion driven spirit of a limited few. I wrote a poem i called clumsy aspirations, and it what led me it was alot ao visions that I felt, at tat point, i wanted to achieve. I sat and reasoned, then it dawned on me that when there is too much to do, Im often will not be able to do much before time retires.

This is a major challenge of most of the individual strengths that we have propelling these groups. Most of these people are so over-ambitious that they get little done but do gross talking.

Most times at meetings, it is talk and talk with flinching and excusses when actions are needed. this sadly, as only driven such groups concerned, a few or even negligible distance forward.

I implore youths to do less of taklking, do much of meditative thinking and aot morem of focused and objective actions.

Remember, "We can stay where we want to if we are ready to pay what it takes to." {ibukun Olagbemiro}.

While you talk the talk, let us importantly stage the drama and eventually take the worthy steps to action.

Exams are signaling in my school (LADOKE AKINTOLA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, LAUTECHOGBOMOSO, OYO STATE, NIGERIA), and expectedly the pressure is on. Alot of students falling sick, tests emanating from different angles and most of all (at least in my school), we are just starting and ending some lectures.

Some of this late coming and sometimes non-chalant lectures are expressly delievering their lectures with the attitude of expecting the studdents to grab magnetically.

What practically follow is that the tests and exams often come determinly diffficult to pass. But students always strive harder to get meaningful grades.

The heart lanceting part of the ordeal is the inputing of the results. How can you explain the wrong input of your result and the subsequent ineptitude plea of the Exam Officers that it is beyond their power to correct a mistake they outrightly made? This is becoming a norm, especially in the Faculty of Basic Medical Science.

What I likened it to was a surgeon performing an operation and cutting off the wrong vein or muscle, and he comes out to say; "I 'm so sorry, I mistakingly cut off the Jugular Vein of my patient. And now I've lost him."

What should be done for such a surgeon, I think will do for this Career suffocating officers.

The effect of this is some students actually giving up to give their best. Wrong focus , attitude, etc, sets in. Thus the subsequentstraying in asome of these helpless students.

We hope things don't continue with this trend, and wish all students of this Faculty and school at large a resounding success in their exams...against all odds.

I had a younger brother and four of his friends come with Mum to Ogbomoso, Nigeria,(where i'm presently schooling) yesterday. They actually came to resume at their new Senior Secondary School all the way from Ibadan (South West Nigeria).

I called my younger brother and asked him a question i've asked him Alot of times before now. His response, though completely different from what he use to tell me, I was very unhappy about a situation I've being trying to help for some fairly good period of time but have made little progress.

Answering my uninteresting enquiries, he displeasing told me he was decide this time with his response earlier. This prompted me to inquire into the decisions of the rest of his peers with regards to what I'd previously asked my little brother. And guess what? Not one of them disappointed me as they gave expected answers.

All of them wanted to be in science class and four of them wanted to be medical doctors in future. But that was not 75% of them would have gone for. What had influenced their deciosion was majorly their parents' wishes and peer influence.

In a career talk show organized by my secondary school's Alumni early this year, at Oritamefa Baptist Model School, in Oyo state, Nigeria, 85% of the most senior students are hoping to pursue a career decided by their parents and influenced by their peers. With many young people around me, the story is not different.

With th present obvious shift of the world from Industrial Age to Information Age, will this kids be able to fit into the fast approaching world in few years to come? Sad it is to note that most parents even after living for more than 15 years with their kids cannot conclude on what they like to do. In other words, it is not with the knowledge of councelling that this is done, but with obsolete intuition that that is the only way they can be secured in future.

Without being bias, they are often always wrong because today, most students and youth are going all the way to do things that are immiscible with the courses they offer in school. For instance, many students are good fashion designers today, and they are just counting days to get out of school and start their business. many students like this are studying disciplines that are contrary to their parents dictates.

In my own little way, i try to organize career talk shows so as to enlighten this kids. They need to be allowed to follow thair heart. Or better still, the services of a councellor be employed, and this, many schools (Primary And Secondary) in Nigeria lack.

The establishment of functioning and effective Guidiance and Councelling Unit in Nigerian schools will help check this problem

Millions of money had been gulped. Despite the various events organized in more than two decades, slightly-apparent improvements are just being observed. And just when the world could exhale for progress, a tertiary institution of less than six years of existence somewhere in the tropics of West Africa looms to fracture the sigh of success. Or whatelse could wecall the MANDATORY HIV/PREGNANCY SCREENING allegedly demanded by the Convenant University, Otta,Ogun State, of some graduating students?

The recent “Towards a Total Graduate Scheme” of the school which is the disdainful umbrella sheltering the future-suffocating,mandatory HIV screening is too minute, logically, to defend the screening in question.

The National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA), which is the the umbrella body for other HIV/AIDS oriented program does not in any regard compell any organized body to enforce test on people, though it is worthwhile to know ones status.

According to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 17 (3) (c),provides that “All citizens, without discriminationagainst any group whatsoever, have oppurtunity for securing adequate means of livelihood as well as adequate oppurtunities to secure suitable employment.” There is no soothsaying that can guarntee indiscrimination after the screening in question. Thus the section of the Supreme Instrument of the country is disregarded. Even the Government Policy on HIV/AIDS is based on the principles of Human Rights, Social Justice and Equity.

This ill-fated scheme of Convenant University should be aborted with no flinch. Sequel to this schem, I want to call the attention of people who are against stigmatization that there are whispers that some firms are requiring intending staffs to go on mandatory HIV test, after which the are turned down if infected. Lets say no to stigmatization.

People living with HIV are not sentenced to death. It is just like malaria or any other infection.

LET’S SAY NO!!!!!!!!!!!! TO STIGMA

Region :None
Country :Nigeria
Topic :Health, HIV/AIDS, Fellowships and Awards

27/08/2007
Nigerian reporters who cover HIV and AIDS issues can submit their best work to the Red Ribbon Awards, organized by Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS). Deadline: September 28.
Stories should have been broadcast or published from November 1, 2006, to August 31, 2007. There are various categories for reporting, features and commentary, from print, radio and TV journalists. Each participant can submit up to two entries. There are cash prizes worth up to NGN100,000 (about US$790).
For details, contact O’Femi Kolawole of JAAIDS at ofemi@nigeria-aids.org or visit http://www.nigeria-aids.org/.