Saturday 23 March 2013

An idle hand is the devil’s workshop



Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder because of its high unemployment rate.

Obasanjo who said this while delivering the 16th Annual Lecture of the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute in Ilorin, Kwara State on Thursday identified the development of the agricultural sector as not only capable of providing massive jobs for the country’s teeming youths but boosting foreign exchange earnings.

The Ota farmer said, “The number of Nigerian universities is going to about 150 now, we have a problem. The students coming out of the universities do not have hope of getting employment. This means we are sitting on a keg of gun powder. An idle hand is the devil’s workshop. But a hopeless idle hand is a tinder box.”

Obasanjo, who spoke on ‘Managing agriculture as a business: A practitioner’s perspective,’ said agriculture should be seen as business not a pastime requiring little or no business and management skills.

Obasanjo however added that the trend could be reversed if agrobusiness operators began to acquire management skills for their businesses.


Personally, I believe the phrase "An idle hand is the devil’s workshop" is what all leaders in Nigeria need to think about passionately if indeed they mean well for Nigeria. And also, it is a big question for all leaders and stakeholders in Nigeria to answer.... Do they want a developed Nigeria or a country that would be filled with crime's or other ill devices?.. Today is the time to answer the aforesaid question not tomorrow...

Please leave your comment.... Your opinion is always welcome!
God Bless Nigeria!

Saturday 2 March 2013

Can Freedom be free?



Can freedom be free, if yes what do you think can bring freedom to your door step. If not, what can we do to ensure freedom, peace and unity within ourselves?

Power and justice in negotiations

We can be in peace not only in our country but also with ourselves... We can bring to bear what it takes to be in one accord with our neighbours. "It is a win win situation". It is a price we can and have to pay... Let's make our country great and loveable, buy doing whatsoever it takes to be in unity with one another....

The bible say’s Make every effort to live in peace with all men Hebrews 12:14 , do your best to be at peace with all men. Nevertheless, I would advise you make use of negotiations when you meet with what seems to be a difficult situation. It is understandable and advisable to note that many see peace to be foolishness. But still you need to understand and discerned the intention and perception of a man before you take the next step..

“Negotiation” does not mean that the two sides sit down together on a basis of equality and talk through and resolve the differences that produced the conflict between them. Two facts must be remembered. First, in negotiations it is not the relative justice of the conflicting views and objectives that determines the content of a negotiated agreement. Second, the content of a negotiated agreement is largely determined by the power capacity of each side.

Several difficult questions must be considered. What can each side do at a later date to gain its objectives if the other side fails to come to an agreement at the negotiating table? What can each side do after an agreement is reached if the other side breaks its word and uses its available forces to seize its objectives despite the agreement?
A settlement is not reached in negotiations through an assessment of the rights and wrongs of the issues at stake. While those may be much discussed, the real results in negotiations come from an assessment of the absolute and relative power situations of the contending groups.

If an agreement comes, it is more likely the result of each side estimating how the power capacities of the two sides compare, and then calculating how an open struggle might end. Attention must also be given to what each side is willing to give up in order to reach agreement. In successful negotiations there is compromise, a splitting of differences. Each side gets part of what it wants and gives up part of its objectives.
Not everyone who uses the word “peace” wants peace with freedom and justice.
Hitler often called for peace, by which he meant submission to his will. A dictators’ peace is often no more than the peace of the prison or of the grave.

Strategy is concerned with whether, when, and how to fight, as well as how to achieve maximum effectiveness in struggling for certain ends. A strategy has been compared to the artist’s concept, while a strategic plan is the architect’s blueprint.

The oft quoted phrase “Freedom is not free” is true. No outside force is coming to give oppressed people the freedom they so much want and desire. People will have to learn how to take that freedom themselves.
If people can grasp what is required for their own liberation, they can chart courses of action which, can eventually bring them their freedom. Then, with diligence they can construct a new order and prepare for a better tomorrow.

I would like to conclude with the statement that was made recently by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, ... “Nobody will help Africa, nobody can help Africa and that is the truth. If we expect others from outside to come and help us, it is a second class help.

God Bless Nigeria !!!

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