7 Things Nigerian Students Can do While ASUU is on Strike

It has been a few years since students in Nigerians had to deal with long-term strikes; and just at the moment we thought the era of students having to stay an extra 2 to 3 years in school due to unnecessary strikes by championed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was over, they strike again.

It certainly felt like Deja Vu when the National President Of The Union, Dr. Biodun Ogunyemi, announced this on Monday at a meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU in Abuja that there would be an indefinite strike and that during the strike, there will be no teaching, no examination and no attendance of statutory meetings of any kind in any of the union’s branches across the country.

There is some value in ASUU going on strike. They hope that issues such as payment of fractions/ non-payment of salaries, as well as Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); refusal to release the operational license of NUPEMCO; and the non-implementation of the provisions of the 2014 Pension Reform Act with respect to retired professors and their salaries, will be sorted.

It is easy for affected students to get into a lazy mode, where they sit around doing nothing or just meshing the entire time into one long continual nap fest…wasting valuable time and making no positive strides in their life all through the period of the strike.

If you are one of the affected students and you are wondering how you could possibly make this “indefinite” time worth your while, you may want to consider a handy list of helpful suggestions.

1. Start a Business

There is no age too young for becoming an entrepreneur. Use this period at home to start a small business. You could either sell products or render a service. The good thing is that you do not necessarily need a large capital to get yourself started. You also have the social media as a very important promotional tool.

You could start a home cleaning service or food delivery service…there are so many options.

Managing a business gives you a lot of opportunities to gain a lot of experience with will be beneficial when you eventually conclude your studies.

2. Learn a new skill

You finally have the time to learn a new skill. It could be photography, jewelry making, learning to play an instrument like the saxophone or guitar, baking, writing and producing music or playing a sport like football, tennis or volleyball. Take the time to learn it and get really good at it. Not only does it give you an edge and provide opportunities for a side hustle, it will help build your self-confidence and give you value for time invested.

3. Enroll for a professional certification course

The university might be closed but there are other avenues for learning. You can enroll in short courses online or for professional classes that will grant you certain qualifications that may become relevant in future. Even if you do not have the money to pay for these courses, you can go for free ones on portals like Coursera or Edx.
You don’t necessarily have to get a certificate; the idea is to acquire new knowledge that will be relevant to your career goals or aspirations.

4. Get a job

While you are at home, you might as well make a little money. Get a job as an intern or assistant in an office or company. You can even get a job as a paid apprentice at a salon or creative studio. Even more, you may decide to go for something freelance like writing or blogging.

The beauty of the internet is that you can get connected to so many job opportunities without necessarily breaking a sweat. The money made may not be the kind that will set you up for life, but it may be enough for extra chills…and then again, working would be fun and educational. You learn the value of time and money and attain the essence of work ethic and work culture.

5. Volunteer

Volunteering is a great way to give back to the society or just do some good with your time. You can volunteer at NGOs or religious organizations, where the aim is to help others and better the society.

You could also get involved in a number of empowerment programs tailored for young people where certain skillsets you possess may be needed.

There is a measure of accomplishment and sense of fufilment that comes with serving humanity. It also exposes you to great opportunities like training, travel e.t.c.

6. Travel

There is never a bad time to travel. As a student, you may not have a lot of resources available for long leisurely trips, but you can visit another state within the country or just other cities within your state. Travelling can be fun and educational at the same time for students.

It is also a great way for students to learn more about the world around you and open yourself to alternative cultures tradition and lifestyles. You could travel to other African cities or continents if you can afford it or you have a sponsor as well. The important thing though, is that you keep your ear on the ground while on your travels, so you are well informed when the strike is called off.

7. Attend seminars and personal development events

The period at home maybe offer a great opportunity to improve on your social skills. Attend conferences and seminars as well as events. It does not have to be professional or vocational seminars or events. It could be events that offer opportunities to explore your hobbies or just enjoy yourself. Also, it offers opportunities for networking and exposes you to new connections. It could be book readings, slam poetry competitions, meetups, concerts e.t.c

The truth is that being on an “indefinite” strike sucks; however, being positive about how you spin it, could make the time really worth your while. Can you think of other ways students can engage themselves pending when ASUU calls off the strike?

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The German Bundesliga 2017/2018 Season Preview

The Bundesliga, or the German Federal League, is the premier domestic football event in Germany which decides who the undisputed champion of Germany is. This week marks the beginning of the 55th league and there are many reasons why you should look forward to this main event.

The Past

Ever since its birth in 1963, there has been one team that has dominantly swooped the most number of titles on its shelves — FC Bayern Munich (26 time champions). This renowned football club has been the face of the tournament for years now considering it has won the previous five championships undisputedly. The end of the tournament decides which teams will go out to compete in the Europeans league, so it is essentially the gateway to greater national representation.

The tournament is also famous for being the most ‘packed’ footballing event because on average, the attendance is very high. This could have something to do with the fact that most of the games are scheduled on weekends, but we know Germany loves football d and that is evident in the Bundesliga!

What’s In It This Year?

You can expect some highly professional and heart-pumping sporting spirit in stadiums throughout the course of the 34 matches in the Bundesliga. Here are a few highlights you should look forward to this year:

New Signups

James Rodriguez and Corentin Tolisso will be the superstars backing the favorites Bayern Munich (yet again). The lad from Real Madrid and the Ligue 1 hero have been two of the hottest signups this summer, and anyone wishing to sway the title away from these fierce competitors will need to produce nothing short of a miracle.

Dortmund Changes Coach

Dortmund is aching to finally settle the score with Bayern Munich after five long years, and will be looking forward to the guidance from their new coach Peter Bosz. The Dutchman will surely spice things up and make the front lines very heated.

Lots of Potential

It is being predicted that this year the cut-off will not be as easy to predict because half a decade of lopsided results in the Bundesliga has encouraged all 18 clubs to make the necessary changes needed to compete in a much fiercer manner. Each team that was not able to make it to the top seven last year will give its best shot to redeem itself and land a spot among the tops.

Video Assistants

If you are someone who gets deeply annoyed every time a referee makes an illogical or impractical decision, then the Bundesliga has listened to your cries. This year marks the introduction of video assistants on field who will make sure that the accuracy of decisions made can never be questioned.

Who Will Win?

The statistics favour FC Bayern Munich, but hey, it’s a sport and nothing is decided until the match is over. But one thing is for sure, there will be a lot of power packed matches to see in the 2017-18 German Bundesliga. You can check the odds and bet on Bundesliga with William Hill, UK’s top online bookmaker. So, don’t miss it!

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English Premier League 2017/2018 Season Preview

With the Premier league 2017/2018 season starting this week August 11, 2017, Champions Chelsea kicks off their title defense with a home clash against Burnley while last season runner up, Tottenham Hotspur will open their campaign at the St. James’ Park against the promoted Newcastle United. Jose Mourinho of Manchester United and the Gunners enjoy home comfort on the opening weekend with Manchester entertaining West Ham and Arsene Wenger boys welcoming Leicester city to the Emirate Stadium. With Liverpool traveling to Watford and Crystal's palace welcoming promoted Huddersfield to the big time.

Arsenal

Arsenal and Leicester city will officially open the 2017/2018 Premier League season at the Emirates Stadium on Friday when the new Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette figures to be a key player. Such a level of investment was an inferred acknowledgment from Arsenal about their lack of consistent firepower up front. It is a very sensible admission since Oliver Giroud, Danny Welbeck, and Theo Walcott have all been inconsistent when played through the middle. Spending such huge cash also showed the faith Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has in Lacazette to deliver the goals.

Manchester United

Lukaku must prove he can justify the initial £75 million United paid to pry him away from Everton. Jose Mourinho has already made it clear he wants more from the attacker he once rejected when in charge of Chelsea. However, United’s problem last season was scoring against “lesser team.” A home draw against Stoke City, Burnley and Bournemouth proved particularly damaging. With Lukaku fondness for scoring against so-called “lesser” teams could just be what United need as they bid for the title during Mourinho’s second season in charge of the club.

Chelsea

Antonio Conte Chelsea spent £100million signing striker Alvaro Morata and midfielder Bakayoko from Real Madrid and Monaco respectively. Antonio Conte has warned that the fitness level of his club-record signing needs to get better after featuring in pre- season and community shield against Arsenal. Morata made his first start for Chelsea in a 2-1 international champions cup defeat to Inter Millan in Singapore. And Conte accepted Morata has work to do on his fitness following the community shield display against Arsenal with a penalty miss. New signing Bakayoko is missing out of display for now due to injury. Chelsea believes Bakayoko is the natural replacement for Nemanja Matic, who left Chelsea for Manchester United in a £40 million deal.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has plenty of options in his defensive line ahead of the new season, and there will be strong competition for places as the premier leagues kick off this weekend. With the addition of the French international Benjamin Mendy from Monaco for a fee of £52 million to their defensive line, and also Kyle Walker for a fee of £50 million from Tottenham Hotspur, who has been one of the best right backs in the premier league in recent the year. City also brought Danilo to the squad from Real Madrid for a fee of £26.5 million, with Danilo ability to play on both the right and left is a major asset to Guardiola after he allowed four full- back to leave. City have so many options to call upon out wide the new season with Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling will be jostling for spots on the flanks, while the new signing Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus can also do excellent jobs on either side.

Liverpool

Liverpool on their way to success as Jurgen Klopp’s side have added some interesting players to his team. Fans are hopeful for Klopp’s team this season with the signing of Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita, Dominic Solanke and Virgil van Dijk. With Liverpool kicking off their 2017/2018 campaign against Watford in an away game this Sunday.

Everton

Wayne Rooney is back to the club he emerged as a 16 years old boy wonder in 2002, now the 31 years is back to play for his former team in the 2017/2018 premier league season.

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6 Indicators You Are Drinking Too Much Alcohol

There is absolutely nothing wrong with desiring to end the day, especially since it is Friday, by downing several bottles of your preferred drink. The problem here is when you become attached to alcohol. This is called addiction. As such, here are some obvious signs you are drinking too much.

You need alcohol to feel confident

The truth is the higher the amount of alcohol you drink, the higher your self-confidence. Sadly, this intoxicated courage and confidence can be quickly replaced with the fear of the actions that show that you are under the influence.

You abandon your responsibilities to drink

One sure sign that your drinking is becoming a problem is when you begin to leave your responsibilities at work or home to drink. Additionally, you call in sick repeatedly because of a hangover. You may have a drinking problem.

You self-medicate

Your alcoholic problems can result in self-medication because your life is tied to the bottle. If you find yourself reaching for a drink when you start feeling down, it may be time to take a look at the causes behind your feelings instead of covering them up.

People close to you are concerned

When your relationship with those close to you gets affected because of your drinking, there is a problem. Those close to you may have commented about your drinking too much to the level that you begin to hide your drinking problems. This is a red flag.

You have accepted your alcoholism

If you have a problem with alcohol, you will become very comfortable with it, You no longer feel embarrassed with your drinking. As this tolerance increases, you will soon see alcohol as your solution for everything.

Your life is all about alcohol

If you always have the feeling that any activity you engage in must include alcohol, this could be a sign that you'have become dependent on alcohol. The more you drink, the more your blood pressure rises.
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The Wahala of Dating Outside Your Social Class

We grew up watching classics like Cinderella, Coming to America, Pretty Woman, Nollywood’s Violated and a couple of other movies where love conquered the social class divide.

Fast forward to 2017, the Internet rules; anyone can meet anyone, and nobody kicks up a fuss about cross-class relationships or marriages anymore. It is not considered overtly scandalous. We no longer factor it in when considering the root of our relationship problems, and we look to psychology or gender norms instead when trying to figure out why our partner is being an ass. We pretend that we live in a classless society where background does not matter as much as present compatibility. Things are changing and people’s classes are no longer inscribed in stone.

Believe it or not though, social class or shall we say socio-economic differences, still pose a very difficult challenge in relationships today. Anyone who has dated someone outside their social class can affirm that there are strange tensions and inevitable speed bumps that come with these kinds of relationships. It can be fraught with complications.

For instance, your boyfriend could be from a high-class, wealthy family while you come from a working-class family with less money. He travels a lot and has been to all these places around the world just for fun, while you have never crossed the borders of Nigeria. You start to think you cannot keep up with him because you have to be extremely careful with money. Also, you know that the only way both of you could travel together on a regular basis is if he pays for you, and that just seems wrong.

Likewise, it could be the other way round and you are the girl from an upper-middle-class family, while your man has a working class background. Of course, financial equality does not mean cultural equality, so you wonder why he attaches too much importance to simple things like good food or designer labels. He, on the other hand, gets exasperated by your easy-come-easy-go spending attitude.

A couple of days ago, while having drinks with some friends at Intercontinental hotel (which turned out to be a horrible experience, as the place is nothing like a 5 star hotel…or even a 4 star -the food is substandard and the roof of the bar leaks), a friend mentioned her recent experience on a date. She had gone out with a guy who, although was wealthy, obviously had a working-class background. Being a girl brought up in an upper-middle-class home, the first thing she noticed was the huge gap in their personalities. According to her, his mentality was very different from hers. While he had asked her to pick any venue -a way to let her know he could afford her tastes, he had hinted on the food being overpriced (although, he could clearly afford it) and exhibited terrible table manners. Also, he had felt the need to talk about his achievements and how he had risen above all …as though she made him feel insecure, and he needed a form of validation from her. Again, there was the fact that his diction was flawed, and their experiences growing up were very different.

Of course, her intention was not to ridicule the guy. She had shared her experience to find out if her declining a second date with the guy and refusing to speak to him again afterward portrayed her as being a snob. Another friend who was out with us, *Bisi, jumped in and assured her that she made the right call nipping it all in the bud – she was better off with someone in her class.

Bisi spoke from experience, seeing as she had married into a super wealthy home despite being from a lower middle-class home. Prior to her marriage there had been endless disputes over her husband marrying down, and her family’s wealth being all too recently acquired. According to her, while cross-class pairings or relationships seemed egalitarian, it was complicated and required a lot of work. Bisi stated that stereotypical class prejudices are real – in any cross-social class relationship, both parties would have differing views, beliefs, attitudes, and practices on things such as child-rearing, money management, career advancement, how to spend leisure time e.t.c. This would go on to stir feelings of insecurity, resentment, usually in the partner on the “lower” side of this difference. And as a result, there will be a lot of negative pressure, tension, conflict as well as a sort of imbalance in the relationship, making it difficult for the couple to last long or even survive.

Bisi went on to share some of her experiences in marriage which all seemed a little incredible, and in between laughs, it dawned on me that I’d never dated anyone outside of my socioeconomic strata, which I’d describe as middle class. I have never been with any one of the glitterati nor have I been with a blue collar. Obviously, I have nothing against it, but it certainly would be quite a chore building a relationship with someone from a dramatically different social background, wouldn’t it? Sure, all relationships take work, but with a combination maturity and a willingness to healthily compromise, you can overcome any relationship problem. However, it is better to opt for one which isn’t already threatened by the boundaries of class at the initial point…don’t you think?

Have you ever dated someone with a richer or poorer background than yours? What were the issues? How did it work out?

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