A Hundred Days of Kidnap: Chronicles of #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS

BringBackOurGirls hash tag, heralding the release kidnapped girls

Our daughters were taken captive a hundred days ago. Their exam gist and girly talks was silenced by evil menacing men who bundled and loaded them unto trucks late at night, their destination - Zambisa Forest (but are they really there?).

Their captors are terrorist, Islamic extremist who preach that western education (and probably any of its inputs) is evil and against the will of God. Their once gloriously expected destinies now lies in the hands of Boko Haram, the Nigerian government and pressure groups from the local and international scene.

Their cries has not gone unnoticed, although government took days in accepting the kidnapping of over 250  girls from the Chibok Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, the local scene swung into action, a “bring back our girls” campaign was launched (#BringBackOurGirls). The hash tag campaign has since gained attention, Prime ministers have carried it, first ladies, activist, super stars and celebrities, school girls and boys just to name a few. Social media has transformed how we Nigerians now speak. Today marks a hundred days of their kidnap.

A hundred days after, we can only boast of girls escaping off by themselves, no concrete action has been taken. Our military has not shown positive drive to bring back our girls, Chibok community itself has been invaded over and over since the kidnap by terrorist, the people say no one values their life.

Who should we be talking about? who is suffering the most from all these? Is it the girls, their parents, our government, us as a people, or even the terrorist? I ask myself, are we going to ever see these girls again? They may have been married off, raped, forcefully converted to Muslims or even killed, none of these options looks any more palatable, we (the parents, friends, Nigerians and international community and the writer too) only want to see our daughters again.

The psychological effect is disheartening; some of the escaped girls say they don’t ever want to go back to school. More villages has been destroyed, people in the North east, (sorry in Nigeria) now live in ‘the fear of Boko Haram’. Nowhere is safe any longer, I wonder if the grass is truly greener over the fence.

The harsh reality still looms, but we want to hope, yes hope against all hope. Our government is not giving hope, Boko Haram now dictates to us what we must do if we are ever to see our girls (sisters, friends, future brides, mothers and whatever destiny ever had in wait for them) again.

Malala’s recently visit helped shake things up, does this mean our own plea means nothing? Well, it’s no longer about who pleads; we just want our girls alive and back. Please bring back our girls, let us rejoice again, let smiles fill our faces –for the parents and families especially. Let us believe, let us have hope again in our government, in our collective voice, in our democracy and our God (whichever God you believe).

Federal government, International community, Nigerians and the families, let us pray, let us hope, let us do what we can humanly do and let us keep watch because if there is a God, and there truly is one – he sleeps not over this matter. Our girls shall return one day, yes they shall come to us albeit with testimonies and stories of how they were saved.

Let us continue to mount pressure on Government (in a civilized manner) and then continue to keep hope alive - #BringBackOurGirls.

Boosting Your Memory: Five Food that Can Help

Hello readers, its #MemoryFriday again, here are five foods or fruits that you should eat to boost your memory.

Memory boosting foods

Image Source:

Daniela Do Prado Fre

Interview with Adejoke Adewuyi, a First Class French Graduate of University of Lagos (UNILAG)

Joke Adewuyi, a French graduate

Hello dear readers, today's post is a bit different, I am conducting an interview with a French scholar from one of Nigeria's top university. She studied French language, a course that many admission seekers in Nigeria won't love to settle for. Read her story.

Hello Joke, how are you doing, thank you for honouring our request for this interview.
 I am glad and equally grateful for the opportunity to share my story.

Can we meet you
I am Adejoke Motunrayo Adewuyi, a French graduate from the prestigious University of Lagos

 how was it like studying French seeing that Nigeria is not a francophone country?

(hmm) it was very challenging, infact in the beginning I had great fears, a lot of questions ran through my mind, but I thank God that today it is a different story

What kind of fears, can you share with us?

fears of coping with the various courses since they are art related and I was a science student, you know courses like History, Literature and the likes.

That leads me to my next question, why French?

(hmm) it was a redirection and it is divine. I actually wanted to study medicine, but all efforts to gain admission proved abortive. It was not that I did not pass the exams, I did pass them well but I was never given the admission. I then settled down to pray and that was how the redirection came.

You must be a very spiritual woman. Did UNILAG meet or exceed your expectations?

yes in a way, Unilag did meet my expectations.

How were you able to make such a shift in area of study since you were science, especially in such short time?

I would thank God first in this because he really helped me. Secondly I was very determined and I worked hard. I made up my mind to be the one of the best and God helped me.

Thank God for his faithfulness, what activities were you involved in while in school?

I was a member of the French club

Any other

I used to act stage drama, sing and recite poems in French. I was involved in spiritual activities as well and yeah, I worked too

Wow, tell us one play you acted – a summary

Ok, ‘Trois pretendants, un mari’ by Guillaume Oyono Mbia. It is a drama. ‘Three suitors, one husband’. Funny enough, I acted a male role –the village chief. We didn’t have enough males.

What kind of work was it and how did you balance everything?

I worked as a partime French teacher in two schools, as a home lesson teacher and also as work/study participant on campus

That’s terrific and very industrious, you must be very hardworking

A lot of people tell me so, I don’t just believe in idleness

And beautiful as well, you could pass for a pageant queen

(smiles), thank you

What is the career prospect for French graduate like you in Nigeria?

There are a lot of them, teaching, banking, tourism, administrative capacities in international organisations etc. But there is a problem, apart from teaching or lecturing, one might need to get additional qualification to boost his/her certificate.

What are the challenges of studying French or a foreign language in a Nigerian University

The first challenge is the environment. Nigeria is Anglophone; therefore the platform to practice what you are being taught in the class is not really there. Second, it’s the issue of audio visual equipment. Since the environment does not offer a favourable platform, good audio visuals ought to be put in place to enhance students’ listening, comprehension and oral abilities.

So what did you graduate with?

By the grace of God, I graduated with a First Class.

 you must be a scholar, what was your motivation

(inhales) firstly, there were people who had graduated with first class in my department, though they were few. So I told myself, if those ones could achieve it, then I can do likewise and even more. Another motivating factor were my parents. They believed so much in me and I was determined not to let them down. There also was a man of God I respect so much, he finished with a first class and I told myself “if he could with all the spiritual activities and other things he was involved with, then I can achieve same feat”.

The man of God graduated from my school, he is Dr D. K Olukoya, the G. O of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.

So what are you doing now and what is next for Joke

Well I just returned from my Youth Service. I am currently processing my Masters (M.A) programme. Before then I will be working on some of my unfinished literary works.

Any advice for our readers

My advice for them is that they should acknowledge God first in all you do because with him you can never miss it. Secondly put in your best because anything worth doing at all is worth doing well.

We hear you are also the CEO of a small company, La Lumiere. Tell us about it.

Yes I am, it’s called La Lumiere , it is s language consultancy firm. It handles every issue pertaining to language for both individuals, private and public organisations. We offer both French and English services. Our services include translation, writing, editing, public speaking, teaching of French language, and training of French teachers. La Lumiere is also into supplies of language materials for schools

 
Thank you so much, how can people contact you
For now I can be reached on Facebook Joke Adewuyi  , adewuyijoke9 on Twitter and Adejoke Adewuyi  on Linkedin. I am hoping to break into the blogging scene very soon as well by launching a site for LaLumiere.

Joke, it was so nice to have you here. Thanks for telling us about yourself and your goals. Best of luck! Readers, thanks for joining us as well, and if you would like to encourage Joke in her goals, please send her a message. 

Thanks for stopping by!

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Ten Secrets on How to Enjoy Academic Blogging

Academic blogging is a valuable part of the wider ecology of academics, with the potential for engagement, outreach and reinforcing academic impact.Blogging can be a useful tool for information dissemination and fun, but blogging can take its toll on individuals. Here are ten things bloggers should keep in mind if they want to enjoy what they do.

1) Write about yourself and your life. People are just as interested in researchers (and their activities) as their research also write about what goes wrong as well as right – the human story of failed experiments is interesting but rarely gets told.
2) Find your blogging voice. Don't worry if it takes a year or more. Your blog will evolve as you discover your style, which might be short topical pieces or long-form reflective essays (or a combination of the two). Read other academic blogs and you'll quickly see the range of voices people use.
3) Be clear what your blog is for. Are you writing to share your musings on life, the universe and everything, or a specific theme or topic? Again let the scope evolve; it can be difficult to start blogging with a mission statement, but it is useful to start out by thinking what you would like to achieve with your blog.
4) Blog as yourself. While there are circumstances in which blogging anonymously is necessary, in general it is better to be clear and open about yourself and your academic position. It's also important to make clear whether you are writing on behalf of your university.
5) Think about how controversial you want to be. Calibrate the degree of controversy according to risk (especially for an early career researcher compared to a tenured professor); in general, only be prepared to put something on a blog that you'd be prepared to say to someone's face (or shout out in a crowded room). Courting controversy can be fine if you are a senior academic, but be mindful that your position lends a level of authority to what you write – so make sure you're happy for your words to be quoted.
6) Remember: a blogpost is a publication. If you are writing about ongoing research which is not yet published or patented, then be mindful of the dangers of prematurely revealing details of potential inventions or intellectual property.
7) Let your university know about your blog. Have a chat with your line manager about your intention to start an academic blog. You might not need their permission, but it's best if your blog doesn't come as a surprise to your manager or institution at an inopportune time.
8) Think about how often you want to blog. If your blog acquires a following then your readers will look forward to your next post, so don't put yourself under pressure by creating expectations of, say, a blogpost every few days when you know you can't keep it up in the longer term.
9) Use social media to promote your posts. Twitter is an easy way to tell the world that you've just posted a new piece on your blog, opening up wider interaction and engagement.
10) Blog because you want to. Don't blog because you have to – it should be fun, not a chore! There are already plenty of onerous tasks for an academic; this should not become one of them.

This article was first posted at the The Guardian