Nigeria News
The Significance Of 30 Years In Human Life
By John Tosin Ajiboye
The attainment of 30 years is a very significant stage in man’s life because at 30, one is no more a child but a young man or woman. The 30th birthday is special. One is officially a mature and responsible adult who has the necessary wisdom to make important decisions in life. The 30th birthday heralds one’s adult status with measured indulgence.
In the Bible time, the age of 30 is a year of a major breakthrough when some certain individual came into limelight and begin to reign.
For instance, at age 30 Joseph the 11th child of Jacob became a Prime Minister in Egypt (Gen. 41:46). Saul became the first king of Israel at the age of 30 (1 Sam. 13:1) (NIV). David succeeded Saul as the second King of Israel when he was 30 years old (2 Sam. 5:4). Last but not the least, our Lord Jesus Christ started his ministry when he clocked 30 years. (Luke 3:23).
In the same vein, things were very good for our forefathers in the olden days, in Nigeria. Most of them that were literate got the best education both at home and abroad under the colonial rule and this made them to come into limelight at the tender age of their lives.
For instance, Chief Anthony Enahoro moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence when he was 30 years in 1953. General Yakubu Gowon became the military Head of State when he was 32 years old in 1966.
But in Nigeria of today, things are no longer the same; some 30 years old youths are still struggling to get their BSc. or HND in some higher institutions. Some are in labour market seeking employment. Some are still living and being fed by their parents. On the other hand, some people in their 30s are Boko Haram members; some are chiefs among kidnappers and armed robbers while some are serving their jail terms either at home or abroad. And fortunately some few lucky ones are gainfully employed and happily married. However, regardless of the condition one may find himself as a youth in his thirties, it is good to know that God has a good plan for everybody and it is His (God) will for every 30 years old man or woman to enter into their calling in life and start manifesting. No matter how favourable or unfavourable the environment is, Nigerian youths and other African youths who have attained or attaining 30 years of age must rouse the giant in them. They must pray that their pharaoh will have a dream that only their Joseph can interpret. They must cry unto God for their Esther to become a Queen. They must seek the face of God to bring them into limelight and enter into their calling in life. This is very necessary because 30 years is the appropriate age for one to start fulfilling his mission in life. One ought to have discovered his gift/talents at the earlier stage and start manifesting them at 30.
The parents must not leave their 30 years old children alone especially those that are still struggling. They must stand by them as Solomon’s mother stood by him until he became king at 30. (1 King 1:15-48). They must not stop praying for their children and giving them the moral and financial support they need.
The society must restore her societal norms and values so as to encourage her youths. It is unfortunate that most of the youths that are supposed to be a blessing to the society have become a menace because of what our society has turned to. For instance, some of the politicians remember the youths only when they want to rig elections and when they want to attack their opponents. That is why the majority of Boko Haram members are young men in their twenties and thirties.
The employers of labour on their part will not employ the youths unless they receive bribe from them and probably sleep with the female applicants. That is why the level of corruption is increasing day by day.
Therefore for Nigeria and other African nations to start getting the best from their youths they must invest in them and make the environment conducive for them to rise. The politicians must start mentoring and nurturing the youths so that they can take over from them in some years to come as tested and trusted leaders. The employers of labour must offer available jobs to the deserving youths on merit basis.
Governments at all levels on their parts must wake up to their duties. They must always think and act on how to encourage and empower their youths by all their policies. The leaders at the executive and legislative arms of government must be willing to make sacrifice by reducing their salaries and allowances to the barest minimum to cater for the youths.
The ongoing constitution review/amendment must allow youths from age 30 and above to occupy political offices either appointed or elected. Section 131(b) of the Nigerian Constitution which says “A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he has not attained the age of forty years” must be changed to thirty years. For the post of Governor the eligible age should also be 30 years as against 35 years as stated in Section 177(b) of our 1999 constitution.
Another part of the constitution that must be amended is Section 146(5) which reads “No person shall be appointed as a minister of the government of the federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives” because one of the qualifications for the election as a member of House of Representatives is the attainment of 35 years of age, according to Section 65 (1a). Therefore the new constitution must accommodate the youths of 35 years and above to contest for the post of the President, Governor and be appointed for the post of Minister of Government of federation and Commissioners at the state level.
The youths of Nigeria are tired of being used as political thugs or area boys. If our fathers were able to rule/lead this country when they were younger, we are also ready this time around not to rule but to lead. If the youth in other lands are leading in their countries we are also able and ready to take the leadership position of our fatherland.
Nigerian youths are educated, experienced, bold and courageous to hold any appointed or elected post if given the chance.
Thirty years is age of maturity, enthronement and beginning of fulfilment and I call on everyone that has attained/ is attaining this age to put away childish attitude and start behaving like a man. Those that have made it at this age or earlier must not forget to help their peers that are still struggling because no one knows tomorrow. And those that are still struggling at 30 should not give up. They must shun any illegal business that can spoil their reputation or career. They must be focused and be optimistic that the future is bright.
According to Harvey Allen, “the only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits”.
•Ajiboye wrote from Osogbo, Osun State, e-mail: [email protected].
——————————————————————————————————————————————-
Posted in Nigeria News. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: PM News
DisNaija.Com publishes regular posts on Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Online Nigeria Gist.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Nigeria News
Follow @Dis_Naija
Your Opinion Counts. Be sure To Leave A Comment, If You Have Any.
Please Like, Share or Tweet. Your Support Is Appreciated.
The Kano State Government on Saturday said it has transferred 1,098 ‘almajiris’ to different states of the country.
The commissioner for local government, Murtala Garo, disclosed this while presenting a report before the state’s task force on COVID-19 at the government house, Kano.
Almajiris are children who are supposed to be learning Islamic studies while living with their Islamic teachers. Majority of them, however, end up begging on the streets of Northern Nigeria. They constitute a large number of Nigeria’s over 10 million out-of-school children.
Mr Garo said the Kano government transported 419 almajiris to Katsina, 524 to Jigawa and 155 to Kaduna. He said all of them tested negative for coronavirus before leaving the Kano State.
Despite the coronavirus test done in Kano for the almajiris, the Jigawa government earlier said it would quarantine for two weeks all the almajiris that recently arrived from Kano.
Mr Garo said another 100 almajiris scheduled to be taken to Bauchi State also tested negative to COVID-19.
In a remark, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the COVID-19 situation in Kano was getting worse. He appealed for a collaborative effort to curtail the spread of the virus in the state.
Mr Ganduje, who commended residents for complying with the lockdown imposed in the state, said the decision was taken to halt the spread of the virus.
Kano State, as of Saturday night, has 77 coronavirus cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
The decision to transfer the Kano almajiris is part of the agreement reached between Northern governors that almajiris in each state be transferred to their states of origin.
However, even before the latest agreement by the governors, the Kano government had been transferring almajiris to other states and neighbouring countries after it banned street begging in the state, most populous in Northern Nigeria.
Despite the transfers, however, no concrete step has been taken to ensure such children do not return to Kano streets as there is freedom of movement across Nigeria although interstate travel was recently banned to check the spread of the coronavirus.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
By Ugochukwu Alaribe
Operatives of the Abia State Vigilante Service, AVS, popularly known as ‘Bakassi Boys’ have arrested 24 market women hidden in a container truck, at Ekwereazu Ngwa, the boundary community between Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The market women, said to be from Akwa Ibom State, were on their way to Aba, when they were arrested with the truck driver and two of his conductors for violating the lockdown order by the state government.
Driver of the truck, Moses Asuquo, claimed he was going to Aba to purchase stock fish, but decided to assist the market women, because they were stranded.
A vigilante source told Sunday Vanguard that the vehicle was impounded while the market women were sent back to Akwa Ibom State.
Commissioner for Home Land Security, Prince Dan Okoli, who confirmed the incident, said that smuggling of people into the state poses great threat to the state government’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID- 19.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
Operatives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba of the Lagos State police command have arrested one Mrs Nene Steve for allegedly killing her maid, Joy Adole
The maid was allegedly beaten to death by Nene for requesting for her salary at their residence located at 18, Ogundola Street, Bariga area in Lagos.
Narrating the incident, Philips Ejeh, an elder brother to the deceased said that he was sad when they informed him that his sister was beaten to death.
He explained that the deceased was an indigene of Benue State brought to Lagos through an agent and started working with her as a maid in January 2020.
‘’She reported that her boss refused to pay her and anytime she asked for her salary she will start beating her.
She was making an attempt to leave the place but due to the total lockdown she remained there until Sunday when her boss said she caught her stealing noodles and this led to her serious beating and death,’’ Ejeh said.
He called on Lagos State Government and well- meaning people in the country to help them in getting justice for the victim.
The police spokesman, Bala Elkana, stated that the woman and her husband came to Bariga Police Station to a report that their house girl had committed suicide.
Detectives were said to have visited the house and suspected foul play with the position of the rope and bruises all over the body which confirmed that the girl had been tortured to death and the boss decided to hang up the girl to make it look like suicide.
He said: “The police moved on with their investigation and found a lot of sign of violence on her body that she has been tortured before a rope was put on her neck.’’
He added that the police removed the corpse and deposited it in the mortuary for autopsy to further ascertain the cause of the death.
Elkana said the matter has been transferred from Bariga police station to Panti for further investigation while the couple have been arrested and will be charged to court.
Ostensibly alarmed by the latest killings of dozens of soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents, President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an urgent meeting of Service Chiefs to find ways to stop the trend.
He has also dispatched the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, to the neighbouring Republic of Chad for an urgent meeting with President Idris Deby and his defence counterpart.
Knowledgeable sources said in Abuja on Friday that the president is worried by on the deterioration of security situation on the Nigeria – Chad Border that has led to the recently increased Boko Haram terrorism in the area.
The sources which did not want to be named in Abuja said: “Nigeria has a Chad problem in the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) put together to secure the Lake Chad basin areas and repeal the Boko Haram terrorist attacks against all the countries neighbouring the Lake.”
The sources noted that Chad is believed to be having their own internal security challenges and this has reportedly led to their pulling away their own troops manning their own border around Lake Chad, saying: “That lacuna is being exploited by the Boko Haram terrorists, who go in and out of Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon to launch terrorist acts. This is a clear illustration of the fact that terrorism is beyond national borders.”
When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the Defence Minister is going to Chad but said he is unaware of the purpose.
Meanwhile, the military authorities are said to be in the process of identifying the families of the latest victims with a view to making contact with them.
Credible sources revealed that it is the reason the president is yet to make any pronouncement on the matter.
“The President has called an urgent meeting with the Service Chiefs, as well as the fact that families of the latest victims of the Boko Haram are being identified and contacts made before a government pronouncement on the tragic attacks. This, it is understood, is the reason for the silence of the government over the incident,” the source said.
Sourced From: Tribune
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
Buhari Will Win In 2019: US Institute
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari will win the 2019 election. The organisation...
Why Buhari Deserves Second Term – Lai Mohammed
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that President Muhammadu Buhari deserved second term election because,...
Atiku Presidential Campaign Council: PDP Releases List of Members
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday released the list of party members to handle the campaign team of the...
Obasanjo Forgives Atiku, Endorses Him For President
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday said he has reviewed his stance on not backing his former deputy for the...
Buhari, Atiku In Battle Of Integrity Over 2019 Poll
THE brickbats continued yesterday between President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and...