Welcome to Peter Oluleke's Blog: 2014

Thursday 25 September 2014

Relationship Help: Building Relationships that are Healthy, Happy and Satisfying

Building Great Relationships with Emotional Intelligence

A strong, healthy relationship can be one of the best supports in your life. Good relationships improve all aspects of your life, strengthening your health, your mind, and your connections with others. However, if the relationship isn't working, it can also be a tremendous drain. Relationships are an investment. The more you put in, the more you can get back. These tips can help keep a healthy relationship strong, or repair trust and love in a relationship on the rocks.

Everyone’s relationship is unique, and people come together for many different reasons. But there are some things that good relationships have in common. Knowing the basic principles of healthy relationships helps keep them meaningful, fulfilling and exciting in both happy times and sad:
What makes a healthy love relationship?

Staying involved with each other. Some relationships get stuck in peaceful coexistence, but without truly relating to each other and working together. While it may seem stable on the surface, lack of involvement and communication increases distance. When you need to talk about something important, the connection and understanding may no longer be there.
Getting through conflict. Some couples talk things out quietly, while others may raise their voices and passionately disagree. The key in a strong relationship, though, is not to be fearful of conflict. You need to be safe to express things that bother you without fear of retaliation, and be able to resolve conflict without humiliation, degradation or insisting on being right.
Keeping outside relationships and interests alive. No one person can meet all of our needs, and expecting too much from someone can put a lot of unhealthy pressure on a relationship. Having friends and outside interests not only strengthens your social network, but brings new insights and stimulation to the relationship, too.
Communicating. Honest, direct communication is a key part of any relationship. When both people feel comfortable expressing their needs, fears, and desires, trust and bonds are strengthened. Nonverbal cues—body language like eye contact, leaning forward or away, or touching someone’s arm—are critical to communication.
Relationship advice tip 1: Keep physical intimacy alive
Touch is a fundamental part of human existence. Studies on infants have shown the importance of regular, loving touch and holding on brain development. These benefits do not end in childhood. Life without physical contact with others is a lonely life indeed.
Studies have shown that affectionate touch actually boosts the body’s levels of oxytocin, a hormone that influences bonding and attachment. In a committed relationship between two adult partners, physical intercourse is often a cornerstone of the relationship. However, intercourse should not be the only method of physical intimacy in a relationship. Regular, affectionate touch—holding hands, hugging, or kissing—is equally important.
Be sensitive to what your partner likes. While touch is a key part of a healthy relationship, it’s important to take some time to find out what your partner really likes. Unwanted touching or inappropriate overtures can make the other person tense up and retreat—exactly what you don’t want.

Relationship advice tip 2: Spend quality time together
You probably have fond memories of when you were first dating your loved one. Everything may have seemed new and exciting, and you may have spent hours just chatting together or coming up with new, exciting things to try. However, as time goes by, children, demanding jobs, long commutes, different hobbies and other obligations can make it hard to find time together. It’s critical for your relationship, though, to make time for yourselves. If you don’t have quality time, communication and understanding start to erode.
Simple ways to connect as a couple and rekindle love
- Commit to spending quality time together on a regular basis. Even during very busy and stressful times, a few minutes of really sharing and connecting can help keep bonds strong.
- Find something that you enjoy doing together, whether it is a shared hobby, dance class, daily walk, or sitting over a cup of coffee in the morning.
- Try something new together. Doing new things together can be a fun way to connect and keep things interesting. It can be as simple as trying a new restaurant or going on a day trip to a place you’ve never been before.
Couples are often more fun and playful in the early stages of a relationship. However, this playful attitude can sometimes be forgotten as life challenges or old resentments start getting in the way. Keeping a sense of humor can actually help you get through tough times, reduce stress, and work through issues more easily.

Focus on having fun together
Think about playful ways to surprise your partner, like bringing flowers or a favorite movie home unexpectedly.
Learn from the “play experts” together. Playing with pets or small children can really help you reconnect with your playful side. If it’s something you do together, you also learn more about your partner and how he or she likes to have fun.
Make a habit of laughing together whenever you can. Most situations are not as bleak as they appear to be when you approach them with humor.

Learning how to play again

A little humor and playful interaction can go a long way in relieving tense situations and helping you see the brighter side. If you’re feeling a little rusty, learn more about how playful communication can improve your relationship, and for fun ways to practice this skill.

Relationship advice tip 3: Never stop communicating

Good communication is a fundamental part of a healthy relationship. When people stop communicating well, they stop relating well, and times of change or stress can really bring out disconnect. As long as you are communicating, you can work through whatever problem you’re facing.

Learn your partner’s emotional cues

Each of us is a little different in how we best receive information. Some people might respond better to sight, sound, or touch. Your partner’s responses may be different from yours. Take some time to learn your partner’s cues, and be sure to communicate your own as well. For example, one person might find a brief massage after a stressful day a loving mode of communication—while another might just want to talk over a hot cup of tea.
So much of our communication is transmitted by what we don’t say. Nonverbal cues—such as eye contact, leaning forward or away, or touching someone’s arm—communicate much more than words. For a relationship to work well, each person has to be receptive to sending and receiving nonverbal cues. Learning to understand this “body language” can help you better understand what your partner is trying to say. Think about what you are transmitting as well, and if what you say matches what you feel. If you say “I’m fine,” but you clench your teeth and look away, then your body is clearly signaling you are not.

Question your assumptions

If you’ve known each other for a while, you may assume that your partner has a pretty good idea of what you are thinking and what you need. However, your partner is not a mind reader. While your partner may have some idea, it is much healthier to directly express your needs to avoid any confusion. Your partner may sense something, but it might not be what you need. What’s more, people change, and what you needed and wanted five years ago, for example, may be very different now. Getting in the habit of expressing your needs helps you weather difficult times, which otherwise may lead to increasing resentment, misunderstanding, and anger.

Use your senses to keep stress in check

If you’re not calm and focused, you won’t be able to communicate effectively. The best way to reduce stress quickly and reliably is through the senses. But each person responds differently to sensory input, so you need to find things that are soothing to you.

Relationship advice tip 4: Healthy relationships are built on give and take

If you expect to get what you want 100% of a time in a relationship, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Healthy relationships are built on compromise, and it takes work on each person’s part to make sure that there is a reasonable exchange.

Recognize what’s important to your partner

Knowing what is truly important to your partner can go a long way towards building goodwill and an atmosphere of compromise. On the flip side, it’s also important for your partner to recognize your wants and for you to state them clearly. Constantly compromising your needs for others' will build resentment and anger.

Don’t make “winning” your goal

If you approach your partner with the attitude that things have to be your way or else, it will be difficult to reach a compromise. Sometimes this attitude comes from not having your needs met while you were younger, or it could be from years of accumulated resentment building up in your current relationship. It’s all right to have strong convictions about something, but your partner deserves to be heard as well. You are more likely to get your needs met if you respect what your partner needs, and compromise when you can.

Learn how to respectfully resolve conflict

Conflict is inevitable in any relationship, but to keep a relationship strong, both people need to feel they’ve been heard. The goal is not to win but to resolve the conflict with respect and love.

Make sure you are fighting fair.
Don’t attack someone directly; use “I” statements to communicate how you feel.
Don’t drag old arguments into the mix.
Keep the focus on the issue at hand, and respect the other person.

Relationship advice tip 5: Expect ups and downs

It’s also important to recognize that there are ups and downs in every relationship. You won’t always be on the same page. Sometimes one partner may be struggling with an issue that stresses them, such as the death of a close family member. Other events, like job loss or severe health problems, can affect both partners and make it difficult to relate to each other. You might have different ideas of managing finances or raising children. Different people cope with stress differently, and misunderstanding can rapidly turn to frustration and anger.

Relationship advice for getting through life’s ups and downs

Don’t take out your problems on your partner. Life stresses can make us short tempered. If you are coping with a lot of stress, it might seem easier to snap at your partner. Fighting like this might initially feel like a release, but it slowly poisons your relationship. Find other ways to vent your anger and frustration.
Some problems are bigger than both of you. Trying to force a solution can cause even more problems. Every person works through problems and issues in his or her own way. Remember that you’re a team. Continuing to move forward together can get you through the rough spots.
Be open to change. Change is inevitable in life, and it will happen whether you go with it or fight it. Flexibility is essential to adapt to the change that is always taking place in any relationship, and it allows you to grow together through both the good times and the bad.
Don’t ignore problems. Whatever problems arise in a romantic relationship, it’s important to face them together as a couple. If an aspect of the relationship stops working, don’t simply ignore it, but instead address it with your partner. Things change, so respond to them together as they do.

Romantic relationships require ongoing attention

Many couples focus on their relationship only when there are specific, unavoidable problems to overcome. Once the problems have been resolved they often switch their attention back to their careers, kids, or other interests. However, romantic relationships require ongoing attention and commitment for love to flourish. As long as the health of a romantic relationship remains important to you, it is going to require your attention and effort.

If you need more relationship help and advice

Sometimes problems in a relationship may seem too complex or overwhelming for a couple to handle on their own. In that case, it’s important to reach out together for help. There are a number of options available, including:

Couples counseling. It’s a big investment, and time, energy, focus and commitment are needed from both people to make a difference, but you might consider couples or marriage counseling to resolve your differences. Both parties need to be willing and able to honestly communicate what he or she needs, face the issues that arise in counseling, and then make the necessary changes. It’s important also that both people feel comfortable with the counselor.
Spiritual advice. Some couples benefit from spiritual advice from a religious figure such as a pastor or rabbi. This tends to work best if both persons have similar convictions of faith and have a good relationship with the spiritual advisor.
Emotional Intelligence building. Try using Helpguide's Emotional Intelligence Toolkit, a free utility for building emotional health and emotional intelligence. This in-depth course provides articles, videos, and audio meditations designed to help you put the skills of emotional intelligence and communication into practice.
Individual therapy. Sometimes one person may need specialized help. For example, someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one may need counseling to help him or her process the grief. If your loved one needs help, don’t feel like you are a failure for not providing him or her everything he or she needs. No one can fulfill everyone’s needs, and getting the right help can make a tremendous difference in your relationship.

Source: helpguide.org

Job creation versus value creation: Dissecting the myth and reassessing the facts by Peter Oluleke

http://businessdayonline.com/2014/09/job-creation-versus-value-creation-dissecting-the-myth-and-reassessing-the-facts/

The scope, breadth and depth of African Economic reforms put in place by the government to reinvent its economy are alarming in recent economic history. A focus is the strong empirical evidence of how the development of public sector aimed at creating jobs had yielded poor results and undermined the growth of African economy. Unfortunately, job creation has been the major economic objective of all aspiring politicians but is not often met. Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta promised to create a million jobs every year, Nigerian government, more than 460,000 jobs by 2018, President Robert Mugabe(Zimbabwe) over 2million jobs by 2018, President Sata(Zambia), says 436,363 jobs had been created by his administration between October 2011 and July this year. But of what essence is Job creation with little or no economic importance? Sadly, citizens wait for government to create jobs for them and use this as a yardstick for measuring governmental success and to vote during election.

The governments often use the Labour-Intensive technique to paint a rosy picture of its administration which increases its numerical achievement for campaign and neglect wealth creation- the meaningful reason for creating Jobs. Gilbert Didier Edoa, the MINEPAT Secretary General of Cameroon, confirmed that the labour-based approach used in constructing roads, schools and hospitals has helped to create a lot of employment for the administration, but at this point, it is important to draw the government’s attention to what such jobs can do and never do.

Job directly created by government only increases the quantitative and not the qualitative value needed for wealth creation. It is very easy to count the numbers of jobs created and neglect the essence of creating such jobs. Works are meant to create economic value and increase income flow in the economy, and not to give numerical strength for campaigns, and to showcase achievements. When government decides to go into business or create employment, they are very fast in counting the thousands of Jobs created, neglecting the fact that these works are relatively unproductive, characterised by low wages, inefficiency, and about 80% are temporary low-skilled Jobs.

The Algeria National Statistics Office(ONS), for instance, revealed that the Algerian government claimed it had slashed unemployment from 30% in 2000 to 9.8% in 2013, and also boasted of 3.5M jobs between 1999 and 2008. Algerians do not only have little faith in these figures but have also protested its credibility. Just recently, dozens of young men and women stood-up against these policies. Each and everyone have a story to tell about the absurdity of the system, where job titles never match the positions offered. Economics, Law, Medicine, Engineering and other graduates end up securing temporary low-skilled Jobs paid between 10,000 and 15,000 dinars per month(i.e. $125 to $200), leaving about 900,000 pre-emplois (temporary Jobs) in hope for permanent jobs.

Unfortunately, not only the government got it wrong here; citizens’ protest also called for the wrong intervention by requesting government to give out permanent jobs. Governmental policies should encourage innovations, human talents, entrepreneurship, individual participation in market and enabling environment for business operations. Public policies aimed at correcting economic recession and reducing unemployment has only been a bad justification for increase in borrowing, government spending, taxation, aids and corruption.

Pursuing a carrier in Economics, I realized that Academic curriculum has placed government to be the savior of the economy and has identified Job creation as the primary role of government. A good start is to adjust academic scheme and clear the air that Job creation is not the role of government. Entrepreneurship should be emphasized as the means to stimulate the creativity and innovation necessary to create a better economy. Graduates should not wait for government to create Jobs for them but convert their knowledge into intellectual productive ventures. A focus of growing labour intensive industries would mean much less growth would be needed to achieve much high level of employment.

Finally, growth and development as a peculiar objective of a society can only be realistic when citizens are apostolic to their innovative ingenious life under conducive mechanisms for sustainable development.

Peter Oluleke

Job creation versus value creation: Dissecting the myth and reassessing the facts | BusinessDay

What you should know about ostriches

The flightless ostrich is the world's largest bird.
Ostriches have three stomachs.
Unlike all other living birds, the ostrich secretes urine separately from faeces.
Ostriches are the fast runners of any birds or other two-legged animal and can sprint at over 70 km/hr, covering up to 5m in a single stride.
Ostriches’ running is aided by having just two toes on each foot (most birds have four), with the large nail on the larger, inner toe resembling a hoof.
Ostriches’ wings reach a span of about 2 metres and are used in mating displays, to shade chicks, to cover the naked skin of the upper legs and flanks to conserve heat, and as "rudders" to help them change direction while running.
When threatened ostriches run although their powerful, long legs can be formidable weapons, capable of killing a human or a potential predator like a lion with a forward kick.
Ostriches normally spend the winter months in pairs or alone and during breeding season and sometimes during extreme rainless periods they live in nomadic ‘herds’ of five to 50 birds led by a top hen, that often travel together with other grazing animals, such as zebras or antelopes.
Territorial fights between males for a harem of two to seven females usually last just minutes, but they can easily cause death through slamming their heads into opponents.
Ostriches perform a complex mating ritual consisting of the cock alternating wing beats until he attracts a mate, when they will go to the mating area and he will drive away all intruders. They graze until their behaviour is synchronized, then the feeding becomes secondary and the process takes on a ritualistic appearance. The cock will then excitedly flap alternate wings again, and start poking on the ground with his bill. He will then violently flap his wings to symbolically clear out a nest in the dirt. Then, while the hen runs circle around him with lowered wings, he will wind his head in a spiral motion. She will drop to the ground and he will mount for copulation.
All of the herd's hens place their eggs in the dominant hen's 3m-wide nest, though her own are given the prominent centre place; each female can determine her own eggs amongst others.
The giant eggs are the largest of any living bird at 15cm long and weighing as much as two dozen chicken eggs, though they are actually the smallest eggs relative to the size of the adult bird.
The eggs are incubated by the dominant female by day and by the male by night, using the colouration of the two sexes to escape detection of the nest, as the drab female blends in with the sand, while the black male is nearly undetectable in the dark.
When the eggs hatch after 35 to 45 days incubation, the male usually defends the hatchlings and teaches them to feed, although males and females cooperate in rearing chicks.
Contrary to popular belief, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand: the myth probably originates from the bird's defensive behaviour of lying low at the approach of trouble and pressing their long necks to the ground in an attempt to become less visible. Their plumage blends well with sandy soil and, from a distance, gives the appearance that they have buried their heads in the sand.
The Ostrich is farmed around the world, particularly for its decorative feathers and also for its meat which is marketed commercially and its skin is used for leather products.
Ostriches have inspired cultures and civilizations for 5,000 years in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
In some African countries, people race each other on the back of ostriches with special saddles, reins, and bits.
The wild ostrich population has declined drastically in the last 200 years, with most surviving birds in game parks or on farms.
Unlike most birds the males have a copulatory organ, which is retractable and 20 cm long.
Lacking teeth, ostriches swallow pebbles to grind their food and an adult ostrich carries about 1kg of stones in its stomach.
Ostriches can go without drinking for several days, using metabolic water and moisture in ingested roots, seeds and insects, but they enjoy liquid water and frequently take baths where it is available.
The ostrich has the largest eye of any land animal, measuring almost 5 cm across, allowing predators such as lions to be seen at long distances.

Wednesday 30 July 2014

Sad as Suicide Bomber Attacks Kano Polytechnic, Several Feared Killed

Kano once again came under terrorist attack this afternoon in what is becoming almost a daily affair.

This time, the target is the Kano State Polytechnic. Many students are reported to have been killed when a bomb exploded at the school around 2pm as students were checking the national Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation list.

The mobilisation list was said to have been pasted outside the school this morning, attracting many students who had completed their HND programme.

One report quoted a management staff of the school as saying that she saw hundreds of students checking the list shortly before the explosion.

Source News Express
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Sad as Suicide Bomber Attacks Kano Polytechnic, Several Feared Killed

African students’ bold steps to defend continent

It was at the expansive Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan, where students and youths across African nations gathered to discuss their fate in the future of the continent, especially in the face of the raging violence almost enveloping the region. The event, which was the African Students for Liberty Conference, kicked off around 11a.m, with Ajibola Adigun, a member of the society’s executive board as the compere.

Resource persons at the event were pro-liberty speakers, including Co-founder of SFL, Alexander McCobin; a social media entrepreneur and popular blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, former law-maker and writer, Dr. Wale Okediran; Mr. Kofi Bentil, Vice President, IMANI Ghana, Mr. Farouk Adamu Aliyu, among others.
Okediran, who spoke on the theme: “The Role of Literature in Sustainable Democracy and Good Governance,” said the interplay between literature and politics is very important saying creative writers in Africa have over the years played very important roles in the process of governance both in the continent and globally.

Thus, the writer has taken on the role of social critic or the conscience of the nation and world.” Okediran, who said Nigeria, has several writers, who over the years have continued to send strident political messages through their works.
He listed some of them to include Professors Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Femi Osofisan, and also made reference to his widely acclaimed book, ‘Tenants of the House,” where Okediran said politics and social issues are its strong themes. Alexander McCobin, who spoke on “Students for Liberty and the Global Movement for Liberty,” went through the history of SFL and the growth of the network, while explaining that: “Liberty has come a long way over the course of human history, “and if we want to see changes in the world, we have to see it ourselves.”

Alluding to his experience as a former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Adamu Aliyu, who spoke on: “The Importance of Rule of Law in Nigeria’s Development,” noted: “Unlike the rule of person, the rule of law postulates that societies must not be subjected to the whims and caprices of individuals who are likely to manipulate social order to benefit their interests, prejudices and preferences.

Rather, all members of society must be governed by a predetermined set of laws established by members of the society through democratic processes and enshrined in the judicial processes of the society.” Japheth Omojuwa, a social critic and blogger spoke on the theme: “ICT and Liberty as Catalysts for Social Change and Wealth Creation,” where he explained that humanity has not had it this well than at this age of social media.

Source: New telegraph

Saturday 19 July 2014

Indian police kill Kashmiri teenager in anti-Israel protest

Police shot dead a teenage boy on Saturday in restive Indian Kashmir during a protest against Israel's military offensive against Gaza, officials said.

The youngster's death marked the first fatality in a string of demonstrations across the Himalayan territory that have been staged against the Israeli military campaign.

The boy, a ninth-class student, was killed in the village of Khudwani, 60 kilometres (40 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city of the disputed Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.

"The boy died in (police) firing on anti-Israel protesters who were also angry about injuries suffered by other protesters during earlier demonstrations," a senior police officer told AFP.

A police statement called the killing "unfortunate".

Local residents said it was believed that the boy was hit by a bullet while sitting in a shop and was not part of the protest but police could not immediately confirm this.

The Kashmiri boy's death came as Israeli air strikes and shelling killed more than 25 people across Gaza on Saturday, among them children, raising the toll in 12 days of violence to 337, according to medics in Gaza City.

The Indian police officer said the Kashmri youngster, identified as Suhail Ahmad Lone, was believed to be around 14 or 15.

The police officer asked for anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Dozens of protesters have been injured in the protests against the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

The protests have been occurring on an almost daily basis in the Kashmir valley which has been at the centre of a quarter-century revolt against Indian rule.

The demonstrators, some holding placards with "Save Gaza" written on them, chanted "Down with Israel", "Down with America" and hurled stones at government forces.

Indian government forces are seeking to prevent the protests from spreading in the volatile region.

On Thursday, the Kashmir valley was mostly shut in response to a call by separatist leaders to protest against the Israeli military campaign.

About a dozen rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for independence or merger of Kashmir with Pakistan, which also claims the territory.

The fighting, and India's tense relations with nuclear-armed rival Pakistan, have made Kashmir one of the most militarised zones in the world and has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians dead.

Israel has long been a key arms supplier to the Indian government.

Israel's relations with Hindu-majority India have long been viewed with suspicion and hostility by the South Asian nation's large Muslim minority.
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Friday 18 July 2014

7 Things to Do to Spice Up Your Boring Life

When you feel like your life is getting really boring, you should do all possible things to spice up your life. Perhaps you career bothers you with constant obstacles and chronic tension. Moreover, you can be oppressed and bored with love or marriage routine, thinking and dreaming about special and perfect romance. You may also be tired of your home atmosphere. Thus, try to find something that you are passionate about. It will help you refresh your mind and discover ways to bring the best into your life. Furthermore, if you want to get back in touch with your passions, you should get rid of negative habits, feelings and emotions, which make you feel sick and tired of everything in your life. Here are seven tips on how to break the routine and live happier.

1. Create a dream journal
Why not start a dream journal and write up at least one dream every day? When you dream, you imagine the desired reality and experience positive feelings and emotions. Psychologists say that dreaming is a direct line to your desires and passions. I'm sure that everyone, especially big dreamers, have a great amount of dreams and it's easy to forget about them. I suggest taking a paper and writing up your dreams. Later, you'll have a list of dreams and desires for you to know what you want and how to reach these goals and cherished ideas.

2. Do at least one extraordinary thing every day
In order to get out of a rut, you should do new things. It will help you shift your mindset and become more confident at the same time. Many people suffer from fear to do extraordinary things and deviate casual routine. If you visit a new grocery store or go to work by bus instead of taking the subway, you will feel new emotions and get new and interesting experience. Start at various hobbies and pastime activities. It will make you a more interesting and all-rounded person. Plus, you will have an opportunity to find new friends and make new and pleasant acquaintances.

3. A difficult conversation should take place
If you suffer from something and you cannot find the moment to face the problem and handle the situation, you will feel bored, burned out and bummed for ages. No matter how uncomfortable it may seem, but you should screw up your courage to have an unpleasant conversation and stand your ground. Concealed negative emotions are like a cancer that kills you from inside slowly. Make it a habit to find an opportunity to tell everything you dislike. Such approach will help you save and improve both your mental and physical well-being.

4. Write a list of gratitude
When you get chronically bored with something, your mind gets used to negative perception of the world. It is necessary to break the chain of negative thoughts by training your mind to notice the best. Just write down 5 things you like every day. This way, your mindset will change for the better in a quite short period of time. The gratitude list will open your eyes to the beauty of the world around you. Focusing on positive moments will develop the sense of gratitude.

5. Ask people you know to name your best qualities
Nowadays people are often depressed because of a boring and busy life. Accordingly, it is easy to lose confidence in your power and abilities. This mental state breeds uncertainty, fears and contradictions in your mind. You feel doubtful that you could change something for better. If you realize that you cannot overcome this state alone, then survey the people who know you well and who can name your best qualities. It's a great pleasure to hear other people praising you and mentioning your advantages. It will boost your self-esteem and help you feel more confident in no time.

6. Make new friends
Making new friends and communication with interesting people are the best ways to fight boredom. If you don't know how to meet a new person, you should get involved in activities that may bring you in contact with other like-minded personalities. Depending on your hobbies and preferences you can attend a night club, volunteer organizations or any event that can lead to making new friends. You should remember that lying on the sofa and suffering from boredom and depression can damage your health.

7. Mind your body
When I was bored with something, I usually preferred to relief stress by eating a pan of sponge-cakes. I noticed that it made me feel better, but damaged my body. Consequently, I realized that candies and junk food could play a bad trick with my both mental and physical well-being and I decided to give up this terrible habit. I started to work out in order to rid my mind of negative emotions and thoughts. Now I'm proud of myself because I've successfully reached my goal. I want you to know that this annoying habit is a real passion vampire. Try to replace eating junk food by doing your exercise every day.

I hope these ideas will help you rid yourself of passion vampires, which ruin your personality due to the influence of boredom. Try to fill your life with new adventures, emotions and interesting people. What do you usually do to fight boredom? Share your ideas with us, please.

Source: Womanitely

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NLNG Scholarship 2014 Undergraduate Application Form Out. Entry closes on Thursday 31st July, 2014

Online application for 2014/2015 NLNG Scholarship Award for Undergraduates has commenced. The Management of Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited wishes to invite interested First Year Undergraduates in Nigerian Universities to apply for the NLNG Scholarship 2014 Award. The purpose of the award is to promote academic excellence amongst university undergraduates in Nigeria.

Brief Description:
The Nigeria LNG Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme started in 1998 as part of Nigeria LNG Limited's Corporate Social Responsibility to Nigerian Citizens to enhance human capacity development. It involves the payment of a yearly Scholarship allowance to beneficiary Undergraduates in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. Beneficiaries are selected through a rigorous and transparent selection process organized in collaboration with the Aptitude Test Department of WAEC. From inception, about 2,500 beneficiaries have benefited from the scheme.

HOW TO APPLY
Interested students are to register and create a user account on the undergraduate scholarship application website via https://sws.nlng.com/Undgrad/account/registration.aspx . Then activate your user account from the account notification mail sent to you.
Log on and submit an application on the the undergraduate scholarship application website and then wait for notification from Nigeria LNG Limited.

All applications should include the following attachments (in any of the following formats – JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIFF):
1) Scanned passport-sized photographs.
2) Scanned copy of JAMB and University admission letters.
3) Scanned copy of WAEC/NECO/GCE/O' Levels or A' Level result.
4) Scanned copy of School Identity Card.
5) Scanned copy of Letter of identification from Local Government of Origin.
The following candidates need not apply:
a. Beneficiaries of other scholarship schemes.
b. Second (2nd) to Final year students.
c. Part-time students.
Entry closes on Thursday 31st July, 2014.
Please note that only qualified applicants will be short-listed for the selection
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Wow:- OAU Student Builds Solar-powered Car

A young Nigerian final year student in electronic and electrical engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has built a car operating on solar power.

Segun Oyeyiola explains that his car uses both wind and solar energy for the functioning, The Net reports. Moreover, the man developed an application for its installation in the car, which app will inform the driver about the battery level, weather conditions and other essential parameters.

In an interview to allAfrica.com Segun spoke about how he came up with the idea and eventually embodied it. He confessed his first motivation was to eradicate the causes of climate change resulting in fuel combustion.

"In the course of my research, I found out that our regular cars contribute immensely to climate change… If we could manufacture cars that do not use fuel or reduce the number of cars that use fuel; our world will be a better place for us to live in."

The student had to work and study hard to achieve his aim, which was even harder because of absence of electricity most of the time.

Apart from that, the final year student faced other challenges:

"Asides the lack of electricity, getting the right materials and text books to study as well as other needed tools was difficult. But the most prominent of them was the lack of funds. I started using my personal funds which I obtained by helping people to do their projects and a little fund my parents also contributed towards the project."

He also explained that the resulting model is a prototype, but not the final look of the car. Segun hopes to develop his project into a future car for Nigeria and Africa, as it is created with regard to our climate.

The young man points out another important benefit of using his auto – low maintenance cost:

"Everyone likes it and they are willing to start driving it around town because of its low cost of maintenance. I developed a simple software that can be installed on our laptops and smart phones to tell us the battery level, the weather condition, the distance we can cover during different weather conditions and GPS location of the car."

Enthusiastic about his project, Segun says he is not sure whether he would like to sell the idea to some entity, he prefers to have the project funded and continue working on upgrading the auto:

"I would rather they fund me to put together a team to help me perfect them and make them commercial."

In conclusion the 30-year-old urged youths to look for solutions to the global problems and never stop learning something new.

"And it's better to start anything we wanted to do now. Let's do what will make us happy and that which will not affect our fellow being negatively.
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FIFA ban: Nigeria beats deadline

A Jos High court on Thursday vacated an order which restrained the Nigeria Football Federation from functioning pending the hearing of a suit challenging the validity of the Aminu Maigari-led Nigeria Football Federation.

Nigeria has therefore met FIFA's conditions to avoid being banned after the Maigari board was reinstated following the ruling. The board was sacked on July 6 by the NFF Congress.

FIFA had suspended Nigeria for government interference in the activities of the NFF.

The world football body had demanded the withdrawal of the (court) case as well as the reinstatement of the sacked board to enable the country to avoid being banned.

A July 17 deadline was given to reverse the decision.

Justice Philomena Lot of the High Court had last Friday issued the injunction, pending the hearing of the suit filed by the proprietor Nembe Football Club, Mrs. Ebiakpo Baribote.

The vacation of the order followed a withdrawal of the suit, which had led to the suspension of Nigeria from all football-related activists by FIFA.

The withdrawal of the suit was said to have been sequel to appeals made to the plaintiff in the interest of the country.

At a sitting of the court on Thursday, Justice Lot vacated the order following a motion filed to that effect by the counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Habila Ardzard.

Ardzard, who spoke to our correspondent at the end of the sitting, said his client had to listen to pleas by some Nigerians so that the country would not be banned.

He said, "My client as a patriotic Nigerian read the mood of FIFA and more so there is a female World Cup coming up soon as she would not like the country's interests to be jeopardised by her action."
Source: Punch
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FIFA ban: Nigeria beats deadline

‘The Institute of Sexology’ exhibition held in London

Sex toys, ancient carvings and medical artefacts will be among objects on display at a new exhibition opening in central London in November.

The Institute Of Sexology will be the first UK exhibition to bring together the pioneers of the study of sex, according to its curators.

Paintings and carvings will be on display
Paintings, films and photographs of copulation will also be on display.

Featuring more than 200 objects, the show will be held at the £17.5m expansion of the Wellcome Collection.

It will look at key sexologists through history including Sigmund Freud, Marie Stopes and Alfred Kinsey and trace the experiments and studies carried out over decades.

From "Alfred Kinsey's complex coded questionnaires to Samoan jewellery to sex machines", the show will "investigate how... sexologists have shaped our ever-evolving attitudes towards sexual behaviour and identity", exhibition organisers said.

Curators said that The Institute Of Sexology will include commissions, live events, discussions and performance art and "form part of a sexology season of activity across the country".

"The Institute Of Sexology offers a complex, often contradictory story of the study of sex, and highlights the profound effect that the gathering and analysis of information can have in changing attitudes about the human condition," curator Kate Forde said.

"The exhibition presents typed diagnoses alongside handmade campaign material, scientific charts next to handwritten testimonies.

Featuring more than 200 objects, the show will be held at the £17.5m expansion of the Wellcome Collection
"But all are caught up in attempts to free us from the tyranny of preconceived ideas about sex, and suggest that our understanding about our sexual identities is a story of constant evolution."

Wellcome Collection - which has recently shown exhibitions on the brain and death - is part of the Wellcome Trust, a global charity dedicated to achieving improvements in human and animal health.

The Institute Of Sexology will run for one year from 20 November 2014 at the Wellcome Collection in London.
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Beyonce leads MTV Video Music award nominations

Beyonce is in the running for eight prizes at the MTV Video Music Awards including video of the year, best female and best choreography.

Her song Drunk in Love, performed alongside husband Jay-Z, is up against rivals including Pharrell Williams' Happy for best video.

Rappers Eminem and Izzy Azalea scooped seven nods apiece in key categories including best male and female.

The awards ceremony takes place in Inglewood, California, on 24 August.

It is due to be screened in the UK on MTV the following day at 2100 BST.

Musicians set to perform at the ceremony include Usher and Ariana Grande, with further acts due to be added to the bill in the coming weeks.

Other shortlisters for video of the year include Miley Cyrus for Wrecking Ball, Sia's hit Chandelier and Fancy by Iggy Azalea.

British singing star Sam Smith, currently riding high in the US charts, is nominated for artist to watch with his track Stay With Me, while Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys have landed a nomination for best rock video for the visuals to their song Do I Wanna Know?

British singer Sam Smith, pictured with Mary J Blige, is among the nominees
Michael Jackson's posthumous hit Love Never Felt So Good, performed with Justin Timberlake, is in the running for best choreography.

In 2013, Timberlake won video of the year for Mirrors.

The full list of nominations also includes categories such as best video with a social message and the best videos in rock and pop.

Last year's ceremony hit the headlines for Miley Cyrus's raunchy performance with Blurred Lines singer Robin Thicke in which she wore latex underwear and "twerked".
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Many dead' in Damboa, Nigeria

Many people are feared dead after suspected Boko Haram Islamist gunmen attacked a town in north-east Nigeria.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC that half of Damboa had been burnt down, including the town's main market.

At least 18 bodies so far have been recovered from the attack, which lasted for several hours. The death toll is expected to rise, residents say.

Boko Haram's violent campaign to establish an Islamic state has killed thousands of people in recent years.

In April, it sparked international outrage by abducting more than 200 girls from their boarding school in Chibok, in Borno state, like Damboa.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden", has often targeted schools since it launched its insurgency in 2009.

Borno state governor Kashim Shettima on Thursday said that 176 teachers had been killed and 900 schools destroyed since 2011.

Boko Haram is opposed to Western education
Damboa, 85km (53 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, is now said to be deserted as many people have fled to neighbouring towns.

"Those who could not flee surrendered and were killed by the insurgents," a local official, who did not want to be named, told the AFP news agency.

Boko Haram attacked the barracks in the town two weeks ago, killing several soldiers.

Nigeria's defence ministry said the military had repelled that attack and killed at least 50 insurgents.

But residents say that since then the town has only been defended by vigilante groups.

"We were defenceless because all the security personnel, including soldiers and policemen, have withdrawn," resident Ahmed Buba told AFP.

On Tuesday, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan asked the National Assembly for an extra $1bn to help the military fight Boko Haram.

But the parliamentarians have now gone on a two-month recess without debating the request.

Nigeria's soldiers have frequently complained that the insurgents have superior firepower.

Nigeria has a military budget of about $6bn a year but large sums are lost to corruption, critics say.

The US, UK, China, France and Israel have all sent military assistance to help rescue the schoolgirls.

Who are Boko Haram?

Founded in 2002

Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language

Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state

Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja

Some three million people affected

Declared terrorist group by US in 2013
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