31. March 2006 by Othy.

Believing in yourself is one of the major keys to success. It motivates you in a way nothing else can. It gives you a sense of self-worth that can not be taken away. It banishes any feelings of inadequacy. Muhammad Ali, the greatest boxing legend of all time exemplified vividly what can be achieved through a firm belief in one’s self. This mindset of a firm, unshaken belief in his abilities and talents drove him to challenge great boxing legends of his time like Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and so many others. Of a record of 61 bouts, he won a total of 56 fights. He didn’t let anything or anyone stop him, even when it seemed he had met his match. He believed he was the greatest, he believed he was unstoppable. Who would’ve thought that a stolen bike was the key to the beginning of the Muhammad Ali story? In 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, 12-year-old Muhammad Ali’s bike was stolen while he and a friend were at the Columbia Auditorium. Young Ali, known then as Cassius Marcellus Clay, found a cop in a gym, Joe Martin, and boiling with youthful rage, told Martin he was going to “whup” whoever stole his bike. Martin admonished, “You better learn to box first.” Within weeks, 89-pound Cassius had his first bout—his first win. Imagine that! The greatest heavy weight boxing champ of the century started boxing because he wanted to teach a thief a lesson. He didn’t even stop to think if he could actually fight the thief. After all, the thief might have been twice his size. The obstacle was not his focus but his belief in his ability to ‘whup’ the thief. What Ali believed, he spoke out. He never shut up. He became known as, “The Louisville Lip.” It was more than banter; it was a constant harangue. In a time when boxers never talked to the media—their managers always spoke for them— he did all his own talking. He even went so far as to predict the round. “To prove I’m great he (his opponent) will fall in eight!” Does this have anything to do with you? Yes it does. The key to achieve your goal is to believe in yourself. That takes you halfway to achieving your goal. Believing alone does not take us to our desired goals. We must learn to say out what we believe. When we say things enough, and truly believe it, our body obeys our confession. Ali used this to win. He talked so much and kept on saying “I’m the greatest” until not only him, but his opponents believed he was the greatest. You alone hold the key to your success. Don’t let your circumstances control you. Rather, use your circumstances, be it good or bad, and re-engineer it to work for good in your life. You can create the atmosphere you wish to live in. You can believe in yourself. You can tell yourself I’m the greatest and actually be the greatest. Success is out there waiting for you. You’ve just got to grab hold of it and believe.

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

Nigeria cannot forget in a hurry the unfortunate legacies and the traumatizing effects of the colonial rule which included the debilitating effects of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the forced amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914 without the consent of the ethnic nationalities and the booby-trap built into an inaccurate population figure forced down the throats of Nigerians at the departure of the colonialists. The unfortunate truth is that Nigeria is the only country in the world where the grassland and arid regions harbour the densest population than the forest region. The history of census in Nigeria was dated back to the early 1863, a year after the founding of the colony of Lagos. The colonial masters made this a ten-yearly affair. Another was held in 1911. 1921 was the most comprehensive while the most elaborate was held in 1952/53. The controversial census of 1962 was cancelled while that of 1963 did not enjoy general acceptability. After the civil war of 1967-70, an attempt was made to hold a census in 1973. This did not fair better, and was therefore cancelled by the government of General Murtala Mohammed in 1975. No subsequent nationwide census had been held as of 1990, although there have been various attempts to derive population estimates at state and local levels. Most official national population estimates are based on projections from the 1963 census.The 1991 census which was conducted with the support of international organizations like the UNFPA and the European Union was much better organized, coordinated and largely a compromise program due to the relative transparency that was brought to bare in its conduct, although there were few dissenting voices crying against some of the figures generated.The result of the 1991 census which put Nigeria’s population at 88.5million in human population has been used by successive government as the major instrument of planning and development all these years. However the impact of the figures was not felt during the creation of states and local government both in late 1991 by the Babangida administration and 1996 by the Abacha regime. If we must spend huge sums of money conducting censuses, then we must also develop a very huge appetite to spread development on the outcome of the exercise. Census should no longer be census for its sake. Census should not be seen or considered as a ritual to be done every ten years for the purpose of budgeting and political grandstanding. It is hoped that the 2006 census will be successful in all ramifications, affording the different strata of government reliable figures for effective planning, equitable distribution of resources and responsible governance.

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

Hello there, my name is Othniel Morkly. I was doing some surfing on the net today and came across this story of the tallest man that ever lived, Robert Pershing Wadlow. The story held my attention for quite a while; so, if you don’t mind, I want to share it  with you. He was born, educated and buried in Alton, Illinois, USA. His height of 8′ 11.1″ qualifies him as the tallest person in recorded history, according to the Guinness Book of Records. At the time of his death, he weighed 490 pounds. Robert was born on February 22, 1918, and at birth, weighed a normal eight pounds, six ounces. He drew attention to himself when at six months old, he weighed 30 pounds. A year later at 18 months, he weighed 62 pounds. He continued to grow at an astounding rate, reaching six feet, two inches and 195 pounds by the time he was eight years old. . At 13, trying to maintain a normal life, Robert enjoyed collecting stamps, photography, and become the world’s tallest Boy Scout at seven feet, four inches, when he was just 13 years of age. Later he became a member of DeMolay and the Masons. By age 18, he was eight feet, four inches tall, and weighed 390 pounds. His clothing required three times the normal amount of cloth, and his size 37 shoes cost $100.00 a pair (a lot of money back during the depression years of the 1930’s). Two years later, his shoes were provided free by the International Shoe Company. When he turned 20, in the company of his father, Robert traveled all over the United States for the shoe company, visiting over 800 towns and 41 states. His father had to modify the family car, removing the front passenger seat, so Robert could sit in the back seat and stretch out his long legs. The father and son team traveled over 300,000 miles on their goodwill tour for the shoe company. Robert’s unique size was attributed to an over active pituary gland, which produced much higher than normal levels of growth hormone. Today’s medical science can compensate for such problems - but in the 1920s, there was no therapy available. As a youth, Robert enjoyed relatively good health, but his large feet troubled him for many years. He had little sensation in his feet and did not feel any chafing until blisters formed. While making an appearance in Manistee, Michigan, in July 1940, a fatal infection set in when such a blister formed. On July 4th, doctors had Robert confined to a hotel bed, unable to find suitable accommodations at the local hospital. Days later, despite emergency surgery and blood transfusions, the infection lingered and his temperature continued to rise. At 1:30 a.m., on the 15th of July, 1940, Robert Wadlow passed away in his sleep. Check out this chart.

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

School was quite busy today and many of the Jambites and 200 Level students were trying to get into exam mood. Walking through the campus, many of these students kept commenting on the fact that they were still in a shock over Omo T’s (as the late former VC, Prof Omotola, was popularly called by the students) death. A girl commented on the fact that Omotola always wanted his students to be comfortable. She spoke of a situation where he visited the female hostel and was not too pleased with the surrounding. According to her, he said, “ my children cannot read in this environment.” She said she could not recall what happened after that, all she knows is that he cared enough to want to know what his students were going through.

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

There’s a buzz around campus that school resumes on the 17th of April; that’s right after Easter. If this information is accurate, then the 100 and 200 level students have no holidays at all. They start their exams on the 8th and finish after easter break. Any chance resumption may be postponed? I don’t think so.
 For the rest of the school, everyone should be rested and ready for 2nd semester. Most have had at least a school-free month. It’s also assumed that the 1st semester results will be out when we resume next semester. Nervous? I am. Kind of.  All the best to the 100 and 200L students.

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

I believe we can recall the visit of President Obasanjo to UNILAG on the 6th of March. Paramount to his visit was the commissioning of certain new structures in the University: the Erastus Akingbola Post-graduate hall, the Senate bypass and the Afe Babalola auditorium. However, a minor but highly significant part of the President’s visit was the warm reception he received from the students, particularly the students of Moremi Hall. Although this may sound mundane to some, it was a very pleasing moment for the President. Witnesses report that these students applauded the President from the time he left the commissioning of the Erastus Akingbola Post graduate Hall, to the opening of the Senate bypass. It will not come as a surprise to us if there’s a move to invite the President for another visit. But, Mr. President, sir, STRICTLY NO NIGHT VISITS, please.

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

The Faculty of law has always been reputed for its orderliness, prim dressing and superior airs. To many people it has been viewed as the most orderly of all the departments. I had bragged to some of my friends in other universities, that my school (UNILAG) has the best Law Faculty in the country. I also stressed the fact that violence was literally unheard of in my school. A few weeks later this conception was totally erased by an incidence I witnessed. I was at the Faculty of Law and was about to enter a friend’s car when I noticed some kind of commotion at the front of the building. After a few minutes, the crowd cleared a bit and a fragile-looking young man ran out of the crowd as if being chased by someone. Almost immediately, another young man followed him in hot pursuit. On catching up with the fragile man, he began to pummel him with blows. Had it not been for the intervention of onlookers, the fragile guy would have sustained serious injuries. Isn’t it ironical that in a school where such fights are unheard of, the first place that such a thing would happen would be in the very Faculty that is supposed to be an example to other departments in keeping the law? Honestly, I feel that if it could happen amongst lawyers, then I guess anybody else should easily be forgiven. These lawyers, who have so fervently preached the message of not taking the law into one’s own hand, took the law into their hands. Come to find out, the cause of the fallout was that one had lost the other’s case book. After all the excitement, they each walked away probably feeling that they had proved themselves. To be realistic, the only thing they had succeeded in doing was smearing the reputation of the Faculty and invariably that of the School.

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

DOMVICKSON Foundation, a non-governmental organization which has as one of its objectives, pursuing and providing free education to all Nigerian students is awarding scholarships for the current academic session. The scholarship is open to all students (regular, part-time, post-graduate, remedial, diploma, National Diploma and Higher National Diploma). Entry is open to all students from the following departments and faculties: Medical College, Arts, Law, Education, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Agric, Physics, Computer Science, Math Statistics, Geology, Biological Science, Marine Science, Engineering, Chemistry, Estate Management and Valuers. Application forms are available at the following points: UNILAG, NIPOST, General Post Office €“ Ikeja, Agege, Yaba, Trade Fair Complex and Ojo. Interested candidates can also apply at www.domvicksonscholarshipnig.com. Candidates should apply using one medium only (either through application forms or the website). Please note that the application forms are FREE. For more information, you can call the following numbers: +2348024927773, +2348026304144, +234014926.

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

Many times young entrepreneurs need some measure of encouragement to keep them focused, motivated and energized. Well, I came across this post in a blogsite called Flush the toilet and I think it will encourage young entrepreneurs who think nothing is working out for them. I love the title of the post.    This is All Practice, So Keep at it.  Young entrepreneur + ideas + implement idea + idea fails + try again = Practice.  We’re young entrepreneurs and it’s just the beginning. The fact that we’re actually waking up every morning and taking steps to make our dreams a reality it a huge accomplishment.  Sure, we’re going to fail and also have a few successes here and there, but when all is said and done, we’re still training and practicing.  That’s what it’s all about. When a sports team loses, what do they do? They train harder and come back better than ever! So when you see your failures mounting up, don’t be discouraged as long as you stay on the playing field and keep working at it.  Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he created the light bulb. In fact, he referred to it not as failure, but as finding 10,000 ways that didn’t work. Just as muscles grow stronger with stress and conditioning, your ability to create successful ventures will increase over time; over many, many failures. That’s what being a practicing entrepreneur is all about.  So, are you ready to keep practising this year? Remember, Practice makes perfect! and successs will be yours. 

Via: Cash Campus 

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31. March 2006 by Othy.

To expect success you have to plan and prepare carefully. By the time you recognize and develop your winner capabilities, the winner in you emerges and you begin to see yourself in a different light. If you fail to plan, your chances of success are almost nil. But if you draw up your ’success map,’ you stand a much better chance of succeeding than someone who didn’t plan to succeed. In every endeavour- passing an exam, losing weight, dropping an addiction or going on vacation-you can expect to achieve your goal if you take time out to plan and prepare. However, do not expect planning and preparation to guarantee a smooth road towards your goals. For bumps and twists, they will come but preparation and planning gives a better chance of overcoming these obstacles. This is so because these problems would have been anticipated. Do not be discouraged when the problems seem to overwhelm you. When a rose is crushed, it gives its sweetest fragrance-so also do your obstacles form your character and bring out the best in you. So in planning, do so carefully, seek advice from those who know better and always feed your mind with encouragement.  Remember, plan carefully, stay optimistic, remain focused and YOU WILL SUCCEED!

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