Ojisi

Of Teachers, Social Contract and Educational Development

02:37

It was William Arthur Ward who once wrote “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires”. Today is Teacher's Day and the 2024 theme: Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a New Social Contract for Education recognizes the valued roles teachers play as they are the most important in-school factor when it comes to learning. I come from...

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Africa

The African Child, Still in Search of Justice

10:47

Today is the Day of the African Child. There is so much to be said about the African Child especially in contemporary times, particularly in Nigeria even as we navigate through the New Normal, brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. In these times, the African Child is inundated with a litany of needs and wants amidst plenty. A striking paradox that defines the present...

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Albinism

Strength Beyond All Odds: Albinism and the New Normal

09:23

Hello my people. So today I decided to come out of my cocoon. I wrote this piece in my capacity as Director of Communications and Strategy for Onome Akinnlolu Majaro Foundation. Read through and let me hear your thoughts. It feels good to be back! aA. A'a a. L a'a. A..... A.. A. Aaaa is a whole lot of myths and misconceptions about albinism and PWAs...

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Love Is Not War.

01:22

Hola people! See eh, when God puts your call on hold, my dear, stay on the line o. They say Love is a beautiful thing and he who finds a wife, the scripture says, finds a good thing.I am really excited for my friend, the higly cerebral and very gentlemanly Bunmi Adefisayo. The dude is tall and fine sha o! Baba traveled across the Niger...

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Issues

Of "Yes" and No" Dealing With Rejection.

01:17

Hello people.

Howdy!

I have missed you here.

Dealing with rejection can be tough. During the course of this week have had to talk to people about life and how it deals. Life will always give you either a "Yes" or "No", the earlier you understand it, the better for you as a person.

It is imperative we prepare ourselves mentally and emotionally for whatever answer life gives us whenever we ask questions. Doing this enables us immediately adjust and to move on to the next step.

Let me share with you the golden words of Leslie George, a personal and organizational development expert. I find these words very useful and impactful in our dealing with rejection.

You applied for a job, and was invited for an interview. You attended and was convinced you did well. Later, you were informed you weren't successful, and they thanked you for attending. This has happened several times in a row.

You responded to an internal job opening at work. You fit the criteria. Someone else was given the job. You had applied 3 times to different openings, and all 3 times, you were rejected. It's starting to affect how you think of yourself.

Well, you interviewed for a job, as other candidates did. You believe you did well, as other candidates may also believe. The truth is the organization will select whomever they agree fits the role best. It means that someone else had something you didn't. It's not always a reflection of how incompetent you are, but a reflection of what the organization wants, and it wasn't you. Keep walking. No matter how well prepared you are for an interview, the organization will still choose whom they want, and chances are it may not be you.

As long as their processes are fair, and the interview was professional, and someone else didn't use "unfair advantage" to get the job instead of you, keep walking. Keep preparing, keep researching what job advertisers and recruiters may be on the lookout for. Don't lose steam. If it's a job you want, keep working at it.

We all won't be entrepreneurs, we all won't turn to farming. At some point in your life, you are a provider of goods or services, an employer of labour, or you are the labour. Whichever you are today, right now, push as hard as you can. Be informed, be competent, be smart, be hungry for results. Let it be that when you wake up tomorrow, you will be better prepared than you are today.

If you lose today, if you fail today, sit down and think of what to do so you don't lose or fail tomorrow. Make sure you are not standing outside the wrong door. Be that person who keeps moving, rejection after rejection, loss after loss, failure after failure. Tomorrow is another day. Get off your knees, get out of bed, lift yourself off the floor. It's in your hands. Life is like being in the middle of a raging battle; there's nowhere to run. You might as well fight!

I urge you to stay alive, strong and focused after every rejection. If you quit, then you just might lose the next great moment of your life.

Walk on!

OjisiEmezie

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education

Meet 21 Year Old First Class Student From Babcock Who Runs a Thriving Catering Startup in Lagos, Nigeria.

02:56

They say First Class students are usually book smart, quiet, quaint and melancholic in nature. Perhaps this is due to the many long hours of study which deprives them of the ability to socialize and mix up with the rest of the society. This is not the case for Adetomiwa Ogunbote the vivacious, fashion savvy First Class graduate of History and International Studies...

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education

Of Civic Engagement, Youth Peacebuilding and Multilateralism

05:49

Eleanor Klinogo is the African and European Representative at the Commonwealth Youth Council We need young leaders who understand the power of sacrifice; that being in a leadership position isn't all about the fame and what it comes with but it is all about service. Eleanor Klinogo There are contending views as to the proper age definition of who a youth is. Many would prefer the...