THE ESTHER'S GENERATION

We live in a age where moral standards are falling,people no longer hold on to core religious,moral and social values,parents/guardians are losing grip on their children. What a generation! Fashion has gone wild,we want to wear,act and potray all we see in the movies,even mothers who are supposed to uphold these values have joined the trend in a bid to look "sweet sixteen",the society no longer frown at skimpy dresses,even the church in a bid to have more members have coined the saying;"come as you are" the common slogan;Mind your business" is what you get if you advice! This is not an article to criticise anyone but just a peep into our topic of discuss. This brings us to my point,every lady wants to be have the Esther kind of grace and favour but no one wants to pay her price, I took time to study the life of Queen Esther and I drew a lot of inspiration some of which I'll be sharing with you. I can bodly say its rare to find her amongst us today, young women today are driven with the passion to look trendy,to be a "Tush chick","What's up girl" this same passion has driven a lot to indulge in nasty things just to earn them the looks. I aint negating the fact that a woman should look good and flashy but let it be modest. This brings us to a big question...Does just external/surface adornment make a beautiful woman or wife? The answer is best known to men but for me,I'll say a big NO! Last year,I met a handsome,charming dude called Sonny,we met through a friend,we met a few times and he indicated intrest in me,instantly I liked him,cos he was a gentle man,after a while he kept a distance,I was deeply hurt cos I liked him. One day after about two months,we had a chat and I asked him why he disappeared into thin air,he said the day we went out that I wasn't wearing any make up,he didn't percieve any fragrance from me,he complained about my size etc! Wow! I was amazed and I thanked him and moved on,.for the fact that I didn't have those,made him feel I wasn't in tune with the trend but he liked my person...but to me I was a super woman that I didn't meet his "Standards" doesn't reduce myself worth,it only brought me to the conclusion that most men are moved by what they see. Back to our topic,Do we still have Esthers in this generation? From my research I found out the following characteristics that made Esther a real queen.First to note, Esther was from a slave background,today people have the notion that only those from rich backgrounds are queens. Esther was comely(Esther 2:7-18), all other maidens took extra time to adorn them selves but she had this inner glow and a heart in tune with God,that goes to show us that it's not about the make overs etc but the grace,she had a teachable spirit,most young women today wouldn't follow simple instructions because they think they are strong on their own,we all need mentors and people who we look up to for positive influence,Esther knew her self worth,inadequate preparation and sloppy performance didn't suffice for her,she was quick to understand her divine mandate to save her people. Another very important attribute of Esther was her humility,which I believe was what endeared her to the king.For this same reason Queen Vashti lost her queenship to Esther.Never allow pride and arrogance to deprive you of your rightful position, Just before we take out some actions,we should always know someone out there is watching. What is the essence of beauty with out character? Same as beauty without brains.Pride has taken over the sense of reasoning of so called beautiful girls,they find it difficult to exchange pleasantries with people,they place themselves so high that even a man that has genuin intentions wld be scared of going close to them. Every man wants a woman that is humble and down to earth,a woman that can treat his family as hers. Lastly,Esther never forgot her background,she kept in touch with her people.Don't be too busy or carried away with positions and forget your background.When people get new jobs or appointments,they spend money buying things to look good and forgeting their origin,they try to cover up or pretend to be what they are not,they dissociate themselves from their family &friends,some go as far as denying their family.Esther was proud of her people no wonder she sacrificed her life in exchange of their freedom.If she was too busy for them,she'll have lost her entire people and probably her life too. In all,Esther's life is a complete example of what a woman should be.let's all draw inspiration from her and choose to be different cos they are still kings out there who are not moved by what they see.If we truly want Esther's grace then face her race. True beauty lies in our inner strenght and a real woman is one who sees her self as a hand maiden who is uniquely prepared for a special calling to fufil in her family,and the world at large. Rather than enhancing just beauty,but also how to groom our selves into role models.Best wishes!

Build A JAMB Result Checking Website To Win 150,000 Naira

This is the latest from Nigeria's own Oluwaseun Osewa the owner of nairaland forum. In the past he has contributed to the trend in software and application programming initiatives that encourages the youths in IT in Nigeria to challenge themselves towards been creative. This Competition is open to unemployed application / software programmer. If you are a Nigerian and can write a program in python, cherrypy, MySQL or HD in google code PLEASE ATTEMPT THIS!!! To get the full gist and read the comments of those interested in the contest please visit http://www.nairaland.com/904050/build-jamb-result-checking-website Hello Guys & Girls, The JAMB website goes down every year when results are released. It's a national embarrassment, and it needs to be fixed right away. I bet the JAMB website is going to crash again after the next UTME exam if we don't show them how it's done! I hereby announce a programming contest to create an open source JAMB result checking script just to show the JAMB Tech guys how it's done. You're to create a simple JAMB result checking website that works just like the official version and can handle millions of candidate records and heavy traffic from all of them trying to check their results on the same day. I'm also offering a prize of 150 thousand naira to the person who writes the best JAMB result checking script, but in order to win the prize, you must satisfy certain conditions: 1) You must be unemployed or employed/self-employed and currently earning less than ₦251k per month. 2) You must develop your JAMB result checker with Python 3.2, CherryPy , MySQL 5+, & hg on Google Code. 3) You must indicate your interest before 12 noon on Sunday 1st April by posting a link to your repo here. 4) You must complete the result checker before 6pm on Friday 6th April and link to it on this thread. The writer of the best result checking script as assessed by me and other judges will win One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira only (N150,000), provided you qualify and follow all the rules. The money will be deposited into your account about 3 days after the submission deadline. Ask me any question about this contest and I'll try to answer you promptly. May you win the One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira only (N150,000). Good luck! Oluwaseun Osewa Founder Nairaland

Creativity and beauty - the beginning

My Clock Still Ticking - Thank you God!!!

In a couple of days I will be a year older!!! Yeah for me it is a day of joy, although I might be working on that day or not, I can't help but go back and in remembering bless God for how far I have come. I remember those years when I could not even speak out due to been shy and thinking what would people say or think? Do I have anything sensible to say? I remember when I was so insecure it was difficult to succeed at work. I remember when I started writing for the first time. I remember with love over the past three decades the people who have had positive impacts in my life. Let me tell you the ride to this point has not been all jolly fun. But even with the bumps and rough times, I would not have had it another way. This is 2012 and I have so much more I want to do, so many places I want to see, so many lives I want to touch, so many people I want to meet. But above all I give all the thanks and glory to God for wisdom, knowledge and understanding. From the topic, my life clock is still ticking; unlike so many. It has not stopped entirely, it has not malfunctioned, neither has it been stolen. My time is still moving at the right speed and is maintained by the maker on a regular basis. At anytime you check my life's clock it is always right, whatever season whatever time! Oh and I thank God its not moving backward either. Lol. This is me wishing myself and all my friends who have their birthday this month A JOLLY MERRY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Nigerians and the effect of the fuel subsidy!

Today is the beginning of the New Year and in Nigeria the overall man who went to school without shoes decided the best way to wish his fellow Nigerians a happy new year is to remove the non-existent oil subsidy. After the plea, threat and entreaty of Nigerians that this would be a bad idea he still went ahead to do as he pleased. I wonder what it means to be a leader. Are we in a democracy or a dictatorship? Was he elected or did he inherit the position? Even kings listen to their subjects. This is the summit of a rabid dog barking and looking for whom to bite. The dog has done its worst and it is left to its owner to either put it out or allow it to continue in its rampage. The minutest of service will have an increase in its fee. If you happen to go to the market tomorrow and bought pepper of N100.00 be assured that at the least you would pay the same amount to blend the pepper if not more. You dare not go to the barber tomorrow or for women don't bother asking that the generator be put on to dry your hair in the event that there is no electricity. What this means is that the cost of not just doing business will increase; it means that the cost going to the toilet would probably increase why? If you leave in a house where there is no bore-hole and you have to buy water from the "Mallams" then the cost of buying a bucket of water will increase from N15 to N30 naira. This is where we have what Fela called expensive shit!!. Meaning you must monitor how you go to the toilet and how you use water. It also means that pure water of N5 must increase to N10 abi how do we expect them to meet their cost? To add insult to injury we have been told to all go buy bicycles very funny indeed!!! It is not enough that the man living below the standard of living cannot afford to send his child to a good school because of the high fees at whatever level now what they are saying is that the hard working low income earning Nigerians have now become foreigners in their own country. The only citizens that Nigeria has now are the elites that will be able to afford the high cost of living. This means everybody will be striving at all cost to become a member of the class of the elites which will result in an increase in crime, touting, fraud, Yahoo-yahoo, ritual killings, kidnappings, and all the sorts. Abi how would the average man be able to make ends meet? The sad part is that most of the crime would be perpetrated against Nigerian citizens who are also struggling to make ends meet. Even LASTMA and the men-in-black will increase their toll at all the check points at least "man must wak". Will Nigerians fold their arms this time also and leave everything to God in prayer? Are we going down on our knees to ask God for a miracle? Will the "oil subsidy" be miraculously removed by prayers? I wonder what the sermons will be in church this year since a lot of people might find it difficult to go to church as a result of the high cost of transportation and the fact that they would rather spend their tithes and offerings on their family instead of taking it to church. I would love to be a fly in the churches now to hear how the religious leader would walk us through this. Well I am sure that even the law enforcement will soon have their hands full before the middle of the year if nothing is done to alleviate the rubbish that has been dumped on Nigerians by THE BADLUCK WHO WENT TO SCHOOL WITHOUT SHOES OR BAG and expects every other Nigerian to do the same. Must we all pass through the same picture that he painted during his campaign before we realise that this is not the way Nigerians should live? Which way Nigeria? Which way Nigerians? What next after the removal of the "oil subsidy"?

What is in a name?!

Merry Christmas to all my friends, family and loved ones. May the joy of the season not pass us by neither shall it leave us behind in Jesus name!!! What is in a name? why do we have names in the first place? What meaning or impact does the name we bear or are given have on our lives? A lot of us have wonderful names with great meaning but we reduce the name and its effect by ourselves or we allow our family and friends to do that for us. When you shorten a name it no longer makes sense and you reduce the full impact the name should have. This is why I use Mariam instead of Oluwatoyin a name with great meaning. I don't like been called "toyin" because for me it has no meaning. At least its difficult for your to abbreviate Mariam. lol Back to the note jare. Some of us even enjoy nicknames with odd and terrible meanings just because we want people to be scared of us or realize our popularity. I love a particular place in the bible in the book of Genesis. It was when God took all the animals to Adam so he could give them names. Adam looked at each animal and with wisdom of what they could or would be able to do he gave them names. One thing I love and which stands out for me is the fact that the bible makes us to understand that "whatsoever name Adam gave them that was the name they answered to" If your friend calls you "ijapa" for instance like i hear some people call themselves, it means you are and behave like a tortoise. The same thing goes for names that are shortened. Take for example "wonuola" meaning enter into wealth. People will shorten it to wonu meaning enter or ola meaning wealth. One is good for the the former short form is questionable. Why? where is the child entering into? The uniqueness of the Yoruba race and Africa in general means that names carry a lot of weight and has a great impact in the life of the child. Some people go to the extent of giving names to their children without actually knowing the meaning of such names. I remember a few years ago when we were watching a Mexican film and the lead ladies name was Paloma. At the end of the film people started naming their child Paloma without even finding out what the name means. My people will say "oruko a maa ro eni" meaning a name will always have an impact in the life of it bearer. If the meaning of the name of your child is king then most definitely you shall see the attitude of a king in him. If it means servant however he might behave like one. lol Aside from this is the annoying way that Nigerians now have of pronouncing and spelling names. Oluwatoyin has become Horlowatoying or something worse. I tell people that this has no meaning. If you need to have an English name that people would find easy to pronounce then get one NEVER EVER reduce yourself to a meaningless name that has lost value. Basically if you do that you are like the salt when it has lost its taste and its value. A name must always remain unique and help you to stand out! Please this goes as a sign of warning (and the last warning) to friends and family who feel that the best thing for them is to re-shapen the name my mama and papa gave me the day of my naming. It angers me and makes me feel little in your eyes if your dehumanize my name. Again my name is OLUWATOYIN meaning God is worthy of praise no man has a right here on earth and even in even to change my name. If you find that name difficult to pronounce use my last name or use MARIAM. I sabi vex o! You all know who you are please as we enter into a new year value your name and endeavour to find out the meaning of whatever names you have been given. ONCE AGAIN MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Ps; It is Christmas and not xmas it is also In Jesus name and not IJN don't insult God or ......................

STOP!! IT BEGINS WITH YOU STOP COMPLAINING

I don't know why people actually enjoy dwelling on the negative, rebranding starts with the individual each man change his mind set. We have stayed so long in a place.

Even if we killed or banished all the rich men/people we say are destroying Nigeria and their children will we be able to make Nigeria a better place by our words and criticism? NO! we wont.

Then let us focus on something that will actually make us that people that we want the world to see. Most of the people complaining would do same if they were given position of power.

I AM TIRED OF PEOPLE SITTING IN THEIR HOMES AND COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW BAD LIFE IS!!

When will Nigerians remember to take action and not just blow hot air?

When will they be able to work towards moving their hopes forward?

God is not a magician and so we cannot sit in our comfort zone while we expect him to wave his magic wand and make everything better. We just sit in our homes, churches or mosques and pray and do nothing.

I have come across Pastors that put God in a box on a shelf when they want to do business or have extra marital relationships, I have heard of religious people in all religions that do same.

Nigerians want to have the best of everything, good road, good education, good family, abundant food supply, constant electricity and yet we are the same ones that are corrupt in the little things we do.

Those of you that travel to this said countries and nations that are great, do you not pay tax?

Do you leave the light on when you are not home? Do you delay in paying your bills?

Do you not strive hard to learn or do you go to your lecturer to bribe him so you can pass?

Do you not attend lectures religiously?

How many of you eat something in the bus and throw the rubbish on the streets?

How many of you urinate in the streets?

Please if we cannot change our ways then let us leave the overly corrupt to continue to rule.

Change begins from within the individual. Remember “ he who prays for the good of Jerusalem?”

Abeg make una leave off this constant gnawing on a bone that has long since lost its nutrients and is no longer of use to its owner.

Throw it away and get a better one, a better mindset for the new year that would help us all to move to where we wanna be. We have dwelt long enough in one place.

Evil will only have room to operate when it is given a long rope to operate with. We are reaping the fruit of what we sowed by our inaction and folding of hands.

Today it is Farouk AbdulMutalib, tomorrow who?

Morals go a long way in the life of a child.

When we refused to train our children someone else did and gave him a bad orientation, one that is speaking for us now.

I am tired my friends and fellow Nigerians.

I am tired! LET US REBRAND OURSELVES, IT BEGINS WITH YOU!!