RISING STARS: Young Musicians in Nigerian Universities

By Olajiga Bolu

Many people believe that singing, rapping, making beats, or generally creating music is an easy task that can be performed by anyone. I beg to differ! I recently stumbled upon a music production software and decided to give it a try. After a month and a half of toiling unsuccessfully, I now thoroughly respect people like DJ Khaled, Jay-Z, and even Young John (the wicked producer) for dishing out masterpieces time and time again. It is not easy to create a sound that’ll tantalize the eardrums of a large audience. This is why I strongly respect the young Nigerian undergraduates who have decided to jump into the music scene.

It might just be me, but every day I wake up I feel like there are ten new Nigerian musicians to listen to. And a large chunk of these upcoming artists are still university students. With the steady growth in the number of students looking for careers in music, it begs to ask the question of “why music?” for which I have compiled three possible reasons:

The artiste has a real passion for music.

The artiste wants to have fun creating some music.

He or she is just trying to secure the bag.

And with the way most musicians live their lives, it’s easy to believe that music is only about the glitz and the glamour. But more than most other professions, music creation requires a lot of creativity as well as hard work, and for a student, it seems double the stress. In a discussion with Oyekunle Ridwan (popularly known as Virus the Viper), an OAU undergraduate, and also an upcoming artiste; he revived the challenges he has faced and what he hopes to achieve. He said although music is something he loves, the money to be made is important. He said it’s not easy balancing his time between his schoolwork and his music-making but he’s grateful to have a very supportive group of family and friends. His major goal is to be one of the greatest musicians in the world and with tracks like “Emergency” and “OAU how far” already bursting speakers around campus, it’s difficult not to acknowledge his potential. 

However, in interviews with a few other upcoming artistes, they all concurred that time management plays a huge part in the quest to make great music and even though it seems very stressful now, the future looks very bright. The journey to the top is never smooth, especially through music. But there is no doubt that if you make it, you make it big. After all, Fireboy and Chinko Ekun were campus artistes.

With the likes of Kheemoya, Fave, Tobiano, and other university artistes, there is no doubt that our generation will produce amazing music. Take “Buju to your ears” as an example. He was just a student of Babcock University when his music began to blow and now he is signed to Burnaboy’s Spaceship records.

Although many upcoming artistes will not become music stars, it is difficult to see many other opportunities for them in a country ravaged by unemployment. The least we can do is listen and support their music, and to all the upcoming artistes out there, in the words of Speedy Darlington, “Take Risk and Succeed!”

Rape - Who is to be blamed?

By Qudus Olaniyi Yusuf.

The primary cause of Rape is the Rapist.

The secondary cause of Rape is the Rapist.

The immediate cause of Rape is the Rapist.

According to the UNICEF report in 2015 ,one in four girls have either been raped or sexually harassed before the age of 18. Of all the rape cases, less than 10% are reported, and out of the reported cases, only a few get justice. People refuse to report rape cases as a result of stigmatization and fear of victimization by their abusers and the society.

It should be noted that people are free to dress the way the want to dress, calling a type of dress indecent is a stereotype on its own. This begs the question about who made the rules about dress mode, because to be fair, well clothed women and even kids get raped.  So, it is not about the dress mode. A man once said that according to the holy book, Matthew5:29&30, “In the case of rape, It’s either your eyes are the problem or your sex organ, you can do yourself the good of taking it off.”

If indecent dressing is responsible for rape, have you seen an unclad mad woman? Are these rapists attracted to her? This issue have eaten deep into our world that some people do not realize the damage that rape can do to a woman. Rapists are sure to be facing some psychological issues. They need to have their heads checked. There is also a theory that proves that an abused person will turn out to be an abuser .They may also be a bunch of people who cannot control their sexual desires.  

Rape can be linked with the need to always dominate which is also an ideological problem that can be traced to how a person sees and views the world. 

“I am physically stronger; hence subduing her will not be a problem". Believing that the female gender is beneath and can be manipulated, mutilated and taken advantage of for pleasure is the driving force for such an unspeakable evil. There is a need for all to know that women are to be respect and their “NO” means "NO" not "TRY HARDER". However, the fact that the male gender also gets raped will not be ignored. Rape is not a trophy. It is wrong to praise anyone for being raped, it is a crime!

So, where is the problem from? From a very tender age, girls are taught to always keep themselves by being decent, when she does not sit properly; she is scolded, she is taught to preserve her pride. She is given so much attention! This is amazing but it is futile if the boys are not given the same education. In a world where boys are praised for being flirty and girls condemned for doing the same, it is futile. If girls are thought to be decent, boys should be taught to respect and not violate the other gender.  A woman's sexuality is not a trophy and should not be seen as a conquest as this practice is common among young adults and teenagers.

Students and other community believe that the government also need to rise to the occasion by first making laws that will discourage such dehumanizing acts like rape. The world is a wild place after all, some people will still not desist from it as there are unrepentant rapist and pedophile among us, we look forward to a world where the security agency should be equipped with state of the arts technology on how to properly tackle rape cases so that the real perpetrators of such acts are punished. It would be a tragedy to persecute the wrong person for a crime.

 Also, the courts should also be swift and smart in giving judgments so that cases do not get piled up, "justice delayed is justice denied".

Schools, NGOs , religious organization ,social clubs should go on massive sensitization of their members and the populace about rape and its effect on both prey and predator. Sex education should be introduced to primary school thereby rape and it consequences should be extensively discussed. Other organizations and higher institutions should constantly hold seminars and lectures to educate their members and student. NGOs, especially relating to women and the girl child be supported in aiding vulnerable ones in the society get justice as and when due.

The fight against rape is one that involves all and sundry, if we all work together we can drastically reduce rape cases in our society. A rape free society creates a safer and more rewarding society and the female gender don't have their dreams truncated at various levels of their lives. We hope our generation will build world where all genders can walk freely and alone in a dark alley without fear of their life and future being threatened. Rape victims should rise above stigmatization and victimization and report their violators by not bowing to death threats.

#JusticeForUwa

#JusticeForBarakat

#SayNoToRape

Tragedy Strikes Hard as OAU Loses a Female Student

By Emmanuel Dominic

It is unfortunate that at this criticial period, an Obafemi Awolowo University student by name, Aisha Akande passed away. She was a Part 2 student of Demography and Statistics department.

The death of the 20 year old student was announced on the class whatsapp group, on the 4th of June 2020. Devastated by the news, her peers expressed how diligent and steadfast the late Aisha was.

However, the reason for the death is yet unknown, but it was confirmed that she was ill for a while before she died. 

Our Condolences to her family and friends.

OAU Students Join in the Protest against Rape

By Yusuf Qudus Olaniyi

With regard to the raving issue of rape, a body of concerned students of OAU as they called themselves converged at the campus gate. This convergence was to protest the persistent cases of rape in the society. This was spurred by the unfortunate rape and murder of a UNIBEN student  100level student; Vera Uwaila Omozuwa.

The students who were still in Ile-Ife converged at 12pm at the campus gate where they were briefed by the organizers. Students present were with their face mask as it was part of the requirement given the current pandemic situation the world is battling.

The students started their walk from the campus gate down to Ibadan road where they headed for Mayfair which will be the first stop, on their way they sang song in solidarity condemning rape and demanding justice for rape victims, they also carried placards with different inscriptions also condemning the evil act of rape.

When they got to Mayfair they were greeted by the friendly men of the Nigerian police force who in return were briefed about the activities that lie ahead. The policemen resorted that they will act as their guide so that unscrupulous elements will not hijack the peaceful protest to cause perpetrate evil. With the men of the Nigerian police force and in the company of some paramilitary agency they proceeded to  to the next stop which was Crown FM 101.5 studio at Eleyele ,they got a warm welcome from the Manager who  received their petition and also promised to grant them the avenue to speak and also educate the listeners about rape and its consequences.

The students entered the buses that conveyed them there and also headed to the palace of the Ooni of Ife . The Secretary to the Ooni was not available but their petition was received with promise to be submitted to him on his return.

Still in the company of the men of the Police force and boys scout, they proceeded to the police station at Moore where they submitted their final petition , after which they headed for their initial convergence point at the campus gate. The security agency saw them off to Mayfair where they bade themselves goodbye.

It was a peaceful and fruitful protest as awareness was being raised concerning rape. They students were able to show that with unity and determination not cause in unachievable given they fact that they were not initially given the green light to proceed with the protest by the area commander, at the end it all ended in their favour as their aim was achieved.

Schools to Reopen or Not

By Yusuf Qudus Olaniyi

When I hear students being merry over the fact that schools in the country will reopen for operations on June 8, I shake my head. As much as the story is false as the Minster of Education has come out to debunk it as well as Boss Mustapha; the Chairman if the presidential task force on  COVID-19, I am of the opinion "that there is an iota of truth in every rumor".

 As we are all aware that confirmed cases of the Pandemic that has bedeviled the whole world and not Nigeria alone, continues to rise astronomically as more cases are being confirmed. The truth in the rumor is that the opening of learning activities might be around the corner as it has been said that institutions should start drawing up plans to protect their students once learning activities commence. As much as no date has been set yet it is a thing of joy as some students have jokingly said they have forgotten their matric number. As for me, I have forgotten my E-portal password, well that could be partly due to the fact that we were asked to change it some months ago from the one I have been using for over two years.

 During a briefing in Abuja on the 27th of May 2020, Boss Mustapha said " I wish to inform Nigerians that the federal ministry of Education will rule out measures for the self-reopening of schools" he stated that work is going on in the pipeline for the reopening of schools.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a halt in all activities including interstate travel, but the truth is people are still travelling by road; the only difference is that it has become more stressful and very expensive.

 There is no gainsaying that a policy or law ruled out by the government of this country is an avenue for some set of people to enrich themselves and cash out greatly. This time around not only drivers who drive their vehicle interstate are hiking their fees as a result of the risk involved, security agents are also cashing in on the opportunity.

Normally transportation from Ile-ife, Osun state to Lagos cost about 1500 naira which is often a direct bus, but as a result of the ban on interstate travel, the movement from Lagos to Ife cost about 5000 naira as the journey will have to be split into different part. 

According to finding, on will need to travel from Ife to Ibadan first, then Ibadan to mowe, the last phase is a motorcycle journey from mowe to Berger.

At the end of it all irrespective of the lockdown or interstate ban, it is best that students and everybody alike to utilize the time to equip themselves and also try to stay safe as "COVID-19 is real".

 

OAU Law, Dentistry, Others Finally Gets Full Accreditation

The long awaited accreditation has been granted to the Faculty of Law,Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Science of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

These Faculties have been unable to grant admission to aspirants because of the lack of accreditation. The university has worked tiredlessly and it has finally paid off as the National Universities Commission (NUC), which has the statutory mandate to accredit academic programmes in all Nigerian Universities, has given full (100%) accreditation to all the academic programmes being run by the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Science of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

However, programmes being run by other Faculties were also accredited by the NUC while all programmes at the Postgraduate level were also fully accredited.

A release by the Public Relations Officer of the University, Abiodun Olarewaju, stated that 

"The Vice-Chancellor also appreciated the Institutional Spirit of the University’s members of the Council led by Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, the Senate, Departmental, Faculty and National Alumni Associations whose commitment assisted, in much greater measure, in putting all necessary facilities in place which eventually culminated in the accreditation of all our Courses, particularly the programmes with initial outright denial or partial accreditation.  With the latest accreditation of 42 undergraduate programmes, all the 107 programmes in the university are now accredited.

Professor Ogunbodede, therefore, pledged that his administration would put in more efforts in ensuring the sustenance of the high moral, academic and cultural standards which the University is noted for.

He, again, called on all stakeholders in the education sector to do all within their power and means to assist the university in putting in place more structure and infrastructure that would make “us fully realise and bring into fruition the dreams of the founding fathers”.

Serendipity

By Bernard Nasamu

In Lagos, the city that never sleeps, time was everything. Everyone found a way to be busy, pacing around, doing one bidding or the other. At the same time, it is known to provide the best opportunity for basically anything and everyone. A city characterized with unending road jams, crazy transport system, noisy nooks and cranny, and of course frustrated inhabitants. Above it all, it was a beautiful nest for as many lovers as possible.

It was 8pm already. The exact time of the day for B&B food factory entertained lovers with the best steak in the whole of Lagos. Not only was the restaurant beautiful, it was notable for the best customer service, of any restaurant around. And just like in any restaurant in the world, the drama never ends. Every day, there were auspicious dates; breakup, make up, proposal, contract deliberations. All came in different pockets and shapes.

 "What could be taking him so long?" 

Anything could make anyone late to a special date. Its Lagos, everyone is believed to be unbalance. Besides, since businesses close by 6pm; movement by road can as well be considered as “the battle of troy”.

Mitchell kept adjusting her wine flair gown decorated with lovely floral petals design. She signals to a waiter, who keeps smiling like someone that won a lottery.

“Excuse me, can I get another glass?" She was beginning to get very nervous. 

“The number you’ve dialed is unreachable” was the response she got after several attempts of calling him. And just as expected, the frustration was crawling up her sleeves.

"But what’s taking him so long,” she thought to herself as she kept checking the time.

It was 9:15 already, and Jeff was never late to any appointment. She couldn’t seem to get a hang of herself. He had called her hurriedly that morning. 

"Good morning beautiful. I have something very important to tell you. Let's meet where we had our first date”.

For a hopeless romantic, Jeff did a lot before he could get Mitchell’s indifferent heart. But, in two years, she stood no chance against his charms. He was attentive, had the right words and most of all very meticulous. There were a bunch of things she admired about him like his bravery. We never plan for a lot of things. Sometimes, love just happens and all we get to do is move along with it.

You remember how they say you know love at first sight? Theirs was not the normal Hollywood where both parties accidentally collide; books fall to the ground and maintain eye contact for three minutes. It was nothing like the contemporary love meets. In contrast, it required a bold step. The sands of time could bear witness to the clash of temperaments. 

Jeff never failed to tell Theo about how he found his amazing love with Mitchell over drinks once. Today, he was going to recount the story in style.

”She stepped into the banking hall that afternoon, and joined the queue like every other person. While I sat in the waiting room, trying to sort out my account malfunction with the customer care attendant. Everyone could sense the change in atmosphere, when she started giving a random dude some intellectual insult. And trust me, she had and awesome way of dishing out a piece of her mind.” Jeff started that day.

"How dare you touch me? What nonsense? You’re such a pervert? You deserve to be castrated”. He continued, mimicking Mitchell.

”With a voice as subtle and commanding as hers, she had the attention of the banking hall. What everyone could see was her rage. All I could see was how her hair fluttered in different directions. It felt like an Indian movie remake. Kathrin Kaif couldn’t act this scene any better, even if she wanted to."

“Dammmmmmnnnnnnn…” Theo remarked with a thrilling smile.

“Dude that’s not all," Jeff paused to continue his love tale. 

"Trust me naw, as warri lawyer wey I be, I took charge of the situation”. Theo and Jeff burst into laughter.

” What did you do?” Theo inquired with a big smile. He was so engrossed and thrilled, he couldn’t hide his excitement.

"I walked up to her and said, pretty lady let me handle it. Trust me, Theo, I regretted that statement. She just blew me off with a disgusting stare. But I didn’t let it get to me. I turned to the accused and give him several offences he could be charged for. Thankfully, an average Nigerian fears what he doesn’t know, especially when “Kirikiri” pops up. He just went on his knees and started pleading. I was so cool with myself. I was expecting the American ‘thank you’ with a peck on the cheek or at least a name and number.” He threw his hands in the air visibly tipsy; he brought his hands to his chest to knot his tie.

“And, let me guess, she totally ignored you,” Theo suggested with a mouth ready to explode with laughter.

Jeff just resorted to get a glass of 1885 Baltimore Shardon, his favorite, and he continued to knot his tie.

"She just looked at me and said, I could handle it, but you just had to throw your weight around. Then she stormed out angrily. But as fate would have it, her complimentary card dropped from her bag".

"The rest is history," Jeff said with a smirk on his face. Jeff takes a look at the time.

“It is 6:30pm already, dude, you caused this” Jeff said with a slight frown.

“And you know today is special!” Jeff exclaimed. 

Theo scoffs “my bad bro, I was just engrossed in the gist.” Theo apologized.

Jeff was a very composed young man. He was slow to anger and of all things hated keeping anyone waiting. Like the popular saying, if you want it, you have to put a ring on it. Jeff was going to propose at dinner. He went to a jewelry store where he got the jeweler to remake his dad’s ring. He stepped out into the lonely garage. He got jumped and before he knew it. It was lights out.

***************************************************

"Doctor! Doctor!! Doctor!!! We have an emergency,” the nurse called as they rushed a patient in to the hospital.

"Rush him down to the ICU immediately. I need the report for the patient."

“His wallet says Jeff Coker and his phone has been buzzing all the way here,” an eye witness related.

"Please, call the last caller on his phone and explain what happened," the doctor implored. 

Mitchell decided to call Theo, since Jeff wasn’t picking, after waiting for close to two hours at the restaurant.

Theo was as confused as she was. 

"He left the house well over three hours ago," he kept saying to an inattentive Mitchell.

Just as she stepped out of the restaurant to get a cab home, her phone rang. She angrily ignored when she saw the caller ID. Jeff should know better than to try to apologize for keeping her waiting for 2 hours. Her phone rang for the tenth time.

"Hello, I don’t ever want to see or talk to you again," was all she said before ending the call.

 Tears started to race down her cheeks, the caller called again. In the moment when she was the weakest, Theo broke the news that Jeff was in the hospital. She felt like running mad. She took off her heels and wig as she hassled the cab driver to the hospital.

“Quickly, take me to St Augustus memorial hospital.” She screamed with a feeble voice

Theo was standing at the hospital counter when she arrived. Then it dawned on her, she couldn’t handle the way her heart felt like jumping out of its chamber. And just out of curiosity she asked Theo with a shaking voice, like a bird drenched in rain.

“What did Jeff want to tell me so badly?”

Theo took a deep breath and said,

"He wanted to propose to you. They found it in his wallet." He reached into his pocket and brought out the ring.

She was trying to piece it all together when the doctor intruded the moment of truth with very disheartening news. 

“Which of you are his relative?” 

“We both are.” They both chorused.

"Well, we did all we could, but we lost him unfortunately. Please, accept my condolences." The doctor stated to them in his office.

At that moment everything stopped. She felt the cold that gripped her feet push the buttons on her shared memories with her heartthrob. Tears seized, wailing stopped, her heart felt pierced with a 12’ inch tornado nail, her body lost strength, her mouth resist the urge to scream. It felt like the death of her. All she could think of was the words of the Italian painter; “life takes the most unexpected turns, just trust to have the right map guide”. She literally slumped into unconsciousness, with her eyes wide open.

 ************************************************                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

A matron just stitched up the patient’s head in the ward next to the ICU.

"Sorry ehn, make sure you take your drugs oh, how will you get home now? This is Lagos oh, be careful next time. She cautioned.

"Matron what happened to this fine bobo?” One of the nurses inquired.

“Ahh! My dear, he was robbed just as he was about getting into his car. The thief must have used gun to hit his head. But he is okay now."

"Thank you, Ma" was all Jeff could muster to the lousy matrons.

 He was about to leave when an officer came in to cross check the report from the witness. The officer follows the doctor into the ICU to confirm the identity of the deceased

“Officer, you’re sure this is a criminal? His ID card says otherwise.” doctor inquired.

“Well, turns out the person lying on your hospital bed is a fugitive” officer Ray continued.

 Apparently, a convicted criminal who broke out of jail was the patient rushed in earlier. He’s been out in the wind for three days. And he has been tailing Jeff the whole day. Robbing his car and impersonating Jeff to commit a crime felt like the perfect revenge plan. After all, Jeff was one of the reasons why he was locked up. That bloody barrister. But, the Big G had other plans. 

Jeff was assisted out of the ward. He entered the reception. He stood numb before what he saw. Standing right there are the people he wanted to see the most. With mouths left opened wide. Shock enveloped the room. 

“Jeff!!!”

 “Mitchell!!!” 

They embraced each other.

  

“Fate is overwhelming”. And once again two lovers reconnect in the most auspicious conditions.

 ...happiness is found in the most unexpected places, tranquil situations and unflinching faces

…