Nigerianstalk.org says: "Write for Us"

Though we openly accept submissions from anyone who writes generally about Nigerian affairs, we, at NigeriansTalk.org, are actively seeking regular contributors for the following categories:

Culture and Society

Politics

Technology

World Affairs

As a regular contributor, we expect that you will post at least twice a month to the NigeriansTalk.org blog, though we are willing to accommodate changes in your schedule. Posts will either take the form of our weekly Nigerian blog reviews, information or opinion pieces within your category of interest, or other kinds of articles we may occasionally ask you, the contributor, to write. As a contributor, you have a large measure of independence in the choice of topics/issues you wish to cover either within your category of choice, or others.

Your contributions will be simultaneously posted on the designated blog – NigeriansTalk.org – and on a personal blog of your choosing. As a contributor for our site, you would have the opportunity of reaching a wider audience with your contributions and fresh perspectives on Nigerian.

If you are interested, please send an email with a BRIEF bio for our site and a short writing sample to mail@nigerianstalk.org In keeping with our mission to represent the wide diversity of Nigerian blogosphere, we encourage both experienced bloggers and novices to apply.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The Youth Bank Launch

Youth Bank is an initiative that seeks to empower the Nigeria disadvantaged youth from the street, the area boy and girls and so forth. Youth Bank launched its Nigeria branch last Friday at US Consulate, Lagos. The launching was done after they have successfully trained 8 youth that will be given loans to start off their businesses.

Victor and Clara presenting Youth Bank Model.

This initiative is unique in the sense that they just give skills to the youth but they also provide the capital which will be paid back in the long run to train other fellows. Also, they include leadership training into their programmes to ensure that they are making entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow.

The Youth Bank Fellows with YB Program Officer; Nike and Clara Chow to the left

Youth Bank, a micro business incubator for the street youth was started by a Nigeria in the Diaspora and it's just natural that Nigeria gets to benefit. Youth Bank has partnered Freedom Foundation, The Nigerian Network of NGOs and Skill Development Foundation among others.

Victor Gotvbe the Youth Bank Nigeria president believed strongly in the impact Youth Bank will make on Nigeria youth his counterpart from the State Clara Chow shared in this enthusiasm as well. At the event were change makers of notes in person of Ms. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Gbenga Sesan, Ms. Mylah Osifo and myself.

Ms. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti; NNNGO board Chairperson

Mr. Gbenga Sesan; Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative



Ms. Mylah Osifo Executive Director of Freedom Foundation in lemon green outfit.

W.TEC’s Girls Technology Camp

The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is now accepting nominations for its upcoming W.TEC Girls Technology Camp.

The 1-week residential camp will take place in Lagos in August 2009. This W.TEC initiative is aimed at helping girls develop an early interest in computers and other information and communication technology (ICT), as well as enabling them develop positive images of technology-related careers. The long-term goal is increased numbers of women working with and using information technology productively for professional and leadership activities.

Objectives:

The primary aims of this camp are to:

1. Introduce Nigerian girls to computers and other ICTs, which they can use productively for school, work and leisure
2. Encourage girls to consider a technology career, by giving a realistic and positive idea of technology-related careers through career talks and career-themed films
3. Help girls plan their future careers with the assistance of mentors and women currently working in these fields

Criteria for Eligibility:

The programme is targeted at female students who are:

• Female students currently in JSS 2 to SSS 2 and no younger than 11 years of age
• Must have an excellent academic record
• Interested in learning about computers and other information technology
• Must have the consent of either parent or guardian to stay in the camp with other girls for 1 week in August 2009

Application:

To apply, nominate a girl who meets the above criteria to be invited for a pre-selection written test and oral interview. Include the following information for the nominee: First and Last Names; Class; Age; School; Contact Address; Phone Number; and Email Address.

Your nominations should be sent by the deadline of Friday, May 29^th, 2009 by:

1. E-mail: info@w-teconline.org
2. Mail: W.TEC, P.O. Box 50389, Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos
3. Online submission from our website: www.w-teconline.org
4. Hand delivery to our office: W.TEC, Suite 88, Block A-4, Sura Shopping Complex, Simpson Street, Lagos Island , Lagos

The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre is a Nigerian non-governmental organization working to encourage Nigerian girls and women to use ICTs to empower themselves socially and economically.

For More Information: Oluwatoyin Ajao-Dawodu Women's Technology Empowerment Centre- W.TEC
Suite 88, Block A-4,Sura Shopping Complex
Simpson Street, Lagos Island
Phone: + 234 1 850 9782, 0706.624.7947 Email: info@w-teconline.org

Website: www.w-teconline.org

Democratic Leadership Training Workshop: A program of ALF

• Are you a Female Doctor?
• Do you want to develop your leadership skills?
• Are you interested in exploring networking opportunities?

The Africa Leadership Forum in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Nigeria, has been organizing since 2007, a series of training workshops for young Nigerians in both private, public and not-forprofit sectors: women’s group, professionals, youth organizations, media, labour organizations, NGOs, community leaders, etc. This particular training is targeted towards FEMALE MEDICAL DOCTORS. As in the past, the primary objectives of these workshops among others are to:

• Enhance and sharpen participant’s leadership skills in participatory democracy and governance

• Provide opportunity for inter-political networks and linkages towards positivecollaboration at both lateral and vertical levels

Method of Application

A two-page resume giving full description of yourself, place of residence, profession, your local government and state of origin. Also, applicant should state previous leadership position(s) and experience(s) with a statement of her understanding of leadership and what she intends to gain from the workshop. Applications should be forwarded in Ms-word format as an attachment by e-mail. (See email address below)

Condition for Participation

Selected participants will be required to pay a non-refundable commitment fee of N2, 000 upon arrival at the workshop and cover their own travel expenses to & from the workshop venue. The Africa Leadership Forum will be responsible for participant’s accommodation and feeding only. Past alumni of the DLTW should not apply.

Workshop Date: May 25 – 29, 2009

Application Deadline: May 4, 2009

Venue: ALF International Conference Center 1 The Bells Drive, Idiroko Road Ota – Ogun State

For further Enquires: Contact Workshop Coordinator, Imoleayo Owofadeju
Tel: 08055061535,08067530237 FAX: 039 600043

EMAIL: democraticleadership@africaleadership.org or imoleayo@africaleadership.org

You may visit www.africaleadership.org for more details.

Dating 101: The Best Relationship Advice I Ever Got- By Sara Anderson for Redbook

Found this on Yahoo Page and sharing it was only thing that came to mind. Hope you will all find it useful.

Nine women spill the secret words of wisdom that keep their relationship blissful.

#1. Polite Fight

"On my wedding-invitation RSVP cards, I left space for guests to write their favorite wedding wisdom. The tidbit that rings truest after almost nine months of marriage is: 'Attack the issue, not each other.' How it works: If my husband and I disagree about something, we stay focused on the issue and skip the personal put-downs." -- Melissa Gitter Schilowitz, 31, Metuchen, NJ

#2. Fit to a Tee

"My grandmother insisted that I learn how to play golf. 'If your husband loves to play, you can go along and spend hours together,' she said. So I took lessons, and now my husband and I hit the links once a month. We both love the game and are thrilled to share a hobby, even when we spend half an hour looking for my out-of-bounds balls!" -- Aimee Borders, 27, Houston, TX

#3. Tabletop Trick

"My aunt told me that if I'm running late when it's my turn to make dinner, just set the table. That way my husband thinks he'll be eating any minute, so he doesn't start complaining, which buys me some time. It's a silly trick that sounds straight out of the 1950s, but I have to admit that I've tried it a few times in the three years I've been married -- and it works!" -- Dawn Clayton, 34, Holdrege, NE

#4. Boob-Tube Brilliance

"Because my husband is such a remote-control freak, my mom suggested that we have 'my turn' TV nights. That means three nights a week I get to hold the remote and watch whatever I want, and on the other nights it's his turn to hold the remote and watch whatever he wants. Now when he starts flipping through the channels, it doesn't get on my nerves like it used to." -- Angela Clayton, 27, Odenton, MD

#5. Pop the Question

"My sister-in-law passed this helpful hint on to me, and it has served me well for our five years of wedded bliss: 'Marriage is not mind reading, so ask your spouse what he/she wants and believe what he/she says.'" -- Clare Graca, 27, Dallas

#6. Nix the Nit-Picking

"Before I said 'I do,' my mom (who's been married to my dad for 55 years) told me to take out a piece of paper and write down the top three things that bugged me about my husband-to-be. Then she told me to forget the things on that list and forgive him for not being flawless. Once you make a commitment this big, she explained, you can't let petty things get in the way. In our eight years of marriage, my husband and I have had two kids, tackled cross-country moves and started two businesses -- and so far, so great."-- Rebecca Hart Blaudow, 31, Jacksonville, FL

#7. Space Smarts

"Always have separate closets, my best friend told me. It may seem silly, but I listened to her and made sure to find a one-bedroom apartment with two closets (mine being the larger, of course). Now my husband and I each have our own private space, and we respect that: If he wants to keep his shoes in one huge heap or leave his dirty clothes in a pile on the floor, the mess doesn't bother me a bit!" -- Patricia Bontekoe, 26, Lake Hiawatha, NJ

#8. Agree to Disagree

"Before we got married, my minister told my husband and me, 'You are two imperfect people making an imperfect union, and that's wonderful.' This advice made me ditch my belief that in a happy marriage, the couple always agrees. My husband and I have learned to appreciate our differences (yes, even differences of opinion!); in fact, we encourage them because we realize now that those differences are what makes each of us unique and special." -- Beth Swanson, 28, Chicago

#9. Comic Relief

"Before I headed down the aisle, my stepfather told me to always laugh and never take myself too seriously. After four years of marriage, I know that this trick works. My husband and I often play practical jokes on each other and always try to crack each other up, even in the middle of an argument. Hey, if one person laughs, a fight tends to fizzle, doesn't it?" -- Lisa Giassa, 31, Bogota, NJ

Anti-Pop Advice From the Experts

You've probably heard a few of these pieces of marital pop wisdom before. If so, these marriage experts say to promptly forget 'em.

Love means never having to say you're sorry. "Oh, please! In marriage, love sometimes means having to say you're sorry even if you don't know what you did or you didn't mean to do it." -- Trisha Taylor, psychotherapist, Houston, T

Always be totally honest. "What are you going to do, tell him that he's just too short and you can't stand his mother? Sometimes you need to temper the truth." -- Tara Fields, Ph.D., marriage, family and child therapist, Marin County, CA

Children come first. "This is bad advice if it means your husband always comes second. Of course you should love and care for your kids, but you should never lose sight of your couple-ness. The best thing a child can have is happy, fulfilled parents who are deeply in love." -- Mary Pender Greene, chief of social work services, Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, New York

Always keep the peace. "No, no, no. If you don't face a hot issue head-on, you'll stockpile negative feelings. And before you know it, 20 years go by and you're still fighting over the same thing because you never resolved it in the first place." -- Rebecca S. Ward, M.S.W., psychotherapist, Little Rock, A

Never go to bed angry. "Forget it. Often a couple needs time to calm down before they can rationally wrap up an argument. And that may take a few days, so in the meantime, get some sleep!" -- Gilda Carle, Ph.D., psychotherapist, New York

Uzoma Okere Case Adjourned

This is an update on Uzoma Okere's case; Due to well, some court uncontrollable circumstances, Uzoma case has being adjourned till the 18th of February 2009.
This justice will surely not be denied!

Examining Negative Quotations that affect women image/dignity/Fundamental Rights

Women have had to struggle to attain and claim what belong to them, due to the fact that the so many demented recoginsed scholars and leaders had deemed it fit to belittle women and make them feel like they don't count in the society. A look at the quotations by some of these demented philosophers below will give you an insights into why women struggle to claim their rightful place in the society is necessary.

1. " Nature intended women to be our slaves. They are our property." -Napolean Bonaparte
2. "Women are nothing but machines for producing children." - Napolean Bonaparte
3. "Women are like elephants. Everyone likes to look at them but no-one likes to have to keep one." - WC Fields
4. "Women should be obscene and not heard." -Groucho Marx
5. "Women's intuition is the result of millions of years of not thinking."- Rupert Hughes
6. "Women: Can't live with them, can't bury them in the back yard without the neighbours seeing." - Sean Williamson
7. "Women should have labels on their foreheads saying, 'Government Health Warning: women can seriously damage your brains, genitals, current account, confidence, razor blades, and good standing among your friends'." Jeffrey Bernard
8. "A woman is an occasional pleasure but a cigar is always a smoke." - Groucho Marx
9. "The appropriate age for marriage is around eighteen for girls and thirty-seven for men." - Aristotle
10. “So it is naturally with the male and the female; the one is superior, the other inferior; the one governs, the other is governed; and the same rule must necessarily hold good with respect to all mankind” - Aristotle
11. “A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her”- Oscar Wilde
12. “Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship”- Oscar Wilde
13. “Women are made to be loved, not understood” - Oscar Wilde
14. “No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating” - Oscar Wilde
15. "All women become like their mothers, and that's their tragedy. All men don't, and that's theirs." -Oscar Wilde

"Aristotle, maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths"
From this error in judgement, how can anyone take what he wrote seriously?
Oscar Wilde with all his sayings on women lived on his beloved wife Constance money for a long time. And that afforded him a life of luxury. That was before he was imprisoned for his "gross indecency" with other men.

Here is what Socrates says "My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher."
This just nailed it. It made a lot of things clearer as the interpretation one can give to this is these philosophers that saw nothing good in women or that even believed women to be their slaves were unhappy. Why carrying out this on women?

 
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