When sizing up your resume, recruiters estimated they spend 4 to 5 minutes on average staring at it.
THE IGBO GIANT STRIDES AGAINST ALL ODDS
9 years ago
In a nation where accountability is in short supply, there is perhaps no greater threat today than the impunity with which government officials and their spouses, at practically all levels, appropriate to themselves and cronies scarce public resources. They fly private jets (where they don’t buy one with government funds), stay in the most expensive hotels both within and outside the country, erect big mansions they hardly live in while moving around in convoys of the latest automobiles. To compound the situation, it is not enough that they enjoy such luxury at the expense of the people while in office, they also want to continue with it after office hence they now make laws to confer on themselves such criminal indulgences as private citizens.
However, as I said earlier, Peter Obi is different. He remains probably the most modest person to have been governor under the current dispensation while his lifestyle must have saved Anambra State billions of Naira, especially when compared with the cost of maintaining his colleagues. Even when he was already a wealthy man before assuming office, Obi exhibited uncommon decency and humility while in office. Within the country, he travelled light, just with one aide and always on commercial airlines as opposed to his colleagues who travelled by private jets. And whenever he travelled outside the country, you would only find Obi in the business class compartment.
As we therefore mark the 15th anniversary of our democratic journey under the current dispensation, Obi’s story is particularly instructive against the background that on Monday, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly passed an executive bill which guarantees Governor Godswill Akpabio about N200 million annually for life. At a time he would have left Uyo (and probably while still earning several millions of Naira as a sitting senator in Abuja), Akpabio would be entitled to a pension at a rate equivalent to the salary of the sitting Akwa Ibom governor.
The law which only “upgrades” the earlier version signed by his predecessor, Obong Victor Atta, also provides for a former governor and his spouse a sum not exceeding N5 million per month to employ domestic staff and free medical services at a sum not exceeding N100 million per annum. A befitting accommodation not below a 5-bedroom maisonette in either Abuja or Akwa Ibom is also waiting for a former governor. Of course, the bill does not forget to take care of the deputy governor who is also entitled to some form of luxury after office. Yet as scandalous as the foregoing may seem, Akwa Ibom is only following in the footsteps of several other states where former governors have literally put their people in perpetual servitude.
In several of these states, there is a law binding the government to provide mansions both in choice areas of Abuja and their state capital for a former governor who is also entitled to several vehicles and retinue of aides. Kano perhaps provides a prime illustration of this scandal and I enjoin readers to just google the name Shekarau or Kwankwaso over “pension residence” for former governors to understand the abuse to which a simple constitutional provision could be subjected in pursuit of inordinate private interest.
However, as I said earlier, Obi is different because he managed Anambra State resources as he would his own. What is even more remarkable is that in a milieu when many governors have virtually bankrupted their states with loans that can hardly be accounted for by any meaningful projects, Obi left substantial amount of money for his successor without any debt. Yet we are talking of a state that is number 22 (among 36 states) in revenue sharing.
Due to the fact that I visited Anambra State only once throughout his extended tenure, I do not know much about Obi’s stewardship beyond what I read in newspapers. So this piece is not about his achievements in office for which I am not in a position to comment. It is nonetheless noteworthy that the 2013 West African Examination Council (WAEC) results released a fortnight ago put Anambra State students top on the chart. Yet a time was when young men from the state that has produced some of the brightest and the best of our country would rather go to Lagos to sell spare-parts than go to school. To the extent that the state now leads in WAEC, Peter Obi must have done something right with education even though that is not the real essence of this intervention.
On March 17 this year when he handed over to Mr. Willie Obiano, the former governor said he was leaving behind billions of Naira in the state treasury. At the time, I thought it was a remarkable development and I wanted to take it up on this page. Before I could write on it, however, there were advertorials in the newspapers which suggested that Obi might not have presented an accurate picture of things. That prompted me to investigate the veracity of his claim.
In the hand-over note to Governor Obiano dated March 17 this year, Obi indeed gave a summary of the full financial statement of Anambra State as at the close of business on Friday, March 14 (effectively his last day in office) as follows: Local Investments (N27 billion); Foreign Currency Investment (US $156 Million the Naira equivalent of which was put at N26.5 billion); Certified State/MDAs Balances (N28,165,985,574); Federal Government Approved Refund (N10 billion) and estimated balances, including March salaries, pension and gratuity as well as approved certificates of already executed projects (N5 billion). That put the total net balance at about N86.67 billion.
The question therefore is: Is the claim true? I believe it is. A March 5, 2014 document originating from Fidelity Securities Limited and addressed to the Anambra State Accountant General on the investment mandate from the State Government reveals the details of the Eurobond securities purchased for the state as follows: Access Bank with 25 July, 2017 as maturity date amounts to $7,413,619; four federal government bonds which will mature in 2018, 2021 and 2023 total $20,382,500; two Gabonese government bonds which will mature on 12 December 2024 total $7,008,750; a Ghanaian government bond which matures on 4 October, 2017 amounts to $5,451,319; Guarantee Trust Bank bond which matures on May 19, 2015 gives $4,307,500 and a First Bank of Nigeria bond which matures on August 7, 2020 will yield $5,254,062. According to the document, the state has already received “total coupon amounting to $855,400 to date from investment in Access Bank and Nigerian Sovereigns” while awaiting “instruction on account to credit with the Naira equivalent.”
Aside the $50 million invested on behalf of the State Government on 31 October, 2013 by Diamond Bank, an Access Bank document dated 31 January, 2014 also confirms the investment of the sum of US$49,966,504.08 on behalf of Anambra State in six Eurobonds for a period ranging between one and five years and an average yield of between 6.2 and 7.1 percent.
While there may be a debate as to the actual total sum of the investments left by the Obi administration since I do not have all the details, it is remarkable that we had a governor who was not only thinking of the immediate but also considered it imperative to invest for the future, especially at a time he would no longer be in office. This is important because he could have spent all the money since there is never a shortage of projects to undertake.
In a way, we can link Obi’s frugality to his background as a successful business man prior to going into politics. He merely transposed the virtues of private business practice onto the management of public affairs. This contrasts with the vast majority of governors who prior to coming to office had no track record in the management of any organization. Because Anambra State has the added advantage of having one of the most entrepreneurial people in our country, a population that uses self-help for development can only complement the work of a frugal and result-oriented governor.
The greatest challenge of our country today is poverty accentuated by the gulf between the haves and the have-not, which seems to be getting wider by the day. Yet many of our public officials flaunt their decadent lifestyles and revel in ostentation at public expense. Today in Nigeria, the cost of maintaining public officials is huge, and accounts for most of the resources that ordinarily should go to development. That is what endears Obi to me. In or out of office, he remains a simple man and a shining example of what a public servant should be.
Living fast lives at public expense is not only becoming an unbearable burden in Nigeria, it is such wasteful and patently criminal tendencies that now increase poverty, unemployment and insecurity. Because our people have practically endorsed impunity, majority of these governors and other political office holders in the country are crossing the ethical boundary by the manner in which they expend scarce public resources without any regard for the common good.
That I have singled out Peter Obi for commendation is because he has a sense of responsibility when it comes to public fund and has chosen the road less travelled. On such a day as this, Obi’s modesty and frugality are definitely worth recommending to the current and future generations of Nigerian political office holders. Even at that, I hope governors who are making laws for their own post-office comfort can see the danger of what they are doing and the dire implications for the future of our democracy. The lesson is all too clear: If and when they eventually push the people to the wall, there will be serious consequences, not only for them but also unfortunately for all of us.
olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com
Saturday, August 11, 2012
SHOULD a man's trousers slip down his legs in the full glare of a busy street, the frantic attempt to redeem the situation almost always results in greater "calamity": the elongation of his rear end (buttocks) while bending to reach the errant trousers! It can be quite embarrassing no matter how briefly or swiftly executed; the public often gets a glimpse of some most confidential commodities best left out of print...
It is however legitimate to wonder why the slip occurred in the first place. Only a curious brand of sloppiness will cause a full-grown man to handle zipping up and belting down (or tying down) of his trousers (or sokoto) with levity.
With the killing machines which the Northern elite has bred and nurtured within its domain over time now out of control and ravaging the region, their pants are way down their knees. And the so-called elders of the region have refused to bend their knees to redeem their trousers. Rather, they prefer to stand, trousers down, talking back at sane advisers from other regions of the federation. One of their ranks, a common rogue of international repute, even imagines himself to be a statesman. Eleleya.
Now, their sins (age-old treachery) has caught up with them; and they stand naked on the streets .
But they are not ashamed.
What is wrong in an elder like Chief Edwin Clark expressing the opinion that Northern leaders were not speaking out against increasing violence in their own region? Or in specifically charging Ibrahim Babangida and Muhammadu Buhari to speak out? Clark had, after all, personally led efforts to dialogue with Niger Delta militants.
The response of these people was a mob attack and a barrage of insults.
The greatest calamities that have assailed Nigeria have come from these ranks. From the 1966 pogrom when Igbos in the North were slaughtered in their thousands to the May 1980 riots in Zaria, the December 18-20 religious riot of Zaria the same year which claimed over 4,100 lives, to the Maitasine wahala in Kaduna, Maiduguri, Borno in 1982, Maitasine wahala in February/March 1984 where over 500 were slaughtered, to Zango Kataf of 1992.The annulment of the June 12 presidential election won by a southerner by Ibrahim Babangida (Evil Genius) almost tore Nigeria apart . The lingering crises in Plateau State is another.
And the still ongoing slaughter of men, women and children in "God's" name by the Boko Haram lunatics.
The North has been a disaster to everybody in Nigeria--including itself. These so-called Northern elders, under whose supervision the masses of their people-especially --youths-- have been misguided by religion and impoverished by profligacy have failed woefully both as parents and leaders.
In their "mob" attack on Chief Edwin Clark's sensible advice, they have unanimously distanced themselves from the sect.
Arewa consultative Forum(ACF) spokesman, A.Z Sanni, insisted that " it is unhelpful to associate Boko Haram with any region..."
Really? Such brazen inanity. With what region should it be associated?
Junaid Mohammed, on his part asks "where is proof" that Northern leaders are culpable over the Boko Haram insurgency. Was Kabir Sokoto not caught in the Borno Governor's lodge? Did Zakari Biu, a Police commissioner not confess to aiding Sokoto's escape? Has any of these criminals or the marauding Fulani herdsmen been sentenced anywhere? What step have any of these northern leaders taken to ensure the criminal elements among them are punished? Has the Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, not complained repeatedly that these northern killers are usually spirited away to Abuja or God knows where to escape trial in Plateau state?
What of Senator Ndume, who is standing trial for aiding and abetting Boko Haram? Was an emir in Borno State not fingered in Kabir Sokoto's escape?
Also reacting, Yerima Shetimma of the youth wing of ACF said "this madness must stop...nobody should accuse the North... " Oh oh! So Shetimma knows there is something called "madness"? But not northern elders tacitly aiding and abetting of mass killings of innocent Nigerians.
Kaita Mohammed, on his part claims "northern leaders want peace for this nation"
Haba! Lah ilah ilah LIE!
Do they imagine that Nigerians have forgotten the northern elders' vow, through Alhaji Lawal Kaita, a northern leader in October 2010, to make Nigeria ungovernable if the president did not come from the North? And Ciroma, and his cohorts gave tacit support. Imagine the contempt in which they hold the rest of Nigeria to make such treasonable vow publicly.
In the 2012 Budget alone, over N900billion has been earmarked for security due to the northern madness. Think what that could have done in terms of development if the North had not been part of Nigeria.
Dinosaurs were supposed to have died out millions of years ago. These northern Nigeria elders may be poof that Science is sorely mistaken...
Bend down and retrieve your trousers. Your bums are unsightly!
N.B: Before this gets to be published in the next 72 hours, I pray the northern Frankeinstein Monster does not strike again...
After many speculations on where the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, are getting the weapons they frequently use to unleash terror in the north-eastern states of Nigeria and Abuja, their main sources have been unveiled.
According to US network TV NBC, most of the Islamic terror group’s weapons are either stolen from Nigerian military stocks or purchased on the thriving Central African arms black market, say the experts, including current and former U.S. officials.
While many have often wondered where the insurgents source their weaponry from, given both the sophistication and the sheer number, ThisDay reports that the group blamed for last month’s kidnapping of nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls routinely raids police stations andmilitary bases in search of weapons
It was also gathered that in some cases, Boko Haram sympathizers in the Nigerian military abet the theft.
“There are hints that sympathizers in the Nigerian army will deliberately leave doors of armouries unlocked for Boko Haram,” said John Campbell, U.S. ambassador to Nigeria from 2004 to 2007.
It could also be recalled that a top military officer was indicted several years ago in Kaduna, for supplying the weapons of the Nigerian army to Niger Delta militants, led by, now jailed, Henry Okah.
The terror group has been conducting its campaign of terror in the northern states of Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon on the cheap, making mayhem with a makeshift collection of small arms, automatic weapons, rifles, rocket- propelled grenades and mortars, experts on the turbulent region say.
The report also stated that apart from weapons, the rebels frequently seize non-lethal equipment that helps them carry out their terror attacks, quoting one U.S. official.
Apart from benefiting from sympathizers in the Nigerian military, the Islamic terror group is said to be able to purchase small arms and occasionally some larger weaponry in nearby conflict zones, “probably Libya, probably Chad.
These arms are believed to be acquired through “shady, black market” arrangements across barely marked borders, as the official put it.
The porousness of the Nigerian borders was also said to beencouraging the proliferation of the country with illegal arms, according to Michael Leiter, a former director of the National Counter Terrorism Center and now an NBC News analyst.
“The collapse of Libya has further flooded the market,” said Leiter. “Whether these came from Chad, Nigeria, or Libya is almost irrelevant, as such arms are widely available.”
Arms trade expert William M. Hartung agrees. “It’s one conflict after another,” he said. “Because of the nature of the conflict … theconcentration of conflicts … the black market in Central Africa is more vibrant than other places.”
Campbell, the former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, says the array of small and automatic weapons, grenades, mortars, mines and perhaps car bombs “is all Boko Haram’s soldiers need to carry out their brand of terrorism.”
It could be recalled that officials in Cameroon on Tuesday showed a cache of weapons they said was seized near the Nigerian border last month following a rescue of some other kidnapped victims.
A Cameroon defense ministry spokesman, showing off a variety of weaponry including Russian-made AK-47s, said the cache represents what they are up against on a daily basis in trying to combat Boko Haram.
SOURCE: eCruzi
When sizing up your resume, recruiters estimated they spend 4 to 5 minutes on average staring at it.
Turns out, though, they’re wrong. Very wrong, according to jobs-matching service TheLadders.
TheLadders used “eye-tracking” software to study the way recruiters actually vet resumes. TheLadders’ jobs search expert, Amanda Augustine, calls the results “frightening and shocking.”
Your resume gets just 6 seconds worth of scrutiny.
In that eye-blink, your fate is sealed. Either you’re going to graduate to the “hmmm, this one might be worth a phone call” pile, or your resume is off to become land-fill.
The study measured not just how long recruiters looked at a given resume, but what elements of a resume merited the most, or least, of their attention, Augustine said. From this data, what Augustine calls a “heat map” was created, showing a resume’s cold spots and hot spots.
Recruiters spent 80 percent of their time on the following “hot” details, in descending order:
Name
Current title/company
Previous title/company
Previous position start and end dates
Current position start and end dates
Education
The rest of what you provided -- the stuff about your coaching Little League, the handsomely-shot photo of you -- you might just as well have skipped.
“We were especially surprised about the photos,” Augustine told ABC News. There are venues, she said, where having a photo might work to your advantage -- in some online self-promotion, you might want visitors to click on it. But on a piece of paper, she said, all a photo does is consume precious few seconds of attention that should be going to your qualifications for the job.
A photo doesn’t tell a recruiter if you’re qualified or not. Plus, plenty of recruiters won’t even look at resumes with photos, she said, since to do so can leave them liable to charges of gender, age or race discrimination.
“You want your information to be organized,” Augustine said, with the most important stuff (the items listed above) high up. Unless you’re a recent grad, put your education last.
Bullet points are fine, but use them sparingly -- to draw attention to only the most important items. Dense blocks of text make it hard to digest information quickly, so avoid them.
Less is more, Augustine said. Your resume should be just an “elevator pitch” -- you key strengths, put succinctly, framed by plenty of white space.
SOURCE ABC
Have you ever posted a Facebook status that garnered few if any likes or comments? Did you spend the rest of the day feeling rejected, lonely and unhappy as a result?
That's OK. In fact, according to science, it's totally normal.
Researchers from The University of Queensland in Australia have found that the more Facebook likes and comments a person receives, the more likely they are to feel good about themselves. Unfortunately, the opposite appears to prove true too: The fewer likes and comments your status receives, the worse you're generally going to feel.
The findings were published in the March issue of the The Social Influence Journal, a peer-reviewed academic publication.
For the study, "Threats To Belonging On Facebook: Lurking And Ostracism," the researchers divided 79 undergraduate students from The University Of Queensland into two groups. One group of students was directed to post a Facebook status that the researchers ensured would get zero likes or comments by secretly making it invisible to the public. The other group posted statuses that the researchers ensuredwould receive a surplus of likes and comments.
The researchers then asked the participants about their sense of inclusion, belonging, self-esteem, control, sense of meaningful existence and perceived interest. The group who experienced more Facebook interaction scored higher in all categories.
Don't worry: To ensure that none of the research subjects went home feeling less than stellar, the researchers told participants at the end of the study that the statuses that garnered zero responses were actually programmed to be invisible.
According to the report, "This was done to ensure that participants would not leave the room adversely affected by the ostracism they may have experienced."
The need for interpersonal relationships and social validation is well documented. But the study does join a growing list of others that corroborate the hypothesis that our interpersonal needs have followed us from the real world into our digital lives.
Just as in the classroom or boardroom, the importance of popularity is very real on social networks. So remember: While sites like Facebook give us one more place to socialize, they also provide one more platform to feel ostracized too.
SOURCE: ABC
SOURCE: ABC
Choices are never easy, especially when it comes to life's big ones.
Phoebe, 39, came to see me one day, distraught after learning from a doctor that she might not be able to conceive. "How long have you been trying?" I asked. "On and off for eight months," she told me. Even though she had always wanted a baby and had been married for seven years, she confessed that she'd had a lot of trouble committing to getting pregnant. She didn't understand why; in fact, she'd had a similar problem deciding whether or not to marry her (very) long-term boyfriend, to the point that she almost lost him.
Of course, getting married and starting a family aren't decisions you enter into lightly, but Phoebe had a major case of life procrastination. That's what I call voluntarily putting off something you truly want to do, despite knowing that you'll probably be worse off because of the delay.
People tend to think of procrastination in terms of concrete to-dos—waiting until the last minute to turn in a work report, say, or paying bills late. But it can also take hold when making life decisions both small and large, from Should I join a gym? to Do I ask for a raise? These missed opportunities can damage your career or relationship and also give you a nagging, frustrating feeling that you're stuck in a rut of your own making.
Research shows that about 20 percent of adults are chronic procrastinators, but many more of us occasionally put off until tomorrow what we need—and even want—to do today. Yet for the most part, we don't realize that it's happening or that, in the process, we're undermining our own happiness. Procrastinators tend to be far more stressed than those who don't have this habit; they get sick more often, too. If you can suck it up and act, however, you'll find your day-to-day a lot more pleasant and rewarding: Your mind will be released from all that ruminating and second-guessing, paving the way for other opportunities. After all, life is richest when filled with milestones and accomplishments—not with regrets of what you should've and would've done, if only.
So why would a woman push off a marriage or baby she really wants? Why would someone stay in a job she no longer likes? It's not that they're lazy or overly laid-back. Life procrastinators may dread failure. They may have a fear of success, an urge to be defiant, a perfectionist streak or a need to take risks—all of which can get in the way when trying to make a decision. Take my diagnostic quiz to see if you are a life procrastinator, then keep reading to discover what's driving your indecision and find real-world solutions that will finally set you free.
| 'I don't want to fail' |
If you're so afraid of being bad (or, worse, just OK) at something that you'd rather not try it at all, here's a news flash: You're a perfectionist. Perhaps you hardly ever work out because you'd feel terrible if you killed yourself at the gym but couldn't lose the last 10 pounds or hone that six-pack. Carrying this to the extreme, you may also believe that you are only lovable and worthwhile if your performance at everything is nothing less than outstanding.
Try This
The next time you're hemming and hawing over something you could crash and burn at, take a page from Sheryl Sandberg and tell yourself, Done is better than perfect. Chances are, no one will notice if the results aren't up to your exacting standards; they'll just be impressed that you got results, period.
| 'I'm afraid of being successful' |
On the flip side, some of us become paralyzed by imagining that if we excel, we will be expected to keep performing at that level. Or we freak out that the achievement would change our lives in unpredictable and uncontrollable ways. Concerns you may have: If I ask for that promotion and get it, who's going to help out with the kids if I have to put in more hours at the office? Are my work friends going to stop inviting me to lunch?
Try This
Accept uncertainty. The reality is that any choice you make (even if you decide to keep things status quo) will have upsides and downsides. Imagining the potential negatives (My friend at work will be so jealous) and telling yourself that it will work out (She'll deal, or else I'll find a new confidant) can help you stop obsessing and start doing. Worried that you'll be less available for your loved ones? That's a classic fear of success. Keep in mind that if and when you accept a new position or job, you can set boundaries at the outset. Thing is, you can't do that unless you apply first.
| 'I don't want to be told what to do' |
You aim—fine, you need—to be in charge. You probably grew up with an authoritarian parent who was very controlling. Unfortunately, now you're asserting yourself by delaying things that must be addressed, like making basic updates to your circa-1950s kitchen. Your story is: "Hey! No one can order me around!"—even though no one really is—"I'll do it on my terms!" Which may be never.
Try This
When you find yourself resisting a change, ask yourself how you're really feeling at heart. Indecision often masks anxiety, sadness or anger. Perhaps your parents were always fighting about money, so even though you have the cash to renovate, you feel stressed-out about spending it. Figuring out which emotion is stopping you from acting can make a decision clearer because it becomes more obvious that the conflict over taking action is coming from you. In other words, you are fighting only yourself.
| 'I get a rush out of doing things last-minute' |
Some put-offers aren't anxious at all: They thrive on the excitement of scrambling to hit deadlines, often because they find the daily grind boring—and boredom terrifying. A thrill seeker who wants to go on some fantasy vacation, such as a boat cruise in the Galapagos, may delay purchasing tickets but keep checking to see how many spots are left until, finally, she is forced to commit because the trip is almost booked.
Try This
If you're always telling yourself that you're at your best when under pressure, prove it (in a small, innocuous way). Do a task—like tossing in a load of laundry or completing your expenses at work—at the last minute, as usual. Then one day perform that same chore ahead of schedule. You'll most likely notice that your overall routine seems a little saner and that you have more free time on your hands when you knock stuff off early. Even better: You'll have a full underwear drawer—and a cool trip to look forward to.
Now try these quick tips that will help you tackle those little things you put off, courtesy of John Perry, PhD, author of The Art of Procrastination:
| Nag Yourself |
It's hard to ignore in-your-face reminders. Put Post-its on the fridge at night with a list of errands for the next day. Program your computer to send alerts, or try a task-manager app like Any.do. Place the bag of clothes to return to the store right by the door so you have to take it with you.
| Think of an ominous task |
Maybe it's changing the oil in your car or cleaning out the attic. Soon you'll find yourself doing what you really need to do because it's better than the dreaded chore. It's all relative: Some activities may be mundane, but they're not nearly as bad as an oil change.
| Make tinier to-dos |
For instance, instead of writing, Send thank-you cards, jot down, 1. Find thank-you cards. 2. Write them out. 3. Address envelopes. Why it works: The thrill of checking off all those little tasks makes you feel so successful that you're revved to keep on going. Mission, accomplished.
SOURCE ABC
