A WORLD WITHOUT RULES

A WORLD WITHOUT RULES

scolded child

My childhood was full of rules; rules of which I am not still sure if I should be grateful for.

Every adult or youth I had met have a childhood worth talking about no doubt, just recently some of my friends were sharing their childhood and the rules they broke uncaught. Unfortunately for me I couldn’t contribute much, not even when they mentioned the days of playing with sand, building sand castles or using it as food to be cooked and eaten.

I am not a prophetess but I can guess the question on the lips of every reader will be: How boring must have your childhood been? However this write up is not for sharing childhood stories but the point here is that, considering how stubborn my siblings and I were, we could have turned out as undone products had rules like “don’t go out and play, don’t beg for other people things, don’t play rough play in school, write all your corrections if you fail any class work, date all your work etc not existed. (Now these last 2parts are serious, Saturdays are inspection days. Dad checks our books for dates, corrections etc. so for every missed date or correction, you can be rest assured of a stroke! God helps you if it is up to 10).

prison yard

Every society sets up a system of do and don’t with sanctions for defaulters which has never stopped the idea of rules breaking or criminal activities! Go and ask Saudi Arabia, at least that is one of the strictest nations where broken rules like stealing could attract amputation of one hand while adultery/fornication; stoning to death. One might say “That harsh! Everyone in that country should be a saint” but like we say in our local parlance “I PRAY O”. If despite the stringent punishment attached to every wrong act, we still have prison yards filled with people then imagine would happen in an “imaginary free world”.

When fantasising about your world of no rules, it is easy to be the producer, cast, director with no other person playing any major role and even if they have to feature, we create them as easy going people who are only concerned about pleasing us, attending to our needs when in reality every human being has a selfish tissue in them. A selfish man in a world of rules and regulation is unbearable enough but at least pastor can read some scriptures to persuade him to buy a new shoe for his wife, who he might listen to but what happens when there are no rules? Bible and Koran inclusive (at least they are one book of rules which humans try to adhere to).

the law

Our politicians and legislators; makers of rules who are also serial rule-breakers, fall into this category of selfish people. Create this mental picture: you elect a man to lead you for 4years, provide jobs for your kids when they are through in school, give you good hospitals, construct good roads etc. after the four years, this man who was thin and gangly four years before is now fat and pot-bellied with enough investment in different countries of the world. You send EFCC after him because there is a rule that says what he has done is wrong, he is prosecuted and after about 7years of legal battle you get justice. Now, the justice might not be what you bargained for quite alright, you probably wanted him sent behind bars, he got one million naira fine instead, and the bottom line is you got justice because there is a rule that says so.

That same picture we have just created should be transferred into a system of no rules or laws, this is what we get: peace loving people like you and I will be mad with anger for years but will do nothing. People with little patience will take to the streets protesting; singing solidarity songs, while people with no patience at all will just plan his assassination!!! Mind you this will be carried out in broad daylight after all there are no rules so murder is allowed.

symbol of justice

As human beings, we sometimes don’t know the through extent of ourselves until we find ourselves in situations where no one is watching. Your belief that adultery, fornication, pilfering, drug addiction and other vices is bad might change in the world of no rules! This alone is scary because there is no telling what you might do! At least the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know. Your rate of adultery might not just be cheating on your spouse with a single lady; it could go all the way of snatching other people’s wife. For others, a world of no rules could bring out the traits of lesbianism, homosexuality and paedophilic (which had hitherto remained dormant). God have mercy on you if any of your kid class teachers falls in this category.

Sometimes in life when we find ourselves with people who restrict us, it could be in terms of our dressing, whom we hang out with, use of our time etc. so we can’t wait to get out! We feel like we are in bondage. Actually, in real terms we could be right but on a deeper thought, freedom actually brings responsibility, responsibility which few can handle, responsibility that requires maturity. When you are not matured enough for freedom, you get bondage instead, ironically you might not realise this truth until it is too late to turn back the hands of time. Rules might mean bondage while no rules might mean freedom but the former might just be ideal.

When exercising ones freedom, it is important to respect others’ freedom too. Freedom in this context “this is my land, I choose not to put a no trespassing sign outside, you choose to walk through it claiming you are exercising your freedom, well I could also choose to have your face disfigured”.

If I wake up and find myself in a world of no rules, I will go back to bed instructing people to wake me up when sanity is been restored into the earth. A world of no rules is scarier than a world of rules because in actual sense when we think we have the freedom to exercise our rights we are actually losing them.

HISTORY OF BEVERAGES IN NIGERIA

HISTORY OF BEVERAGES IN NIGERIA

grains

 

Throughout history, wherever cereal grains were grown, humans made a beer like beverage from them: they used wheat in Mesopotamia, barley in Egypt, millet and sorghum in Africa, rice in Asia, and corn in the Americas.

Today, beer making is a major industry worldwide. In 2002 in the United States, 1,800 brewers produced almost 175 million barrels of beer, and on average, each American consumed nearly 83 litres of beer.

Beer is an alcoholic beverage made from cereal grains, like barley, corn, rice, wheat, and oats. It is made using a process called fermentation, in which microscopic fungi called yeast consume sugars in the grain, converting them to alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. This chemical process typically produces beer with an alcohol content of 2 to 6 percent. Over 70 styles of beer are available today. Each style derives in its unique characteristics from its ingredients and subtle differences in its brewing process.

Beverages, from the beginning of time are drinks taken for pleasure; this could be seen in the biblical example of Noah, who drank to the point of stupor. However, this may sound, beverages in meaning has been modified from an intoxicating drink to any drink other than water. Widely distributed into alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, beverages are also in powder form.

In Nigeria, beverages came into existence through the Nigerian Breweries Plc, this pioneer and largest brewing company in Nigeria was incorporated in 1946. Its first brewery in Lagos has undergone several optimization processes and as at today boasts of the most modern brew house in the country.

Nigerian Breweries Plc has a rich portfolio of high quality brands: Star Lager Beer, the first in its portfolio, was launched in 1949; this was followed by Guilder lager beer in 1970; Maltina, the nourishing malt drink, was introduced in 1976 as Maltona, followed by Legend Extra Stout in 1992. Amstel Malta was launched in 1994. Heineken lager Beer was relaunched into the Nigerian market in 1998. Maltina Sip-it, packaged in Tetrapaks was launched in 2005, while Fayrouz was launched in 2006. In 2007, the company introduced Star, Heineken and Amstel Malta in Cans. Goldberg lager, Malta Gold and Life Continental lager became part of the family in October 2011.

Another major beverage producer in the country is Guinness Nigeria, a successful company with a rich heritage and great track record of growth and strong performance. Guinness Stout was first exported to Sierra Leone in 1827 and soon became popular across West Africa. In 1963, Ikeja in Lagos, Nigeria was chosen as the first location outside the British Isles to brew the iconic dark beer. Two years later, in 1965, Guinness Nigeria was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Steady growth in markets for Guinness Stout and Harp Lager during the next 30 years prompted the building of three more major breweries in Nigeria. In 1974, the company built a second brewery in Benin, where it produced Harp lager beer. This facility was later expanded to accommodate a second stout brewery, commissioned in 1978. In 1982, a fourth Guinness brewery was built in Ogba, Lagos to brew Harp Premium Lager beer. This site too, was expanded to include Guinness Stout. Several years later, in 2004, Guinness Nigeria commissioned a new brewery at Aba, Abia State.

In 2011, the Benin and Ogba breweries were expanded to further increase capacity and meet the growing demand for Guinness Nigeria products which include the acclaimed brands: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Guinness Extra Smooth, Malta Guinness, and Harp Lager beer. Other brands include Gordon’s Spark, Smirnoff Ice, Armstrong Dark Ale, Top Malt, Harp Lime, Dubic Extra Lager and most recently, Malta Guinness Low Sugar.

Meanwhile, major producers of non-alcoholic beverages in Nigeria include 7-up, Coca-Cola, chi-vita, la casera, viju milk to mention a few.

The Seven-Up bottling company Plc is one of the largest independent manufacturer and distributor of the well-known and widely consumed brands of soft drinks in Nigeria. Its brands are Pepsi, 7UP, Mirinda, Teem and Mountain Dew.

A Lebanese, Mohammed El-khalil who came to Nigeria for the very first time in 1926, founded the company. The company metamorphosed from a very successful transport business [El-Khalil Transport] in a bid to diversify the then largest transport company in the entire West of Africa. On October 1st 1960, the exact day Nigeria won her independence; Nigerians also experienced the birth of a soft drink giant as the first bottle of 7Up rolled out from its factory located in Ijora. Since then, the company continued to grow in the leap and the bound. In the late 80s, two more plants were established in Ibadan and Ikeja. In the early 1990s when Pepsi International took over 7Up international, the company got great opportunities to introduce the Pepsi brand to the Nigeria people. Today, the company has its Headquarters in Beirut and operational base in three African countries; Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana.

Milo beverage

The last category of beverages is the powder form beverages; this could also be classified under non-alcoholic beverages when diluted with water. Predominant in this category is Milo; made of chocolate and malt powder mixed with hot or cold water and/or milk to produce a popular beverage in many parts of the world. Produced by Nestle, MILO was developed in the 1930s during the depression as a direct response to the fact that children were not receiving enough nutrients from their daily diet.

Originally developed by Thomas Mayne; a Nestle Engineer. He created the nutritious and delicious beverage using local milk knowledge and Swiss cocoa expertise. He named the drink MILO after the Greek mythical character Milo, who was known for his strength. MILO was launched in 1934 at the Sydney Royal Easter show in an area used to showcase new products to the public.

Commonly sold as a powder in a green tin, often depicting various sporting activities, Milo is available as a premixed beverage in some countries, and has been subsequently developed into a snack bar and breakfast cereal. Its composition and taste differ in some countries.

One major competitor with MILO is Bournvita, manufactured by Cadbury Nigeria. The company was incorporated in 1965 and is the market leader in sugar confectionery, gum and food beverages in Nigeria with strong market shares across all three categories. Cadbury's initial objective in the 1950s to source cocoa and prospect for a market in Nigeria led to the establishment of a manufacturing facility in Ikeja, north of Lagos, in 1965.

The Confectionery and Food Drinks segment is involved in the production and sale of Bournvita, Bubba, Stimorol, Tom Tom, Trebor, Buttermint, and Eclairs products. The Intermediate Cocoa Products segment offers cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and cocoa cake. It distributes its products through a network of 43 distributors.

It has been observed that most beverages however have a class of individuals its appeals to. Alcoholic beverages have the tendency to appeal to those without strong religious beliefs, while soft drinks might just appeal to the very religious, children and nursing mothers. Further investigation revealed that individuals between the ages of 50 and above stay away as much as possible from beverages due to its usually high sugar content. While some would prefer certain brand to another, others believe since they all contain the same nutritional value, any brand within reach will just do.

Deviating from sweetened beverages brings one into the world of Tea. The tea plant is a native of Southeast Asia. Brewed from the dried leaves and has been drunk in China since 10th century bc. It was first brought to Europe by the Dutch in the early 17th century ad. After the introduction of tea there in 1657, England became the only European country of tea drinkers rather than coffee drinkers. Tea was introduced into North America by early settlers but was heavily taxed by the British, eventually resulting in the well-known Boston Tea Party of 1773, and it has never competed successfully with coffee as the staple beverage. Tea is drunk by about half of the world's population; China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Japan are the main producers.

Leaf buds and young leaves are used in making tea; the age of the leaves determines the taste and name of the particular commercial variety. After picking, the leaves either are dried immediately and completely to produce green teas—such as pan-fired, basket-fired, hyson, and gunpowder—or are partially dried and then allowed to ferment to produce various kinds of black teas, such as orange pekoe, pekoe, congou, and souchong. Oolong tea is partially fired and then steamed, thus being intermediate between green and black teas. After being sorted, all grades of tea are packed in foil-lined chests to prevent the absorption of unpleasant odours or the loss of aroma during shipment. In China, tea is sometimes allowed to absorb the scent from various flowers; jasmine is a particular favourite.

woman holding a cup of Lipton

Tea is an aromatic stimulant, containing various polyphenols, essential oils, and caffeine. The concentration of caffeine in tea ranges from 2.5 to 4.5 percent, as contrasted to an average concentration of about 1.5 percent in coffee.

Lipton is one of the world's great refreshment brands, making a big splash in the global beverages market with tea that is a healthy and refreshing alternative to soft drinks. Thomas Johnstone Lipton was a pioneering entrepreneur born in 1850, who, by 1880s, had opened grocery shops all over the UK. He had a vision of making tea accessible to all at acceptable prices, with guaranteed quality. In the 1890s, his Lipton teas enjoyed great success in the UK and the US.

Lipton first came to Nigeria in 1959 under the Van Den Bergh Foods Company. In 1972 however, Unilever acquired the world wide Lipton Tea Business. Lipton became Unilever Nigeria’s brand in 1985. The tea blend is imported from Kenya and packed into teabags in the factory at Agbara in Ogun State in the Western part of Nigeria.

In Nigeria, tea is drank mainly at the houses of educated individuals or diabetic patients, the crave for sweetened or intoxicating drink has a higher appeal among its citizens.

The regulatory body of all beverages in Nigeria is NAFDAC, in 2004 the agency came up with 22 soft drinks regulation and in 2005, 23 spirits and wine drinks regulation all in the bid to set a standard for the ever-growing beverage industry. With this regulation put in place, Nigerians are assured of safer and healthier beverages.

THE FAST RISING VALUE PLACED ON UNIVERSITY CERTIFICATE.

THE FAST RISING VALUE PLACED ON UNIVERSITY CERTIFICATE.

In Nigeria, the favourable emphasis on certificate than the brain behind it is no longer strange.

undergraduate students in nigeria

Disheartening as this maybe, students in tertiary institution fight tooth and nail to acquire good grades not minding the cost. This has led to the production of half baked graduates, wide spread habit of cramming, bribery of lecturers in cash or kind (the former more applicable to males and the latter; females) amongst others.

This emphasis also includes “where is your certificate coming from?” in other word, certificates are broadly classified into university and

a nigerian university campus

Nigerian University

monotechnic/polytechnic certificates. And of course, there are sub-group under this classification namely: first generation universities/polytechnics, private universities and states universities.

These first generation universities includes; The University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Ife, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and University of Nigeria Nsukka. These hot cake universities’ products are respected regardless of how well done they are. 

The reason behind the reverence might probably be has a result of their age or the great academicians, politicians etc they have produced in the time past.

Private universities however, seem to be the order of the day since entrance into federal and state owned institution proves difficult every year. Speaking with a student of Bowen university, Bisi oladunjoyin, she said “I spent 3 years at home in my quest for admission into the university but could not make headway despite meeting JAMB and the institution of my choice criteria for admission.” This category of universities is not for the mass culture as tuition fees is from 300,000 naira and above despite being owned mainly by religious organisations.

Certificates from private universities are also treated with reverence perhaps due to the mentality that “rich kids are intelligent kids”. So if you could afford Covenant, Babcock, Bowen Universities and the likes you are definitely from a rich home.

However, the major focus of this write-up is not the comparison between universities’ certificate but rather the obvious prejudice against polytechnic/monotechnic certificate. Interview conducted in the Lagos state polytechnic and Nigerian institute of journalism respectively shows that most students accepted the offer of admission into these schools due to rejection by universities.

Ochigbo Ene of NIJ said, “I pursued Unilag but couldn’t get admission so I had to come down here”. Fayemi Abitoye of LASPOTECH added that, “I came here since I am tired of staying at home”. When asked why the undying love for university when polytechnic whose curriculum covers more of practical than theory should be a better option, Sukanmi Oluwatoyin said, “you know our country; everyone respects a B.Sc holder than a HND holder”.

 A lecturer in the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Mr Akin Ojo is reported to repeatedly advise his students not to make the school their ultimate. Quoting him, a student of the institute who pleaded anonymousity said, “he advises us to go back to the university, adding that the labour market, (government parastatals inclusive) sometimes places a university graduate as the boss over a polytechnic graduate; both of the same discipline”.

A Nigerian polytechnic

Oyewole Olaide, a National Diploma 2 student of NIJ said, “I will be taking jamb this year, because direct entry is more risky and stressful than going through JAMB itself”. Further interview, showed that he is not the only one reading for his first semester exams as well as for JAMB but most students had actually gotten a JAMB form or some with the mind of obtaining a direct entry form into the university.

However, some optimistic students’ belief that when it is time for them to search for job they would be preferred regardless of their HND certificate. A very good belief one would say, who knows if more this people who are not only optimistic but can also prove their worth not just in paper or institution name-calling  might change this discriminatory, low mentality culture among Nigerians.

LAGOS: MY CITY OF BIRTH

Like its counterpart in the United States, it could be regarded as a city that never sleeps. For every hour in 24 hours there is always something to do.

Aerial view of lagos

 

 

People in rural areas, believe it is a place where the riches in one’s destiny can be achieved and no wonder people seem to be found in every corner of its streets doing odd jobs ranging from beggars to thugs.

Nights are worst; the bridges seem to be more of a home than a road. The upper parts are used for the latter function while the lower parts are used for the former function. Survival in it requires hostility most times. Taking a break from it by travelling somewhere else makes you feel incomplete because it seems to be the only city in the country that requires hastening. To get a bus, buy something’s in the market, withdrawal money in the bank and head back home to beat the traffic; all is done in a rush.

Though, there seems to be a wide contrast in terms of terrain between it and New York; its counterpart in the United States but could be similar in terms of the population and economy. It is a state as well as a city. The only state recognized with two names, your guess is as good as mine: Eko! No state brings people of different ethnic groups together like Eko. Houses are built in various structures with ranging prices that makes it a bit affordable. Though, the present government has in the past 5years been trying to re-structure this city, it has not in any way damaged what is mostly appreciated and that is its RUGGEDNESS.

Sometimes when you see people begging on its streets, you begin to ask yourself if these people are not better off in their villages. Actually, they could be good farmers helping to grow the economy but soon I realise that despite the hardship, you find yourself unwilling to leave, even when you do, there is this magnetic pull that draws you back urging you not to give up.

Begging could be quite lucrative provided you know the technical know-how. The story of a beggar who built a storey building in his hometown by begging makes you understand why it is a city paved with gold. Although, gold that can be only be extracted through “wisdom”. Little wonder why its residents are always respected and feared when met in other states or cities. There is this feeling of superiority or outward appearance of worldly maturity that you have when you meet someone who has never been to Eko. You feel more experienced!

 There is a saying that if you can live in Eko, you can live in any part of the world! The same principle applies to driving in Eko! The fear of Eko drivers is the beginning of wisdom!! Sometimes private vehicles owners in other states have been quoted repeatedly as placing the placard “L” on their vehicles when driving in Eko. The reason for this hilarious move is not farfetched; my city of birth has a record of having the highest number of “mad” drivers who seem not to care for anyone or thing on the road except he/she drives a vehicle with “learner” written in red ink and bold case as “L”. Public transport drivers seem to have the attained the highest stage of mad driving. Ask the present administration on how much they have spent so far on making traffic laws and recruiting traffic agents, am sure they would have a lot to say! Eko as a record of having various law enforcement agents ranging from VIO to yellow fever! The list is endless! Despite the measures put by the government to aid transportation, the yellow buses seem to always swallow the blue or red buses with passengers filled to its brim. Thank God for BRT, it sent the rugged 911 luxurious buses a.k.a. mo-lu-e packing.

The entertainment you get on the streets of Eko can equal that of your home. Though, free at times, especially when it is a wrestling competition between a commercial bus driver and passenger or between conductor and touts widely called “agbero” you could laugh your bowel out just by watching. Another, “free” entertainment show could be display of movies, football matches or wrestling matches on Televisions meant for sales by electronics merchants on the street, this style of entertainment brings people from all walks of life together from the educated to the non-educated as they would be seen gathering in groups later to form a crowd watching this road side entertainment. Although there is the tendency for you to pay after these so called entertainments, as the payment would actually not be required by the entertainers but from the fellow spectators who capitalise on the period of your great excitement during the show to rob you of whatever you need to be dispossessed of.

For an experienced lout, a newcomer to Eko a.k.a J.J.C. is a cool way to make money. All he has to do is read the “Johnny just come” expression on the face of the newcomer and he becomes a prey. You guess right, he would be robbed of all that if he manages to escape without been badly beaten. So don’t blame Eko people when they are walking on the streets without smiling because your smile may make you an easy prey. Most frowning faces are obvious in the early hours of the morning and the evenings, the time people go to work and come back from work as this is caused either by the traffic or by you trying to put the fear of God into the mind of the Conductors.

Dwelling a bit on the house structure, the face to face house is the best house to experience the bitter-sweet life of Eko. Built In the order of room entrances facing each other with different occupants, a general bathroom, kitchen and toilet. The best way to survive in such residence is “don’t have an enemy, don’t have a friend” especially in that building with you. The common thing about this house structure is that it is mostly inhabited by the average to the lower class level of citizens, people from different ethnic groups, literates and illiterates, spinsters and bachelors. With these different levels of reasoning due to background and status, there is a high level of verbal and physical assaults. Some landlords got so tired of having policemen coming around to arrest one tenant or the other that they noted a particular ethnic group as trouble maker and started using it as criteria to lease out their houses.

According to Eko landlords, these particular ethnic groups are known for dragging landlords to court, fighting other tenants or the landlord at times. This made majority of them to consider state of origin as a condition for leasing their houses. However, the beauty of living in these houses could be seen when two tenants fight lashing out destructive words at each other in the morning and chatting together in the kitchen while preparing the evening meals. Although it is not usually so in all cases, as it sometimes generate into a feud; lasting till thy kingdom comes.

For some intelligent children, the face to face house is an avenue to learn the language of their neighbours or co-tenants since the house is mostly occupied by people from various ethnic groups. Men of the house are usually more cordial as the possibility of exchanging blows is minimal compared to the women.

Face me-I face you house as it is sometimes called is also a business venture for Eko landlords, landlords in my city of birth as an history of not only collecting house rents, but also collecting agreement, commission and damages levies that usually supersede the house rent itself. So when they say you make quick money in Eko, you now know how.

Oh! My city of birth, though I am sometimes happy and relieved when I leave you, when I come back, it seems as if the missing part of me is back and I begin to appreciate the stress you sometimes bring. Lagos has it is officially known, is the where you see stress making people beautiful.