SM4CC SERIES: RIO+ 20 CONFERENCE AND NIGERIA - INTRODUCTION

This post marks the official countdown to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as the Rio+ 20 Conference on this blog. Hence, for my SM4CC series, I’m going to be writing, over the next couple of weeks, on the Conference and what it means for Nigeria, and by extension, how it directly or indirectly affects the Yaba area of Lagos State. To achieve this, I’m going to be drawing information from the websites of the Rio+ 20 Conference, and that of the Heinrich Boell Foundation too – the Foundation has compiled a “Green Deal Nigeria” report in preparation for the Conference.

At the Rio+20 Conference, world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, will come together to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet to get to the future we want. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) is being organized in pursuance of General Assembly Resolution 64/236, and will take place in Brazil on 20-22 June 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I’d start off the countdown by contributing my two cents based on the introductory chapter of the Green Deal Nigeria report.

“…a new approach to overcoming the ever deepening ecological and ongoing development crisis has been put forward. UNEP defines this so called “green economy” as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. A green economy is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive including by creating new jobs. Three economic sectors are key to this effort: agriculture, energy and infrastructure. Most economists agree that over the past decade we have seen a misallocation of financial and human capital and an ongoing depletion of natural wealth…”

 While a part of the above paragraph aptly describes the situation around the world - a misallocation of financial and human capital and an ongoing depletion of natural wealth, it shows a further weakness suffered by Nigeria - three economic sectors are key to this effort: agriculture, energy and infrastructure. Take a look around the country called Nigeria and its apparent it lacks what it takes to achieve a green economy. Hence, the first step for us as a nation really, is the development of all these sectors and more. It is only then can we proceed on having a green economy.

The author states further, “…their inside-the-box prescriptions to cure our ailing planet range from 'market incentives' to 'removal of perverse subsidies' to 'green investment'; what is lacking is a social and normative framework. When one reads the policy prescriptions for Rio+20 everything goes, a grab bag of ideas, old policies, some regulation, good governance, promises... but there is surprisingly little on values…” Now we are back to another worldwide problem, and it makes perfect sense that we fix our backyard problems first, before deciding if the solution as prescribed by the Conference is really a complete one as the author portends, we move on from there.

“…While by 1990 most people were ready to accept the fact that resource depletion, inefficiency and pollution can result from market failures, what can be done to correct them was less clear. At the root of the problem lie traditional measures of wealth and economic progress such as the Gross Domestic Product…economists like Herman Daly and Roefie Hueting showed how traditional GDP measurements 'rewarded' the destruction and waste of resources as both the creation of pollution and the cleanup of it were considered 'productive' economic activity. The national accounts also did not show the value and depletion of natural capital and the goods and services society, often the poorest people, derive from them...”

This, to me is the story of the Niger Delta in Nigeria; a country largely dependent on oil. It’s no news that while Africa may not be causing much damage to the environment when compared with other continents of the world, Nigeria definitely brings something to the table in terms of oil spills, gas flaring etc. It would be a digression to comment on the carbon emission from vehicles not road worthy that daily ply our expressways across the nation. Now, I totally disagree with the author on a little point in the next paragraph – in Nigeria, there is no longer a risk from misappropriating from the poor their natural capital, and stating the most obvious of examples, the people of the Niger Delta have no farms and streams for basic sustenance, speak less of commercial purposes.

“…While investing in natural capital is much needed, by opening up to the vagaries of the market the scarce capital held in trust by communities, one risks a further enclosure of the commons, like communal lands and water resources. These commons are essential to the survival of the poor and their privatization can only marginalize them further. There is a risk of misappropriating from the poor and communities 'their' natural capital. At the same time, there are examples where private ownership, in particular securing land tenure, has protected smallholders and the environment from misappropriation by elites…”

“…Is the green economy concept fiddling around the margins or real change? Clearly a transformation is not about investing 2% into green initiatives as proposed by UNEP but rather about reshaping the entire economy by steering 100% of investment onto a different pathway. This is where the Rio+20 preparations fall short...” I hope the Nigerian delegation and other bodies take note of this, as while the Conference would be attended by nations from all over the world, only a few possess circumstances such as ours. Hence, like I said earlier, whilst attempting to implement the proffered solutions of the Conference, with their limitations (because of our peculiarity) in mind, we need to be more proactive.

The truth is change is not easy, in fact, it is very, very hard. But, it is something we must do. “…the experience is that real economic change can hurt. Whether it is the abolition of fossil fuel subsidies or prioritizing spending for renewable energy over other projects, vested interests are affected. As a general rule, if it doesn't hurt it's not a transformation. This is where the importance of social transition measures must be emphasized. The politics will simply not support some necessary measures if those impacted by the policy change are seen to be disproportionally disadvantaged and do not have the means to support themselves in the transition…The labor movement has an important role to play here...”

In conclusion, “…Let’s look at the basics. Nothing grows forever, so why would real-world economies? We have shown that GDP is a convenient but not an adequate measure of well-being as it fails to assess social exclusion, pollution and waste of resources. A false dilemma is being presented that says: despite the flawed nature of the GDP measure, a lack of growth results in a downward spiral towards poverty. But how to deal with the fact that unbridled growth results in a downward spiral towards depleted resources and social strife?...Clearly it is time for a more inclusive and inspiring vision…In our view, business-as-usual is not an option, a Green Deal Nigeria is not a luxury but rather a necessity!...”

Sources

1. http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20

2. http://ng.boell.org

SM4CC SERIES: 236 DAYS OF RAINFALL IN LAGOS, NIGERIA.

Early this year, the Fourth Lagos State Climate Change Summit held. It was the fourth time, as stated by the governor in his speech, that Lagos was hosting a Climate Change Summit to discuss the effects of global warming and climate change, and proffer solutions. He also had some other noteworthy things to say such as, “...How many more ordinary people – men women and children in Lagos and indeed Nigeria, know about climate change and how it affects them? Does Iya Monday the pure-water seller know that she must encourage her customers to dispose of the sachets properly or return them so they can be recycled so that we can curb flooding?...”

He then went on to speak about rainfall; the subject of this article, here’s what he had to say. “…Right here in Lagos, on the 13th of February this year, Lagos experienced unprecedented rainfall that caused damage to at least 49 public schools and one administrative building. To repair the damage alone will cost approximately N1.6 billion. But that is not as painful as the nine young lives that were lost, when a boat conveying the pupils to school that morning capsized and they all drowned. This was a rainstorm in the middle of the month of February, a month, (like August and March) hitherto not associated with such extreme weather conditions…”

Still on the subject of rainfall, “…Already we have been told to expect about 236 days of rainfall this year and the intensity of recent rainstorms are a pointer to the fact that the rain may fall with even greater fury this year...the realities are real here in Lagos too. Just try to imagine 236 days of rainfall in a year of 365 days...” This figure was provided by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, using the Seasonal Rainfall Predictions instrument, as was confirmed by the Lagos Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello. He had this to say,“…rainfall will commence from Thursday, March 22, with a margin of error of four days…the end of the season for 2012 is November 12 with a margin of error of two days; with between November 10 and 14 as probable days…”

Now that we have settled the fact that there’s going to be rainfall in intensities greater than what we witnessed last year, its best we start to put proactive measures in place to ensure that (a rather sad) history does not repeat itself. Thankfully, the government seems to be fully involved this time as the commissioner assured Lagosians at a recent press briefing, stating that the government had put programs in place to manage the situation and minimize flooding. Some of the efforts he listed include, the massive clearing of drainages, dredging of primary and secondary channels, lining of many earth channels and the introduction of resident drainage maintenance officers in local councils in the state were parts of efforts by the government.

The commissioner further said, “…But little can be achieved without the collaboration of Lagosians. No nation can promise a flood free state, only reduce it to barest minimum…We appeal that Lagosian should desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse, drains around homes must be evacuated and building of structures on drainage alignments must stop…”, building on what the governor had previously said in his own speech, “…Every one of us can play a part in saving our planet, starting from little everyday changes in our lifestyle…” Hence, what are some of the things we, as citizens can do as we await the rains and floods? I have searched the internet thoroughly and come up with links easy and practical things we can do. These are the links

1. http://www.water.ca.gov/floodmgmt/docs/flood_fight_methods.pdf

2. http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/documents/Corps_Flood-Fight_Handbook_2009.pdf

3. http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/html/offices/op/em/howtobag.htm

I have taken out time to go through them and they are really quite helpful – I sincerely hope you do the same because, in the final words of Babatunde Raji Fasholas’ speech, “…If we fail to listen, then it is we, and more painfully, our children, who will bear the brunt of its consequences…”

Sources

1.      The official website of the Lagos State Government.

2.      www.punchng.com

SM4CC SERIES: WHY ARE PEOPLE DOING NOTHING OR VERY LITTLE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE IN NIGERIA

In my last post in the SM4CC series, I wrote about climate change and the way forward. I began by showing a connection between the total well being of the common man and the care of his environment. In doing this, I highlighted the role of governance in ensuring this, focusing especially on the importance of local governments. Thereafter, I proffered some suggestions as to things the (local) government can do, proactively, concerning climate change in Nigeria. Hopefully, now that the information is being gradually disseminated, someone somewhere would notice and take a step.

I also promised to write further on why the citizenry; Nigerians, show no or very little concern as regards climate change issues. At this juncture, permit me to tell a little story to move this piece along. I was in a discussion sometime last month involving about fifteen people, mostly Nigerians. At some point, using the example of Lagosians and the Eko Atlantic City project currently going on, one of the discussants; a foreigner, asked why Nigerians are generally not concerned about things that should concern them. Why there seems to be an ingrained sense of apathy in most Nigerians you come across?

As expected, there were replies, none of which I can remember because, honestly, none of them hit the nail on the head. Nigerians do suffer from apathy but that is not the main issue. Instead, most Nigerians suffer from what is called “the frog syndrome”. That is, if a frog is put in a pot of cold water, and this pot is later placed on a gas burner, the frog would keep trying to adjust to the rising temperature of the water until it is boiled to death!  As opposed to a random frog that would immediately leap out when picked from a swamp or marsh and placed in boiling water.

The average Nigerian makes utterances like “God Dey” and “E Go Better”, believing that situations they find themselves in, are the way they are meant to be - no matter how bad these situations are, and how worse they are seriously becoming - when they should be doing something about it. It has become a part of our psyche! Therefore, I believe that the average Nigerian is not, or less concerned about climate change because he/she believes some supernatural being/force somewhere either has permitted it to be so or has plans to make positive (or not affect us)whatever negatives climate change may bring.

Now, aside the above reason, an opinion poll, survey or questionnaire of some sort, would have been best in providing primary data to ascertain the real reasons why Nigerians are less concerned and mostly treat the environment they occupy poorly, but that would have required resources beyond my abilities. Hence, while acknowledging my limitation, I would still go ahead and make an educated attempt at it, listing what I think are other possible reasons - based on my interaction with people, experiences and assessment of the social, economic, physical and psychological trends in Nigeria. They include

1. Poverty. Sadly, the general economic situation in Nigeria is not a very good one and as such, this has produced a negative ripple effect that has caused a lot of things. Poverty is one of such things. I can safely say a lot of Nigerians out there are still too poor to care for the environment. Therefore, it is until poverty is dealt with, as I stated in the last post in this series, that we can hopefully begin to truly see a positive change in our attitude towards climate change.
2. Apathy. In relation to the above point on poverty, since I have said that most Nigerians  are too busy trying to navigate their way out of poverty to concern their selves with climate change, what then is that part of the Nigerian populace that is made up of the average (comfortable) individual and the rich doing? What are the big companies, multinationals and corporations doing? Apparently, they have the resources required – are they putting them into use? Or perhaps, they are doing so, the question now is, are they putting in enough to ensure a change?
3. Lack of general information. There is a need for the aggressive and massive education of the common Nigerian man about everything pertaining to climate change. Information on matters such as use of energy, water and sanitation, agricultural practices, air quality, number of vehicles on the road etc. is not available, and in cases where we do have information, more reliable data is still needed. If the Nigerian man knows better, we can expect better.
4. Government doing very little. The government needs to create or improve on activities such as climate change sensitization programs to raise awareness, clean and efficient mass transport systems, clean and efficient mass transport systems, establishment of disaster management teams etc.

So, those are the few reasons why I think Nigerians are not concerned about climate change. If you feel I didn’t state a reason well enough, or it isn’t even supposed to be a reason, please use the comment box and let me know. Also, if there are reasons you can think of that I haven’t mentioned, kindly share. Thank you.

MUSIC, CARRIED OCCUPY NIGERIA (UNCUT)

If ‘Occupy Nigeria’ was a successful revolution or not, is a debate I’d leave to pundits; preferably political. I would follow such a debate critically and make my own judgments, based on the opinions of the speakers and what little knowledge I possessed before.  Also, I would not miss the chance to chip in a few words here and there, you know, with a tone of finality simply because I don’t (and can’t) bear the name looku looku - an onlooker!

 I can say authoritatively though, that, music carried ‘Occupy Nigeria’.  Yes. Music is the reason why ‘Occupy Nigeria’ (as I would refer to the NLC/TUC strike action that occurred early this year throughout this piece) lasted the one week or so it did. Music alone is the sole reason why we can call it a success, if we would.

Every Nigerian (and interested foreigner) has the basic gist of ‘Occupy Nigeria’ and the major characters involved - the President and his cronies, the labor leaders, social commentators, heads of civil society groups etc.  They were the ones occupying our TV screens and newspapers front-pages, pushing to the background the real major characters; the people, the masses!

The union leaders were fighting, on our behalf, the President and his cronies attempt at trying to alleviate our suffering. The heads of civil society groups convened rallies at which social commentators spoke. All good and nice except that, none of the above actions could have been thought of, talk less of it happening without the people. Yes, the common man is why the President removed the fuel subsidy, why the NLC/TUC embarked on strike…well, you know the rest.

‘Occupy Nigeria’ probably took off in Eagle Square, Abuja before spreading to other parts of Nigeria. Freedom Square, Ojota, Lagos ultimately became the headquarters of the movement. I was travelled home for the holidays, so I occupied at Liberty Square, Lugard Roundabout, Kaduna.

Nothing happened on day one at Liberty Square, Kaduna. Well, there were a few of us; about fifty, mostly educated and about a hundred policemen. Kaduna has quite a history of violence hence, the two to one ratio of policemen to citizens. We all just milled around, discussing the situation and coming up with strategies for a better protest. By twelve noon, we were done, leaving behind our contact details.

Day two, I got to Liberty Square and our number was still dire. Doubt began to settle in, as I walked over to a few faces I recognized. I shook the lads and wove at the ladies; they were mostly Muslim. It was all talk again until a TV crew from a local station showed up and we promptly elected a barrister to speak for us. By twelve noon, we were all dispersing for houses again, everyone determined to pull in more crowd.

I arrived promptly on the third day, wearing a maternity mask and a smile. The maternity mask we had selected the previous day as a symbol of our protest (and I strongly suspect also as protection against the harmattan dust the north is notorious for), the smile because we were finally a crowd! We had agreed to embark on house to house campaigns and public speaking – a primary schoolmate of mine, now an imam, spoke at his mosque. We had a little talk, educating the newcomers, after which a Christian prayed and then a Muslim - it’s a moment I’d never forget.

Next thing I heard, banging loudly out of the speakers, was, “food e no dey, brother eh, water no dey...” African Chinas’ ‘Mr. President’ was blaring out of the speakers as everyone sang and danced along, as another strategy paid off. Next was ‘Jaga Jaga’ by Eedris Abdulkareem and by this time, Okadamen were parking their bikes and joining in. We; hundreds of people of all religions and tribes, were all moving in a big cycle as we shuffled our feet to Felas’ ‘Suffering and Smiling’ – we were finally having ourselves a protest.

Someone may argue, as people did and are still doing, that it was a protest and not a concert or party. Firstly, I dare you to tell that to the Negro slaves who sang while they picked cotton, to the South Africans before 1994, to the Jamaicans on the streets of Kingston, to the Israelites in Babylon – music has always being the voice of the oppressed. Secondly, how do you keep people engaged all day in a cause on just talk, mere talk? Lastly, the only voices the people are going to listen to are the voices of people they love and are familiar with. Voices they hear every minute of every day on their streets, from their radios etc. The voices of musicians! While everyone played a role, none was more important than that of the musicians who came out in their numbers and carried the occasion with their music. Music, carried ‘Occupy Nigeria’.


N.B
I entered a shorter version of the above post for the Super Bloggers II competition on Omojuwa.com, I came in 7th. That version was also edited by the owner of the blog, the title changed to Music and Occupy Nigeria. So, a few people liked it and I have decided to share the original with you my budding and almost non existing audience, hehe. I'm also working on a short story based on this.
Also,  the competition is still on going albeit in its third session; Super Bloggers III, send in your stuff if you've got what it takes. Then, apologies to y'all who read the article before, thought I'd give you the uncut.
Have a good week people. Sala'am.

SM4CC SERIES: CLIMATE CHANGE IN NIGERIA AND THE WAY FORWARD

“Well, considering all the problems that Nigerians have to deal with, nature conservation is pretty high up on the pyramid of needs. A lot of people out there are still too hungry or too poor to care about the environment. Although ironically, taking care of the environment could provide them with the jobs and income they need.”

The above paragraph was a comment on the first post in the Social Media For Climate Change (SM4CC) series – it’s also my basis for the piece you are about to read. I examined in the first post, a few of the issues we face as a nation as regards Climate Change - and our lack of actions, or better still, more enthusiasm in activities put in place to prevent them.  

The second sentence in the comment above brilliantly gives a reason as to why there is a problem – most people are too poor and hungry. If the peoples’ main concern is how to feed and get out of poverty, there’s nothing you can do or say to them to make them conscious of, and protect their environment. More on “why” in my next post.

The last sentence of the comment states and shows that, even in this situation – our lack of concern for the environment and its attendant consequences, there are possible solutions. Basically, all would be well if the care and safety of the environment is linked to the general well being of the common man. This is one of such solutions.

“…Climate change must be viewed in the context of achieving sustainable development through poverty reduction and environmental protection…the development of localized medium and long-term adaptation strategies, and of low carbon development plans that address the issue of poverty and African development potential, point the way forward…”

Hence, there is a need for more affirmative and proactive action by the government and its citizenry; individuals. This can be undertaken separately by either the government or individuals but, I think its best when done collectively – either in supporting roles or equal participation. What is of importance is the need for active collaboration between the government and individuals. 

You might have noticed I broke down citizenry; a collective, into individuals; a unit. Now, for truly efficient and effective implementation and adoption of actions to take place, these actions have to be taken to the grassroots - grassroots in this case would be the local governments; government as a collective, broken down into units. The next two paragraphs explain this further.

“…Government at all levels must share a common goal of ensuring the safety, health and welfare of its citizens and communities. Climate change will affect a range of community assets, services, operations and policy areas and so developing policy strategies at the local level will be more specific. Local governments, therefore have a greater responsibility to take action to adapt effectively…”

“…Even though Africa has contributed very little to global warming, it will be disproportionately affected by the negative impacts of climate change and the poorest and most vulnerable will bear the brunt of it…because local government has some unique elements, as it is in close proximity with the citizens through the services it delivers to communities, as well as regulatory and planning responsibilities. Therefore, it has to be on the frontline in tackling climate change impacts and building adaptive capacity…”

Now that it is certain that the local governments are to lead the way forward on climate change issues, through collaborative efforts with individuals in their communities, what should constitute these collaborative efforts? I’m going to conclude this piece by quickly proffering a couple of suggestions, most from a Community Conservation and Development Initiatives (CCDI) report.

1. A clear vision needs to be established which will produce climate resilient local governments that are prepared to take proactive steps to prepare for projected climate change impacts. More work is needed to assist local governments to identify the areas to plan for and make policy on; associated with built, natural and human systems that provide services or activities.
2. The institutionalization of participatory processes must be encouraged through the establishment of a robust communication/multimedia framework e.g. townhall meetings etc. to strengthen communication and feedback mechanisms between communities, stakeholders and local governments.
3. All local governments should conduct climate change vulnerability and risk assessments as part of the planning process for action. This will help with the selection of priority planning areas, which should be the focus of the actions and long term preparedness plan. Local governments should pool resources to conduct investigations.
4. Financial support for some of the key activities identified can be sought locally and internationally. Funding mechanisms should be administered with a transparency and accountability institutionalized. Criteria for the disbursement and management of the ecological fund must be reviewed with particular reference to improving adaptive capacity at local government level.
5. Local government chairmen, instead of donating the usual things like motorcycles, tricycles etc. that contribute to environmental degradation, when giving back to their communities, should rather focus on giving environment friendly things such as fuel efficient stoves, recycling bins to enable separation of waste etc. 

Reference
 Mobilising Local Governments for Climate Action. Raising Awareness and Building Capacity. Edited by Kofo Adeleke.

1st Day At Work

the time is 3:40 as i begin to write this.
i resumed training at one at the school of one of the foremost institutions in Nigeria - and yea, you probably thinkin' that's not work, abi? well, me too oh. at least that what was i was telling all my friends who kept callin', textin', pingin' and all, to say congrats (after first attacking moi for not tellin' them personally; how they felt severely slighted at this affront - "imagine me hearing from another person?" they say, this other person's probably my mum; ma personal town-crier, hehe, love her to bits!). so, i tell my people its not really a job, that's why i didn't tell them yet, you know, its just training and most of them reply, would you be training if you are not getting employed? and then the cat steals my tongue, the palm wringin' ensues and i apologize my life out. so, that explains why the title reads first day at work - I'm in trainin' school though.
this post has to be a short - hopefully, i can achieve that. look up at the first line of this post, see the time? i just woke up since 6:45pm or thereabout last evening - i couldn't even watch the derby between City & Utd. 1st thing  i did though when i woke up, was check the scores - is an end to football dominance in sight? Barca, now Man U? i support tottenham hotspurs by the way.
omo (pronounced uh-moh; Nigerian slang, usually used before sayin' something you find sad, extraordinary, nice etc.), day one was stressful, an exact example of what the whole trainin' gon be (9 -10 hours daily). felt like them 6, or is it 7, 8 tasks of Hercules. as in, half the time, i was thinking of how to get a subscription for red bull and some glucose d! and the facilitators kept emphasizing how they were gon push us to our limits by all standards and at some point, a picture of a drill sergeant was on the board - i literally got the picture!
wish i could get into a full description of everything, but then we underwent some paperwork, and although Pops, who's a barrister, went through them with a magnifying glass, i don't think we'd have much of a chance if i landed in court against such an organization on confidentiality or such issues so, lips sealed.
i can tell you some interesting things though. a dude was concerned about his sex life, you know, in relation to the stress we gon be gettin' - and said he didn't fancy the thought of 'missing in action'. after laughing hard, all i could think of was the Chuck Norris movie. he then proceeded on some lewd talk, pointing out a girl, saying she had the biggest behind, i asked if he had really looked at all the behinds in the class and come up with a winner, got a punch in reply. then another guy pulls his chair over and goes "the guys in this class are way cuter than the girls", another round of laughter for me, this time I'm thinking how easy it is for people to spill their thoughts to total strangers - especially one with a welcoming personality such as mine (the ladies don't seem to think so sha, its usually i spilling the 'secrets' and walking over). i mean, people can talk sha! so i spoke with more dudes, as they joined the group, weighing them out etc.
the ladies. well, i love the ladies. so, like that dude from the prior paragraph said, there was a great imbalance in the sexes and i was greatly saddened by that fact oh, i no go lie - i just didn't say it out. so a consensus was reached that we probably just had one lady, whose beauty we could all behold - target sighted. now, target sighted is gotta change to target acquired so I'm already gearin' up for some recon and stuff. i mean, i went in yesterday on my Patrick Jane swag ( a three piece suit. it got me just 2 compliments; 1 male, 1 female, but all others were stealin' looks - arrogant people, hehe). this African queen sat on the very 1st row and that's gonna present some challenges 'cause you see, I'm humbly a perpetual back 'bencher'. but then, the board wasn't too clear sef, plus i use recommended glasses, who knows? a relocation to the front may be quite imminent - we can never say with these things really.
final word, i said this post had to be short. I'm really grateful to God for the job - i probably should get on a pulpit and give my first ever testimony. i mean, I'd been home for seven months and this job was sorta the last option initially, you know. i had international firms i was chasin', refusin' to go for masters in Sept, Pops said to apply again in Jan; i refused, did 2 final interviews and these companies still yet to get back to me - your boy was beginning to get bothered yo, maybe i shoulda gone for that MSc, earn some change on the side, and pounce when sales happen, i was beginning to think and then, this one clicked! while i know a couple of friends who got employed immediately after service, i know people who were unemployed for years - so i praise him. i still hope for the oil and gas job, hehe, a biz on the side but this, is a start so still, I'm thankful. finally, the parents can stop the allowance (not anytime soon sha but, its close), your boy can begin to turn those lofty dreams to projects, a career - all the good stuff. its God people, its God.