WHY THE CAREER IS DEAD

The Career is dead
Author: Jocelyn K. Glei
Source

Fact: A substantive portion of the working population now earns its livelihood doing a job that didn't exist 10 or 20 years ago.

We’re at an interesting crossroads in terms of careers. We still want them, but they don’t exist anymore. In the US, the typical job tenure is now 4 years, with most workers cycling through about 11 jobs in their lifetime.

If the 20th-century career was a ladder that we climbed from one predictable rung to the next, the 21st-century career is more like a broad rock face that we are all free climbing. There’s no defined route, and we must use our own ingenuity, training, and strength to rise to the top. We must make our own luck.

The lightning-fast evolution of technology means that jobs can now become indispensable or outmoded in a matter of years, or even months. Who knew what a “Community Manager” was ten years ago? What about an “iPad App Designer”? Or what about “Chief Scientist” (at LinkedIn)?

A substantive portion of the working population now earns its livelihood doing a job that didn’t exist 10 or 20 years ago. And if your job itself hasn’t changed, chances are you’re using new and unanticipated technology and/or skills to perform that job. (E.g. You’re a designer who blogs, a comedian who uses Twitter, or a branding consultant turned e-tailer.)

Ten years from now, we’ll probably all be doing some new type of work that we couldn’t even possibly imagine today. The thought is both exhilarating and frightening. How do we prepare for a future filled with uncertainty?

1. Explore, relentlessly. The tools you use today will not be the tools you use in the future.

You may have heard the term “life sport” before. It refers to sports—like golf, tennis, or swimming—that you can play from ages 7 to 70. The ever-brilliant Kevin Kelly recently expanded this concept to include technology as life sport, outlining a must-read list of “techno life skills” that we should all cultivate. As Kelly puts it: “If you are in school today the technologies you will use as an adult tomorrow have not been invented yet. Therefore, the life skill you need most is not the mastery of specific technologies, but mastery of the technium as a whole—how technology in general works.”

Whether it’s interviewing someone over Skype, developing an affable Twitter persona, learning how to publish an e-book, or experimenting with a new task management app, we must become adept at testing out new technologies that can benefit us in our personal and professional lives.

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LAGOS STATE DISCOVERS OIL!

Commercial City of Lagos is about to discover oil, and join the league of oil-producing States in Nigeria. There has been evidence of commercial quantities of crude oil along the coastal off shore Dahomey Basin of Lagos.

3 Global Icons & Their "Lagos Na Wa" Experiences

Mohammed Ali: The World Heavyweight Champ visited Lagos in June 1964 and treated himself to the Island’s hospitality. He’s pictured here in his agbada receiving love from some Lagos Island youngsters with attitude who trooped out to receive the “toughest man in the world”.

James Brown: The Godfather of Soul visited Lagos with his band in 1970 and were blown away when they witnessed Fela’s performance at the Afrika Shrine. Bootsy Collins, one of James Brown members had this to say -

"We were telling them they're the funkiest cats we ever heard in our life. I mean, this is the James Brown band, but we were totally wiped out! That was one trip I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.'" 

JB is pictured here with men of the Nigerian Airforce.

Sir Paul McCartney: He arrived in Nigeria in August 1972 to record an album with his band – Wings. He overlooked offers to record in “beaten paths” like Brazil and America and chose to record in Lagos because he felt that he would have a nice relaxing time lazing at the beach all day and recording music at night. He rented a comfortable crib in Ikeja, then about an hour’s drive from EMI Studios at Apapa, where he was to record the album. He got a rough Lagos welcome and was “obtained” at knife-point while taking a walk in some lonely neighbourhood as well as harassed by Fela when he tried to recruit some members of abami eda’s band members. After a while he toughened up and the album eventually became one of McCartney’s most successful projects. It was humorously titled “Band on the Run”.  

6 Songs You Probably Didnt Know OJB Jezreel Produced

OJB Jezreel, has already been acknowledged as one of the architects of the huge success of Nigerian urban music today. From his beat-making days in the backroom studios of Surulere to his influence extending to other parts of Lagos in the late nineties when he nurtured and produced upcoming acts like Plantashun Boyz, Ruggedman and so many others.

Over the years he's produced many hits and launched many careers. Many people know about African Queen but here are 6 songs you probably didn't know that OJB produced.

"Raise the roof"(it's bubble)    - by Jazz Man Olofin Ft. Adewale Ayuba -

"Nfana Ibaga"                           - by Tuface Idibia

"Faze Alone"                             - by Faze
                  
"For Instance"                          -  by Tuface Idibia

"Ehen!"                                     -  by Ruggedman

"Kiss me again"                       -  by D'Banj Ft. Ruggedman


Please pray for OJB Jezreel and help him with what you have. He needs our help and its not too late, let's play our part.

Austerity blues? Not In Nigeria!

Author: Chioma Agwuegbo
http://futurechallenges.org/local/austerity-blues/

Nigeria has come a long way from 1974 when General Gowon said that the problem was not money itself but rather how to spend it. Sadly, the way since then has been been all downhill.

Back then we spent more on capital projects and infrastructure than on recurrent spending. These days almost 80% of our annual budget goes on salaries, allowances, and overheads (bureaucrat-speak for tea, biscuits, meals, banquets, travel expenses, etc.) We still remember Arunma Oteh’s N850, 000 (£3,437) famed lunch saga, and the N30, 000, 000 (£120,648) she allegedly spent on hotel accommodation in the first eight months of her stint as Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Of course she denied this, saying she spent only one-tenth of that amount on lunch, but surprisingly has kept mum on the accommodation costs.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala Nigeria’s Finance Minister is obviously having sleepless nights thinking about ways to keep the country going without having to declare the need for dreaded austerity measures.

Ah, yes! Austerity; the word that rhymes with “recession”, “Greece”, “Spain”, “Tunisia” and “Portugal.” Austerity is the standard response in market economies when the inevitable cycle between boom and bust hits the downslope and governments look to “save costs” – lay off workers, cut expenses, freeze salaries and benefits, and print more money. All as prescribed by the potentates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), most of whom have never managed even an off-license or a neighbourhood kiosk before, let alone a country.

The baby-faced assassins of the IMF do not understand that a country in which the government itself and its operating activities create most of GDP cannot get out of a recession by shrinking those selfsame activities. And that any attempt to do so only makes recession bite even harder. No, a recession-hit country should spend more than ever before  – but in a more focused manner – on those things that create jobs and increase productivity such as public works, infrastructure and small business incentives. Unfortunately most countries have taken the easy way out and abruptly strangled spending, sending themeselves spiraling deeper into the very recession they sought to avoid in the first place.

Thankfully this is not the case with Nigeria which seems to have avoided the route taken by Greece and Spain and struck out on a path of keeping the economy afloat by increasing productive spending and targeted social welfare. So civil works are still being engineered while funding for new ones has been approved such as the second Niger Bridge at Onitsha, the Mambilla hydro dam/electricity project in Taraba State and a similar dam project atZungeru, Niger State.

Misgivings aside, the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) headed by the greatly respected Dr. Christopher Kolade has successfully focused on the proper use of some of the extra income derived from excess crude oil. Unfortunately, the shameless ease with which state and federal governments have spent the rest of the excess crude revenue still leaves a lot to be desired – but that’s a matter for another day.

Essentially the truth is that the proverbial “common man or woman” has not really seen the kind of austerity measures that were introduced in Nigeria in 1982 or recently in places like Greece and Spain. However, the blessing that this ought to confered has been more than offset by the rampant profligacy and corruption that has been the bane of every Nigerian administration since 1st October 1960.

Just remember the case of James Onanefe Ibori – which is only one of many. The former governor of the oil-rich Delta State has recently lost his appeal to have his 13 year prison sentence reduced for embezzling fifty million pounds during his eight year tenure. Commenting on the trial, THISDAYLIVE newspaper writes:

During his trial, the London court was told how the proceeds of the fraud were used to buy six foreign properties and a fleet of cars, although the judge said the total amount stolen might in fact be “in excess of 200 million pounds”.

The biggest single fraud involved misappropriating $37 million in fees when under Ibori, Delta State’s stake in V-Mobile, the precursor to one of Nigeria’s telecoms companies, Airtel Nigeria Limited, was sold and the funds diverted.

(http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ibori-loses-appeal-to-get-jail-term-reduced/146643/)

Money that should have been spent on infrastructure and developmental projects is been recklessly squandered while a justice system derailed by its own laws and rendered impotent by the loopholes they contain cannot act as an effective deterrent.

Why do we always spoil the good things we do with so much bad behaviour? I just don’t know. What I do know, however, is that sometimes less isn’t more

10 Reasons Why Corn Is One of The Healthiest Foods You Can Eat

1. The high fibre content reduces risk of haemorrhoids and colorectal cancer:

2. Rich source of vitamins: It's extremely packed with all sorts of vitamins

3. Provides necessary minerals: Corn contains abundant phosphorus apart from magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper.

4. Antioxidant properties: Cleanses the system and aggressively prevents cancer.

5. It Protects the Heart!: According to researchers, corn oil has been shown to anti-atherogenic effect on the cholesterol levels, thus preventing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

6. Prevents anaemia: The vitamin B12 and folic acid present in corn prevent anaemia caused by the deficiency of these vitamins.

7. Lowers LDL cholesterol: According to Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, consumption of corn husk oil lowers plasma LDL cholesterol .

8. Controls diabetes and hypertension: Consumption of corn kernels assists the management of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus

9. Cosmetic benefits: Corn starch is used in the manufacture of many cosmetics and may also be applied topically to soothe skin rashes and irritations.

10. Corn is a rich source of many essential nutrients and fibre. A meal rich in corn can go a long way in protecting against many diseases and ailments.

References: Cornell University and Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry

APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA: Nelson Mandela & The Redemption of David Cameron

Mandela on my mind.

In 1985, South Africa was red-hot and violence in the black townships was escalating in defiance of the apartheid system then under the regime of PW Botha. In Britain, the ruling  Conservative Party was sympathetic to the apartheid state on the lame "grounds" of it being a check on "Soviet backed radicals" it's label for the ANC and related groups. The Conservative party had a young fiery David Cameron who was a top member of the Federation of Conservative students. As common with students, this group pursued Party ideals to the extreme and became notorious for printing "Hang Mandela" posters and wearing similar badges on their clothes.

Federation of Conservative Students 1985 Poster
(Courtesy: P. Thomson)

By 1989 Cameron had risen in the ranks and was working for the Tory Policy Unit at it's Central Office. By that time Pressure was mounting for economic sanctions to be imposed on South Africa in addition to the cultural and sporting boycotts. Cameron was sent on an anti-apartheid fact finding mission to SA with a pro-apartheid lobby firm  Strategy Network International (SNI sponsored by Botha himself.

However in 2006, on invitation by the Honorable Nelson Mandela, Cameron visited SA and a week after his return to the UK, he denounced Thatcher's policy towards apartheid in a dramatic shift from his Party's general silence on its dark role in the matter. Cameron described Mandela as "one of the greatest men alive". The UK newspaper, Observer in it's edition dated September 10th 2006 quoted Cameron as follows -

'The mistakes my party made in the past with respect to relations with the ANC and sanctions on South Africa make it all the more important to listen now.

'The fact that there is so much to celebrate in the new South Africa is not in spite of Mandela and the ANC, it is because of them - and we Conservatives should say so clearly today.' 

Though one could be suspicious of his motives for the "volte face" especially as he may have needed something to put his party back in the reckoning ahead of a coming battle with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the general elections. Hmm.

Whether Mandela overwhelmed him with sheer strength of character and gentility or just shrewd political survival instinct at play, Cameron's career and ultimate story will definitely be a lot better for it.

The teacher and his convert