FOCUS ON WHERE YOU ARE GOING!

Few year ago, I made a trip to the United States to do my MBA program, I had been away in America for months, Studying and working hard to make my way in the world. I returned now to Lagos then headed to my small community in Imo State to cool off a bit, filled with strange stories to tell: Lagos sure wasn’t the same again when I got back. Stories of markets piled with food flown in from around the world, stories of doctors who gave out fake pills, and stories of cars so abundant that they clogged the roads and slowed the traffic to the pace of a bicycle.

I told my fellow villagers, “You know, American problems come from having too much, rather than too little. And because of these problems, they have what they call stress.” They couldn’t believe me! Shortly after returning from my trip, while eating in an expensive restaurant, I watched a woman send a spaghetti steak back to the chef because it had been cooked medium instead of medium-rare. Later, I watched a man who was dining with her struggle to decide whether to have orange sherbet for dessert and stick to his diet or splurge on an ice cream sundae dripping with caramel and piled with pecans. Does any of this sound familiar?

You are not alone. Many times I am faced with such dilemmas. But I see it as an opportunity to be thankful. How? I imagine a mountain of breadfruit! Do you know what a breadfruit is? You don't often see them in American grocery stores but plenty of them in Lagos stores. On the outside, they look a little like a pineapple. But they taste like a tough, extra-starchy potato. As a child, I ate almost nothing but breadfruit.
The folks in my village learned to cook it creatively. We boiled it, we fried it, and we beat it to a pulp and dipped it in sauce. But every day it was breadfruit. My tongue grew so accustomed to breadfruit that I ceased to taste it at all. I ate it only for survival. My stomach was perpetually bloated as it struggled to digest all the starch. I suffered from constant indigestion, and parasites regularly invaded my weakened digestive system. Have you seen those children on CNN or the Sally Struthers commercials? How did you feel watching the naked children with swollen tummies and skeletal arms, ignoring the flies crawling on their faces? Well, that's what most kids looked like growing up in the Shitta area of Lagos.

So when my steak arrives a little too well cooked, or I have to choose between ice cream and sherbet, I give thanks to God for the great fortune I've had in America. When was the last time you took a moment out of your busy schedule to give thanks for all that you have? Do you cry for what you don’t have? Or do you celebrate what you have? Gratitude is the gateway to happiness. It is impossible to be grateful and unhappy at the same time. I bet you enjoy helping out a grateful child—one who is always thanking you and praising you for your generosity. Well, that’s the way your creator feels, too. Stop and count

Imagine for a moment it's five years from now and you are still making the same income (or just a little more), living in the same home or apartment. You are in debt. You are barely supporting yourself and your family. And you are frustrated with the way things are. You say, “Wait a minute now. This is not positive thinking! I was expecting your Business class to be motivational.” Well, it is. You see, most people often take action when they are desperate. Unfortunately, they sometimes take action when it is too late. The good thing is, I can assure you that the above scenario will never happen to you. How do I know? Although I don’t know you, I am certain we have kindred spirit. You belong to a special category of winners. Or you wouldn’t be reading this.

For many years, I worked as a Marketing consultant in an event management company in Palmgrove Estate, Lagos. I was carrying proposals and introductory letters - sometimes in the extreme heat of the Lagos weather. I mean intense manual labor. But although I was a marketing executive going from door to door, I was not a dumb man. I was a researcher and an observer. One of the many insights I received came to me from merely observing something as simple as a revolving client. Just like the word suggests, it revolves.

Now, many of our lives are just like a revolving door - and how easy and comfortable it is to get caught in it. We spend years doing the same things over and over. We simply keep turning around and around. We prefer to operate within our comfort zone. It's a natural instinct. But if you take a good look at all of the successful people around the world, you will notice they all have one common denominator. They all became successful by going to the edge. And yes, my friend, the edge is no where near a revolving door. What’s the lesson here? The lesson is if you want more than you have now, you have to be willing to step out and dance along the edge of life’s cliff. The big things that you and I are dreaming about are hanging along the edge. If they weren’t, every one of us would have plenty of them.

My assignment for you is to start strategizing your life NOW. Again, this is something most people would not be willing to do. Come to think of it, it is exactly why YOU should. So, you have been thinking about going back to school but just the thought of the sacrifice seems a little scary. Hey, if it is then DO IT. Success dwells on the edge! What else have you been thinking about and are afraid of? Do you want a promotion? Do you want to start a new life? Is it time to reinvent your life? Then get a pen and a piece of paper, and quickly start writing down what you will have to do for that to happen. Perhaps you need to acquire new skills. Maybe you need to seek out some mentors for moral support. Maybe you need to start putting together a team of people who can help you make it happen.

We can never, ever make it on our own. We need highly creative people to help us. Most of us struggle because we try to do everything ourselves. Jesus had to first put a team together. Tom Watson, the founder of IBM, before his death asked his family to share part of his wealth with his employees. He said that they helped him make the money. He could not have done it alone. Ben Bruce and Mike Adenuga started with a Team. So, during this month, each day try to do something that you are uncomfortable doing. Remember, if you are afraid then DO IT. But first, make sure you have great mentors and a good team to support you along the way. And remember, not only the big boys deserve to have the big toys. You deserve to have them, too.

Do you remember a time when you had a big and lofty dream? Maybe you wanted to be a movie star in art house films, an organ transplant doctor, or a world-class Business guru. Perhaps you dreamed of crossing the ocean in a sailboat or becoming the Nigerian Obama so you can increase the value of one naira to one dollar. As a youngster, you may have worked hard toward achieving that dream. You talked about it with your every acquaintance and most distant relation whenever you had the opportunity. But slowly you drifted away from your heart's desire. What happened?
The answer is easy: You got distracted! You got confused. Your friends enticed you into joining their parade. You were no longer in rhythm with who you are. The law of momentum in physics says that a body in motion tends to remain in motion until an outside force acts upon it; Distractions. Your friends or family members acted upon you by overtly discouraging you, or by encouraging you to follow a more "sensible" path. So you stopped practicing, stopped studying, stopped working toward your highest ambition. All those distractions and "sensible" decisions competed for your attention. Your grand dream gradually became just a footnote in the history of your life.

Have you ever heard the truism that says "used to bees make no honey"? Do you know people who are always talking about what they used to do? They usually say, “Someday I will pick it up again.” But that's a weak excuse for avoiding the risk of living your dream. The time is now! When you have a worthy goal—something that is worth going after, you have to apply the law of critical success to your life. This law says that you should always be doing something that moves you closer to your goal.

Question: What are you doing today that is drawing you a little bit nearer to accomplishing your dream?

My Spiritual leader, Pastor Paul Adefarasin of House on the Rock always talks about how he was born with a silver spoon, then squandered his life away in the United States and later got his trace back on track. That’s a clear example of the fact that you are responsible for your life. Shakespeare wrote, “This above all, to thine own self be true.” Bravo, Mr. Shakespeare! Being true to yourself means that you do what matters most to you, regardless of what else is competing for your time. Our deeds and achievements are the only yardsticks we can use to measure our integrity, and the only evidence we can use to judge whether we have been true to our selves.

From now on, why not put the law of momentum into action? It is said that motion creates emotion. When you take action toward that which you most desire, your self-confidence will soar. Distractions shift you off-course or slow you down; actions accelerate you forward along your chosen course. Every action strengthens you to take another. You will become unstoppable! You will liberate yourself from guilt and self-pity. You will become the envy of the world. Many people never commit to anything. They have interests and hobbies, but no passion or driving ambition. I believe that you are one of those people who can commit; otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article. Life is like a bicycle. The moment we stop pedaling, we start losing momentum. If we coast for too long, we fall. Resolve to press on in spite of all your distractions.

Here is what you can do to get whatever you want in life: First, identify your distractions and move away from them. By doing so, you will become effective rather than merely efficient. Being effective means doing the right things, while being efficient means doing things right. It's nice to be efficient, but it doesn't do you any good if you're not doing the things that will move you toward your dream. Focus first on being effective; let efficiency come as it may. Second, write the word MOMENTUM in big letters and hang it somewhere that you will see it often. Do something daily that will bring you closer to your goal. Third, make a public commitment by asking your friends—those who are positive and encouraging—to hold you accountable. Talk about your dream with them to begin edging it into the world. Speak of it as something that you are doing, not something that you think about doing. Finally, learn all you can about the lore of your passion. If you are not, at the least, more knowledgeable than the average person about the subject of your dream, you are fooling somebody—yourself.

So, my friend, live your finest ambition. Do it because you must. You probably won’t find any help when you begin. You will, however, get all the help you want when you are already there. So be true to thine own self. Bishop TD Jakes talks about Honesty as the iron string that vibrates within every heart. Let results be the measure of your integrity. Work hard at it. Do more than is expected, more than is common. Keep the momentum going! When you feel like throwing in the towel… that’s when you hold on the more because ‘Something is about to happen!’.

Theo Ukpaa is a Business Development Expert and a life Coach
theoukpaa@gmail.com or 08033244799

Why Get Rich When You Can Be Wealthy?

Getting rich is the main goal for a lot of people. That is unfortunate however, because there is something so much greater than simply the accumulation of money. Now don’t get me wrong – I am not saying people shouldn’t have large sums of money. In fact, I believe greatly in the power of money for good when in the hands of the right people. I think money is simply a tool that people can use to do great things – or bad things.

What is unfortunate is that so many people give up so much else in life in order to get those large sums of money. First of all, let me explain my quote about rich fools. Just turn on the TV or read a popular magazine and you will find lots of rich fools. You will see people with tons of money but who have no happiness, have drug problems and who leave behind them a string of broken relationships. These people are rich, not wealthy.

Rich people are people with lots of money. Wealthy people are people who are rich in life. This would include financial stability and freedom, but goes deeper into spiritual health, emotional and relational health, and of course physical health.

I think getting rich is easy. It is simply a discipline that anyone can do if they so choose. There are many examples of people who have made very little money who have left vast fortunes. Spend less than you earn, save more than you spend. Put what you spend into an interest bearing investment. Do this over a long period of time and you will get rich.
Wealthy? That is something altogether different. I have found that in most cases you must give up some wealth to get the riches.

I know many rich people and very few of them are people who I would call wealthy. Most of them sacrificed their families, their health or their relationships as they pursued the accumulation of riches. The fact is that it takes time to make money. And every moment of time you spend in the pursuit of money is a moment of time taken from something else that would make you wealthy in life.
So let me ask you: Are you on the fast track toward riches? Or are you on the long-track toward true wealth?

Are you being wise with your finances so as to secure long-term financial stability and independence? I hope so, because that is certainly a part of being wealthy.
Are you investing in those closest to you? I hope so! The fact is that when you lay on your deathbed, it won’t matter how much money you have. The grim reaper doesn’t need any more money and so he can’t be bought with yours! The only thing that will matter are those faces that surround you, the looks of love they give you, and the memories you have of good times spent with them.

Are you taking good care of yourself physically? I hope so because if you don’t, you won’t get the mileage out of it that you were intended too! Physical health is part of being wealthy!

Are you taking care of your spiritual life? I hope so because I don’t think there are any more important questions we can answer than those who’s answers will play themselves out for eternity. In my mind, spiritual questions make all the others seem like child’s play. Are you taking good care of yourself emotionally? I hope so because it is your internal state that will give you the energy you are looking for to live long and the peace to enjoy that life of yours.

All in all, I have decided that I don’t want to stoop to being rich. That is too low of a goal for me. I want to be wealthy – financially yes, but not to the exclusion of my body, soul and spirit. Not to the exclusion of deep and meaningful relationships with my friends and family. How about you? Will you be rich or wealthy?

Theo Ukpaa is a Business Development Expert and a Life Coach

How to Develop Skill and Characteristics Employers Want

In Nigeria today, so many undergraduates already possess some of the attributes employers want prior to commencing their Degree in Universities or Diploma in Polytechnics through their programme of study or through work experience opportunities. Most graduates roam the streets with their resumes’ and certificates looking for employment while so many companies still travel abroad to employ expatriates. There is only one explanation to this regular occurrence and that is the fact that most Employers don’t want certificates, they simply require skills. So the big question is “How do you develop skills and characteristics Employers want”.

I came up with these after careful research and close interaction with over 125 Top Human Resource Managers and 72 Senior Executives from huge International conglomerates in Lagos, Abuja, London, Vienna, Paris and New York. So simply see this as a Guide to future employment or a clue to master your already developed skills. This is probably the reason why you never get called back after an interview.

Development of skills through your programme of study
Universities and Polytechnics present many new challenges for younger undergraduates which include becoming financially independent and meeting new people. These challenges are recognized and valued by employers as contributing to personal development and maturity. During their programme, students must learn to organize their workload and manage their time effectively in order to meet deadlines. Often this means organizing their schedule to allow enough time to undertake paid work as well as study.

Many programmes are assessed on the basis of coursework rather than exams. Students must therefore learn to ‘juggle’ more than one project at once. Students are now able to choose from a diverse range of subjects on modular degree programmes. Students must, therefore, be flexible and adaptable enough to switch between subject areas. Through their programme of study, undergraduates learn to communicate information both verbally and in the written form through project work, report writing and oral presentations. Group work exercises and team sports develop an undergraduate’s team-working skills. In addition, students develop subject-specific knowledge and basic computer skills.

You can Develop your skills through work- experience opportunities
Some attributes are difficult to develop in the classroom. These include the ability to present and sell oneself at interview, the ability to appreciate workplace culture and interpersonal skills. Work experience is widely recognized as the most appropriate medium through which to develop these attributes and prepare students for work. I once spoke to a Human resource executive in one of Nigeria’s large company’s and he says “I do believe that four-year degrees with a year out in industry are a good way of building some of the interpersonal stuff. I don’t see any other way to do that; you can’t expect the degree to do everything”.

Not all undergraduates are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to undertake a work placement during their degree. The best push has been the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and its loosing its orientation gradually by the year. However, students may have the opportunity to undertake either structured vacation placement such as the STEP programme or ad hoc work experience including voluntary work and part-time work. Some undergraduates in Lagos and London have benefited immensely from the YesAfrica annual Undergraduate workshops organized by the YesAfrica Initiative. To participate in upcoming YesAfrica Programmes, send me a mail with your profile.

Increasingly, part-time work and voluntary work are being recognized as providing potential opportunities for undergraduates to develop skills and attributes. Although not highly skilled, this type of work, which often includes shop and bar work, requires students to communicate effectively and work with others in a pressured environment. These are all ‘transferable skills’ that graduates will use in future roles.

What skills and attributes do employers want?
The possession of a range of skills and personal and interactive attributes are at least as important, if not more important, to employers than the possession of qualifications.
The Personal attributes most employers want are:
Intellect - the ability to analyze critique and synthesize information in order to solve problems;
Knowledge - an understanding of ‘basic principles’ rather than large stocks of specialist knowledge;
Commercial awareness- an appreciation of workplace culture, this might be difficult for those who never lived with fellow students in a school hostel.
Willingness to learn- the ability to learn and continue learning throughout life;
Flexibility and adaptability- the ability to respond to change, to pre-empt change and ultimately to lead change;
Self-regulatory skills- self-discipline, time-keeping, the ability to deal with stress, to plan and prioritize your workload and to ‘juggle’ several tasks at once;
Self-motivation- being a’ self-starter’, resilient, tenacious and determined;
Self-assurance- self-confidence, self-awareness, self-belief, self-sufficiency, self-direction and self-promotion.

The Interactive attributes most employers want are:
Communication skills- the ability to communicate, formally and informally, verbally and in the written form, with a wide range of people both internal and external to the organization;
Interpersonal skills- the ability to relate to, and feel comfortable with, people at all levels and to be able to make and maintain relationships as circumstances change;
Team-working- the ability to work effectively in teams, often more than one team at once, and to be able to re-adjust roles from one project situation to another in an ever-shifting work situation.

“Incase you wonder if you will need the same attributes irrespective of Job type”? A Senior Executive of a large brewing company in Nigeria once told me “I do not see management competencies changing significantly; what I see is that in some circumstances, in some stage of development, some of them will be more important than others, but things like commercial awareness, some basic intellectual capabilities, results orientation, interpersonal skills, will always be important”. The Fact is, there are innumerable studies that have shown that a set of ‘transferable skills’ or ‘competencies’ including communication, team-working, problem-solving, leadership, innumeracy, self-confidence, willingness to learn and flexibility, are widely required by employers generally. Furthermore these lists of attributes have changed little over time. There have been some slight shifts in emphasis, reflecting preferred ways of working, but essentially there has been very little change in the last 10–20 years.

Theo Ukpaa is a Business Development Expert and a Life Coach

How to research and develop your business ideas

Developing your business idea into a viable product or service is a critical part of building a business especially in an unstable developing country like Nigeria. Thorough assessment and market research at an early stage will help you to establish whether there is a market for your product or service.

This guide will help you assess whether your idea can form the foundation for a successful business and put a process in place to monitor and measure its progress.
It also has tips on how to finance the development of your idea and how to protect it if other people get involved.

Finding and Developing Your Idea
A new idea is often the basis for starting up a business. Many entrepreneurs spot a gap in the market and start businesses that provide a product or service that fills it. Others come up with ways to improve an existing product.

Coming up with a new idea
If you want to start a business but don't yet have an idea to work with, there are many ways to go about identifying one. The following questions may help:
Do you have any particular skills that could form the basis of a new business? Are you aware of a gap in the market in the industry that you currently work in? Do you have a hobby that could be turned into a business?

Has there ever been a time when you needed a particular service or product that nobody else provides? If you needed it, there is a good chance that other people will too.
Developing your idea
Once you've got a business idea, take time to refine it. This will help you to decide whether it could be the foundation of a successful business. I've encountered most ideas crumble for lack of refining.

There are various established methods of developing a business idea. You can: Conduct market research to discover whether your idea fills a gap in the market. Brainstorm your idea with friends, colleagues or staff, they can give different perspectives on the idea and may know if anyone else is doing the same thing. Think about whether your idea can take advantage of an opportunity created by new technologies, e.g. by trading online. Consider whether social trends will affect demand for your product, e.g. the increasing demand for organic food. Is there a market for my idea?

There are certain criteria you can use to establish this:
Does it satisfy or create a market need? Can you identify potential customers? Will it outlive passing trends or capitalise on the trend before it dies away? Is it unique, distinct or superior to those offered by competitors? What competition will it face - locally, nationally and globally?
Is the product safe for public use and does it comply with relevant regulations and legislation? Seek legal advice before proceeding. Market research can play an important role in answering many of these questions and increasing your chances of success.
Market research techniques can be basic or sophisticated. You could:
Canvass the opinion of friends and colleagues; Survey the public about whether they would use a product; Ask customers of competing products what improvements they would like to see;
Use focus groups to test your product or service;
Monitor your competitors' activities; Look at what has and hasn't worked in your industry or market niche
Hire a market research agency like NetworkNigeria, LSMB, or Gateway.
It is very important that you are as thorough in your market research as possible, as mistakes made at this stage of development could prove costly later on. Remember, the more information you have, the better you will be able to understand your potential customers, the marketplace and how your product fits in.

Plan the development of your idea
Try to identify the key stages or checkpoints in the development of your idea. Each checkpoint gives you a chance to evaluate the progress of your product or service and decide whether you need to make any changes.

Your checkpoints may include:
Designing - turning your idea into a product or service that can actually be sold
Prototyping - creating a useable example of your product or service, this can then be tested
Protecting - applying for a patent if you have invented a product or type of technology
Financing - raising the money you will need to get your business started.
Operations - setting up the structure of your business, e.g. finding a suitable location, hiring staff, etc
Marketing - working out how you will sell your product or service

Judge your progress
If the goals of any of your checkpoints are not met, you need to analyse why this is the case. Ask yourself whether your objectives were unreasonable. If so, you may need to revise your objectives. There are circumstances when you should reconsider your original idea. These include:

Developing a product or service that isn't commercially successful, Developing a product that is not technically viable, e.g. it cannot be manufactured or it doesn't meet performance requirements, Someone else releasing a product or service which is very similar or identical to yours

Finance the development of your idea
Securing adequate funding is one of the biggest obstacles many entrepreneurs face. Your funding needs may also change during the course of product development as it may take longer or cost more than you first expected.

Loans and overdrafts are the most common ways to raise money for a new business.
There are plenty of other ways to raise the finance you need, especially when setting up a new business. Grants and government schemes offering support to new businesses are widely available in Nigeria now especially the micro-finance banks.

There are also specific funding schemes for entrepreneurs under the age of 30. For further information about these funds and how to apply for them, send a mail to my box or visit the Network Nigeria website. My biggest advice is that you don't you don't start a new business with a loan except you have a solid company partnership.

Other sources of finance include:
Realising , or cashing in, the value of shares
Investment from business angels or venture capitalists
Family loans Joint ventures

Always try to overestimate how much money you might need. It's not worth investing your money and then running out before you have completed the development stage. You should look at the state of your funding at each development stage or checkpoint to help evaluate your finance options.

Business plan
Whenever you approach banks, potential investors, business partners or government departments for money you will need to show them a business plan. This should explain:
The goals of your business
What the purpose of the business is
Your marketing plan
What you intend to spend the invested or borrowed money on
How this will benefit both the business and the investor or lender
How you intend to repay any lenders
For a proficient business plan, consult a Business development expert

Sharing your ideas with others
At some stage you will probably wish to discuss your idea with a third party. This could be informally, such as seeking advice or encouragement from friends or family, or formally, by hiring a professional consultant, talking to your solicitor or accountant or forming a partnership or joint venture with another company.

Remember, once you put an idea into the public domain it can no longer be considered confidential or a trade secret. You should therefore take steps to protect your intellectual property. Before talking to third parties, it is a good idea to ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement to prevent them from sharing the details of your confidential discussion with others. SEND me a mail if you need sample of a Non-disclosure agreement.
Intellectual property

Your intellectual property is what sets you apart from competitors. It could be your company brand, invention, design or creative work. Protecting your intellectual property makes strong business sense. Remember that you cannot protect an idea in its own right but you can protect the tangible work that you do to realise your idea.
There are several legal ways to do this: Trade marks restrict others from using your brand or logo, Copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works
Patents protect inventions

Design rights and registration protect a product's appearance, If you form a partnership or joint venture, draw up a contract defining who owns the idea and what the share of future profits will be. You must seek professional legal advice before taking any final decisions. A good place to start is by contacting a Business development expert.

Test the market
Product testing is important throughout the design process. While you are developing your product or service it's a good idea to keep testing the market to make sure you are still on the right track. You can do this by using:
Focus groups - ask small groups of your target customers what they want from your product or service.
Questionnaires - try to get as wide a sample as possible.
Prototypes - show an early version of your product to customers. You may find that your prototype will go through several stages of development as you refine your idea.
You may need to respond to suggestions from users by modifying the design. Don't be discouraged, as most successful entrepreneurs do not view this as a failure, but as a learning curve. It's a good idea to send your product to a large or very reputable organization. A positive testimonial will prove invaluable as you approach other customers.
You may want to consider testing even after your product goes on sale. Ongoing contact with customers can uncover both the shortcomings of your product and possible opportunities that you may have missed.

Once you have a final product, you can then set about building a brand. A brand includes everything that is visible to the customer, such as the product name , its packaging and its delivery. You also need to consider your pricing policy .You need to price all the materials, other inputs, machinery ,processes and administrative time realistically. You will need to research different suppliers and the cost of marketing and distribution. Then check on the price at which your competitors are selling to customers. You can determine the price of your product or service so that it is attractive to customers and you make a profit.

Finally
I started a business once and it crumbled because of my partners' incompetence and inconsistency. Selectively choose a partner to work with you on your business development ladder. Look for partners who can drive your vision not people you'll be dragging along.
When you make a mistake, don't look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power, Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do. So don't be afraid of your big ideas, rather let it link you up with great achievers. Even if you get afraid, keep it secret. The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret.

YOUTH CULTURE

If the distinguishing virtue of classical culture was a celebration of a sacred divine principle, while modern culture mourned the loss of the divine and post-modern culture celebrates its absence, then youth culture shows itself to be pre-eminent in trumpeting the supremacy of the individual - divorced not just from the divine, but from family, lineage, community and nation.
This inclination towards extreme individuality has always been latent within the human heart, but social conditions have not been particularly conducive for its expression - until now. Small families, long working hours for both parents and a soaring divorce rate cause children to be tied more loosely to their immediate families than ever before. Today, a child reared within an integrated nuclear family is exceptional not because he lives apart from his grandparents but because he knows both of his parents.
Yet even when children are brought up in a stable domestic situation, their bonds to family are not formed as closely as they once were. Families now sit side by side watching TV rather than face to face at the dinner table discussing the events of the day. Children and adults alike retreat to the solitary world of the personal computer, the iPod or the Game Boy rather than engaging in social intercourse with friends and family.
It is true that families have always engaged in solitary pastimes such as reading and painting, but the modern examples cited above are different in one very significant way. While reading traditionally involved delighting in the artistic creations of the older generation, modern electronic media allow children and youth to live in a socially isolated, individualized world which is entirely a creation of youth culture itself. Modern music, video games, chat rooms and text messaging are not connecting the recipient with the accrued wisdom and understanding of the nation’s cultural heritage. They are means of transmitting youth culture from one participant to another.
Technology allows youth to live continuously in a cultural environment entirely of their choosing, comprising nothing but adolescent outpourings. The cost of producing electronic music is such that any teenager with access to a personal computer can compose, produce and distribute his or her own music. Personal music devices allow youth to live the entire day not connecting with others but hemmed in by a wall of artificial sound.
Modern education exacerbates the alienation of youth from their elders. There was a time when education was the process of learning, absorbing, understanding and mastering the best that one’s culture had to offer. In our times of post-modern educational theories, all texts are equal, and children are now fed a diet of "relevant texts" which will "engage" them. That is to say, they study texts written in their own language. They no longer learn the rules of grammar and learn to speak like well-educated adults. They have their street slang and local idioms fed back to them and affirmed as appropriate means of communication. Children who aspire to master mature concepts are derided as nerds, while those who develop street creed are cool.
The youth of today are further divorced from the older generations by the absence of significant rites of passage in their lives. Wole Soyinka identified the rite of passage as an essential element of life through which the individual gains access to membership of a community. He noted that the rite of passage usually involved an initial separation from one’s previous clique, a temporary existence on the intervening margin and finally incorporation into the new community.
Traditional rites of passage such as christening or baptism, Guardination, confirmation, graduation, engagement and marriage have lost their central importance in modern life which has become less about preserving and magnifying the cultural heritage of our predecessors and now centers on individual expression. Nowhere is this more graphically illustrated than in the trend towards writing one’s own marriage vows, as if the ceremony (if one bothers to get married at all, that is) is seen as an expression of the couple’s personality rather than an opportunity for them to join a sacred institution.
The absence of significant rites of passage, with the necessary trials, temporary alienation and eventual acceptance into a new and more mature stage of life means that many youths never actually grow up. They remain forever in the adolescent stage of angst, rebellion, protest and destruction and never enter the adult stage of taking on the responsibility to create a better life for future generations.
It is a strange irony when one of these perpetual adolescents recognizes the meaningless of her own existence and wishes something better for her own children. Madonna, for example, won’t even let her children watch television. Having based her career on destroying the morality of sex and religion, and having reaped the financial rewards for providing this essential service to the youth of the world, she now realizes the error of her ways and refuses to inflict it on her own offspring. Fela Anikulapo Kuti on the other hand is the exact opposite, his influence clinical on his children is highly enormous.
What Madonna is saying is that it's OK for other people’s children to consume her offering of overt sexuality and anti-religious sentiment, but it's not good enough for her own children. But she is not apologizing for her previous artistic output, nor is she withdrawing any of her music from the market.
The situation in Africa is somewhat evasive in the sense that most of our youths tend to adapt easy to the western culture through the Television and prints media without supervision from parents or guardian and are open to moral abuse inflicted via loop holes. The internet has not been a sweet story to tell as innovative as it is, it has negatively influenced fraud and obese crime in Africa, Nigeria to be precise, (on the Yahoo fame).
Having been denied legitimate rites of passage, yet still yearning for membership of a congregation, youth invent their own communities and marks of membership. Yet rites of passage such as one’s first experiment with drugs, loosing one’s virginity or the hedonistic mayhem of schooled week, which often involves both, are no salve for the yearning all young people have to enter into a community which embodies significant meaning. This is because the taking of drugs or the loosing of one’s virginity requires no concerted effort or hard won talent. Consequently the entry into this new congregation bestows no benefit to the new initiate.
Having attained such an easily won status, he or she is left feeling bereft, cheated, regretful and even guilty, and searching for a justification for his or her mistaken transition. Justification can only be found in numbers, and the most common course of action is to encourage others to follow and to belittle those who will not. So youth culture is perpetrated in a vacuum of meaning and without reference to a cultural tradition which is the sole means towards a creative and fulfilling adult life. So now my big question, "What are the adults doing to influence the youth culture"?