Challenges, before students

Challenges, before students

By Umar Ibrahim Usman

www.umaryougjournalist.blogspot.com

umayyfa002@gmail.com

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“Tomorrow is nothing and it is not yet created” the above quotation would open several avenues to think about. But don’t be confused, this is to remind you about the importance of today particularly this hour, and forget the future. Thus Allah (the creator) is already there.

It is questionable upon us, why we are always busy planning for tomorrow which we don’t have certainty about? Also we are thinking that whatever comes our way is ours, irrespective of who is the original owner be it public resources or individuals property.

Selfishness and individualism is spreading in an unprecedented scale among students, their teachers, leaders and the worse part of it, the religious leaders. Life astonishes us today, despite the level of education and literacy development in the country, but we are living as though we are wild animals.

The sympathy of brotherhood is no longer in our mindsets, the respect for one another is no longer with us, and the love for our society is not in our character, all in favor of individualism and self enrichment policy model.

Consequently, the religious values which supposed to be our cardinal principles are no longer earning public respect. Why is this so? Likewise, the incessant killing and fighting are taking place across the country in an unprecedented scale; also the law and order established to guide the society are no longer put forth by the society.

Hence, Poverty, diseases, mortality rate increment, disasters and geometric growth of corruption. Therefore, the infrastructure can generally be assessed as follows; epileptic power supply, general infrastructural decay and lack of good roads, healthcare services and quality education for all.

Therefore, government agencies and security establishment agencies was set up to maintain law and order but unfortunately they are guilty of broken the integrity of their duties for their own advantage and in the interest of few (very microscopic number upper class).

It is so astonishing, that the upcoming generation particularly the students that we have hope unto them, to be the agent of change to salvage the society. Yet they too are corrupted, because how would you expect somebody who follows irregular ways in obtaining his certificate to be honest.

As a student’s you suppose to know all the aforementioned challenges, and promised that whenever I get the opportunity I will change for the better. While, always show your concern for the society and what will improve the life of the larger society not your own personal interest.

Accordingly, try to be a role model in the university among students “be friend to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be friend before you give them your confidence”. George Washington. Change begins with you, and once you want to chance the country don’t allow this distortion ‘no body can change Nigeria for the better’ to have impact on you.

The best legacy you can left that society will never forget you is not money nor children or a beautiful wife, but the positive development you left. Can’t you think why people of Indian always remember Mahatma Gandhi, the people of South Africa remember Nelson Mandela, and the people of Nigeria remember peoples like Sir Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikwe, Tafawa Balewa, Awolowo, and Malam Aminu Kano.

Malam Aminu Kano once said that “I swear in the name of Allah if I die today, I would leave nothing behind in terms of material things but the legacy of struggle for the liberation dignity of the masses of my country”. This will clearly define that an achiever is not the one who accumulated huge amount of wealth such as; companies, houses, cars, wife’s and children’s. An achiever is one who brings significant and immemorial development to his society.

There is general consensus among all religions and beliefs, that death is inevitable so no matter how reach you are? However, when you die that wealth will not help you. What would help you is your significance to humanity.  Money is nothing to the extent that it can’t buy you life, health, and it can’t buy you knowledge. Though this prove that, it is not as important as we think it is.

According to Roman dictum ‘Historia magestra vitae’ which means history is the best teacher of life. So we see the history of people who do well, and we also observed the life of people who do badly. If you chose to be good, so is, if you chose to be bad, so is: but don’t forget the consequences. Therefore when you die at the day of resurrection you will be accountable on what you have done.

As a student Fear Allah, don’t cheat anybody, don’t be stingy help others that are in need of, be a generous person, while change this  assertion among students ‘I am studying a degree to get reach or die trying’ with I am studying for knowledge and to bring a significance to the society. Because if you are thinking of tomorrow who knows what will happen, maybe it is tomorrow that you are going to die and you are busy planning for your death.

The only thing that will benefit you tomorrow is service to GOD, and serving the humanity is service to GOD. The purpose of life is to leave in peace serve the Creator with what HE instruct you to do through HIS Prophet (Peace be upon him). And act according to the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Finally this is the only chance remain for us to build a sustainable country for everybody to enjoy. So if you like to continue; living in abject poverty, insecurity, political instability and unabated stealing of public funds, go ahead, or if you  want to change the country in to peaceful, harmonious and unified  environment for all with respect to fundamental human right, go ahead. The choice is collectively ours to make it or to mar.

(C) 2013

                                                                                                                                          

flew in the face of danger

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Experience shows that every candidate sat for UTME has coveted for entering the university. Therefore, after a candidate passed Post UTME and get admission he succeeds. Notwithstanding this is just the beginning.

However, admission is a first step in the staircase of passing through the university. Hence, the choice is yours either you pass-through the university or the university will passed through you.

It is generally believed and upheld that university is free environment, yet there is absolute freedom, but the freedom is very dangerous because it may lead to the destruction of your character. Though, upon entering the university, society would look at you as folk hero, but you are not until you prove so.

Mr. JJC refrain your mine and seek refuge from social activities, cultism, anti seriousness, bad friends, examination malpractice, whilst say no to violence in the campus and outside there. Take this offer at the face of value and know the purpose of being in the university.

Passing through the university is very difficult looking at the following variables hunting for students; such as carry-overs, spill-over, missing result tragedy, strikes, examination malpractice and financial difficulties.

Henceforth, don’t be discouraged because difficulties mastered are the opportunities won, while taking in to consideration any mistake is an opportunity to learn. Also discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.

Despite all the challenges in the university that might serve as discouragement, still you can succeeded in the face of great difficulties through determination and hardworking. Thus say no to swagger, Ramatology, Nanatology and Chasulogy. Consequently you would be perceived as uncivilized but at the end of the journey you would laugh.

Furthermore, many students would taste the sweetness of enjoying the university after their arrival as fresh accordingly at the end they taste the bitterness of graduating from university without certificate. Alas! Their face fell, instead of putting a good face on it.

There is mystified perception spread among students to incoming ones, that lecturers are failing the students, this is a blatant lie and distorted information. Truthfully speaking nobody will fail you, unless if you decide that you want to fail. This is because lecturers are only grading student’s base on their performance; they don’t have the authority to fail students. That is why the senate of the university has to approve the result before it releases. Therefore if you fail blame no one but yourself.

Advisedly, make head or tail of the university by asking questions, consultations of level coordinators whenever you need information about your status. It is for this reason that university set guidance and counseling office to guide students about their studies and their future carrier, it is trip dent! That most of the students they are not aware this.

The foregoing discourse is not a fly in the ointment, though this is to bring to your notice that you can enjoy the university but KNOW the level of enjoyment or you can face the wrath of it, making you victim of university or an exemplary model to the larger society.

In a nutshell, whatever you are doing ask yourself what am I becoming not what am i getting, because nothing good is easy, and there is emptiness of pleasure in a successful revolution against illiteracy if you really want success. Hence, Victory comes with affliction.

Notwithstanding the tragedies in the university, If you work hard, study hard, and pray hard while play less, there's no saying " you can’t flew in the face of danger, that may engulf you in the university". Yes you can, and surely time will tell.

                                                                                           (c)2013

The impact pf social media to the quality of journalism

SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CHALLENGE FOR QUALITY JOURNALISM

      Social media refers to the use of web based mobile technologies to turn communication in to an interactive dialogue. Social media is best understood as a group of new kind of online media, which share most or all of the following characteristics. Social media encourages contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested. It blurs the line between media and audience. Most social media services are open to feedback and participation. They encourage voting, comments and the sharing of information. There are rarely any barriers to

access and making use of content – password-protected content is frowned on. Whereas traditional media is about “broadcast” (content transmitted or distributed to an audience) social media is better seen as a two-way conversation. Social media allows communities to form quickly and communicate effectively. Communities share common interests, such as a love of photography, a political issue or a favorite TV show. Most kinds of social media thrive on their connectedness, making use of links to other sites, resources and people. Social networks, in addition, are sites that allow people to build personal web pages and then connect with friends to share content and communication. The biggest social networks are MySpace, Facebook and BEBO etc. Blogs also are online journals.

   Members of the society of professional journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Journalists use several methods to justify their decisions. In most ethical dilemmas, editors and reporters discuss the issue and consequence of publication before making decision. Also they consider how newsworthy the story is and whether the public really needs this information. In comparison, we may refer social media as a challenge, in fact, a serious challenge to quality journalism. Because social media allows those who are not trained   journalists to act as media practitioners by disseminating information without ethical reasoning.

    The issue of plagiarism in social media has become order of the day, as though it’s ethical. Because technology has made it easier to plagiarize, and also because accessibility to thousands of news sources  are so easy,  stealing words from someone else without attribution is not a new phenomenon as far as social media is concerned. Thus social media is a challenge to ethics of journalism. Another interrelated issue is that in social medium, there is immediacy, in other words, less of or nor editing, no conversion as well as no typesetting. Hence, users may write the way they wish and may likely attempt to tarnish the image of any personality and disrupt important social structure in a society. While journalists work in two tasks, gathering the information and putting it into more acceptable form, social media allows for rampant use of unprofessional language in communication. This is to say that social media employs the personal idiosyncrasies of the writer in presenting information. Therefore, in quality journalism, media practitioners must be objective in their report which has become a necessity in attaining this goal. Therefore, journalists must present information the way it is, not the way they expect it to be. Objectivity in journalism cannot be over emphasized, since without it, there would be no journalism. Furthermore, it is easy to think of social media as a win-win situation for businesses and consumers, but that fact is simply not true. Businesses and consumers both suffer as a result of social media in some ways, i.e., differences of opinion, errors and mistakes, misuse of information and distraction of viewers etc.

      Nevertheless, there are a lot of errors in social media communication. This is obviously owed to the imperfect nature of human beings. They make mistakes and sometimes those mistakes cause big problems, but those erroneous messages get broadcasted through the social and viral media networks faster than grandmothers’ gossip chain. The biggest challenge of social media to quality journalism is that people are migrating from traditional media in favor of the new media. Despite the fact that messages transmitted through traditional media are certified and testified in reality, while widespread information from unknown sources (rumors) which might not be true in reality, yet, are broadcasted in social media networks. However this is seen by media practitioners (professional journalists) as a great challenge because masses nowadays access social media for their informational needs, and believing it to be a reliable source.  But they are getting wrong information and use them as if it’s real. Because media practitioners are always  busy working in order to sift  information through various gate keeping processes, so as to satisfy their (audience, readers, viewers, listeners etc)  with accurate, simple and clear information, they perceive social media as a challenge to their profession and to the ethics of journalism.

    In conclusion, quality journalism is all about disseminating reality in an accurate, simple and clear as well as in a reliable manner. The emergence of social media that people are relying on, has greatly undermined these objectives. There is simply no journalistic or ethical consideration in social media information. In a nutshell, people regard social media in a way it is not supposed to be. Social network users are not journalists but provide information to heterogeneous and anonymous users that have different ideologies, interests, opinions, religion, race, perceptions to mention but a few. Often during conflicts or wars,  media plays a vital role in resolving conflict, in contrast however, social networks, as we have seen recently, may lead to outbreak of war due to  of rumors spreading through social media which tends to lead to uprisings misunderstandings among conflicting parties. A recent example is how facebook aids in fueling violence in the ongoing Arab uprising. This new phenomenon might be perceived as social change, it is one actually. But the question we need to ask ourselves is, is this the kind of change we need? Time will surely tell.