Arsenal and the Fear of Losing RVP

Yea, i i watch football, i maybe i don't really love the sport, (or maybe i just don't like playing it), but i watch football. Now, everyone knows that its going to be the beginning of yet another football season in Europe soon enough, and at the moment the transfer windows have been literally flung open and players are being bought and sold, contracts are being renewed and some clubs, especially the English clubs are on the hot seat during this very critical period. The spotlight is on Arsenal this time as we watch with bated breath for an end to the ongoing brouhaha and rumors concerning the club's main captain and striker, Robin Van Persie.
  Now, truth be told, RVP is indeed a good striker, in fact, the last season saw him motivate the club with his superb performance on the pitch, his never ending thirst for goals and his instrumentality to the club's finishing in 3rd place in the last Barclays Premier League season. After Euro2012, most fans of the club and indeed, fans of other rival clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea etc were of the view that the Arsenal striker was almost invisible during his rather brief stint in the competition under his home country's flag. And then the rumors began to circulate that the  PFA Player of the year was in fact going to leave arsenal where he has been for over 6years without a trophy.
   Currently the top scorer in the English Premier League with 30 goals netted last season, the future of the Striker at arsenal is still quite uncertain as the club has not come up with a definite report on whether or not the Dutchman would stay or leave. As expected, fans are besides themselves in anxiety as the striker has been viewed as the very best Arsenal has got judging from the last season. 
   Judging from the club's progress over the years, i am of the view that whether or not RVP stays or leaves it might have little or no effect whatsoever on the club's performance. The club has been graced by the likes of the great Thierry Henry and a host of others, who had played very well for the club, and their departure did not necessarily mean the end of Arsenal as one of the clubs to reckon with in the English Premier League.
   More attention should be paid to signing more players with experience, as well as fielding the young ones to build their skills. With Jack Wilshere ruled out for the beginning of the season till october, the club has to make a decision fast, to up the ante and aim for trophies this season whether RVP stays or leaves.

Still on NYSC

It has been a while since i sat down to write anything here....am sorry i cant help going away sometimes as its almost impossible for me to blog from my current location... But am here now so i guess i should just go ahead and whine like i always do.

 On the NYSC as a scheme to promote National Integration, i had already pointed out in my previous write up that the lofty aims and objectives of the founding fathers of the scheme can no longer be said to be tenable. However, some other issues have caught my attention in the little time i was absent, and am going to try my very best to express myself the way i ought to.

 First, on the payment on corp members; it would not surprise a good number of corp members that the monthly stipend allocated to corp members by the Federal Government (generally called "allowee") is most times "withheld" in some states. In such instances, corp members suffer all sorts of discomforts, including buying foodstuff on credit, going to report to the Local government Liaison offices with little or no money, as such they have to borrow, and a host of other difficulties.
 Now my question is this, is there not a particular time when this "stipend' should be disbursed to corp members by the various state offices of the NYSC? . It would interest some, and shock some to know that in some states, especially states in the northern part of the country, corp members are paid earlier than others..(and by earlier i mean 2 weeks earlier).... Does it mean that it is not the same Federal Government that remits the monies to the NYSC, who is in charge of disbursing the money appropriately?

 Whoever the people that are in charge of disbursing these monies, they should pay heed to the fact that not all corp members are from rich homes, and as such not all can cry to their daddies or mommies or uncles to send them money when the NYSC decides to hold their allowances ransome. A worker does deserve his/her wages, and it is important that the Federal Government look into this matter, since these corp members are serving their fatherland. 
 Second: On the Community Development Service (CDS) that has been made mandatory by the NYSC in a bid to monitor the activities of corp members towards the development of their communities o primary assignment. Now, i really do wonder what this CDS really means, maybe because i have failed to understand its essence in the scheme. For instance, community development ought to entail coming together to do something either collectively or individually for your host communities. In a situation where corp members are constantly asked to go down to the secretariat from their various communities every thursday in the week, most times to exchange fruitless banter or just write names and go back to their places of primary assignment, there is really little or nothing that can be achieved this way within the one year that is dedicated to this scheme.

 A lot is wrong with the scheme really, and i may not be able to go all out in one blog, but personally, i believe the scheme has long outlived its usefulness and should either be scrapped or its framework reconstructed. That's all i would say for now.............

Service In a "Not so Father(ly) Land"

                                       

                                    Service In a "Not so Father(ly) Land"




After almost two weeks away from the blog, i realized i have got a lot of things to rant about, from the deplorable condition of my country's educational system, to the inherent security challenges faced in the northern part of my country, but i think I'll just start from one point before jumping to the other.

  I'd like to start with the conditions under which some youth corp members live in some states in the country. It is important to note that since the inception of the N.Y.S.C (National Youth Service Corp) in the late 60's, the aims and objectives of the scheme has waned in achieving its goals over the years. The idea of fostering national integration as the founding fathers thought has been undermined by the various happenings in the country in recent times.

      After camp, it is only normal for the newly inducted corp members to be taken down to the nearest corper's lodge to their various places of primary assignment, to make it easy for them to report to their places of work. it is however very disturbing to note that these structures that serve as "lodges" in some states are in the most appalling shape. a strong case in point is the corper's lodge in Afon, under Asa local government in Kwara State. The story is a pathetic one, looking at the buildings, one can only wonder whether the N.Y.S.C has no provisions for the maintenance of such buildings. imagine what would run through the mind of a freshly deployed corp member from another state entirely who has no relations in such a state; the horror of having to live in such an environment for a whole year is not the most encouraging of things.

     I was at the lodge to take in the sights, and i tell you, even animals should not be kept in such a place. The buildings look like they have not been touched since when it was built after the creation of the state itself, (since 1967!). It is sincerely saddening that some corpers are made to live under such conditions. I do hope that the Federal government through the administration of the N.Y.S.C would make attempts to provide better accommodation for corp members, taking into consideration the fact that most of them are miles away from home.