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Members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria(ASCSN) in tjhe Ministries Departments and Agencies have been called upon to remain calm and law-abiding.

This call was made by the former chairman of the Oyo state council of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''Ever since the delay in the delivery of the judgment on the ASCSN leadership crisis matter before the National Industrial Court, members of the association have remained disturbed and worried. However, they should remain ca;lm and law-abiding as we await the decision of the court. The Judiciary still remains the last hope of ordinary Nigerians,'' Comrade Emelieze noted.

A moderate standard of learning must include the ability of a child to be able to spell ordinary words, correctly to write legibly and intelligently, to make out or check a common bill, to have sufficient geographical knowledge to know the position of the countries of the world and, above all, to be sufficiently acquainted with the Scriptures.

In every part of Nigeria today, most children leave school without attaining these standards.

The present system of education at all levels of government is not only bad for the children but also for the teachers. The teaching profession has been debased by the government and the unimpressive attitude of the teachers.

Parents have a major duty to their children, but most parents habitually neglect this major duty.

Untrained teachers and bad methods of teaching, projects by contractors that were not inspected with adequate motive, un-revised or ill-revised policies and the complete absence of all organizations of schools in relation to one another constitute an unspecified number of evils of public and private schools in Nigeria.

The allocations in the budgets of the Federal and State governments over the years to the education sector has had little or no impact on the sector.

The garden initiative introduced by the First lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has exposed the questionable mindset of those in leadership positions in the present dispensation.

This assertion was made by a former chairman of the Oyo state council of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''Millions of Nigerians are dying on a daily basis of hunger and poverty. Those who cannot withstand the hardships are committing suicide. The First lady, Senator Oulremi Tinubu, believes that the planting of vegetables is the way to go, but that is wrong.

The present situation in the country has gone beyond planting vegetables in a garden. 

This initiative is a mockery of the very dangerous situation, which has so far defied all soltuions put forward by the government at all levels,'' Comrade Emelieze stated.

Let us give thanks to the Lord for counting us one of His sheep and also pray to Him to teach us to count better, like Him. 

John 10:7-18

7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

13The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

17Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

The registrar of the Teachers Registration Council(TRCN), Prof. Olusegun Ajiboye has advised teachers in Nigeria to be Information and Communication Technology(ICT) compliant to be abreast with the fast changing education landscape.

Porf. Ajiboye gave this advice on Friday at the Ibadan Education Summit in Ibadan, Nigeria.

''The landscape of education is changing very fast, as professional teachers you may be left behind. We are in the age of technology. We have to focus on technology. You cannot function effectively as a teacher if you do not leverage technology. You cannot afford to be a Born Before the Computer Age. We have to change our character as teachers,'' he stated.

Prof. Ajiboye frowned on the increasing rate of quackery in every profession, saying,''in every profession we have quackery, don't be a quack. If you don't have value, you cannot give value. You have to buckle up to be a global teacher.''

The value of land in England had political, social and economic undertones.

Land was a mandatory prerequisite for election into Parliament, while in the counties, there was a requirement for the right to vote.

During this period, the landed class had political power and, interestingly, Parliament was controlled by landowners.

Furthermore, in the local sphere, the Justice of Peace-the squire-was the most important personality. He was the largest landowner in the village.

As Magistrate and leader of the local society, he combined political and social power.

In addition, the owner of the land made profits by selling its produce or leasing the land for high rents to tenant farmers.

The foregoing resulted in the emergence of wealthy traders, who bought land as investments which were converted as a means to political power and social ostentation.

The House of Commons, influenced by a few big landowners, sponsored bills which became laws.

These laws were against the wishes of many small farmers.

Among those bills that were passed into law, was the Bill of Enclosure

The economically marginalized landowners had inadequate means to off the desperation and determination of their more substantial neighbors to enclose the land.

In Nigeria today, land grabbing and dubious estate development by all available means is an unwritten policy by Those-in-Charge at all levels of Government.

The priority of those that call the shots is land annexation and estate development, at the expense of agriculture.

Presently, there is hunger and poverty in ther land.

Private properties have been annexed, structures demolished, and alternative ones erected in an amazing time frame.

Indeed, looted funds and funds from doubtful and questionable sources are now channeled to land-grabbing and estate development.

Sadly, the deliberate compromise of the legal and security system, indeed, encouraged this unwritten policy, while violent crimes have trailed events in the land and property sector.

The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria(MHWUN) in Oyo state on Tuesday suspended the 7-day warning strike embarked upon to press home their demands.

According to the chairman of the union, Comrade Olumuyiwa Fabunmi, the State Executive Council of the union, after a meeting on Wednesday, decided to reconvene next week,''we have decided to give the state government another seven days because we received a letter, we will reply to the state government's letter.''

''We have not called off the strike, we have only suspended it. We will reconvene next week.''

In most recent times, parents and guardians in Oyo state have expressed great worries over the dwindling performance of their children and wards in private and public schools in the state. The major challenges revolve around the visible absence of quality education coupled with the difficulties in pinpointing the impact of education on pupils and students.

In this interview with New Federation, the chairman of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT), Comrade Raji Oladimeji commends the state governor for embarking  on the massive recruitment of teachers in public primary and secondary schools in the state.

Excerpts:

The Oyo state government is in the process of recruiting teachers into government owned primary and secondary schools in the state. What is your reaction?

Let us first appreciate God for the privilege of life. We equally need to appreciate, His Excellency, Engr. Seyi Makinde for providing an enabling environment for teachers in the state and for taking drastic action on the issue of the shortage of teachers. How do we cope at the different labor centers in relation to the shortage of manpower?

The issue of shortage of workers is not limited to Oyo state alone, labor unions are complaining in Kano, Sokoto, Abia, Imo and many other states. 

The problem in Oyo state has been addressed headlong.

The state government has decided to recruit 7,000 primary school teachers, 7,000 secondary school teachers, 3,000 non-teaching staff and 100 helpers for special schools. They are not likely to be degree holders. Each school will have 3 watchmen.

It is unprecedented in the history of oyo state. It is not for political patronage as has been insinuated, but the recruitment would be based on merit. We cannot doubt them.

The prospective teachers would undergo Computer-Based Tests. We do not need to doubt them. Candidates have started registering online. The registration is free of charge. It is a good thing that has come.