Rape: Of the Victim and the Accused

 

Rape victims and survivors suffer great trauma what with all the commotion raised by internet users who took to various social media platforms to pour out their grievances after the release of Busola Dakolo's interview. A lot of people had a lot of things to say about the issues raised in the video and there were back and forth arguments about who to believe and who was lying. My thoughts? Well read on.

It takes a lot of strength, especially mental, for a person to come out and say he or she was raped and when such persons do come out let us, mere outsiders, not be too quick to judge and cast blames. Rape is a very painful experience, one that cannot be quickly forgotten, if at all it is gotten over. It does a lot to a person's self-esteem that most victims turn out to be desperate people who search for self-validation everywhere even at places where it is obvious that it cannot be found. I implore us all to show more attention and compassion to people that will come to us to report any sort of sexual violations they suffer.

There is a lot of pretense in the society today. A lot of people only get involved in conflicts when a well-known persona is a party but when the victim is an unknown person it becomes no one's business. Taking reference in Busola's case, her story became this popular only because she is a public figure. We should do our part and not turn deaf ears when the story is that of Nkechi, an helpless sixteen year old student that live in a local town. Let us please stop with the hypocrisy.

The shame culture that is practiced by Nigerians is a sad one indeed. It makes it so that victims of rape are ashamed and afraid to come out and tell their stories. They get to deal with the trauma that comes with the experience and also have to face the stigmatization that coming out will attract with it. Nobody ever wishes to be raped and it is entirely unfair to even suggest that the victim is to be blamed; the victim is never the cause. It is, therefore, our collective responsibility to create a society that respects rape victims as the survivors they truly are and to hold them at a high pedestal that is the complete opposite of the ridicule they would otherwise be put through.

Now there are a lot of rape apologists out there justifying rape and giving stupid reasons and excuses such as, 'It's not rape when she was dressed provocatively', 'His no usually means yes', 'They deserved it'. Let me set this straight, sex without consent is rape. Sex with another person without the person's permission is rape and there is no such thing as silent approval. If you want to save yourself from being labelled as a rapist do not have sex with someone that is showing any sign of reluctance but instead go on to some other person that shares mutual interest with you. Trust me, there are many people out there that will meet your taste.

Another thing to discuss is rapists themselves. Do not be the unfortunate being that will forcefully take what is not freely given to you. Always consciously and deliberately try not to be in a situation where you'd have to sexually assault somebody, it is an advice I will always give to people that know they are weak in that respect. If you're someone that struggles with issues that make you do things you would rather not do then save someone the heartache and seek help, professional or not.

Furthermore, it will be a great crime to falsely accuse someone of rape when there was a consent before the action. A lot of people have chosen this period to bounce their pain on their preys. The false accusation is as costly as the rape offence itself. Because, this will not only tarnish the integrity and image of such person that has been wrongly accused, as the label will remain as a skin on such person, if not forever, but always.
 

As I conclude, my heart goes out to every person out there who has had to experience such hateful, depressing and painful ordeal, what happened is not your fault, you're stronger than you think and you're worthy of more. Love.

The Ravaging Torment Called Fear - Aluko Deborah

Why do many die before their death?

'Which kind of cold and sore throat is this one now?' Kingsley grumbles and lands on his mattress. He soon starts experiencing a throbbing headache and he begins to whimper like a baby. 'So...this ravaging Covid -19 virus has finally gotten hold of me, I swear I'm finished...'. Just then, his pregnant mum walks in holding a bag of groceries, the family doctor following behind. Kingsley tiredly walks into the sitting room to welcome them.

'What's the matter my dear? Don't tell me you stressed yourself at Grandpa's place. His mum asks in concern. Kingsley had spent two weeks at Grandpa's village, helping him on the farm and with sales of his products. Sometimes, they had to sleep on the farm in a wooden shed, not shielded from the chilly weather and mosquitoes. All these strenous experiences had begun to reflect on his health. Kingsley expresses his greatest fear of contacting the dreaded virus, he's been nursing this fear for the past one week and he's already getting depressed. With this, the doctor smiles and quickly carries out some tests on Kingsley with the equipments he brought along with him. After a few hours, the doctor diagnoses Kingsley of Malaria
...the boy widens his eyes and begins to laugh heartily.

Fear becomes unhealthy when it makes you more cautious than you really need to be to stay safe and when it prevents you from doing things you would otherwise enjoy.

By each iota of fear, you chicken out and lose a little strength of character each time you refuse to take a challenge of life. It could also be the fear of failure or the fear of what people think of you etc.

The side effects of fear are quite dangerous. They include the;

Use of drugs and alcohol for alcohol for artificial relief.

Loss of peace, now you think prayer's not a worth.

A source of discouragement to those around you.

Depression and Panic Attack, spelling a sense of doom.

The process of overcoming fear is known as 'FEAR EXTINCTION' and it can be achieved by doing the following;

* Taking smart precautions/personal hygiene - that's not fear, it's wisdom!

* Most times fear is an illusion, the more you understand it, the less scared you'll be.

* Have a positive and optimistic attitude to life.

* Move closer to motivational people.

* Identify that fear and communicate with your fears like a superior.

Relax n' breathe

Agriculture: Why We Need to Return to Native Methods

As with many other areas of life and even in our individuals personal life, the goal of is always to look for ways that will make our task easier to achieve in lesser time and with a much greater productivity.

This also applies to Agriculture as well. Over the years, agriculture has experienced a great shift in its means of cultivation to more productive ways. This has caused a shift from the use of crude implements to cultivate land to more mechanised systems of farming.

There has been use of scientific method in dealing with crop and animal production rather than the old cultural method which has resulted into a lot of great productivity in the Agricultural sector.
Valuable time as been saved, large area of land are as well been cultivated, pest and disease control has been possible through the use of chemical control and most importantly, farmers has experience increase in the quantity of farm produce yearly.

READ: Dellasdiary Launches Maendeleo Africa, Aims to Impact African Youths

Having said all this, why will anyone consider going to back to the crude old method of farming? Where there is much labour and little productivity. Stay with me as I give you two crucial point why agriculturist may want to go back to native method of farming.

The first point of I will mention here is the adverse effects of chemicals and fertilizers used on farmland, how they affect us( starting from the farmer to the consumer) and the environment at large.
Due to the toxic nature of most chemicals use on farm wether they are pesticides, herbicides, insecticides etc, many farmers have suffer partial and permanent damage to their health condition such as burns, loss of memory and damage to eye sight etc. The oversensitive nature of this chemicals has make it difficult for farmers who are not educated to handle them probably which has   resulted into adverse health condition in their Lives.

Most chemicals are very powerful and they are not easily degradable when they are applied to crops and the soil, example of such is organo-chlorine chemicals. The residue of this chemicals on crops makes it dangerous for human health when consume. Since this chemicals last long in the soil,it destroy soil micro organism which are very useful to the soil.  it also destroy aquatic  life when it is washed down by rain into water bodies.

Agriculture may return to native method of farming for this second reason; the lack of technical know-how in operating farm machinery. Most farm machinery are too difficult for the average Joe to operate and even the educated ones . This  special machines are operated by few specialist. Furthermore, heavy farm equipment destroy farm land through their activities by compressing the soil which result into destruction of soil structure, thus  prevent water from penetrating the soil adequately.

For the foreseeable future, Agriculture will continue to move towards advanced mechanization. However, If there will be  a time when an individual will choose to abandon technological and scientific method in solving Agricultural problem, then the above points will justify His decision.

The Future of Artificial Humans and Robots in Sports

Are robots really better than humans in sports?

Robot technology is evolving at breakneck speed. Pepper (the name of a robot) of SoftBank is found in companies around the world and is rapidly improving his conversational skills. Telepresence robots open up new opportunities for remote work, while Boston Dynamics' Handle robot could soon (literally) do the work of human colleagues in warehouses.

But warehouses and offices aren't the only places where robots line up alongside humans. Toyota's Cue 3 robot recently demonstrated its basketball skills, with better numbers than the NBA's most accurate three-point shooter, Steph Curry, of the Golden State Warriors.

Cue 3 is still far from being ready to take on Curry, or even amateur basketball players, in a real game. However, he is the latest member of a growing group of robots that challenge human dominance in sports.

As these robots continue to develop, they not only exemplify the speed of the exponential development of technology, but also how those technologies are enhancing human capabilities.

Meet the contestants

The list of robots in sport is surprisingly long and diverse. There are robot skiers, soccer players, sumos, and even robot game riders. Here are some of them:

1. Robot: Forpheus

Sport: Table tennis

Introduction: It looks like something out of the War of the Worlds equipped with a ping pong bat instead of a death ray.

Skill level: Able to counter spin shots and good enough to beat many beginners.

2. Robot: Sumo bot

Sport: Sumo Wrestling

Intro: Hyper-fast, hyper-aggressive. Think of a robot equivalent to an angry wasp in six crossed Red Bull cans with a very small tank.

Skill level: Fly around the ring faster than any human sumo. Tends to come straight out of the ring sometimes.

3. Robot: Cue 3

Sport: Basketball

Introduction: He's a towering 6 feet 10 inches tall (1.86 m), making him practically built for the NBA. It looks a bit like something that should be in a video game.

Skill level: 62.5 percent three-point percentage, which is better than Steph Curry's; it is less mobile than Charles Barkley, in its current form.

4. Robot: Robo Cup Robots

Intro: The future of soccer. If all goes according to plan, a team of robots will take on Lionel Messis and Cristiano Ronaldo from 2050 and beat them in a full 11v11 game.

Skill level: He currently plays soccer more as a six year old than Lionel Messi.

The limiting factor

The skill level of all these robots is impressive, and they are doing things that no human competitor can do. The inhuman speed of sumo bots is evident. Forpheus' ability to track the ball with two cameras while at the same time tracking his opponent with two other cameras requires a look at the spec sheet, but is similar to human ability. While Cue 3 can't move, it makes shots of half the court seem easy.

Robots are performing at a level that was limited to the realm of science fiction in the early millennium. The current speed ​​of development indicates that in the near future, my national team soccer coach will probably call a robot instead of a player and it would be okay to do so.

It is also worth considering that many current sports robots have a humanoid shape, which limits their ability. If engineers optimized the robot's design to outperform humans in specific categories, many world champions would likely already be metallic.

Swimming is perhaps one of the most obvious. Even Michael Phelps would fight to keep up with a torpedo-shaped robot, and if you augment a sumo robot to human size, human sumos could impress you by running away from them with a speed of 100 meters near Usain Bolt's.

In other areas, the playing field for humans and robots is leveling fast. A possible candidate for the first competitions is racing, where cars that drive Roborace League cars could be ready to compete like Lewis Hamilton.

Perhaps one of the most important reasons robots can still take time to beat us is that, along with other exponential technologies, they are already making us better in sports.

In Japan, elite volleyball players use a robot to practice their attacks. Some American football players also practice against robot opponents and hone their skills using virtual reality. On the sidelines, artificial intelligence is used to analyze and improve athletes' performance, and we will soon be able to see the first artificial intelligence coaches, not to mention the referees.

We can even compete in games devised by our electronic cousins. SpeedGate, a new game created by an AI by studying 400 different sports, is an excellent example of what is fast becoming a possibility.

However, chances are we still have the final word on what constitutes a good game. The AI ​​that SpeedGate created also suggested less suitable hobbies, such as underwater parkour and a game that included explosive frisbees. Both could be fun ... but only if you are as robust as a robot.

Source: www.clubdelfuturo.com

Son estos robots mejores que tú en los deportes?

Opinion: Partners for Developmental Revolutions: Youthocracy by Ekpa Stanley Ekpa

Myriads of theorizing upon predictions, Africa is gradually earning a swelling reputation for over romanticizing ideologies than taking bold actions to concretize her developmental fortunes. And whereas in climes where development is done than said, leaders forecast the positive impact of development on successive generations; in jurisdictions where development is preached, every rhetoric of UN, IMF, World Bank is reechoed, while we wait for Macron or Obama to win elections, or for U.S., Japan and Russia to monopolize the outer space before we begin to chant in plagiarism 'yes we can'.

But it will be uncharitable to hold that there is nothing progressive and developmental about the African continent, it is rather apposite to x-ray the pace, innovativeness and committed sincerity in actualizing meaningful development in Africa and the significant roles youth must play in the path to Africa's renewal. The truism that youths are the trustees of a nation's peace and prosperity begets the the socio-political concept of 'Youthocracy'. The idea that young people with transcendent credentials of entrepreneurial and leadership savvies, competence, patriotism, and globally liberal can re-engineer societal progress, development and peace. How then can youth's resourcefulness: intellect, energy, resilience, aspirations, time, vigor and hope be harnessed to proffer sustainable solutions to mankind's demanding challenges?

Turning against astonishing odds, young men and women globally are becoming increasingly involved in reshaping the affairs of their nations and the world. This must not be seen as an age war against the older generation, but a strategic societal partnership to translate youth's resourcefulness for social justice, peace, sustainable development and security. From Former U.S. President Barack Obama to Canadian Prime Minister Justein Trudeau, to the eloquent David Cameron of Britain, to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece and President Emmanuel Macron of Franc, the narrative is gradually dispelling all doubts of youths' leadership capacity and capabilities.

There are legion of legal framework for youthocracy scattered all over different jurisdictions which are not limited to the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights; Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; the African Youth Charter; and the Nigerian National Youth Policy (2009). In Nigeria, while the advocacy for the alteration of Sections 65, 106, 131, and 177 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, to reduce the age qualification for political offices through the Not Too Young To Run Bill gains momentum, it is apt for youths to deliberately design a broader possibilities for their strategic involvements in societal affairs and decision making for development. The problem is not solely with the current legal regime that places age limit for youth's participation in elective politics, but on youths playing relevant roles that sufficiently prepare them to run at the significant time. Obama started as a community worker and even with his Harvard law certificate he knew what he wanted and most appropriate moment for him; instead of the youth from minority ethnic nations to complain all day about the politicized marginalization of the minorities in Nigeria's governance structure, political wisdom demands of them to strategically reach out to other young people in other tribes and build reliable alliances across groups while trying to understand the thinking of the diverse ethnic nations of Nigeria and their cultural richness. Through this we can intermarry, build inte-tribal and religious confidence for trust and true friendship.

In our generation, the most enabling legitimacy for youthocracy stems from the state of underdevelopment in the developing world, fearful global insecurity, widening unemployment, absence of gender and social justice amongst other social ail. Because the disasters hit us the most and because we are victims of these social challenges, the onus lies on us to lead the drive to re-engineer mankind, our nations and societies through our high-tech, entrepreneurial and leadership savvies and skills. The creed of youthocracy enshrines essential ingredients in service leadership such as sophisticated intellectual capital; progressive ideologies; rare courage and strong will for bold actions; innovation and ideas that alter status quo, and abiding patriotism that defies greed and corruption. Youthocracy produces youth that recognize the impact of their academic learning and degree on development and the promotion of societal good or nothing else. Those considered apostles of youthocracy are imbued with the credentials of credibility and uncompromising life standard for excellence, possessing unique values for services, good governance, and selfless.

With youthocracy accepted as an essential lexicon for our progress, we must then proceed to shun all unnecessary expectations for miracle or magic development, developmental revolution will prompt real development in all sectors of Nigerian economy for all components of our federation through strategic innovation for lasting change. In my earlier piece titled 'THE DEBT OF DEVELOPMENT: YOUTH & DEVELOPMENT ON TRIAL', I wrote that 'the widening state of poverty, underdevelopment, ethnic and religious sentiments across national lines call for the Nigerian youth to take corrective measures to redefining and reclaiming Nigeria's dream and greatness. Our generation in leadership must imbue ourselves with strong and patriotic characters and values to build strong institutions; build our economy for global competitiveness; create newie job opportunities through sustainable economic diversifications; we will build our technological sector and find new scientific solutions to old challenges; we must reestablish a global educational system that really support entrepreneurial innovations and can harness the impact of university degree on development; we must reduce the cost of governance to cater more for the welfare of our general workforce; we can not afford not to build quality healthcare system to avoid travelling abroad for every little medical attention'. Youthocracy enshrines youth's governance in diverse sectors and not necessarily politics alone as against the current sole trade in desire of many people with the syndrome of 'quick-money-through-politics'. Young people must exhibit stellar leadership exceptionalities in political, corporate, religious and traditional institutions.

Youthocracy will enact shared volunteerism in governance, reducing the 'glamorousness' of our political culture and drastically cut the cost of governance to focus more on the welfare of workers for productive and social security than the welfare of few politicians. Shared volunteerism in youthocracy means that the young leaders have to sacrifice and share their major leadership entitlements for the common benefits of the generality of the people. The young leaders have to invest more in developing both the human capital of her people and the natural resources of the state for state development.

It is already out of fashion to keep blaming the old men at the exit lodge of our nation's affairs but even more woeful if our generation turns a disastrous liability obstructing our progress, integration, security and development just as most of our retiring leaders did. The relevant youth must therefore, proclaim his usefulness through the manifestation of his content for solutions to societal issues at all time. Define your life identity; register a business and start your entrepreneurial passion no matter how small if you are business inclined; participate in electoral process if you are qualified; join voluntary or pro bono community edifying engagements; support advocacies for common societal good. The truth is these things may not immediately make you rich but will certainly define your path to genuine success in life. My fear is however engaged by youth's excessive scrambling for materialistic honour and luxury which somehow is not a fault of a handful few. Make no mistake to misconstrue my opinion as anti-richness, for God forbid that we teach poverty as a virtue or an appreciable state of life but hard work, patience and legitimacy to success are familiar factors for good society. And matter-of-factly, the society's contributory negligence and failure to institutionalize social security largely push the youth to avoidable crimes with internet fraud as an average rich youth's rescuing career. And this is the case not becaus the youths naturally desire to occupy such huge criminal identity but for the unfriendly environment and lack of opportunity to actualize one's potentials and legitimately make ends means. There is however no acceptable excuse for criminality.

And because our future is nearly butchered to emptiness by greedy politicians, we must make haste to recreate a nation of new possibilities for our generation and hope for the generations after us by harnessing our demographic and voting strength, resilience, and intelligence in defence of our democracy and development. Though it is in the best interest of governments at all levels to ensure inclusive youth participation in major decion-making and development process of our nation, the stake lies more in the hands of the young people to rekindle they role in diiferent sectors of nation building from local governments to federal level. In our time, you will be certified a great man if racism, tribalism and religious fanaticism is not found in your attribute; you will be considered rich if you cherish ideologies that promote collective good against personal greed; you are exceptional if you imbue yourself with distinguishing skills, competence and capacities to save the world, for in all these shall mankind be free.

For the youths to make lasting impact, their may consider building sustainable partnerships both in business and politics as well as other endeavours of life. Partnerships produce assurance of results where individual strength could fail. Given the large scale of our socio-economic and leadership challenges, an individual's ideas and strength may not be sufficient to execute giant developmental investments, community projects and leadership initiatives, hence, the compelling need to combine talents, skills and fund for more prosperous results. This will enable youths to credibly start up value adding ventures legitimately with better prospects for greatness.  A readily instance is the All Times Law Partners projected to be Africa's largest legal partnership by 2025, offering clients expertise solutions in different aspects of law and leading in Africa's development transactions.

I love Nigeria my place of origin and the world's most naturally and humanly endowed Nation. The hope of making Nigeria great lies in the hands, heads and hearts of the youths. May God guide us aright to reaffirm our unalloyed commitment to the Partnership for Developmental Revolution in our nation. For certainly if we work faithfully through the valley of patriotism, then the promise of building an export, technology and knowledge based economy is assured; the dream of an efficient and corrupt-free institutions will be achieved; the reality of selfless service in governance will manifest; our infrastructures will be rebuilt to provide basic amenities for the common man; and surely our nation will regain our seat of greatness among the comity of nations.