Saturday 31 October 2015

New Month Musing



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrM33ijX0RH2cOE7JprInup8XwaUr8KDuGtjyyFNhwD_YkNsfsjpej54wsDTXcC90Yoc8Q4cKSNYN9UCHwTlXSRI6uY9rxcyr2wPCE-Bpei7SQm3mH-LAjr4zpmjVfFTNA-XDZXK_Srjm/s1600/New+image+with+logo_mark2_860x.jpg 

Today, I attended Sunday service at my usual parish, St Francis Church, Lt Lonsdale. When I walked into the church I observed that some pews had reserved signs placed on them, which meant that they had been reserved for some people. I have a spot on the pew where I usually sit. There was no reserved sign placed on that pew. But when I tried to sit there I was told by a man who looked like an octogenarian that the spaces were reserved; he had reserved the spaces for some people, perhaps his family. I observed that he was not the only person who had reserved sits for some people.

As I looked for another space in another pew to sit, I said to myself, “so Oyibo people too reserve seats in church in Oyibo land?” I was not the only person who was deprived of a (desired) sitting spot, other people too experienced the same as I did. They did not get mopey about it- which tells me that it is something that is usual- rather they looked for available spaces. 

In Nigeria, I have seen people, particularly those people, who think that everything works perfectly well abroad because they have lived or visited abroad, throw a conniption fit in church over seats that are reserved for some people. I have heard people say that it is only in Nigeria that seats are reserved in church. Comment like “it is only in Nigeria that such things can happen” is very popular in Nigeria. If you are not careful in your rationality you will fall into the trap of belief that Nigeria is a place where anything wrong exists. 

I have observed in that parish that some women keep their handbags in seats while others are unable to find seats, hence stand while the service goes on. And those women who use their handbags to occupy seats will see people standing, yet they will do nothing. When I look at those handbags, I usually expect to see names like Fendi, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Hilde Palladino, or Marc Jacobs, perhaps that may explain to me why such handbags should not be kept on the floor, but I see names that even Google does not know they exist. No doubts, some women do this in Nigerian churches. If you have witnessed it you may have heard such comment like “it is only in Nigeria that it can happen.”

The truth is that many of the things Nigerians think do not happen abroad, hence exist only in Nigeria actually happen anywhere in the world. It is just that Nigerians feel comfortable to associate anything negative with Nigeria, especially when things do not go their way. So, next time something happens around you and you rush to conclude that it is only in Nigeria such a thing can happen make sure you have traversed around the globe. 


Happy New Month! 

Friday 30 October 2015

2016/2017 Graduate Institute Masters nd PhD Scholarships for Africans to study in Switzerland



2016/2017 Masters and PhD Scholarships for students from African to study at Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.
  
Application is open for interested Africans to apply for the 2016/2017 Graduate Institute Geneva Masters and PhD Scholarships for students from Africa to study in Geneva, Switzerland. With these Scholarships, the Graduate Institute aims to attract and support the outstanding and highly motivated candidates and citizens of an African country, who intend to pursue a Master or PhD programme at the Institute. The Scholarships are awarded with consideration to the candidates' ability to demonstrate financial needs and academic excellence. Candidates may be enrolled or have completed an undergraduate programme outside of Africa. For more information on the Institute's financial aid click here.

 

Application Instructions:


Complete the online application for admission, including the general scholarship application pages. If your profile matches the specific criteria for one of the Graduate Institute's financial aid programmes, the Scholarship Committee will consider you for the relevant financial aid package.
   

Deadline: 15 January 2016. Study programmes start September 2016.


For more information click here.
 

Tuesday 27 October 2015

Scholarships for students from African countries to study Politics and International Relations at the University of Cambridge




Scholarships for students from African countries to study Politics and International Relations at the University of Cambridge.


Would you like to pursue graduate study at the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s finest universities? Scholarships are now available for students from African countries undertaking either a one-year MPhil in International Relations and Politics, or a three-year PhD in a field related to governance and human rights from 2016. Jointly funded by the David & Elaine Potter Foundation and the Cambridge Trust, the scholarships will pay the full cost of study and living in Cambridge for the length of your course.

Worth
  • This flagship one-year graduate degree in the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) includes a range of optional courses and a dissertation component. It is well suited to those who wish to pursue doctoral research and an academic career in this field.
  • CGHR is an outward focused, multidisciplinary research centre within POLIS, committed to advancing thought and practice within areas of critical importance to global justice and human wellbeing. Current CGHR research focuses on: politics, digital technology and the media; violence, conflict and external peace interventions; the right to life; human rights in the digital age.
 Deadline: December 2, 2015

To apply and for more information click here


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