Turning ASUU strike into an opportunity!

Hey! Is your university/college also on strike? Wondering what to do with your time in the meantime? Well here is some good news: you can actually emulate what fifteen years old Oluwaseun is did last summer!

Young oluwaseun has just finished her Junior school leaving certificate examination (JSSCE) and like most of her mates, she was burdened with the question of what to do with the long holiday. Will she experience the severe depression most people suffer due to idleness? Or better still, will she be gallivanting from one place to another in search of a thrilling holiday experience? It would be nice to take up a holiday job but she is a minor and thus will be considered child-abuse.

Well, her mother had a better plan for her.

Today, Oluwaseun is a happy teenager, gaining a first-hand experience in a fashion-design school. Hmm, now what better thing could her dear mother had done for her? Oluwaseun’s mother is a visionary woman and we certainly need more of her type in today’s society. Mind you, one does not have to be a full time-Stay-at-home-mum to have such wisdom.

Every year, millions of young people find themselves at home after graduation, due to ASUU strike and/or other imposed holiday. Amazingly, only a trickle of these young people have a faint idea of how to maximize their time. Some actually use theirs to experiment what it is like to be young, good for them. Little do we know that we can actually use the opportunity created by these holidays to acquire lifelong skills.

Life skills are skills that enable youth to be resilient, active, and productive members of their community. These skills are -academic, personal, social, and/or vocational. Fashion and Tailoring school, Hair Dressing school/Salon, Catering School, Mechanic workshop to mention but a few are fields of interest we young people can actually explore to acquire practical skills that will empower us for the future.

Imagine someone who during this ASUU strike spend valuable time to learn how to style hair or give a creative hair-cut. Do you think such person will ever go hungry in school? Of course not! Unless people stop having hair cut…

This is a call, to every young person and parents out there. Grab the moment… instead of allowing the economic depression in our country to overwhelm you, create your own market. Empower yourself with life long skills. Education + vocational skill= A secured future undaunted by economic instability.
Other things you can do: learn a new soft skill. For example: problem solving, conflict management skill, interpersonal skill, planning and organization skill, etc. These are skills that compliment the everyday hard skills (IQ) and in the ever-competitive market, having them will keep you ahead of the curve.