Just a Moment of Madness

The management of stardom is by far a different game compared to attaining it (stardom). Some people would say, it requires more to manage success that it takes to attain it- keeping the success you have achieved is more important and demanding than attaining the success itself. The management of success is totally a different ball game. Many stars have today been forgotten just because of one moment of madness they displayed when it mattered most. Becoming a “star” does not stop with being a start, it takes more than that, the higher you go, the more the challenges and the more you need to put certain things (character, discipline, focus etc.) in place in order to protect and guard your success jealously.

The recently concluded African U-17 football championship showed a lot of promises and raised a lot of hope especially the display put up by the Nigerian team, the Golden Eaglet. Going by the way they dusted their opponents, and scoring goals with ease. A lot of people were confident the cup was coming to Nigeria; however, a giant had to be conquered for this “dream” to become a reality, the young Elephant of Cote d'Ivoire, were the only team to have defeated the Eaglet on their way to the final. A lot of Nigerians believed the young Elephant won the group match by a stroke of luck, thanks to a late goal- “winning na (is) winning o”.

The Eaglet had the match under control not until the last minute of the match when a costly mistake cost them the match. However, that did not stop them from reaching the final, after apologizing to Nigerians and showing us they had learnt from the unexpected defeat.

I watched with dismay and disbelief as the least expected happened. First, it was the referee who decided to kill what should have been a beautiful match. He showed that he never had what it takes to officiate on the big stage, as some of his calls were questionable –this is not needed at such a very important time and stage of an event that has drawn the eyes of the whole continent and the world.

On the other hand, the Eaglet did not help matters as they failed to convert begging chances. They wasted lots of goal scoring chances that would have sealed the victory for them. As lots of people had predicted, they had things going in their favor until they lost their cool. At first, it was a red card, a silly foul committed by a player; he threw his elbow at an opponent behind him (and trust, the opponent made a show out of it), which attracted the referee’s “generosity” and his sending off was inevitable. There was about 15 minutes to the end of the match, and the team (Eaglet) had to complete the match with 10 players, against a physical side as the young Elephant!

After 90 minutes, it was straight to penalties- what some people call anybody’s game. But to certain extent each team at this stage have their destinies in their hands once they maintain team and individual discipline praying that the “god of soccer” smiles on them. As the match went into penalties, I remembered the AFCON (2000) final played in Lagos, Nigeria, between the Indomitable Lions of Cameron and the Super Eagles of Nigeria. I silently prayed same thing will not repeat itself. Not long after my prayer, a Nigerian player (whose name I can’t remember at this moment) stepped forward to take the penalty and before I could blink my eyes, he had taken the kick.

What a miss!! I was so displeased and bitter not particularly about the miss but, at the way he took the kick. How could you dash the hope of over 150million people? What sort of confident is that? Na new style be this? Questions unending kept strolling through my mind. Questions would never stop coming but the fact is, this is just a typical example and picture of how a lot of people have allowed a moment of madness ruin what they have spent time and resources building. A moment of insanity can cost you your whole achievement.

Attitude requires consistency, especially a positive attitude. This is the lesson I learnt from the story of this guy’s moment of madness. Just like the title of J.C Maxwell’s book, “the difference maker”, the attitude would have made the difference at that stage and moment. But he lost it, no thanks to his inability to remain cool and professional when it mattered most and just the attitude of a player cost the whole team a moment of glory and victory.

 

+Tullio DeSantis  +Adeolu Akinyemi +Adekunle Alashi +debola adegbulugbe +Caroline Segarra +Myne Whitman +SYED SABIH ASHRAF +Omolola Faleye +ayantola nafisat +'Gbenga Sesan +deola kayoed 

 

 

Teenagers Take Note

The life of any human is made up of different sectors and aspect. That is, what makes up a man is more than the physical him you see every day, his life is divided into various and different components (financial, spiritual, emotional, psychological, etc.). And apart from that, there are different stages of live/living, which we all must someday pass through (it’s just a matter of time). These stages have their different lessons attached to them of which we have to learn else, reality will catch up with us someday.
One of the most sensitive and in fact the most critical of all is the period known as the”TEEN-AGE”. The teen-age is the stage at which the shape of adult-hood is formed and “the future personality” and character is built. The Wikipedia defines a teenager (teen) as, “a young person whose age is between thirteen and nineteen (13-19). They are called teenagers because their age number ends in “teen”. ”
This stage of life has its peculiarities and care must be taken to bare them in mind by parents, would-be parents as well as teenagers in order to avoid being a victim. Briefly we shall take a look at some characteristics synonymous with this stage (teen-age) of human growth. Teenagers go through a lot of physical, mental and emotional during this period this is called adolescence or puberty.
Characteristics of Teenagers
1. Moody
2. Energetic
3. Rebellious
4. Think they know it all
5. Selfish
6. Irresponsible
7. Insensitive
8. Insecure
9. Conforming and
10. Promiscuous.
Although there might be exception with some teenagers, but care must be taken to note these things to avoid unnecessary clash between parents-teenagers and teachers-teenagers.
According to Jake Morphonios, in his article titled, Preparing Teenagers for the Challenges of Life: A Critical Evaluation of Common Resources. “Parents often lack the tact, skill or interest to effectively help their teens during this tumultuous period in their lives. This raises questions as to what resources may be most useful to help prepare teenagers to face these challenges”. These challenges include; the development of an identity, the transformation of family relationships, and development of close relationship with peers, the development of sexuality etc.
However, the purpose of this write-up is on one of the major challenges that our teenagers face. This does not in any way undermine the importance relevance of other challenges.
The development of sexuality or the display of Promiscuous attitudes by teens must be handled with every form of seriousness and wisdom at the same time. This is a stage where the child needs the parent(s) the more and parents are also expected to make themselves available to their wards as well. In fact, parents are supposed to relate more as a friend to their teens like never before when they begin to sense the display of such attitude.
Any mistake or carelessness of the teens could lead to a major setback in his/her life. Prior to this time, parents are expected to start educating their teens on how to handle the opposite sex and this must be done with every sense of honesty. This is very vital because if it is not done at home (parents etc.), one way or the other, the child will know about it and the resultant effect might be disastrous. So the importance of sex education must be given utmost priority.
In the world that we are today, there are many means through which a child can be educated. And these tools of education often influence their behavior negatively if not properly guided. This is where the role of a proper foundation comes to play its role. Sources or causes of influence include; peer group, media, parents, siblings, relatives, teachers, background/environment, personal experience etc.
A lot of teens today are involved in sex and many of them have in fact become addicted and obsessed with it. According to UNICEF, 70,000 pregnant teenagers from the ages of 15 and 19 die each year from child birth and pregnancy related complications. And those who give birth under the age of 15 are five times more likely not to survive.
Furthermore, there are over 20million women in the world in the 20-24 age range who were married before they turned 18. Most of those child brides reside in South Asia and Africa. Under the age of 18, mothers face a 60% greater chance that their child will die in its first year of birth.
Enough is enough. We must put an end to this and it starts from you. We all must make conscious effort to help “our teenagers (teenagers around us)”, they can’t do it all by themselves. They need our help to come out of that dilemma; they need a true friend and not a boss. Parents please change your attitude towards them; draw them closer, they need you more than ever so that their destiny will not be corrupted or tampered with.
The How to Teach Them
1. Plan a time to talk to your teens about abstinence- a time that you’ll have his/her full attention.
2. Ask your teens to give her definition of abstinence and then use that for the discussion.
3. Give your perception of abstinence based on your personal outlook.
4. Be prepared with statistics regarding teen sex. You can even go as far as printing the statistics out to have on hand during your conversation.
5. Make the communication level open. That s, don’t be too rigid or bossy during the conversation.
And to the teens, stop those negative and life destroying habits you have hitherto embraced. Seek advice/ counsel of someone who can help a godly grown-up and matured person. Teenagers please never continue to think that no one cares about you…there is always someone who is willing and ready to help, all you have to do is call for help. Your parent, religious leaders, teachers, siblings etc. are all willing to help you.
Hey teenager! Your life is a very precious jewel and you can’t afford to handle it anyhow else you’ll have no one to blame but you. There are some mistakes that you cannot afford to make now ‘cos they’ll tell on your future. Please what lies ahead of you is very important than the pleasure of the moment. Boy, you don’t need a girl friend now and my dear sister, you don’t need a boy-friend now- all he wants is your body and nothing else. Don’t let him cause you emotional pain. STOP IT NOW before it is too late.
Courtesy: D’Kingz Pen.
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