The advent of information technology has led to uncontrollable disruption of traditional industries. The media cum journalism industry is not exempted from these rapid changes. These inevitable changes pose a new level of challenges, if not threat, to the known media system. According to a published online report, the new media trend known as cord-cutting is a major problem in the world of broadcasting. The report stated that this trend began in 2013 when cable providers lost over a hundred thousand subscribers due to a major innovation in the broadcast industry. More and more television viewers now prefer to watch their favourite shows on online television platforms. Media content makers are also not left out. They have practically adopted these platforms as the new-normal as it saves cost as well as increases profitability.

Perhaps, the explosion in citizen journalistic trend, in which every person with a mobile phone automatically transforms into a journalist, should not constitute a source of worry for a traditional journalist. This is because the trend has also given rise to what is now known as Fake News. Consumers of news content are becoming more and more aware of this reality hence they tend to rely on licensed media outfit for authenticity.

As more and more media consumers migrate online, dynamic media outfits have now been motivated to dance to the tune. The outcome has been jaw dropping. A media house can now publish news 24/7 as against the situation where a media house can either publish the next day or wait till the next news time belt as the case may be. This new possibility could be considered a boost to journalism as a profession since it is the freshness of news that sustains the audience’s interest. A twenty first century journalist, therefore, is expected to be ICT savvy. Most news media websites, today, attach video evidence(s) to texts. In some news sites, video news contents run independently. In essence, the demand of our rapidly changing world affects journalism in a way that calls for media integration.

News content distribution is another area affected by this revolution. Most consumers of news content used to rely on the newspaper as their primary source. Now that the internet is fast gaining wider acceptance such that newspaper buyers keep reducing in number, the role of a newspaper vendor is under threat. This eroding role may soon be hijacked by fast budding internet enablers. Those whose passion for news distribution is still intact may have to consider a short course in digital marketing.
Another aspect worth considering is revenue generation. The modern news distribution platform enables revenue options formally impossible. Such include affiliate marketing and product launching.

Sometimes ago, a colleague of mine posted on his WhatsApp status that Ibadan had become a haven for beggars and deep down I thought it was unfair for him to judge like that. Little did I know that I was about to be wowed in a way one would not want to be.

A few weeks later, I took a trip down to the wonderful ancient city to blow off some steam accumulated from the stress of working in Lagos. I touched down at my uncle’s place around Apata axis although I arrived late at night. The following day, I called my two friends from way back in school; Adeteju and Kingsley who lived close to my uncle’s place.

We met up and decided we should go to Shoprite at Dugbe. On getting to Shoprite, we went about looking for what to get, and we settled for jollof rice and chicken. After getting the food, we strolled down to the lounge, which was empty as there was no tenant and settled down to eat our food.

A few minutes later, two young girls of about thirteen walked towards us and past us into the mall. Minutes later, they came towards us and stood in front of us.

“Please, give us some money,” one of them said in a stressed Yoruba tone. We were surprised as our thoughts included the assumption that the venue gave us immunity from awkward situations like that. We were wrong. Adeteju’s sociological mind kicked in and she kicked off with a series of questions.

“What about your parents?” Was Teju’s response to her request.

“I don’t know where my mother is. My father has chased me out of the house because of his new wife.”

“Where do you stay?”

“I stay with my friend’s family.”

“What class are you?”

“JSS 2”

The interrogation continued for about fifteen minutes more after which we learnt that the girl had decided to be a professional beggar and her beat would be Shoprite. We also found out she ran away from home because her father could not afford to give more than he could.

After the interrogation, she gave the girl two hundred naira, and we talked on for a while before we departed.

The following day, as we were observing sanitation in my uncle’s place, I heard a rap on the gate but since it was not my house, I didn’t open it only for my cousin to open it and an able-bodied middle-aged man was standing at the gate begging for money.

I never had it in mind to take a trip soon but necessity warranted a trip for me. I was on my way down to Ife when I broke the trip into parts as I could not bear to sit down for too long and boarded Ibadan bus to take the bus going to Ife afterwards.

On alighting at Iwo road, I strolled down to the bus park where I would get a bus going to my destination and boarded it. First, an able-bodied woman in a white blouse approached our bus and started begging for alms in a jovial manner. Evolution had hit the art of begging. I gave her 50 naira as I was ironically intrigued by her style of begging.

Passengers started filling the bus and suddenly we were besieged by four beggars at once and one woman stood sentry on the other side of the window where I sat and kept pressing. After some minutes, she was evidently fed up and she started hurling mild but bitter insults at me.

What has happened to the ancient city? Is it laziness on the part of the people or the immediate past administration? Either way, something has to be done about this menace else a beggar might kill an individual because he refused to give him alms that he is not entitled to.

While trying to source materials for a research in University of Ibadan’s Theatre Art Departmental library, I overheard a group of student’s conversation. The students ranging between age 16-20 were discussing their life as students and their fate after school. Then, like a vocanic reaction, one of them exploded with an assertion that had plunged me into the critical evaluation of the above topic. She declared, “Education is a scam!”   I had half expected her colleagues to oppose her view, but alas, majority instantly swung to her established position. 

That incident could only reflect the general attitude of 21st century students toward education. Despite the fact that it is a global phenomenon, the Nigerian situation in relation to the assertion is worth examining.

The supporters of the assertion that education is a scam, in their gist, had narrated various experiences drawn from Nigerian socio economic reality to back up their point. Nigeria is such a country where a university graduate may not necessarily earn higher than a secondary school drop out. A technician once shared his experience with me. He is a graduate of Computer Engineering who was forced into the business of mobile phone repair due to unemployment. He complained that his years of suffering in the higher institution was a waste of time. He compared himself with his  “dump” younger brother who had to be send to go and learn the art of buying and selling phone accessories in Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos, due to his inability to cope with academics. The boy, who was drafted into the business after his primary school education , can now afford to import container loads of goods from China, while he has boys working under him. He ( the graduate ) is only a technician barely making a living.

Having considered the above narrated experience, I was almost tempted into placing my judgment in favor of the innocent assertion. But I wanted to be sure that my judgment was not hasty. First, what’s the purpose of education? Is it for the purpose of passing through an academic experience to gain social relevance and / or employment? Having a degree for the purpose of social relevance is concrete in the Nigerian society since it’s a basic requirement to benefit from some state and national programmes. Bank of industry, for example, currently offers entrepreneurship training with start  up loan exclusively for university graduates. A university degree also enhances one’s chances in partisan politics . I have also personally observed that graduates are given special consideration in the religious community.

For employment, although we do not belong to the lucky generation of 50s and 60s when jobs hunt graduates, a university degree is the minimum requirement for a gainful employment should in case a rare opportunity shows up. Having a degree could therefore be considered more of treasure hunt than a scam.
Aside social and economic objectives, what about embracing education for its intrinsic value? Education possesses the intrinsic ability to either enrich individuals with knowledge or skill. Unlike polytechnics and vocational schools, universities do not impact practical skills. Nevertheless, individuals could decide  what to do with knowledge acquired based on personal area of interest. That is why we have various professional institutes around.

Beyond going for professional trainings, another thing a university graduate may explore is creativity.The process of studying varieties of courses while in the university tends to broaden one’s view of life. Also, The art of gathering credible and useful information to solve practical problems are one of the benefits of going through the system. It’s therefore expected that a graduate tailor, for example, pursue his/her business with better sense of judgment than a non-graduate. I know of a graduate plumber who is able to build a strong clientele base by simply sending out three – page proposals to residents of Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. This is not a skill acquired as a plumbing apprentice, but during his university days.

In conclusion, university education should be regarded as a life time opportunity to develop oneself in all ramification. It’s a substructure upon which promising future may be built. Nevertheless, hard work, passion and vision is required

No scientific findings indicate that intake of raw eggs builds energy and blood; rather, raw eggs can be dangerous to humans if infected ones are taken.

FULL TEXT

Belief about intake of raw eggs sometimes comes in different ways. Sometimes, it is said to be taken with malt to boost blood, and at other times, it is claimed that administering egg raw with milk to a dying human saves life.

In the 1970s, a legendary movie star, Rocky Balboa, drank more than four raw eggs first thing in the morning. After this movie, several people believed that drinking raw eggs is healthy for human consumption.

A fitness video on YouTube displayed eating raw egg as a way to rebuild the body. The video was titled; Post Workout Out Meal, Raw Eggs “Rocky Style” (Eat within 13 minutes).

Google defines egg as an oval or round object laid by a female bird, reptile, fish, or invertebrate, usually containing a developing embryo. The eggs of birds are enclosed in a chalky shell, while those of reptiles are in a leathery membrane .

BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES OF EATING RAW EGGS

The United States of America Agriculture Department says one whole and large egg contains calories, proteins, fat, and carbohydrate.

Healthline, a foreign online health publication says a single large boiled egg contains several vitamins important for human health.

Information is lacking on the digestibility of either raw or cooked egg protein, but according to a study, cooking eggs makes it easy for the body to be able to use almost twice as much of the protein found in raw eggs.

An Australian non-profit company, Australian eggs, which provides marketing and research & development (R&D) services for the benefit of Australian egg farmers, notes that drinking or eating raw eggs offers no major advantages over eating poached or boiled eggs. Despite raw eggs containing slightly more nutrients, the nutrients in cooked eggs are in fact easier for your body to digest and absorb.

The report says while it’s generally safe to consume raw eggs as there are very few reasons to do so. Raw eggs typically contain the same benefits as cooked eggs but they don’t aid nutrient absorption quite as well, Australian eggs report said, adding that eating raw eggs also comes with a small risk of Salmonella food poisoning which is never advisable to be eaten by raw children, pregnant women elderly people and other weak immune people.

The United States Department of Food and Drugs Administration estimated that 79,000 cases of foodborne illness and 30 deaths each year are caused by eating eggs contaminated with Salmonella.

The United States Minnesota Department of Health defines Salmonellosis as an infection with a bacteria called Salmonella. Salmonella lives in the intestinal tracts of animals, including birds. Salmonella are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.

The World Health Organization says Salmonella is 1 of 4 key global causes of diarrhoeal diseases and is generally contracted through the consumption of contaminated food of animal origin (mainly eggs, meat, poultry, and milk), although other foods, including green vegetables contaminated by manure, have been implicated in its transmission.

WHO says the burden of foodborne diseases is substantial in which every year almost 1 in 10 people fall ill and 33 million of healthy life years are lost.

“Most cases of salmonellosis are mild; however, sometimes it can be life-threatening. The severity of the disease depends on host factors and the serotype of Salmonella. The basic food hygiene practices, such as thorough cooking are recommended as a preventive measure against salmonellosis, WHO said.

Dubawa findings reveal that any food meant to be cooked, if eaten raw, will be difficult to digest. Recently, Dubawa debunked a WhatsApp message that claims that eating raw crayfish could aid one who does not swim to swim better. However, findings reveal that any food meant to be cooked if eaten raw has no nutritional benefits

Michelle Umeadi, a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist and Member of British Dietetic Association, said it is unhealthy to eat or drink raw egg.

Mrs. Umeadi told Dubawa that eating raw egg is toxic to people and cooking destroys germs.

“There is living microorganism sometimes in egg and if you drink it with the microorganism, that is what can kill the person”, Umeadi added

CONCLUSION

Drinking or eating raw eggs could be dangerous to humans and there is no scientific backing to the claim that intake of raw eggs rebuild energy or blood.

The researcher produced this fact-check per the Dubawa 2020 Fellowship partnership with Today.FM to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.

Source: https://dubawa.org/taking-raw-eggs-with-milk-or-anything-not-healthy-for-human/

INSANITY 19 – LIVE AND LET LIVE BY E.T.H…AINA

To a friend

who recently returned from a saner clime.

In our country
When our friends in black uniform stop you
You’ll hear,
Stop! Stop!! Stop!!!
Stop there!
Do not fidget
But do not forget
to be bold and calm.

My friend,
When an argument ensues,
Do not speak ‘big big English’
They hate it.
Do not talk about fundamental human rights
With them you do not have rights
Do not say ‘you know who I be?’
For our friends in black uniform will become an angry bee.
Then they’ll say,
‘Who you be
You know who I be
I go waste your life and nothing go happen.’
At this stage,
My friend,
Be courteous,
Be aware of how quickly
your hand moves to your pockets
for wallet or ID
and even more aware of how quickly
our friends’ hands move to gun.

My friend,
You are not a criminal and
Our friends are not rogues but
Our friends have a price.

Dear friend,
Bargain with our friends,
pay and smile like nothing happened
If you don’t pay
You may be killed
If you are not killed
You maybe implicated and
You will rot in jail.
That’s how we do in our country.

So, my friend,
Live and let live.

‘Timmy, you may have a disastrous end if you continue like this. I pray you don’t go astray in life because of your immorality.’ Those were the words of Mr. Joseph, the Principal of the New Born King College to Timmy an S.S. 1 student. Timmy was the only child of his mother. His father had died five days after his naming ceremony. He was very rude and arrogant. He had no respect for his teachers and elders. He could challenge the highest authority in the school because he knew his mother, Mrs. Raymond would always support him. She was an Accountant at one of the branches of the Nobel bank at Ado Ekiti. She was a pretty woman who was totally committed to her work. Her colleagues at work placed her at a high esteem because of her high level of intelligence. Behold, there was something which spoilt her; she never wanted to be corrected for any wrong deed. Hence, one can easily say that Timmy was a perfect replica of his mother. Timmy would be very angry with any teacher that dealt with him. Above all, his mother and his teachers were always at loggerheads because of one reason or the other.

One day, Timmy was caught with ‘expo’ while writing a mid-term test. His class teacher who knew the kind of person his mother was, reported him to Mr. Joseph. At 2:45pm, Mr. Joseph told the school time keeper to ring the bell for emergency gathering. Without much ado, the students gathered themselves on the assembly looking forward to hearing from the Principal.
‘You see, we’ve always told you that in New Born King College, we train students that will become good Ambassadors of the school, their parents and this country in the nearest future. Besides, you have been told that the school will not condone any act of impunity or indiscipline. This boy, he pointed at Timmy, was involved in examination malpractice today. Therefore, I will give him six strokes of cane and suspend him for one week,’ the Principal explained.

The following day, Mrs. Raymond together with her son roughly drove into the school premises. She had barely alighted from her car when she started ranting.
‘Where is the stupid teacher that wrongly accused my son of cheating? Where is he? And I want to see the so-called Principal that embarrassed my son on the assembly.’ She was a cynosure of all eyes on that day. The Principal allowed her to recite her doggerel before coming out of his office and when he came out, he took everybody aback with his reaction towards Mrs. Raymond.
‘Good morning, Mrs. Raymond,’ he greeted.
‘What is good about the morning?’ she replied promptly.
‘Anyway, have you paid your son’s tuition fees?’ He asked.
‘Yes, I have paid even before the school resumed,’ she replied.
‘How much?’ the Principal asked again.
‘Seventy five thousand naira only,’ she responded.
‘That’s good. I will tell the school bursar to write a cheque of 75,000naira for you so that you
and your son can leave this citadel of excellence forever,’ Mr. Joseph said calmly.
‘And you…’ he faced the school guard. ‘Immediately the bursar gives her the cheque, walk her out of this compound,’ he instructed the guard.
Mrs. Raymond’s mouth was widely opened. She couldn’t believe what her eyes saw because that was the first time Mr. Joseph was being rude to a parent.
‘Excuse me, ma, this is the cheque,’ the bursar said.
She looked at the bursar and the cheque and then hissed.
‘I’m more than 75,000naira. I give that to you and your boss,’ she said.

A few weeks later, Mrs Raymond was transferred to one of the branches of the Nobel bank at Ibadan. When she got to Ibadan, she made enquiries about different schools. At last, she found a school that also shared her philosophy. The Proprietor of Freedom College did not permit his teachers to scold the students not to talk of flogging them. Two weeks before Timmy joined the school, Miss Clara was sacked because she beat Ella, a J.S 3 student. Ella was a very lazy student who wouldn’t write notes or do assignments. Miss Clara told the J.S3 students to bring some ingredients for their Home Economics practical. Ella neither brought the ingredients nor got involved in the practical. Hence, the teacher recorded zero for her. Surprisingly, when the school Principal saw the score-sheet, he was infuriated. He told Miss Clara to conduct ‘a make-up test’ for her. Without further ado, Miss Clara did as she was instructed.
‘Ella, the Principal said I should conduct a make-up test for you right now. So, come and sit down beside me for proper supervision,’ Miss Clara said.
‘Mistress, I’m very tired. I can’t write any make-up test now. Please, “manufacture” marks for me. Thanks,’ Ella said.
Miss Clara was so angry to the extent that she didn’t know when she started beating Ella with a 5cm ruler. Ella cried to the Principal’s office with the view of reporting the teacher.
“Go and call the teacher for me,’ Uncle Ben said.
Without dilly-dally, Miss Clara entered the Principal’s office.
‘Miss Clara, you’re not even ashamed of yourself that your student scored zero. Don’t you know that there are different ways of accessing a student? You can use his/her mode of dressing, attendance or his/her relationship with other students,’ he said.
‘I don’t want to know why you beat Ella. You wouldn’t have beaten her if only you knew how influential her parents are. Anyway, you have been relieved of your job in this school,’ Uncle Ben declared.
Miss Clara was not appalled because about three teachers had been sacked because of such similar incident. This was how bad and incoherent the school was.

Two weeks after his enrolment into the school, Timmy called his classmates together when they were observing break. He told them not to show much respect to their class teacher again because he used to counsel them. Afterwards, a group of female students began to develop negative behaviours towards Mr Jerry. They would gossip about him at night in their hostel and when they got to school in the morning, they would murmur the “good morning, sir.” Later, Timmy organized some female students that would be laughing unnecessarily when Mr Jerry was teaching and if he tried to correct them, they would hiss like a snake. Mr Jerry would always smile and shake his head whenever a student hissed at him. As if that was not enough, Timmy told his classmates and some students from other classes to stop applauding Mr Jerry whenever he said something interesting on the assembly or in any social gathering. When Mr Jerry heard about it, he called Timmy and his partners in crime.
‘Timmy, I heard that you’ve told some students to stop giving me the honour which I deserve. As if that was not enough, you also told them to bully me whenever I’m addressing them on the assembly. My advice for you is this; be careful or else you will live to rue all your actions but it would have been too late because he who hates his teachers shall find his lesson bitter,’ Mr Jerry said angrily.
The following day, Mrs Raymond followed Timmy to the school to harass Mr Jerry but unfortunately, he had resigned the previous day.
‘I would have paid him off if I met him in this school. Nonsense! Uncle Ben, I appreciate you and other members of the management for promoting Western culture. In abroad they don’t beat. Why must we beat our children whenever they do something wrong? They don’t know anything even if they do, we don’t need to beat them. We’ve got to give them the freedom and the respect they deserve,’ she explained.
‘At Freedom College, we remain committed to our norms – no flogging and no unsavoury comments. Our students must always perform well in their continuous assessments and examinations irrespective of their performance because they pay tuition,’ Uncle Ben added.

Two years later when Timmy graduated from secondary school, he was offered admission to study Industrial Relations and Personnel Management at the University of Lagos. His mother used to tell him to make sure he graduated with an excellent grade so that it would be easier for her to fix him to any vacant position in the banking sector.

One day, ECO 101 lecturer was in the class addressing the students on how to go about their assignment. Surprisingly, Timmy and his pals were at the end of the class analyzing football matches played in the previous day. The lecturer felt humiliated and promised to deal with them. At the end of the first session, Timmy had no “carry over” but his grade was not encouraging. He told his mother about it and she encouraged him to put more efforts. In addition to that, she told him to change how he answered examination questions.
‘You are no longer in the Secondary school where you present answers with simple sentences without comprehensive explanation and copious examples. Timmy, you’re now a university student, learn how to present your answers more maturely. With that, you will perform well in your next exams,’ Mrs Raymond encouraged.

Instead of progressing, Timmy was retrogressing. His grade was worse than what he had in year one. In year one, his grade was 1:90, at the end of year two, his grade was 1:75 while at the end of year three his grade was 1:45. On getting home, he met his mother in a pervading mood.
‘Mum, what happened or can’t you confide in me again?’ he enquired.
‘Timmy, I’m doomed!’ she replied.
‘Oh no, mum doesn’t say that again,’ He implored her.
‘I told you that I was expecting my letter of promotion today but what I got was a letter of disappointment from the management,’ she explained.
‘What did you do?’ Timmy asked.
‘The management said “I am too arrogant” and “I am too difficult to control.” Besides, they said I don’t admit my mistakes and I don’t like being corrected. Above all, when I’m corrected, I don’t listen,’ Mrs Raymond further explained with a very low voice.
‘Mum if there is life, there is hope but there is another problem,’ he declared.
‘What happened again?’ she asked quickly.
‘Despite my pleas and overtures that I made to the lecturer, my grade remains worrisome. My present grade is 1:45,’ he explained. Mrs Raymond stood up and began to stroll from one place to another in the living room.
‘I am doomed! Which company or organization will employ you with “pass grade”? That’s a very bad one. Should I say I caused everything? But I was only trying to protect my son. People say I’m proud and I was not promoted because I don’t like to be corrected. I can’t blame myself because those who are supposed to tell me the truth did not. My son was not properly trained in secondary school because of the school interests. School owners know that the withdrawal of a student from a school will reduce the school income hence they won’t flog wayward students whereas the Holy Book supports it. Only God knows the number of lives Freedom College has ruined and will still ruin. If I had known I would have allowed you to stay at the New Born King College. My pastors will never tell me the truth because of the monthly allowance which I give them,’ she lamented.

She stomped her right leg on the floor and hit the wall with her palm.
‘Mum, now I realize that teaching is the most prestigious profession in the world. Teachers can spend just 40naira to buy a blue and a red pen to make or to destroy someone’s life. Mr Joseph predicted that I may have a disastrous end while Mr Jerry said it will be too late to mend. I’ll even suggest that after the three arms of government, the Nigerian Union of Teachers should be the next decision making-body. Besides, our parents should stop seeing teachers as a poor, hopeless set of people. If possible the government should implement a policy that any parent who harasses teachers should be jailed for life because teachers are a small letter “g-god”.

Mrs Raymond couldn’t help crying. She knew she was the cause of everything although the Management of Freedom College played their role in destroying Timmy’s life.
‘Timmy, I’m very sorry about everything. I know it is too late to mend but please forgive me,’ she wanted to kneel but Timmy prevented her from doing so.
‘Our people say some broken hearts never mend but I’ll patch mine so that I can forgive you and also forgive myself just that the journey of forty days will become a journey of forty thousand years,’ Timmy stated sadly.
Mrs Raymond was shocked when she heard that from Timmy. She wanted to interpret what Timmy said but she could not.
‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
‘Instead of graduating with a bad grade, I’ve made up my mind to re-write University Matriculation Examination so that I can start afresh. I am just 21years old and it is not too bad if I graduate at the age of 25 or 26 but this time, I will choose the University of Ibadan, the first and the best for proper uprightness. Above all, I want to study Economics education because I want to become a teacher,’ he explained.
Mrs Raymond looked at Timmy’s red eyes and burst into tears. ‘Indeed a teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops,’ she intoned.

Gbenga and Funke were boarding school students of Obalana High school, Owo, Ondo state. Gbenga was a detractor; there was nobody he could not abuse. Funke on the other hand was a glutton who could eat with a pig. She had always been warned to stop eating whatever she saw so that she would not eat poison.

One day during the drought period, Gbenga placed two of his bucket beside the school well so that he would be the first person to fetch water in the evening, but when students got there in the evening, there was no enough water in the well. In this sense, Gbenga decided to come in the midnight. When he was about to get to where the well was, he observed that somebody was already fetching water, he was annoyed but he had not known who the person was. Some minutes later, he got there and started talking furiously to the person. He talked for so long, but the person did not reply him. Suddenly, the person turned back to Gbenga it was then that he knew that the person he was abusing was an ogress [a ghost]. He was a bit shocked, but later he summoned courage and started using all sort of derogatory words on the ogress.
“I don’t care who you’re, as long as you met my buckets here; you are not supposed to fetch water before me” He said and pushed the ogress away. Immediately the ogress landed on the floor, she disappeared. Gbenga was scared but after some seconds he fell down. He couldn’t stand up and he couldn’t talk again. Surprisingly, his tongue began to come. When the day finally broke, the first set of students to come and fetch water saw him and quickly went back to call their house master who did not know when and how Gbenga sneaked out of the hostel. When he got there, he was very scared; he couldn’t touch him nor move. The length of the tongue amazed everybody. “This must be 5cm long” Mr. Segun, the house master commented. Gbenga was taken to the school clinic but he was immediately transferred to the general hospital before the school management sent for his parents. The doctors treated him for some weeks before they told his parents to take him to a pastor or an herbalist for spiritual treatment. Without much ado, his parents took him to a Celestial Christian Church of God in Akure. Gbenga was there for two months before God finally delivered him.
“I’ll never abuse anybody again and I will never go out again in the midnight” he promised himself.

Funke, on the other hand, was now Adun’s bosom friend. Adun was a new student, although she was not a boarder, she would stay in the hostel till 6pm before going home. Adun was the only child of her parents; she was also a witch who had promised her mates that she would return to their fold when she was fifteen years old, not only that she also promised to bring someone along. She brought different types of cake to school for Funke who she knew would definitely eat the cake without asking her for where she got it and even if she asked, Adun would tell her that “My brother is celebrating his birthday, or don’t you trust me again?”

So when it was a month to Adun’s 15th birthday, she and Funke fell sick. They were taken to different hospitals but the entire doctors’ efforts to treat them were proved abortive. Five days to Adun’s birthday, a pastor who came to pray for the patients in the hospital where Funke was being treated told her parents to bring her to his church because her illness was beyond what they thought. Undisputedly, her parents did what they were told because they had spent a lot of money in the hospital. In the church, the pastor began serious deliverance for Funke who had partially belonged to spiritual realm. Some days later, Adun’s mother decided to take Adun to a herbalist in Akungba but before they got there, Adun died in the car. Her spirit went to the church where Funke was, thankfully, the Pastor had sprinkled Funke with anointing oil. When the spirit got there, the Pastor stood up from where he was seated and began to pray for Funke. He also sprinkled the anointing oil around the church premises before Adun’s spirit finally disappeared and Funke began to vomit every cake that Adun had given her.

When she was finally delivered, the Pastor encouraged her not to always collect gift or food from everybody. Since that day, Funke did not collect food or gift from her friends again because she has learnt a lesson.

“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors.” ― Carl Sagan

Cut out all these !s. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke. ~Fitzgerald