A FIELD TRIP REPORT

A FIELD TRIP REPORT

LED BY DR. B.E. EMMANUEL

Department of Marine Sciences

University of Lagos, Nigeria.

The field trip commenced at about 6:20 pm on the 5^th of June 2013, on arrival at the Lagos lagoon Jetty, we tried to loose the tangled net that was  meant to be used for fishing. The net is set in the evening and hauled the next morning to collect the entangled fish. Matthew, Paul and Abdul Ismail volunteered to help in loosing of the rope then the girls Tairat, Zainab and Bola also join them. The essence of loosing the tangled net is  to make it easier when setting it in the water. It is usually set across the river, or transverse to the path of migrating fish, so that when a fish tries to swim through the net wall, it gets entangled in the mesh. This net is made of float (a Dunlop slippers material), a sinker and a buoy; it is made to fit the desired target species.

An entangled net.

Then after we were meant to understand that there are two various colors of net, which are the green and the grey net. The green net attract more fish than the red.

Before the boat was let into the water, the lead lecturer Dr. Emmanuel ordered one of the students to open the valve of the rear base of the boat to enable water into the boat for buoyancy, to prevent boat from capsizing.

After the loosing of the net, at about 6:35pm, the boat was pushed into the water with the help of a bamboo stick placed underneath to enable it move into the water easily, at which seven students joined aboard including the lecturer. According to the student that went on board on getting to the under of the Lagos third main land bridge, they flung the net into the water and tied it to sticks to avoid it from becoming a ghost net.

The next day (6th of June 2013)

As at 6:15am,when we the third year students of the Department of Marine sciences, University of Lagos were already assembled at Lagos lagoon Jetty alongside with our lecture Dr. Emmanuel. Some students also went aboard and collected the fishes which is caught in the net twine behind the operculum, or have been caught between the head and the body.

The essence of coming very early the next day to check on the fish is to avoid them being eaten by crabs. It was even noticed that some of the fish have been eaten by crabs. fishes caught mainly consist of Grunters and Tilapias.

A fish been eaten by crab.

Other photographs taken during the process....

 

An entangled fish

A fish that was caught

A fish  caught in the net twine behind the operculum.

conclusion

 With the help of this field work, I believe the majority of us are now capable of setting gill nets on their own.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CAN DRIVE AN INVALUABLE STEP TO SECURE NIGERIA’S FUTURE PROSPERITY.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CAN DRIVE AN INVALUABLE STEP TO SECURE NIGERIA’S FUTURE PROSPERITY.

Introduction

Youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority and agency to make decision and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults.

Nigerians perspectives of youths

 In Nigeria’s settings today, it is mostly ill-defined and wrongly perceived by parents, the youth themselves and the government. The youth themselves neglect self-development and empowerment, wholly depending on white-collar jobs; the parents who are the major stakeholders often sees youth empowerment as the sole responsibility of the government , while the government sees youth empowerment as an avenue to initiate policies and programmes although the programmes make little impact on their lives.

Youths constitute a large proportion of Nigeria’s population but despite their critical role in nation building, it is often observed that the country has not invested seriously in youths, thereby making them an army involved in un profitable activities.

According to the exact words of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala “we realise that unemployment has become a major issue in the country. Figures from the national bureau of statistics indicate that an average of 1.8 million Nigerian youths finds themselves in the labour market annually, out of which 250,000 to 300,000 are graduates”.

Nigeria’s now and tomorrow

With an estimated population of 170 million Nigeria have vast oil wealth, an entrepreneurial energy and a booming economy, growing at 6.6percent in the first quarter this year. It also has among the world’s highest burden of health problems, including malaria, under nutrition and mother and child death rates. Despite ample uncultivated land, it imports over U.S. $1.1 billion worth of food. Clearly Nigeria is a country of potential in search of solutions.

Hope for Nigeria

Things seem bleak at the moment, we are having a government that is incompetent and incapable of tackling challenges of our time, everybody milks the public goat to buy a mansion in Dubai,and the nation is being run aground by a generation that has over stayed its welcome although some are colossus. These are the reason why Nigeria is reeling from crisis to crisis. That is why we have gone from a strong economy to a weak economy , our oil resources notwithstanding.

The solution to this anarchy is having youths that can move beyond the divisive politics of destruction, rise above ethnic leanings, nepotism and godfathers and unite for the collective interest of our people.

The essence of youth empowerment

Of recent it is globally realised that youth empowerment is integral for national development especially for under developing countries like Nigeria where youth constitute majority of overall population. If Nigeria can invest heavily in the youths, they are guaranteed of getting high returns on their investment in every sector.

The task of nation building is very challenging and can be divided into phases. Everyone (both old and young) can contribute towards it according to his or her own capabilities.

Conclusion

Two issues are paramount in youth’s calls for reforms, the need to enjoy the full rights they are entitled to as citizens and the need to have their voices heard within the family, the community and the decision making process.