{"id":1064,"date":"2020-12-01T23:06:32","date_gmt":"2020-12-01T23:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wetin.org\/?p=1064"},"modified":"2020-12-01T23:06:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T23:06:32","slug":"sanitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/sanitation\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanitation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Chapter One<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In Minna, the Niger State capital, lived two sisters, Amina and Aisha. They lived with their parents in one of the middle-class areas of the city, called Gwada. Their father was the manager of one of the big textile companies in the city, while their mother was a teacher in one of the government owned secondary schools.<\/p>\n<p>The girls\u2019 father also loved to farm, so it was no surprise when he decided to buy land around the Southern part of Niger State, Maitumbi Gwadai, to start farming crops. He loved to take his daughters to the farm and show them around, educating them about the different crops and different methods of farming. This was a place Amina and Aisha loved to go with their dad.<\/p>\n<p>On one of the days, while Amina was on the farm with her sister and father, she spotted a young man some distance away. He was squatting down in the bush, and it was obvious that he was defecating. Amina ran to her father with an expression of confusion written all over her face.<\/p>\n<p>She asked her father \u201cFather, why is the man over there squatting? What is he doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her father replied, \u201cAmina, in life there are things that you have that you might take for granted, but for some other people it is luxury because they cannot afford it. Take for instance, I have a car, but how many families in our neighbourhood have a car? In our house, we have three toilets, and we are a family of five. But in our neighbourhood, Mama Audu\u2019s compound, which is six houses away from ours, there are 15 families sharing just one toilet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amina\u2019s shock was written all over her face.<\/p>\n<p>Her father continued, \u201cDo you know the number of people that make up the 15 families in Mama Audu\u2019s compound? There are a total of about 28 people in that compound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amina was still confused.  She asked, \u201cFather, how do they manage?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her father replied, \u201cThere are even families who do not have any toilets in their houses. They go to the streams, or to an open area. An example of one such family is that man over there. He has to trek some distance to come to the bush to defecate any time he is pressed. The fact that you stay in a house with  a toilet does not mean that everybody can afford to have a toilet in their house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amina then asked, \u201cHow can a person hold themself for such a long time?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her father replied, \u201cSome people use a portion of their house to defecate in a container or nylon bag, and then go to the bush to throw away the waste. This does not excuse the fact that it is wrong. Open defecation could cause increased waterborne diseases like intestinal worms, cholera, and typhoid, because when rain falls, it washes the waste into streams and rivers. There are nearby communities whose drinking water and cooking water comes directly from the streams that this waste flows into.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Chapter Two<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On their way home, Amina and her sister Aisha were already talking about the games of ten-ten and hide and seek that they were going to play with their friends once they got home. But first, they had to carry out the house chores already assigned to them by their mother. One of the chores is assisting their mother to clean the house, which includes sweeping the rooms and the big compound. While Amina sweeps inside the house, Aisha cleans the compound.<\/p>\n<p>While cleaning, the sisters would always throw garbage like pieces of paper, dropped mango leaves from the tree in front of their house, and used nylon bags across the fence, rather than put it in the big waste bin in front of the house. This had become a habit for the girls, and they saw nothing wrong in what they were doing. While they kept the inside of their house and compound clean, the outside was constantly dirty because of their inability to properly dispose of waste.<\/p>\n<p>Amina and her sister, like any other child, prefer to play rather than do house chores. They always wanted to play before doing their house chores, especially Amina. She would always complain about her mother making her do more house chores than Aisha. She complained of always being the one told to sweep the rooms, wash the bathrooms, and make the beds. She thought it wasn\u2019t fair that her sister only had to sweep the compound, while she did most of the work.<\/p>\n<p>Their mother made them understand that keeping the house and surroundings clean is a way of life that should not be neglected. She told them that keeping the house and compound clean helped the family by reducing constant visitation to the hospital due to sicknesses generated from a dirty environment. She also told them not to see it as a class of punishment, but rather it is to help them grow to become clean and healthy people in society.<\/p>\n<p>While the mother was admonishing the girls, her friend and neighbour, Mrs. Garba, came in and found her talking about cleanliness and the reasons why it is good to maintain a clean environment. Mrs Garba told the girls of an experience she had some months ago. Her only son was rushed to the hospital by his teacher. When they called Mrs. Garba, she quickly rushed to the hospital to be with her son, and it was discovered that he had a bacterial infection, caused by food poisoning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho wants him dead, haa! Who put poison inside his food?\u201d Aisha asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, my daughter\u201d, Mrs Garba said, \u201cnobody poisoned his food deliberately. Some food is poisoned when sufficient numbers of bacteria are present in the food you eat. This kind of condition is obtainable in dirty environments.  I had given him some money to buy food at the school canteen, but instead, he bought from the roadside. Apparently, he did not know that the environment where the food was prepared was dirty. This means the food was prepared in an unclean environment, which caused food poisoning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You can see that I keep my compound clean; it is not a coincidence, it is a deliberate act, just as your mother likes to keep your own compound clean, too. So, each time your mother corrects you about cleaning and keeping the compound clean, you have to listen and learn from her, because she knows what is best for you in order to live a healthy life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mrs Garba continued, \u201cNeatness and cleanliness is a culture as well as a habit. You can see how people throw dirt in front of my house despite the fact that I keep it very clean.  I don\u2019t see it as wickedness, but rather their lack of training to be clean at all times. They just do not understand that our environments should be kept clean for ourselves and those around us. I encourage you to see your mother\u2019s admonition as a way of making you a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Chapter Three<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On Saturdays, Amina and Aisha\u2019s mother usually ask them to follow her to the market to do the family shopping for the week. The girls were always excited for the drive to the market with their mother, as it afforded them the opportunity to have some mother-daughter conversations without interruptions from visiting cousins and friends.<\/p>\n<p>On one of these market days, while Amina was on the way to the market with her mother, she saw a big truck and asked, \u201cMother, what is that horrible smell? Why is that truck emitting such offensive odour? Why can\u2019t the owner wash it more often?<\/p>\n<p>Her mother laughed out loud and said, \u201cThose are waste management officials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho are waste management officials?\u201d Amina asked her mother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are companies or individuals who are responsible for the management of wastes in our environment. They use their trucks to pack waste that could litter the environment if not disposed of properly. Apart from keeping the environment clean, this is another way for the government to generate revenue, because we all pay an amount of money for our waste to be disposed of by the government. The trash we throw in the waste bin, and the garbage that other people gather, is what these waste management officers drive round to pick up. They then take the waste to a place far from where people live and dump it there.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Chapter Four<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Amina\u2019s parents noticed that their daughter was beginning to have an interest in sanitation, both in school and at home. She spent the whole week talking to her parents about how she wanted her friends and schoolmates to learn how to become more conscious of keeping their environment clean.<\/p>\n<p>It was almost the beginning of a new school term, and students were asked to choose a subject in an area of their interest to campaign for prefectship. Amina, who had earlier been informed by her class teacher that she had been nominated to be one of the school prefects, knew she was in for her best school term.<\/p>\n<p>Amina went home excited, because she knew the area she wanted to venture into. She had earlier spoken to her class teacher about it, and with the encouragement she had received, she was confident that she would do well.<\/p>\n<p>When she got home, Amina told her parents that she had been nominated to be one of the school prefects. Her mother asked her how many prefects they had in their school, and Amina was taken aback when her mother asked her to mention the nine different positions available to school prefects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMother, why do you want me to tell you about all the different prefect positions in my school?\u201d Amina asked her mother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to know all the options available to you,\u201d her mother replied.<\/p>\n<p>Amina went ahead and listed all the positions available for prefects. She started by mentioning the Head Boy, then the Head Girl, Social Prefect, Games Prefect, Health Prefect, Timekeeper, Library Prefect, Dining Prefect, and Sanitation Prefect.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf all of these positions, which would you naturally prefer?\u201d her mother asked her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to be my school\u2019s Sanitation Prefect\u201d, Amina answered her mother.<\/p>\n<p>Amina\u2019s father, who had been listening quietly, asked about the responsibilities of a Sanitation Prefect.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI ask this question, my daughter, because I want to be sure that you are well-informed about the duties and functions of a Sanitation Prefect before you embark on this task\u201d, her father said.<\/p>\n<p>With a big smile on her face, Amina replied,  \u201cA sanitation prefect is supposed to always look neat at all times, because this sets an example to other students to always look neat, too,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I am made the sanitation prefect, I will always make sure the school environment is swept and kept clean at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A sanitation prefect is supposed to ensure that students always wash their hands with soap and water. All school toilets, for both the boys and girls, should be maintained and kept clean at all times. I believe these are some of the duties of a sanitation prefect\u201d Amina said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am proud of you, my daughter,\u201d her father said. \u201cWhere did you get all this knowledge about sanitation?\u201d Amina\u2019s father asked her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou and mother taught me well. I listened when you spoke, and every time you corrected me, I accepted it in good faith, because I know you both want the best for me. It is time for me to put to use all that you have taught me about sanitation and environmental cleanliness. I hope I will be picked as my school\u2019s sanitation prefect. I just want to make you proud\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are proud of you already\u201d her parents replied.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Chapter Five<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Amina\u2019s reign as the school\u2019s Sanitation Prefect was successful. She was hardworking, and she displayed exemplary behaviour. She always looked neat and smart, much to the admiration of her teachers and follow students.<\/p>\n<p>As a prefect, she introduced an initiative with the support of her class teacher. She discussed with her classmates to contribute a token each to buy a waste bin that would be kept inside the classroom. The waste bin was to enable the students to throw in used papers and other trash around the classroom. The teacher noticed that through Amina\u2019s initiative, the classroom became neater, and it was more conducive to teaching and learning. The students also had more study time, since they didn\u2019t have to be constantly cleaning the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Amina\u2019s teacher spoke to the Head Master about Amina\u2019s initiative and how it helped her classmates learn in a neater and more conducive environment. She advised the Head Master to adapt the initiative for the whole school, too.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the term, Amina was given an award of overall best school prefect.<\/p>\n<p>Amina\u2019s joy knew no bounds. She knew that she not only made her parents and her class teacher proud, but above all she was proud of herself for setting out to be the best that she could possibly be as the school\u2019s Sanitation Prefect, and she came out on top.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Chapter Six<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It has been almost four years since Amina finished primary school. Her experience as a former school Sanitation Prefect helped her throughout her JSS1 to JSS3 boarding school life. Mingling with people from different backgrounds, who also had different attitudes towards environmental cleanliness, gave her more determination to advocate for a more sanitary environment around the school, inside the hostels, and amongst her friends.<\/p>\n<p>Amina was glad to be back in school after a long vacation, but she figured she needed the rest after writing the Junior WAEC, which qualified her to attend Senior Secondary School. She was excited to see her friends back in school as well.<\/p>\n<p>Amina and her friends took time to walk around the school just to reminisce about their days as junior students, the fun times they shared, and even the hardships they had to endure at the hands of senior students. Settling into SS1 was easier than Amina thought.<\/p>\n<p>Ten days after school resumed, there was an announcement placed on the notice board in front of the School Administrative office. The school was setting a challenge for interested students to write a poem. This student with  the best poem would represent the school in an interstate poetry competition. Amina decided to participate, and while at it, she promised herself that she would do her best and pour her heart into the poem she would write.<\/p>\n<p>On a beautiful Tuesday morning, three weeks after the challenge was set, Amina was summoned to the Principal\u2019s office. With much fear and agitation, Amina wondered why the Principal of her school would call for her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy do you think the Principal wants to see you?\u201d her friend Mariam asked her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know, but I hope it\u2019s not bad news from home,\u201d Amina replied her friend.<\/p>\n<p>Quickly, Amina ran to the Principal\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood morning sir,\u201d Amina greeted the school Principal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood morning, Amina. How are you today?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very well, sir\u201d, said Amina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have good news for you. As you know, our school has been selected, along with other schools, to participate in an interstate poetry competition. It is organized by the State Government through the Ministry of Education. After much consideration, the school authority is happy to announce to you that you had the best poem from our school. We would like you to represent this school in the competition. We believe in your abilities and are sure you will make this school and your family proud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very excited and honoured, sir\u201d Amina curtsied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood,\u201d said the Principal. \u201cOne more thing\u2014the organizers of the poem competition want all participants to choose a topic on their own to write about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know just the topic that I would like to write about!\u201d Amina said.<\/p>\n<p>Amina ran back to her class to tell the good news to her friends. According to the Principal, she had just one week to come up with her poem, so there was no time to play around.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>SANITATION! JUST A BIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>I am no longer that little girl<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>I am growing gloriously well<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Yet, mama\u2019s teachings still ring jingling bells<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>By God\u2019s goodness<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>He gave us the earth to dwell and make clean<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Cleanliness is carrying God\u2019s smell <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>It is sanitation!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Sanitation is clean air, clean water, clean land<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Clean\u2026breeze!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Clean everything<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>But how  far this planet has turned!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>How little we have learned!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>How much we are killing Earth!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Dirt, odour, garbage, and filth<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>It is all our collective faults<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>You are dirty here, I litter there<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Now we have a messy nation<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Stench has become our ration<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>It makes the blood boil <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Breathing now a tiring toil<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Heaps of garbage all about<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Spare no part of our mothering soil.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Earth is the Lord\u2019s<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>but we ought to tend it<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>We all dwell here <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>but we only torment it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Come, let us have a conversation <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Let us make prohibitions, draft instructions<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Instructions to make cleanliness our inspiration.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>This world ought to be pure<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>All we need is bit of all<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Come together, be the light, the lead, and the guide<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Dear Lord! We need reorientation <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Let us train our minds to think cleanliness <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>We need to rearrange our thoughts <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>For harming the Earth is harming us <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Think right, think wise, think planet Earth!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Just a bit of your might<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>And the earth will breathe right<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Amina; make the earth your subject matter<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>It is the teaching of my loving mama.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Earth is the Lord\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Every gutter cleaned, every corner cleared, is a sword strike from the Earth<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Clean that gutter that is butter to the mosquitoes<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Anopheles come, those small blood suckers<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Biting and  sharing  unwanted malaria<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Do you know you are breeding bacteria?<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Tell your friends to keep sachets and wraps in their pockets<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>If a thought tempts you to litter, make sure to block it <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Throw nothing through windows of cars and buses<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Save the Earth from these unsightly messes<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>When it comes to activities most displeasing, Say, \u201cThere are better places to do your easing\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Preach the gospel in your area<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Save yourself and all from bacteria.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Father taught me well<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>All waste can be turned into wealth<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The plastic in the ocean<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The old tires, the scrap metals<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The old paper and magazines \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Everything in your trash<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>All is taken, collected, and mashed<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Don\u2019t just throw things away<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Anything can be used<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Oh, no! it is not a ruse<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>It can all be turned into something new <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>This is one knowledge that all must have <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>It is full of wisdom that is true <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Indeed, old things can become new <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>This knowledge must not slip away <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Make it a song for the heart every single day<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>It is what we need to save our Earth from fading away.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>My teachers taught me well!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Proper sanitation must be everyone\u2019s call<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>This is one passion all must share<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>To clean the water, land, and air <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Stop the air pollution and stop the spillage!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>This is not our land to pillage.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The rains flush poisons into the streams and rivers<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>But we need the lives in the waters to live<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>They eat poison, we eat poison <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Is this the best we have to give?<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Our roof is blown off<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>We see holes in the sky<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The blackened clouds bring no beauty to the eye<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Our ozone layer is being depleted <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>A consequence of being mistreated.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Fire on fire and flood on flood <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Properties are lost and so is blood<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Stop the burning, be a friend to the Earth. <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Sanitation must be a fight<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>A clean environment is our right <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Teach me what you know<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>I will teach you what I know <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Keep shining the light<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>This is the right time<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Just a bit of you, a bit of me \u2026a bit of all <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Will clear the earth and clear the skies and end our fall.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Just a bit!<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Chapter Seven <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There was so much dancing and jubilation at the school assembly after the school Principal read out the letter from the Ministry of Education, announcing Amina\u2019s school as the overall winner of the State Poem Competition. Amina came first out of all the participants. This was a major achievement for Amina, and a victory for the school.<\/p>\n<p>One of the teachers was heard saying, \u201cThe last time this school came first in any external competition was eight years ago.  The jinx has finally been broken!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmina, thank you for bringing back honour to this school. The topic you chose to write your poem on, sanitation, is not only beneficial to you as an individual, but to the society at large. The State Commissioner for Education has asked to speak to you tomorrow morning at the Ministry. You will be accompanied by me and the Head teacher,\u201d the Principal announced.<\/p>\n<p>Amina could not sleep all that night, as the excitement was just too much to contain.  By 10 a.m., Amina, the school Principal, and the Head Teacher were at the Ministry of Education to meet with the Commissioner.<\/p>\n<p>They were ushered into a conference room, where some staff of the Ministry were already waiting to receive them. Then, in walked a tall and friendly-looking man. By the reception of the people around, it was evident that he was the Commissioner for Education.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood morning sir,\u201d the people said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood morning to you all\u201d, replied the tall man.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou must be Amina, the girl who won the poem competition!\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes sir, I am\u201d said Amina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongratulations on coming first in the competition. The State is proud of you. We at the State\u2019s Ministry of Education are proud of you. Your school is proud of you. I am sure your parents are proud of you, and above all, we hope you are proud of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes sir, it is an honour to finally meet you, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to write a poem on a topic I am passionate about,\u201d Amina replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI read your poem,\u201d said the Commissioner. \u201cI was so impressed when I finished reading it that I had to forward it to my counterpart, the Commissioner in the Ministry of Health. The Commissioner of Health has assured me that they hope to get more done about the state\u2019s environmental sanitation,\u201d the Commissioner of Education said. \u201cAnd if I may ask, what would you like to become when you choose a career path?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amina, still in happy shock, whispered, \u201cThank you for your kind words, sir, I look up to you as my role model, and would like to be a Sanitary Inspector. This is a passion I want to take to the next level and build a career in. I always remember that a society that disposes of its waste well is a society with a healthy mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There were whispers, chatters, cheers, and claps as a sign of support for what Amina had said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am happy to hear that, Amina, and on behalf of the State Government and the Ministry of Education, I present to you the sum of N500,000, for coming first in the State poetry competition. Another N500,000 goes to the school you represented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amina was elated to receive  the prize and the recognition. Indeed, she knew deep within her that there was no going back on this chosen career path.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo help me God,\u201d Amina whispered to herself, as she continued smiling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter One In Minna, the Niger State capital, lived two sisters, Amina and Aisha. They lived with their parents in one of the middle-class areas of the city, called Gwada. Their father was the manager of one of the big textile companies in the city, while their mother was a teacher in one of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":985,"featured_media":1065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/12\/4-Cover.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/985"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gidanmu.com\/nigerconnectwithwash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}