The Wordsmith Blog™

The latest Nigeria University Ranking is out with Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) still topping the list of best Universities in Nigeria. The Ranking was obtained from the 2014 webometrics World University Ranking results. The Ranking Web of Universities (Webometrics) is a rank of world universities web presence. And below is the Top 100 Best University in Nigeria from the 2014 edition of the webometrics results. Top 100 Best University in Nigeria for the first quater of 2014; 1   Obafemi Awolowo University 2   University of Ibadan 3   University of Lagos 4   University of Nigeria 5   University of Ilorin 6  University of Agriculture, Abeokuta  7  Ahmadu Bello University 8  University of Benin 9  Federal University of Technology Akure 10 Covenant University Ota 11 Auchi Polytechnic 12 Yaba College of Technology 13 Madonna University Nigeria 14 Bingham University New Karu 15 University of Port Harcourt 16 Landmark University 17 National Open University of Nigeria 18 American University

What is the ONE thing you would change about your body if you could?  Is it bigger boobs, smaller bum, a slender nose or nicely shaped calves? We all have something that we don't like about our bodies. Even that girl, who you think looks so perfect, has something she doesn't like. For me, it's the length of my legs.  I like the shape of my legs and as a pale skinned red head, I've even come to terms with the whiteness of them (if Nicole Kidman can do it, then so can I).  But oh to have long legs like Nicole, would be my dream come true. Well at least, I can wear high heels that will fake it, you may think. True…until this year. I have had such challenges with back and neck pain that just the thought of the high heels sends me reeling! It's not that I never wore flats, it's just that when I want to look my best, there is nothing like a pair of heels to make me feel on top of the world.  So with this new challenge, I set out to create a new look that didn't re

There are things good friends do that make them have many friends. What are these things? Could you be increasing your circle of friends by changing your behaviour? Some things good friends do instinctively Good friends keep things to themselves that were told to them in confidence. They are reliable about things such as prearranged dates, times, or contributions to a dinner party. They are not jealous if you have other friends. On the contrary, real friends are happy for you. Good friends phone or visit when you are sick, or your mother has died. They know when to listen and when to talk. They are of the few people to whom you can say that you are not well, and they don't feel uncomfortable. They know when to back off – sometimes you just need space and they do not interpret that as a personal rejection, because they do not see everything from their own point of view. They will tolerate your lively children, or your grumpy mother-in-law or you boisterous fox terrier. They will be

Since you broke up, your stomach has felt like a hollow pit of emptiness, but you still can't work up an appetite; your heart feels as if it's clamped in a vice and you haven't slept a wink all week. We've all been there before and there's no question about it: losing the love of your life is a miserable experience. But it's time to stop romanticising the past and agonising over what you've lost on the outside, because the real pain is coming from inside your head. The brain hates being dumped. The same area that's active when you're in physical pain also goes haywire when you suffer personal rejection, says psychiatrist Dr Marcelle Stastny – evidence, she says, that your head is the one telling your body that being dumped hurts and not the other way around. When you're in love, certain areas of your grey matter are awash in dopamine and oxytocin, hormones that give you feelings of pleasure and contentment, says Stastny. But when your love i

Unlike most plane stowaways, a teenager has survived a 5-hour flight from California to Hawaii. It is thought he went into a hibernation-like state during the flight. He only regained consciousness an hour after the landing. Stowaways on boats or trucks often die from lack of oxygen or from dehydration. Those on planes usually have a far quicker exit. Few people know how inhospitable conditions can be 10 000 metres up in the air. Why do almost none of these plane stowaways survive? - The hiding place is unsafe. Most stowaways hide in the wheel wells of aeroplanes. This is the area near to the wing recess where the landing gear retracts. Most wheel wells have enough space for a small adult to crawl into and hide. Access is gained when the plane is stationary. A stowaway would climb the landing gear into the area where the wheel retracts. Once the plane takes off a stowaway is protected by metal coverings that close over the wheel well opening. But if the landing gear does not retract pr

Reward is merited, a Gift does not have to be, As for Reward, the work's done already, but a gift will require its JUST reciprocation in due time, A gift is so humble it comes first, so sacrificial it throws itself first in the fore. The risk it takes, so commendable. It fears not iF it will get a return for its gesture. Reward on the other hand is secure, you don't get it until you have worked, you don't receive it until you have deserved it. Its no twist understanding here that with REWARD; "Your reward justifies your work". But with GIFT, "Its up to you to justify the gift with your work". Life's a gift, and you've got to justify it by living and living right. Life's a gift, let them who say they merited it, step forward and tell us how, so there'll be less death in the world as we can now work for lives. Life's a gift and we are the better for it Life's a gift that keeps on giving. Oh, what a beautiful thing! Lif

The flag of the Republic of Biafra - Courtesy of Wikipedia Here's a review of a movie am sure you're looking forward to seeing. This review was done by a friend and blogger of repute (Akin Akintayo) @ ; http://www.akinblog.nl/2014/04/half-of-yellow-sun-review-of-movie.html?m=1 Why not sit back and enjoy this review. A history missing I was born just before the first military coup in the fledgling Federal Republic of Nigeria, far away from the madding cacophony and chaos that presaged the breakdown of order, the massacre of Igbos in the North and the civil war. We returned to Nigeria, in the year the civil war ended, my parents excited and ready to participate in the new Nigeria led by the military leader Yakubu Gowon, whose surname became the reconciliatory acronym of Go On With One Nigeria. The history of Nigeria that I did in school ended just after Nigerian independence and took off again after the end of the Civil War. It meant we as Yorubas from the South-West of Nigeria c