My Evolution: Thoughts, Effort, Space and Time

This book was written out of the need to provide practical Counselling and Career Guidance to school children and young people aspiring to become professionals in any given career. Providing Career Guidance and Counselling is more pertinent to the collective advancement and security of our society today than ever. Children and young people form a large segment of global population and they are a vital link in the evolution of leadership talent in Africa and the world. Children form one-sixth and one-fifth in Africa and Sub-Saharan African population. In Nigeria about 44% of the populations are children aged between 0-14 years. This large population makes them relevant to the development of leadership and also vulnerable given rising levels of poverty, deprivation and the near absence of school Counselling services. The fact on ground is that without proper Career Guidance and Counselling, much of these children and young adults may actually evolve into becoming National threats as; militants, terrorists, kidnappers, fraudsters, bandits and armed robbers. Data gathered from the website of the UNFPA indicates that half of the world's populations are children less than 25 years. According to a 2018 UNICEF report, about 13.2 Million children in Nigeria are out of school, which is actually the highest globally. This means for Africa and Nigeria to succeed in guaranteeing social and economic development, it must give priority attention to the Counselling needs of children and young people.There is therefore an urgent need to provide children and young people with foundational Career Guidance and Counselling which should include practical helpful tools to enable these children, who are potential leaders, cultivate the right values such as; discipline, determination, dedication, orderliness, scholastic zeal and civic consciousness. With these values firmly imprinted, it is expected that they would be able to build a successful career and be better citizens.This book will motivate young people to begin to pursue a career which is a guaranteed strategy for eliminating youth delinquencies such as; cultism, hooliganism, examination malpractice resulting from poor study habits, craze for quick wealth, cybercrime etc. Being career focused will help to inspire the youths to task their creative abilities. It will also help in preserving our National values and assuring social integration and mutual development of Nigeria and Africa. This book, "My Evolution" emphasizes the importance of "self-reliance" and "dignity of labour" which are vital attributes of a thriving society. Furthermore this book will help reduce the apathy for schooling, triggered by lack of self-confidence, wrong beliefs about learning, career development and since it will motivate young people to be preoccupied with developing and pursuing personal career plans, it will very well help in reducing cases of truancy and hooliganism. The insight from this book will instill in these young people greater degrees of self-confidence in approaching any career of their choice. 25 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Career Development have been carefully selected and included in this book. The goal is to give these children practical answers to common challenges about making a career choice, designing a study plan, dealing with distractions/peer pressures etc.This book is highly recommended for pupils of Junior and Senior Secondary Schools, Tertiary Institutions, Teachers, Administrators, Parents and aspiring Parents. It may also be introduced to pupils of basic 4-6.Onakpoberuo Onoriode VictorApril, 2019.