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Conservation Quotations by the Ancient Greeks
Homer 7secs.
Plato 34secs.
Pythagoras 23secs.
CHILDREN'S SECTION
The Talking Pocket 5mins. 19secs. A kidnapper meets his reward
The Elephant and the Rain 5mins. 50secs. A very proud Elephant get
killed by Tortoise
USEFUL QUICKFACTS
WOMEN'S ISSUES
Quotations From "Women on the Move" in…
…Enugu 52secs. Determined women secure bail for others
from police detention.
…Kano 29secs. Thanks to enlightenment and empowerment, 1
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more women are voting in Kano.
…Lagos 24secs. The ultimate in empowerment for Nigerian women
News
Features
Special Features
Conservation Quotations by the Ancient Greeks
Homer 7secs.
"The Fathers… did not erase the past, but linked it by firm ties to the
future." Homer. Greek poet, 8 th Centruy B. C.
Plato 34secs.
"There were mountains in Attica that now keep nothing but bees, but that
were clothed not so
long ago with fine trees, producing timber suitable for roofing the largest
buildings… There were
also many lofty tress cultivated, and the country produced bountiful pastures
for cattle. In those
days, the annual supply of rainfall was not lost, as it is now, through being
allowed to flow over
a treeless and denuded surface to the sea." Plato, Greek philosopher, 427
-347 B. C.
Pythagoras 23secs.
"For as long as Man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living
beings, he will never
know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each
other. Indeed,
he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love." Pythagoras,
Greek mathematician & philosopher, 580-500 B. C.
Children's Section
The Talking Pocket 5mins. 19secs. 2
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One day a group of girls was returning home from the farm, when they reached
a wild plum
tree which was laden with ripe fruits. Being tired and hungry they sat down
to eat the fruit and
rest themselves. When they were ready, they continued walking homewards until
one of the girls
noticed that her scarf was missing. So she left the others and retraced her
steps to find it. On the
way, she asked everyone she met, even the animals (who in those days could talk
as freely as
people), if anyone had seen the scarf, but no-one knew anything about it.
Then she met an old man wearing a large coat. "May I ask about my scarf?"
she enquired.
"Oh, it's yours, is it?" he replied. "I have it here. Come and fetch it."
The girls went forward and bowed before the man to receive her scarf. Suddenly,
he grabbed
her by the shoulder and drew her into his coat, pushing her roughly into a large
pocket. He
stayed at this place for many hours until the girl began to feel quite hungry,
and the old man
proceeded on his way until he arrived at a village. As he entered the village,
he shouted to the
people that if they would dip him out some wine, he would show them something
really
spectacular.
The people gave him both wine and food in such quantities that he was a little
drunk when he
had finished and he beat his coat pocket wildly and shouted:
"Speak, pocket speak!"
A voice from the pocket replied:
"What will I say?
By the wild plum tree
We had spent the day,
When a big coat trapped me
In this pocket where I lay.
It was just my fate
To end up this way.
If only my mother knew
What has happened today!"
The people called their friends and relations around to hear this curious
talking pocket.
Later on the old man left that village and walked to another village and then
another, showing
the people his talking pocket in return for food and drinks.
After some time he came to the girl's own village and as he entered he called
to the elders,
"Come and let me show you what I have here. It is something very spectacular."
So the people
gathered around him and the old man started beating his coat and shouting: 3
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"Speak, pocket speak!"
And a voice from the pocket replied:
"What will I say?
By the wild plum tree
We had spent the day,
When a big coat trapped me
In this pocket where I lay.
It was just my fate
To end up this way.
If only mother knew
What has happened today!"
Now, the girl's mother happened to be present and she immediately thought
about her daughter
who had gone with the other girls to the farm and then to the wild plum tree
and had not been
seen since. She asked herself if this could be her daughter. This woman told
her friends what
was in her mind and they plied the old man plenty to drink until he fell into
a deep, drunken
sleep. Then they opened his and found the girl -almost dead with hunger -inside.
Quickly, the people gathered snakes and scorpions to fill the pocket and then
moved silently
away, leaving the old man asleep. When he had recovered from his hangover, the
old man
proceeded on his way.
Quite a few miles further on, he beat his pocket to see what would come out.
He listened but
heard nothing. He beat the coat again and again, shouting, "Speak, pocket speak!"
But there
was no sound. Hard as he beat the pocket, nothing happened.
So he took off the coat and laid it on the ground. Picking up a big rock,
he held it above the
pocket and shouted "Hurry up and speak or I'll crush you with this rock!" But
the pocket was
silent. The old man put his hand into the pocket to take out the girl and was
bitten by the snakes
and scorpions and there he died. Shangani Folk Tales.
The Elephant and the Rain 5mins. 50secs.
There were once two great powers in the natural world: Elephant and Rain.
Now Elephant, who
as you know was proud and boastful, was always arguing with Rain, trying to
make him agree
that of the two of them, he, Elephant was the greater.
One day they were arguing as usual, when Rain said, in his wet, gurgling voice,
"How can you,
Elephant, be a greater power than I, when it is I who nourishes you?" 4
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Elephant was too proud to admit that Rain was right. Indeed, he didn't even
think before
replying, "You do not feed me! I find my food myself. I am my own master in
all things."
Rain, angered in earnest this time, decided to act, instead of arguing any
further. He turned dark
gray, thundered, and said, "If I go away, will you not die?" And he vanished.
Once Rain had departed, Elephant laughed loudly and said to himself, "Ha!
Now I may rule
alone. Rain has admitted defeat by running away!"
For many months, Elephant lorded it over the plains and forests, and life
continued normally. In
fact it was quite peaceful without the constant loud quarrels of Elephant and
Rain.
Then the time of year for the rains arrived. Many of the animals were full
with their unborn
young ones. Every animal was looking forward to the flush of green succulent
grass, and clean,
flowing rivers once again.
But, of course, rain had gone away. The skies remained hot and bright blue.
Not even a cloud
was seen for weeks. The animals became worried because their new born young
were starving.
In great distress, they went to find Elephant, for was he not their lord?
Elephant looked a bit
uncomfortable, but he replied to their demands by saying, "I will call Vulture,
the most potent of
all rainmakers." Elephant then called Vulture and commanded him to cast lots
and make rain.
But Vulture was Rain's servant, and knew about the quarrel that the two mighty
ones had had.
He excused himself, explaining to Elephant that he was too afraid of the great
Elephant to try, in
case he failed.
Elephant then summoned Crow, the wisest of birds, and commanded her to cast
lots to make
rain. This she did, and some rain fell. Enough rain fell to fill a few pans,
but soon they all dried
up, except one, the deepest.
Elephant claimed this last water-hole for himself and ordered Tortoise to
guard it for him while
he was away feeding during the day (food was becoming rather difficult to find)
Tortoise settled
down to guard the pan.
Soon a herd of giraffe came down to drink and asked Tortoise for water, for
they had searched
all day and found none. But Tortoise had to refuse, saying the pan was the property
of lord
Elephant. Zebras, deers wildebeests, gorrillas, warthogs and chimpanzees and
many other
animals were all in turn refused a drink. They moved off in distance, whispering
among
themselves and wondering what was to become of them.
In the evening, Lion came down to drink and, as before, Tortoise told him
he could not as the
pan belonged to Elephant. But Lion was not impressed. He simply cuffed Tortoise
out of the 5
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way and drank his fill. Poor Tortoise was helpless, as the other animals made
desperate by
thirst, followed Lion's example. They crowded around the pan and drank deeply.
When Elephant returned, the animals had drunk the pan dry, leaving only a
mass of churned-up
mud. He trumpeted in vain and turned upon the unfortunate Tortoise. Poor Tortoise
tried to
explain that he had been too little and weak to stop the thirsty animals, but
Elephant was in such
a rage that he picked up Tortise and swallowed him whole.
Now Tortoise did not want to die, especially since he did not deserve such
punishment. As
soon as he reached Elephant's stomach, he began to tear at the soft insides,
determined to get
out.
Elephant screamed with pain, and realised at the same time hos pride and arrogance
had led him
to a nasty end. By the time Tortoise managed to get out, Elephant was dead.
Tortoise scuttled
off as fast as he could, and ever since has refused to answer to anyone. He
is his own master,
and he goes wherever he likes.
And Rain, seeing that the tragic lesson had been learned by all the animals,
took pity on the
thirsty earth and poured down in a deluge, so that all the rivers and pans filled
again. Ancient Bushman Story/ When Hippo Was Hairy
The Most Intelligent Animal [next to Man]
Do you know what is the most intelligent animal on earth, after human beings?
The simple
answer is… no one really knows. We do not know how to measure intelligence and
cleverness
in other animals. Once upon a time, scientists said that tool-making was something
was
something special and made people cleverer than any other animal. But all that
has changed
now.
Useful Quickfacts
Women's Issues
Quotations From "Women on the Move" in…
…Enugu 52secs.
"Last week in Ikem, they took some 20 women and locked them up because they
had some
little quarrel on the farm. The group leader of a the Development Education
Centre [DEC] went
to the mobilizer of Ikem community. The mobilizer took three people in the community
who
belong to the 100 Women Group and they marched to the police station. The men
came and
told the women: "Go back home, you women; when did you start coming to police
station to 6
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bail suspects?" But the women persisted and sat there until the detained women
were released,
and they were released without a charge brought against them, and they went
back home." Cecilia Asogwa, Executive Director, DEC, Enugu.
…Kano 29secs.
"The women are now more enlightened on programmes, most especially politics.
Women did
not come out to vote in the past. But during the recent local government election,
there was a
massive turnout of women. They even came out in groups. In Kumbozo, a woman
even stood
for election into the House of Representatives. She was a member of the 100
Women Group." Amina Suleiman, Assistant Organization Secretary, UWA, Kano.
…Lagos 24secs. "Equity will be reached when resources, the means of
production, decision-making (in both private
and public spheres), and other ingredients necessary for sustainable development
are available to women and men in proportion to their respective numbers. This
will be the ultimate in
empowerment -when Nigerian (and men) have equal access to resources." Dr.
Enyantu Ifenne, Resident Advisor, CEDPA, Nigeria.
ACRONYMS
CEDPA: Centre for Development and Population Activities. 7
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