Ever since I was young, there was something about when a person stretched out their hand to join the hand of another person that fascinated me. For so long, I did not know why people ‘joined hands’, but I figured that it was just something you did when you met

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someone. I asked myself whether it was mandatory; I also wondered whether it would be rude to reject a handshake. After some study and research on the gist behind a simple handshake, I have discovered that there is more to it that meets the eye. Generally, some say that it is a custom, a mere convention carried out by people. Others say that there is science behind a single handshake, and those who read body language see a lot of importance in a handshake. Some secret societies, like the Masons, use them to identify apprentices and members of their society. Here is some insight on what I discovered.

Historically, the joining of hands can be traced back to Ancient Greece, as far back as the 5^th century BC, where it was originally thought to symbolize peace, as both hands were not holding weapons. In modern times, it has been associated with good first impressions, especially in the business world. Ladies engage in handshakes in the work place as a sign of gender equality, while they may offer their fingers for a kiss in social gatherings.

Tags: Africa, current-events, Educating Young Africans, Emmanuel Ohiri, Psychology, Public Responsiblity, society

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It was February 2006 and the stage was set. Estadio de la Romareda, Zaragoza, Spain was the place, and there promised to be a very interesting football match in a clash between Barcelona FC and Real Zaragoza. What began as a typical football match took a grim turn when the crowd greeted one of the most decorated black players, Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o, with ape-like sounds. They overlooked all his worth, chanted ‘monkey’, and tossed banana peels. In response, Eto’o began the first open protest against racism, when he attempted to leave the pitch. Although he was restrained by his teammates, I asked myself, who in their right mind would sensibly discriminate between Eto’o and Beckham, Ronaldo, Shevchenko, Rooney and Drogba, Figo and Henry, Radebe and Maradona, Beckenbauer and Pele?

In an interview with CNN, Eto’o said “I was leaving the field and if it wasn’t for Rijkard, my teammates and the referee, I would have done it. In that moment, you start to think whether there is something wrong with being black, you know?”

Tags: Africa, Africans, Discrimination, Emmanuel Ohiri, Eto'o, Ferdinand, FIFA, Football, football stadia, Negro, olympic gold medallist, Olympics, patrice evra, Players, Racism, racism in football, REspect, samuel eto o, Sepp Blatter, Soccer, sports, Terry#, UEFA