The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Ogun government’s efforts to curb hawking/roaming

    Sir, permit me space to applaud efforts of the Ogun State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in ensuring that the menace of street hawking/roaming in the state is eradicated.

    The ministry recently held a rally during which it warned parents that it would arrest any child caught in the act after issuing yellow cards to their parents or wards twice. Also, such children would be taken to juvenile remand homes and would only be released after their parents pay fines.

    It is glad to know that street hawking during school hours is now a crime in the state as the recent Child Rights Acts signed in to law recently prohibits such and the state government has set up a multi-sectoral committee to ensure effective implementation. Parents should note that the government has been committing huge resources into funding free and qualitative education so as to make them useful adults that would be able to contribute to the socio-economic growth of the state.

    Teachers have also been cautioned to stop sending their students on errands during school hours. This effort is worthy of commendation as these children are our future and leaders of tomorrow and, therefore, all hands must be on deck to curb the menace so they can become better, responsible citizens in future.

    Taiyese Ebunlomo Boluwatife via ebunlomo.okuwa@gmail.com

    Abeokuta.

  • Unemployment and our shame

    I couldn’t stop tears from dropping down my eyes last Saturday when I saw our youths, unemployed graduates, who ended their lives untimely in the quest for the Nigeria Immigration Service job. This, no doubt, was an avoidable tragedy but for the state of the nation.

    Every leader, both past and present, has his share of blame in what our country has turned to. In those days, as I was told, a secondary school leaver was a ‘gold’ while a university graduate was seen as a ‘god’ who had surmounted all hurdles to gain knowledge. As such, the tradition was that the graduate should choose and pick the most preferred job out of the many juicy ones that came begging for his attention.

    Today, the opposite is the case as a graduate could even lose his life in the process of looking for a manageable job that may help ‘put body and soul together.’ This is the picture of the experience of over five hundred thousand youths who applied for less than five thousand Immigration job slots.

    Should I even say, ‘this generation is at the suffering end of the omissions of our leaders and fathers’ generation.’ Because, to me, it seems there is no solution in sight yet.

    This is the same generation that Boko Haram is unleashing its dastardly acts on with bombings of university campuses, secondary schools, maiming and killing of corps members, thereby reducing our number in spite of being tagged, ‘ leaders of tomorrow.’ Those who escaped the horror of terrorists are made to die of hunger, joblessness or stampede during a recruitment exercise.

    Unfortunately, the children of the high and mighty who are more instrumental to what Nigeria has become either have an enviable job awaiting them on graduation from the university or have to travel abroad to continue life ‘in a greener pasture.’

    Besides, many of them do not even have to school here. They see our higher institutions as glorified secondary schools with little or no facilities to run it as a plague within while incessant lecturers and other unions’ strike is the plague without.

    According to the National Bureau of Statistics, General Household Survey((1999-2011), Nigeria’s unemployment rate jumped from 8% in 1999 to an average of 13.3% in 2000 to 2008, and then jumped again after the global crisis to an annual average of 21.66% in 2009 to 2011, to peak at 23.9%.

    Meanwhile, Nigeria’s economy has grown very fast in the last thirteen years in response to global oil and non-oil commodity prices. In particular, as stated by National Bureau of Statistics (1999-2009), Nigeria’s nominal Gross Domestic Product doubled from N20 trillion in 2007 to N40trillion in 2012.

    In spite of this paradoxical growth, we keep hearing, ‘Nigeria is broke today, Nigeria is bankrupt tomorrow.’ I pray we will not wake up someday to hear that our country has been sold due to lack of resources to run it in the face of plenty endowments of natural resources.

    One of the responsibilities of government in a sane environment is job creation. However, this should not be based on ‘who knows who’ but on merit. Also, good jobs should not be the destiny of the few privileged while the poor are asked to make do with the crumbs that fall from the table and even die in the process of scavenging for it.

    Government should be committed to creating an enabling environment where business can thrive; where investors can freely operate. Then, the scourge of unemployment can be reduced. We are tired of the activities of insurgents today, militants tomorrow, and kidnappers the day after. There should be a renewed commitment on the part of our leaders to ensure security of lives and property.

    The leadership class should see the Saturday’s Immigration recruitment stampede which resulted in the loss of nineteen promising youths as their failure and shame. They should take deliberate steps in the name of posterity to salvage this nation from collapse and put an end to avoidable loss of human lives.

    Unemployment should be tacked head long and be made a thing of the past. In addition, recruitment exercise should not be a death trap for our teeming youths. We should seek improved ways of conducting interviews without having to put the lives of our people in jeopardy. The Saturday’s deed had been done. May God console the families of the departed souls.

    By Femi Onasanya via femlandcommunication

    @yahoo.com

  • Magic wand that National Conference is not

    SIR: If there be anything found wanting within the nebulous body of men and women known as the Nigerian leadership class, intelligentsia and indeed, a section of the civil society; idealistic postulations of solutions to the myriad of problems confronting the country, certainly, cannot be one of those failings..

    I have always found it quite farcical seeing a number of Nigerians who lay claim to belonging to the intelligentsia subscribing to a position not popularized or arrived at by any process of critical scientific reasoning but by the bare fact of such position or thinking merely wearing, for instance, a tinge of novelty.

    Let me start from the not-too-long-a-distant past of the heydays of the mad rush for company share acquisition. Even holy sanctuaries of worship were not spared, as lectures on share acquisition almost became part of the liturgy. Then came the tsunami of global meltdown and subsequently, Sanusi’s bank reform which helped to expose the rump of the chicken. Now, we all know better.

    Enter the late President Yar’Adua. At the outset of his administrations, when little was known about the man, many had already gone to town to regale us of how independent minded he was, and it spread like wild fire. Even when the nation almost came to a stand-still, consequent upon the late President’s ill health, a section of the leadership class and the intelligentsia could still afford to regale us with tales that the late president was meticulously studying the situation on ground in order to come up with a lasting panacea. Then, death came calling, exposing the hidden cabals behind the mask. Now, we know better.

    And, now, enter once again, the much acclaimed political elixir called National Conference. While it is conceded that the agitation for National Conference has been with us for some time now, the government of the day suddenly became conscious of the significance and renewed resonance in the agitation as its tenure winds to a close and with that came the imperative of bringing the same body of men and women, the intelligentsia and political class to “brainstorm and fashion out the way forward” for the beloved country, Nigeria.

    While the fact cannot be gainsaid that there is nothing wrong for a people to hold regular talks among themselves in a bid to forge ahead, it is however, worrisome to begin to regard such avenue for discussion as an end in itself and a substitute for action. For whatever National Conference may be worth, it will be quite delusional to think that it is the magic wand we all need to get ourselves out of the systemic decay we have found ourselves.

    Pray, as lofty as the idea of the National Conference may appear in concept, certain questions beg answers: what hope there is in practical terms for honest and workable solutions to emerge from the motley crowd of men and women who got selected through the same well-worn means of leadership selection – the same procedure that has now become our albatross, that our so-called present elected representatives emerged?

    In the unlikely event of workable solutions emerging from the jaw-jaw, who implements the decisions of the participant at the conference? The same present government saddled with the responsibility of implementing the plethora of findings of the numerous panels of inquiry and fact-finding committees whose graves litter the shelves of all the government ministries, departments and agencies in our polity?

    •Chris Edache Agbiti, Esq.,

    Abuja.

  • Akintola, Adekunle deserve centenary recognition

    SIR: The decision of the federal government led by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to celebrate 100 years anniversary of Nigeria as a nation is worthwhile and the government deserves kudos for the feat. In spite of contrary views, the amalgamation of the various pre-colonial nations to form Nigeria by the British colonial overlord has more benefits than minuses. The population, landmass, human resources, peoples, and cultural diversity, if well harnessed, could have made the nation one of the most advanced in the world. Problems being grappled with are just teething ones which, with commitment and dedication on the part of our leaders, would soon fizzle out.

    While I do not know the criteria used in selecting the recipients of the centenary awards, I want to say that there were some omissions which the government has to consider in future. Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola and Brigadier General Benjamin Adekunle (retd) are two Nigerians who so much cherished the unity of Nigeria and paid dearly for its sustenance: Akintola with his life and Adekunle his health.

    Since the centenary celebration was premised mostly on the sustenance of the unity and corporate existence of this nation, the duo should have been given recognition. Ogbomoso people are some of the most travelled peoples in Nigeria; they so much cherish unity of this nation. This was exhibited by late S.L.A Akintola when contrary to the stand of his party – the Action Group on regional solidarity harped on national solidarity as a means of promoting unity and development in Nigeria. This later cost him his life. Also, Adekunle as commander 3rd Marine Commando of the Nigerian Army during the civil war contributed to the corporate existence of this nation by his exploits which was nationally acknowledged. The General is presently bedridden due to the effects of the war.

    Why the duo was left out of the centenary award is hard to conjecture. I believe that it was an oversight on the part of the centenary committee saddled with the selection. President Jonathan is implored to make some amendment by giving honour to whom honour is due.

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

  • Arise ’O’ compatriots

    SIR: “In less than 200 years, this great country, USA was wielded together by people of so many diverse backgrounds. They built a mighty nation and had forgotten where they came from and who their ancestors were. They had pride in only one thing – their US citizenship. I am a changed man from today. Until now I never really believed we could be one united country. But if the Americans could do it, so can we”. Rt. Hon. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. 1955.

    In the beginning, we had visionary leaders, great men with unparalleled commitment to the unity and development of Nigeria. They were not perfect beings. They did make mistakes. But in all, they were absolutely sincere in their commitment to the Nigeria project. We had Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the focused, principled, incorruptible visionary leader as our first Prime Minister. We had the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello. The Sardauna was absolutely committed to the development of the North and its people irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliations. From the East, we had the Zik of Africa, Sir Nnamdi Azikiwe. An orator par excellence and the first President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he was unparalleled in his commitment to a truly united Nigeria. From the West, we had Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of the Western region. He was an excellent manager of human and material resources. His free education programme helped a lot of Western indigenes to have unparalleled access to educational growth and career development.

    True federalism was in practice. The regions competed with one another for good. They did not depend on the largesse from the centre. State of origin was not a major issue.

    Then came military interventions. Democracy went on suspension. Successive generations of political elites (military/civilian) became more committed to wealth acquisitions for themselves and their cronies. They allocate oil blocks to themselves. Public agencies or institutions such as the Nigerian Railways, Refineries, NEPA, NITEL that could make life easier for the common man were gradually destroyed. The political elites preferred importation of fuel products, trailers and allied, generating sets and others to making the much needed public institutions work. When we complained that we wanted better services, we were told the agencies can never work as public institutions. Privatization is the only way out. The public agencies were sold off at take-away prices to the same political elites that destroyed them in the first place.

    To maintain their continuous hold on power; they introduced divide and rule tactics with ethnicity and religion as the bait. We became hooked and lost in self socio-political delusions. When they disagree amongst themselves over the spoils of office, crises are instigated to show that they are powers that must be pleased!

    The result is the mess we have found ourselves today. Systemic corruption is firmly entrenched in the polity. Billions of dollars are either stolen or misappropriated. Our educational system is in shambles. Inherited tertiary institutions are shadows of former selves. The ones established after those of our fathers are not well equipped. Power Holding Company of Nigeria has lived to expectations of holding power without releasing it! Nigerians are sharply divided along ethno-religious lines.

    Which way forward? The greatest obstacle to fighting poverty and impunity of our leaders is primordial attachment to ethnicity or religion. When we are ready to clearly look inward in each region and discover how our political elites who cry marginalization and say they are fighting on our behalf contributed significantly to the present level of poverty and infrastructural deficiencies. When majority of Nigerians are able to shed the toga of primordial attachment to ethnicity or religion, which makes all critical issues reduced to nothing; then a new Nigeria is born. Then we shall be ready to vote for a visionary leadership irrespective of the ethnic or religious group of the candidate.

    • Akinlolu, Abdulazeez Adelaja,

    University of Ilorin.

  • Jonathan and zero allocation to Ajaokuta

    SIR: “One thing that is dear to Nigerians is the Ajaokuta Steel Complex and until we revive that complex, we cannot talk about Vision 20:2020. This is because for you to play big globally, you must industrialize and for you to industrialize you must produce steel. The Ajaokuta complex must be revived.”

    The above statement was made by President Goodluck Jonathan at his Presidential electioneering campaign rally in 2011 in Lokoja, Kogi State capital.

    This assertion by Jonathan, no doubt, clearly agrees with the position of many Nigerians on the need to advance the country’s economy through the entrenchment of a vibrant and viable

    steel sector.  After three years of making the pronouncement, nothing much seems to have been done by the President to actualise the completion of the steel company.

    This was what prompted the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman recently to say that President Jonathan has not shown enough commitment to steel development in Nigeria. He stated this while condemning the zero allocation for capital projects in the company in the 2014 budget proposal, during the budget defence of Ministry of Mines and Steel.

    The neglect of Ajaokuta Steel by successive governments has always been an issue of great concern to most Nigerians. Corruption and lack of political will on the part of government have been responsible for the non-completion of the project, whose contract was awarded since in the 70s.

    It is expected that the National Assembly should be able to do something about the inclusion of capital allocation for the completion of the company in the budget. For all intents and purposes, our federal parliamentarians at the two chambers should, as a matter of urgency, make provisions for Ajaokuta Steel and the Nigerian Iron Ore Manufacturing Company( NIOMCO) in the current budget before them followed by a resolution on why the President must execute the project.

    • Michael Jegede,

    Abuja

  • Paying the supreme price for a job

    SIR: Nigerians will never forget in a hurry the recruitment exercise into various cadres of the Nigerian Immigration Services held Saturday March 15 at various designated centres throughout the country. At the last count, 15 of more than 526,000 applicants jostling for 4500 jobs paid the supreme price with their lives while other survivors are currently receiving treatment in some government hospitals.

    Why did the facility manager of the National Stadium with 38 entry point choose to open only one point resulting to the stampede? Is it convenient and comfortable for a person expected to write a test to do so at a football pitch? What happened to various halls and classes in our secondary and tertiary institutions which are better and built for that kind of academic exercise? The stipulated age bracket of applicants qualified for these jobs is between 25 – 27 years. The application portal should have applied a brake that will automatically disqualify those who are above the age limit. This would have naturally reduced the number of applicants.

    The naked truth is that unemployment index in the country has risen to a scary level and government has since lost grip of the appropriate measures to take in order to reduce it. The fact that 526,000 applicants jostle for less than 5000 jobs in a country blessed with abundant human and material resources has once again reminded us of the ticking time bomb imminently waiting to explode. With no definite employment plan on ground for graduates churned out yearly from our tertiary institutions, the nation is left with no option than to revert to our once old national prized but forgotten agriculture and mining sectors of the economy. In the 1960’s, these two moribund sectors created more than 50% employment opportunities in Nigeria.

    In the circumstance that the Minister of Interior Abba Moro has found himself, the honourable thing to do would have been to suspend the Comptroller of Immigrations if he has such powers and throw in the towel instead of setting up a committee. That would have earned him respect among Nigerians who will see him as a man of integrity rather than a hanger-on. He promised paying for the hospital bills of the survivors but how much will he pay for the dead graduates?

    The culture of resignation as a way of taking responsibility for any error by heads of ministries and parastatals should be cultivated in Nigerian governance system. The era of putting up a bold face and pretend as if all is well in the face of a glaring and avoidable man-made national disaster is over. President Goodluck Jonathan is implored to expressly place the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro and the Comptroller General of Immigrations David Parradang on administrative leave with immediate effect.

    More regrettable is that this happened also during Immigration recruitment of 2008. No drastic measures were taken and no lesson was learnt then. The death of these innocent Nigerians should spur government to take decisive action on unemployment now.

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

    Samaru Zaria

  • Let this not happen again!

    SIR: Regrettably job seekers in Nigeria died over the weekend trying to secure appointment with the Nigerian Immigration Service.

    This did not have to happen!

    Where there are high levels of unemployment it is to be expected that the demand for available vacancies will far outweigh supply of jobs, hence the large turnout for the exercise.

    As long as we are unable to cater for the teeming graduates seeking work, not to talk of those who are underemployed, we would continue to have a high turnout as witnessed.

    However this did not have to happen.

    Technological advancement has brought about solutions to deal with large number of candidates seeking few jobs.

    It was reported that over 500,000 candidates applied for the exercise.

    The first step is to short list those candidate who meet the recruitment criteria which would have been pre determined by the recruiting organisation.

    Apparently all the candidate were invited to attend a form of screen at various centres across Nigeria.

    A short listing exercise would have been screened out those who fail to meet the criteria. Only those who meet the requirement advance to the next stage of the selection process.

    There are competent organisations in Nigeria who could have offered this solution.

    Each candidate can sit the initial verification exercise at the comfort of their home using their computer or at designated test centres.

    Where a recruiting organisation has concerns about the authenticity of the candidate responding to the initial verification, there are also solutions available to validate the initial screening, which may

    further reduce the number of applicants.

    At the end of the two stage process described above, the recruiting organisation would have a manageable number and failing that, further assessment could be carried out using Assessment Centres before commencing to the interview stages.

    Several private sector organisations and multinationals have successfully adopted this approach. A typical recruitment exercise by Shell Nigeria receives no less than half a million responses and they

    manage the recruitment process effectively using online recruitment solutions.

    It is time we take advantage of technology to manage our recruitment and avoid what I call avoidable accidents. It is not rocket science to predict the NIS exercise was an accident waiting to happen. Other government agencies need to take note to avoid a repeat of this incident.

    It need not happen and we pray it does not happen again.

    May the souls of the departed rest in peace.

    • Shola Ajani

    London

  • The dilemma of a nation

    SIR: Nigeria is undoubtedly a country with great promise. On account of her favourable weather conditions and rich supply of natural resources, Nigeria was once described by a good friend of mine as a country situated in the heart of God. However, in the same piece, she was quick to lament the woes of Africa’s second largest economy calling her, among other things, “My sweet country where NOTHING works”. And that’s where the dilemma is. As much as we cannot deny Nigeria’s potential to become one of the most desirable nations to live in, we also cannot shy away from our pervasive challenges.

    One problem that has especially bothered me over time is our value system which seems to have little respect for human dignity and the sanctity of human life. Needless loss of lives does not seem to bother us anymore. When we’re not talking about the destruction being wreaked by Boko Haram, we’re discussing the havoc being inflicted by Fulani herdsmen. That is not to mention police brutality, illegal detention, dehumanising condition of our prisons and various acts of subjugation.

    In November 2013, at least 25 people lost their lives while apparently trying to invoke the beggarly generosity of a politician. Now, some folks are capitalising on the challenge of unemployment to waste our youths. And the youths themselves are too blind to see. While the Nigerian Immigrations Service has been in the spotlight as a result of the tragedy that attended its ill-advised recruitment test over the weekend, a cursory inspection will reveal that many other government agencies and privately-owned firms are equally culpable.

    When are we going to develop value for human life in this nation? When are we going to stop treating people with indignity? When are the “masses” going to stop running after every foolish scheme like hungry dogs scrambling for dry bones? When are we going to ditch the lie that we are “the masses” and wake up to the reality of our true identity as plenipotentiaries of the Most High God?

    We have wallowed in the mud of greed, selfishness and corruption for too long; and this has robbed us of our collective power as a people. As a nation, we have allowed a few bad eggs to spoil our omelette. Now is the time to stop playing the fool and start living out our true identity as the great nation that we are. Change is imminent. A revolution is underway. We cannot avoid it.

    • Philip Amiola,

    amioladeep@gmail.com

     

  • Recruitment tragedy and Nigeria’s unending mediocrity

    SIR: We woke up in Lagos, Saturday March 15 just like any other day, believing we will have a peaceful day. As early morning joggers moved towards the National Stadium Surulere, they were stunned into disbelief by the sea of heads of Nigerian youths, all in white trooping to the National Stadium. It was an unbelievable sight to behold. They were later to discover that they are job seekers looking for 3,000 jobs from Nigerian Immigration Service, (NIS).

    In the 33 states of Nigeria, including Abuja and excluding Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, the applicants gathered in their millions. The applicants mostly youths, had certificates ranging from Master’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, HND, OND, NCE and Senior School Certificate. Each applicant paid N1000 processing fee.

    The greed, inefficiency and weaknesses of NIS and their masters have brought the death of more than 20 Nigerian youths including three pregnant women and more than 100 people injured. Nigeria has gradually entered into the Guinness Book of Records for this show of shame. NIS has through the power of greed and avaricious tendencies exposed Nigeria’s unending mediocrity to the world.

    Did you see the sea of heads at our Stadia throughout the 33 states and Abuja? Did you see the sufferings Nigerian leaders exposed their youths too? Did you see our youths writing without desk under the scorching heat of the sun?

    Did you see the scramble to enter the venues? How many ambulances did you see out there? Were there plans for emergencies? Were the youths even given a bottle of water from the more than N6 billion naira they extorted from them? Were there provision for nursing mothers and pregnant women? Were there multiple points of ingress and egress at those venues? Was traffic situation considered?

    Does this so-called recruitment exercise have anything to do with 2015 elections? Is it similar to FERMA’s recruitment of thugs and hoodlums in Lagos in the name of employment road managers? Why are PDP and President Jonathan doing all these now?

    More questions: Why should NIS collect N1000 each from more than six million Nigerians when you know you have only 3,000 vacant positions? Where has the money gone to? Who authorized the collection? Where is the balance after the expenditure?

    Now if this is not Nigeria, heads would have started rolling at the NIS. Arrests of the men behind this huge scam would have been completed by now. There would have been apologies from the highest seat of power. There would be apologies and regrets from the organizers and executors of this failed exercise. But this is a Nigeria where impunity is a way of life. This is Nigeria where sycophancy is a way of life

    The horrible pictures of more than six million Nigerian youths seeking for 3,000 jobs have been put in the world scene. The inability of Nigerian leaders to show leadership in hours of need has been exposed to the world. The criminal level of the unemployment situation in Nigeria has been let out of the bag in a country where few leaders pocket $20 billion without caring a hoot. This tragedy has clearly exposed our system’s failure. It has clearly shown the level of the reasoning and thinking of our leaders.

    This is a national shame!

    • Joe Igbokwe

    Lagos