The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • The change we need starts from us

    SIR; Many people complain about the dehumanisation and insensitivity demonstrated by the leaders to the citizens. The truth is that it is demonstrated in the everyday lives of Nigerians and not just leaders to their fellow citizens. We walk, cycle and drive by orphanages, charity boxes and organisations that help the needy and do not have the mind to stop by and touch a life or at least advocate for humanity. Then what are we on earth for? What do we live for?

    Nigerians are some of the most extravagant people in the world when it comes to spending and buying of luxuries; yet we have a lot of people amongst us who can’t afford the cheapest form of education for their children. Some can’t even afford a meal a day, others a place to live in.

    Why do we think there is unequal distribution of wealth in this country? Let me give a guess, corruption, stinginess and rich people who only think about themselves to the detriment of others. The lion share of the blame goes to the politicians who have ensured that things don’t work out. They loot billions of naira at every level, thereby preventing equal distribution of resources and wealth. These are facts that we all watch on television, hear while listening to radio stations and also read while going through volumes of newspapers.

    They have made sure that the education and health sectors of the country are nothing to write home about. They now take their children to the best schools abroad, leaving behind the common men to take theirs to the failed universities. As Professor Wole Soyinka said some months back, they are the ones who fly to the best hospitals in New York for a common toothache. I say – they are the ones who expect their children to also handle the affairs of this country after using stolen money to get their children the best education possible. I know that such expectations will not come to reality, because what goes around comes around.

    If we will have to send a message to the politicians to start considering the life of fellow men, the change will have to start from us. Let us touch the life of an orphan today either in cash or kind. We could also decide to go to orphanages and help with their needs or we can at least sponsor an orphan’s education. With this you will be speaking to the people next to you with your deeds and not just giving long boring speeches of intent that some of our leaders give.

    • Yemisi Joseph,

    Lagos

  • Reforming the National Honours awards

    SIR: The conferment of the national honours awards will continue to be mired in controversy unless drastic measures are taken to restore its lost glory.

    Ordinarily, national honours awards should be highly cherished and regarded because it borders on the collective integrity of the nation and its peoples. In civilised societies, honours are awarded to individuals who have made outstanding and meritorious contributions to their nations’ security, world peace, science, arts, technology, culture or other significant public or private endeavours.

    In Nigeria, it has been utterly skewed towards the business and political class, thereby relegating to the background, the silent but honest Nigerians who have immensely contributed and still contributing to the development of the nation.

    With the degradation of the process, majority of Nigerians appear not to have any regard for it anymore. Also worrisome is the number of people given the awards yearly that it has lost its allure. For instance, last year alone, a total of 355 people were honoured.

    Due to its debasement, notable Nigerians selected for the awards tactfully rejected them to avoid the ‘viral contact of the awards syndrome’. Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, rejected the Commander of the Order of the Niger offered him last year because he said that many of those on the list of awardees were men of‘dishonour’. Similarly, former Petroleum Minister, Tam-David-West, rejected the offer of one of the awards and questioned the criteria for the award of higher honours to those who did not match his unblemished records in terms of service to the country. The well respected and renowned author, Chinua Achebe, had cause to reject the offer of the third highest honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic, twice. The first was in 2004 when he rejected it for what he called the inability of government to tackle the myriad of problems confronting Nigerians, especially, the state of insecurity in the land and lawlessness by government officials or their cronies. Again, he rejected it last year for similar reasons.

    The late human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi turned down the offer of the Officer of the Federal Republic for his dissatisfaction with governance in the nation.

    As a matter of urgency, the awards should be reformed in the national interest. A set of new criteria – that will make it impossible for controversial and people of questionable characters to be awarded – should be designed.

    It is morally wrong for serving politicians and public servants to continue to dominate the list of awardees. The practice of giving automatic awards to influential officials in government should stop.

    Awards should be based on solid achievements and professional records as well as proven integrity or extraordinary patriotism.

    It bothers me how people feel happy and celebrated when they acquire what do not truly belong to them. It’s really absurd.For now, the process seems to have been captured and hijacked by the same agents of allocation that have not known to have added any value to the nation.

    There is the need to put in place a proper administrative machinery to organize and implement this important national assignment. It is disheartening to note that the previous awards ceremony had witnessed avoidable hiccups and lapses, bordering on insufficient medals for the awardees, missing names and other embarrassing experiences.

    The National Honours Act is grossly deficient and should be amended without delay. It will really not be out of place, if the government decides to clean the Augean Stable and put on hold the 2013 edition – to allow for thorough planning and restructuring by getting the right people on board, outside government.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

  • How to fix our educational problems

    SIR: Education is critical the development. Most of the first world countries owe their break – through and successes in the field of science and technology to robust and functional educational systems.

    Think about Japan and China, U.S.A and Germany- these are developed economies. Their automobile and electrical products find markets in Nigeria and other African countries. They earn much revenue by exporting their products and goods to other countries, which boost their economies. Technological break-through and inventions are achieved by students where the educational systems are virile and functional.

    Here, in Nigeria, mechanical engineers can’t repair their cars, not to talk of manufacturing simple tools. Consequently, our economy is solely–based on crude-oil revenues. Our inability to diversify our economy is intrinsically linked to our dysfunctional educational system.

    So, what are the problems bedeviling our educational system? Our Government’s budgetary allocation for education falls short of UNESCO stipulation. Universities are utterly neglected and grossly under-funded. Are their libraries well-stocked-with the most recent books in diverse areas of fields of study? Do they have enough lecture-halls that can hold students during lecture periods? Do they have teaching facilities, instructional materials and equipment for running some science-based courses? These are issues that impede the smooth transmission of knowledge from lecturers to students.

    It is an open secret that the issue of welfare is at the root of the adoption of the strike action by university lecturers.

    Again, the issue of teachers and lecturers’ welfare is linked to the unethical and corrupt deeds that are being perpetrated by some. In some universities, lecturers trade high grades for sex or money. Unintelligent and mentally lazy students graduate with classes of degrees they are undeserving of.

    If government can curb the menace of examination malpractice during SSCE and NECO examinations, then those who are not qualified to gain admission into universities would not enter our universities. Finally, some teachers in primary and secondary schools do not engage in further studies to update their knowledge. They give each set of new students the same notes they prepared six years ago. So, teachers should be re-trained in order for them to gain more knowledge and in order for them to perform optimally, too.

    Government should step up its regulation of privately owned schools. Do schools meet minimal standards required of them? We should not leave our children in the care of those with questionable academic standards.

    • Chiedu Uche Okoye

    Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State

  • Another view on child trafficking law

    Another view on child trafficking law

    SIR: In those days many indigent children, including orphans and those whose parents were too poor to cater for them, rose to eminent positions, such as judges, professors, engineers, medical doctors, successful business men and women, etc., through being houseboys and housemaids. Now the law of Nigeria criminalises as “child-traffickers” those who help to find such jobs. Yet, there is no adequate welfare package for indigent parents and children.

    There are two alternative reasonable courses of action. Either the government abrogates the law forbidding houseboy-ship and housemaid-ship or adopts indigent children who are caught “trafficked” and train or educate them up to the point they can fend for themselves. Yes, some parents may plot “child trafficking” to get the government to adopt their children, but why should the government be unmindful of the implications of its laws?

    Why should Nigerian rulers be unrealistic in their laws? It is because they are pretending to love the people more than the people love themselves. Remember one state government forbids pregnant women to board a motorcycle. The government could not think of any state of emergency that might warrant that a pregnant woman boards a motorcycle.

    I don’t know any country in the world where there are no families or individuals who need house-helps and could afford to pay for them. Take the case in which both the husband and the wife are extremely busy, and the children are not old enough or have all left home as self-supporting adults. What is wrong if they get a house-help and help him or her to become somebody in life one way or another? Human beings are basically selfish or egocentric, but not all of them are equally so. Many “child traffickers” care about the goodness or badness of those for whom they get house-helps, and they also instruct the house-helps to be of good behaviour.

    Why do people overlook the complexities of human life and paint things as either good or bad, when they have the potentiality to be good or bad, depending on circumstances and how you handle them? That is the case with motor-cycling and “child-trafficking” as well. By providing good security operation and traffic wardens, you will have minimal problem with motor-cycling, and the citizens will enjoy its services with self-satisfaction. By providing appropriate regulations, needy families and individuals will get house-helps, and both parties will get satisfaction or face the wrath of the law, as the case may be. Many Nigerian rulers are guilty of egocentricism and anti-people tendencies, while pretending to love poor people.

     

    • Pius Oyeniran Abioje, Ph. D,

    University of Ilorin.

  • That admission racket at U.I

    That admission racket at U.I

    SIR: The University of Ibadan (UI) is reputed to be one of the best universities in Nigeria mainly because of its pedigree. First, it is the first university in Nigeria. Second, it is owned by the federal government and thus assumed to be better funded than others. Third, the university boosts of the highest number of professors and a good number of highly qualified lecturers. These, coupled with innumerable number of alumnus who have distinguished themselves in their different fields of endeavor over the years have shaped the reputation of UI as a university of choice among University admission seekers in Nigeria.

    However, this reputation was dealt a heavy dent recently when newspapers reported an admission racket alleged to have been in existence for 14years or thereabout in the University. The facts that have emerged so far from this scandal are mind boggling. It is a scandal perpetrated by a syndicate made up of members of staff of the University and outsiders.

    It has also been revealed that at least 63 students have been discovered so far to have illegally gained admission in the 2011/2012 session through this dubious channel. One wonders how many will yet be uncovered as the investigation continues. And since it is a scandal that has existed for 14 years, it is certain that many beneficiaries of this compromised admission process would have graduated from the university.

    The negative impact of this scandal on the reputation of UI is colossal. That admission racketeering has existed in UI for over a decade indicates the university runs a porous admission process. This is an indictment on the authority of the university. It simply means the university is incapable of conducting a credible and equitable admission process; one of the reasons the joint admission and matriculation board (JAMB) has continually opposed post-UME tests organized by universities.

    In view of the negative impact this scandal may have on the image of UI, there is an urgent need for the authorities to take steps to redeem the reputation of the university. Already, the university has commenced legal proceedings against the alleged masterminds. But this is not enough. The university must employ reputation management strategies to manage the situation. This will entail massive action and strategic communication. This binary approach is based on the time tested fact that effective public relations is based on good deed and adequate publicity.

    The university authority should commence as soon as possible an audit of the admission process in the last 15 years. Those who may have benefited from admission racket should be fished out and their names published in major newspapers. Their certificates should be withdrawn. This may appear too drastic but drastic measures are required if the authorities wish to restore people’s confidence in the quality UI stands for.

    The authority must begin to block all identified loopholes that have been discovered. It should put systems and abuse-proof processes in place to forestall future admission infractions. These systems and processes must be reviewed and updated yearly as you can be sure people will develop newer strategies to circumvent them.

    Then the university must communicate with its publics. First, it must continuously educate admission seekers and their parents on the illegality and futility of patronizing racketeers while seeking admission. All communication materials: newspaper adverts, invitation letters to post UME tests, bulletins, enlightenment posters and stickers etc should boldly carry this advice: ‘The University of Ibadan offers every qualified prospective applicant an equal admission opportunity. We frown at every back door lobbying, inducements and patronage of members of staff for admission and will disqualify any applicant who engages on such acts’.

    Second, it must inform its other publics and stakeholders; the media, employers of labour, admission seekers, JAMB, current students of the University, governing council etc of the activities it has taken so far to address the scandal and on steps put in place to forestall a repeat of such scandal.

    There is no doubt the recent admission scandal is a massive dent on UI’s reputation. The negative impact is of unimaginable proportion and may reverberate for God knows when. Hence, it is advisable that the university not treat the post crisis stage with kid gloves. The university authority must move fast to restore UI’s precious image.

     

    • Adetokunbo Oguntuga

    Ikeja, Lagos.

  • Independence; what’s there to celebrate?

    Independence; what’s there to celebrate?

    SIR: Independence in midst of pervasive corruption, injustice, greed and uncontrolled state of insecurity; could these scourges that have brought untold sufferings to our people while creating wealth and comfort for the wicked few worth celebrating?

    Truly, the real causes of the grinding poverty in Nigeria today is not the lack of investments and the ‘’brains’’ that will execute development programmes but corruption and grave acts of iniquity committed by our home-grown politicians.

    Corruption has become so rampant that government projects – many of which are not in existence – were ‘’milking boreholes’’ of our greedy and selfish politicians to the level that even the marginalized and downtrodden farmers and traders were not spared (they were robbed of loans granted them).

    How could we celebrate a day when we had little or no food to eat, when our certificates are ready without jobs, when our safety is not guaranteed, when our rights are not due us?

    There are urgent needs to address this menace. It requires sacrifice; it entails making selfish interests subservient to public welfare and sincere commitment to public service.

     

    • M. Usman Ebbo

    Federal Polytechnic, Bida,

    Niger State.

  • Igbo leaders should be realistic

    Igbo leaders should be realistic

    SIR: More often than not human beings are what they make themselves; vision and planning are indispensable for success. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo, was a foremost leader in Africa. In the First Republic, he agreed to be the ceremonial President, while Tafawa Balewa, a northerner, got the Prime Minister position, which was where the real power reposed. In the Second Republic, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, another Igbo, agreed to be the Vice President to Alhaji Shehu Shagari from the North.

    Where were the Ohanaeze Ndigbo (the Igbo leadership council), when Chief Obafemi Awolowo offered to support Azikiwe to become President in 1979, instead of Shagari? And why did the Igbo leaders abandon their Arewa friends when it mattered most in 2011? It was because Jonathan’s middle name is Azikiwe, and he made the Igbo leaders happy in several ways, including juicy appointments to Igbo citizens, women in particular.

    If the North-west were allowaed to serve its eight years, as the South-west was allowed to do, it would be naturally absurd for the North to aspire to be President again in2015. Reasonable Nigerians and the international community would have been at a loss why the North would want to cheat the South on the topmost leadership position. Is that not the reason no serious Yoruba has aspired to be President since General Olusegun Obasanjo spent eight straight years as Nigeria’s President? But the Igbo leaders chose to support their Azikiwe. Fine, eat your cake and have it.

    Igbo leaders should go for a systematic plan and sustainable political vision that would eliminate marginalization of any zone and ethnic nationality in Nigeria. Survival of the fittest, arbitrary seizing of power and opportunism cannot stabilize Nigeria; only a considerate resolution of power devolution can do that. Well-meaning Igbo leaders should team-up with the opposition political parties to enthrone General Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, to serve a single term. That will complete the second term of the North-west.

    After that, the coast will be clear for the South-east zone to produce the next President, since Jonathan (from the South-south) has spent eight straight years in the presidency, as Vice President/President (2007-2011), and as President (2011-2015).

    Jonathan represents the cabal that will never allow the petroleum refineries to function; are the Igbo and South-south leaders concerned about that? The Yoruba Council of Elders and the Arewa Consultative Forum are not concerned either. The bodies have compromised, but some opposition political parties have not compromised. So, support the latter, towards a genuine transformation of Nigeria, end to mass misery and insecurity.

    • Pius Oyeniran Abioje, Ph. D,

    University of Ilorin.

     

  • Fayemi; better by miles

    Fayemi; better by miles

    SIR: I have watched with keen interest the tension being caused by agitation for zoning of the governorship seat among the various factions of the Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    While one of the factions is insisting that it is the turn of Ekiti South senatorial district to produce the party’s governorship candidate, another faction is agitating for Ekiti Central which has produced two civilian governors in the recent past. Another faction is also maintaining that the party’s governorship ticket be thrown open among the three senatorial districts whether North, Central or South.

    But I see these agitations as needless because the PDP governments rigged into the Government House through the instrumentality of the federal might shamelessly failed the people.

    The PDP regimes left a huge mess of monumental looting of treasury, corruption, bloodletting, violence, state-sponsored terrorism, indebtedness, abandoned projects, mortgaging of our patrimony, policy somersaults, among others.

    The Alliance for Democracy (AD)-led government of Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo which was the last progressive-oriented government laid a foundation for the development of the state which the succeeding PDP regimes failed to build upon. It was this government that acquired and established revenue-yielding assets like the Oju Olobun property in Lagos, Ekiti House which still stands out as one of the best states liaison offices in Abuja, the Fountain Hotel which was converted to Governor’s Office by Fayose, the bottling of Ikogosi Warm Spring water, Ekiti Kete Mass Transit company etc.

    The present Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)-led government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has in less than two years proved to the people of the state that good governance we have been deprived of in the past is possible in our dear state.

    Who would have believed that giving laptops to teachers and students in public schools could be a possibility in a state like Ekiti? Nobody expected that aged people above 65 years would be receiving monthly stipends of N5,000, the first of its kind anywhere in Nigeria. Major roads in Ado-Ekiti and other parts of the state which were abandoned by the PDP regimes are now wearing a new look.

    The long neglected Ikogosi Warm Spring has been developed into an international standard before our very eyes while moves are on to develop other tourist sites in the state. Fayemi, in less than two years, has restored the dignity of Ekiti person and has made Ekiti a reference point to other states of the federation through well thought-out and clearly defined policies.

    He has commissioned electrification projects of Ootunja, Ilemeso and Ijan within 15 months of his ascension to power while 120 transformers were procured and distributed to various communities in the state. Under Fayemi’s watch, over 30,000 youths have been taken off the streets under various job creation schemes while Free Health Mission and Free Health programmes have touched the lives of about 400,000 people.

    PDP should perish the thought of coming back to power in Ekiti. We don’t want a return to the bad old days of the PDP when Ekiti was known for everything bad under the sun.

     

    • Engr. Ola Mike (mnse),

    Ado-Ekiti

     

  • A good one from Senegal

    A good one from Senegal

    SIR: The news of the abolition of the Senegalese senate in order to help victims of recent floods that left 13 people dead and thousands homeless in the country is an inspiring story. Although some quarters view the move as a ploy to weaken opposition in the country, what we know is that $15million to be saved from the move is a whole lot to better the lives of the flood victims as well as set up measures to reduce the impact of such disasters in the future.

    Unfortunately, Nigeria, a country though rich yet poor has been experiencing massive flooding and erosion across its states. Yet little or nothing has been done to help victims of such disasters and also prevent losses resulting from such unannounced natural phenomenon. Rather government and policy makers have continually continued to pay lip service to germane issues that affect Nigerians.

    Why can’t we learn good lessons from our African brothers like Senegal-that government exists for the people, to guarantee and provide the fundamentals of life? When will our leaders understand that leadership and indeed governance comes with sacrifices and commitments towards a well-sustained society?

    Undoubtedly, development cannot be experienced until people, either leaders or followers, learn to be selfless, dedicated and responsible towards the noble cause of nation building.

    • Tayo Elegbede Jet

    Lagos

     

  • A sleeping giant at 52

    A sleeping giant at 52

    SIR: Can a man be a toddler at 52? This was the question that confronted Nigerians as the nation marked 52 years of independence on Monday. Though this is the longest run of civil rule since the enthronement of democratic rule in May 1999, many ills still bedevil the sleeping giant of Africa 13 years on.

    With an inept leadership, Nigeria, the seventh largest oil-producing nation in the world, massive corruption, insecurity, poor infrastructure, a dilapidating education and health system, have combined to leave Nigerians seeking redemption from their self-inflicted woes through several unorthodox means.

    Nigeria has seen over 30 years of military regimes and a total of 21 years of civilian administrations. And while a total of eight soldiers had ruled the country, civilian administrations had produced only six leaders. Interestingly, while the military rulers-General Aguiyi-Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon, Muritala Muhammad, Olusegun Obansanjo, Muhammad Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Sanni Abacha and Abdul Salam Abubakar-were believed not have impacted much on the growth of the country, Nigerians have not ceased to bemoan the reality of their faring badly under democratic administrations. But for brief glimpses of hope demonstrated in the short-lived first republic manned mostly by nationalist figures, neither the administrations of Alhaji Shehu Shagari from 1979 to 1983, nor the eight years of Obasanjo as president brought progress and positive change to the country. The four years of President Umaru Yar’Adua was marked by its slow pace. The incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s one year plus in the saddle holds no promise of improvement, with Boko Haram in North causing untimely death to many Nigerians.

    It has been canvassed over time that the problem of the nation lies in bad leadership. With the exception of Nigeria’s first generation leaders in the class of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahamdu Bello and their band of independence fighters, nearly all that had subsequently held leadership positions, especially in the political realm, had been found wanting.

    There must be electoral reform in other to usher in stability in the polity. Economic development cannot be divorced from political stability. Nigerians must be allowed to choose their leaders. Nigerian leaders are being imposed on electorate. Government and National Assembly must have to partner to ensure that electoral reform works.

     

    • Ademola Orunbon

    suz.breeze@gmail.com