The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Buhari’s ministers

    AFTER much expectations, President Muhammad Buhari has finally released the names  of men and women he hopes would work with him in the federal cabinet. On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed the first batch of 18 ministers. And as would be expected, the names have continued to elicit various dimensions of comments from several Nigerians, sometimes depending on political and or ideological orientation.

    At this time, Nigerians must appreciate the deliberate decision by the President to delay the announcement of the names as was the practice in previous administrations. By doing so he had been able to create an atmosphere of calmness among the political class in his party such that those who might have had great expectations of being named as ministers have most probably given up on the idea to hook up with other programmes for their personal development. As such there is likely to be less antagonism from among the president’s party men against the nominees although as in all things political, politicians would still make some noise to register their feelings with the appointing authorities.

    One thing that is clear that the president has assembled a team we can conveniently refer to as the team of hope; hope for the restoration of the lost glory of this nation, hope for the economic well-being of our country and hope for the reformation of the moral integrity of the country.

    I say this because the nominees are mostly men and women of sound integrity; they are people whose qualifications for being in the federal cabinet cannot be questioned because in previous assignments, either at their state levels or at national platforms, they had demonstrated strong character and accomplishment that every Nigerian who sincerely seeks our genuine transformation, would want them to replicate again or at the national level.

    Take for instance, Babatunde Raji Fashola, the man whose accomplishments as governor of Lagos State became the reference point for others. He brought sanity back to Lagos; he transformed the moral fabric of the bustling commercial city and instilled discipline without being brutal on the citizenry. Under him you would obey the law and under him you would gladly pay your tax because you knew it was going to be utilised appropriately. Who wouldn’t want a replication of such a feat at the national level? Love him or hate him, BRF is not only a SAN with a sound mind but an accomplished governor.

    Or take the man with the lion heart; I refer here to Rotimi Amaechi, erstwhile governor of Rivers State and Director General of the Buhari campaign organisation. This is a man of very strong character and discipline. This is a man who can tell the truth to power not minding what your feelings might be. He is a great nationalist and visionary who for the sake of the greatness of this country abandoned his own kinsman to support a ‘stranger from the north’. He literally laid down his life for the Buhari campaign to succeed. Such men are needed in the federal executive council, not just because they are not given to ethnic chauvinism or retrogressive primordial sentiments but because they believe in the project Nigeria.

    Another one is Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the one man riot squad whose leadership of the publicity unit of the APC was a fiery thorn in the flesh of the last administration. He would not miss an opportunity to challenge the impunity that was the order of the day in the previous government. He popularised the APC and by dint of several publicity strategies, made the party the authentic voice of Nigerians cutting across demographic platforms. We need men of such accomplishment to guide the development of a robust policy in the federal cabinet in whatever ministry the president might deem it fit to appoint him. Lai Muhammed represented not only the opposition voice, but the conscience of a few Nigerians.

    What of Dr. Chris Ngige? He is eminently qualified, having been governor and senator. Like Amaechi, Ngige is also a rugged fighter from the east of Nigeria. He is a no man’s man just like President Buhari himself. He has confronted powerful forces among his people and maintained his ground on fairness, justice and integrity to the admiration of Nigerians from all walks of life. A man of his pedigree has a well deserved seat on the cabinet, if we are desirous of the change the government has promised to evolve.

    Each of these men as well as the others I have not spoken about are the kind of people we need in this country today to become the face of Nigerians.  With the overall leadership to be provided by President Buhari who even in the absence of ministers has made some milestone achievements in the country, and an independent and resourceful National Assembly as we now have, it is guaranteed that given time and the support of every Nigerian, this team will take us to the Promised Land.

    The only caution is for the nominees to ensure that the president’s confidence in them, which made him sideline party organs to pick them against the norms and earlier expectations, is not defeated. The nominees must remember that yes, they are the president’s men, but they are in the cabinet to work to move Nigeria forward and not to create problem for the administration. They must not use the privilege of their coming on board without the input of the political structures in their states to create instability in such environments because that will not only be against the interest of their prospective principal, it may also sound the death knell for the party that has given them the platform to emerge as ministers.

    Their response to the factors behind their emergence must be to create more opportunities for Nigerians to see the good of their party and the commitment of their government to bringing about a positive change, indeed, into Nigeria.

    May God help them to achieve this, individually and severally.

  • Ayade, future beckons for Cross Riverians

    Even before throwing his hat into the ring to vie for the office of governor, Professor Senator Ben Ayade had long cast a long gaze into the horizon trying to envision the new Cross River State of his dream. That is to create a socially stable, economically rewarding, business friendly environment that will galvanize both locals and foreigners to seek wealth creating opportunities in the state.

    To be part of that dream and vision, he has stridently been calling for a concerted effort of his fellow citizens of Cross River State- to lift their eyes beyond the skyline of the present challenges and visualize a state where there is a place and hope for everyone; a state where there will be jobs for the youths and prosperity for the working class.

    From the inception of his administration also, governor Ayade had set his mind on staying focused on ensuring that not only the middle class was resurrected but also given the needed oxygen to find anchor for their roots; just as he was determined to guarantee that every Cross Riverian found independence and pride for his work.

    For a man whose growing up had a rich narrative in lack and poverty, a man, who as a child, wore poverty like a garment, Governor Ayade was poised from the outset to guaranteeing that the wages of honest labour shall not only liberate families from the jaws of hardship, but that no child goes to bed in an empty stomach.

    As part of catalyzing and crystalizing this manifest destiny, Governor Ayade has had his leg firmly stamped on the pedal with a view to harnessing new ideas and technology geared towards reconstructing and repositioning the state to its rightful place as the fastest growing in the country.

    But in arriving at his goals destination, he was equally desirous of striking a delicate balance, or harmony, if you like between proving infrastructure and building capacity.

    While it is imperative to chart a new course into the oasis of creativity and navigate a fresh path to greatness, Governor Ayade is not unmindful of the fact that in doing so, the human resource also constitutes the fulcrum or building block to sustainable development. He needed to reenergize the workforce in order to restore confidence in the civil service which has remained largely the brainbox of administration.

    It was this creative thinking that actuated his declaration to promptly pay salaries of civil servants, insisting that a labourer deserves his wages.

    Barely five months captaining the ship of the state, he has not only hit the ground running, but has progressively been steering the ship in the right course with howling mileage gained so far in this voyage.

    As a leader known for walking his talk and matching his words with action, Ayade did not just stop at lamenting the plight of the state civil servants but making sure that the winter of despondency that almost held them captive owing to delayed salaries quickly gave way to renewed dignity of labour they were hitherto accustomed to.

    It is no longer news that while most states in the country are literally asphyxiating under the pangs of unpaid salaries, Governor Ayade has not only ensured that salaries are paid promptly, but as early as between 25th and 26th of every month. Specifically, in making sure that civil servants celebrated the last Sallah with their Moslem brothers and sisters in the state, September salary was indeed paid on the 23rd.

    Today, the challenge in the state is not whether salaries are being paid promptly, but rather, it is the complaint from civil servants themselves that it is coming too early in the month. Indeed, the practice has endeared him to civil servants with him being seen as a portrait of a responsive and responsible leader.

    In absolute fidelity to his words that the wages of honest labour shall liberate families from the clutches of hardship and hunger, Governor Ayade, barely two months in office passed into law tax exemptions for state workers earning below N30,000 a month as well as the exemption of levies for artisans, petty traders operating in the state.

    While this gesture has roundly been applauded and commended as governance with a human face, the real import of the concession is that it has allowed this category of workers in the state with more disposable income to play with and by implication, leading to more empowerment for the people.

    In a bid to expand opportunities, energize the already shrinking state’s civil service workforce, as well as chase the wolves out of the doors of many of the citizenry, the governor, after a careful consultation and deliberation with the various stakeholders in the state, took what could be described as an uncommon initiative to lift the 23-year-old embargo on employment into the state civil service.

    With the gulf between the haves and the have-not ever widening, and determined to narrow this socio-economic divide, Ayade, upon his assumption of office, promised to weigh in by creating more opportunities, especially for the women folk in the state. It was this compassion for the poor that informed his need for the establishment of a garment factory in Calabar.

    Though recruitment into the factory has since been completed, with the equipment already shipped into the state, the actual deadline for the completion of the plant itself has, however, been hampered by a chain of logistics and inclement weather. It is nonetheless expected to come into full operation sometime this year. Upon completion, about 1000 women, mostly widows would be actively engaged in the clothing plant.

    Similarly, as an environmentalist himself, the governor has embarked on a number of measures aimed at protecting and preserving the state’s biodiversity. In this regard, a special marshal code named the Green Police, comprising 1500 young men and women has been set up. Besides protecting the rich rain forest, the effort is an added stimulus geared towards addressing the army of unemployed youths in the state.

    In the administration’s quest to create a just and equitable society, and to provide for the very poor and indigent in the state, Governor Ayade recently signed into law a housing bill, under the state’s social housing programme, which seeks to make housing in the state a right.

    And following his preliminary discussions with Irish property investors, Affordable Modular Homes Limited sometime in August for a 5000 modular housing units, the effort has so far culminated in the signing of a US$4 million memorandum of understanding for the construction of affordable houses to be spread across the three senatorial zones of the state. Apart from drastically reducing the housing need in the state, the scheme, when completed, will exponentially increase the number of house owners and consequently drive down the cost of accommodation across the state.

    All of these initiatives, Governor Ayade reasoned, are geared towards recalibrating the social inequality that has for long plagued the citizenry.

    Following immediately on the heels of this historic housing law was the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cavenco of Spain for the establishment of an automated poultry and dairy plant with capacity for 100,000 birds per day.

    In the same vein, the administration equally wrapped up a deal for a three megawatt power plant with Skipper of India to expand the power infrastructure in the state.

    To effectively ramp up development, Governor Ayade has created 27 Special Purpose Vehicle (SPVs) among which are Cross River Tourism Limited, Cross River State Diaspora Trust Funross River State Forestry Trust, Cross River State Petroleum Company Limited (PETROCROSS), Cross River State ICT Company Ltd., Cross River State Marine Company Ltd., Cross River State Cocoa Company Ltd., Cross River State Rice Company Ltd., Cross River State Banana Company Ltd., and Cross River State Maize Company Ltd.

    And despite the pall of cynicism regarding his two signature projects, the 260 kilometre dual carriage super-highway and Calabar deep seaport, the governor has remained passionate and unrelenting, vowing to give his arm and his leg, if that becomes necessary to actualize the project.

    As part of oxygenated plan of action to catalyze the projects, a 500 million Euros funding has since been secured from his European counterparts for the two projects, just as core investors from Abu Dhabi on the superhighway has also been sourced.

    With President Muhammed Buhari expected to visit to formally perform the groundbreaking ceremony, Governor Ayade has demonstrated an uncanny resolve, the I-can-do-it spirit and the zest never to give up on what he believes holds the future for his people. Obviously, there is no turning back on his dream project, a project that is bound to redefine the socio-economic landscape of Cross River in a few years from now.

    Given the fecundity of his ideas, the intensity of his vision and the bullishness of his thought, there is no gainsaying that in this young ebullient and dynamic governor, the future indeed, beckons for the people of Cross River State.

    • Offiong wrote in from Calabar

  • Ambode and senior citizens

    In a short spell, the Lagos State Governor AkinwunmiAmbode has developed a distinct public persona. Far from hugging the headlines, he walks the talk by implementing policies within the nexus of the social contract which guides the relationships between the government and those who put them into office. A key interpretation of the social contract here is of course the protection of rights. A good example of the protection of rights is the recent release of N11 billion to pay off the pension liabilities to our deserving senior citizens which have been in arrears since 2010 to date.

    Recently, the Head Of Service, Folashade Jaji said the state governor had directed that the sum should be used to pay the pension liabilities of the Lagos State Government mainstream retirees as well as the retirees in local governments.

    Discharging the obligations of the state government to its senior citizens has to be put in a framework. For as callous as it sounds, the government of Lagos State actually had a get-out clause through which it could have dodged its obligations. Lagos State has not benefitted from the ‘bailout’ and could have used this fact as an excuse. On the contrary, in a lot of states, the headline has centred around the issue of unions, senior citizens and the populace issuing ultimatums to the state governments about their pension arrears. It is really quite commendable for this reason to see Lagos State swimming against the tide in a sea of despair.

    And sadly it has been a sea of despair in most of the states. One does not have to try that hard to find an excuse for the non-discharge of obligations within Nigeria’s skewed “quasi-federalism” whereby the state governments are fiscally constricted. Deciding not to use this excuse, Ambode on the contrary, has decided in a brutal fiscal climate to clear the obligations to the senior citizens. Paying of eleven or two billion naira here is therefore not meant to just grab the headlines.

    It is part of a clear strategy to discharge the obligations to the senior citizens by paying the pension liabilities of Lagos State government mainstream retirees and the retirees in local government areas. Ambode’s intervention in clearing the backlog is commendable. This is because Nigeria has no real social safety nets and the hitherto entrenched community of helpers through the extended family network has broken down.

    Senior citizens as pensioners in reality constitute a vulnerable strata that can easily slip into absolute poverty without government intervention. A key index here is that they spend much of their money on food and are therefore highly susceptible to a rise in food prices. This is why the Ambode intervention has a direct bearing on the larger economic picture.

    Headline-hugging cannot replace a clear strategy, as Mrs Jaji very sensibly pointed out: “The development is part of efforts put in place by the present administration to find a holistic solution to the issue of payment of pension entitlements to retirees under the pay-as-you-go pension scheme which was discontinued in April 2007, as well as outstanding accrued pension rights due to retirees under the contributory pension scheme.” This is a component of a short or immediate term plan for pension payments to ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals, including local government areas and SUBEB which will be made monthly commencing from August 2016.

    To further walk the talk, Jaji was emphatic that the efforts being made by the Lagos State government were the outcome of painstaking deliberations by the public service pensions office, the Lagos State Pensions Commission, the Head of Service and the governor to “reduce, if not totally clear” the outstanding liabilities due to retirees of the Lagos State public sector.

    Once again emphasis was placed on Governor Ambode’s determination to ensure that entitlements are promptly paid to all those who had retired from the service. The Head of Service revealed that the governor has also promised that the retirees will henceforth enjoy free health services in all state hospitals as arrangements to provide them with retirees identification cards for presentation at the hospitals. A key factor here is that the Lagos State government obviously believes that the pensioners should be accorded their due respect by the pension fund administrators and annuity service providers as the money being paid to them is their right not a privilege. It is worth reiterating that a total number of 676 retirees collected their bond certificates worth a total sum of 2.4 billion naira last month. This shows that the Ambode government believes that a social safety net has to be constructed for senior citizens.

    Governor Ambode can begin to construct very much needed social safety nets because he has anchored his economic template on fiscal rectitude and restructuring the cost of the machinery of government which has already admirably led to cost savings of N3 billion a month. We expect to see more in this direction whereby cost savings from waste, inefficiency and duplication are redirected towards the building of infrastructure and the construction of social safety nets. This is vitally needed in a burgeoning mega metropolis.

    What Ambode is doing is very much within the progressive tradition. The progressive position in Nigeria has since the 1950’s had a central thrust, which is to attain macro- economic stability as the pathway to social justice. This school of thought is credited with the tremendous social advances made particularly in the western region in that era. This is important, for we have since become so fixated on “growth without development” that we have moved away from the central tenancy of government in a democracy which is operated within a social contract.

    Governor Ambode is clearly re-balancing this, starting with catering to the needs of our senior citizens. The treatment of the senior citizens as a former United States of America Vice President Hubert Humphrey once observed accurately mirrors the level of civilisation of a society. We must therefore thank Governor Ambode for his civilising mission and urge others to follow suit.

    Government can only call upon the citizens to do its own part when it is demonstrably carrying out its own part of the bargain. Ambode is unambiguously doing this by discharging his obligations to the senior citizens in a civilised way which ensures that they will live their retirement with dignity, in security and contentment. In return there is a gain to the government, which means in large measure that the public service will be reinvigorated. There will be greater commitment in the full knowledge that they will not be abandoned in their old age. The rest of society will also know that they are dealing with a caring government. It is a win/win situation.

     

    • Badmus, an economist lives in Gbagada, Lagos

  • We are in extraordinary time

    As we are all aware, a financial tsunami swept through the federation, beginning from July 2013 and ravaged the entire country until the exit of that anti-people ancien regime. This crippled the finances of the states and the Federal Government, making the payment of even salaries very difficult. What many do not realise was that the governmental system of the whole country was under mortal threat, and not only Osun. It might interest us to know that the government of Goodluck Jonathan, according to his Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had to borrow N476 billion from commercial banks to be able to pay salaries in the last four months of the administration.

    Thank God for His mercies. If God had not heard our prayers and came to our rescue with the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, the entire Nigerian government at all levels was dangerously racing towards bankruptcy. This should not surprise anyone. The then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (now the Emir of Kano) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had alleged that over $40 billion oil sales was not remitted into the Federation Accounts. That was when oil was selling for over $100 per barrel. This tragedy was compounded with the eventual fall in oil price to circa $40. We now know where the money went.

    But our predicament began in July 2013 when our Statutory Allocation from the Federation Accounts took a nosedive from N4.6 billion to N2.6 billion. Before then, the monthly expenditure we inherited was N1.4 billion salaries and N200 million pensions, making a total of N1.6 billion every month. However, with 100 per cent increase in minimum wage, relativity and addition of 8,500 retirees to the pensions roll at the state and local government, our monthly emoluments rose to N3.6 billion, including a monthly pension bill of N520 million. Our finances therefore took a jolt when our statutory allocation fell in 2013 and continued in a freefall which got to the nadir of N466 million in April this year.

    The change in government gave us a reprieve, with the magical disappearance of oil money being gradually stemmed and a small lift in oil price, making it to hover around $45; our monthly allocation has steadied around N2.2 billion. The President has also graciously arranged a bailout of N34.9 billion for us. Although this has helped us to be able to pay salaries up to July this year, it is a far cry from the N88 billion we demanded. That amount would have enabled us to offset all outstanding indebtedness on emoluments and other obligations.

    We have opened all our books; we have been honest and transparent on our financial status and we have not held anything back. We have run an open government. Nevertheless, I want you all to know that in spite of the reprieve we got, we are not yet out of the woods. The challenges ahead are still enormous. By this I do not mean our obligations on salaries and pensions; that will be a small-minded understanding of government. For the government to function effectively, it must not just pay salaries, it must also empower the workers to do their work (which is the overhead cost) and more importantly, it must constantly be conscious that its raison d’etre is the delivery of public good through the provision of social services; and it is for this reason that workers are hired in the first place.

    When we therefore look at the responsibility of government through this whole gamut, we must rise beyond the sterile debate of reducing government finances to just paying salaries.

    In light of this, it must be clear that we are in a tough time. Even then, as Robert Schuler once wrote, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do’. The time calls for toughness on our part. We must look critically at the next 24 months, steer the ship of state through this stormy weather and land at a safe harbour.

    On the part of our workers, we must be prepared for a more efficient service rendering. We must change the attitude from government job being seen as social security to a profitable venture; not venture for financial gain but business for social service. We must be business minded. The positive impact of every agency of government must be felt in its own area of assignment and responsibility. In education, your products must be found to be worthy in learning and character. In healthcare, your work must be reflected in a healthy citizenry. In agriculture, it must be in undisputable food security and banishment of hunger. There must be real works to show for public works. The time has come for us to start measuring performance.

    We must also do away with a bloated workforce, eliminate laziness and redundancy, block all avenues for embezzlement and leakages and make government work.

    We are entering into a period of adjustment, where we must get much from little and achieve more with less. We must rise to the challenge of the time. It is a call to duty and a clarion call to action. If we are not prepared for the challenge, we are going to be worse off than we are now in two years. But God forbid!

    From all of us, we must recognise and reconcile to the need to pay our tax. Paying tax is the first obligation of citizens to the government. I have been making the point long before we had the financial challenge that every government must be run from the tax generated from the people. From our own taxes, we should be able to pay salaries, run government and develop the state. The allocation we receive from Abuja should be a sort of legacy fund tied to specific legacy projects. There is nowhere in the world where government is successfully run without the citizens paying tax regularly and responsibly.

    We are calling also on the Diaspora to join hands in the development of our state. They can be part of our efforts at education, through the soon to be established Education Trust Fund. In spite of our efforts, there are a lot still to be done in education, in order to secure the future of our children and create a well-informed society.

     

    • Excerpts of speech delivered by the Governor of Osun at the inauguration of the Hassan Sunmonu-led Standing Committee of Labour/Government in Osogbo on Friday, October 9.

  • Omatseye Vs Kalu: I de laugh o!

    The altercation between ace columnist, Sam Omatseye and frontline politician, business mogul cum newspaper publisher, Orji Uzor Kalu, finally brought to the fore one issue which many observers have been talking about in subdued tones, despite its devastating effects on both the journalism profession and the polity. For some of us, it is a welcome development since by it, both the country and the media trade may become saved by the growing impunity in the latter, wherein so-called newspaper publishers have turned newsrooms and their editors into instruments for political warfare.

    It is a trend which many men of the pen profession have themselves complained about but in hushed tones, in what appears like an amazing connivance. Now that prominent figures in the media are becoming victims, there is hope that we may be getting to the end of this ugly state of affairs.

    Omatseye in what appeared as an addendum to his Monday weekly column in The Nation of Monday, October 12, alluded to Kalu’s FIFA president project, wherein he opined that the former Governor of Abia State is not qualified to vie for that position. Omatseye, who wrote under the title, “Kalu for FIFA President”, also seized that opportunity to query Kalu for encouraging a certain news report in a newspaper published by him last Saturday, October 10, that appeared to have put Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in bad light.

    The propriety or otherwise of Omatseye’s column is not the concern of this article even though I am aware that he is not the first Nigerian to hold that view. But in coming up with his own position on the matter, Omatseye gave reasons why he holds it: He feels that Kalu is not cerebral enough to hold such a position. On the story on Tinubu in the newspaper published by Kalu, Omatseye opined that “publishers like him make editors look unprofessional”. We shall return to that but let me hasten to add that many Nigerians are by this quarrel knowing for the first time that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the owner of The Nation. Minus media practitioners, themselves, especially in the Lagos – Abuja axis, and some politicians, especially those playing at the national level, majority of Nigerians do not link Tinubu with The Nation. The reason is simply because Tinubu’s imprimatur is not as noticeable on The Nation as Kalu’s is on his own newspaper(s).

    Unlike Tinubu and The Nation, Nigerians are unmistaken that Kalu is the “publisher” of the The Sun titles because both he and the handlers of the titles flaunt it. That is not a bad idea on its own but  we can now see the other side of it; which is that while Omatseye, in the instant case, had no hesitation in accusing  Kalu of collaborating with his editors to do “unprofessional” things, it is hard to conversely accuse Tinubu and his editors in The Nation in like manner.

    It is no longer new that many Nigerians believe that Kalu uses the newspaper(s) he publishes to fight his political battles. While some are quite obvious, like in his fight with the immediate past governor of Abia state,  Senator  T.A Orji, many Nigerians tend to dismiss otherwise constructive opinion articles written by even brilliant staffers of the stable as the views of Orji Uzor Kalu. I am aware that among the small fraction of Nigerians who know of Tinubu’s involvement with The Nation, there is the general belief that the newspaper tends to tilt towards Tinubu’s political interest, but there have been no brazen cases of its columnists consistently and persistently attacking one or two individuals as Kalu’s newspaper does on, for example (again), Senator Orji. Even smaller fellows like this writer who had the guts to say that Kalu and his columnists were overdoing it had our bodies ripped open and our entrails thrown to the dogs to devour.

    Perhaps readers would remember the ordeals I suffered in the hands of one of the columnists in one of Kalu’s newspapers recently. My offence was for saying that the house columnists in the stable should put a line between journalism and sympathy for the political battles of their boss.

    Another in-house columnist continued from where the first stopped to “finish” me: He wrote about my “pretensions on intellect”. When I called the fellow, a damn good fellow nonetheless, he said, “You are making things difficult for us here”.

    Thus, when the following day after Omatseye’s column, Kalu’s boys fired back at him, the reaction from many quarters was “see who is talking”. In a front page second lead story, the Daily Sun of Tuesday October 13, drew the attention of its readers to Kalu’s response to Omatseye thus: “You Goofed On Kalu – Ex Abia Governor’s Media Team Replies The Nation Columnist”. The newspaper then took the report to page 7 under the caption, “Call Omatseye to order, Kalu tells Tinubu”.

    The story was the reported version of a full press statement titled, “Omatseye’s Rabid Goof On Kalu” and signed by one Kunle Oyewunmi on behalf of “Orji Uzor Kalu Media Team”. As expected, the so-called Kalu’s media team used unprintable (printable only in The Sun newspapers) on Omatseye. But what struck me most is the ending paragraph: “we implore Tinubu to call Omatseye and his ilk in The Nation to order lest we ignite a conflagration that cannot be extinguished. Omatseye is not even in a position to clean Kalu’s shoes… a common mercenary like Omatseye should have a modicum of respect in his deviancy for a man that is greater than him in all ramifications of life except, perhaps, commercial poetry and media gangsterism”!

    Witness the hyperboles: One, “a conflagration that cannot be extinguished” and, two, “Omatseye is not even in a position to clean Kalu’s shoes… Witness also the overt threat and the pedestrian allusion to “shoe shinning”. I am not deceived: the so called media team is made up of staffers of Kalu’s newspapers. So, have things become that bad for the Nigerian media that one section of it is threatening a “conflagration” and indeed one that “cannot be extinguished”? Is Nigeria going to be set ablaze by the same journalists who fought for the return of democracy because of the freedom afforded it by the same democracy? Differently put, is this where the desperation to use Kalu’s newspapers to fight his political opponents has led the Nigerian media to? Some of us saw it coming and for daring to say it, we were taken to the cleaners because we have no medium to reply the acerbic by Kalu’s boys.

    I do not necessarily feel vindicated but I know the ugly implications of the threat. This is perhaps the first time in our clime that a section of the media is openly posing such a threat to another section. But perhaps more worrisome to me as a friend and admirer of Kalu is the allusion to shoe shinning and the “greater than him” theory. It is too pedestrian to come from a “media team”. Kalu does not need that type of comparison to be made between him and any fellow. To be fair to him, it is hard to agree that he sanctioned the story my friend, Omatseye, referred to. But given his posturing and body language, Nigerians are tempted to believe anything.

    In my active days in the newsrooms, our colleagues from the other parts of the country knew me as a rabid defender of “Igbo big men”. I still do. Let Kalu not allow the wonderful achievement he made by establishing two newspapers, one of which is among the most widely read in the country today, turn out to be his undoing.

  • Still on the irrelevance of Peace Committee after peaceful elections

    Time and again, Rev. Chris Okotie’s articles have drawn scathing criticisms from those who either misunderstand his engagements in topical discourses or those who are just disagreeable, holding polarised views which always seem to be at variance with his faith. This is obvious from various reactions to his media commentaries which appear in both mainstream and social media platforms.

    So it was with his well thought out interjection, and recent, widely published article, Why Peace Committee Must Disband Now, which questioned the logic behind the ‘Peace Committee’s’ visit to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. It drew mixed reactions from readers on the internet, several of which were typically scathing, though, characteristically, it was devoid of any untoward inferences. Neither did its content depart from the general mood of the nation on the topic, yet, it was another opportunity for them to derogate him.

    Some, for no cogent rhyme or reason, prefer to disagree with his opinion; irrespective of what it is. Others think he relinquished his right to speak as a Nigerian simply because he is a professing minister of the gospel. For some, they conclude that because of his antecedents in the entertainment industry, he does not qualify to be deemed a minister of the gospel.

    The list, though lacking any ideological standpoint, is endless, but one common denominator is obvious from them all: they never address the issues his articles draw attention to; rather they dance in the periphery with accusative verbosities.

    The article argues that the relevance of a Peace Committee for good electoral conduct has expired, seeing the elections have come and gone and normalcy has returned to the polity. Today, aside of the Boko Haram threat, there’s nothing on the political front for them to meet with Mr. President about, and as such pre-empting the President under the guise of advising him smirks of surreptitious intents.

    In the pastor-politician’s words, the discordant tunes coming from some members of the National Peace Committee are “lisping accents of jejune political naivety”. He said; “One is, therefore, disappointed by the discordant tunes coming from some members of the National Peace Committee, … Bishop Kukah… appealed to President Buhari “to be fair” in his handling of the probe… To my sanctified mind, this is not only imaginary but approaches the periphery of phantasmagoria… A mitigation plea by this Committee is not only premature, but uncalled for.”

    When men rise to a place of visibility and prominence, it is expected that they use their influence and access to the corridors of power to present the yearnings of the people to the ears of leadership. But, unfortunately, that is not always the case, as personal agenda oftentimes clouds the thinking of such men. A cleaning-out of the Augean stables of our economic and political muddle, which have hobbled our nation for decades on end, is the clarion call by most Nigerians who have been at the receiving end of the negative fallouts of bad governance.

    Justice first, not leniency, should be the counsel to government now, otherwise, corruption, which has become an endemic pandemia in our nation will only get a new lease of life. Leniency or pardon can only become considerations when the claims of justice have been met, and the wrongs meted out by those who should be custodians of the national legislative writ and patrimony have been righted.

    The tales of salaries and pensions being owed, lives that have been lost, families and wrecked businesses, and shattered dreams that have become the morning song of these human receptacles of the wrong end of leadership continues to call for a just rectification of the systemic failures which makes their protections under the constitution a vanishing dream. So to ask for leniency without first defining guilty is to seek to vitiate the laws that should protect society. That is the problem with the Committees counsel to Mr. President.

    Mr. President’s antecedents do not betray him as one who would overstep his brief as Commander-in-Chief, neither has he shown himself to be a leader who will infringe on or influence the duties of the judiciary and its agencies in their battle against corruption and the pursuit of forensic transparency in the economy. So, does he need to be goaded-on to fairness, because their advice suggests that there may be clandestine plans to witch hunt perceived political enemies and manipulate the law with trumped-up charges and fabricated evidence, all with the intent of finding them guilty even where they are not?

    If they want to metamorphose into a judicial or economic advisory group, then the nation needs to know the exact motive of their existence, rather than use a platform and membership choice that was created for electoral pacification as a dais for judicial advisory services. As is obvious, the blurred line of their ambiguous nomenclature is raising dust and an unnecessary reminder of the ills of crony politicking.

    If anything, the more urgent need now is for non-partisan advisers from the national spectrum, who can help government along on the path of progress: that of course pre-supposes that government is open to honest advice, without assuming it to be an indictment on their capabilities. But that’s a different matter altogether.

    Rev. Okotie and numerous others who hold the view that the Peace Committee should be disbanded is in order because, its name and reputation have been sullied by the renegade, lone wolf comments of Bishop Kukah. Their continued engagement with the government under the Peace Committee garb will only deepen the mistrust of their intents, and create a transparency and fidelity crisis for the incumbent government at the centre, especially with the membership of a key and openly pro-Jonathan apologist on the visiting Committee.

     

    • Adimora wrote in from Lagos

  • Teachers and the society

    Just this Monday, October 5, Nigeria joined its peers all over the world to roll out the drums to celebrate teachers, who to all intents and purpose, constitute the engine room through which society overcome ignorance and disease, conquer poverty and the environment as well as overcome tribalism and extremism among others.

    With the up-beat global celebration of teachers, there can be no better time to x-ray the place and import of teachers in the society than now.

    The questions then arise as to who is a teacher and who is a teacher properly so called?  There are so many definitions/descriptions of a teacher: For example, a parent is a teacher to his children because he inculcates the virtues of morality, discipline, industry, humility and respect for constituted authorities in them. Equally, coaches in different vocations teach their apprentices the nitty-gritty of their trade. This is the same way the clergyman teaches his congregation.

    But then, there are good, average and bad teachers. It is not however everybody that holds a University degree that is ipso facto a good teacher. In the colonial days, teachers were categorized as CD, C, CA and A. Colleges were established for the training of teachers. Nevertheless it may still be said that the first factor in the making of a good teacher is a requisite qualification. This is why there are several academic programs designed towards the production of teachers. Many Universities in Nigeria today offer degree programs in Education while some are out-rightly designated as Universities of Education.

    However the making of a teacher does not and cannot end at mere acquisition of academic degrees: constant training and retraining of teachers must of necessity follow. Teachers must constantly acquaint themselves with modern teaching methods so that they don’t disseminate ignorance and half knowledge to their students, thereby producing a bunch of unemployable graduates. A teacher, after all can only teach what he knows and in a manner in which he knows how best to.

    Haven said this, who then is a teacher properly so called? He/she is that person trained in the art of teaching, especially in the art of imparting knowledge in students in different schools starting from primary to tertiary institutions. Among those who teach in formal schools today are two categories: those who are gifted, who find teaching interesting and therefore love it and radiate it and those who fortuitously find themselves in teaching because they could not find any other form of employment.

    That brings one to the issue of teachers properly so called: teachers properly so called must have quality education, must be masters of the Subject Matter, must be interested in the art of teaching, not seeing it as means of making ends meet and must also be able to arouse the interest of their students. Other qualities of teachers properly so called are that they must be able to keep students awake during the duration of their class, keep a Register for attendance, prepare their lesson notes in advance and give advance notice of the Subject Matter to enable their students prepare ahead and do some research.

    They must also be timeous in class, must be firm, fair, frank and friendly,  must be able to use modern teaching equipment, including the Interactive Boards and all forms of ICT platforms, must be audible, confident, affectionate and approachable and above all, they must be disciplined.

    As was the practice in those days, they must be well-dressed and clean, keep records of what they do, be original and innovative, be cooperative and collaborative and move with trends as well as give assignments to their students

    It is all these parameters put together that qualify teachers to be described as teachers properly so called and above all, it is only by being teachers so properly called that they will be able to stand in their position to change the face of education in Nigeria, entrench quality and functional education and restore the lost glory of education in Nigeria.

    For this to happen however, the Federal Government must make deliberate efforts to comply with UNESCO’s recommendation of devoting 26% of the country’s yearly budget allocation to education and put teaching under essential services like the Army, Police, Fire Service and Water Corporation and make it a punishable offence for them to go on strike. After all, whenever children are in school, their teachers automatically become in loco parentis. And standing in the position of parents for these children should ordinarily deactivate them from going on strike because no reasonable father/mother goes on strike against his/her own children the same way the shepherd, the clergy, does not abandon his sheep (church) for pecuniary reasons.

     

    • Olofintila wrote from Lagos.

  • To hang or not to hang…

    It was interesting to observe Olisa Metuh and Ebenezer Babatope go at it the other day. No, the national publicity secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and distinguished member of its Board of Trustees (BOT), respectively, did not have a spat on the causes of their party’s recent epic electoral loss.

    And, no, the two PDP chieftains did not argue on whether to come clean on the identities of those who cleaned out Nigeria’s treasury under their party’s watch and misruled the country for close to two decades. If the PDP’s official line is to be believed, all that looting just did not happen; and those making accusations in that regard are only out to give a dead dog a bad name, after hanging it at the polls this past March and April.

    Metuh and Babatope obviously do not believe the PDP is dead. Both, particularly Metuh, are apparently still literally “kicking ass” on its behalf. What the men don’t agree on is whether their party should hang the picture of Nigeria’s current president, Muhammadu Buhari, in the party’s offices, especially its head office located in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja. While Metuh vociferously opposes hanging Buhari’s portrait, Babatope supplied the voice of temperance and moderation, arguing the party should go ahead and adorn its offices with Buhari’s picture.

    Metuh had his explanations for “dissing” Buhari’s portrait. For him President Buhari is not known to his party, nor is he a leader of the PDP. Metuh also charged that the-then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) never displayed the picture of former President Goodluck Jonathan in its offices while Jonathan was in office as head of the PDP government.

    His secondary-school-level penchant for “vengeance” aside, the electoral rout the PDP suffered in the March presidential election does not appear to matter to Metuh. Nor probably Buhari’s subsequent inauguration as Nigeria’s President on May 29. The chief spokesman of Nigeria’s main opposition party obviously still thinks his formerly-ruling PDP is now in the 17th of the 60 years it boasted it would rule Nigeria, like the fresh amputee who believes an affected limb is somehow still in place.

    Babatope clearly had no room for such psychosis. He quickly declared the party’s readiness to hang Buhari’s portrait in its offices, since “…the President represents Nigeria”. As for those out there fretting the PDP not hanging Buhari’s picture somehow put the nation’s fledgling democracy at great and imminent peril, Metuh himself had some soothing words: “We are a political party, very partisan and therefore, we are not going to hide that”.

    This very visible incoherence within the PDP’s ranks about hanging or not hanging a president’s official portrait is quite symptomatic of the low depths of relevance and group identity into which the party has plunged since its recent electoral rout. Nothing reflects the sad reality more than the over-strident attempts by Metuh and certain of his overmatched co-travellers within the PDP to play the role of a shadow government. Or a credible opposition.

    Just recently, as has been its practice since Jonathan left office in May, the PDP through Metuh launched sharp barbs at the economic policies of the present government; in the same breadth, the party engaged in an orgy of chest-beating at its own achievements while in office, conveniently forgetting there was a reason voters overwhelmingly voted for the APC at the polls and not the-then ruling PDP.

    It’s obvious the party that is justifiably no longer in power appears to be doing all it can to “hang” with the current crop of “big boys”, even though it has somehow realized there is no space for it at that prized round table. Psychologists might have a name for this condition on display by the PDP functionaries but it is clearly one beyond a political nomenclature.

    The very public “hanging dilemma” between two top functionaries of the PDP reflects the nether regions of the despair into which the party has fallen. There are yet-encouraging signs the party can be rescued from the depths of such frustration, though. Babatope’s conciliatory tone and remarks, even while it contained broadsides aimed at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), clearly shows the PDP can transcend its bitter and epic electoral hangover, thus preventing its seemingly-inexorable slide into political irrelevance.

    But the PDP will clearly need more than the moderation and level-headedness displayed by the Babatopes within its ranks. Its recent raucous debate on such a simplistic matter as hanging an incumbent president’s portrait clearly goes beyond angst over the pictorial display of a President. It highlights the party’s two-fold existential dilemma: its very public implosion as a cohesive political unit and a pathetic, ongoing and vain struggle for relevance.

    In this respect, then the PDP can be said to be hanging by a thread, especially when viewed through the important metric of political relevance. 

    At the macro level the “hanging debate” also constitutes a metaphor of the PDP’s present affinity for the politics of policy obstructionism. It is now clearly the indignant opposition party that loudly and visibly debates whether to show any respect to the office of the popularly-elected President of the Federal Republic.

    The inescapable sub-plots, surely, include whether to allow the President of Nigeria work on behalf of all citizens without the PDP being obstructionist; whether to allow Buhari’s exertions on behalf of all Nigerians (like his picture) be visible for all to see and appreciate, and whether the PDP should distort such till kingdom come, with an eye to the next electoral cycle.

    For the vast majority of Nigerians traumatized by the recently-ended 16 years of the PDP’s misrule, the party should do all a favour between now and that next electoral cycle: successfully hang itself on the rafters, well before or during those elections.

    Now that’s a “hanging” all can agree on!

    • Soboyede is a public affairs commentator.

     

  • Oil and missed opportunity

    What will Nigeria do in this new world where new forms of energy are in a stiff competition with oil after losing golden opportunities of oil wealth 45 years after the civil war?

    Nigerian political leaders, elected and appointed officials, should first determine the type of economy they want to build. An extractive and a preponderantly informal economy is a non-starter for a country pushing to a population of 200 million. Industrialization should be at the centre of economic plans and policies because its multiplier effects generate gainful employment. Gainful employment for the majority is the single most important measure of economic development. Any governing group which is not able to create the conditions for the emergence and sustainability of gainful employment in the economy has no business being in government. An annual GDP growth rate of immense proportion is of no use if it does not translate into gainful employment.

    Nigeria has been a haphazardly governed country since the end of the civil war. And the degree of haphazard governance increases with the passage of time. The country needs to return to the era of national and state development plans with benchmarks and deadlines in order bring order to governance at national and state levels.  National and regional governments should not turn their backs on the economy thinking that the market will work out itself and take Nigeria to the promised land of economic development. Governments of Nigeria should assume the role of a developmental state.

    The developmental state has existed from the time of the Industrial Revolution to the present day but the miracle economies of East Asia perfected it.  Economic history shows that states have directly and indirectly shepherded national economies across time and space. Late comers to economic development made this a truism from the British industrial revolution through industrialization of the rest of Western Europe to the Meiji Restoration in Japan and the rocket-like speed of the on-going industrialization in China. A few years ago, I saw some Nigerian politicians on a Chinese television marvel like children at the transformation of China within a short period of time. Instead of asserting confidence in what they would do to develop their country, they focused on how they needed help from China.  National development is not procured through help. Instead, leaders of countries hold the bull of development by its horns and construct a better society.  Nigerian political leaders should ask what they themselves, as custodians of national and regional leadership and governance, can do to broaden, deepen and strengthen the private sector so that the latter can help the country to achieve the feat that is now China.

    Bear in mind that the 36 states of the country cannot simultaneously industrialize. Nor is industrialization or economic development of states the sole responsibility of the federal government. Industrialization is often based on regional comparative advantage. Therefore a national industrial policy based on federal character will not work. Each state in concert with other states in a geo-political zone can draw its economic plans according to what it considers its comparative advantage and its chances of success. States and local governments should assume responsibility for their own industrial development while federal government provides the national trajectory and infrastructural support for industrialization.

    Unbridled corruption eats deep into the country’s treasury. Lower oil prices in the future will make the effect of corruption even more painful to ordinary Nigerians because there will be less revenue from which to appropriate national funds for private pockets, and therefore less revenue with which to build the economy. If oil prices fall to the point of implementing a national austerity plan, begin by drastically slashing the extravagant salaries and perquisites of elected and appointed officials at national, regional and local government levels.

    The minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy in the Jonathan administration announced the intention of that government to increase taxes on luxury goods as a means to make up the shortfall in revenue caused by the dip in oil prices. That is a cosmetic policy for a country such as Nigeria. What items will be subject to tax increase – yachts, private jets, luxury cars, exotic drinks and furniture? How many Nigerians possess or regularly import such items into the country and how much tax revenue will they yield to mitigate the shortfall caused by low oil prices?  Deep slashes in the unconscionable emoluments awarded elected and appointed officials who contribute nothing in their positions as the people’s representatives and servants will save more revenue cosmetic increases in tax on luxury items.

    Nigerian political leaders especially should know that leadership does not mean waking up in the morning, eating a rich breakfast, putting on a flamboyant dress, relaxing at the back of a car, be chauffeured into a palatial office and receive a pay check 116 times the gross domestic product per capita. Those are perquisites of office due to incumbents. But enjoying such perquisites demands responsibility and results from incumbents. Results that justify such perquisites do not yet exist.

    It is a waste of national revenue to spend scarce foreign exchange on importing petroleum products while there are domestic refineries that should make the country self-sufficient in refined oil. The capacity utilization of national refineries in 2004 and 2013 were only 22% and 24% respectively. A country that has prospected oil for 57 years should be able to maximize comparative advantage by refining enough oil for domestic consumption and have extra for export. Commission mini and unconventional refineries, especially in oil producing areas, and recruit experts in various disciplines of petrology to monitor and oversee such mini refineries.  Remember that mini refineries helped Biafra to survive for three years under a situation of domestic and international blockade. The informal refineries in oil producing areas, which are currently dubbed illegal, can be consolidated and run with professional oversight for quality. Such refineries will create jobs and produce more petroleum products to substitute for import and so save foreign exchange for the country.

    The falling oil prices should not be an excuse for not moving the country toward industrialization. Expert speculators in the oil sector project that crude may settle at around $60.00 per barrel in the long term. That is still impressive revenue for a country that produces 2.5 million barrels a day and whose daily production is projected to hit four million barrels per day in 2020. Dedicate a lot of the funds to modernize the physical infrastructure and provide national security to enable Nigeria to get back its good name and attract foreign investments.         Foreign investments are spring boards to economic development. They can turn a country’s fortune for the better if citizens employed in them are allowed to hold strategic positions in those investments. A foreign investment strategy that keeps citizens at the laborer status makes a country perpetually underdeveloped. National development has never been, and will never be, a gift from one country to another. No country can give development to another country. National development is what the citizens of a country do by themselves for themselves under the leadership of a developmental state.   The four and half decades of missed opportunities are lost forever. It is up to the incoming ruling group to fashion how to use what remains of the country’s oil revenue to prevent continued loss of opportunities and take the country to economic development.

     

    • Ukaegbu, a Professor of Sociology & National Development writes from USA

    c-ukaegbu@northwestern.edu

  • Simple ways to be the CHANGE

    “Let us do our duty in our shop or our kitchen, in the market, the street, the office, the school, the home, just as faithfully as if we stood in the front rank of some great battle, and knew that victory for mankind depended on our bravery, strength and skill. When we do that, the humblest of us will be serving in that great army which achieves the welfare of the world.”  – Theodore Parker

    It was Nigeria’s 55th Independence Day Anniversary on the 1st of October 2015. And there has been a lot of talk about change with the new government. As we celebrate another anniversary we must all work on ourselves and become the change we desire to see through an attitudinal change. I decided to take up the challenge and come up with simple ways that we can all be the CHANGE.

    Stop complaining about Nigeria and do something about it!  Be the CHANGE! And get involved in INSPIRING CHANGE!  For any complaints you hear about Nigeria, see if you can come up with at least three constructive SOLUTIONS – become a solution oriented Nigerian. Imbibe the QUEUE CULTURE (line up at the bank, line up at the airport, line up at the bus stop, line up at the hospital, line up at the supermarket, line up at the stadium, line up at the mall, line up at school, line up wherever you are expected to line up)  Stay on the queue at petrol stations even more so when there is fuel scarcity   SPEAK UP when fellow Nigerians jump the queue and insist that the person joins the queue. Also remember to speak out at the top of your voice when foreigners/expatriates jump the queue! Do not let them get away with it! ADD YOUR VOICE when someone else speaks up to a fellow Nigerian about jumping the queue. Do not litter the environment   Do not throw your trash in the gutter

    Do not throw your empty pure water sachet on the streets   Do not throw out litter (empty bottles, empty can drinks, sweet wrappers, biscuit wrappers, banana peelings etc.) from your car. Keep the trash in your car. Always keep nylon bags in your car for trash so that they are readily available when you need them. When in your car put all your trash in the nylon bags. And when you get home trash the nylon bags in the trash bin.  Dispose of waste properly and KEEP NIGERIA CLEAN!   When people throw litter on the ground SPEAK UP and say to them “Keep Nigeria clean or I will tell Buhari O!” Always use waste bins, refuse bins, trash bins, paper baskets etc. to dispose your trash or litter. If bins are not readily available TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for your trash/rubbish, keep your litter until you get a waste bin to use   Do not drive against traffic   When in the same vehicle with friends, family and fellow Nigerians encourage them not to drive against traffic. For those that insist on driving against traffic say or shout out to them –”Na you dey spoil Nigeria O!”

    OBEY the traffic lights and the highway codes. Always use your seat belt. Encourage fellow passengers to use their seat belt. Do not drive your car carrying a baby or a child on your laps. Children should be belted in their seats. Children under 12 years of age should always sit in the back seat of the car.  ENGAGE friends and family members when they allow a child that is under 12 years to sit in front and politely explain to them that they are endangering the child’s life. Dump the road rage and become a better road user. Become a better driver on Nigerian roads.  Stop for pedestrians at the Zebra Crossing. If you are in the same car with friends, family and a fellow Nigerian encourage him/her to stop for pedestrians at the Zebra Crossing.

    Switch off your phones (or put on vibrate) at meetings, conferences, church services, the mosque etc.   Do something GOOD daily for a fellow Nigerian that will take you out of your comfort zone. Stop urinating in public (women are tired of seeing indecent expo).   Use the toilet at a petrol station, shopping mall, public toilet, fast food joint (buy something from the fast food joint to make them happy and to ensure they don’t get upset with you using their toilet).  And please make sure you keep the toilets clean for the next user.  Where possible do not cross the express way. Place a high VALUE on your life! USE the pedestrian bridge where it is available. ENCOURAGE fellow Nigerians to also use the pedestrian bridge especially women crossing the expressway with their children. Do not defraud your employer of time and money.

    Get to work ON TIME. BE PUNCTUAL! Get to meetings (seminars, workshops, conference etc.) on time!   Do not abuse your staff that is time wise, money wise, emotional wise, sex wise etc.  Employers BE FAIR to your employees. Be a TEAM PLAYER and cooperate with your fellow workers at your work place. Get your work done on time and do it correctly the first time. Always see yourself as SELF-EMPLOYED no matter the job you do. This will ensure that you always give your best. Follow and obey safety rules and procedures (i.e. at home, at work, at play and at school). Learn BASIC FIRST AID treatments. It will POSITION YOU to be of help to a fellow Nigerian or even save a life, in the event something happens.     Stop abusing the Naira. Buy a wallet or purse to put your Naira notes. Take responsibility for any torn note that comes your way. Buy cello tape and fix it before you spend it and send it back into circulation.

    COURAGEOUSLY oppose what is wrong in Nigeria. Learn to OVERLOOK insults from other road users (bus drivers, conductors, and other motorists) by saying nothing and if you just must talk you can say “I no get your time today!”  Or “I go get your time tomorrow you hear!” . Use the words “Thank you”, “Please” and “I am sorry” regularly and when needed. And you will get on well with most Nigerians. “Sorry, make you no vex” has solved a lot of problems and issues people have with fellow Nigerians. Work at becoming a better person and the end result will be a better Nigeria for you and me. Do not take what is not yours – time wise, moneywise, material wise, sex wise etc.  Do not cheat during exams.    Do not help fellow Nigerians to cheat during exams. Do not give expo to your children. Do not use expo! Avoid examination malpractices in any form or way. Do not pay for a “SPECIAL CENTRE” for your child or guardian during external exams. Do not use forged certificates. RESPECT people regardless of what kind of work they do or their social status in life. Understand that there is dignity in labour.

    BE POLITE and COURTEOUS to fellow Nigerians regardless of their social status in life. It shows you are cultured.  Be extremely SECURITY CONSCIOUS.  VOLUNTEER your time at a hospital, time with the Road Safety, to teach students in a school in your neighbourhood.

    • Simoyan writes from Lagos.