The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Politicians and the mad race to 2015

    SIR: A major danger to democracy and indeed the country is the perception of politics and political power as meal ticket. This has reduced the polity to a market place where every Okeke, Adamu, Tunde etc., flock to hustle for their stomach. The competition is so fierce and no effort is spared in order to achieve success; every means fair and foul is deployed. There is also the case of parvenus who are obsessed with the trappings of power and are ready to do almost anything to have it. These combine to make our politics and elections truly precarious affairs.

    It’s still nearly two years to the 2015 general election but it’s already generating so much heat. As usual the presidential seat is the focus of much attention. Interested parties are getting even more belligerent. The North is again staking a claim to the much coveted seat while some elements from the South-south are threatening war should President Jonathan be evicted from Aso Rock. Rivers state is in near crisis, the Nigeria Governors Forum is in crisis. Both is said to have their roots in the politics of 2015. Governance is taking a back seat; every effort seemed geared towards retaining or capturing power and influence come 2015.

    In all of these jousting, however, the people who ostensibly will cast the deciding votes don’t seem to be taken into any serious consideration. This shows the nature of our democracy. Perhaps the decision of Nigerians doesn’t really matter. If not why should politicians who are yet to justify their present mandate be concerning themselves with 2015? All over the country abound work to be done and yet politicians who are just at mid-term are dissipating so much energy on a distant election. The country is very sick, our security is dismal, infrastructure in decay, health, education, agriculture in near collapse, unemployment rife and yet political office holders have the effrontery to occupy themselves with 2015. This is tantamount to going after rats while one’s house is on fire. What irresponsibility!

    Woe unto that country whose leaders are children. Nigeria’s political elite remain a major clog in the wheel of its development. They have learnt absolutely nothing from history. It was the same irresponsibility of politicians that led to the incursion of the military into our polity from which consequences we’re yet to recover. They are at it again. In their blind quest for power they place the country on perpetual election mode with all the tension that come with it. It will serve political office holders and the country better if they leave 2015 for now and concentrate on delivering good governance to the people. If they persist on the present treacherous part they may not have any election to contest come 2015.

     

    • Nnoli Chidiebere

    Aba, Abia State.

     

  • Jang and his NGF

    Jang and his NGF

    Plateau State governor and factional chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Jonah Jang played out the hypocrisy that is the stock in trade of our leaders, when he apologized for the problem that dogged recent election of the forum. Receiving a solidarity delegation on his purported election as the forum’s chairman, Jang had promised that under his leadership, corrections would be made and efforts intensified at reconciliation.

    He said during his tenure, the forum will work out a structure for rancor free elections and he regarded himself as an instrument in the hands of God to unite and reconcile the forum.

    Given what we know of the conduct and outcome of that election, it is a big surprise that these statements are coming from Jang. This is a man who by all accounts, lost to the Rivers State governor, Chibuike Amaechi by 16 votes to 19 in a freely contested and fair election. Instead of accepting its outcome, he and some of his colleagues embarked on a smear protest that cast serious slur on their integrity as governors.

    They complained of weird and inexplicable grievances that many have found difficult to understand. Brandishing a list of 19 governors who had in April purportedly indicated the direction of their support, the protesters sought to deceive the public that it should be taken as reflecting the outcome of voting.

    Yet, they voted. The votes were counted; results announced and Amaechi declared winner. Then they began to talk of signatures and all that trash. We began to hear that Amaechi should have resigned before contesting.

    Amateur video footage from one patriotic governor put a lie to all that. The same governors who sat tight while gunning for a second term had the temerity to talk of resignation. What a bare faced hypocrisy! Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko scoffed the video recording on the ground that it was not all embracing. He said aspects of his contributions that Amaechi should resign from his post before contesting were not shown in the video. He also spoke of his contribution that the election should be by open balloting which was also overruled. Mimiko appears to be contending that the power of incumbency tiled the balance in favor of the Rivers State governor. That could as well be. But it is the same incumbency power that his sponsors deployed to advantage to extract questionable commitment from him to vote for their preferred candidate. Those who opposed open balloting and the resignation of Amaechi before contesting were not oblivious of the game plan of the now protesting governors. They wanted to monitor the actual voting of those they had previously obtained their signatures for some inexplicable reasons. How free and fair would such election be? Why compel the governors to sign before election if the intention is not to influence the process? So, it is a matter of one group outsmarting the other. However, the absence of the observations of Mimiko in the video clip did not in any way, encumber its credibility. It did no collateral damage to the fact that votes were cast, counted and announced before their eyes. At any rate, those were the high points of that exercise that should attest to its credibility.

    If the dissenting governors were that serious on some of these issues, they should not have allowed the election to hold. By consenting to the ground rules and voting, they lost the moral ground to latch on to these excuses to fault its outcome. Had their preferred candidate won, Mimko and co. may not have had any cause to complain.

    Yet, it was from the same election that Jang is laying claim to the leadership of the forum. If that election was flawed as we are being persuaded to believe, from where did Jang derive his mandate to lead a faction? If the pro-Jang governors were honest in the matter, there were two options open to them: reject its outcome and call for a fresh election. But they had a mindset. They had been primed to a leadership headed by Jang irrespective of the outcome of the pool. That was why our governors had to embark on very embarrassing protests unbecoming of their elevated offices. It was a monumental embarrassment to behold. There is nothing wrong with the Plateau State governor apologizing for the misconduct of his colleagues. They really misbehaved and Nigerians still deserve unreserved apology from them.

    It is shameful for the arrow head of that misconduct to be parading himself as the forum’s chairman even as he is apologizing for the problem on which basis he lays claim to that post. The minimum expectation in the circumstance would have been for him to repudiate his claim to that office and congratulate the authentic winner of that election. But to hold his questionable mandate with one hand and be rendering apology with the other is the height of deceit. He even talks of uniting the forum and working out a structure for rancor free elections. He also sees himself as an instrument in the “hands of God to unite and reconcile the forum”.

    Jang is entitled to his views on the issue no matter how absurd that may seem. But the question that he needed to answer is which mandate is he referring to and from where did he derive it? Jang does not have the mandate of the governors and therefore cannot lay claim to any. And he now talks of God using him to unite and reconcile the forum. It is difficult to fathom how this can happen. Rather, the baggage his dissenting colleagues have placed on his back will further weigh down and polarize the forum to the point of irrelevance and disintegration. The Bible says, we should not use the name of God our father in vain. It appears that references by Jang to himself as an instrument in the hands of God in respect of the contrived crisis in the forum, amounts to using the name of God in vain. It is a sad reminder to the charade that played out during the 2003 governorship election. In one South-south state, an ambitious governor who had massively rigged himself into power by hook and crook; appeared in church the next day with his entire family, mounted the pulpit, singing and dancing for what God had done for him. And he got away with it. Because God is very forgiving and lenient, all manner of people use his name in vain without fear of immediate repercussions. But all such people should be wary of His wrath some day.

    This writer has great sympathy for Jang. Not for any other reason but for the conspiracy of enemies of peace to make Plateau State uninhabitable through serial killings, maiming and destruction of valuable lives and property.

    Most of the times I have watched him on screens or in the newspapers, the impression I get is that of a governor fighting organized conspiracy from very powerful forces.

    He comes across as a man who knows his detractors but very handicapped in squaring up to them. He has not been allowed, through these contrived plots to have his vision of that state come through. Such a man deserves our collective sympathy. Jang should therefore have been saved the avoidable burden which the factional chairmanship of the governors’ forum is to him. He is talking in a manner that will erode the sympathy and respect he had enjoyed from discerning members of the public before now. Obviously, the forum is heading for the abyss. And unless the winner of that election is allowed to exercise his mandate, we should consider the forum dead. Then, history will record Jang as the instrument in the hands of those who brought about that pass. That is the foreboding verdict.

  • Achebe: The story and story teller

    Finally, the story ends. The story teller has gone to sleep. He has gone with his stories – a bagful. But then another story begins. It is telling the story according to the story teller. It is the story of Chinualumogu Achebe and his stories. It is also about the stories of Chinua Achebe, the man with the stories. It is a story that thrills, enthrals and captivates – both sides of it. Children hear it and demand for more until they go to bed dreaming it. Adults too. They continue to cogitate over both the story and the story teller until a mental war begins to take place; an endless clash of which is the bigger – the story or the story teller.

    At that remote village of Nkwele Ogidi in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State where the story began 82 years, ago it was a gathering of those who came to tell their own last stories, while others came to hear them. Yet others became the story. They came from all parts of the globe – Europe, Asia, The Pacific, Antarctica, Australia, Oceania, The Americas and Africa, where the story of the story teller had spread and is being retold in different tongues; written and verbally. Those who failed to make it to the ancient village, physically, had to rely on the varied media instruments to hear the story or tell theirs.

    The frenzy actually began on March 22, when the story teller told his last; when the eagle descended from the iroko and took a permanent habitation with others before him.

    Sitting there in the crowded enclosure of St. Phillips Anglican Church, I could tell that though many struggled, there were and still are many stories to tell. Attempts will be made as they were indeed made on that occasion. But it will continue to be like the proverbial story of the blind men attempting to describe an elephant by feeling it, each telling his according to where he touched and felt.

    I even told mine. When confronted by those who wanted to know my own version, I said: “Chinua Achebe rose to become an iconic figure in the area of literary geniuses. He stood up for everything that was right, everything that was good, everything that had to do with accountability and transparency. Chinua Achebe was so bold, so great, so courageous that he could hold a whole country ransom whenever he was ready to call for accountability and transparency. Chinua Achebe was a man who never feared anybody and he spoke the truth from the profundity of his heart not minding whose ox was gored. So, we give God thanks that this wonderful man, one man iroko tree and one man army squad has gone the way of all mortals…”

    To many, the fascination in the story of Achebe was that he told the story of Africa the way no other did – that indeed there was life and living in the continent; that Africans didn’t live on trees or hunted each other for meals; that it was actually the white man that came and put a knife in Africa, cutting the existing cord of sequence and order that bound those elements of life and living together. But he did not stop there. From Things Fall Apart, a book he wrote at age 28, he went ahead to do other works, which basically pointed out the contradictions between life and living, man and his environment and the consequences of those contradictions. These were the import and purport of No Longer At Ease, Arrow of God, A Man of the People, Anthills of the Savannah, The Trouble With Nigeria, There Was A Country, et cetera.

    In all, Achebe, simply tried to re-establish the principle of the teaching of Jesus Christ that Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone. He tried to tell the world that man could indeed conquer his environment; that all that is needed is for him to follow the sequence as part of creation and not to attempt the impossible of re-creating it. He tried to point out the hugely destructive factor of man’s desire and attempt to own the world. Things Fall Apart, the book that put him in the eyes of the world must have sold in hundreds of millions and earned more proceeds for its translation into about 50 languages. Other works could have earned him fairly sizable amounts equally. This is apart from his other earnings from his work as a teacher and other engagements. Therefore, there is no doubt that he ought to be an extremely rich man. Yet, his riches translated more in his reflection of ordinariness and his closeness to humanity and his environment. At every point he perceived that environment drifting towards danger, especially man-made, he never failed to warn. That was the essence of those books. For him, any position must never be used to serve self more than the society. It was this demand that he made of me few days after my appointment as the Vice Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in 2003. He had called from the US to wish me success. But beyond that he reminded me that I must strive to re-establish the standard of the institution and ultimately Restore the Dignity of Man, its motto. I must not fail, he emphasised, to use that platform I had to advance humanity. The effect of those words cannot be stated here. But it suffices to say that the modest achievements recorded in that assignment owes a lot to their direct impact.

    And for those who thought that such a demand was utopian, impossible and even obtuse, Achebe showed how it could be done, using his immediate environment, Nigeria.

    Yes, some of the things he wrote, said or did, could be considered as and were indeed controversial. But more important were the motives, principles and courage that drove those thoughts and decisions. Either in his controversial rejection of national honours or the fact that he, according to the Most Reverend Ikechukwu Nwosu, officiating minister at his funeral church service, described same sex marriage as alu (taboo) or his latest book – There Was A Country, Achebe was not only able to demonstrate unquestionable courage to speak his mind at all times, but that a man could and indeed, should say no to certain things no matter the attraction.

    Whether wrong or right, in the instant examples, Achebe was able to demonstrate the teaching that saying No! at a time it is needed could reduce greed, one of the greatest elements that have held Nigeria down and prevented the giant in it from rising. By writing his version of part of the Nigerian history in that book, he simply tried not only to state the truth as he knew it, but remind the country of the glorious past and the need to rediscover itself.

    Many actually miss the point by putting Achebe on the hot seat for those deeds. They do because they forget that he was an intellectual. And one of the most visible elements of intellectualism is that those who inhabit that elevated platform often disagree on virtually every issue, yet remain friends.

    The abiding lesson(s): We can say No! to a lot of things in this country, particularly the desire for mindless and obscene acquisition of wealth through corruption and obtrusively clogging the steady match towards making Nigeria the great country it deserves because of selfish agenda. More importantly and even more relevant to our present reality, Nigerians can disagree at every point and in all places, but must remain friends. We must never allow such disagreements destroy our unity. Those are what we owe Achebe as a legacy.

    • Nebo, professor of Metallurgical Engineering, is Minister of Power

  • Jonathan quits equivocating on NGF

    Jonathan quits equivocating on NGF

    During last Thursday’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) family dinner in Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan finally laid to rest any speculation about his determination to wrest control of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) from the hands of his enemies, or failing that, to destroy it. Not only did he reportedly refer to Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State as chairman of the NGF, he also indirectly gave notice which side he supports and how ready he is to help bury the group. That singular but unpresidential act showed the frailty and fecklessness of our leading politicians. But it isn’t only the character of the governors that has been weighed and found wanting; by publicly and casually embracing the Jang faction of the NGF, the president gave indication that any morality he had pretended to since his assumption of office was simple a hoax.

    It is true the president has not come out clearly to endorse the Jang faction. But what is his word worth anyway? Is it not recalled that he also denounced those who suggested he had any vested interest in the NGF election before it held on May 24? But whether in the case of the post-election endorsement or pre-election interest in the NGF chairmanship, the president had pretended to be uninterested. No one is fooled. More, it is doubtful whether he would be able to fool anyone again as to his bona fides, let alone his nobility of purpose and values. It is now as clear as day that Dr Jonathan is more than anything else a practical politician unruffled by the contradictions that encase his politics and disfigure his worldview. More worrisomely, he is not even really anxious about how his Machiavellian sentiments war against his proudly publicised religious principles. For to embrace an election loser is one thing; but to embrace an election loser who lives in denial of his defeat is quite another.

    There had been times when the president attempted philosophising about life, religion, God and Nigeria’s manifest destiny. To be sure, his philosophy never went beyond the practical and commonsensical perspectives of those long castrated by the dulling atmosphere of the countryside, and the bucolic wisecracks of the village teacher; but at least he made some efforts to be deep, detached and, like Caesar’s wife, above suspicion. If only such accoutrements had been brought to bear on his political morality! What worries the average Nigerian is not Mr Jang’s quixotic chairmanship of the NGF, as the president and his aides must have known by now, but the president’s bravura display of political brinkmanship. The disturbing thing about Dr Jonathan’s endorsement of Mr Jang, obvious from his meeting with the losers last Friday, is how the president so insouciantly subordinated the entire Nigerian presidency to the childish intransigence of the 16 governors in his camp.

    There’s more than one way to skin a cat, it is said. The president and his governor friends could admit defeat in the NGF election but refuse to respond to any call for meeting. They could even decide they would be satisfied with associating only within the purview of the PDP Governors’ Forum. Or they could refuse any further association of the 36 governors altogether. But to insist they won an election which they unequivocally lost, and for the president, who fails to understand the weight and pricelessness of the office he occupies, to lend the highest office in the land to that shocking piece of chicanery is both to denigrate all that Nigeria ever aspired to be and to set a dangerous and dispiriting example for the coming generations. It would have been better if Dr Jonathan kept to his untruth of not being interested in the NGF election.

  • Please, make Nigeria indivisible

    Today in Nigeria, 2015 has become detraction. Those in power are hardly working for the people any longer, but more for themselves. The focus of the remaining two years of tenureship is now more on power retention.

    It as if accomplishment of electoral promises and attainment of people’s desires are no longer of value. The nation is now filled with desperation for occupying political seats rather than working to put smiles on the face of the depressed people whose vote brought them into power. Insecurity is everywhere and the poor are getting poorer. As it were, politics is bringing in strenuous tensions, making distress to envelope the land the more.

    Ahead of the so-called Democracy Day last week, it was as if people were waiting for official announcement to confirm the death of Nigeria as a nation. But thank God that on that day, President Goodluck Jonathan and Senate President David Mark were reported as declaring Nigeria as indivisible, talk less of dying, despite the escalating challenges.

    Making public presentation of his mid-term report in Abuja after which some of the ministers had rolled out heartening financial indicators, which among others was that Nigeria has become the highest investment destination in the continent, the president said contrary to the position of the opposition parties, he had achieved so much in the two years of his administration.

    Mr. President self-applauded his administration’s performance. He challenged the media to use his 234-page report as a confirmable tool for any objective assessment. “I plead with all of us, especially those who want to assess and write about it to develop criteria because without a marking scheme, you cannot mark anybody’s paper. Develop your own, compare with previous governments. Develop your marking scheme and mark us.” Perhaps he is unaware of the numerous online hands now placed on websites to respond to virtually all criticisms in the media.

    In seriousness, Mr. President ought to know that Nigerians need no marking scheme to know that under him, the rate of unemployment has gone up, security of lives and property and the welfare of the citizens have receded discouragingly. In truth, what scoring format does one need to know that despite the ostensibly inspiring economic figures rolled out by the ministers, the average Nigerian is worse off today than before PDP took over power in 1999?

    The core basis of the nation’s afflictions has been that most of those who find themselves in leadership position hardly lead by example. The realism is that good leadership deficit has constituted the greatest clog in the wheel of national development and progress.

    As an opposition party said, “performance is like a pregnancy that cannot be hidden.” Other than swelling corruption and desperation to retain power at all cost, how much of practical performance in power, security, job creation and vital infrastructural developments is already making impact on the life of the people today?

    It is non-performance that is pushing desperate aggression and the fight of imaginary enemies much more within the ruling party. With sincere and wise people on the president’s side, the battle with Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi should not be as dismal as it is. Perhaps they are blind to see the unnecessary conflict thinning the integrity of the president while Amaechi is being lifted higher.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo who preferred to be part of Jigawa State May 29 show than being with the president in Abuja called for change in leadership. He was quoted: “You know you can help somebody to get the job, but you cannot help him to do it. If somebody cannot do the job, we have Sule Lamido who we are confident can do the job.”

    Before this, Obj who reigned and ruled over Nigeria in totality of more than 13 years, had earlier condemned the increasing level of indiscipline in PDP leadership. Although THE GUARDIAN editorial reminded us how he contributed to the foundation of the indiscipline, the newspaper also recollected:

    “To say that PDP “lacks sufficient discipline” may well be the least that could be said of the party that has ruled Nigeria for 12 years, with very little to show for it. Poverty in the land is acute and widespread, corruption is endemic, critical infrastructure decrepit and insecurity of lives and property prevail in a huge magnitude. The PDP-led government has also not found solution to the problem of epileptic power supply. The situation deteriorates by the day without much hope of a respite.”

    With this contention, how then can Nigeria be saved from being dragged to primitivism? If the Bible says that a soul that sinneth shall die, why can’t the present leadership focus more on cleansing the nation from impurity so that it will not finally disintegrate?

    It will be in the nation’s interest if political office can become less attractive and corruption eliminated. It is clear today how politics is fuelling corruption. The desperation to occupy political office is largely to loot, plunder and embezzle. Politicians are not seeking for power to serve anymore. From federal to local level,

    the few in power corner the resources of the land and leave the masses with the crumbs.

    When there is leadership error, the common man will suffer the consequence. If sincere steps are not taken to correct the ills in the system – starting from the top, there might not be restoration of the people’s confidence in government. Ultimately, when citizens are not given desired measure of goodness of the land and assured of protection, the country will be pushed to crumple.

    As those in power might be pretending not to know, many Nigerians are not blind and are not foolish. People are aware of the level of corruption, insecurity, insincerity, joblessness and poverty. They will become totally disillusioned if the leadership failed to resolve the afflictions.

    FEEDBACK

    Re-Amaechi God-given victory.

    Let PDP work hard for magical change of electorate minds before 2015 elections. Otherwise, the leaders’ colossal self-inflicted damage will ruin them. The NGF election exposed their shoddiness in handling credible elections. The president is rattled and more errors are bound to be committed. Please let us watch the video tape of the election and compare it with Gov. Akpabio’s doctored voters’ register or endorsees. INEC should borrow his style to save cost. From James, Jos.

    Dear Sir, I concur with your piece on Amaechi’s God-given victory. Nothing to add or subtract. Sentiment and desperation are ample words in Jonathan’s dictionary. Victory is really God-given. As for Akpabio, his first name is Godswill. By this he should know that God gives and takes. Your write up actually made my day. May you continue to inspire us with stimulating and thought-provoking mind. From Dr. Apelologun, Ilorin.

    Hello Sir, that is a wonderful write up. Akpabio should know what Chibuike means in Igbo language.

    – 2348033339232

    “The nation that once had the potentiality of greatness has been stagnant for too long” was your last statement. Pres. Jonathan might not have done well. But if in those past long years those whom ACN are trying to take us to had governed well, this nation wouldn’t have been in this sorry state. That you and ACN are trying to package us back to Egypt is gravely unfortunate. You are not a young boy. If you’ve been watching Nigeria event with objective mind, you’ll know where our problems are from. From Amadi Ibeleme

    Mr. Soji, your write-up in The Nation is a perfect fact of what happened and what is going to happen. Thank you and God bless. From Chris Ukpere, Abuja.

    Your piece spoke my mind. – Akibu Hassan, Ijebu-Ode

    Dear Soji Omotunde, Sir, not only am I pleased with your write up on Amaechi’s God-given victory, I also want to encourage you for good work. This election was monitored online by Nigerians. So, who are those fooling the president? From Solomon Vambe, PH

    If you are an apologist of Amaechi, just tell us. You do not know the man called Amaechi, but we know him well. You are a Yoruba man that shut your mouth during OBJ’s misrule and wants to use Amaechi against GEJ. It won’t work as it will only dig his grave politically. – 2348055331902

  • The coming of Osun’s Opon Imo

    Tuesday, April 23, I missed a media chat hosted at Western Hotel, Ikeja by the deputy governor of the State of Osun, Otunba Titi Laoye –Tomori. I, however, did not miss the fact that the event was put together to appraise the content and texture of educational renaissance of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the state. While the phenomenal Opon Imo innovation is a major plank of Aregbesola’s educational reform, it is, by no means, the reason the event was organized. This is precisely where a handful of analysts got the facts wrong. Rather than an occasion for the launch of Opon Imo, the gathering was designed, among others, to herald the official presentation of the electronic learning devise today, Monday, June 3.

    In fact, keen observers of events in the state of Osun since the inception of the Aregbesola administration would readily come to the inescapable conclusion that, indeed, educational intervention is the sole reason the administration came into being. Nothing, however, can be farther from the truth as huge transformation in other socio-economic sectors – roads, electricity, hospitals and modern markets among others – would bear witness.

    To be honest, anyone who holds such view can easily be pardoned. What with the intimidating tell-tale evidence of huge work in the area of education. Many schools all over the state have begun to wear new look. Many of the outdated colonial relics in schools are being pulled down to be replaced with modern structures. These buildings, before Aregbesola picked up the gauntlet, were, at best, eyesores. Successive administrations in the state, particularly the Olagunsoye Oyinlola- led one, viewed the decay with an air of nonchalance. New schools are also being constructed.

    Personnel development, another major aspect of the educational policy of Aregbesola has received giant attention. Salaries, allowances and a coterie of other entitlements of teachers have been promptly attended to. This development represents a comfortable departure from the old practice or unpaid salaries and allowances which often resulted in seizures in the educational sector of the state.

    A couple of decades ago when the almighty West African Examination Council (WAEC) was truly conducting its yearly tests foolproof, many of us in college had an uphill task passing. But tragically painful as it were, we drew consolation in the fact that we could re-sit the examination after each disastrous attempt. Each year, we would dust our books, ready for another titanic confrontation with the body. We had books to dust. In the state of Osun of Aregbesola era, Opon Imo has replaced our old reliable books.

    The privilege of having books to turn to after leaving school is precisely what critics of Opon Imo academic innovation in Osun  have against the project. Other short-comings are challenges posed by epileptic power supply and inability of the scheme to accommodate printing of materials. While post-college referral is a challenge the scheme has to contend with at the moment (this is surely an area the Aregbesola administration would have to address urgently), the twin issue of printing of materials as well as electricity challenge are not much of a task.

    It needs to be emphasised, right away, that government does not necessarily have to provide this electronic devise to pupils who fail to pass the final college examination at the first attempt. We all can recall that although we enjoyed free education in the Awolowo era complete with free textbooks and tuition, the government of that period did not saddle itself with the additional responsibility of provision of books after college years. During that epoch, post college candidates for WAEC satisfied their text book needs privately,

    This is not meant to foreclose assistance of the Aregbesola administration in the area of providing these all important tablets affordably to candidates in   the post-college category. Not at all. This is precisely why it makes a whole lot of sense that the Chinese company, manufacturers of the Opon Imo device, is now setting up its production factory in Osun. Apart from addressing the question of ready availability of the device to users of all classes, the production line is, unquestionably, a veritable source of employment to the populace and revenue milk cow to the government.

    The way the entire Opon Imo scheme is designed, pupils need not print out any material from the devise because each school pupil owns one that can be assessed at any time desired.

    A tablet in the scheme is an all-inclusive little technology containing all a pupil needs to navigate college academically. 750,000 units have already been distributed to all pupils in Senior Secondary School one to three (SSS 1-3). Each of the units, in terms of configuration, is designed in a way that no pupil needs any text book except exercise books. Each unit has three components – e-Book library, integrated test zone and virtual learning. The e-Book library section contains 66 text books, 56 of which are subject based while the remaining 10 are for other developmental engagements including entrepreneurial, leadership, civic education, health hints and guidance among others. The integrated test zone, on the other hand, boasts of 10 years past questions and answers of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, (SSCE), NECO, JAMB and so on. In the virtual learning segment, users are treated to high powered electronic teaching and learning classroom experience with a teacher in charge.

    The moment a pupil resumes in class at SSS1, he or she takes possession of one of the tablets and such would remain with the pupil until graduation from college three years after. Every pupil lives with the devise 24 hours of the day. Any material required by pupils is therefore only a key-tab away. Why should anyone need a printer when a pupil would only lose possession of the devise on completion of studentship?

    Along with the gadget, each pupil also takes possession of two charging devises-electricity and solar. Solar charging accessory, given to every school user, comes handy where electricity is not available. On full charge, an Opon Imo would run for five hours of intense usage.

    Through the Opon Imo initiative, an unusual feature has been introduced into the Nigerian school system, throwing up an entirely e-Book community of students. More remarkable, it is edifying that the technology is being introduced to a very poor, largely rural human setting – a pointer to the fact of its adaptability anywhere and capability to help pupils leapfrog the challenges of poverty and illiteracy.

     In all sincerity, the replacement of books with Opon Imo is, to put it mildly, a turning point in the educational life of not only the state of Osun but the nation as an entity. For once, someone has courageously taken more than five decade old educational revolution of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo a step higher – almost beyond imagination. This Aregbesola initiative – without emphasis- has not only introduced a new outlook in the teaching and learning conundrum but has- more significantly, changed the way we see and prepare the younger generation for the challenges of global competition for advancement.

    Today, a colossal section of my generation relies on our children to do anything meaningful using the wonder electronic slate with which almost every task is now accomplished. A great number of us have similarly experienced untold frustration in our attempt at compliance due to impatience largely   imposed by pressure in other areas as well as the ever so natural dwindling in the cognitive aspect of our being due to advancing age. Contemporary school pupil in Osun would confront no such obstacle. Such a child would be leaving college as a proud member of world community, computer literate- wise.

    • Lawal is Publicity Secretary, Action Congress of Nigeria, Ogun State.

  • The trouble with governors’ forum

    SIR: The crisis within the so-called Nigeria Governors’ Forum has not only caused unimaginable embarrassment to the Nigerian people but has also unwittingly brought terrible shame to the country. It is no gainsaying that the nation is presently confronted with monumental security, socio-economic and political problems hence it is incumbent on the political leaders in the country to take a decisive action with a view to finding immediate and lasting solutions to the seemingly intractable problems facing the nation. Certainly, the present situation in the country calls for undiluted spirit of patriotism and commitment on the part of our political leaders to enable them ameliorate the terrible sufferings of our people and as such, there should be no room for our governors to engage themselves in unnecessary and unproductive ventures or jamboree.

    The present situation whereby the governors constitute themselves into various irrelevant associations such as the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and most recently the P.D.P Governors’ Forum (P.D.P.G.F.) and always junketing to Abuja for meetings which could only be described as a mere jamboree, thereby abandoning their state official duties is totally unnecessary and complete waste of public fund. Such regular meetings do not serve any useful purpose to their people in view of the abject poverty prevalent in the country. The Nigerian constitution did not provide for the Nigeria Governors’ Forum or any such forums for that matter. The only body known to the constitution is the National Council of State which is comprised of the President together with the governors of the 36 states and other top government functionaries.

    The bickering among the governors on irrelevant issues such as the election of the chairman of the governors’ forum in the face of the multifarious problems currently confronting the nation is certainly the height of gross insensitivity on their part. The ugly scene on the nation’s television whereby their “Excellencies” were seen quarrelling over the conduct of the election of their chairman is appalling and totally in bad taste. The incident cast serious aspersions on the image and reputation of the governors usually addressed as “Excellencies.” The unbecoming behaviour calls to question as to whether they still deserve to be addressed as excellencies in view of that unfortunate incident during the controversial election of the chairman of their forum.

    In the light of the foregoing therefore, I hereby call on the various state Houses of Assembly to prevail on their governors to withdraw immediately from the various unproductive forums by urgently passing resolutions to that effect so as to avoid future wastage of tax payers’ money. The public fund used for the regular Abuja jamboree by the governors could better be channeled to more meaningful projects that would definitely impact positively on the lives of the downtrodden masses of the country.

    • Nze Nwabueze Akabogu (JP)

    Enugwu-Ukwu,

    Anambra State.

  • El-Rufai and his unemployed daughters

    SIR: A report in The Punch of May 24 quoted Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s at the sixth annual Alao Aka-Bashorun lecture organized by the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch as saying that 42 percent of Nigerian youths are unemployed and that he has two daughters with Master’s degrees and that they are yet to gain employment.

    I agree when he says: “We are sitting on a demographic time bomb”; but I cannot comprehend this: “I have two daughters with Masters Degrees and they are unemployed. They have been at home for more than a year and I cannot get a job for them”.

    That Mallam el-Rufai, is looking for jobs for his daughters shows how elitist he is and how much he believes in guanxi (Chinese word for personal network) and not merit. Most Nigerian youths look for jobs themselves, carry around their CVs, or even try self-employment. Therefore, if his daughters are unemployed, then they have become – like other youths their age – hapless victims of the weak system which el-Rufai helped create.

    The second assumption is that el-Rufai wants to gain public respect at the expense of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government. Regardless of how hard el-Rufai bites his lips and offer cockamamie definitions of government and leadership, the truth is that he is part of the government; he is part of Nigeria’s problem.

    He should send his daughters CV’s to Nigerian Airways, Ajaokuta Steel Co; Delta Steel, Aluminum Smelting Co. Ikot-Abasi and the numerous government businesses that he helped privatize. If his privatization programme worked, his daughters will have work today and Nigeria will be easier for the present government to rule. Because he failed, that is why we are plunged into these problems today.

    President Jonathan is culpable for any social problem we may have in Nigeria because he is our leader. It is also instructive to note that all our former presidents – Yar’Adua, Obasanjo, Abacha, Babangida, Buhari etc are also to blame. Their failure is what Jonathan is confronted with today as Jonathan’s successor will have to confront Jonathan’s failure.

    A former minister of el-Rufia’s status should be the least to cry wolf. He was the Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and among the very few who co-ordinated the economic activities of the Obasanjo’s administration. His continual criticisms – that are sometimes more of a diatribe than constructive criticisms betrays him. I love his gusto, his intelligence, his zeal but will not buy the idea of him seeking for jobs for his daughters.

    Years from now, when we are no longer revolted by seamy details, when we are exhausted with this holier than thou attitude; when we must have noticed those that play the Orwellian intrusion, when we are worn-out of those brimming with a dangerous self-righteousness and when the salacious has become tiring, we may well wonder what this was all about. How was it that we lost our country on account of a lie told about leadership by some smarmy men? The answer is that we live in an era where fame has become synonymous with celebrity, in which personality has replaced ideology and a former minister, suffused with zealotry, said what he should not have uttered.

    • Uwalaka, Temple,

    Woosong University, Daejeon,

    South Korea.

  • Government and Boko Haram amnesty

    On the 24th of April, 2013, the Federal Government of Nigeria inaugurated committee to work on security menace in the northern part of the country and come out with a blueprint on how amnesty will be fashioned out for Boko Haram – an Islamic sect that is constituting a threat to our national security in spites of oppositions from well meaning Nigerians.

    From all indications, amnesty can be described as a situation whereby government of any given society agrees not to punish people who committed a particular crime and who have agreed to surrender their weapons to the authority and show their readiness to embrace dialogue and to be reabsorbed into the society as law abiding citizens.

    Going by the above definitions, Boko Haram group does not merit amnesty, Nigerian government is planning to negotiate with them. In the first instance, the so called amnesty is going to be sponsored by tax payers money which supposed to be spent on welfare and security of the citizens. Also, considering the aims and objectives of Boko Haram, one can authoritatively conclude that amnesty and Boko Haram are poles apart; or better still the two parallel lines that can never meet.

    Despite appeals from government, traditional rulers, Muslims and Christians communities, Boko Haram remained adamant and reaffirmed that they are not interested in amnesty programme our government is proposing to offer them irrespective of what it may cost the whole nation and concluded that they are fighting just battles. The following utterances underscores this position. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau stated: “We are also at war with Christians because the whole world knows what they did to us”,adding that “the group’s successes in killing innocent civilians indicate they (i.e. Boko Haram) are on the right path.” Also one of their leaders once said that the kidnapping of the French Family was in revenge for the French invasion of northern Mali.

    From the foregoing, Nigerian government should not fail to recognise the fact that Boko Haram has foreign supports and unsevered relationship with radical group in northern Mali, Al Qa’ida, the movement for unity and Jihad in West Africa and Jama at Ansar Al – Muslimin fi Bilad Al Sudan (known as Ansaru). On this premise, Boko Haram can be described as Multi- national Islamic terrorist group which cannot be silenced by mere negotiation and monthly salary like Niger Delta militants. It is an indisputable fact that Nigeria as a nation has what it takes – cash to pay Boko Haram and to grant them pardon, but before the deal will be done, let Nigerians have a second thought on this turning issue.

    I want Nigeria government and the advocates of amnesty for Boko Haram to know that the background of militants in Niger Delta and what prompted their activities differ from Boko Haram vision and mission. At the same time, I want to assert that Nigeria has spent one hundred and fifty eight billion naira (158) to pay the so called reformed militants to secure oil pipelines, a duty that our security personnel are constitutionally meant to do. And while we are still chewing on that, government is proposing another amnesty for another killer group.

    It is a well known fact that Boko Haram target is divided into three: The Christians (largely Igbo) minorities in the north and central regions of the country, the Nigeria government, army and police and the Muslim political and religious elites in Northern Nigeria. To be factual, these three groups represent the whole nation. Hence, the representatives of these groups and other stakeholders as a matter of urgentcy should put heads together and map out strategic plan on how to put an end to the menace of Boko Haram in the north and the nation at large instead of embarking on expensive and dangerous negotiation of amnesty programme with Boko Haram. Boko Haram attacks have already tarnished Nigeria’s image internationally. Hence, the northern part of our country and the seat of power – federal capital territory, Abuja had been labelled by foreigners as environments not conducive for business transactions and this scares foreign investors away. If our image is going to be redeemed; if our security is going to be guaranteed, the shareholders need to stop politicising Boko Haram issue and bear it in mind that our nation’s security is greater than anybody’s political ambition.

    Moreover, our government should know that when things fall apart, the centre cannot hold. Proposing amnesty for Boko Haram at this point in time is like putting a square peg in a round hole. It would not work.

     

    By Olumide Aladejana,

    Lagos

     

  • Making basic education matter

    Making basic education matter

    Goal two of the millennium development goals, MDG, specifically talks about achieving Universal Primary Education for every child by 2015. These children are not only expected to have access to primary education, they are to be retained in their classes to ensure they complete the full course of primary education.

    Closely related to goal two of the MDG is goal three that focuses on promoting gender equality and empowering women. In essence, gender parity between girls and boys in terms of accessing basic education should be eliminated. Again, the target is 2015.

    By historical design, the first term of President Jonathan administration coincides with this critical era when the entire universe is working towards ensuring that no child is denied access to basic education, which is a right. From the very beginning, the administration made it clear that it was committed to addressing the fundamental challenges that negatively affected the development of the basic education sub-sector in particular and the entire education sector in general.

    This commitment led to the launch of the four-year strategic plan to completely re-position the education. One of the cardinal objectives of this plan that runs from 2011 to 2015 is the creation of access to quality education for Nigerians at all levels.

    Since 2011, the administration has completely re-positioned the basic education sector. Two years down the line, the steps taken by the administration are now yielding positive results and Nigerians from all walks of life are keying into the plan of the Federal Government to ensure universal basic education for Nigerian children.

    Spear-heading the Federal Government’s revival of basic education in the last two years is the Minister of State for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike. He has two controlling philosophies that have driven his successful campaign to get less privileged Nigerian children get enrolled in schools and stay there to acquire life sustaining skills.

    First, is that running the nation’s basic education would not be business as usual and the other, working assiduously towards achieving results rather than promoting bureaucracy. Second, he works from everywhere in the country and has revolutionized monitoring and evaluation of projects and programmes at the highest level.

    Across the nation, unprecedented achievements in the basic education sector dot the landscape. These projects are carefully designed to increase the enrolment of less privileged Nigerian children in basic education institutions. The projects are supported by a vibrant academic workforce being trained and retrained by the Federal Government.

    Some of the projects that have increased access to basic education for the less privileged Nigerian out-of-school children include the Almajiri schools, the special girl-child schools and the out-of-school project for children in the south-south and south-east.

    Over eighty percent of the Almajiri schools in parts of the country have been completed and are ready for the commissioning. These schools will cater for the need of the roving Almajiris in the north and other parts of the country.

    These schools will absorb a large number of the Almajiri, with the framework for the construction of additional three hundred Almajiri schools between 2013 and 2015 already in place. The interesting aspect of this programme is that several states in the north have bought into it and are constructing their own schools for these out-of-school children.

    The story has been the same for the girl-child in most parts of the north. The Federal Government has completed majority of the schools in sixteen states of the federation. By June ending, all the schools would have been completed. The aim of these schools is to grant access to basic education to girls hitherto left out due to cultural, religious and environmental reasons.

    Collaborating with the state governments, teacher capacity development has been comprehensive since 2011. More than one million teachers and basic education administrators have benefitted from training programmes. The government has also initiated the Housing for All teachers programme, with the Nigerian Union of Teachers participating actively.

    While the government has created access to basic education for a high percentage of Nigerian children, it has strengthened the distribution of free textbooks and instructional materials to these children for quality of education in the public schools to be guaranteed.

    Other key projects that have taken place in the course of the last two years include; phased rehabilitation of Federal Unity Colleges, construction of e-library in selected unity colleges and sponsorship of self-help infrastructural programmes in communities.

    Technical and vocational education and training have acquired a new meaning under the Jonathan administration. The hitherto neglected Federal Science and Technical Colleges have been given grants to re-position their facilities and equipment. This process of re-positioning these schools is nearing completion in most of the schools. The new schools for the Boy-Child in the South-East and South-South about to be constructed will have elements of technical and vocational education infused in them.

    Increased investments in the basic education sector by the administration have led to more foreign participation by international development partners all over the country. Korea International Development Agency, Japan International Development Agency, British Department for International Development, the Chinese government and other global groups have helped in developing infrastructure and the capacity of teachers to improve access to basic education in the country.

    Progressively, the enrolment of less privileged Nigerian children in basic education schools has increased under the Jonathan administration. This is expected because of the quality results attained due to the investments by the government and the sustained monitoring of the process of implementation. However, the population of out-of-school children is still on the high side. The good news is that with the level of commitment by the administration, if the target is not met by 2015, the percentage of work left undone will be minimal. The Federal Ministry of Education and other stakeholders are working towards achieving 70percent reduction of out of school children by 2015.

    Before concluding this piece, it is instructive to point out that the four year strategic plan of the Federal Ministry of Education has two fundamental goals, creating access to education across all levels and maintaining quality. These two principal goals have been achieved from the basic through to the tertiary level of education.

    Detailed above are key steps that have implemented in the basic education sub-sector. However, in the tertiary education sub-sector, the Jonathan administration through the Federal Ministry of Education has established 12 New Federal Universities. Nine of these universities have started full operations, while the other three are building their operational framework. The Federal Ministry of Education has kick-started several programmes to develop a virile academia for all universities, state and Federal, with first class brains being trained in 25 world class universities.

    The Jonathan administration has also released funds to all Federal and State Universities for the development of infrastructure though TETFUND. This was done after the first Needs Assessment of the Universities were conducted by the administration.

    Therefore, for any stakeholder to opine that education has not grown under the administration tantamount to acute cerebral fixation. The type most social media enthusiasts have fallen into. Doling out criticism for the sake of it. Whatever assessments that should be made of the nation’s education sector must take into cognizance the position of the sector before the administration started her surgical remedial operation. To do otherwise would be unjust and pedestrian.

    What is considered by most stakeholders in the educational circle to be the most important achievement of the administration in the education sector is the fact that most states are beginning to live up to their responsibility in development of this all-important segment of our national life because the Federal Ministry of Education has provided the right example.

     

    Nwakaudu is the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of State for Education.