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Tag: centenary

  • Making Nigeria thrive after its first centenary (2)

    Making Nigeria thrive after its first centenary (2)

    In this series devoted to raising ordinary citizens’ concerns about what ideas delegates chosen for their states should take to the forthcoming national conference, we focused last week on taxation. We argued that the practice inherited from military rule that privileges ‘fiscal equalisation’ or even development over fairness in generation and allocation of revenue should be jettisoned. Giving states spending responsibility without commensurate revenue-raising authority only leads to inefficiency or non-performance of state governments in provision of public goods and services. We called for a new taxation system that will give the power to tax to states which will give nationally-agreed upon percentage of tax revenue to the central government to cover cost of attending to its functions and that such functions should not be as wide as they are in the 1999 Constitution. We concluded that changing the taxation powers will prepare the country for an era in which non-renewable energy may no longer be profitable, even when it is still available and that it will also empower citizens and improve their efficacy in relation to participation in democratic governance. The focus today will be on how to restructure education.

    Since 1975, Nigeria has been suffering from too much federal presence in education provision. Regional universities were taken over by the federal government; colleges of technology were established by the federal government; and special secondary schools known as Unity Schools were also created and managed by the federal government. This dominant federal presence in education led to ancillary policies that affected the provision of education and left traces of decline in the quality of education. School calendar became a federal matter. It was no longer possible for states to determine when schools would be in session. In the south, schools were made to go on long vacation during the coolest months in the year, as distinct from the three short vacations that defined the school calendar until the advent of military rule.

    In addition, a raft of education bureaucracies was established by the federal government: JAMB, NECO to rival WAEC, National Orientation Commission, NUC, etc. The federal government also changed school curriculum and used its national language policy to impose second Nigerian language learning on students. The traditional practice of giving first six years of education in children’s first language or mother tongue was replaced with the use of English as the language of instruction for all levels of primary education. All these policies grew out of the military rulers’ belief that forging a sense of unity among the diverse cultures in the country would not happen until all traces of cultural diversity are erased.

    Even with centralisation of education provision and creation of education bureaucracies, the federal government had been unable for decades to spend up to 30% of what UNESCO recommends as the minimum required for countries to turn the corner into modernity. On the whole, the outcome has not justified the changes wrought by military rulers and sustained by their civilian successors till date. The quality of education in evidence in the pre-1975 era has disappeared, as public education has been ruined to the point that Nigeria has more hardly regulated private schools and universities per square kilometre than any other country in the world. More children carry credentials than before but not any skill set in the use of standard English and communication in mother tongue had yielded prime of place to pidgin across the nationalities. The innovativeness that educating children to grow up to be informed, engaged, and critical citizens induced in other countries of the world and that was part of the culture of education in the pre-military era has given way to mindless imitativeness. The result is that both foreign investors and Nigerian companies look for foreign-trained graduates, after a one-time federal minister announced that Nigerian graduates are not employable.

    Delegates to the conference need to pay attention to education, as no substantial progress can come to the country if this sector remains as confused and comatose as it has been for decades. Many philosophers of education, from John Dewey to James Bruner and Babs Fafunwa, have demonstrated that there is an umbilical connection between culture and education. In a multinational society, there can be no federal culture. The cultures in such societies must be distinct cultures practiced by the nationalities. Such cultures must have influence on beliefs about education, the value of education, and participation styles.

    It is not unfathomable that specific cultural beliefs must have induced the philosophy of Education is a Sin being propagated by adherents of Boko Haram. There is no doubt that culture must have impact on the belief that women can marry at 12 or 13 years of age, instead of remaining to complete secondary school education. Without cultural differences, there would have been no basis for such specialised schools as Nomadic and Almajiri schools. All these point to the fact that a functional federal system, especially in a multiethnic context, does not have to aspire to have a homogenised and pasteurised education system such as the country has experienced for decades. This may be an appropriate time for delegates to look at the German constitutional model.

    All levels of education in Germany are under the control of the lander (the states or provinces). The federal government has responsibility for research and monitoring of educational standards. Germany is not politically any less united because of the devolution of education to the states. On the contrary, this allows the federal government in Germany to attend to other important aspects of post-war development of the republic. Similarly, leaving education to the lander does not diminish technological, cultural, and industrial development in Germany. On the contrary, it has made Germany the most efficient and richest country in Europe and one of the eight most successful countries in the world.

    Devolution of more revenue-raising powers (discussed last week) to the states or regions must also be accompanied by devolution of more responsibilities that include total control over education. This will allow the federal government to focus more on foreign affairs, national defence, and building effective regulatory frameworks to ensure that each state delivers public goods that improve life chances, such as education and health care. Operating a system that creates competition between half-starved states and over-funded federal government in the areas of education and health care has not produced any efficiency in the two sectors. The federal government does not have citizens that can hold it accountable for what it does or does not do. State executives are under undue pressure for the little public goods and services they are able or choose to provide from the donations they receive from the federation account.

    Putting education under the control of states will enable states to create new curriculum that can re-establish and improve mother-tongue instruction in primary school. The current system of making students learn a second Nigerian language when no system ensures that they master their mother tongues is creating avoidable confusion in a society that needs to emphasise mother tongue communicative competence and mastery of a language to participate in the global civilisation that Nigeria is now a marginal part of. More importantly, states will be in a position to find a point of intersection between culture and education in their curriculum, pedagogy, and research, the two Siamese twins of development. The education that has been made possible by the 1999 Constitution is so unanchored to any value system. An education system that is effective cannot diminish the country’s unity; it can only enrich it.

     

    To be continued

     

  • Centenary inanities

    It is once again a season of comedy of errors. The Jonathan administration is at it again; it sees the Nigerian public space as a theatre stage where actors just hop on the podium to induce laughter. The joy so elicited does not go beyond the skin and the room. As soon as people step out of the hall, those who have worries and woes to sort out resume their anxieties.

    The Jonathan team comprises actors and actresses. They are not much bothered by the issues at hand. They make light of the worries of millions of Nigerians. Otherwise, why wildly celebrate a colonial contraption? What is in the amalgamation to commemorate? Frederick Lugard was on a mission to colonise and rule. He had to device the easiest and best means of getting the job done, and that, to him, was by putting together the Northern and Southern Protectorate. It resulted in Nigeria. What is therefore there to celebrate?

    In any case, assuming what has become of Nigeria is worth remarking, why put those who came on a mission to enslave in the Hall of Heroes? Lugard is not only being honoured, but Flora Shaw, his girl friend who merely suggested the name Niger Area for the conquered territory is also a hero by the Federal Government definition. Is the government returning a verdict that colonialism has been a virtue, that it has done us more good than evil? In that case, is it not better to step back a little in history to honour the slave traders who took our forefathers to the American plantations?

    How do we reconcile handing national awards to both colonisers and the freedom fighters? Men like Herbert Macaulay, Obafemi Awolowo, and Nnamdi Azikiwe have been lumped together on the same honours roll. I find it even more ridiculous that the Queen of the United Kingdom is deemed worthy of recognition for being on the throne when the decision to lower the Union Jack was taken. Did the Jonathan historians know the woman was and is only a ceremonial leader? What part did she actually play in the process? Did they ask themselves the part played by Great Britain in the economic enslavement of Nigeria? Did they realise that Britain did a lot to subvert the young Nigerian state immediately after independence?

    Then Sani Abacha, a Nigerian hero? Has enough not been said of his misdeeds and crimes? His loot in Swiss banks is still a cause for worry. It is obvious that Abacha belonged to the same class as Adolf Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy, Idi Amin in Uganda, Samuel Doe in Liberia, Jean Bedel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, Papa Doc Duvalier of Haiti, Marcia Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, among others. Each of them was a cause to his country and his generation. They were blood thirsty tyrants who ran their countries aground. Would any German government celebrate Hitler?

    Would Liberians set aside a day or event to lionize Doe? They remember him as the man who mismanaged opportunities. Doe meant so much to the average Liberian at the beginning. He was seen as a freedom fighter that terminated the yoke of ages for indigenous Liberians. Yet, he got so power-drunk that he destroyed the very essence of his being. For that transgression, his memory is cursed. The society was plunged into a civil war and its innocence raped.

    But, to Jonathan, the fact that Abacha shot his way to power guarantees him a place among builders of contemporary Nigeria. What is Ernest Shonekan doing on the list? He was head of an interim government that had no soul. His band danced to the tune called by the military. He lacked courage or principle. He was colourless and has remained so. Before he was first appointed head of a transitional council that had no basis in law and could actually do nothing without the approval of General Ibrahim Babangida, he had a distinguished career at the UAC where he had worked himself to the top. He had no business working for the military. He had no reason to leave the UAC; yet, he did. He did not to work for Nigeria, but to serve Babangida. He is today allowed to participate in the Council of State merely because he had agreed to form a government that played games with the destiny of our country.

    Now, he is on the Jonathan list of the Greats of All Time. The interim government had no legislature that made laws for it; lacked the executive power to appoint members of the regime and the head could sack no one. Shonekan knew he was brought to power only because his kinsman who won the 1993 presidential election was locked up, but he accepted the assignment. He consented to injustice and, by his action and inaction, kept the country in chains. He is one reason why the military embarked on that course of action. He is now being rewarded by a government that lacks knowledge of history.

    If we want to know a little more of our past without insulting the true heroes, Nigeria has a past, and men like Jacob Ade-Ajayi, Tekena Tamuno, Obaro Ikime, Emmanuel Ayandele and other eminent historians who can act as compass as we embark on a proper interrogation of our past.

    This inanity must stop. The task at hand is to get this giant on its feet. It is not about celebrating a non-event. It is not about elevating nothing. It is not about a government that has embarked on a journey without map. All Nigerians must work together to set a proper national agenda.

  • Making Nigeria thrive after its first centenary (I)

    Making Nigeria thrive after its first centenary (I)

    There is a need to create a country in which the primary stakeholder is the citizen 

    Building a country is much more than superintending its survival. It demands ensuring that it thrives. Many of us who believe mere survival is worth celebrating on account of testimonies from African countries in deeper malaise than Nigeria regarding the fact that Nigeria is doing better than most African countries should know that it is a brainless thing to use failure as benchmark for one’s output. The advantage of a humanist view of life is to strive to belong to the group that is doing well by engaging in perpetual self-amelioration.

    We could have survived several crises: civil war, inter-ethnic violence, increasing desertification, several military dictatorships, sectarian violence, etc. That kind of survival is not a sign of success. Nigerians need more than a country that is using its energy to survive crisis; they need a home in which they can thrive. As we round off the celebrations of one century of creation and survival, let us think and work towards a second century that is marked by peace, freedom, prosperity, democracy, and opportunities for all citizens. There is no better opportunity to do this than to use President Jonathan’s version of a national conference to solve all the riddles needed to defeat the Sphinx of failure that has been around the country for decades.

    It seems that all the six regions have finalised their list of delegates to the Abuja conference. According to the Governor of Niger Delta, speaking on behalf of the 19 governors from the former Northern Region, the North has prepared its position for the conference. The Southeast and South-south regions had also concluded a meeting in Calabar at which they took a position on behalf of both the former Eastern Region and a portion of the old Western Region amalgamated one century ago. On February 27, the core of the former Western Region met in Ibadan to take a position on what to carry on behalf of close to 40 million citizens in the region to the Abuja or Jonathan conference. No sarcasm is intended for calling the conference Jonathan conference. We had had in the past Richard’s, Littleton, Macpherson, and Abubakar? Constitutions. This is just giving unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.

    There has been so much talk about the country’s unity. We have been at it for one century already. Those selected as delegates to the conference should not waste time to anchor the conference on unity. The only No-Go Area clearly spelt out by the Okurounmu Committee has already settled the issue of unity. Even President Jonathan’s recent Centenary Address has been unequivocal about the country’s unity. He has said there was no mistake about the amalgamation of 1914. Nigerians are not complaining primarily about the fact that the over one-hundred nationalities are in one huge country. They are complaining about the fact that the country is not working in a way to assist them to make sense of their lives in economic, political, and cultural terms. Many Nigerians expect that the conference would move from the decades of amalgamation under military rule and in the last fourteen years to one of federation. The issues for serious discussion no longer include the unity of the country. They require concentration on creating a functional federation and right conditions for the federation and its parts to realise their potentials.

    Despite decades of oil and gas exploration and exploitation, over 70% of Nigerians live in poverty and fear about the future of their children. If this signals anything, it is that anchoring the growth and development of a country on selling petroleum and sharing the proceeds among tiers of government from day to day may not take a country of over 160 million people out of the woods of underdevelopment and poverty. It will be worthless for delegates to go to Abuja to argue for more money to the states from proceeds from petroleum and gas. Doing this for almost half a century has not yielded any substantial progress, except that it has spawned a few billionaires whose source of income almost invariably derives from access to political power. The stupendous wealth of the few from revenue allocation that derives from revenue garnered from a ‘rentier’ culture has created resource curse, rather than resource blessing for the nation. For regions or states to dwell on a better way to share the wealth oozing from petroleum is to misuse the opportunity of a conference that is long overdue.

    The challenge is for delegates to come up with new ideas about how to generate revenue for the whole country and its federating units and how to create a social contract that gives responsibilities to those who are charged to govern and the citizens they govern. There is a need to create a country in which the primary stakeholder is the citizen. The way to do this is to borrow ideas and methods from developed and democratic countries. Taxation is the effective device in modern nation building to create a bond between the government and its citizens. Delegates should pay attention to the need to move all forms of taxation, apart from mineral royalty tax, to the states, which in turn is to pass to Abuja the percentage agreed upon to keep the federal government running well. The argument about derivation versus allocation can also be put to rest through taxation. Once the federal government collects substantial tax on mineral royalties, the remaining revenue from mineral exploitation should be reserved for the states in which the minerals are exploited.

    The reason for the federal government and other states in the federation not to share whatever is left of revenue from mineral exploitation to the states of origin of such minerals is at variance with the theory of even development or of opposition to uneven development as a source of conflict and violence. For decades, military dictators popularised the theory of even development, on which they based the policy of sharing revenue from petroleum to all tiers of government and at the expense of communities damaged by mineral exploitation. Even several governors in the post-military era have argued about too much money going to certain oil-producing states, just as apologists for Boko Haram have taken pains to theorise that poor revenues to some northern states have spawned terrorism by persons who feel alienated and pauperised.

    It may be possible for a few states and a few million citizens in other oil-producing countries to live as parasites, but it will be difficult for an entire country of 170 million people to thrive on the culture of parasitism made possible by petroleum exploitation. The Jonathan conference must move away from further entrenchment of the culture of parasitism to creation of a national culture of productivity. Doing this will save governors and their citizens from having to wait in the fashion of mendicants for allocations from the central government that supervises or even occasionally acts as the owner of the federation account. The central government will no longer need to make a job of allocating funds to 36 states and 774 local governments. It will also throw up a central government with limited responsibilities, as distinct from a central government that prefers to act as jack of all trades.

    In addition, citizens who pay taxes from their income or business to keep the governments alive will be less alienated from governance and more empowered to monitor the government they fund. Citizens and elected officials will become partners or joint stakeholders in the project of nurturing a modern multiethnic state. It is common knowledge that most countries in which Nigeria’s rulers in the era of dependence on petroleum buy and hide mansions fuel their civilisation with tax revenue. There are just a few countries that live on and off petroleum. Such countries have small populations. Even many of such countries are becoming productive economies. U.A.E., the country that hosts at least 500 Nigerians daily, is one such example. Many other petroleum-rich countries are already planning for a civilisation beyond oil, in response to fast changes in pattern of ownership of oil across the globe. The time that Nigeria is about to re-design itself for the future calls for a new polity that is driven by a social contract anchored on tax revenue.

  • Our amalgamation was not a mistake – Jonathan

    Our amalgamation was not a mistake – Jonathan

     Full text of speech by President Goodluck Jonathan on the occasion of Nigeria’s centenary celebrations on Wednesday, February 26, 2014

    1.            I extend warm greetings and felicitations to all Nigerians as we celebrate our nation’s centenary; a significant milestone in our journey to Nationhood.

    2.            One hundred years ago, on the 1st of January 1914, the British Colonial authorities amalgamated the Southern and Northern Protectorates, giving birth to the single geo-political entity called Nigeria which has become our home, our hope, and our heritage.

    3.            I have often expressed the conviction that our amalgamation was not a mistake. While our union may have been inspired by considerations external to our people; I have no doubt that we are destined by God Almighty to live together as one big nation, united in diversity.

    4.         I consider myself specially privileged to lead our country into its second century of existence. And as I speak with you today, I feel the full weight of our hundred-year history. But what I feel most is not frustration, it is not disillusionment. What I feel is great pride and great hope for a country that is bound to overcome the transient pains of the moment and eventually take its rightful place among the greatest nations on earth.

     

    5.         Like every country of the world, we have had our troubles. And we still do. We have fought a civil war. We have seen civil authorities overthrown by the military. We have suffered sectarian violence. And as I speak, a part of our country is still suffering from the brutal assault of terrorists and insurgents.

     

    6.            While the occasion of our centenary undoubtedly calls for celebration, it is also a moment to pause and reflect on our journey of the past one hundred years, to take stock of our past and consider the best way forward for our nation.

     

    7.         Even as we celebrate our centenary, we must realise that in the context of history, our nation is still in its infancy.

     

    8.         We are a nation of the future, not of the past and while we may have travelled for a century, we are not yet at our destination of greatness.

     

    9.         The amalgamation of 1914 was only the first step in our national journey. Unification was followed by independence and democracy which have unleashed the enormous potentials of our people and laid the foundation for our nation’s greatness.

     

    10.    In challenging times, it is easy to become pessimistic and cynical. But hope, when grounded in realism, enables and inspires progress. Therefore, as we celebrate our first century of nationhood and enter a second, we must not lose sight of all that we have achieved since 1914 in terms of nation-building, development and progress.

     

    11.    Today, we salute once again the great heroes of our nation – Herbert Macaulay, Ernest Ikoli, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alvan Ikoku, Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, Dr. Michael Okpara, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Mallam Aminu Kano, Mokwugo Okoye and Chief Michael Imoudu among others.

     

    12.    We must be inspired by our past to overcome the obstacles we face in the present and honour our forebears by realising the promise of a Nigeria that is not only independent but also truly unified, prosperous and admired the world over.

     

    13.    The history of Nigeria since independence is the story of a struggle to fulfill our great promise. The discovery of oil in our country in the late 1950s offered new hope of prosperity but we have not always been able to reap the benefits in a fair and equitable way.

     

    14.    The situation was not helped by political instability and the frequent suspension of democracy by military coups. During the civil war, the very existence of our country was cast into doubt but through it all, the promise of a Nigeria that is united, free and strong remained in our people’s hearts.

     

    15.    Thanks to the efforts of our statesmen and women, and millions of ordinary Nigerians, the union endured and flourished.  I would like to specifically commend members of the Armed Forces for their contributions and sacrifices to keep Nigeria one.

     

    16.    General Yakubu Gowon had the wisdom and grace to declare that the civil war had seen “no victor, no vanquished” and welcomed, “the dawn of national reconciliation”.

     

    17.    It was in this spirit that General Olusegun Obasanjo collected the instruments of surrender at the end of the war and later became the first military ruler in our country to hand over power voluntarily to a democratic government.

     

    18.    While the Second Republic did not last, his fine example was later followed by General Abdulsalam Abubakar who paved the way for our current democratic dispensation which has lasted longer than the previous three put together.

    19.    As we celebrate our centenary, I believe that it is vital that we focus our thoughts on the vast potentials of a unified and progressive Nigeria; and build on the relative stability of the Fourth Republic to achieve accelerated national socio-economic development.

     

    20.    I also believe that the future greatness of our country is assured by the favourable tail winds of a resilient population, ecological diversity, rich natural resources and a national consciousness that rises above our differences.

     

    21.    We are a unique country. We have been brought together in a union like no other by providence. Our nation has evolved from three regions to thirty six states and a Federal Capital Territory.

     

    22.    We have transited from the Parliamentary to a Presidential system of government. We have moved our capital from the coastal city of Lagos to Abuja, at the centre of our country.

     

    23.    Today Abuja stands as a monument to our national aspiration for greater unity; it symbolises our dream of a modern nation unhinged from primordial cleavages and designed as a melting pot of our diversity.

     

    24.    If in our first century, we could build a new capital city, we can surely build a newer, stronger, more united and prosperous Nigeria in the next century that will be an authentic African success story.

     

    25.    The whole world awaits this African success story. With our sheer size, population, history, resilience, human and natural resources and economic potentials, Nigeria is divinely ordained to lead the African Renaissance.

     

    26.    That is why I am confident that in the next 100 years, those who will celebrate Nigeria’s second centenary, will do so as a united, prosperous and politically stable nation which is truly the pride and glory of Africa and the entire black race.

    27.    The key to the fulfilment of that vision is our continued unity as a nation. Perhaps one of the most amazing stories of our political evolution in the last hundred years is that an ordinary child of ordinary parentage from a minority group has risen to occupy the highest office in our country.

    28.    As we march into the next hundred years, it is my hope that mine will no longer be an extra-ordinary story but an accepted reality of our democracy that every Nigerian child can pursue his or her dreams no matter how tall; that every Nigerian child can aspire to any position in our country, and will not be judged by the language that he speaks or by how he worships God; not by gender nor by class; but by his abilities and the power of his dreams.

    29.    I am proud and privileged to have been elected leader of Nigeria and I consider it my solemn responsibility to act in the best interest of the nation at all times.

     

    30.    Dear compatriots, in line with the thoughts of that great son of our continent, Nelson Mandela, let us not judge ourselves, and let not the world judge us by how many times we have stumbled, but by how strongly we have risen, every single time that we have faltered.

     

    31.    Even as we remain resolute in our conviction that our union is non-negotiable, we must never be afraid to embrace dialogue and strengthen the basis of this most cherished union. A strong nation is not that which shies away from those difficult questions of its existence, but that which confronts such questions, and together provides answers to them in a way that guarantees fairness, justice and equity for all stakeholders.

     

    32.    My call for the National Conference in this first year of our second century is to provide the platform to confront our challenges. I am confident that we shall rise from this conference with renewed courage and confidence to march through the next century and beyond, to overcome all obstacles on the path to the fulfilment of our globally acknowledged potential for greatness.

     

    33.    I have referred to national leaders who did so much to build our nation in the past hundred years but nation-building is not just a matter for great leaders and elites alone.

    34.    All Nigerians must be involved in this national endeavour. From the threads of our regional, ethnic and religious diversities we must continuously weave a vibrant collage of values that strengthen the Nigerian spirit.

     

    35.    The coming National Conference should not be about a few, privileged persons dictating the terms of debate but an opportunity for all Nigerians to take part in a comprehensive dialogue to further strengthen our union.

    36.    I am hopeful that the conference will not result in parochial bargaining between competing regions, ethnic, religious and other interest groups but in an objective dialogue about the way forward for our nation and how to ensure a more harmonious balance among our three tiers of government.

    37.    My dear compatriots, as we celebrate our centenary, the security situation in some of our North-Eastern States, sadly remains a major concern for us. Just yesterday, young students, full of hopes and dreams for a great future, were callously murdered as they slept in their college dormitories in Yobe State. I am deeply saddened by their deaths and that of other Nigerians at the hands of terrorists. Our hearts go out to their parents and relatives, colleagues and school authorities.

     

    38.    We will continue to do everything possible to permanently eradicate the scourge of terrorism and insurgency from our country.  We recognise that the root cause of militancy, terrorism and insurgency is not the strength of extremist ideas but corrupted values and ignorance.

     

    39.    That is why our counter-terrorism strategy is not just about enforcing law and order as we have equipped our security forces to do. It also involves expanding economic opportunities, social inclusion, education and other measures that will help restore normalcy not just in the short term, but permanently.

     

    40.    I want to reassure Nigerians that terrorism, strife and insecurity in any part of Nigeria are abhorrent and unacceptable to us. I urge leaders throughout Nigeria to ensure that ethnicity and religion are not allowed to become political issues.

     

    41.    I hope and pray that one hundred years from now, Nigerians will look back on another century of achievements during which our union was strengthened, our independence was enhanced, our democracy was entrenched and our example was followed by leaders of other nations whose ambition is to emulate the success of Nigeria; a country that met its difficulties head-on and fulfilled its promise.

     

    42.    Finally, Dear Compatriots, as we enter a second century in the life of our nation, let us rededicate ourselves to doing more to empower the youth of our country. Our common heritage and future prosperity are best protected and guaranteed by them. We must commit our full energies and resources to empowering them to achieve our collective vision of greatness in this second century of our nationhood.

     

    43.    That is the task before our country; that is the cause I have chosen to champion and I believe we will triumph.

     

  • Fashola faults centenary celebration

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has faulted the centenary celebrations of the Federal Government.

    The governor spoke yesterday in Lagos after inspecting a parade on the 53rd Independence anniversary at the Police College. Ikeja.

    He stressed that the nation is 53 years old and not 100.

    Fashola said the centenary celebration would distort the nation’s history for the younger generation.

    He said: “I would seek better understanding, better explanation by those who are behind the centenary celebration because if we rolled out the drums three years ago to celebrate 50 years of Nigeria’s nationhood, the Independence that we fought for, people went to jail for, what is then this centenary suddenly about?

    “I don’t remember, when I was a child, ever coming out at amalgamation day. How did we get to 100? Did we do 99? Did we do 50? Did we do 60? So, there is something wrong here. I don’t know, but I will like clarifications.

    “A generation is coming behind us. The youth need to be clear about the history of our country. As I said, maybe the conception of Nigeria took place in 1914, but it is the birthday, the date of birth of a child we should celebrate. I think that birthday is October 1, 1960.”

  • Fed Govt inaugurates centenary committee

    The Federal Government has inaugurated a committee for the grand finale of the centenary celebrations in Abuja.

    The committee which is chaired by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, has as members the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Minister of lands, housing and urban development.

    Also on the committee are the Minister of Labour and Productivity; Minister of Communication Technology; Minister of Sports; Minister of State, Works; Minister of State 1, Foreign Affairs and the Director, General Service Office.

    Senator Anyim Pius Anyim who inaugurated the committee, spoke on the importance of the centenary day celebration, saying that, “Mr President considers the centenary a unique opportunity for us as a people to re-inspire the unity of Nigeria”.

    The centenary day celebration will take place on the 1st January 2014 and has the theme of; “One Nigeria,Great Promise”.

    Senator Anyim also said that, “Mr President and indeed the whole people of Nigeria are looking forward to a grand finale of the centenary celebration that will not only be memorable but also a testimony to our renewed commitment to live together in peace and harmony, to collectively work for the upliftment and development of our dear country.”

    The chairman of the committee Senator Bala Mohammed in his speech said that, “the centenary celebration offers us an auspicious opportunity to re-affirm the obvious truth that, Nigeria is not a historical accident.”

    Bala further stated that, “Some even unimaginatively go further to compare Nigeria to the United States of America or Great Britain. But the truth is, there is no plausible basis for comparing Nigeria with America which is enjoying over 200 years of independence or Britain which was never colonized. Modern-day Nigeria came into being only on January 1, 1914, which is 100 years ago.

    “As a matter of fact, Nigeria is just going to be 53 years old this year as an independent nation. The early years of the two so-called “model countries” were worse than ours and we must therefore never lose sight of the…historical facts.”

    Senator Bala on behalf of the committee pledged that they will do the utmost to ensure that Nigeria is bequeathed with a landmark and memorable Centenary Day Celebration come 1st January 2014.

  • Centenary beauty pageant coming

    As part of the nation’s 100 years celebrations, there will be a Miss Centenary Nigeria Beauty Pageant and Fashion show staged in Abuja before the end of the year.

    The show is being organised for young women between 18 and 25 years of age as a unifying tool in the country.

    National Coordinator, Mr. Kolade Oludare, Miss Centenary Beauty Pageant and Fashion Show, disclosed this to reporters at a press conference in Abuja.

    He said the beauty pageant is not a bikini show but one that will showcase Nigeria’s culture as it marks its 100 years of existence.

    Miss Centenary Pageant project was unveiled as part of activities to mark the country’s 100 years of existence.

    Oludare said that the project would further strengthen the cultural, ethnic and religious background of the people.

    His words: “The show will be a strong foundation that is deeply rooted in the national unity and peaceful coexistence of the country, thereby acting as a unifying tool.’’

    He said that Miss Centenary Nigeria was to promote the beautiful culture of the country and the different ways of dressing, while also promoting the peaceful coexistence of the nation.

    “The Nigerian woman is a key player in the sustainability of the unity and development that the country has enjoyed in the last 100 years, “ he added.

    Oludare said that the woman, who emerges as the centenary queen would have the opportunity to project “a great, vibrant and progressive nation that is ready to be a world leader’’.

    The “no-bikini’’ event is billed for December 14, in Abuja ahead of the January 2014 Centenary event.

    The winner of the pageant is expected to participate fully in the general celebrations to showcase how the Nigerian womanhood has evolved in culture and tradition in the last 100 years.

    According to him, the pageant will parade Nigerian designers and fabrics to showcase the decency that Nigeria is known for.

    He said that the programme would be aired live on television.

    He explained that the winner of the pageant would go home with a Nigerian assembled SUV car to promote made in Nigeria brand alongside cash and other prizes.

    According to Oludare, the ultimate goal of the event is to contribute toward peace building, irrespective of ethno-religious diversities.

    Activities for the pageant will include talent hunt, cooking competition of Nigerian dishes, workshops, debates on issues of national development and fashion competition.

     

  • Re: Centenary of Ibadan Grammar School

    SIR: The write-up with the above topic was a lucidly written one by Professor Akinjide Osuntokun, undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s fore-most historians, diplomat and international relation experts in The Nation of Thursday march 14. In his usual style, Professor Osuntokun went back on memory lane to the good old days of secondary education in western Nigeria, particularly in Ibadan and how years of inept leadership have ruined everything good about the educational institutions and perhaps Ibadan Grammar school, where he was a student in the early 1960s.

    As a matter of fact, I have never had any cause to dispute anything written by Professor Osuntokun because apart from being a most junior colleague to him, I have benefited immensely from his fountain of knowledge through his write-ups. However, in the above mentioned article, his submission that the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria-led governments’ in free education policy in the then western Nigeria was a disaster is debatable. Rather than free education policy, lack of continuity in government policies after the collapse of the second republic, lack of maintenance by schools authorities, negligence on the part of the old students’ associations, parents and teachers associations and communities were responsible for the collapse of infrastructures in our secondary schools in post UPN years. In fact, the facilities provided for all schools particularly in Oyo State in terms of class rooms, lockers and chairs, text books etc. could last a generation if well preserved and maintained. Aside, it was the free education policy that decentralised secondary education in western Nigeria. Only that time did communities that never thought of having separate secondary schools become proud owners. Equally, the fact that education was made free made it possible for many indigene students who would have had no opportunity of secondary education. This accounts for the edge that western Nigeria had over other regions in terms of school enrollment till date. Professor Osuntokun justified his postulation about the “ideologically driven program of free education at all levels as a disaster” with bad and untared road leading to Ibadan Grammar School, blown off roofs of some of the buildings of the school, abandoned boarding houses, absence of library and dilapidated classrooms.

    It is crystal clear that the aforementioned did not happen between 1979 and 1983; they were products of inept leadership since 1983. Nevertheless, I concur with Professor Osuntokun’s suggestions on the way out of the decline of facilities to some of our schools. Governments in the South-west, old students, parents and teachers and communities have a role to play in the rehabilitation and maintenance of the infrastructures in our schools.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

  • The centenary Nigerian; Political Party Corruption-PPC; Smoothen the path of Nigerians

    The centenary Nigerian; Political Party Corruption-PPC; Smoothen the path of Nigerians

    We have adult decisions at this 100 year junction in Nigeria’s life. We have bombs exploding and multibillion naira thefts and with millions displaced and tens of thousands injured and dead of the wounds of surviving in Nigeria. Yet, we are not ‘At War’. Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, NISER should quantify the mental, physical, family, work and other costs of being a ‘Centenary Nigerian’, The Centenary Nigerian survives okada mayhem and exists without a predictable salary, pension, mortgage, monthly house rent, water, electricity. In addition banking COT, borrowing and high naira exchange costs have made life a 100 year misery and short life expectancy, 47 years.

    Every good thing arrives late for Centenary Nigerians, be it childhood vaccinations, electricity to study and work and play, books for education, medicines in hospitals, jobs and joy and justice, good roads, affordable accommodation and mosquito nets. But they still say ‘Thank you!’ though ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. Things expected from government are mis-labelled ‘government cannot do it alone’ and are delayed, denied, undelivered or delegated to the private sector in a PPP – Public Private Partnership.

    Evil federal polices brought Nigeria to its knees from internal slavery. Government even refused to buy sports equipment for schools while officials stole billions weekly. Sorry, Centenary Nigerian children! ‘Nothing for you’ as Lagbaja says. When in Nigerian education history was the meeting held which cancelled ‘history’, ‘sports equipment’, ‘library books’ and ‘science disposables’ from Nigeria’s education budgets? Whoever did it is probably a ‘big’ retired ‘respected’ Minister or Director of Education and ‘hiding’ in Senate.

    Centenary Nigerians have suffered needless trauma over the last 100 years from failure and abandonment of leadership opportunities – electricity, transport, security, and education. I see it every day in the preventable suffering of my patients and in the pigsties mislabelled ‘schools’. Yes, many Centenary Nigerians are amazingly ‘content with nothing’, accepting what they see on TV as ‘unattainable’. This is Centenary Nigeria where only the sun is free – so free that we refuse to give CBN or other loans for solar equipment! Of course we have several ‘working’ officials. But we require a critical mass of good Centenary Nigerians.

    Our problems are corruption and incompetence. Corruption can stop today, overnight. We must quickly change to survive the huge rock of corruption, far greater than the meteor that hit Russia. Corruption devalues every government naira to 30kobo. Our recent wonderful 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations football success belongs to the team, not us, because Centenary Nigeria did too little. And there are even better players, undiscovered because no one gave them footballs, opportunity or scouted for talent in their LGA. Ditto for all sports and many academic programmes which need organised systematic LGA, State and National Sports Databases. Centenary Nigeria could so easily replicate this football success story in events from shooting to swimming. Sport is neglected job creation. This football success revealed how easily Centenary Nigerians overcome mass suffering whenever transient hope and joy appears. But living in hope without much expectation is lethal.

    We are a blessed people but cursed with many corrupt leaders in corrupt party politics and a rotten greedy civil service. If the survival of Nigeria is paramount we must eliminate political party corruption to save Centenary Nigeria@100.

    With the ‘2013 Amalgamation’ of some political parties into APC, remember that Organised Political Party Corruption, OPPC is traditionally the greatest Nigerian corruption. Are political parties entitled to 50-70% of the budget? By what right do political parties steal? Let political parties study international political party funding etc, and stop stealing from budgets and taking high percentages of contract fees, consultant fees, tax task force funds and Internally Generated Revenue to fund political parties and personalities.

    Before Nigerian Centenary amalgamation celebrations, we need delivery on developmental centenary projects and goals. The private sector is not spending its own money for the centenary celebration. Government will still spend billions on junketing, hotel, transport and ‘palliative’ allowances. The private sector is spending the money you, Centenary Nigerian, paid for excessive bank and cement charges etc. So Fellow Nigerians, you are paying to celebrate the 1914 amalgamation and have paid for the post-amalgamation suffering during the last 100 years. QED!

    At least the Centenary film showed us heroic figures including Olaudah Equiano, the first Nigerian best selling author and slave who is not yet taught in Nigerian schools. Every student should have a copy of Olauda Equiano’s Book, ‘The interesting narrative of the Travels of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa.’ We in Educare Trust have given out hundreds of copies of the book and run a reading club called The Olaudah Equiano Poetry and Prose Club. You should start one in your school or university as an Amalgamation Project on Nigerian heroes.

    In Ibadan, we have a newly reconstructed bridge in Bodija, and the Mokola flyover. Amen. Something new, money well spent by Governor Abiola Ajimobi. During construction the poor alternative routes have cost Nigerians millions of hours and naira daily in fuel and time. Some ‘suffering’ is necessary during development but much Nigerian suffering will be reduced merely by tarring and smoothening alternative routes. Even today though the Davies Bridge is repaired, the Tewogbade, Veterinary and Mokola alternative routes need urgent maintenance and pothole filling, to ‘make our paths straight and smooth’. Building a flyover is good but adding smooth motorable alternative routes during construction is better. Make smooth their path, nationwide please.

  • Centenary celebration

    Centenary celebration

    What we need is sober reflection, not festivity

    Apparently, the decision of the Federal Government to celebrate the centenary of the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria was arrived at, without rigour. The amalgamation was a unilateral decision of Lord Lugard, representing the British colonialists, without any consultation with the indigenes at the time. The driving consideration was the economic and administrative conveniences of the colonial enterprise that he championed. Now, it is that subjugation of our people, their culture and humanity, fought against by our forbearers up to the 1960 Independence that we want to celebrate.

    No doubt, 1914 is a landmark in our colonial history. But at its centenary anniversary, what is required is a somber reflection, instead of a celebration of our subjugation by a foreign power. The share absurdity of this enterprise is a manifestation of the neo-colonialist instincts of the Nigerian leadership. Regrettably, this instinct runs deep, as majority of our past Presidents and Heads of State were at the formal launch of the year-long celebration. Unfortunately, the current President presents the anniversary as a manifestation of our common desire to stay together. Using a strange hyperbole, he likens the celebration to a centenary of a marriage, forgetting that a forced marriage is an absurdity and a nullity in law.

    The President and his compatriots, in their misplaced patriotic fervour, seek to substitute symbol for content. Yes, we agree that 1914 was the year two British protectorates were joined to form Nigeria as a nation, but will it not be fairer to ask, for whose benefit? It is even more unfair to our distinct humanity, to celebrate an act forced on us by a foreign power, despite the misgivings at the time. Or, is it possible that our leadership is not aware of the illustrious history of our various ethnic nationalities, conquered and subdued by the British military might, which culminated in the marriage that the President referred to?

    As a people, 1914 does not signpost any valour, heroism or might exhibited by our people that deserve to be celebrated. On the contrary, what we seem to be rolling out our drums for, is the culmination of the British conquest of the culture and peoples stretching from Sokoto to Eko, Ijaw to Kanuri, and several other nationalities that the conqueror eventually named Nigeria. That is why as a people we should rather be examining the intrinsic terms, conditions, liabilities and other nuances of the marriage – if we may use the presidential hyperbole – that has been foisted on us, when we were not in a position to resist. Such a reflection, in our view, will be no less patriotic, particularly considering the current challenges of our nationhood.

    This lack of reflection is also evidenced by the bogus programmes earmarked for the anniversary. Ranging from the mundane to the impossible, the organisers are promising to use the anniversary to solve major infrastructure and millennium development goal deficits that have challenged the country. While claiming that private capital will be used to actualise the programmes, the planners have promised to deliver a new city gate, a new town, hospitals, roads, scholarships, lottery and several other promises, to entice Nigerians. The range of promises and programmes have left many Nigerians wondering how a government that has failed to deliver on its promises with the humongous public funds at its disposal over the years, will now within a year, aggregate private capital to solve these deficits.

    Experience shows that what will likely happen is that this anniversary programme will be turned into a bazaar for our government officials and their collaborators. Even the tale of using private funds will not stick, as Nigerians are aware that through official policies our conniving businessmen are fraudulently enriched in order to fund programmes of their benefactor governments. Nigerians had also been disappointed in the past by policy somersaults and shenanigans by their leaders and will not be surprised if there exist subterranean budgets for some of the programmes that they claim will be privately funded. Even our National Assembly cannot be trusted not to change its mind midway, about not being ready to fund the anniversary programmes.

    To restore our national honour and self worth, we urge those presently in government to use the anniversary to galvanise a fresh start for our country. Considering our current enormous challenges as a nation, there is a need for a renegotiated Nigeria, based on our freewill and mutually agreed tenets for peaceful co-existence. If we must celebrate our nationhood, the 1960 Independence is the only worthy anniversary closest to the restoration of our dignity and agreement to live together. The hallmarks of the colonial period should be left for the colonialists to celebrate.