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Tag: challenges

  • AU envoy arrives to address challenges

    AU envoy arrives to address challenges

    • By Samuel Buki

    The Envoy of African Union sixth Region Global (AU6RG), Dr. Onyekachi Obasi Macaulay Kalu, has arrived in Nigeria to engage in high-level meetings with the political, diplomatic, and business leaders.

      The visit, organised by AU6RG, will focus on key areas such as the Decades of people of African descent 2021-2031, The year of return and the beyond Remittance and legacy of wealth initiative.

    As the Secretary-General of AU6RG) and EECASR, and a key policy advisor on the diaspora focal point for AUC-CIDO, Kalu brings wealth of expertise and strategic insight to discussion that encompass the Diaspora’s role in Nigeria’s development, fostering stronger ties with the Africa diaspora and the strategies to move beyond diaspora remittance.

    Kwame Nkuruma said: “Action without thought is empty. Thought without action is blind” Additionally, Marcus Garvey emphasised the importance of economic independence, stating, “A race that is solely dependent upon another for economic existence sooner or later does”.

    AU6RG, an organisation recognised by the Africa Union as the Sixth Region of the continent, aims to unite people of African descent and foster global socio- economics development. The mission is to galvanise, mobilise, unite, structure the African Diaspora for the collective betterment of our shared heritage.

    The diplomatic mission underscores AU6RG’s commitment to engaging with key stakeholders and leaders within the region to address shared challenges and seize opportunities for collective growth and development. The visit aligns with Nigeria’s effort to strengthen ties with the Diaspora community, exemplified by initiatives such as the “Year of return”.

    Read Also: How ex-HoS Oyo-Ita laundered funds while in service, by EFCC witness

    As part of his itinerary, Kalu will participate in the interviews with prominent media outlets, shedding lights on discussion and collaborative effort between AU6RG/ECASR and Nigeria. These interactions will provide a platform for disseminating information about progress in diaspora engagement and remittance, enhancing public understanding and support for such initiatives.

    The meeting between Kalu and Nigeria’s political, diplomatic, and business leaders marks a pivotal moment in the diplomatic landscape, signifying a commitment to deepening collaboration and fostering a stronger sense of unity within the African Diaspora.

    The outcomes of these discussions are poised to contribute to Nigeria’s efforts in harnessing the potential of its diaspora for sustainable development.

    Kalu is being hosted by Mr Afolabi Oke, the new Ambassador of the AU6RG)/ECASR to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

  • ‘Our challenges are surmountable with your support’

    ‘Our challenges are surmountable with your support’

    Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has described the role of spiritual leaders in the quest of solving Nigeria’s challenges as indispensable and of great importance.

    He urged them to be patriotic and selfless. 

    The governor spoke during the induction service of the 6th LAWNA Territorial Chairman and National Vice President, Pastor Gabriel Uyeh and 2nd LAWNA Territorial Vice Chairman, Pastor David Ajibade, at the Apostolic Church, Nigeria, LAWNA Territory, Lagos State.

    Prince Abiodun highlighted the ongoing efforts to improve the country’s economy and emphasised the church’s significant role in this endeavour.

    Read Also: Igboho to security agencies: step up efforts against killer herders

    He called on the new chairman and vice chairman to serve God and look after the church under their care.

    Governor Abiodun, represented by the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mr. Olaolu Olabimtan, said the appointment of the duo was a testament to their faith, dedication and commitment to the principles and practices of the church.

    He called on people to renew their dedication and commitment to the work of God.

     urging members of the Apostolic Church, Nigeria, LAWNA Territory, Lagos State to support and cooperate with the new leadership of the church.

    Dr. Uyeh, thanking God for the opportunity to serve the church, said he would submit to the will of God at all times.

  • Challenges before new transportation minister

    As the nation awaits tomorrow’s inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE writes on the challenges before the new Transportation Minister

    The atmosphere inside the boardroom of the Papalanto works yard on May 24, 2019, was charged. It was former Transportation Minister Mr Rotimi Amaechi’s last official engagement, and he had led the team on the inspection of the $1.5 billion Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail line. It was a day of tributes, drama and prayers. Emotions were high. Even Amaechi was misty eyed, and once or twice, had to mop his eyes with handkerchief. “You people are being unfair to me. I never expected this,” he told the crowd made up of Ministry officials, the contractor – CCECC, representatives of the governments of Ogun, Oyo and Lagos and transport reporters.

    At a meeting with the then leadership of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), led by its Managing Director, Eng. Oluseyi Sijuwade, Amaechi said the government is determined to give Nigerians a new railway architecture in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of making it the backbone of public transportation.

    According to Amaechi, the government would continue with the ongoing rehabilitation (of the narrow gauge and its eventual concessionairing) and the modernisation (construction of standard gauge) agenda of its predecessor in line with the Nigerian Railway’s 25 year-modernisation masterplan.

    The Buhari administration, he said, is determined to connect the Federal and each of the 36 states capital by rail.

    Four years ago, the nation was yet to have standard gauge. What existed was the narrow gauge, with its aging coaches and rot wagons which operated in fits and starts.

    “Our desire is to bring back the lost glory of this corporation, which was one of the legacies of our colonial heritage. By the time we finish and connect all capitals with standard gauge, we would be able to attract the middle class back to be patronising the railway,” Amaechi had said.

    First he concentrated on the quick wins, by ensuring the Buhari government capped the ongoing Abuja-Kaduna standard rail line, which though started in 2005, but was bogged down by avoidable delays.

    By February 2016, he ensured the test run of the rail line and commenced commercial activity on the line two months after.

    He also pushed for the completion of the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri standard gauge, (the nation’s first standard gauge experiment though as an exclusive industrial line) to service the Ajaokuta Steel plant by November of same year.

    The Buhari administration altered the original plan of the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri standard rail line meant to exclusively feed the nation’s steel needs and answer to its export via Warri sea ports at Onne.

    The alteration necessitated the Ministry of Transportation taking over the line from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, which was financing the project for the Steel Mill. The result of the alteration to the masterplan necessitated the construction of 10 new rail stations and two worksyard. All stations have park and ride facilities to improve travel experience of Nigerians.

    The change in rail line’s masterplan is in line with the administration’s vision to link all capitals with modern rail.

    Government is already collating bidders for a rail link from Ajaokuta, in Kogi State, to Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    Grand Vision

    Was he able to achieve such grand vision? Transportation and logistics experts agreed he did within four years.

    By December 2015, he announced the decision of the Federal Government to concession the narrow gauge to American Corporation General Electric (GE) and much of 2016 was spent trying to smoothen the cracks and get the concession off the ground.

    By 2017, based on festering hitches the Federal Government appointed Technical Transaction Advisors (TA) to handle the government’s side of the transaction. Though the deal met a brickwall from the staff, who resisted the concessioning, government seemed determined to go ahead and eventually entered a truce to include workers’ representatives on the TA as observers.

    Among other agreements reached with GE was the construction of University of Transportation to train all classes of manpower for the emerging specialized needs of the railway corporation, and the smooth train technology transfer to qualified Nigerians, re-fleeting of rolling stocks such as locomotives, coaches and wagons.

    The deal however sailed into stormy waters when GE opted to handle only cargo business alone against Fed Govt’s insistence on cargo and passenger traffic. The hiatus eventually led to GE’s disengagement, hinging in the global streamlining of its corporate activities which had removed transportation away from its core priorities.

    For the first time, Nigerians are seeing a massive capital project taking shape and performing within its first life cycle.

    While Nigeria’s first experiment was not achieved until after 38 years, and the second, made it after 12 years, Nigerians are seeing a government attempt to complete a 157 (originally 156 km, but extended to accommodate the new Ibadan International Cargo Dry Port), within four years.

    Amaechi had only 23 months of hard work to transform the nation’s rail corporation’s history.

    Experts said Amaechi has worked hard to return to his desk.

    “Amaechi has raised the bar. Through him, we can now see that nothing is impossible to be achieved by Nigerians. If he is retained, it would mean the President is committed to transforming the railway in line with his promise. If he is changed however, the new Minister must learn the rope fast and ensure he does not go lower than the standard Amaechi is leaving,” one of the representatives of the Ogun State government who preferred not to be mentioned said on a telephone interview on Friday.

    Quick Wins

    One of the quick wins for the new minister would be the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge, within the completion cycle. It was reliably gathered the project would be completed in May 2020.

    Already, the two legs of the rail have touched Ibadan. What remains  is the construction of the 10 railway stations and the completion of the Lagos end of the project from Iju to Apapa Ports, where the federal executive council last year approved an extension to link all the five terminal operators both at Apapa Wharf and the Tin Can Island Port.

    Completing the Lagos-Ibadan project, would signal the take-off of the Ibadan to Kano standard gauge line, thus completing the modernisation of the Western Line (Lagos-Kano). The project, with a siding into Abuja from Minna, is expected to be completed in 2023.

    The new minister would be expected to midwife the ambitious Lagos-Port Harcourt coastal rail line, which would link all coastal states, south of the country by rail.

    Also on the master plan is to develop a standard gauge line to Niger Republic, from Kano, thus creating a route for the nation’s landlocked neighbours to meet their import needs through the nation’s ports down south. This would boost Nigeria’s import competitiveness in the sub-region where importers routed their imports through Ghana and Benin Republic Ports

    Beyond the linkages that the railway offers is the opportunities for employment. Between eight and 10,000 jobs were created on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge alone, while the Ibadan to Kano is projected to generate between 10,000 to 20,000 new jobs as either direct or auxiliary jobs or services.

    A new reinvigorated rail service would undoubtedly free up the nation’s economy. Not only would there be a drastic reduction in man-hours lost to traffic congestion, with its attendant improvement in outputs, the linkage of the rail service with the agricultural and industrial belt of the nation would jump start the otherwise comatose industrial sector.

    Maritime Sector

    The Minister of Transportation will also be expected to continue the strides of the Amaechi leadership in the task of establishing a new window for indigenous shipping lines.

    Amaechi battled in the last four years to sanitise the maritime sector, with the enthronement of a single tariff window for operators and indigenous ship owners.

    The new minister will continue with reforms aimed at birthing for Nigeria a shipping line that would return the nation’s lost glory as the leading and biggest economy in the sub-region and in the African continent.

    The new minister hardest task on the maritime sector would be infrastructure. All access roads to all the nation’s ports are deplorable. Most guilty are the Eastern Ports, which are mainly redundant as a result of poor access.

    Same applies to Lagos where poor access roads have compounded the congestion crisis, leaving a huge toll on the residents.

    Also to be addressed are the issues of bringing all terminal operators under strict control. Achieving this has been a major challenge in the past.

    There is also the need to streamline the areasa of conflict between NPA and the Nigeria Shippers Council and other agencies in the maritime sector.

    At the core of the assignment before the new minister is to berth intermodal transportation. A corollary of this is the strengthening of the ports capacity to develop dry ports across the country. Besides helping to develop local economies of host states and zones where such are established, dry ports would greatly enhance the capacity of the rail system and reduce drastically pressure on the roads, thereby reducing the wear and tear and cost of repairs.

    Removal of Legal Webs

    The minister will also be expected to lead the reformation of the nation’s transportation sector. He will be expected to birth a national transportation policy. Transportation pundits such as Dr Tajudeen Bawa’Allah insisted Nigeria is ripe for a transportation policy. He challenged the new Minister to make its actualisation a priority.

    Bawa’Allah had been at the forefront of various committees set up to birth such policies by previous governments. He said such a policy would better sanitise the sector and make it more productive.

    The new minister may also need to activate the ministry to push for the quick dispensation of all outstanding bills relating to the sector still hanging at the National Assembly. Six bills, among them; the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act 1954 Amendment Bill, the Nigerian Transportation Commission Bill, the Nigerian Shippers Council and Nigeria Ports Authority Amendment Bill among others must not be allowed to die with the eighth National Assembly.

  • Challenges before Dapo Abiodun

    Of the last-minute theatrics displayed by the then outgoing governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the most bizarre and grotesque was the installation of 75 traditional rulers on a whim. Never in the history of this great state has such level of desecration of traditional institution taken place. Amosun distributed Obaship titles like confetti. It is important to note the press report which indicated Amosun’s Obas were being installed on a daily basis – his own brand of departure gift to the poor masses in our rural communities – up to the last few hours of his exit from power on May 29. You woke up in the morning and thought about the next tantrums to throw. You descended on the sacred traditional institution and upset the apple cart.

    One cannot but agree with the current governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, for describing the queer action of his predecessor as “unprecedented in the history of our traditional institution” and his desire to retrieve the highly revered Obaship institution from disrepute to which it had been plunged by the sacrilege committed by the former governor. The Ogun State House of Assembly must be commended for its resolution “suspending all traditional rulers appointed and promoted from February, till May 28, during the last minutes of Governor Amosun.”

    Read Also: Dapo Abiodun assures on good governance

    So much has been remarked in recent times on the monumental waste of the scarce resources of Ogun State on 15 model schools (or were they 25?) that littered the woods of the state. Each of the school was said to have been built at a cost of over N1 billion, yet only one of them is partly functioning while the others are left to the mercy of the elements, reptiles and area boys. It is haunting to observe that while the waste on model schools was going on, Amosun, allegedly, was paying his political appointees half salaries and owing the civil servants pension and cooperative deductions. But more regrettable to the private residents like me who manage their own businesses and pay tax to the coffers of Ogun State government is that such colossal amount of money should have gone into renovating the dilapidated public schools that litter the entire nooks and crannies of our state.

    But a greater harm that befell the education sector can be viewed from the prism of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) which the ex-governor purportedly converted to Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology (MAUTECH) without the wherewithal to nurture the new institution. It is instructive to note the media reports that while the ex-governor was busy converting, on paper, MAPOLY to MAUTECH, the staff of Tai Solarin College of Education were being owed 24 months’ salaries! When you consider the fact that MAPOLY, then Ogun State Polytechnic, had produced many leading lights in this country and  was probably the most flourishing institution, being able to substantially generate and pay its staff’s salaries as and when due, the disruption caused by Amosun’s misadventure is most galling. The former governor, by his decision, crippled MAPOLY and for two years, the students could not advance in their studies; no new intake and salaries of workers could not be paid. Amosun’s thoughtless policy killed MAPOLY, a once flourishing institution.

    Therefore, one was pleased to read from ThisDay, a news report indicating that “Dapo Abiodun has ordered that the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta should revert its activities to the way things were before with full activities restored. Governor Abiodun also set up a committee to see to the operational modalities of the Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology, Abeokuta and that of the Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia. According to report, the former governor of Ogun State, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, had introduced a policy that replaced MAPOLY with Ogun Poly, Ipokia and created MAUSTECH, which led to controversies and protests by both lecturers and students before completing his tenure. However, Governor Abiodun has stated that his directive would remain until the committee determined the way forward for the institutions. Abiodun made this known on Sunday through a statement issued in Abeokuta by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin. The governor said the development became necessary due to the fact that the state-owned MAPOLY had been in comatose since MAUSTECH and Ogun State Polytechnic were created. ‘As a responsible government, we cannot fold our arms and allow the situation to continue. We cherish human capital development…’”

    There appears to be so much mess for Abiodun to clear. The pictures of the derelict state of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) that I saw a few weeks ago made me to break down in tears. I had read in the papers that the former governor was attempting to build a 250-bed specialist hospital and that work was already in progress just before May 29. I never believed the story because I knew the state hospital in Ijaiye, right at the heart of the state capital, Abeokuta, was in shambles. Little did I know that the state’s university teaching hospital in Sagamu was itself in ruins. Most of the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the state, which are closer to the masses, are empty of medical facilities. It is good to read in the papers the new governor will focus on reviving the PHCs.

    One should not even mention here for lack of space the daily harrowing experiences of residents of Igbesa, Atan-Agbara, where the former governor  claimed to generate N7 billion (???) Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) monthly yet the roads have been in tatters for years nor our agonies at Ishasi-Akute due to abandoned projects of the ex-governor! I pity Dapo Abiodun. One can only pray for God to grant him the grace to do his best, as the challenges are so enormous. But so far, he’s on the right track and we hope the interest of the downtrodden will continue to be uppermost on his mind throughout his term in office.

     

    • Barrister Oladele, a public policy commentator, writes from Ishasi-Akute, Ogun State.

  • Challenges before Makinde

    As Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde settles down to pilot the affairs of the state for the next four years, Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the challenges that will confront the administration and suggests the way forward.

    THERE has been a change of baton in Oyo State. A new sheriff is in town. Governor Seyi Makinde who contested the March 9. election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken over the reins of power in the Pace Setter State. Makinde is not new in the politics of Oyo State. He had failed three times in his bid to occupy the coveted seat in the state. In 2007, he contested for Oyo South senatorial seat on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), but lost; in 2011, he sought for the senatorial ticket on the platform of the PDP and lost; in 2015, he contested governorship election on the platform of Social Democratic Party (SDP), but failed. However, his consistency and doggedness have finally paid off.

    Makinde is the only PDP governor in the Southwest. No doubt, his victory calls for celebration, because he had steadily and firmly pursued a conviction which spanned several years of waiting, toiling and carpet-crossing. While it is not out of place to celebrate the hard-won victory, it is appropriate to say the merriment should be done with caution.

    Three weeks after his assumption of office, Makinde should settle down for serious business of governance in a complex state like Oyo State. A heavy burden has been placed on his shoulders. So, there is no room for complacency, as the entire people of Oyo State are looking up to his administration with great expectations, hopes and aspirations. Four years may be far, but he made some promises that are expected to be fulfilled within the first 100 days in office.

    A political analyst, Dr Foluso Ajetunmobi, said: “No matter the mistakes or sins committed by former Governor Abiola Ajimobi while in office, the truth is that he will be remembered as one of the best governors Oyo State ever had in terms of infrastructural development, peace and security. He did so much for Oyo State in terms of roads construction. Ibadan people will never forget him for upgrading the metropolis drastically.

    Read Also: We will rely on agric to turn around Oyo’s fortunes – Makinde

    “Without any iota of doubt, Ajimobi had raised the bar of good governance in Oyo State. The onus rests on Makinde to take Oyo to a greater height. Let Oyo, once again, be a pacesetter to other states in the Southwest and the entire country.”

    Ajetunmobi added: “Makinde has everything working for him, unlike in the past when the ruling party did not have two-thirds majority in the House of Assembly. This time around his party, the PDP, has a clear-cut majority with 26 out of 32 lawmakers in the House. This will translate into quick passage of budgets, bills and confirmation of appointments forwarded to the House by the Executive for confirmation.”

    There are so many challenges before the Makinde administration. For instance, the issue of security will serve as a litmus test for the new government. One of the major challenges that the Ajimobi-led administration tackled from its inception in 2011 was how to bring the state back to the path of sanity and ensure the security of lives and property. One of the controversial decisions taken by Makinde was the dissolution of the National Union of Road Transporters (NURTW) executive which has given room to speculations that the governor was planning to bring back the former executive led by Mr Lateef Akinsola, popularly known as Tokyo.

    Before the advent of the Ajimobi administration, there was total collapse of the security apparatus, culminating in total breakdown of law and order in the state. Then, Oyo State had become a state of bedlam, with stories of wanton bloodshed always in the news. Murder, brigandage, arson, rape, armed robbery, burglary, destruction of property and clashes of miscreants were the order of the day. Ibadan was a fiefdom under the firm control of some political merchants, with motor park touts, political jobbers and unsuspecting youths as willing tools to unleash terror on the residents and visitors to the city.

    To reverse the situation, Ajimobi launched a joint security outfit, codenamed ‘Operation Burst’ to tackle the inherited security challenges. He equipped the outfit with the state-of-the-art communication equipment, a fleet of patrol vehicles and Armoured Personnel Carriers to enhance its operational efficiency. To enhance the restoration of peace, the governor launched Oyo State Security Trust Fund in July 2012. This was how Oyo State has remained one of the peaceful states in the country under the Ajimobi administration.

    An Ibadan elder, Pa Ajiboye Olatubosun, faulted Makinde for the dissolution of NURTW. The octogenarian said Ibadan is likely to return to the era of insecurity, if the new governor reinstated Tokyo and his group as leaders of the union. He said: “The speculation is not out place, because the mayhem that the NURTW men perpetrated in Ibadan the day Makinde was inaugurated is fresh in our minds.

    “Besides, every public function that Makinde attends, Tokyo and his gang are there. I think for the sake of his integrity, Makinde should steer clear of NURTW politics in Oyo State. He should allow them to handle their affairs in compliance with the rule of law. We don’t pray that anarchy should return to Ibadan under Makinde. God forbid.”

    Security is sine qua non to good governance. Indeed, the primary responsibility of government is to ensure security of lives and property as enshrined in the constitution. It is hoped that the Makinde administration would not abandon or dismantle the security apparatus put in place by his predecessor. A relapse to pre-2011 era would be disastrous.

    Makinde did not win the election with PDP votes alone. He won with the support of four other political parties, namely the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). These parties formed alliance with the PDP and adopted Makinde their consensus governorship candidate. The details of the agreement were not made public. The leaders of the coalition are Chief Rasidi Ladoja (ZLP), Senator Femi Lanlehin (ADC), and Alhaji Kola Balogun (SDP).

    Unless there is an agreed sharing formula for spoils of office, the coalition will run into trouble. For instance, how many commissioners, special advisers and board chairmen and members would be appointed from each party? The rancour that would ensue will distract the governor from concentrating on the real business of governance. The ‘god fathers’ would like to influence the government policies in order to accommodate their interest. Even though Makinde said he has no godfather. Can he bluff those that sacrificed their ambitions for his victory at the poll?

    Another issue is the future of the coalition. Can it remain intact in 2023, when Makinde will be seeking for re-election? A veteran politician like Senator Lanlehin who wants to be governor may likely pull out to contest the 2023 poll to actualise his political ambition.

    The internally generated revenue (IGR) of Oyo State is low. From the paltry N600 million per month in 2011, Ajimobi has increased it to N1.8 billion. He had promised to further increase it to N5 billion before the end of his tenure. The low IGR has been attributed to tax evasion by residents of Oyo State and the drop in amount derived from Pay As You Earn (PAYE), owing to irregular payment of salaries. Makinde has to face the challenge of internal revenue generation. One of his aides has promised at a radio programme that the new administration will increase the state’s IGR to N1O billion per month within the first six months. His administration must resolve to tax all taxable entities in expanding the tax net and thereby increase the state’s IGR. This is became it is necessary, in view of the fact that the monthly federal revenue allocation from Abuja is hardly enough to pay salaries of workers, let alone the pensioners?

    The issue of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTEC), Ogbomoso, which has been adversely affected by under-funding caused by joint ownership of the institution by Oyo and Osun governments will be a litmus test for the Makinde administration. Some students have spent up to seven years in the university without graduating, owing to incessant strikes embarked upon by the lecturers to back up demand for unpaid salaries.

    Interestingly, Makinde addressed the LAUTEC students in their campus during the campaign. He promised to find solutions to the problems facing the university within his first 100 days in office. How he would achieve this has not been made public. Can he convince the Osun State government to cede the ownership of the university to Oyo State as a permanent solution, to save the institution from going under?

    Again, equal representation of the five zones in Oyo State in the political appointments will determine the commitment of the administration to fairness, equity and justice. It is very important to ensure that all zones are fairly treated in the appointment of commissioners, special advisers, senior special assistants, special assistants, boards’ chairmen and members. The essence is that all zones should be equally represented at the level of decision-making. The new administration must put an end to lopsided appointments, which have over the years been generating acrimony and fear of domination.

    The rancour that followed the review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration and other related chieftaincy affairs in Ibadan land still persists. The review by the immediate past administration led to the elevation of some chiefs to the position of Oba. Ajimobi said the primary purpose of the review was to facilitate the development, modernisation and effectiveness of the traditional chieftaincy system in the ancient city in particular and across the state in general. But the Osi Olubadan, Chief Ladoja, who is eyeing the throne of Olubadan, said he was the prime target of the review. Ladoja said Ajimobi carried out the review in order to stop him from becoming Olubadan in future. Ladoja is one of the Makinde’s pillars of support.

    The exercise has been politicised. It has polarised Ibadan with some indigenes, including elites supporting Ajimobi’s move, while others were against the review. The Olubadan challenged the review exercise in court and won. The court declared it null and void. Oyo State government had appealed the judgment.

    The question is, will Makinde continue with the appeal or stop it? If the Appeal Court judgment goes against the coroneted Obas, will he pursue the matter to the Supreme Court? Will he protect the interest of Ladoja who is on the same page with Olubadan on the matter? Both played a major role in the emergence of Makinde as governor.

    A political observer, Mr Dapo Oladele, has advised Makinde to see himself as governor of the people of Oyo State, irrespective of party affiliations. He said Makinde as a young man should carve a niche for himself in the administration of the state. He should be pragmatic in tackling issues; he should not allow people to mislead him.

    He said: “Election is over, Makinde should face the business of governance, because at the end of four years, people will judge him by his performance. Where it is necessary, he should talk about the past government, but he should not engage in witch-hunting, because such move is not likely to erase the achievements of Ajimobi as governor.

     

     

  • Challenges commercial lawyers face, by expert

    Slow pace of justice delivery and lack of adequate infrastructure are among challenges faced by commercial lawyers, Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) Secretary Okey Egbuchu has said.

    Egbuchu spoke on the sidelines of his inauguration as the Managing Partner of CLP Legal.

    He succeeded one of the firm’s founders Mr. Edo Ukpong.

    On challenges commercial law practitioners face, Egbuchu said: “Nigeria herself is the greatest challenge facing commercial law practice.

    “The system is inefficient. Impunity reigns. Infrastructure is severely limited. Personal or group interests thwart national interest. We could go on and on.

    “The end result is that investments are far from robust as they can be.

    “Looking at the economy, it lacks depth. Just compare South Africa with an economy about the same size as that of Nigeria, it’s more diversified and with depth. It sustains many commercial law firms with hundreds of lawyers each.

    “Here, our income is basically from oil. Anytime that there is a fall in oil prices, we go into recession.

    “Commercial law firms thrive in big diversified economies.

    “Unless we solve our diversification problem and enthrone a more efficient and reliable system only a few commercial law firms will thrive,” Egbuchu said.

    On the future of arbitration and Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR), Egbuchu said it is bright.

    “Look at where it is now and where we were a decade or two ago.

    “Many areas of law, like construction, infrastructure and energy law insert in their standard agreements arbitration as the mode of dispute settlement.

    “As we grow economically, many investment disputes will invariably be settled by arbitration,” he said.

    On how arbitral institutions can be strengthened, he said: “We must start by amending the law.

    “For me, the leeway for challenging arbitral awards must be reduced.

    “The establishment of the Lagos Court of Arbitration is a massive step in the right direction. It’s an excellent facility and with time could be a regional hub.

    “They have done so much to promote arbitration by continuously sensitising stakeholders to its benefits and nitty gritty,” Egbuchu said.

    The commercial law expert spoke on the need to abide by the rule of law.

    “Unless and until law is fairly, sensibly and consistently applied with government leading the way, we will continue to lag.

    “Look no further than the most developed societies in contrast to the least developed ones. The main difference is law and order,” Egbuchu said.

    On his vision for CLP Legal, he said he hopes to restructure the firm for maximum efficiency in his first year as Managing Partner.

    He plans to enhance its visibility and name recognition within two years.

    “Ultimately, my aim is to make CLP Legal the best place to work in Nigeria, nay the world.

    “For clients, we hope to provide the most consistently efficient, solution oriented and ambient customer service,” he said.

  • Take aways from some challenges of 2018 (1)

    From a romance with some emotional flashpoints of 2018, we are back to the Terra firma of 2019. But before we settle in comfortably, we may profit from casting a last glance at some of what may be called takeaways from that past year which are no give aways of faces behind the screens or masks. Depression raged into 2019. So did vaginal and uterine questions. Men were not firebrands but talkatives before the flaming Juliets. Many people complained about nerve problems. Arthritis kept striking. Cancer stung. Candida was unyielding. Vision faded. The prostate gland, the waterloo of many men, proved too heady to be forgotten. We cannot forget the liver. It is too connected with life to be kept in the back seat of healthcare. So are the kidneys and the intestines. Troublesome as 2018 was, you and I have everything to be thankful that we made it to 2019.

    Depression

    More people sank full weight into the abyss than managed to escape from the quagmire. Was it caused by something else or the economy? Some people mention a cosmic factor so well spoken about in the last few years. Anyone who does not fill his or her earthly existence with only bread and butter ways and means would have long heard that strange things were happening all around us. I was a high schoolboy when I read about Carl Sagan, the astrophysicist. When he and his comrades did not scare or excite us about the possibility of beings like us in outer space visiting us and even stealing some of us to study them back home, like animals in a zoological garden, they let us know that a new cosmic hour has struck. What do I mean by this? The answer should be clear if we recall the picture of our table or wall clock, or the wristwatch. Knowledgeable people of old followed the pattern of a cosmic clock to design it. This you can see in the astrological zodiac signs or signs of the stars.They plotted the pathways of the stars to arrive at those 12 signs …Taurus, Pisces, Leo,Virgo, e.t.c. We see a semblance of this in the 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night in many parts of the earth.We see it reflected, also, in the 12 months of the year (even the Yoruba calendar agrees with the Gregorian calendar). We see it impacted on the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 disciples of Jesus.While it takes movement of the earth around the sun to record one earth year, it takes the movement of the earth in another form to cross from one hour mark in another form about 2,600 earth years to cross from one cosmic year or one cosmic age. In a new cosmic age, strange things are expected to happen on earth. It is as though the earth comes under more powerful etheric influences than before. And it doesn’t happen without a warning or signal.Carl Sagan proved to us that fish was falling with rain.This, it is said, is to tell us that we were in the AQUARIUM AGE, the Age of water. We cannot talk about this now. Fish falling with rain startled many people,including the scientists. Where did the fish come from? Some said fish eggs were evaporated and matured and hatched in the clouds. Others laughed at this conception. Evaporation of fish egg or inducting it upwards into the atmosphere would have to act against the present,but not necessarily correct, understanding of the Law of Gravity, which speaks of a force in the middle of the earth pulling everything down to the earth and holding it fast there. With the conception of evaporation defeated, that of biogenesis popped up.

    The prevailing conception of how everything which existed came about was “like begetting like”, man begetting man, fish begetting fish, also called biogenesis. Abiogenesis says something can come out of nothingness. At best, it concedes that “ethers” or etheric substances gave rise to different entities under different situations. As a young man, I showed interest in ALCHEMY when I read that alchemists turn sand into gold grains, using this knowledge. Now,we can put the cosmic sign of fish falling with rain to radiated images from the world beyond which became densified for us earth people to perceive in this gross material sphere of the cosmos. As the age of the air released the secret of the air, bringing such dumbfounding experiences then of, say, telephony, television, GSM, Wasap, Facebook, communication with the moon etc and the rest of them, so is the Age of water expected to startle earthly inhabitants. It would impact more pressure on the kernel of man, the spirit. It will remind us that our being on earth is not by accident ,that the earth is a school,that every age is like a higher level in the spiritual educational system. We can guess what it may feel like to move from high school to the university a student fit only for junior high school. The spiritual school is all about power. If the human spirit was unable to bear the radiations or currents under which existence must occur at a lower age,has to carry over lower class deficits to a higher class, then the higher magnitude of Vibrations in this higher age would simply scorch it like chicken beaten by rain or ice cubes in the scorching tropical sun, or like a candle stick ongthe hot oven burner. This picture can be repainted as a preterm foetus brought forth from an agitated womb without the prospect of shelter in an incubation.Christians speak of Three Ages… age ofvthe Father, age of the Son and age of the Holy Spirit.

    If we plot trajectory, we find slightly more than 2000 years between each age. Abraham represented the age of the Father, Jesus age of the son. Jesus warned that sins against the holy spirit will not be forgiven, and that the holy spirit would come after he had returned to the father to reprove the world of sin and to proclaim the judgement. In 1996 or thereabout, I read an interesting book by Tom Kayan American journalist, titled: DOOMS DAY  1999, in which he recalled end-time prophecies made over many generations, a recurring decimal of which was a sun bigger than our own and outshining it thousand folds.The power of this star,which some spiritual circles say is a huge comet is what is believed would facilitate the judgement in many ways including destruction of FALSEHOOD in all economies, human relationships, human ideas, religion etc. Some people believe this Star is already on its way and that the aggravation of all events in number and quantum over the shortest time spans ever is due to its power which has already encompassed the earth. Thus,anyone who is not inwardly good and strong enough to bear this power and be uplifted by it would be scorched and inwardly cold, lapse into depression. More about this later.

    Our Cosmos or universe has arrived at a cosmic turning point.This means it has completed the revolution around the power  in its centre which holds it together just as the planets of our solar systems individually complete their revolutions around the sun,the central power which holds them together.The cosmos or universe is made of trillions  upon trillions of solar systems which are divided into trillions of trillions of galaxies. Our solar system belongs to the milky way galaxy.Together with the uncountable number of galaxies, we have just completed a revolution around the central authority which holds us all together. If we are not held together, we will fly away in different directions, collide with one another and be all destroyed, making nonsense of our effort to exist conciously and in peace and happiness.This will usher our universe, galaxy and  planet earth into a new season and a higher energy potential we earth dwellers individually or collectively may not be inwardly mature for or prepared for. Here, the energy voltage is much,much higher than we were used to. That is a major reason given for the increasing rate of depression all over the earth today.The spirit, the inner kernel of earthman, gave rise to its earthly body which serves it as a cloak or casing. If the immature spirit cannot bear the spiritual pressure acting upon it in a higher age in which it has found itself existing,it would cave in and its cloak would suffer along with it.The starting point of this suffering are the brain cells.With little or no energy from the scorched and weak spirit to animate them,they become unbalanced and sick as well.

    We can see evidence of these events mushrooming all around us. This scorching hits individuals or nations at the time most ripe and right for it. Recently in Nigeria, a young boy killed his mother in the east, slept with the corpse and then dismembered her organs for sale to ritualists! In Lagos, two brothers who needed money for the naming ceremony of the child of one of them beheaded the seven-year-old son of one of their neighbours, hoping to sell the head to ritualists! We have heard of a new trend in which men in their 50s and 60s sleep with girls aged five or six years! Even more shocking is the story of a man who raped a 68-year-old woman. Depression lies behind armed conflicts. Last year alone, thousands of people were needlessly killed in Nigeria because the brains of some people were not working properly. And, now, we are learning from Nigerian psychiatrists that more than half of the population may have defective brains.

    But we assume people with defective brains are only those who live and sleep on refuse dumps or walk about with no clothes on. A man who steals trillions of naira but is lucky to not be found out,who would not retire from thieving to enjoy his loot but would prefer to go on stealing peanut money until he is caught is not a normal person. He is like that jilted bank worker who, on the day his girlfriend was getting married to another man, sprayed his car with petrol, got into it and struck a matchstick to set himself ablaze.

    Everywhere you turn, you find people with defective brains. They are enveloped in negative energy and radiate it. They are inwardly sick and sullen,bitter and angry and resort to external aids such as drink, sex, violence, slander, murder etc to hold themselves together. They do not know whom they are or for what lofty goals they are permitted existence. Thus, they live but are not alive. Being inwardly empty, all they know about is money and material acquisitions. It does not matter what social level they have attained. They are still sick souls. Let us look at a few more recent occurrences in Nigeria. ONE: In the east, a child of five years was playing outdoor. Some women kidnapped her and sold her for N350,000 in another town. The buyers resold her within 24 hours for N750,000 to another group in another town where the police found and rescued this girl. The captors and buyers did not remember that they were parents.

    We will pitch a tent here on some of the “take always” of 2018, which give away nothing about the individuals they concern. As I look back at the old year, it is depression I see on the protocol almost everywhere. Psychiatric facilities are spilling patients over and doctors are overworked. A testimonial of this is the rehabilitation centre for drug depressed people which Senator Oluremi Tinubu built in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State, and was inaugurated by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. If we look around and about us carefully,we may find that it is not only people who soliloquise or bite the bark of trees for food who have something upstairs working the reverse way or mode. I still remember vividly the reported story of that man in Lagos who went drinking on the eve of his daughter’s wedding. When he returned home and discovered electricity had failed yet again, he lost a little grip on himself. He woke up his daughter to ask for his torch. When she could not tell him where it was, he drew a matchette and cut her to pieces. His wife fled. His eyes cleared a short while later in the police station. He had been possessed by an earthbound soul who derives pleasure and joy in what he had just done. Last year, this column tried to make a distinction between possession and insanity. Possession is often facilitated by poor or low blood radiations, it was said, and may be easily corrected not necessarily  by putting the patient to sleep with injections, but by recomposing the blood. By injecting their patients to sleep as a way of calming the nerves, doctors merely make the bodies of these patients momentarily unusable by those earthbound souls on the prowl who take over the bodies owned and inhabited by weak souls for their own use and pleasure. When these patients are no longer on these injections, and their bodies are usable again by the invading earth bound souls,a relapse often occurs if that soul is able again to take partial or full possesion, giving the scenario of two souls trying to control one body through one brain, a situation often mistaken for insanity. The blood is the means by which the soul communicates with the body and vice versa. So, anyone who either through spiritual weakness or poor nutrition,makes his or her blood radiation weak and unusable by other entities is to blame for these happenings. So,when you walk on a pedestrian bridge across a super expressway and a thought comes to you, suggesting that you jump below, as some people told me last year they sometimes feel, realise your blood may be weak and someone you cannot see,who has departed this earth but fails to move from here and is, therefore, earthbound, is trying to mess you up.When you are alone in your bedroom or in the bath and you feel like masturbating,someone is whispering to you to do something to yourself which degrades you. It is possible more than 20 of them are watching you and laughing as you make yourself a toy or playground  in their hands..You may be DEPRESSED.

  • Challenges of driver education

    It is disheartening that over 80 per cent of the drivers and riders operating on Nigerian roads  lack the knowledge and skills required for safe driving. The possession of the driver licence is no more an assurance that the holder is properly trained to drive. Hence the high rate of road traffic crashes with the attendant consequences in Nigeria.

    Driving is the most complex vocation among all the professions in the world because it is the job that requires the simultaneous use of the highest number of organs of body in a continuously changing environment in a bid to ensure effective and safe vehicle control. It is therefore very expedient that every category of drivers must deeply understand all the traffic regulations, traffic signs and road markings, vehicle dynamics, vehicle technology, defensive and super – defensive driving techniques among other essential topics.

    With the high rate of compromise and corruption which has pervaded the driver licence centres nationwide, thousands of people did not go through driving school or other forms of theory and practical training. There are so many hired killers on the road today holding Nigeria driver licence dangerously practising trial and error driving on the road.

    The lack of structured pre- licence Theory and Practical Tests by the Directorate of Road Traffic Services ( VIOs) before recommending such Candidate for FRSC capturing for driver licence is further fuelling the high rate of road accidents in Nigeria.

    The absence of Driver Licence pre – Renewal Theory Test and physical assessment has been shielding the drivers that obtained their licence in the past from proving their knowledge and skills.

    The absence of Referral or Correctional training for apprehended traffic law offenders in accredited driving schools is also another compromise by the regulatory authorities is another factor hindering driver education in Nigeria.

    The low interest on the part of the employers of drivers to train their drivers has greatly hindered driver education in Nigeria. Some employers are of the opinion that their drivers can go for employment in other companies. Why are they not thinking this way concerning the training of other officers in the organisation? It is simply because they have not yet come to terms with the fact that drivers who move the lives of the high and low in the organisation are very important. There is a need for all employers of drivers to set aside a budget every year for the training of their drivers to keep them current or up to date with the developments in vehicle technology, traffic regulations and vehicle dynamics.

    Another disgusting fact is that some drivers even when sponsored  for training by their employers do not always show interest in the training. This is because they erroneously believe that since they already know how to move vehicle even for long distance journeys, they do not need any training again. This is a dangerous misconception which has also been contributing to the high rate of accidents in Nigeria.

    Lastly, some driving schools also compromise by churning out certificates to learner drivers without offering them the required theory and practical training before being pushed to the Driver Licence Centre for licence processing. This wave of racketeering in the driving schools and driver licence centres is detrimental to quality driver education and by extension, road safety in Nigeria calling for urgent attention and action by all concerned to enhance safety on Nigerian roads.

  • Minimum wage, challenges and reality

    The nation is about to witness labour unrest over the new demand for wages. There have been divided opinions on the desirability of the labour demands. One thing that no one cannot deny is the fact that the current workers pay is actually far from meeting the economic reality in Nigeria. The Federal government for political reasons could not openly refuse or reject the labour demands. More so as the election is just about few months away. To bluff off the labour groups will amount to political harakiri. It is obvious that government is weary and lacking in financial capacity to meet the N35 000 per month minimum wage.

    Before  Hassan Summonu President of the Nigerian Labour Congressc(NLC) in 1978 there was no Structured minimum wage for workers.

    The most popular Udoji pay package of 1975 was not regarded as a structured  minimum wage because it was not negotiated by workers representatives. Good as the Udoji award was it was the beginning of the exodus of farmers from the rural areas to the urban cities; when those that were stark illitrates went for messenger jobs and security guards.

    This same salary award also marked the death of the artisans as majority of them migrated to the urban cities to become motorcycle riders for banks and other corporations.  By the time economic downturn came they became the city-frustrated-okada  riders. Even some of them turn to robberies when they could not make ends meet.

    When in 1981 the Political leaders raised their pay the NLC  called for N300  per month minimum wage. When the Shagari administration refused the NLC went on strike which was led by Comrade Hassan Summonu  before it was agreed for N125 per month.

    . Another negotiation came in 1989/90   when Comrade Pascal Bafyau was the labour leader. It is  interesting to note that  Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole was delegated to conclude the negotiations at the end of the day N250  was later agreed upon.

    When Comrade Oshiomhole became the NLC president another round of agitation came in 2000 -2001 and eventually minimum wage was increased to N5,000 and N7,500  civil servants and for oil workers respectively. By the turn of NLC president Abdulwaheed Oma in 2008 the minimum wage was increased to N 18,000.

    The Governor of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola in his submission held that there is a difference between wage and salary. According to him wage is what is earned per hour and salary is what is eared per annum which is usually paid in arrears monthly  or weekly. Governor Aregbesola then stated that minmum wage should not apply across board. Minimum wage essentially should be applicable to the most vulnerable section of workers whose income is so low as to sustain them.

    He further averred that ” a good way to determine minimum wage should be to index it to the average income derivable from the predominant economic activity in an area, and that  ” in an agrarian environment where the staple crop for instance is maize, we can compute minimum wage with the annual yeild of a single farmer if he works alone.”

     

    Can Nigeria afford new wages?

    In 1999, the workers ought to have enjoyed  free and compulsory education,  free health services for all citizens, better transport services and infrastructure development. But nothing of such came to them. Instead

    Politicians were busy increasing their salaries and allowances at the expense of the people that fought for democracy. The workers Union themselves fell into the hands of political leaders through divide and rule tactics. The NLC became factionalised. This eventually gave birth to Trade Union Congress  (TUC). The days of Summonu and Oshiomhole where governments were fought to stand still , even the stubbornness of Kokori that made General Sanni Abacha to suffer sleepless night could not be replicated.

    It was alleged that labour leaders now enjoy  the comfort of corridorsof power where they were settled with “Ghana -must-go bags ” at the detriment of the workers they represent.

    These days that the reality have dawn on all  the labour leaders,  and hunger is even affecting some of them ; they now resort to their original call- service to humanity, demanding for N65,000 minmum wage.

    Do we need a prophet to tell us that the government of the day cannot afford such amount. The almost comatose economy   is not healthy enough to meet the workers demand.

    Rising poverty

    Last Wednesday marked International Day for Eradicating of Poverty.

    China lifted over 500 million  people out of poverty in 30 years.

    The feat is not limited to  China alone with its 1.3 billion population  but India has liberated 271 millions of her nationals from poverty  in 10 years.

    Rwanda after its post civil war experience has done similar feat taking a high percentage of the citizens out of poverty.  Botswana  achieved same  feat  despite the fact that they cannot be considered  with Nigeria in terms of economic power and mineral resources.

    But in Nigeria  poverty is on the rise on daily basis.

    The number of the poor in Nigeria  has increased by 1000 percent  from 9 (nine )million  in 1960 to 87 million in 2018. According to the  Brooklyn Institutions,  six Nigerians slide to poverty every minute.

    We must  focus on wealth creation if we are to change the narratives. If on the other hand, we play to the gallery by the distribution of social allowances and stipends to farmers and traders as loans, we are likely to sink deeper into poverty and penury in a very short distance time.

     

    Dangers ahead

    With general election few months away there are ominous signs of  dangers.

    First, there is report of withdrawal of N435.41 billion  from the Stock Exchange  between January and July. This no doubt revealed that our economy is yet to recover fully from recession.

    The report reaching us was that there is foreign Capital flight. Yemi Kale of National Bureau of Statistics   said the economy is still struggling to survive.

    Hunger is looming and possibly ravaging some communities in Nigeria  according to Food and Agriculture Organisation  (FAO) The organisation has since issued warning to Nigeria ahead of the food shortage

    The United Nations,  The African Development Bank  and the British Prime Minister, Theresa May,  have described Nigeria as the global poverty capital.

    AFDB, average that 80 percent of our population are living in extreme poverty.

    2.3 million people in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe are facing acute food shortages due to insurgency. Nigeria is one of the 37 countries in the world that is in need of external foods assistance. But despite these information at the disposal of the power that be, can one ask what concrete measures are in the pipeline before the disaster strikes?

    Aliko Dangote has been careful in words and in deed not to dabble into politics, yet he warned that investors  ” were being scared  from Nigeria  because of its insecurity , particularly kidnapping, Most of the people that own large farms  on the Kaduna-Abuja Road have abandoned their farms due to the menace of kidnapping ” he said.

    So was US Report in 2017 Crime & Safety – Abuja as serious risk crime centre that their nationals should be careful of.

    If the government feel workers should take to farming to augument their wages, but the challenge facing farmers are numerous  such as the absence  of water for irrigation and sanitation in Nigeria generally. These have negative impact on their productivity.

    Poor rural roads  and high cost of transportation, harvest  rot on the farms before getting to the cities . Minister of Agriculture,  Chief Audu Ogbeh  raised alarm that Nigeria will not be able to produce enough rice next year to feed its people.

    Uncontrollable flooding has been destroying crops in Edo, Delta, Kogi, Kwara, Kaduna,Niger, and Bayelsa.

    In 2017, and 10, 000 farmers crops were washed away by flood. So the low income earners if the status quo is maintained they may not be able to purchase necessities of life with their current minimum wage due to the fact that little goods available may be too costly beyond their reach.

    Our oil are no more patronized by India who now turned to US for oil. For long even US has not been consuming our oil. We are now roaming the global sea looking for customers that will purchase our oil a total departure from the past experiences.

    Consequently,  we keep borrowing from external bodies and nations to the extent that there is alarm from  experts cautioning us against future loans. But it appears our economic advisers are not borrowing leaf from other nations that have survived economic recession and today are doing well. A little examination of how country like Portugal rebounded from recession could be of encouragement to us.

    Portugal rebounded from recession with 3.2GDP  and youth unemployment rose to 40 percent using bailouts and policies to reduce tax and stimulate consumer demand.

    Spain also rebound with one million jobs created and industrial production jump by 5%. Nigeria need adaptive policies to stimulate production job creation, and exports.

    While liberalising the rail sector we can take away the four refineries from government management.

  • Awosika challenges youths on self-reliance

    FirstBank Plc Chairman Mrs Ibukun Awosika has urged youths to be self-reliant and be optimistic in overcoming challenges of life.

    She made the call at a workshop organised by the bank for students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    While narrating her experiences and how she climbed the ladder of success, Mrs Awosika advised youths to be prepared to be champions in any society.

    She said: “The struggle of man, which begins at birth is a necessity for every individual to face. Every human must be determined to weather the storm of life, if success is desired.

    “Students should think of what they can do for Nigeria, rather than what Nigeria can do for them because the country is a land of opportunities, despite all odds.

    “Our students should not allow the challenges of the nation to dampen their morale; rather, they should see themselves as those who will impact positively on the nation.”

    According to Mrs Awosika, when the society changes for the better, the outcome will result in emergence of good leaders who will take the nation to greater height.

    The bank chairperson said: “If every Nigerian is good, we won’t produce bad leaders.” She, therefore, urged students to believe in themselves and be patriotic.

    She added: “Every season is different in life and you can only succeed during your own season because it has its own time.

    “Ask yourselves as youths, ‘how prepared am I to make my own impact during your season?’

    “You are accountable adults at this stage. Be old enough to discipline yourselves.”