The Nation Newspaper

Tag: competence

  • Osun: Why solid education and competence matter

    The race to succeed Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osun State is now getting to the wire with barely a week to the all-important election. The September 22 poll is important in more ways than one. Coming after the Ekiti July 14 election, the Osun poll is one of those elections that would herald the 2019 general election. As one of the forerunners of the 2019 election, it would serve as an indicator, giving us an idea of what to expect at the general election, particularly in terms of the preparedness and actual performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies and the likely voter turnout given the seeming voter apathy in the land. It was just the same way the 2014 elections in Ekiti and Osun, with its varied electoral tales in the two states, foretold then of what was to come in 2015, leaving a sour taste in the mouth. In that ensuing 2015 election, however, the then newly-cobbled rainbow coalition that is the All Progressives Congress eventually uprooted a sitting incumbent at the centre for the first time in Nigeria’s political history.

    Specifically for us in Osun, next Saturday’s election is significant for what it portends for the future of the state in the next four years. It will determine who takes over from Governor Aregbesola who in eight years laid a solid infrastructural and socio-economic foundation for the state to move to the next level, which is economic development and industrialisation level. It is a big electoral decision we have to make and a mistake may prove too costly as it may set the state back irretrievably.

    Created in 1991, Osun has indeed recorded giant strides under Aregbesola. With the good network of roads particularly in the capital Osogbo and the various educational infrastructure put in place across the entire state, the governor has done more than his predecessor in the state. According to official statistics, the Aregbesola government delivered over 1000 kilometres of urban roads across the states, particularly in the capital Osogbo that has been beautifully transformed, reconstructed up to 27 intercity roads, covering 381.89 km and upgraded 81 township roads, covering over 255.17 km.

    The administration improved the economic and financial management of the state, shoring up Internally Generated Revenue from N300 million to an average of N1.3 billion per month. Among other laudable things, the government also established multi-billion Osun Micro-Credit Agency for cooperative groups and societies in a bid to indirectly power small scale businesses.

    Critics of the administration may draw attention, as they often do, to the occasional delay in payment of salaries and pensions, but truth is given the parlous state of the finances of the state, it is a miracle that the governor could keep its salary and other financial obligations and yet able to embark on the laudable projects it has delivered thus far.

    Indeed, it is partly a measure of the enviable height Osun has attained under Aregbesola that it has witnessed the kind of intense interest the governorship race is generating. More than anything else, however, it is this matter of the governor’s fine performance, the credentials and competences or otherwise of those aspiring to take over from him and the challenges confronting the state that should dominate debate at present. However, sadly but not unexpectedly, the race has been low on issues and high on destructive campaigns. We must not allow ourselves to be hoodwinked or be distracted. What is at stake is too serious and too important. It’s about the future of our state. We must pay attention and interrogate the competences of those that have come forward for the exalted job for the sake of our people and generations yet unborn in the state.

    The race parades the contenders and pretenders, those who know they lack what it takes to lead us in Osun and yet continue to grandstand as potential governors of the state. On one extreme is one candidate, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Alhaji Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola alias Ileri-Oluwa, in a class of his own, imbued with solid education, private sector experience spanning over 30 years and excellent record of performance as Chief of Staff in the outgoing administration. At the other end is another candidate, bereft of education and ideas, his main qualification and experience being credit in dancing. In between is a mixed grill of the good and the bad. The tolerable and intolerable and even the distasteful.

    It’s perhaps owing to their widely-known inadequacies that some in the race have elected to indulge in the reprehensible. They concoct lies, spread fake reports and launch disruptive campaigns. Rather than canvass ideas and articulate issues that will help uplift the people they want to govern, they trade in barbs and campaigns of calumny, indeed confirming the correctness of those immortal words of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, that only the deep can reach out to the deep. You cannot give what you don’t have. Knowing full well Oyetola is the man for the job and the one to beat, they move to delimit and de-market him. They claim he is in the race to engage in wanton wealth accumulation. But not a few know Oyetola has achieved financial success in his private life before coming into politics and has a reputation for honesty and integrity. Such a person is not one that can be said to be running for governor to accumulate wealth. He is not an opportunist who is out to get rich with Osun’s funds.

    The opposition also attempted to twist the APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s remarks at the palace of Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, to give the impression he disparaged the traditional ruler and Osogbo people. This writer was at the courtesy visit. Asiwaju was received with pomp and ceremony by a traditional ruler who said the visit was an opportunity for him to show gratitude to the APC leader for his tremendous support when he had challenges over the throne. Asiwaju neither disparaged the traditional ruler nor demeaned the people of Osogbo.

    Given his background and record over the years, is Asiwaju the type of person or politician who will disparage anybody or group of people on account of whether they are rich or poor?

    Asiwaju has always stressed the fact that he was born into poverty and had to achieve success in life through much suffering, perseverance and industry. This is also true of many of our great leaders including heroes like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and MKO Abiola. Like these icons, Asiwaju’s goal in politics is to utilise all he has to help empower people and lift them out of poverty.  His message at the Ataoja’s palace was that this is also the mission of Oyetola in politics and not to accumulate wealth.

     

    • Rahman, former Editor Thisday on Saturday and Sunday Newspapers, hails from Iwo in Osun State.

  • “Competence, not zoning should determine next Ogun gov”

    A governorship aspirant in Ogun State, Babasola Adegbuyi, has advised the electorate to de-emphasize zoning and pay more attention to the critical issues of aspirants’ competence, sincerity and pedigree, when deciding who should govern the state in 2019. He said too much emphasis on zoning will further divide the people along ethnic line. He spoke while fielding questions from reporters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital,  shortly after meeting with the state executive of the Young Peoples Party(YPP).

    The youthful aspirant who hails from Ogun East zone of the state, said zoning had brought no real gains to the state except mediocrity in governance and sectionalism instead of equitable developments. He urged youths of the state to key into the “Not too young to run” bill that was signed into law and rally round his aspiration to become the next governor in 2019, saying he would take governance to the next level in the state.

    He pledged to make education, youth empowerment, infrastructural development, agriculture, security and industrial development the focal points of his administration if given the mandate to lead in 2019.

    According to him, the abandoned Olokola Liquified Natural Gas (OKLNG) and  Olokola Free Trade Zone (OKFTZ) would be revisited and re – activated to drive massive youth employment, revenue generation and socioeconomic development in the state.

  • Between Federal Character and competence

    During the early days when the Eighth National Assembly’s leadership brouhaha gained presence on the pages of our national dailies and dominated discussions on radio, television and the new media, two fundamental criteria for leadership were placed on the front burner.

    Interestingly, in both the apex and lower chambers of the National Assembly, the factors were strongly espoused by the two warring factions. The legislators’ imbroglio later reached its crescendo, as frontline public affairs analysts, ace columnists and eminent legal luminaries joined the fray by advancing their rational views for or against the criteria.

    It was actually a sad commentary to see what began as mere verbal altercation snowballed into a fracas. While the crisis lingered, a friend of mine hilariously told me that even boxing legends, such as Muhammad Ali and Floyd May Wheather, would dread our lawmakers’ ’killer’’ punches. It should be known to our distinguished legislathieves (apologies to Daily Trust’s satirist, Tunde Asaju), that a robust parliamentary business and nothing more, is what we expect from them.

    Now, away from the insanity of our law makers. First, the principle of federal character as a constitutional provision is basically concerned with achieving equity and fairness in resource allocation, appointments and sharing other national largesse amongst the regions, geo-political zones or states in our heterogeneous nation. To achieve equity and fairness, the Federal Character Commission was established during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration to, among other things; address the burning issues of marginalisation and inequality. Competence, on the other hand, simply implies the ability to do something well and is acquired through experience or training.

    Globally, leadership is one of the most significant elements in social discourse. It remains the only tool which can be used to midwife accelerated progress for a nation, state, region, constituency or business organisation through purposeful individuals. It is not a thing to be abused either, consciously or accidentally. In matters of leadership, it is an aberration to resort to our whims, employ sentiment and play the ethnic or religious card, as it is not an all-comers affair. No doubt, it is imperative to give every zone or region a sense of belonging, so to engender harmonious co-existence amongst its diverse peoples and their culture. Likewise, the need to do that becomes sacred when one looks at the peculiar human and intellectual resources endowed each region. As such, entrusting visionary people from different geo-political zone with leadership tasks can be akin to adding spice to the Nigerian project.

    However, there is need for us to perhaps seek the wisdom of Sherlock Holmes or the intelligence of Albert Einstein to objectively answer the following posers. One, do we honestly yearn for national progress? Secondly, do we recognise those qualities or considerations that will orchestrate unprecedented development for our nation? If truly, our responses are in the affirmative, then we must be wary of the consequences of not acting in good conscience.

    One thing is certain, for any meaningful socio-economic progress to accrue to a nation; it needs the intellectual acumen, principle, foresightedness, competence and doggedness of men of impeccable character since these men were elected or appointed based on their pedigree and not on the altar of frivolities. A. N. Whitehead, a British philosopher and mathematician, stated: “Intelligence is quickness to apprehend as distinct from ability, which is capacity to act wisely on the things apprehended.’’ Without mincing word, the thematic preoccupation of Whitehead’s quote is surely on the competency of leaders.

    A cursory study of developed nations will unearth the naked reality, that they accorded premium to competence when appointing or electing individuals into offices. For instance, the Singaporeans will eternally remain grateful to their foremost Prime Minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew as his incorruptibility, high sense of probity, patriotism, sagacity and glowing leadership traits that transformed Singapore into a global economic force.

    Also, the South Africans would forever be indebted to the revolutionary initiatives of the late Nelson Mandela. After a harrowing expedition in jail for 27 years, the late architect of modern South Africa emerged to bequeathe the enduring legacies of rule of law, freedom of speech, credible elections and emancipation of the black race to people of the rainbow nation. Certainly, the principle of federal character or other inconsequential factors were the least in the considerations of electing the legendary Nelson Mandela and Lee Kuan Yew into those exalted positions.

    Again, let it be clear that competence or merit in appointments or elections is all about having square pegs in square holes. In other words, men and women of sterling moral and leadership antecedents, track records, courage, intelligence, honesty, and ingenuity should be considered for strategic leadership positions. Insignificant factors such as geographical location, ethnicity, loyalty, religious or party affiliation should be totally rejected. That our nation’s economic fortunes continue to plummet is as a result of our poor sense of judgment while electing or appointing leaders. It would be foolhardy to expect giant strides when mediocre, avaricious, clueless and decadent people continue to remain our best bet, all in the name of inclusiveness.

    Also, the outpour of encomiums to our dearest country for successfully conducting a credible election earlier this year was made possible by the charismatic and exceptionally-competent Prof Attahiru Jega, who was then the INEC’s helmsman. Even President Buhari cannot deny that his triumph at the March 28 poll was tied to the implicit confidence of the electorate in his leadership abilities.

    More recently, I had to doff my hat for Mr President for prioritising merit over trivialities in the appointments he has made so far. In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, after the appointment of the new service chiefs, Mallam Garba Shehu quoted Buhari as saying: ‘’All of you, including the national security adviser, were chosen on merit. Your records gave you the job.’’

    Hence I want to urge other leaders to replicate the same practice of upholding merit rather than the usual recourse to sentiments and geographical descent as benchmarks for appointing public office holders. .

    I believe we have all evaluated the arguments canvassed by both the advocates of federal character and competence in elections or appointments. And extraordinarily, wearrivedata remarkableconclusionon the contentious issue.

    Hence,it would not be rocket science for us to recommend that which will bring about monumental development for our Beloved Motherland. But, the question is, will our leaders heed the clarion call? Hmmm! Methinks that’s anybody’s guess.

    • Mahmud is a 200-Level Mass Comm., Fati Lami Abubakar College for Legal and General Studies, Niger State.

  • Eunisell displays technical competence

    Africa oil and gas firm, Eunisell has restated its commitment to support local content in the oil and gas industry, particularly among marginal field operators in the country, with a view to early production from oil and gas marginal fields.

    In an interaction during a technical session at the Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Conference and Exhibition in Lagos, the General Manager of the company, Engr. Patrick O’Callaghan stated that the changing times in the oil and gas industry now requires companies to embrace partnership, and innovation, if they must stay profitable.

    “The dwindling oil price is a major topic here today, companies are cutting cost and so the modus operandi has to change in many ways as finance, cash flow, releasing value from stranded assets, have become some of major concerns of operators today.  This is one of the reasons we are at the conference and exhibition to show stakeholders our central production facility which was built for Network exploration and production in record time of 90 days from which significant quantities of oil from the field have been produced within the last five  months,” he said.

    He stated that a combination of modular construction processes and lease, operate, and own agreement has been a good choice for the field owner who is reaping the benefits of a producing asset while spreading the capital costs required.

    “During the option period, the operator enjoys a reliable operation, gains valuable insight into his production profile, and can effectively manage his cost of managing, operating, and running the facility. This provides the opportunity to build equity that can be invested in adding additional assets,” he said. O’Callaghan added that about a month ago, the company recorded 100,000 man hours at one of its facilities without any loss time incident which he attributed to the professionalism, quality of staff and a sound health and safety policy of the company.

  • CBN assesses bank CEOs on competence

    New bank Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are being examined to ascertain their competences and performances, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Kingsley Moghalu, has said.

    Speaking at the continuous education conference for bank directors organised by the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) in Lagos, at the weekend, Moghalu said such CEOs would be invited again two years after, adding that their performance would determine if they would complete the first five-year tenure as prescribed by the banking watchdog.

    He said the recurring financial crises in the country have exposed the inadequacy of skills and dearth of executive capacity in the industry.

    Moghalu said the skill gap manifested in the lack of in-depth knowledge of core banking functions and poor understanding of basic banking operations, among others.

    “There also exists poor understanding of banking regulations, unethical conduct and unprofessional practices and knowledge gaps in financial markets and treasury management among top bank officials.

    “For a bank to achieve global competitiveness, it must invest in the long term development of its most valuable resource, the human capital. Building capacities and developing competencies in all areas of the bank’s business activity is fundamental to creating and sustaining competiveness in the global financial services markets,” he said.

    Moghalu said boards of banks cannot afford to continue to pay lip service to the training and re-training of employees.

    He said employee training costs should be viewed as an investment rather than cost and that the human resource function must be empowered to carry out its functions, especially on the selection of the right calibre of people and placing them where they fit most in the organisation.

    The CBN chief said managing talent creates value for companies. “Most leaders fail to recognise that the competitive advantage in the knowledge economy is determined and driven by human capital. People are the only assets that innovate and innovation is the only path to sustained breakthrough performance.

    “Any financial institution that aspires to compete on the global scene must implement a strategic approach to talent management that is built on a deeper understanding of the complexity and diversity of today’s global talent pool and marketplace,” he added.

  • ‘Vote competence, disregard zoning’

    ‘Vote competence, disregard zoning’

    A partisan group, “The Anambra Leaders of Thoughts (ALT)” has advised voters in Anambra State to vote for a competent candidate in the forth-coming governorship election.

    The association said that only a competent governor can fuel the fire of growth and development in the state.

    The group said in a statement signed by its co-ordinator, Mr. Chukwuemeka Okeke, in Awka, the state capital, that zoning should not shape the proposed election.

    According to ALT, the people of Anambra State should shun sentiment and disregard zoning in their own interest.

    The group added: “We call on our people to disassociate themselves from the current calls for a political leadership based on zoning and an inexplicable pact, which could rubish the electoral process”.

    ALT maintained that only a governor freely elected by the majority can proceed with the work of development in the state at this critical time.

    The association urged the people not to sacrifice qualitative leadership on the alter of zoning.

    ALT said: “Without proper voters’ education, some politicians would take undue advantage of the people. Before long, desperation would set in and various rigging mechanisms that we have always experienced before will be resurrected.

    “We are gradually evolving as a nation and that includes our electoral process. We have seen examples of the people’s power in recent times at home in states such as Edo and Ondo where elections took place recently”.

    The group maintained that Governor Peter Obi’s successor must be a patriot, hardworking, incorruptible and exemplary politician endowed with great qualities of leadership.

    It added: “We can admit that, save for a few incidents, which could still be avoided in future elections, the conduct of the INEC in recent elections has given us hope. Elections in recent times have been free and fair. We want to believe that this will be the trend in Anambra next year”.