The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Development

  • Imoke challenges youths on development

    The Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke has urged the management of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) to initiate programmes that would reposition the scheme for national development.

    Imoke made the call at the 2014 annual management conference with the theme: “Evolving dynamic operation strategies to tackle present challenges in the NYSC,” held at Transcorp Hotel, Calabar.

    Imoke, represented by his deputy, Mr Efiok Cobham, explained that after forty one years of its existence, it was necessary to ensure that the scheme becomes an effective tool to promote national development.

    While decrying attacks on corps members, the governor described as painful, a situation where parents would train their children to university level only to be told that their children have been killed on national assignment.

    The Director-General of the scheme, Major-General Johnson Olawumi, said the conference would enable management to appraise all critical areas of operation of the scheme, taking into consideration its mandate and charter.

    Olawumi said the scheme was faced with a lot of challenges including inadequate orientation camp facilities, non-fulfilment of statutory obligation by some critical stakeholders and security issues.

    The chairman, NYSC National Government Board, Chief Gordon Bozimo, stated that the board had made great in policy formulation and value re-orientation in the scheme through constructive engagement of state governments for sustainable development of physical infrastructure at the orientation camps.

  • Youth sport development

    The development of sport cannot be complete without an understanding of the role of youths in the total process. This is so because the potential of sport as a vehicle for national cohesion and development cannot be over emphasized. In Nigeria, we are blessed with talented youths in the field of sport, however, these youths require a comprehensive sport development programme that will enable them to develop their God-given potentials to the fullest.

    The development of youth oriented programmes in sport is fundamental towards promoting the sporting culture amongst young people in Nigeria. This will further decrease the crime rate among idle youths in the country. There is the need for Nigeria’s sport managers to develop comprehensive youth identification and enlistment sport programmes that will help provide the needed athletes for the nation’s sport federations.

    We must not lose sight of the potential of sport as a vehicle for addressing unemployment among Nigerian youths. Sport, when properly organized and managed, can serve as an economic catalyst for any nation. Let’s do an analysis of what it entails and how we can meaningfully engage the youths in sporting programmes.

    There are talented youths in Nigeria and all they require is for there to be designed sport programmes that will meaningfully engage them either as athletes or players in the case of football which is the most popular sport in Nigeria. We need to have sport centres at local government level and encourage the youths to use such centres effectively.

    A careful observer travelling across the country will notice that young Nigerians have so much love for sport but are unable to engage in sporting activities of their choice because of inadequate facilities across the country. Most schools in Nigeria lack the facilities and personnel to introduce the youth to sports. Such facilities are scarce and not found at schools and sport councils.

    The danger of youths developing without exposure to healthy living through active participation in exercise and sports cannot be overemphasized. As the saying goes, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, and as such it is instructive to note that whereas other countries around the world are busy concretizing organizational strategies to interest their youths in sport participation, we are still far from developing viable programmes that will attract our youths and endear them to sports.

    This calls for serious reflection considering the rapidly increasing numerical strength of young people in Nigeria. Let me also say that there is no industry that can accommodate all interests among the youths like the sport industry, and the reason is very simple. It’s either we find the youth as an active athlete, or as an active supporter. Either as an active official, or as an active sport promoter, to mention a few.

    GETTING YOUTHS INVOLVED IN SPORT

    It is imperative that we also look at the critical components that are needed if we want to get youths involved in sport. Firstly, there is the need for the construction of proper sport arenas and such arenas or complex should be fully equipped with the right sport equipment. Also, there is the need for properly trained coaches to introduce youths to different sports and allow them discover their interests and develop their skills.

    Also, a national policy must be introduced that all schools must develop sport facilities and employ qualified sport teachers who should be graduates of Physical and Health Education and can double as PE Teachers or Sport Coaches.

    For youths in the community but not previledged to be in an organized school setting, they should also be accommodated through comprehensive and robust sport programmes to be organized and facilitated by the various state sports councils and ministries of sports, thus, their interest will also be accommodated and their talents harnessed for the general good of all.

    BENEFITS OF YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN SPORT

    The benefits of youth participation in sport are too numerous to mention. Apart from the laurels that we have been able to secure through the participation of our youths in sports, there is an economic angle to it because many young people from humble backgrounds have been able to find their feet and make good use of the economic vehicle that sport provides to improve themselves and their families.

    Nigeria today can boast of many legends in sport and most of those legends began their journey to greatness at a young age, therefore it is advantageous to encourage youths to participate in sports for their own good and the general good of the nation.

  • Building consensus for national development

    The ongoing National Conference is approaching the terminal stage. Very soon Nigerians will know whether the conference was a worthwhile political master stroke by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration as observed by Bishop Mattew Hassan Kukah and many others following its inauguration. Alternatively, Nigerians will know whether the convocation of the conference was an ultra expensive gimmick by the administration to tamper the political convolution that was then threatening to torpedo it. No doubt, the Jonathan administration has had time to regain its breath since the conference started, with a sizeable number of the critical elite bogged down by the intricacies and the spoils of that political engagement.

    However, to the consternation of many of those who have invested hope in the conference, there is yet no courageous proposal by the conference to alter our country’s suffocating rent economy for a productive one. Indeed to the chagrin of many, the conference had turned the important requirement of political restructuring of the country for our nation’s survival to a huge joke, with the hideous recommendation for the creation of 19 new states. With a substantial number of the conferees distinguished beneficiaries of the rent economy, the conference by that recommendation merely sort to expand their clan, even as they have spared no thought as to how such an expansive expansion of the national bureaucracy can be maintained.

    So instead of concentrating their effort to hammer out a consensus on how the existing 36 states, with the creation of just one more state for the south-east zone, will be re-structured and empowered for greater economic activity and bureaucratic efficiency, the conference has rather opted to further muddle the pond. I was thinking that despite the misgivings over the benefits accruable to the country from the conference by a critical segment of the country, that the members will understand the urgent need to work out modalities on how to devolve greater economic powers to either the existing states, or a proposed zonal arrangement. With the claim and counter-claim by segments of the delegates over a proposed new constitution, let us wait to see if there will be a redeeming benefit from the conference which no doubt has given a huge dent to the national purse.

    As the conference turns on the last lap, the challenge before the conferees is to find the requisite sagacity to build the required consensus to hammer out beneficial proposals for our national rebirth, however minuscule. In making that move, perhaps the guide provided by late Ikemba Nnewi, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu in his book, Because I am Involved, may be helpful to the representatives. In that book, he late Ezeigbo wrote,“I am humbly of the opinion that the true beginnings of our loss of direction as a nation can be traced directly to the fabrication and installation of what I had earlier called east/west dichotomy. It is this phenomenon that has created and multiplied the imbalance in our body public. It is this that betrayed our struggle against colonialism. It is this that has created the situation which has been ably exploited and which continues to be exploited to our mutual detriment…. I am firmly of the opinion that the beginning of wisdom in Nigerian politics is the removal of this imbalance which constantly distorts everything.”

    I am confident that nobody will accuse the great Ikemba of talking ignorantly; neither will any from the East accuse him of being a sell-out, as many uninformed critics glibly assert, when some people push the position that there is the need for a strategic alliance between the old east and the old west, if Nigeria will ever have the chance to make any form of progress. As Ikemba asserted in his book first published in 1989, when he wrote “I do believe that the search for a new understanding begins willy-nilly with the east and west finding a common ground. This need is so urgent that I do not believe it affords us the luxury of apportioning blame. We all are at fault to a greater or lesser extent. What the situation demands is courage; courage to chart a new course and speak new truths and the will to install new understanding. In saying this, I wish to state categorically that my proposal is not and can not mean the replacement of the east/west dichotomy with a north/south dichotomy. Rather what I propose is that east/west understanding is a prerequisite for a north/south understanding without which the pan-Nigerians of our dream and aspirations cannot be installed.”

    Propounding his assertion that one of the problems buffeting the progress of Nigeria is the lack of unity, Ikemba referred to the Holy Bible’s assertion that ‘If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand’. He then enthused: “In a nutshell, this is the problem of Nigeria. If Nigeria is divided against itself, Nigeria cannot stand.” He continued, “What then is unity? Unity, in a political unit, is a state of affairs where the entire polity is completely reconciled with itself: a state of affairs where fear, reasonable or unreasonable is diminished or reduced to manageable proportions, a state of affairs where the entire society maintains confidence in the institutions that bind, a state of affairs where man can confidently seek and find his due place in society…. Unity does not mean that differences cease to exist. Rather, it means that differences are recognized and accommodated to the satisfaction of all concerned. Unity means that both privilege and handicaps are not automatic.”

    Personally I guess Ikemba is right on this score. The challenge however remains the lack of will among the divided elites to appreciate this template as the antidote to the motion without movement that has bedeviled our nation’s political trajectory, and work for a change.

  • ITF seeks support for skills development

    ITF seeks support for skills development

    The  Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has called on governments at all levels and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to rev up their support for the development of skills to aid the nation’s industrialisation process.

    As part of the moves to achieve this, the Fund sought for patronage for its training programmes, including prompt remittance of training contributions.

    Its Director-General,Dr Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko, who spoke  during the opening ceremony of the sixth management retreat of the agency in Asaba, the Delta State capital, said ITF will not relent in providing need based intervention in the polity.

    The workshop, with theme, “Mastering the art of leading change” was organised by the ITF to come up with strategies that could be used in achieving its mandates.

    She said: ”We appeal to both the private and public sectors to support the ITF. On our part, we shall not relent in providing appropriate need based performance improvement intervention of all our clients and stakeholders.”

  • ‘Why agric development is slow in Nigeria’

    The Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Gbenga Kaka, has said the development of agriculture in Nigeria has been slow because mechanised farming has not been fully embraced by farmers.

    Kaka noted that with the vast resources at Nigeria’s disposal, the country ought to have gone beyond small-scale farming to embrace full-scale mechanised farming.

    The Senator, who spoke in Abuja at the weekend, noted that small scale farming alone cannot meet the food demands of the country.

    He said, “Agricultural development is not moving at the expected pace for a big country like Nigeria.

    “With vast arable land, large number of the cheapest labour in the world and with the resources at Nigeria’s disposal particularly from crude oil, we ought to have maximised our diversification into agriculture especially when you juxtapose all these with the fact that over 70percent of our people are employed in agriculture.

    “We ought to have gone beyond all these small-scale implements (hoes and cutlass) into mechanisation and applying modern-day technology.

    “The bits and pieces coming from our farmers can never be enough to run a viable agro-industry that will be capable of employing our teeming unemployed youth.”

    While lamenting the poor budget allocation to the sector, the lawmaker berated the government for failing to meet the Maputo Declaration which calls for 10 percent of budgetary allocation to agriculture.

  • ‘Exemplary governance enhances development’

    ‘Exemplary governance enhances development’

    For two days, lawyers gathered in Lagos for the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) eighth annual business law conference. Contemporary issues on various aspects of the economy were discussed in the breakout sessions by the SBL committees. JOSEPH JIBUEZE and PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU report.

    Why has majority of Nigerians  remained poor despite their country’s abundant natural resources? It is due to bad governance, speakers at the eight annual business law conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) have said.

    House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal in the keynote address, said it is disheartening that Nigeria rates low in economic development in Africa.

    He referred to a report by the African Centre for Economic Development (ACEF), which listed Nigeria among countries with the least economic transformation in the sub-saharan region.

    Tambuwal also pointed out that in the African Transformation Index (ATI) on countries’ diversification, export competitiveness and technology upgrade, Mauritius (which came first), South Africa, Cote D’Ivoire, Uganda and Kenya all ranked higher than Nigeria, which placed 19th.

    Expounding on the conference theme: Exemplary governance: Enhancing Economic Development in Nigeria, the Speaker, represented by Mr Moyo Onigbanjo (SAN), said established governance indices for governance are absent.

    Such indices, he said, include governance being epitomised by predictable, open and enlightened policy making; being characterised by transparency and accountability; being participatory and equitable; promoting rule of law and being on the correct path to economic development and prosperity.

    “One thing remains settled: the nation is in arrears of its development potentials and expectations,” Tambuwal said.

    The conference had four plenary sessions with the sub-themes: The role of investors in fostering economic growth; The contributory pension scheme as a catalyst for economic development in Nigeria; and The judiciary, the Bar – enhancing economic growth.

    There were breakout sessions by SBL committees on competition law; travel; tourism and hospitality; mergers, acquisitions and corporate reorganisations; energy and environment; intellectual property; capital markets; insurance and pension; young lawyers; sports and entertainment; infrastructure; information and communication technology; and banking, finance and insolvency.

    Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), declaring the conference open, said there cannot be good governance when people refuse to vote in elections.

    He recalled that during his re-election, only 31 per cent of the registered 6.4million voted, unlike India where he said 73.3 per cent of registered voters turned out to vote, and South Africa where 72 per cent voted.

    “At most we have about 31 per cent of registered voters coming out to vote. The truth is that if you don’t come out to vote, you deny yourself the opportunity of good governance.

    “So, I ask the question, do we really deserve good governance? As we prepare for 2015, I hear talks like ‘will my vote count, will they not rig it? That is what I hear. But what I say is nobody will count the vote you refuse to cast,” he said.

    Fashola said citizens are yet to agree as to the true and acceptable definition of good governance. To him, until the people come to such agreement, it would be difficult to act in unity in the pursuit of good governance.

    “The question that is before us is: have we agreed as a people about what we really mean when we ask for good governance? For some people, good governance may mean ‘well our brother is the governor and this is our time’.

    “So, until we agree on a reasonable definition of what is good governance, it may be difficult to unite our actions in the pursuit of what is good. I think that if we trace the history of those countries whose standards we seek to measure ourselves, it may perhaps shed some light on how seemingly elusive the process of good governance or good government is.

    “Perhaps if we find out what those other countries went through we will realise that they have not suffered lack of good governance the way we have. You will, perhaps realise that they have gone every time to make a change. They have made this change always from the ballot box.

    “The message I want to pass through is that we must rise and make a change whenever there is election. We must be able to come together to retain a good government in office or remove a bad government from office,” Fashola said.

    In the second keynote address, former Deputy United Nations Secretary General, Lord Mark Malloch Brown said Nigeria is struggling to realise its potential.

    “Nigeria is a country which is always about to come but never really arrives,” adding that it was like that with Brazil before it “finally” arrived as a strong economy.

    Urging the NBA to be at the frontline of the battle to lift Nigeria, Brown said the GSM revolution is a good example of what the country could achieve “when demand and supply are aligned in the right way.”

    Brown said lawyers must held restore confidence in the judiciary. “Accountability must rest on the Nigerian courts which should not allow gangsters and other criminals to escape the course of justice,” he said.

    The Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, represented by the Head Judge, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, said significant economic development can only be achieved by the holistic effort of all stakeholders.

    “As the legislature strives to gain the support of the people by being proactive in its promotion of laws, it must also watch the executive and ensure that good policies are implemented for the benefit of the people.

    “The judiciary itself must continue to demonstrate its independence and work with the other arms of government in strengthening itself as an institution and promoting its efficiency.

    “Citizens must also become proactive. Civil society organisations and community based organisations should strengthen good governance from below by providing the people with the tools they need to question and take charge of their future,” Justice Phillips said.

    NBA President Okey Wali (SAN) criticised lawyers who he said have placed Bar politics above their careers. “Some of our members are so entrenched in the politics of the Bar that they virtually have no legal practice left. In fact, they have made NBA elections their career.

    “This development is not only antithesis of professionalism, but also very worrisome. If 30 per cent of the energy being channelled into the election of national and branch officers is diverted to professionalism and development of legal practice skills, the legal profession and legal system would be better for it,” he said.

    On exemplary governance, Wali said: “Are the indicators of good governance present in the governance structure of Nigeria? In my humble opinion, I do not think so.”

    He said to create an enabling environment that is conducive for economic development, there is need to strengthen the appropriate institutions, remove constitutional constraints and review outdated laws, especially those on business and investment.

    Wali said any reform in the economic sector without comprehensive legal reforms will be ineffectual.

    “Purposeful leadership requires political will to take tough decisions and the ability and will power to push those decisions through. As we get close to the 2015 elections, the Bar calls on all Nigerians to be alert and keep this point in mind,” he said.

    SBL chairman Mr Gbenga Oyebode said despite Nigeria’s “economic achievements”, the country “cannot achieve the success and reduce income inequality without good governance.”

    He said the conference theme was influenced by the forthcoming general election and “presents a very unique opportunity for stakeholders to address the imperatives of exemplary governance as a platform for enhancing economic growth and development in the country.”

    Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, represented by Justice J.C Sou, praised SBL for its vibrancy, saying the Federal High Court was ready to partner with the Section to strengthen professionalism in the legal profession.

    Other speakers included Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Lagos, Amina Augie; House of Representatives Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila; Acting Director-General National Pension Commission Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu; former NBA Presidents Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and Joseph Daudu (SAN); Prof Ruth Okediji of the University of Minesota, USA; Dr Joseph Nwobike (SAN); Lagos Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris; Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, among others.

  • Jagbe…Edo community in dire need of development

    Jagbe…Edo community in dire need of development

    Residents of Jagbe, a sleepy community in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, are in a dilemma with the coming of another rainy season. They need the rains for their crops but the rains will also hinder their movement.

    Jagbe can be accessed through Ewu, Agbede and Ibore but the roads are not motorable, especially during the rains.

    The most common means of transportation is the motorcycle because of the rough and hilly terrains. Due to lack of access road, the predominantly Muslim Community cannot take its farm produce to the Benin-Abuja highway since there is no market in the community.

    The newly installed solar- powered street lights by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) at Imiokhono Village is, perhaps, the only facility that reminds the people of to a government’s presence.

    A road leading to the community from Agbede being constructed by the NDDC seems to have been abandoned.

    Some elders told Niger Delta Report that the primary school in the community has only two teachers because others  refused to stay owing to lack of infrastructure and amenities.

    The Odionwele (traditional head) of Afokpoma Quarters in Imiokhono, Pa Sadiku Ogienagbon, said water and quality healthcare delivery services, are among the challenges facing the community.

    He said water did not flow from a project executed by the state government in 2012.

    His words: “Coming to Jagbe is a big problem because there is no access road. We are appealing to the state government to come to our aid for us to be able to access our villages. Water is a major problem; the government had a borehole sunk over one year ago but it is not functioning.

    “I am appealing to Governor Oshiomhole to make it possible for the borehole to start functioning again. We all want development. We don’t have a market, a better school. No teacher wants to come here because of the road. The teachers do not want to come.”

    Another elder, Shaibu Usman said: “The clinic we have here does not have drugs  most times. Our women always return home  without drugs. They always told us that drugs are not available. We have two teachers at the primary school at Jagbe. We have to employ teachers ourselves. At the secondary school, there are no teachers. NDDC constructed only two kilometres of the road and left. We have not seen them since.”

    A native, Mohammed Suleiman, said they had tried through self-efforts to develop the community.

    “All the water board have collapsed. We have been deceived by politicians. Our road is not passable, especially during the rainy season. We have been talking to them but there has been no response. It is only those with jeeps and heavy duty cars that can access this community,” he said.

    A retired journalist, Alhaji Abdul Adams, said: “We have been paying teachers to teach our children. We are suffering, especially in terms of access road. We saw solar-powered street light recently but we do not know those responsible for it.”

    For another native of the area, Mustapha Usman, “there is no way you enter this community without wasting a lot of time. From here to Ewu, Agbede and Ogbalo-Ibore, all the roads are blocked. Schools are here but the teachers are not here. They do not want to stay. The school is almost empty. We have many food but we cannot take them to the market. The money our women will bring home is very small because so many agents are on the way.”

     

  • Budgeting for more development

    Budgeting for more development

    He has a budget of over N1 billion for the year but beyond the cash, chairman of Ikeja Local Government Area, Lagos, Hon. Wale Odunlami has an iron-cast will to make the Lagos State capital better than ever before.

    Presenting the expenditure estimates to the legislative arm of the council, the chairman said his sole aim is to provide more infrastructures which will further boost the living standards of the residents.

    Odunlami also stressed that his administration will transform the education, health, and agriculture sectors, among others.

    The council leadership has tackled pressing challenges, some of which are roads, health facilities and school infrastructures. For instance, the administration has rehabilitated the Oba Akran Road as well the Otigba Street, Computer Village and contained flooding by constructing drainages and culverts to channel off water in low-lying areas.

    The health profile of the area has been boosted with the completion of a primary health centre at Obafemi Awolowo Way and Onilekere. Public schools at Ikeja area, classroom furniture including desks and benches have been provided.

    The administration equally moved to enhance sanitation and healthy living by building prototype public toilets facilities. Pupils are regularly assisted with free aids, including power-generating sets, computers and exercise books. Every year, free GCE and JAMB forms are given to candidates. Security is also improved by providing the police with logistics support.

    The recently inaugurated multi-storey building with 300 units of shops at Obafemi Awolowo Way has provided traders better options. So, have the 150 units of stalls at Onipetesi night market.

    But, Hon. Odunlami said the budget of transformation will be his financial instrument to further improve the living standards of the people in the council, in the 2014 fiscal year.

    Part of the expenditure estimates, he said, will be devoted to capital bills, overheads, and personnel wages, among others, but the council chairman added that his administration is determined to do more for the people this year.

    He appreciated the legislative arm of the council for the subsisting support his administration has received from the council lawmakers, which he said has helped driving growth in the council.

    The budget presentation coincided with a boost in school infrastructure in the council, as the Odunlami administration provided educational and other instructional materials to school pupils.

    The council handed out exercise books, pens and other writing materials to pupils during the annual Quiz Spelling Bee competition.

    The gesture was part of the education development project aimed to promoting unity among contestants and schools, identifying career prospects in the pupils, inspiring the young ones to cultivate the habit of healthy competition through intellectual, mental and physical contests.

    Eight schools participated in the competition which held at the council hall.

    In a welcome address, the chairperson of the Ikeja Local Government, Mrs Folasade Odunlami, praised the effort of the council leadership to give education, which is one of the prerogatives at the millennium development goal, a priority.

    She said: ‘‘I want to appeal to our children to bear in mind that you are future leaders and as such get yourselves prepared for the great task ahead by excelling in your studies. You can only become useful to yourselves and the society at large if you are obedient and well behaved at home and at school and the society at large. You should truly cherish the sacrifices being made by your parents to giving you a Brighter Rewarding Future (BRF).

    “l, therefore, appeal to the  leadership of this great local government to make provision for a befitting library and reading room for better and proactive education development. The competition is all about spelling fast and accurately.

    A pupil of Agidingbi Nursery and Primary school, Favour Ewuche, won in the Nursery and Primary School category closely followed by Airat Bioku and Femi Oguny-emi of Tokunbo-Alli Primary School and Shogunle Primary School, respectively.

  • Association demands development commission

    Indigenous people of Abuja have urged the Federal Government to create a development commission to take care of the needs of communities displaced as a result of development.

    The association noted that the commission should be fashioned after the likes of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) or the Hydro-Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC).

    The President of OIDA, Pastor Danladi Jeji made the call during the second FCT Heritage Day celebration which held in Gwagwalada.

    He said displaced communities in Abuja have not been compensated for their confiscated lands, even as he said they are finding it difficult to make a living due to loss of their communities, houses and farmlands to government and private developers.

    He said: “The proposed Abuja Original Inhabitants Development Commission (AOIDC) should be statutory and should derive its funding from the 30 per cent of all sales accruing from all lands allocated within the FCT. When established, AOIDC would deal with the lingering issues of relocation, resettlement and compensation for all projects, affected communities and persons.”

    Continuing, he disclosed the association’s plan to sue the Federal Government if it continuous to confiscate their lands without regard for their rights.

    Presenting a paper entitled “Annihilation of Abuja Original Inhabitants and Imperatives of Democratisation of the Federal Capital Territory,” the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences Nasarawa State University and Guest Speaker at the occasion, Prof. Andrew Zamani urged the Federal Government to appreciate the need for an all-inclusive policy to tackle the problems of the indigenous people of the FCT.

    Prof. Zamani said: “There are no special privileges for the inhabitants in this regard as is the case for the people of Niger Delta through the Niger Delta Development Commission. Original inhabitants of Abuja need structures for self-governance. The second-tier will provide the basis for a local government system that is people-oriented. More senatorial seats and federal constituencies should be created to increase representation in the National Assembly.

     

  • Challenge of development

    Challenge of development

    The place of science and technology in advancing development has been well established by many scholars. Recently, at Africom Conference held in South Africa, a notable voice was added to the quest for Africa’s development as Mr. Howard Charney of the multinational Cisco declared that the development of the continent is being impeded by the attitude of the governments. He said the dearth of infrastructure needed for technology penetration of the countries on the continent is obstructing genuine investors from directly investing in a region that has been described as holding the key to world development in future.

    Charney also restated the view that too frequent changes in governments have affected policy consistency. And, technology, being at a rudimentary level on the continent, consistency is needed to nurture its development. It could be added that crude politics and politicking, insincerity in electoral politics and ineffective leadership have contributed greatly to the continent’s inability to compete with other countries.

    In recent times, China and India that were regarded as belonging to the Third World have leapfrogged to the front rank of technological nations. The advancement in the two most populous countries in the world could be attributed to investment in science and technology and encouragement of the people to explore new possibilities in tackling the basic problems confronting humanity. Developments in China and India are defined by progress made generally in the people’s conquest of the environment.

    Nigeria has made known an intention to join the league of developed countries by becoming one of the 20 leading economies in the world by 2020; yet, no concrete steps have been taken to make the wish realistic. Korea, Taiwan, Brazil were at the same level of development with Nigeria in 1960, but today, there is a wide gulf between them, going by development parameters.

    Advanced economies like the United States of America, Japan and Germany are not resting on their oars, either. They continue to take giant strides in making life better for their citizens, reducing the level of absolute poverty in their societies. This is the daunting challenge faced by African countries in general and Nigeria in particular.

    When, in 2003, the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology was established under the auspices of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), hopes were raised that it would be a vehicle to awaken the ‘sleeping giant’. However, 10 years after, no progress has been made. The African Heads of State and Government have a duty to review the situation and come up with a fresh solution to the challenge.

    We note the reluctance by the African governments to embrace new technologies and are convinced that holding on to old ways of doing things have given a boost to corruption and trapped the continent in the past. In Nigeria, those who should change policies are luddites; happy with the old ways of analog in an age of mobility and disruptive technologies. It is common to see typists trapped behind typewriters that had obviously seen better days. Things are still done manually, thus making it difficult to wade through sheaves of paper, promoting inefficiency, encouraging the ghost worker syndrome and holding down development.

    Africa has no choice but embrace the global trend. If the region should repudiate the appellation “the dark continent”, it must dump obsolete technology, embrace change and demonstrate to the world that the time has come to take her serious. In this, Nigeria, as the most populous country in the region has the task of leading the battle charge.