The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Distinguished

  • Okebukola for NUC ‘ Distinguished Lecture’

    Former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Peter Okebukola, will deliver the second NUC Distinguished Lecture titled: “On the march to re-invent the curricula of Nigerian universities for improved relevance and global competiveness”.

    The lecture, which holds on Wednesday next week, will be chaired by former president Olusegun Obasanjo. It aims at identifying critical curricular issues pertaining to national needs assessment and global best practices.

    Education Minister, Malam Adamu Adamu is the guest of honour at the event, which would also have in attendance vice-chancellors, members of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), among other stakeholders.

    The lecture is being organised to set the tone for broader stakeholder interaction and engagement in the curriculum reform process. The maiden event titled: ‘Global rankings and the Nigerian higher education system’ was delivered by Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo in December last year.

  • To distinguished senators and honourables

    Distinguished senators and honourable members of the National Assembly;greetings.  May we humbly bring to your knowledge if you do not know already that you are the Third Arm of government of the Federal Republic.  It is a highly exalted office with mandate and responsibility for making laws for our general good. It is such a great honour and privilege to be so elected as members of the legislature from amongst millions of equally qualified Nigerians as leaders to make good laws to shape the future of our great country.  As leaders in that dignified position, you are clothed with great eminence and authority to carry the Coat of Arms of our nation.  It follows also that to occupy such position,you are to be above all appearances of impropriety to enable you unqualified freedom to exercise the power of that office as checks and balances over the power of the other arms of government.  You are not only to make laws but must be imbued with moral character and temper of the nation because law without morality is like cake without the icing.

    Like the judicial arm, the National Assembly hasresidual power to enforce the supreme and fundamental purpose of the law, to conserve not only the safety and order but also the moral welfare of the state.  The National Assembly should therefore be the custosmorum of the people.It does not matter the platform under which you were elected into the National Assembly but the moment you have won your election, you become Senators of the Republic not PDP or APC. You are to discharge your duties with utmost altruism putting the nation first.

    Distinguished Honourables, you have a four year tenure subject of course to revalidation of the mandate; already this is the second year running and in no time, you will start angling and scheming for alliances and re-election.  It is therefore necessary to reflect on your activities and score cards so far.  May we therefore draw your attention to your stewardship as seen not perceived by the general public.

    You made history during your inauguration when you stabbed your parties at the back against arrangement or agreement for leadership position of the National Assembly.  You destroyed organizational loyalty and put selfish personal ambitions above party loyalty and interest of the nation.  We saw display of treachery, disloyalty and betrayals of party’s ethos which has been an albatross on the Eighth Assembly making it unable to deliver on any constructive and productive work of lawmaking.

    In scheming for office, it turned out that you ignored and threw morality to the winds when you allegedly tampered with the House Rules in order to defeat due process and justice.If the argument is that you did not tamper with the rules yourselves, you became beneficiaries and benefactors of the skewed rules.  You did not stop there; the next course of action for you as federal lawmakers was to be throwing chairs over chairmanship and membership of committees.  Just as the dust settles down from the fight over appointments you again unleashed on the nation the brouhaha over sundry allowances.  What about the N32 million SUV (cars)?    Perhaps one would just remind you that this is a country where the minimum wage is N18,000 and virtually all the states of the federation owe workers’ salaries in arrears with some threatening to down size the workers strength.

    You did not even stop for a moment to look at the pressing issues of the moment in the nation such as unemployment, insecurity, infrastructural deficit, ethnic agitation, religious intolerance, inflation in double digitsetc; you want pension and immunity for yourselves. Immunity for what? You must have a questionable past or record to be contemplating immunity.  If this is the case, you do not deserve to be dignified with such an exalted office in the first place if the purpose is to build protective wall against past malfeasance.  You have completely abandoned your responsibilities and duties to the nation and did not at all appear to understand the enormity of the demand of your office.  You did not realise that your loyalty is first to the nation and your people and not any individual.  That is why you would abandon your legislature schedules at the hallowed chambers to besiege the Code of Conduct Tribunal where the Senate President is standing trial for an alleged false declaration of asset; a criminal allegation.  That is why you find it convenient to leave your hallowed chambers and follow the Senate President and his deputy to the High Court where they are facing trial over an alleged tampering with the House Rules; a criminal offence. You have ignored the fact that you are custodians of public morals or not seem to be aware at all.

    To hear some of you argue vociferously that the National Assembly or the Senate is under trial because a few individuals are asked to account for an alleged criminal conduct belie the quality and character of people you have chosen to become.  Is the Senate President or his deputy or any other member for that matter the same thing as the Senate?  It is like equating Napoleon with France.

    Each time there is allegation of immoral turpitude against any member of the National Assembly we see the Honourables rise up in arms that it is an attack against the Assembly; like the recent allegation that some randy Honourables who could not control their libido and were engaging pimps in America. To be agitated the way you were and summoning the American ambassador to Nigeria to appear before you, ignoring all diplomatic ethos is balderdash.  Couldn’t the House have conducted a discreet investigation without all the hoopla it unleashed on the media?  Methinks it is puerile, infantile and bereft of common sense and logic to think and behave this way in that exalted office.

    Distinguished Honourables, your behaviours are becoming intolerable and the ways and manners you are conducting your affairs unacceptable.  Even in expression, your language is not dignified and ennobling to say the least.  How would a distinguished senator threaten to impregnate someone else’s wife and another senator to the bargain over parliamentary altercation in the so-called hallowed chambers? The world is watching and the people of Nigeria who elected you are watching.  Remember also the people reserve the right and power to recall you when it becomes manifestly clear that you have become real liabilities.  Nigeria cannot afford to continue to have cheap people as leaders.  As if that is not enough, you are now threatening to impeach the President; over what?Haba! Madness should have method. Take note that Nigerians are on standby to occupy the National Assemblyif youignore and refuse to offer quality service to the nation.  A word is enough for the wise.

     

    • Kebonkwu Esq writes from Abuja

  • How distinguished are our senators?

    SIR: Distinguished senators.  That is how members of Nigeria’s Upper House address themselves, and wish to be addressed by all of us, 170 million Nigerians.

    Now let us look back and also see contemporary legislators across the globe.  The expression is one of recent concoction.  It was never in our historical political lexicon.  Humbler, more evasive parliamentarians up to the end of the last century did not bother about high sounding nomenclatures.  They were concerned about public interest, in deference to the wishes of the people who voted them into parliament.  Things have since changed.

    But this is not surprising considering the calibre and orientation of our political practitioners today.  Today’s legislators want to be cast in a different and unique role.  In addition to remunerations that are hidden and repellent to societal norms, they want to have life pension and also to be immune from the consequences of all malfeasance.

    Looking more critically the word ‘distinguished’ denotes extra-ordinary performance or beyond the ordinary.  In Abuja, you  become a ‘Distinguished’ senator the moment you are sworn in. To say the least, this is ridiculous, as it makes a big joke of the level of comprehension and the low level of responsibility which these pampered politicians think they owe us.

    My English Dictionary describes ‘distinguished’ as “very successful and admired by people or having an appearance that makes people look important or that makes people admire them”.

    In Abuja, does the cap fit?

    Some people have said that many members of that hallowed Chamber have been in public domain throughout their adult life. From council chairmen, to members of state assemblies, to state commissioners, speakers and governors; they have lived and fed fat on the public.  Arriving at the Senate is the climax of their political journey through life.  All they have to do is to go to their constituents once or twice a year, distribute T-Shirts bearing their names, give out sewing machines or potato grinders.  All these generous donations will make the poor, the unwary and unsuspecting gather together like butterflies, dancing and singing the praises of these wonderful people.  Don’t these people have a conscience?  Certainly some would have, but unfortunately the game is, if you cannot change them, join them! The stark reality today is that the social and economic condition of the large chunk of the population is dipping.  It has come to the stage where people are prepared to trade their young children for a bag of rice or gari.  As obnoxious and obscene that this is, it has not occurred to the ‘fantastically’ wealthy Nigerians especially people who are used to ‘sharing’ to have a re-think and modify their vision and purpose of life.

    Senators, and we must not forget, the Honourables.  It is time for real change, not chasing the looters only, but in transforming the society witch is fast grounding to a screeching halt.  Are all members of the Upper House distinguished?

    The cost and national scandal involved in having a super-structured two chambers at the national level is gradually dawning on us.  Apart from the fact that our legislators are living on another planet, the scope and benefit of their law-making has no bearing on the development of our democracy.  Rather the system is creating tension, envy, suppressed insurrection leading to possible explosion.  For now the saving grace is that our society, at least most parts, is structured along hierarchal strata that constitute natural checks and balances.  Our Obas, Emirs, Ezes etc have below them elders of varying degrees of responsibility and command structure that one layer respects and accepts the superiority of the other and will therefore be hesitant to topple the applecart.  This in fact was what the British discovered and built upon in the 19th century when there was a rush to colonise Africa.  But with education and especially advanced education which elevates many youths to higher planes, one cannot for too long depend on this traditional restraint or constraint.

    What do we do now?  We should put into motion the process of amending the constitution so as to make the parliament a one-chamber lawmaking body or make lawmaking part time.  The later postulate i.e. part time members will attract those whose main or sole purpose is to serve the father-land, not those who will earn N18m to N20m per month, take a car loan (essentially free) acquire a N38m SUV car, crave for life, pension, and immunity from all criminal and civil misbehavior and live a free life throughout their sojourn here on earth.

     

    • Deji Fasuan, MON; JP,

    Snr Citizen, Ekiti.

  • Distinguished institutions and professionals in the nation’s human capital development

    Distinguished institutions and professionals in the nation’s human capital development

    The quest of Nigeria to get the best human capital to sustain it development before and after independence has made many administrations come out with different policies to meet yawning demands of semi skilled and skilled manpower needs of the nation. From primary, secondary and higher educational institutions, no stone has been left unrounded, today, we have the public and private educational institutions competing to outplay each other in the race of producing quality and sustained human capital for the nation’s socio-economy and political growth. How far have we gone, what have we achieved, what are the prospects. Again what are the challenges facing the professionals and institution saddled with this great national task?

    It is clear to all that government educational institutions at the all levels are in better stead in providing the human capital needs of the country, even though not much can be said of some of its products with the vast resource at their disposal. The private sector, has no doubt been partners in this quest, and at primary and secondary levels has being providing quality education though at a cost to Nigerians. Their counter-part in the government institution enjoys scholarship, subsidies and free tuition.

    Despite all this, the evolution of primary, secondary and now universities by private players in the education sector in Nigeria’s post independence era has opened a chapter of hope to improve on its skilled manpower that would evelop and sustain a virile economy.

    Today, just like the private sector did in primary and secondary school education, the private universities have come and grown to an enviable position in the Nigeria human capital development sector; their humble beginning which can be traced in two historic phases: the first during the Second Republic under President Shehu Shagari administration, between 1979 and 1983. The second phase was during the Fourth Republic under President Olusegun Obasanjo, 1999 to 2007.

    During this phase, necessary machineries were put in place to visit and scrutinize applications from individuals, religious and corporate organizations that are applying for private universities operating licence. Since then, the history of private universities in the country has not remained the same as there is much to show in terms of provision of qualitative education to the youth who, hitherto, found it difficult to gain admission into the universities before now due to limited number of space in the public universities.

    The private universities have become a fast segment of our education system, though they still constitute a small fraction of the students’ university but are completing favourably with highflyers federal and state universities in their young age in the educational sector.

    One major challenge facing private and public education providers is funding. Adequate funding will determine the quality of workforce; academic and non-academic and state-of-the art facilities such as well equipped libraries, lecture rooms, laboratories among other sundry needs to produce quality of graduates. While the private depends solely on school fees from parents, the public schools enjoy free subventions from government, it is a known fact that if not for the support from their private sector promoters, many of the private institutions would have folded up. The need for government to support the private sector through the educational intervention funds such as the tertiary education trust fund (TETFUND) has been stressed. The country to a large extent, benefit from the quality training from such institutions. The fund can be given to private institutions as research grant to assist in some crucial areas.

    Apart from the funding resource that is critical to the growth of the educational sector, management of these resources by the right leadership is another factor to the growth of the sector. That is why government at different levels now appoint professionals and tested technocrats to take care of affairs of the institutions, saddled with the responsibility of driving the developmental policies of government. Similarly, the private sector players now pouch for the best leaders to manage their businesses.

    For quite a while now, The Nation, has been going round all the states of the federation to see what the chief executive officers of respective institutions are doing. Our findings show that while some of the CEOs are performing creditably well, others are not.

    Now, who are those vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts in this democratic dispensation, who have distinguished themselves in public and private service by training excellent human capital? We are pleased to present you the following leaders in our higher institutions that are living up to expectation.