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Tag: dreaming

  • Dreaming the past

    Dreaming the past

    Monologue

    When responsibility is entrusted to an incompetent person expect the end of time”. Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

    The above quoted Hadith was particularly in reference to leadership in any given society. When the Prophet was to send Mu‘az Bn Jabal to Yemen as Governor, he asked him a pointed question as a way of confirming that his choice was right. He said asking Mu‘az: ‘how will you govern the people in that country?. The latter said he would use the laws of Allah as contained in the Qur‘an. Then the Prophet asked: ‘and if you cannot find a relevant solution in the Qur‘an? Mu‘az said he would use the Prophetic tradition (Sunnah). Then the Prophet further asked: ‘and if relevant solution is not found in Sunnah? Mu‘az said he would adopt the consensus of opinions of learned scholars‘‘. Then, the Prophet asked: ‘and if you cannot get a consensus? Mu‘az said he would use analogical deduction based on the three sources of law mentioned above. Thus, with Mu‘az‘s satisfactory responses, the Prophet technically confirmed the four sources of Islamic law by which any leader in an Islamic society should govern. The summary here is that governance should be by law and not by whim. And that is how the four laws of Islam started.

    The Prophet’s Conclusion 

    Thereafter, the Prophet counselled him as follows: ‘when you get there, my dear Mu‘az, endear yourself to the people and do not be hostile. Be kind to them and do not be wicked. Be lenient with them and do not be harsh. Be considerate with them and do not be dictatorial. Be compassionate to them and do not be sadistic. Be sensitive to their plight and do not be indifferent. Be transparent and do not be seen as corrupt. Be a man of your words and do not be seen as a liar. Fulfil your promises to them and do not renege on such promises. Be trustworthy in utterances and actions and not be seen as a betrayer of trust. There are three signs by which a hypocrite is known. When he talks he lies; when he promises he reneges and when he is trusted he betrays. Remember that a leader is like a shepherd who cannot claim to be successful in a day until he has coasted home the last sheep in his flock. And every shepherd shall be asked by the Almighty Allah about what he does with the flock in his care’.

    Thus, the historic conversation between the Prophet and Mu‘az confirms that good leadership is the bedrock of peace, decency and progress in any society.

    In contemporary time

    Today, many countries including Nigeria are dangerously restive because of deviation from that yardstick by irresponsible leaderships. A nation without a responsible leadership is like a body without head. Such a nation is likely to wander aimlessly and indefinitely in the wilderness of life just like the Egyptian gypsies of yore even as her citizens wallow helplessly in abject penury.

    Read Also: Customs will meet N5.1tn 2024 revenue target, says CG

    Man ordinarily takes food for granted until he faces hunger where food is not available. He takes sound health for granted until he falls sick. He takes freedom for granted until he becomes a prisoner and he takes peace for granted until he faces war. One of the signs of living in a bad time is to keep remembering the good old days with nostalgia. Such is a confirmation that the past is better than the present. This is the situation in which overwhelming majority of Nigerians find themselves today in a country naturally and abundantly enriched with milk and honey.

    Ghana for instance

    Who could have believed some years back that this same country called Nigeria might become a beggars’ own country one day? When political calamity engendered by economic mismanagement struck Ghana in the 1980s, Nigeria was the only rescue haven in Africa for hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians who trooped into this country for all sorts of jobs including menial ones. Thus, from that experience, one would have thought that a lesson had been learnt by Nigerian leaders never to subject the citizens of this country to a similar misfortune. But alas, the situation in the past 40 years or there about has proved otherwise. Ironically, the reality today, is that the citizens of this sixth largest oil exporting country in the Africa have become beggars being deported from a onetime calamitous Ghana that sought and got economic rescue in Nigeria. The same Ghana is today a model for Nigeria virtually in all things that is decent and civilized.

    God, in His infinite mercy does not create any living thing without adequate provisions for its existence. He endows individuals and nations with wealth in time and space as a trust. But He does not physically come down to manage such wealth for anybody. Neither does He give anybody the authority to redistribute it. But in the end, the managers of such wealth will be asked to render account on how they manage it. Individuals and nations become humanly and materially rich only by Allah‘s will at the place and time divinely earmarked for it. Any manipulation of such wealth by certain greedy cabal can only pave way for an untold calamity.

    Fly in a botttle

    Like a fly in a bottle of wine which drinks and drinks till it dies in there, today‘s Nigerian rulers see their position as an opportunity to suck Nigeria‘s oil wells dry at the expense of the masses to whom those oil wells rightly and legitimately belong. These rulers have forgotten that if the oil reserve had not been divinely meant for this generation it could have been discovered and consumed by many generations long before ours.

    Nigerians of today have found themselves in a dream land. They are not only dreaming of what they ought to be as against what they are. They are also dreaming of the good old days in this same country that once gave them the confidence to build hope in their future as well as that of their children. That hope has practically become forlorn. Without necessarily sounding pessimistic, if there is any expectation for an ordinary Nigerian today, it is for death as despair is currently the song of destiny.

    Telling the history of Nigerian oil cannot end with the present generation. It surely extends to the future. Where are the founding fathers of Nigeria especially those who strove for the discovery of oil? Was the current situation their dream? Even as Prime Minister and Premier respectively, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto borrowed money from banks to purchase their cars and build their houses. They never possessed more than those even when their political contemporaries were accumulating empires. It is easier to be a legatee than to be a legator. The greatest spendthrifts are those who do not know the source of money in their possession.

    Oil wealth

    It is rather ironic that oil wealth which serves as the source of fortune for many countries is the main source of Nigeria‘s misfortune. At least this country was economically steady and progressive before the so-called oil boom. At least there was no oil money when Nigeria went through a civil war for 30 months without borrowing one kobo. Why has oil boom become oil doom?

    In his nine years in office as Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon took the price of PMS from 6k to 9.5k per litre. After him was General Murtala Muhammed an obvious man of the people who never tampered with the price of oil till his death in 1976. It was General Olusegun Obasanjo who first took oil price by a leap moving it from 9.5k to 15.3k in his three and a half year reign from February 1976 to October 1979. In his own four years and three months in office, President Usman Shehu Shagari never tampered with the price of oil. And General Muhammadu Buhari who succeeded him maintained the status quo as he never increased fuel price even by one kobo during his 20 month rule. Thus, between 1979 when Obasanjo left office and 1985 when Buhari was overthrown, the oil price remained same and Nigeria did not fail as a nation.

    When the self-styled Military President Ibrahim Babangida took over in 1985, his first focus was on oil. It was he who moved the price of PMS from 15k to 70k in his eight years of governance. But by far the greatest leap of oil price in Nigeria  was introduced by Chief Earnest Shonekan the then interim Head of State who took the price from 70k to N5 within the 87 days of his illegal rule.

    Then General Sani Abacha the maximum despot who forcefully hijacked power in October 1993 moved the price of PMS from N5 to N11 within his five years in office. That was an average of N1 increase per year. When Abacha died in 1998, General Abdul Salami Abubakar became the Head of State and virtually concentrated on oil. He can be called Nigeria‘s Head of oil fields. It was he who took the price of PMS from N11 to N20 within the ten months he ruled Nigeria. When General Obasanjo returned to office as elected President in 1999, his first port of call was oil. Capitalizing on the precedent laid by General Abdul Salami Abubakar, he went ahead to raise the price of PMS from N20 to N70 within eight years he spent in office.

    Ebele Jonathan

    Now, to prove that the removal of the so-called oil subsidy by previous rulers in Nigeria was a child‘s play, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan decided to surpass them all even if all Nigerians would go to the gallows. After consultations with various stake holders and interest groups including traditional rulers, religious leaders, Labour Unions, ASUU and NANS, all of whom objected to any removal of subsidy at this precarious time, Mr. President decided to go ahead with his plan not minding any contrary opinion. His argument was that facilities like roads, hospitals, schools, refineries and rail system must be provided even if at the expense of the lives of Nigerians. And such removal must be done at a time when the feeding allowance of his family and that of his deputy was unilaterally fixed at about one N1billion per year then. Mr. President was calling on Nigerians to sacrifice while the cost of his medical services in the Presidential clinic was then about N1.2 billion even as another N300 million was earmarked for replacement of his kitchen utensils. For his trips abroad in 2012 alone about N10 billion was earmarked.

    But to show a good example of sacrifice for the nation, he and his Ministers have resolved to cut their salaries by 25% though we are not told the amount of each cabinet Minister‘s salary. And nothing is said about their undisclosed allowances.

    That is exhibition of power for you.

    Thus by the signature of one man appended to an obnoxious policy imposed on the populace, it is certain that many lives would be lost, many marriages would collapse, many children would drop out of school and many agreements would crumble causing irreconcilable rifts. These did not happen in the time of Yar‘Adua because there was no cause for such.

    Yar’adua as President

    With Yar’adua as President, Nigerians did not see their newly rekindled hope ending up in a paroxysm of despair as the case of Goodluck Jonathan’s time. Until he came on board as President, every other person that ruled Nigeria except Shagari and Buhari had claimed that there was subsidy on oil.

    Due to his short time in office, Yar‘Adua might not have been perceived as a great achiever but the few achievements he recorded were quite remarkable.

    If those achievements had been sincerely inherited and maintained, Nigeria would not have been plunged into such a quagmire as Goodluck Jonathan’s time.

    At least with his few achievements, many ‘FIRSTS’ can be attributed to him in the history of Nigeria. For instance, he was the first Nigerian President to publicly declare his assets and those of his wife on assuming office. He was the first Nigerian President to publicly admit that the election which brought him into office was flawed thereby promising to reform the electoral process the machinery for which he sincerely put in place before his demise. And he congratulated the Labour gubernatorial candidate, Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State who won a court case against a PDP Governor Olusegun Agagu in the spirit of political sportsmanship. Yar‘Adua was also the first Nigerian President to confess that there was no subsidy on petroleum products and therefore reduced the price of PMS (petrol) from N70 to N65 per litre. Not only these, he was also the first Nigerian President to declare amnesty in a warless situation to ventilate a conducive atmosphere for permanent peace. If he was alive and remained in the saddle the situation of uncertainties would not have arisen. Perhaps that was why he called himself a servant leader.

    Yar‘Adua as a mortal being might have his own weaknesses, nevertheless, his short period as President wrought a remarkable foundation for this country.

    If he had not displayed the ingenuous tactics of declaring amnesty at the time he did, the story of Nigeria would have been quite different today.

    Nigerians continue to remember the good days of Yar‘Adua today because the foundation he laid for a new beginning in those days has begun to crumble so soon in the hands of his successors. Just two years before her centenary celebration as a country, the President iwa telling Nigerians that the security problem in the country was bigger than a civil war and he could hardly handle it.

    In such a situation, who will save Nigeria from the prediction of the West?

    Borno

    Meanwhile, the federal government has agreed in concert with Borno State government to pay a compensation of N100 million to the family of Muhammad Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram who was killed by the police in their cell in 2009. The big question is WHY NOW? And who will compensate the families of several scores of many other Nigerians who were killed subsequently?

  • Dreaming the past

    Dreaming the past

    When responsibility is entrusted to an incompetent person expect the end of time”. Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

    The above quoted Hadith was particularly in reference to leadership in any given society. When the Prophet was to send Mu‘az Bn Jabal to Yemen as Governor, he asked him a pointed question as a way of confirming that his choice was right. He said asking Mu‘az: ‘how will you govern the people in that country?. The latter said he would use the laws of Allah as contained in the Qur‘an. Then the Prophet asked: ‘and if you cannot find a relevant solution in the Qur‘an? Mu‘az said he would use the Prophetic tradition (Sunnah). Then the Prophet further asked: ‘and if relevant solution is not found in Sunnah? Mu‘az said he would adopt the consensus of opinions of learned scholars‘‘. Then, the Prophet asked: ‘and if you cannot get a consensus? Mu‘az said he would use analogical deduction based on the three sources of law mentioned above. Thus, with Mu‘az‘s satisfactory responses, the Prophet technically confirmed the four sources of Islamic law by which any leader in an Islamic society should govern. The summary here is that governance should be by law and not by whim. And that is how the four laws of Islam started.

    The Prophet’s Conclusion 

    Thereafter, the Prophet counselled him as follows: ‘when you get there, my dear Mu‘az, endear yourself to the people and do not be hostile. Be kind to them and do not be wicked. Be lenient with them and do not be harsh. Be considerate with them and do not be dictatorial. Be compassionate to them and do not be sadistic. Be sensitive to their plight and do not be indifferent. Be transparent and do not be seen as corrupt. Be a man of your words and do not be seen as a liar. Fulfil your promises to them and do not renege on such promises. Be trustworthy in utterances and actions and not be seen as a betrayer of trust. There are three signs by which a hypocrite is known. When he talks he lies; when he promises he reneges and when he is trusted he betrays. Remember that a leader is like a shepherd who cannot claim to be successful in a day until he has coasted home the last sheep in his flock. And every shepherd shall be asked by the Almighty Allah about what he does with the flock in his care’.

    Thus, the historic conversation between the Prophet and Mu‘az confirms that good leadership is the bedrock of peace, decency and progress in any society.

    In contemporary time

    Today, many countries including Nigeria are dangerously restive because of deviation from that yardstick by irresponsible leaderships. A nation without a responsible leadership is like a body without head. Such a nation is likely to wander aimlessly and indefinitely in the wilderness of life just like the Egyptian gypsies of yore even as her citizens wallow helplessly in abject penury.

    Man ordinarily takes food for granted until he faces hunger where food is not available. He takes sound health for granted until he falls sick. He takes freedom for granted until he becomes a prisoner and he takes peace for granted until he faces war. One of the signs of living in a bad time is to keep remembering the good old days with nostalgia. Such is a confirmation that the past is better than the present. This is the situation in which overwhelming majority of Nigerians find themselves today in a country naturally and abundantly enriched with milk and honey.

    Ghana for instance

    Who could have believed some years back that this same country called Nigeria might become a beggars’ own country one day? When political calamity engendered by economic mismanagement struck Ghana in the 1980s, Nigeria was the only rescue haven in Africa for hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians who trooped into this country for all sorts of jobs including menial ones. Thus, from that experience, one would have thought that a lesson had been learnt by Nigerian leaders never to subject the citizens of this country to a similar misfortune. But alas, the situation in the past 40 years or there about has proved otherwise. Ironically, the reality today, is that the citizens of this sixth largest oil exporting country in the Africa have become beggars being deported from a onetime calamitous Ghana that sought and got economic rescue in Nigeria. The same Ghana is today a model for Nigeria virtually in all things that is decent and civilized.

    God, in His infinite mercy does not create any living thing without adequate provisions for its existence. He endows individuals and nations with wealth in time and space as a trust. But He does not physically come down to manage such wealth for anybody. Neither does He give anybody the authority to redistribute it. But in the end, the managers of such wealth will be asked to render account on how they manage it. Individuals and nations become humanly and materially rich only by Allah‘s will at the place and time divinely earmarked for it. Any manipulation of such wealth by certain greedy cabal can only pave way for an untold calamity.

    Fly in a botttle

    Like a fly in a bottle of wine which drinks and drinks till it dies in there, today‘s Nigerian rulers see their position as an opportunity to suck Nigeria‘s oil wells dry at the expense of the masses to whom those oil wells rightly and legitimately belong. These rulers have forgotten that if the oil reserve had not been divinely meant for this generation it could have been discovered and consumed by many generations long before ours.

    Nigerians of today have found themselves in a dream land. They are not only dreaming of what they ought to be as against what they are. They are also dreaming of the good old days in this same country that once gave them the confidence to build hope in their future as well as that of their children. That hope has practically become forlorn. Without necessarily sounding pessimistic, if there is any expectation for an ordinary Nigerian today, it is for death as despair is currently the song of destiny.

    Telling the history of Nigerian oil cannot end with the present generation. It surely extends to the future. Where are the founding fathers of Nigeria especially those who strove for the discovery of oil? Was the current situation their dream? Even as Prime Minister and Premier respectively, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto borrowed money from banks to purchase their cars and build their houses. They never possessed more than those even when their political contemporaries were accumulating empires. It is easier to be a legatee than to be a legator. The greatest spendthrifts are those who do not know the source of money in their possession.

    Read Also: Activists blame past govt for #EndSARS protests

    Oil wealth

    It is rather ironic that oil wealth which serves as the source of fortune for many countries is the main source of Nigeria‘s misfortune. At least this country was economically steady and progressive before the so-called oil boom. At least there was no oil money when Nigeria went through a civil war for 30 months without borrowing one kobo. Why has oil boom become oil doom?

    In his nine years in office as Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon took the price of PMS from 6k to 9.5k per litre. After him was General Murtala Muhammed an obvious man of the people who never tampered with the price of oil till his death in 1976. It was General Olusegun Obasanjo who first took oil price by a leap moving it from 9.5k to 15.3k in his three and a half year reign from February 1976 to October 1979. In his own four years and three months in office, President Usman Shehu Shagari never tampered with the price of oil. And General Muhammadu Buhari who succeeded him maintained the status quo as he never increased fuel price even by one kobo during his 20 month rule. Thus, between 1979 when Obasanjo left office and 1985 when Buhari was overthrown, the oil price remained same and Nigeria did not fail as a nation.

    When the self-styled Military President Ibrahim Babangida took over in 1985, his first focus was on oil. It was he who moved the price of PMS from 15k to 70k in his eight years of governance. But by far the greatest leap of oil price in Nigeria  was introduced by Chief Earnest Shonekan the then interim Head of State who took the price from 70k to N5 within the 87 days of his illegal rule.

    Then General Sani Abacha the maximum despot who forcefully hijacked power in October 1993 moved the price of PMS from N5 to N11 within his five years in office. That was an average of N1 increase per year. When Abacha died in 1998, General Abdul Salami Abubakar became the Head of State and virtually concentrated on oil. He can be called Nigeria‘s Head of oil fields. It was he who took the price of PMS from N11 to N20 within the ten months he ruled Nigeria. When General Obasanjo returned to office as elected President in 1999, his first port of call was oil. Capitalizing on the precedent laid by General Abdul Salami Abubakar, he went ahead to raise the price of PMS from N20 to N70 within eight years he spent in office.

    Ebele Jonathan

    Now, to prove that the removal of the so-called oil subsidy by previous rulers in Nigeria was a child‘s play, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan decided to surpass them all even if all Nigerians would go to the gallows. After consultations with various stake holders and interest groups including traditional rulers, religious leaders, Labour Unions, ASUU and NANS, all of whom objected to any removal of subsidy at this precarious time, Mr. President decided to go ahead with his plan not minding any contrary opinion. His argument was that facilities like roads, hospitals, schools, refineries and rail system must be provided even if at the expense of the lives of Nigerians. And such removal must be done at a time when the feeding allowance of his family and that of his deputy was unilaterally fixed at about one N1billion per year then. Mr. President was calling on Nigerians to sacrifice while the cost of his medical services in the Presidential clinic was then about N1.2 billion even as another N300 million was earmarked for replacement of his kitchen utensils. For his trips abroad in 2012 alone about N10 billion was earmarked.

    But to show a good example of sacrifice for the nation, he and his Ministers have resolved to cut their salaries by 25% though we are not told the amount of each cabinet Minister‘s salary. And nothing is said about their undisclosed allowances. That is exhibition of power for you.

    Thus by the signature of one man appended to an obnoxious policy imposed on the populace, it is certain that many lives would be lost, many marriages would collapse, many children would drop out of school and many agreements would crumble causing irreconcilable rifts. These did not happen in the time of Yar‘Adua because there was no cause for such.

    Yar’adua as President

    With Yar’adua as President, Nigerians did not see their newly rekindled hope ending up in a paroxysm of despair as the case of Goodluck Jonathan’s time. Until he came on board as President, every other person that ruled Nigeria except Shagari and Buhari had claimed that there was subsidy on oil.

    Due to his short time in office, Yar‘Adua might not have been perceived as a great achiever but the few achievements he recorded were quite remarkable.

    If those achievements had been sincerely inherited and maintained, Nigeria would not have been plunged into such a quagmire as Goodluck Jonathan’s time.

    At least with his few achievements, many ‘FIRSTS’ can be attributed to him in the history of Nigeria. For instance, he was the first Nigerian President to publicly declare his assets and those of his wife on assuming office. He was the first Nigerian President to publicly admit that the election which brought him into office was flawed thereby promising to reform the electoral process the machinery for which he sincerely put in place before his demise. And he congratulated the Labour gubernatorial candidate, Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State who won a court case against a PDP Governor Olusegun Agagu in the spirit of political sportsmanship. Yar‘Adua was also the first Nigerian President to confess that there was no subsidy on petroleum products and therefore reduced the price of PMS (petrol) from N70 to N65 per litre. Not only these, he was also the first Nigerian President to declare amnesty in a warless situation to ventilate a conducive atmosphere for permanent peace. If he was alive and remained in the saddle the situation of uncertainties would not have arisen. Perhaps that was why he called himself a servant leader.

    Yar‘Adua as a mortal being might have his own weaknesses, nevertheless, his short period as President wrought a remarkable foundation for this country.

    If he had not displayed the ingenuous tactics of declaring amnesty at the time he did, the story of Nigeria would have been quite different today.

    Nigerians continue to remember the good days of Yar‘Adua today because the foundation he laid for a new beginning in those days has begun to crumble so soon in the hands of his successors. Just two years before her centenary celebration as a country, the President iwa telling Nigerians that the security problem in the country was bigger than a civil war and he could hardly handle it.

    In such a situation, who will save Nigeria from the prediction of the West?

    Borno

    Meanwhile, the federal government has agreed in concert with Borno State government to pay a compensation of N100 million to the family of Muhammad Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram who was killed by the police in their cell in 2009. The big question is WHY NOW? And who will compensate the families of several scores of many other Nigerians who were killed subsequently?

  • Garba: Dreaming big for ABU

    Garba: Dreaming big for ABU

    Nothing was indeed put in place either in form of plans or preparations by authorities of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, to rejoice with its Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Ibrahim Garba, who on Monday, clocked two years in office.

    Garba, a professor of Geology, assumed office on May 4, 2015 after taking over from Prof Abdullahi Mustapha, on April 30, 2015.

    Understandably, Garba’s decision not to roll out drums for celebration might simply be out of humility or probably because the past two years are too short to access an administration that will run for five years. However, it will be uncharitable for some of us who keenly watch every unfolding development in the university not to bring to public knowledge some of the laudable works Garba is doing for this revered institution.

    ABU, which has a good complement of international students and staff, has its own peculiar characteristics. Till date, it is such a huge institution that requires a leader with a strong academic background as well as a sound and broad administrative experience of the university system. Such leader must also show sufficient vision, moral courage and qualities of character that will assist him withstand all the strains and stresses of university governance, as clearly contained in a Government White Paper on Presidential Visitation Panel for the university in 2000.

    The university is widely regarded as the most cosmopolitan tertiary institution in Nigeria, both in terms of staff and student profiles. It has been established that every local government in Nigeria has students in the institution just as all states of the federation have a representative in the staff profile of the university. The institution is one of the greatest universities in the sub-Saharan Africa.

    At present, the university has 13 faculties, 12 specialised institutes and centers, a school of postgraduate studies and 98 academic departments. In addition, it has a division of agricultural colleges, a school of basic and remedial studies, a secondary and a primary school. This is besides offering extensive and consultancy services which provide a variety of expertise to the university and the wider society.

    Garba, soon after he took over, made it loud and clear at any given forum that he would consolidate on the gains made by his predecessors. For example, he strived to ensure the university maintains its academic standard by establishing institutional linkages, exchanges, collaborative researches and mutual staff training agreements with some other local and international institutions in line with world best practice.

    In the past two years, a good number of specialised institutions have presented themselves for partnership with the university in form of affiliations and collaborations. This is a result of his great concern for attainment of highest academic standards and achievements to be able to have a university true to its ideals and meaning in line with the vision and mission of ABU’s founding fathers.

    Some of the institutions include Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), which signed a memorandum of understanding with ABU to commence postgraduate diploma and masters in Transport and Logistics, as well as Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), which has also collaborated with the university to introduce insurance courses at its Department of Business Administration.

    The university also signed research collaboration agreements with De Montfort University, Leicester; International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property and National Museums and Monuments; and Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI), Benin City. Equally, there is ongoing discussion with Robert Gordon University (RGU), UK, based on a visit in November last year by the VC and Dean of Engineering, Prof Muhammad Dauda for collaborative development of MSc Oil and Gas Engineering as well as joint delivery for prospective candidates.

    When Garba realised that the cost of power supply to the university community could not be sustained, he undertook to diversify the energy sources to ensure sustainability as well as engendering flexibility in the energy supply to the university. He realised that renewable energy sources offered the best alternative to achieving his twin ambition of delivering flexible as well as sustainable power supply to the university.

    Consequently, a delegation from the university visited Hungary in May, last year where it examined the possibilities for adaptation of bio-energy plant based on existing facility in Hungary. Accordingly, it was agreed that ABU will establish a biogas plant to be based on the university’s wastewater treatment plant system, a bio-ethanol plant using industrial maize silage as raw material and a bio-ethanol and disinfectant manufacturing plant which is expected to provide an organic manure of 1133 tons per annum.

    Garba must be praised for the stability in running the university, even though there were occasional tough engagements with in-house unions, especially when some of their demands could not be met. The secret behind the sustained stability in the system stemmed from the vice chancellor’s high sense of responsibility and tremendous respect for the unions. He would always and patiently have dialogue with workers’ unions in an attmpt to implement the university Council’s decisions, an action that sometimes is not in tandem with definition of welfare, rights and privileges.

    University governance is not without challenges. The vice chancellor, like all his colleagues all over the federation, faces the challenge of inadequate funding to cater for overhead costs and other expenditure. The level of current capital allocation to the university is utterly inadequate to cater for routine needs and services, which would always give any VC some sleepless nights. Yet Garba kicks and dreams tall for ABU!

  • Should young Nigerians stop dreaming?

    The good book says that our young men shall dream dreams and our old men shall see visions. Even though I believe in the infallible words of God, the plight of the Nigerian youth tempts me to reconsider the veracity or accuracy of my faith. Permit me to say that the dreaming atmosphere in Nigeria is fast diminishing. That should not come across as a scandal. Millions of Nigerian youths go to sleep – that is for those who can still sleep – sad, confused, frustrated, heartbroken et al. Under such conditions, the consequence of sleeping is the repetition of horror dreams. With every passing day, it becomes more and more agonisingly difficult to dream because obstacles abound to cut short the actualisation of such dreams. Even when the dreams are shared with friends, family members and pastors who ordinarily should be supportive, they almost always make it a point of responsibility to cast the doubtful look and give compelling reasons why such lofty dreams may never come true.  At the end of the day, those with a weaker willpower are left with no option than to abandon their dreams to perish. Worse still, if one decides to press on with his dreams, the harsh masquerading realities in Nigeria attempt to drive every iota of motivation away.

    The rule of thumb is: study hard, make a first class, graduate and then get a good job. Such is the advice given by parents, religious fellowships, lecturers and friends. Why not? They argue. For even the scriptures implore us to “study to show thy self approved”. Maybe such advice helps, but does that really ease the gruesome realities that we have to face in Nigeria even with the first class certificates and knowledge?

    In recent times, more and more emphasis has been laid on entrepreneurship. But if you intend starting a business, don’t you require start-up capital? How do you go about raising such capital?  Recently a friend and I approached some banks to solicit for sponsorship for an intended career summit. Now, as student leaders, we also brought our own bumper offer of benefits to them. But ask me what happened: They each said they will get back to us, but till now, many months after the scheduled date of the summit, we have gotten no response whatsoever. This left me thinking. Were all the friendly and supportive adverts placed by these banks in the media meant to inspire people or in reality to kill their dreams? Imagine the very familiar scenario where you pass through fire to pay your way through school. You cry now and again as a result of hunger. You suffer deprivations. You beg and borrow from classmates and you face the humiliation and all attendant consequences of being walked out of examination halls because you have not paid your school fees, just like my fourth year in school, and somehow you still manage to finish. Then you emerge with the much emphasised Nigerian certificate and join the labour market. One and two years pass but you have no job. You turn to business, come up with an idea and then approach the banks for loans and aid but they quietly show you the door. You try everything possible and yet nothing substantial comes from the government, friends or relations. This is the typical Nigerian story. In fact, I know a young chap who finished his first degree and frantically searched for a job for three years with no luck. He raised money from friends and relations to pursue a Masters Degree in order to improve his chances of getting a job. He went to a university located in the south west region and finally obtained a Masters degree. Yet, this chap hawked his resume for three additional years before becoming a bus driver in the commercial city of Lagos. Now tell me, how will our youths dream dreams under unfriendly atmospheres such as this?

    In any case, should Nigerian youths stop dreaming because dreams are difficult to realise around here? Should we keep mute in the place of prayers and allow the forces of darkness lay siege on the dreams of the Nigeria youths? Should we stop working hard because hope is farfetched? The answer is no. Nigerian youths can’t give up and must not give up. We must keep fighting until we prevail. We must keep pushing, hitting and knocking until the heavens quake for a positive answer.

    I am aware of the naked truth that opportunities are becoming scarce, education is dancing with the winds and suffering is ever increasing. Our airports are endowed with dead birds called airplanes and many of our roads are death traps. I know it seems like to work hard is to chase the wind, but what can we do? For as long as there is breathe in us, we must never stop dreaming, never stop hoping and never let go of the ultimate victory which we seek, for weeping may endure for the night but joy will definitely come in the morning. A wise man once said that success is opportunity that woos preparedness, so each one must be prepared whenever opportunity comescalling.

    If you don’t have almighty God, get hold of him for he is freely available. If you don’t have any education, it is never too late. Are you lacking in skills? Acquire some. They abound. The end is that when opportunity does come your way, you may not be the reason why you don’t shine. Ignore the loafers, discouragers, time wasters, never-do-wells and hope killers positioned everywhere along your journey. Their enterprise is contagious; remember evil communication corrupts good manners. Seek like minds, achievers, positive people and trail blazers whose thought processes are higher than yours.

    Finally, if you forget anything else don’t forget that all that matters in this life is God. Cling to him for he is the author and finisher of our faith. The scriptures say that the horses and chariots are ready for battle but victory belongs to God. The race is neither to the swift nor the battle to the strong but the conclusion of all matters lie with God who shows mercy upon whom he chooses to show compassion.

    To the Nigerian youths I say, keep holding on to your dreams, Let us keep dreaming, for our victory is sure.

     

    •Dumebi, just graduated from Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, UNN

  • Still dreaming about Vision 2020?

    SIR: We all know that Nigeria’s vision to become one of the world’s 20 largest economies by 2020 has attracted endless debates. So far, the pessimists would appear to have it. Most people believe that it’s an ambitious vision lacking well-articulated and implementable plans.

    Should this be a surprise in a nation with a history of countless failed visions?

    Sample: Green Revolution; Education-for-All; Vision 2010; National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy; Seven Point Agenda, and Transformation Agenda.

    Why should anyone disagree with pessimists’ conclusion that it is going to be easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for Nigeria’s Vision 2020 to be realised halfway?

    With the facts on the ground, beyond the usual crowded committees, expensive conferences and workshops where beautiful speeches are made, plagiarising similar visions elsewhere, those in charge of this vision have not shown serious strategic and tactical plans that are rigorously time-bound, financial-bound and execution-bound to prove to us that their vision 2020 dream isn’t our usual daydreams.

    • Kazeem Olalekan Israel,

    kazeemolalekanisraelgcaf@yahoo.com

     

  • Enyimba’s new sign-on Abalogu dreaming glory

    Enyimba’s new sign-on Abalogu dreaming glory

    BARELY twenty-four hours after completing his signing-on procedures for Enyimba FC of Aba, Andrew

    Abalogu is already dreaming of the Nigeria Premier League and the Federation Cup titles.

    Abalogu, who agreed to move to the club from Abubakar Saraki (ABS) FC of Ilorin, passed his medical test on Nov. 8 and signed for the six-time Nigerian champions on Monday.

    “This is going to be a good challenge for me. Enyimba is a very big club and I can see the number of talented players that are here. So, it’s going to be very tough to get into the starting lineup, but I’m not worried. I chose to come here because I believe this is the right club for me because I want to win trophies.

    “I know that playing for Enyimba will be good for my career. So, I’ll work hard to get a first team shirt and score the goals that will help us to succeed. I want to win the league and the Federation Cup and I know that Enyimba is the place where this can be achieved easily. I am happy with my decision to come here and I want to do well and help the club to win everything,” he said.

    The 20-year-old had an impressive 2011/2012 season, helping ABS to escape relegation and scoring nine goals along the way to a Rookie of the Year LBA award. Abalogu, an indigene of Abia, has played for the Abia Warriors.