The Nation Newspaper

Tag: failure

  • Ipinmisho: I ‘ll tackle failure of governance

    Ipinmisho: I ‘ll tackle failure of governance

    Former Director-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Otunba Olanrewaju Ipinmisho is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State. He explains his mission in politics to Assistant Editor GBADE OGUNWALE.

    What is your plan for Kogi State?

    The greatest problem we have in Kogi is that Kogi has not been fortunate to have a leader that can even diagnose and is willing to address the problems. You have somebody that all he understands about life is competition with people all over the place, materially. Not competition in developing his people. Those are the kind of characters that have been in charge of my state. Characters that have the hospital shut down for close to a year, schools shut down; first term, second term and third term. No examination and they say Your Excellency and you are just smiling. What does Excellency mean in governance when everything that is in governance is failing and they call you Excellency in the retinue of officers and you are excited. Indices of administration are not there and you say you are Excellency. This is my worry. I kept lamenting like this until I got the inspiration that stop this lamentation. What does it take to be a governor that I have not been given? I talked to myself that I don’t have money and he said no, there are people without money that have gotten there.

    Go and do your survey, there is no other state in Nigeria in which poverty is so thoroughly symbolised. There is no state in Nigeria as at today that ranked with Kogi in poverty.

    There are over 20 aspirants in the APC. Is the list not outrageous?

    With what I have told you, if you have less than 20, you won’t take us seriously. If this fire is burning the way I am telling you, if it is true, don’t you think we should even have more? Everybody is feeling what I am telling you, I do not blame them because they find it difficult to trust anybody anymore. Wada came in as a very humble, smiling governor. But we can see what he is doing now. So, this is the reason and it is not their fault. Sometimes we meet and think, what if I concede to this man, based on what he used to be before he got there. He was doing his small business and people thought maybe this is the man. So it is not their fault. I was even expecting more people to come up but at the end of the day, when we continue to meet, we will come to the conclusion, that okay, let’s have a gentleman agreement that this is what I was contesting to do. I have seen it in your own papers, if you are sincere with this, I am ready to concede to you because there is no way we will have more than one governor on January 27. We are 27 people from the same party, the list is not outrageous. I know people from all over the place.

    I have also travelled all over the state, East, West and Central and I have seen that all the 17 years of PDP governance in Kogi has endangered the people of  the East more than the other two parts of Kogi. The poverty is even more apparent in the East and at the end of the day, I discovered that there just a little above one percent from the east, centre and the west that have been sitting atop Kogi and insisting that the people must remain poor. There has been no governor in Kogi that did not have active participants from the other parts. So, when people shout this power shift without considering that it has to shift to an individual that has the capacity, that has the fear of God, that is gentlemanly enough to respect the right of the people. It has to be someone that is focused enough, that understands the norms and problems of the people and that is willing and ready to deliver. Unless we get the right person, will be back to square one.

    The East Senatorial District is always producing the governor. Is your party considering power shift this time around?

    Let me tell you, if you check the statistics at the last election, it was highly revealing. The figures that were being used to declare those results of those days were not there. The reality has dawned on us and that is why some of the politicians will do whatever they can to make sure that this card reader thing does not work in the November election. So, I want the federal government to be at alert. Now that we are having election in Kogi, whatever it takes to have the card reader to work must be done. The people from the east, the Igalas are not desperate. The average person from the Igala part are not desperate for the position. I have them in my committee, they are not desperate because they cannot justify what their leaders have done holding unto power for these number of years. All they get is blame and blame for the woes of Kogi as an Igala man. They know that the various governors have not impacted on their lives. So go and find out and you will discover that it is a myth to think that Igala man wants to retain the governorship. They are asking what they have done with it. Let it go to the west, let it go to the central. Maybe we will be better taken care of. So, the figures are not there upon which they did all that fraud. I have also told you also that an average Igala man has not been a beneficiary of this holding unto power by the East since the advent of democracy in Nigeria.

    What is your chance as an aspirant?

    I will like you to also understand that there were masters of the game in APC when Buhari emerged. It is not politics now, it is the life of our people. You have been a general in the field of politics and people cannot see how it has impacted on their lives. You have only bought houses in Asokoro and Maitama and your children have also started buying houses in Abuja. They are not interested in the years of experience as a politician because if being  a politician means enrich yourself and your family at the expense of the life of an average Kohi man, they are not interested. They want to give this new man a trial because in my own little resources, they have seen what I have done in my home within my own little earnings and they believe if I control the state treasury, I will do more.

  • Failure Of propaganda

    his piece could have been titled the failure of money or the collapse of falsehood, or better still the battle of facts and fiction; any of the titles would best have described the running battle between public relations and raw propaganda in the run-up to the recently concluded elections in Nigeria. And I can bet many aspiring politicians not only in Nigeria or Africa but the world over have a lot of lessons to learn from the way and manner media was deployed to guarantee success or to guarantee failure.Most of the so-called media managers had no clue whatsoever about what media management was all about. In fact the simple rudiments of communication were lost on most of them. Quite a number of those who were paid huge sums of money to launder the image of their employers hardly understood what constituted image talk less of what constituted laundering.

    Many people assumed, erroneously though, that once you can speak fluent English, or Hausa or Igbo or Yoruba you are home and dry with communication. There is a gulf of difference between a mastery of language and the art of communication. That one speaks good English does not mean that one knows the art and science of persuasion or that one knows what to say at appropriate times.

    It should also be realised that pure mastery of language does not imply that whoever has that mastery is also adept at public and human relations. Yet human and media relations are very critical in the art and science of public relations practice.

    What happened in several quarters in the build up to the elections was the false notion that a sharp cutlass is all that is needed to weed the grass without considering the state of the mind of the handler of the cutlass or his expertise in cutting grass.So many characters that have had the opportunity of being published once or twice in some newspapers started parading the corridors of politicians brandishing their so-called portfolio and because of the limited knowledge of their clients they cornered fat contracts. This was more so with clients that had more cash than sense, and were hell-bent to win elections by hook and crook.

    It may not be necessary to mention which political party did what or which politician wasted dollars on propaganda, but attempt will be made to speak on the different approaches employed by different parties.

    What was clear and what informed the title of this piece was that while a political parry employed public relations strategy and astute media management, another party relied heavily on propaganda, trouble shooting and outright falsehood. In electioneering, what matters most to the electorate is visibility. Your facts and claims must be visible and verifiable. Outright lies will achieve opposite result from what is intended.

    There should also be consistency. A party hinged its claim to purposefulness on simple cardinal points. And as we do in Public Relations; the party remained consistent and focused harping on the cardinal points which in no time became a sing song. And where it attacked its major opponent, it chose only three or four of the opponent’s failings and harped on such failings to no end. As a result, its opponent was identified with only the failings it was branded with.

    Party A also chose symbol, an arrow head. The symbol was well packaged, refined and corporately branded such that the symbol became a towering figure to be trusted and believed.

    Party B spent the whole world oozing out raw propaganda, creating falsehoods and spent a hell of time not on what it could or would do if voted into power, but throwing punches like a blindfolded boxer. In the end, Party B became odious and nauseating simply on the strength of the stench coming out from the belly of its chief propagandists.

    Insults do not win an argument. And throwing tantrums at one’s opponent is not the best way to win sympathy from observers. In a society where respect for elders is mandatory, any propagandist that disrespects the norm in the name of electioneering will only succeed in losing the love and affection of the generality of the society that upholds the norm of respect for elders.

    It is also important to mention that media communicators for a political party must speak with same voice and in the same language. But where you have a cacophony of voices with unrhymed tunes, there is always the danger of confusing the listeners and the electorate.

    All in all, it was a colossal waste of resources, especially money and materials because propaganda does not come cheap. Of all the forms of relevant communication genres; marketing, advertising, public relations, propaganda is the most expensive. And apart from in battle, propaganda does not actually achieve much. Those who therefore expended all their resources on cheap propaganda have now learnt to their chagrin that outright lies and mischief do not win elections.

    For the purpose of those who may be seeking to learn a lesson or two from this piece, anyone wishing to handle media campaigns either for politicians or political parties must first and foremost recognise the symbol of his campaign and package the symbol properly before setting out to market the symbol or object/subject.

    If the arrow head of the campaign especially in political matters is rotten, no amount of propaganda can wash it clean. The first thing to do in the circumstance is to use what is called silent persuasion to make the symbol a bit acceptable before you can market it with extensive public relations and defence.

    Unfortunately, everybody thinks he or she is a communication expert or public relations guru, and many patrons do not know the difference. It is now hoped that with the recent experience as an eye opener, Nigerians and all those seeking g public office in the future will be more guided in their choice of who can best help them put their message across and who can win them friends as opposed to those whose tantrums will garner enemies in droves.

    It can be said without fear of contradiction that the recent electoral battle was fought, won and lost as media management dictated.

    It was not all about money. As a two-term chairman of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, I should know.his piece could have been titled the failure of money or the collapse of falsehood, or better still the battle of facts and fiction; any of the titles would best have described the running battle between public relations and raw propaganda in the run-up to the recently concluded elections in Nigeria. And I can bet many aspiring politicians not only in Nigeria or Africa but the world over have a lot of lessons to learn from the way and manner media was deployed to guarantee success or to guarantee failure.Most of the so-called media managers had no clue whatsoever about what media management was all about. In fact the simple rudiments of communication were lost on most of them. Quite a number of those who were paid huge sums of money to launder the image of their employers hardly understood what constituted image talk less of what constituted laundering.

    Many people assumed, erroneously though, that once you can speak fluent English, or Hausa or Igbo or Yoruba you are home and dry with communication. There is a gulf of difference between a mastery of language and the art of communication. That one speaks good English does not mean that one knows the art and science of persuasion or that one knows what to say at appropriate times.

    It should also be realised that pure mastery of language does not imply that whoever has that mastery is also adept at public and human relations. Yet human and media relations are very critical in the art and science of public relations practice.

    What happened in several quarters in the build up to the elections was the false notion that a sharp cutlass is all that is needed to weed the grass without considering the state of the mind of the handler of the cutlass or his expertise in cutting grass.So many characters that have had the opportunity of being published once or twice in some newspapers started parading the corridors of politicians brandishing their so-called portfolio and because of the limited knowledge of their clients they cornered fat contracts. This was more so with clients that had more cash than sense, and were hell-bent to win elections by hook and crook.

    It may not be necessary to mention which political party did what or which politician wasted dollars on propaganda, but attempt will be made to speak on the different approaches employed by different parties.

    What was clear and what informed the title of this piece was that while a political parry employed public relations strategy and astute media management, another party relied heavily on propaganda, trouble shooting and outright falsehood. In electioneering, what matters most to the electorate is visibility. Your facts and claims must be visible and verifiable. Outright lies will achieve opposite result from what is intended.

    There should also be consistency. A party hinged its claim to purposefulness on simple cardinal points. And as we do in Public Relations; the party remained consistent and focused harping on the cardinal points which in no time became a sing song. And where it attacked its major opponent, it chose only three or four of the opponent’s failings and harped on such failings to no end. As a result, its opponent was identified with only the failings it was branded with.

    Party A also chose symbol, an arrow head. The symbol was well packaged, refined and corporately branded such that the symbol became a towering figure to be trusted and believed.

    Party B spent the whole world oozing out raw propaganda, creating falsehoods and spent a hell of time not on what it could or would do if voted into power, but throwing punches like a blindfolded boxer. In the end, Party B became odious and nauseating simply on the strength of the stench coming out from the belly of its chief propagandists.

    Insults do not win an argument. And throwing tantrums at one’s opponent is not the best way to win sympathy from observers. In a society where respect for elders is mandatory, any propagandist that disrespects the norm in the name of electioneering will only succeed in losing the love and affection of the generality of the society that upholds the norm of respect for elders.

    It is also important to mention that media communicators for a political party must speak with same voice and in the same language. But where you have a cacophony of voices with unrhymed tunes, there is always the danger of confusing the listeners and the electorate.

    All in all, it was a colossal waste of resources, especially money and materials because propaganda does not come cheap. Of all the forms of relevant communication genres; marketing, advertising, public relations, propaganda is the most expensive. And apart from in battle, propaganda does not actually achieve much. Those who therefore expended all their resources on cheap propaganda have now learnt to their chagrin that outright lies and mischief do not win elections.

    For the purpose of those who may be seeking to learn a lesson or two from this piece, anyone wishing to handle media campaigns either for politicians or political parties must first and foremost recognise the symbol of his campaign and package the symbol properly before setting out to market the symbol or object/subject.

    If the arrow head of the campaign especially in political matters is rotten, no amount of propaganda can wash it clean. The first thing to do in the circumstance is to use what is called silent persuasion to make the symbol a bit acceptable before you can market it with extensive public relations and defence.

    Unfortunately, everybody thinks he or she is a communication expert or public relations guru, and many patrons do not know the difference. It is now hoped that with the recent experience as an eye opener, Nigerians and all those seeking g public office in the future will be more guided in their choice of who can best help them put their message across and who can win them friends as opposed to those whose tantrums will garner enemies in droves.

    It can be said without fear of contradiction that the recent electoral battle was fought, won and lost as media management dictated.

    It was not all about money. As a two-term chairman of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, I should know.

  • PDP’s infamy, admission of failure

    In its desperation to hold on to power at all cost, the People Democratic Party (PDP) has suddenly thrown all caution to the wind. All of a sudden, decorum no longer means anything to the party and its leaders. An inordinate obsession for power has abruptly turned a ruling party into a shameless propaganda machine that is churning out series of lies in inconceivable fashion every minute. Lubricating the propaganda engine of the party is no other than a queer personality who, in saner climes, should be behind the bars over graft matters.  That the PDP could even make such a dubious character the rallying point of its presidential campaign propaganda mechanism speaks volume of the party’s make up. Without a doubt, the PDP is on the verge of self-destruct and the colossal fall of the phony “biggest political party in Africa” is imminent.

    It is rather strange how a ruling party, that is supposed to have the edge in a political contest if it had performed well in terms of delivery of visible dividends of democracy for the citizenry, has chosen, rather barefacedly, to resort to propaganda. A ruling party in a normal setting will go into election on the strength of its kept promises, showcasing its people-oriented programmes and meeting the visible testimonies from the people whose lives have been touched and their welfare needs met by the government. Unfortunately, this is not so with the clueless government of Goodluck Jonathan as it cannot point to anything as achievement since 2011 other than a dismally performing economy, a naira that is almost becoming worthless, the over 13,000 innocent lives lost to Boko Haram, a criminally high level impunity, hi-tech corruption and kleptomania of a high degree as well as kidnapping that has reached an inexplicable degree. Ironically, this is the same party that was initially talking about issue-based political campaigns.

    Unfortunately, for the PDP, lies and distortions is a lifeline for a brazen party that wants to cling on to power by all means. So, while the electorates were expecting to hear from the PDP what it has done to improve the economy, stabilise power, create jobs, stem corruption, advance education, upgrade infrastructure and beef up security, the party has chosen to play to the gallery by celebrating frivolities. It has resorted to character assassination and mudslinging as high point of its campaign strategy. Thus, if it is not about Buhari’s age today, it is either about his health, certificate, complexion, height, wife or his children the next day. The demonization of Buhari and other APC leaders have so much become the sole campaign manifesto and agenda of the PDP that the people are already getting tired of it.

    While flagging off his re-election bid campaign at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, President Jonathan took the demonization of Buhari to a ridiculous  height when he claimed that his administration could not win the war against Boko Haram because General Buhari did not buy ammunitions for the military while the latter was in power way back 1985. Unknown to the President and his gang of hypocrites, they were merely making a mockery of themselves because what readily came to the minds of men with lucid thoughts is why the President should think of winning  a 2015 combat with the weapons bought in 1985! This asymmetrical line of reasoning from the President clearly explains why the nation has been heading in the wrong direction since he came into office. It speaks so much of the sterility of the minds that have unfortunately been saddled with the highly demanding and daunting task of providing seasoned and reasoned leadership for the country.

    Naively, the more the PDP attempts to batter and disparage the All Peoples’ Congress, APC, the more it exposes itself to sickening public ridicule. For instance, as the party appears to have given up on Buhari and devised another cruel campaign against the person of Professsor Yemi Osinbajo, his running mate, who Femi Fani- Kayode, the basket mouth of the party who, strangely alleged to have swore to an oath with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign from office after six months, it got condemnation from the people who could not imagine how it suits Femi Fani-Kayode to thrive on ignoble ways. The desperate PDP has left that now to concentrated much energy on frontal attack on Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who it  now disparages in a documentary which PDP’s television station, AIT broadcast last week to portray the APC national leader in bad light.  Unfortunately, this callous attempt has not, in any way, affected the profile of Asiwaju who is leading Nigerians to have the desired change and give the country the long awaited freedom this month.

    As at now, many parts of the country have started experiencing fuel scarcity. As if it is not disgusting enough that an oil producing nation of Nigeria’s profile is importing petroleum products into the country at huge cost, the clueless PDP- led government, in its characteristic lame duck style of buck passing, said, through Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the national chairman of PDP, that it is the opposition that is responsible for the fuel scarcity being experienced in the country.

    The joke around town now is that if it doesn’t rain for some time in the country, the opposition must be the ones behind it. Regrettably for Muazu and his apparently senile co-travelers, however, the Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, has come out to tell Nigerians that the devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) is the real reason for the current fuel crisis. Certainly, the PDP is an assembly of confused and illogical minds who are toying with the destiny of our great country and who must be voted out so the country can progress.

    Hypocrisy and double-speak have become the hallmark of the PDP. It is the worst case of double standard for the PDP to question the basis for General Buhari’s recent appearance at the Chatham House, London, when the same platform was used a few weeks back by the administration, when the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, first gave a hint of the postponement of the general elections. For the hypocritical PDP, it is alright for Dasuki to be at the Chatham House, a globally respected platform where statesmen speak on vital national and international issues, but it suddenly becomes an improper platform because Buhari is involved. The pointless eruption of the PDP and its propaganda machine against Buhari’s outing in London is exactly the kind of reaction that has turned the party and its leaders into a bunch of clowns across the world.

    The truth of the matter is that Nigerians are not in any way swayed by the PDP’s tissue of lies and propaganda against Buhari and the APC. They are quite aware that it is the trademark of the failed and unaccepted PDP led government. Nigerians recognize that the PDP’S resort to bankrolling clearly defective propaganda against leaders of the APC is an indirect way of admitting that it has failed the country, but are concerned about the desperation that the PDP and the Lords in Abuja are putting into this election. The way they have been going about to put everything on the way of a free, fair and credible election clearly shows that they do not want Nigeria to continue to be when they are voted out. When a ruling party relies a great deal on propaganda as a major campaign selling point, one does not need to go to a great length before submitting that such a party has nothing to offer the people.

    The fact that the PDP–led government has been wasting public funds in broadcasting damaging information about the APC and its leaders as well as the recent hiring of people to protest during General Buhari’s recent appearance at the Chatham House in London are indications of how the country’s hard earned resources is being squandered by the dense and inept Jonathan administration.  As it is now, the die is cast and there is no hiding place for these enemies of the people who want to perpetuate kleptomania,

    mediocrity, brigandage and lack of focus,  as imminent trouncing awaits them at the polls. You can postpone an election as much as you want but you cannot destroy the resolve of the people yearning for change.

    • Ibirogba is Honourable Commisioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State
  • Fuel scarcity, power supply drop: ‘Evidence of Jonathan’s failure’

    Fuel scarcity, power supply drop: ‘Evidence of Jonathan’s failure’

    The APC Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) yesterday described the return of fuel queues in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Lagos and some major cities and the reduction in the hours of electricity supply to Nigerians as sad reminders of the failure of the PDP-led Federal Government.

    Its spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement, said: “The glaring and inexcusable failure of the PDP government in these two important areas is a sign of gross ineptitude, maladministration and corruption, which is responsible for the sorry economic state the average citizen of Nigeria has found themselves”.

    It wondered how a political party, which has been in power for 16 years and which is unable to ensure that its citizens enjoy regular fuel supply being an oil producing and endowed country and electricity having privatised the power sector and given generous financial assistance to operators of the power sector can still feel confident to seek another term in office.

    The  3,623.11 Mega Watts (MW), which the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) sent out on February 23, dipped to   3,063.23MW on February 25, resulting in a fall by 559.88MW within two days.

    According to the power statistics on the website of Federal Ministry of Power yesterday, the power generated by the Electricity Generation Companies (Genco) was  3,131.08MW, out which the TCN could not wheel 67.85MW being the gap between the energy sent out and energy generated by the Gencos.

    Asked what is responsible for the drop in power supply, ministry’s Deputy Director, Mr. Timothy Oyedeji, said the last he heard of the situation  was that Seplat shut down for routine maintenance  of gas pipeline.

    In the period under consideration, the electricity market dropped to a peak power generation of 3,866.8 to 3,224.8MW, indicating a decline of 642MW.

    The statement said: “For the people of Nigeria to be again confronted with the specter of fuel scarcity so soon after the harrowing experience of last Christmas period shows that the Jonathan government can never get anything right as Nigeria will continue to be an embarrassment among the oil producing countries of the world.

    “The issue is that being unable to set up even one new refinery in the past five years and unable to get existing refineries to function up to 50 per cent capacity, the people of Nigeria surely need another set of people to be in charge of affairs.

    “Those who man the two critical sectors of fuel and power are cronies of President Jonathan and supporters of the PDP that they have no reason to discharge their mandate in favour of the Nigerian people.

    “We all remember the hype and fanfare with which the privatisation of the power sector was carried out and yet majority of Nigerians are having less electric power or none at all but are forced to pay outrageous electricity bills to the operators of the power companies who are either card-carrying members of the PDP or are close associates of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “To add insult to injury, the Jonathan government has also given billions of naira to these operators under the guise of assisting them to improve power supply, without result. And this happened after the sector had been sold and the facilities handed over to these private operators.

    “We of the APC demand that the Jonathan government and his party explain to Nigerians the reason why fuel scarcity and blackout should persist making life a hell for Nigerians, despite huge investments and policies put in place to eradicate these problems”

    The APC Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) stressed that the return of fuel queues was a confirmation that the policies of the Jonathan administration are founded on deceit and insincerity.”

    Shehu argued that the recent fuel price reduction announced by the Federal Government was borne out of political expediency, rather than compassion, because the ruling party is desperate to cling to power at all costs, adding that all the emergency projects and palliatives being bandied about by the Jonathan government are intended to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.

    He said a PDP administration that greeted Nigerians with an unprecedented fuel price increase of N140 per liter in January 2012 has lost the basis to be trusted by Nigerians.

    Shehu said the return of fuel queues was like an accident waiting to happen because the recent reduction in petroleum product prices by the Jonathan PDP administration were not based on sincerity, adding that scales are dropping from the eyes of Nigerians day after day and are embracing the imperatives of change for a better Nigeria.

  • Educationist gives reasons for mass failure

    Recurring public holidays, distractions and lack of motivation have been identified as major causes of mass failure in secondary school final examinations.

    Chief Executive Officer, Standard Mandate International (SMI), Mr Nelson Ayodele, said this at the 2015 edition of Students Academic Success Summit (SASS 2015) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). It had as  theme, “Success Focus”.

    Ayodele said indiscriminate declarations of public holidays by the government hinder teachers from completing their syllabuses before examinations begin thereby making it difficult for the schools to cover their curriculum within the stipulated time. This, he said, leads to situations where pupils are faced with questions they have not been taught during examinations.

    He therefore urged the government to cut down on public holidays or exempt pupils in terminal classes to aid their success in examinations.

    “The recurring public holidays that disrupt academic activities should be avoided, especially for students in the examination classes,” he said.

    Speakers at the programme, which featured various activities to motivate the SS3 pupils from over 30 secondary schools present, including film shows, talks and practical in English Language and Mathematics, also identified lack of motivation as a factor that hinders pupils from attaining desired results in their final examinations.

    Keynote speaker, Director of Sound Hope Schools, Dr. Bimbo Monayajo, advised the pupils to be self motivated and set goals for themselves while studying.  She explained that they could motivate themselves by making their passion their profession and being courageous and honest.

    Ayodele also advised teachers and parents to constantly sensitize and motivate the young ones both at home and in school to boost their morale and prepare them for their examinations. He also counseled parents to reduce errands during examination periods to help their wards stay focused.

    SASS, which is usually organised annually by SMI, is aimed at supporting pupils writing their final examinations and reminding them of the basic things they should know and do to excel.

    Representatives from the examination bodies, including West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Examinations Council (NECO) as well as and professionals in English Language and Mathematics and A’ Levels addressed the pupils about the intricacies of writing and passing examinations.

    By the end of the summit, many of the pupils were more determined to make their papers at one sitting.

    Arowosoba Abdulbasit, a pupil of Crescent College, who advised his peers to believe in themselves, said: “Simply, they taught us tips to passing WAEC in a very easy manner. You read your books from SS1 and pick an 80 Leaves book to summarise points from all your notes.”

    Oham Amarachi of Chrisland High School, Victoria Garden City, who wants to be a doctor so that she can save lives, was motivated to look at the future always and set goals for herself.

  • Jonathan’s celebration of failure

    President Jonathan was in Lagos last week to flag off his re-election bid. The event was in character with the president’s well charted politics of subterfuge, except that this time around, it was not without a touch of sardonic humour. For a president who does not consider stealing as corruption, and who heads PDP where those facing overwhelming financial fraud charges can be party chieftains, senators, and ministers, he cannot understand why the Yoruba make a fetish of placing great value on honour and character. For him, PDP members share the same values.

    Thus on parade at Tafawa Balewa square the venue of the event was Chief Bode George who Musiliu Obanikoro says is “in desperate need of social rehabilitation after a stint in jail”. He was pronounced not guilty after serving a jail term over his handling of contracts as chairman of Nigeria Ports Authority. Also on parade was Ayo Fayose, impeached former governor who admitted appearing over 52 times over a period of seven years trying to defend himself against EFCC charges of financial fraud as well as murder charges as at the time he contested and defeated an incumbent Governor Fayemi. Among trusted allies who stood out to be counted during the event was ex Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State who was until recently in court facing EFCC charges of mismanagement of state funds as governor. There was also Femi Fani-Kayode who also still has a date to keep with EFCC in court over allegation of financial crime as minister of aviation. Defected Governor Mimiko of Ondo was also there to be counted among the president’s friends. Olusegun  Mimiko, who on account of his brand of politics can be described as ‘water has no enemy’,  has been a member of as many as there are political parties in Nigeria. And to spite Obasanjo, his estranged godfather, the president appointed Buruji Kashamu, Obasanjo’s main rival in Ogun State the leader of his highly valued Yoruba opinion leaders who would deliver the West in February. Buruji has taken Obasanjo to court over the former’s claim that he is a fugitive from justice in the US. Jonathan’s choice of shenanigans or merchants of pranks to sell his candidacy is the practice among other groups in the country.

    The Tafawa Balewa’s outing was also unique in the sense that the president deliberately chose the vulnerable youths he believes will enhance his chances in the February polls as target audience. Trying to cultivate the innocent youths, he had said “I am going to address the people who are voting for the first time, those of you who will attain 18 years this year”.  This group, the president says will define Nigeria’s tomorrow since his generation according to him, has failed the nation. Less than 50% of those the president is trying to exploit obtained five credits in the recently released WAEC result, a clear evidence of the decay in our educational sector.

    Of course, those who have studied the president’s politics know his choice of those in the age bracket 18-23 was not accidental. This is a vulnerable group that knows nothing outside PDP and Jonathan in the last 16 years. They do not know anything better than PDP’s newly painted coaches in an age where we now have trains that travel at the speed of aircrafts. They are unaware of multi-billion dollar contracts for the modernisation of our railways awarded twice under Obasanjo and Yar’Adua but got derailed by PDP politicians. They are shielded from the negative effects of government economic policies because they live with their parents. They love African Magic and many want to end up as actors, musicians singing lewd songs or as dancers but not as scientists. The president has after all been throwing money blindly at the actors, not to necessarily develop the sector but for its electoral advantage. If you still don’t believe the president fights rough, consider this unpresidential jibe: “Young Nigerians were doing things fantastically well, they were acting films and were playing music; these very people were snubbing them, but we are encouraging them and the world has accepted them”. This is one achievement those who are against the president cannot take away.

    The content of the president speech on ‘insecurity, corruption and weak government’ to the 18-year olds who are not equipped to critically analyse his misrepresentations was no less intriguing.  On security, the president simply passed the buck: “These people did not buy anything for the Nigerian soldiers. They refused to equip them. No attack helicopter, nothing. Ask them what they did with the defence budget for the whole time they were in office.  No country equips armed forces overnight”.

    Yes the president may be right to a point. But the message is not for 18-year olds who would need to consult their uncles as directed by the president in order to know the truth. Such message is for the adult who can remind the president that not too long ago, government told Nigerians that the problem was not equipment but sabotage by Boko Haram whose elements, even the president claimed had infiltrated his government. In any case, the president has been part of government for eight years and commander in chief for six years. It is cheap to blame someone who ruled for 20 months back in 1984, 31 years ago. But even then what are the facts?

    Available figures on capital and recurrent military expenditure  from 1988 to 2007 covering parts of Babangida and Abacha years, and  eight years of Obasanjo was N820billion compared to  Yar’Adua and Jonathan’s N1.3 trillion (2007-2010) and Jonathan’s N3.1 trillion (2011-2014). The question is how long does it take to procure attack helicopters?

    On corruption, the president also passed the buck: ‘If they had succeeded in fighting corruption, corruption would not have been with us here today’. Except for vulnerable youths the president tried to hoodwink, Nigerians are aware it was Yar’Adua and Jonathan presidency and James Ibori (who sponsored their election in 2007 but currently serving jail terms in London after obtaining reprieve from Nigerian courts) that chased Nuhu Ribadu into exile.  It was under the Jonathan presidency that a convicted felon who converted 70% of state resources to personal use got presidential pardon in order to, in the words of Doyin Okupe “make more contributions to the development of father land”. It was under Jonathan presidency the KPNG report on NNPC, Ribadu’s report on the fuel subsidy regime, ‘Oduahgate’ and many others were dumped into dustbin. It was under the Jonathan presidency that the EFCC’s pending court cases against prominent PDP leaders, banking sector and oil subsidy fraudsters remained stalled, because ‘the wheel of justice  in this environment’, according to the president ‘grinds slowly.’

    But more telling was what the president failed to say at Tafawa Balewa last week. He failed to allay the fears and anxieties of Nigerians who wanted him to speak on the abducted 250 Chibok girls who have been in captivity for over eight months, crisis of unemployment arising from importation of labour of other societies, government’s planned bail-out for the power sector, the missing $10 billion, we were told a forensic inquiry would unravel and another missing $30 billion from excess Crude Account (difference between benchmark of about $77 and average price of $108 for three years) as alleged at different times by governors Oshiomhole and  Rotimi Amaechi. Begging for answer was also the 16 years successive PDP administrations’ failure to rehabilitate the eyesore called Murtala Muhammed International Airport road. Jonathan after six years in the saddle could not tell the electorate what he would do differently to bring hope to Nigerians who are worried about tomorrow. Sadly what expectant Lagosians took away in the words of Governor Fashola was “a very angry president, a president who is lamenting about people judging his performance and blaming all those who ruled before him, forgetting that he has been on this job for six years?”

  • Our Girls, Gumsuri; GE Marinho;  29% WAEC pass, 71% Nigerian education failure; MEXAHNYIA

    Our Girls missing since April 15 joined by Gumsuri Dec 12 victims kidnapped by Boko Haram who murdered 33. Christmas Day will be empty for many. Let us all buy a present and a meal for an Internally Displaced Person, IDP and send them through your pastor or imam.

    Nigeria survives because of the sacrifice of millions. Permit me to pay tribute to Mrs Grace Ebun Marinho who joined the saints triumphant at 78 years. She had six children: Bisi, Nike and Tunji Osuntokun whose father Major Osuntokun, senior brother of late distinguished Professor BO Osuntokun, died when they were infants and Yinka, Funmilayo and Laolu Marinho with my father Dr Abayomi Marinho whom she married and supported through the rest of his life. She had a successful nursing career with Lagos State. I was sort of number one childas I was 17 or so years old when we met and all the children still have nightmares about me making them finish their food ‘because many children have no food to eat’. Sorry O, aburos! Now they have children they are singing the same song. I wonder why? I also used to take them to the cinema as compensation.

    Aunty Ebun was a uniquely warm hearted person, welcoming, smiling and offering all a meal and an invitation to stay, sometimes for years. She ran one of the last truly open houses in Nigeria. She had memory for family history and an excellence in the kitchen. Her Saturday moin moin was original ‘leaf wrapped and ready by 9am’ to be dispatched from her home where she presided as Mama Gbagada especially at Christmas, New Year and Easter-. My visits from Ibadan were completed by at least two moin moin, gariice block water and no sugar pls. Any moin moin affectionado knows that good moin moin always leaves the best tasting morsels hidden between the leaves. Her moin moin melted in the mouth. The lessons from Aunty’s life include patience, perseverance in the face of death and adversity and peaceful coexistence. Another lesson is that people, especially elderly relations, must be taken for regular completemedical check-ups. She will be missed particularly tomorrow, the first Christmas without her in Gbagada. May her gentle soul RIPP- Rest In Perfect Peace. Amen.

    We have cause to worry and not only about the absence of electric power growth since 1999 when it was 3000Mw and still is 3,000Mw 15+years and $?billions later. And the worry is not even at Fulani and Boko Haram Wars or the coming election violence war. We must worry that even in non-war torn parts there is routine disgraceful mass exam failure. The pass rate at the recent WAEC examination in key subjects is 29% pass or 71% failure.  The failures will enter the ‘market’ as cannon fodder for politicians who ‘mistakenly sent their own children abroad to study’ and some will join Boko Haram as examples that western education fails.

    The mass failure for young citizens is horrendous. It is a disgrace to government institutions where the vast majority of these failures occur in spite of N100 billion+ in the accounts of oversight bodies. Most schools lack basic education facilities, like good books and good teachers. The good student will study in a pigsty and still succeed. However, the majority of students worldwide are plodders needing prodding by good books and good teachers. American books tend to simplify complex problems better than traditional British books. The art and science of mental arithmetic has been lost to the calculator leaving the brain unchallenged, feeble and unable to add, let alone remember a telephone number. When I did the school run with eight or nine children we did mental arithmetic while I drove. Mental arithmetic is not WAEC mathematics but it helps.  As soon as you want to add 1+1 those around you immediately produce some IT device like an I-Pad. We require ‘Annual LGA, State and National Mental Arithmetic Prizes’ to revitalise our youth brains. Even our health officials were mathematically challenged as to whether there were 10 or 11 Ebola Victims.

    Note that 29% of anything is failure and each government level has responsibility. Education is a conveyor belt, so far with poor products. This failure requires a strategic  ‘Education War’ to counter Boko Haram. Our abysmal education fuels their propaganda. Government should learn from and not destroy private education. We should embrace and visit what is good. Visit Afe Babalola University AdoEkiti, ABUAD to get an honest education yardstick and work backwards to primary school. Every town has good private primary and secondary schools to measure against. God bless these great Nigerians proprietors, organisations and religious bodies which provide alternatives to failure, at a cost, yes. Government must provide better fast, for the current students on the education conveyor belt. Cutting class sizes, increased quality and dedication of teachers, more and better books and facilities are not nuclear physics, but the essential ingredients of education success and rights of the youths.

    Remember that in 2015 politicians will spend billions on millions of posters towards ‘election success’ but will never approve 10million educational posters for one million empty bare-walled classrooms in Nigeria for ‘exam success. Shame. A picture is worth 1000 words except in Nigeria.

    Ps: It is not too late to buy a present and a meal for an Internally Displaced Person and send them through pastors or imams. MEXAHNYIA.

  • ‘Failure of leadership aids insurgency’

    A lawyer, Mr Ola Adeosun, has said the failure of leadership and education in the North gave rise to the insurgency threatening Nigeria unity. He called on youths to vote for the right candidates in the next elections.

    Adeosun spoke last Saturday at the All Nigeria United Nations Students and Youth Association (ANUNSA) annual convention held in the New Lecture Theatre 1 of The Polytechnic, Ibadan (IBADAN POLY).

    The lawyer, who spoke on the Effect of insurgency on Nigerian youths, accused the northern political leaders of taking the region backward through bad education policies, saying the children of the poor were made to pass through the bad system, while leaders sent their wards abroad.

    Adeosun said the northern leaders deliberately took away education from the region and sowed the seed of terror ravaging the North.

    He said: “The northern leaders never expected that the almajiri children they reared would become thorn in their flesh one day. They sent their own children abroad and brainwashed the poor children and those on the street. They took away their education deliberately, not knowing they were raising a generation that will turn the table against them.

    “When there is no development, the people are compelled to go against the law and ask questions. They thought they were building the future for their children but they did not know they were digging holes for themselves. Now, they have become prisoners in their own region.”

    He said for the insurgency to be brought to an end, government must provide a qualitative and proper education for the brainwashed children. He urged students and youths to vote for the right candidates in the next year general election, regardless of their political parties.

    The event also featured inauguration of new executive and award for present and past members of the association. The ANUNSA president, Mariam Umar, described the awardees as worthy members, who contributed selflessly to the growth of the association.

    Ibrahim Adam received the award for Emeritus Member of the Year. He dedicated award to his mother, who he described as “the engine that has kept me moving.”

    The Eruwa Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mr Adigun Kayode, urged members of the executive to sustain the legacy of their predecessors. He was also honoured by the association.

    The association’s Special Adviser, Oludare Ogunlana, told the students to be agents of change in their community.

  • ‘NBA to probe mass failure in Law School’

    ‘NBA to probe mass failure in Law School’

    Following the release of the immediate past President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Okey Wali,  by kidnappers  after 12 days in captivity, NBA President, Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN) in this interview with Legal Editor, JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU, bares his mind on the security situation in the country, the alleged arms deal between Nigeria and South Africa and why he dissolved the Section on Legal Practice (SLP) governing council.

    your predecessor, Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), who was abducted by kidnappers in Port Harcourt, has been released. What does it say about the security of members of the legal profession?

    It was a very sad, harrowing and traumatic experience for the entire Nigerian Bar. It shows the vulnerability and the level of insecurity of lawyers.

    Okey Wali is a man of peace; a man who has served this country and the legal profession. Sadly, we have also received the news that a lawyer has been kidnapped in Sapele Branch. Lawyers in other parts of the country are being kidnapped, even judges and magistrates. But the kidnapping of our past president showed the level of insecurity the nation has descended.

    It is shocking that we now have people in this country, who believe that the only way they can make a living is to toy with the lives of other people, inflicting pains and hardship on fellow Nigerians. It’s very disturbing. Additional, one starts to wonder if all these years we have had these kidnappings, will the crime ever come to a stop? We heard that’s some states have enacted laws providing for the demolition of suspected kidnappers, while some states have passed legislations prescribing death penalty. Yet, kidnapping is everywhere and even assuming alarming proportions.

    Some people said ‘Okey Wali is so high up there, why didn’t he get police security?’ But I tell you this, there was a business man in Benin City who had six policemen protecting him. But when the kidnappers came, they took out the policemen and kidnapped him. It shows where we have reached, where kidnappers can now confront armed policemen. They know the person is being protected by armed police men, and yet confront them, shoot the policemen and kidnapped their victim.

     Why were you absent at this year’s International Bar Association conference?

    I had made arrangements to be at the IBA Conference in Tokyo. I had bought tickets for me and my wife, paid for hotel accommodation and concluded every other arrangements. But, it would have been irresponsible of me to travel out of the country when the immediate past president of the Bar was in captivity. I needed to be on ground to monitor what was happening.

    I was in contact with members of his family and with the security agencies and I needed to be physically present in Nigeria to do that. So, I could not travel to Japan for that conference.

    Nigerians received with cheers, the news that a truce and ceasefire were reached with members of Boko Haram. What is your assessment of that truce, especially now that we hear that it has been broken?

    We were not involved in any way in the process of the ceasefire agreement. We don’t know the terms of the ceasefire. But like all other Nigerians we just heard the news. As peace-loving Nigerians, we welcome the truce. Anything that will end the hostilities in that part of the country is welcome.

    Are you concerned that Boko Haram has resumed attacks during the period of the ceasefire?

    We also heard that the Chibok girls would be released that same week, surprisingly this has not happened. So, I call on the government to please disclose to Nigerians the terms and the basis of this ceasefire. And we’ll encourage the cessation of hostilities that will assist in the final resolution of this crisis, which has lingered for too long.

    What do you have to say on the report of Boko Haram leader Shekau’s death?

    Again we do not have the full details of Shekau’s death or how he died. However, killing the leader of the insurgents does not stop insurgency. This is because any other leader can arise in the group. A new leader can emerge and they may have other commanders.

    The Federal Government purported attempted to purchase arms from South Africa, which led to the confiscation of $9.3million and another $5.6million by the authorities. What is your take on this?

    Whenever you are in a situation of war, which is what I think we are in right now, there is need to restock the armoury. This is to be expected and it’s understandable. But for me, the critical question is how do we restock our armoury?

    Do we restock our armoury by illegal action? That is where the issue of this $15million comes up and it is in my view a national embarrassment. We have descended to the stage where we are unable to buy arms from recognised agents.

    The whole world knows that we are fighting a war against insurgents. What nobody has been able to explain is why can’t we buy arms from recognised arms dealers? Why are we fighting insurgents and we can’t procure arms? It’s such a major question that begs for answer.

    Having to buy arms through unconventional means, which has now turned out to be against South African laws is indeed, a national embarrassment. It’s very sad that a country like Nigeria is involved in such an act. There are better ways the Federal Government could have bought arms.

     Amnesty International recently published a report alleging massive violations of human rights in the Northeast by the military. What is your assessment of the situation?

    We have always condemned human rights violations in any shape or form. Even in a situation of war, the rights of people must be respected. However, we have asked our branches in those areas to be on the watch and report such violations of human rights to us. Also, we have the Human Rights Watch, which has been monitoring rights violations for us in those areas. You can be rest assured that we’ll do our best to ensure the rights of persons in those areas are well protected.

    It must be further noted that those figures that Amnesty International has been parading are quite doubtful. One is not sure it’s as high as that.

     A few weeks after you were sworn in as NBA president, some lawyers sued you and Mr. Jide Koku (SAN), challenging his chairmanship of the Section on Legal Practice (SLP). The Section will hold its conference in Uyo in a fortnight. Would that not be sub judice?

    Firstly, I would say that as an association of lawyers we must practice what we preach. We preach due process and democracy. We preach obedience and observance of the rule of law. As I said in my inaugural address, SLP nominations and elections were scheduled to be held at the last NBA conference, but no elections held.

    Rather than hold elections, some people were allegedly coronated. Under the bye-law, there must be nominations and there must be an election before anyone can become the chairman of a section. But this never happened in SLP.

    In the NBA-Annual General Conference  programme of events in Owerri, the election was scheduled to be held on Tuesday, but that election didn’t hold accordingly. So, to prevent a lacuna and to prevent an illegality, I took a decision that we must have somebody to coordinate the activities of the Section until a proper election is held.

    I understand a case was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Another case was also said to have been filed in Owerri. Many more are preparing to file their cases  and I challenge all of them to speak truthfully to the issues. Was there an election? Where there was no election, it is a breach of the NBA Constitution and such illegality must not be allowed to stand.

    I had an overriding duty to protect the sanctity of our constitution by appointing a caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the section until proper elections are held.

    The SLP conference is prescheduled and reorganised and all that they are doing is to see through the section’s programmes. Today, it’s SLP and we turn a blind eye, tomorrow it might be another section or even a branch.

    When the process of an election is started, it must be seen through. You can’t take some steps in the process of an election then truncate it halfway through and declare a chairman without the election. The steps that SLP took were strictly pre-election, and the proper election never took place.

    I am surprised that lawyers, who are trained in constitutionalism and due process, will have the courage to go to court and urge the court to uphold pure illegality.

    What many see as a shameful act occurred in Osogbo recently where lawyers were openly involved in fisticuffs at the election tribunal. Ekiti State also just witnessed the desecration of the temple of justice when a judge was physically manhandled by hoodlums. What is the NBA doing about this?

    I must confess that we have challenges. In any association there are touts and there are charlatans. In the case of the Osogbo incident, we have identified those involved and we have written to them. We are awaiting their responses, after which we’ll take the necessary actions.

    In the case of Ekiti, we have set up a high powered committee to investigate the incident and we’ll do all that is necessary to ensure that proper action is taken against whoever is indicted.

    The lingering crisis in the Rivers State judiciary has caused so much hardship for litigants, to the extent it is now in a comatose state. How do you intend to resolve this?

    Well, I will tell you for free that the problem in Rivers State is not over who is the Chief Judge or not. The NJC has a role to play and it’s doing just that.

    However, the courts in Rivers State are shut down as at today, not because of the imbroglio over who is CJ or not. It is rather as a result of the strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). I had a meeting with the leaders of JUSUN, because they had planned on going on a nationwide strike. Based on our appeal to them, they have agreed to shelve that strike. If the JUSUN was not on strike, I am sure the courts in Port Harcourt would have been sitting.

     Will observers be allowed at the forthcoming NBA NEC?

    Yes. I have promised to address that issue. I made it clear that we’ll allow observers at our NEC meetings but it will be on the basis of accreditation from branches. All those who would like to attend and observe NEC meetings should indicate through their branches and their names will be sent to the NBA National Secretariat for accreditation. Such lawyers will be issued with name tags that will enable them attend the meetings.

     What are your comments on the ongoing moves by the National Assembly to remove or modify the immunity clause?

    I have always said that immunity is for the office. The holder of that office shouldn’t be jumping from one court to the other defending cases against him at a time when he is supposed to doing the work he is elected to do.

    If you look at the number of people who have immunity, it’s just few. We have the 38 state governors and the president. If you multiply that by two, we have just 74. In a country of 170 million people, I don’t think 74 persons with immunity should be such a cause for worry. I believe immunity is not necessarily to cover up the office holder, but to enable him to do the work he was elected to do.

    What are your views on the provision of 180 days to conclude election petitions?

    Some have continued to criticise it – that it has occasioned injustice in many instances.

    I don’t agree with that position. I was involved in the Adam Oshomole petition and we went from trial to Court of Appeal, to Supreme Court within the stipulated time. The issue of dragging election petition interminably should be discouraged and stopped. It should be made a thing of the past!

    If you use your 180 days wisely, you can finish your petition. I was involved in another petition when after they gave judgment at the Court of Appeal, the petitioner waited for 42 days before returning back to tribunal. These are 42 days he could have used to start and finish the case. So, he went to the Court of Appeal and he was told that he was out of time and he still lost.

    It was reported that out of 6000 students of the Nigerian Law School who sat for Bar Final examination, only 2000 passed. Are you worried about this?

    I have looked at the results and done a campus by campus analysis. I must confess that it gives one cause for alarm, the failure rate is really high. I spoke with the Director-General and as soon as he comes back from the IBA conference in Japan, I will meet with him and find a way forward. I have been asking myself some questions. Is it that the lecturers are lazy or are  not doing what they are supposed to do? We will sit down with the law school authorities and find a solution to these problems, I assure you.

  • Group tackles exam failure

    Worried by the mass failure recorded in Mathematics in the just-released results of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Women in Technical Education and Development (WITED) has recommended counselling to address the irrational fear students have on the subject in the bud.

    The group also suggested public enlightenment campaigns aimed at dispelling students’ apathy on Mathematics and other Science subjects.

    President of WITED, Mrs. Osiki Francis disclosed this to reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at the sideline of the association’s National Coordinating Committee (NCC) meeting.

    Mrs. Francis, a civil engineer and lecturer at the Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, added: “There is no place whatever for fear of the course. Fear already defeats the individual even before he or she confronts the problem. So, that self-defeatist attitude should be addressed through counseling. We need public enlightenment campaigns; so information is necessary in allaying the fears of students about Mathematics and Sciences.”

    She said that WITED was borne out the desire to encourage the girl-child, who has the God-given flair to appreciate Mathematics, science and technical courses for the country to march forward technologically.

    She said: “For meaningful national development, the female folks that constitute about half of the population of Nigeria should not be left behind.

    “Government can encourage the girl-child to take up Mathematics and technical courses by giving scholarships and awards to those excelling in these subjects. Besides, science laboratories should be well equipped; Science and Mathematics teachers should also be encouraged. This is because when they are happy, they will be at their best in their works and the students will do well.

    “Parents’ roles cannot be over-emphasised. They are the starting point of the life of the child. Parents should be enlightened as they have the right attitude to the girl-child in pursuing these subject areas.

    “Women who have the ability are being encouraged to come on board. There should be no force, no coercion. Those who are able to fit into the programme are encouraged to come on board.

    “Our approach is to go to the primary and secondary schools to sensitise the girl-child that she should have no phobia for courses such as Mathematics, Sciences and Engineering.

    “The grassroots is our first target; from there, we move to the traditional rulers who are the custodians of culture to help us pass the message to their subjects; to allay fears of Mathematics and technical subjects.”

    On the challenges hindering women from taking up Mathematics and technical education courses, Mrs. Francis said: “The challenges are varied. It could be socio-cultural factors. There are some places where women are to be seen and not heard. They just have to be in the kitchen. That perception is changing, although fundamentally our place is in the kitchen. Religion is another of the factors, among others.”