The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FOCUS

  • Time to focus on economy

    The falling price of crude petroleum presents  Nigeria a golden opportunity  for our leaders to put on their thinking caps to come up with reasonable solution to what has become a recurring decimal in the economic life of our country. Even though the price of crude petroleum is not likely to remain low for too long because of several reasons chief of which is the fact that the fracking gas oil which has reduced considerably American oil imports will become uneconomic to produce if the price of crude falls bellow 40 dollars. Secondly the oil majors that are critical to the global economy and its stability will not be allowed to go down with losses totaling trillions of dollars belonging to the investing public that is invariably western capitalists. In other words, it is in the enlightened interest of the West to settle for oil price at between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel.

    In the meantime Nigeria  and such other oil producing countries  like Venezuela  constitute the Achilles heels of the previously formidable cartel of OPEC which unlike Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States can call the bluff of the west and engage in price war to drive the fracking gas and oil industry of Canada and the U.S. out of the market. With trillions of dollars in foreign reserves, Saudi Arabia and the the Gulf States can afford to overproduce at any cost or not to produce at all in order to make a point. Nigeria, Iran Venezuela and Indonesia cannot afford that strategy.

    This is really a pity in the case of Nigeria. Iran and Indonesia are at least semi-industrialized but what do we in Nigeria have to show for all these over 50 years of oil production? We have been talking about diversification  until we are blue in the face  amounting to motion without movement. It seems we may continue like this unless we are forced or compelled to do something. Some years ago an Israeli ambassador told me when he travelled from Ibadan to Kwara State he dreamed about Israel having the abundance of land he saw on his trip and that the ruinous wars his country was engaged in would not have been necessary and that with that land Israel would have been able to feed the rest of West Africa. Imagine then what the  land available all over Nigeria in the hands of a technologically competent country could do for us in our country.

    I am not excited by  the claims of our mobile telephone-distributing minister of agriculture and his claim of agricultural revolution when the whole country is awash with imported rice and other farm products of other countries! But there is no doubt that we must go back to the land. This was the resource that sustained us before hydrocarbon resources. We must support agricultural investment through farm subsidies instead of oil subsidies that are making people rich without working! This will have to be done in such a way that there will be a stampede to become young farmers. The way it is done is  through guaranteed prices for agricultural produce. We have done it here in Nigeria  before through the regime of the abandoned marketing boards which guaranteed prices for farmers even when there was a fall in agricultural produce globally. This was how Nigeria encouraged production of cocoa, Palm produce and groundnuts before the curse of oil on Nigeria which led to our people living a life of indolence and living off commissions as compradore agents of foreign multinational companies.

    Since 1999 when the PDP came into power, we have been told about the plan of power sufficiency. The current president told us that by the end of last year those of us with generators will be begging people to take them off us because by then power will not only be available but would also be cheap . This promise has been fulfilled in the breach! We are daily told of how many thousands of megawatts of electricity we need and how government is going to meet this demand only to be followed the second day on how the power situation has collapsed to 2000 megawatts or less, sometimes worse than where we were in 1999 and after billions of dollars have been spent by the same PDP government that wants to be re-elected. If we are serious about development we should ask serious questions about the urgent need for power for industrialization and reasonably comfortable life free of the environmentally damaging diesel generators that have become permanent feature of our lives whose fumes kill instantly or intstallmentally. Power is key to our survival as a civilized country and the party that can solve this problem should be embraced by Nigeria. We do not need to depend on gas at all so that we are not blackmailed and threatened as we are daily  threatened that unless we abdicate power to people for oil and gas producing states we would have no country. There is enough coal and water to give us power forever in this country. Even without oil we can access resources in the international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF to support our electric power infrastucture. Industrialization and agriculture will get us to where we want to be. We started well on this route when we had several textile mills all over Nigeria supplied by Nigerian cotton growers but we let all this go to  waste  when we got drunk on oil wealth. Any student of western industrialization knows it was from light textile industries that countries progressed to heavy industries. You can not jump a developmental stage! In all this we have to emphasize power. Indonesia a country with serious spatial difficulty  scattered over 2500 islands is joining China as an industrial hub of the world because of her ability to supply its people power which has made small scale industries and enterprises thrive. There is no magic in all this. We just have to work hard. No amount of prayers in churches and mosques will help develop our country. Our future is in our hands. And we should not expect miracles. God is not a magician! If we do the right things in this country, there will be jobs for everybody to do and it will not matter who is in or out of government or the ethnic group from which the president or governors come.

    What we have had in the hands of the World Bank Trojan horse of Okonjo-Iweala in the last 10 or so years is management of prosperity which is not the same thing as economic policy. Paying off our indebtedness to the Paris Club and London club countries and the Bretton Woods institutions does not require neuro surgery because management of an economy in a time of plenty is easy even Joseph did this in pharaonic Egypt. What is  the big deal publishing state allocations and investing a mere $1 billion in Sovereign Trust Fund  while drawing down billions of dollars in foreign exchange to pay for all kinds of wines and champagne of which we are the largest consumer outside France all in the name of free trade when we do not benefit from dividends of comparative advantage on which free trade is based? What is left of our foreign earnings is then stolen to put it mildly  under the regime of market economy and subsidies for oil imports.  This is an embarrassment of importing oil by an oil exporting country. Why has it taken us more than 15 years to fix the four oil refineries in the country?

    The point I am making is that we should have managed our economy better and allow in things that we need rather than pandering to the dictates of the World Bank regime of free trade when we have nothing to contribute to global trade except raw and crude produce.

    Finally, we have an opportunity to tell our people that the meaning of self government includes taxation. Nigerians for a long time have not been paying taxes. This  is the time to tell our people the home truth. A situation where only salary earners are the only ones paying taxes is simply untenable and unhealthy. Every adult must be made to pay taxes no matter how small. This  is the only way people will have a sense of ownership of their government.

  • Don’t lose focus, graduands urged

    The 2013/2014 graduands of Olufilade Comprehensive College, Papa-Ajao, Mushin, Lagos have been advised not to lose focus as they go into the world.

    The Director of the school, Mr Adefumilayo Adeola, at this year’s valedictory in the school hall last Saturday.

    Adefumilayo, who congratulated the graduands, said it takes discipline, determination and the fear of God to succeed.

    “Look around, look at your friends and say congratulations; all of you have now graduated. Utilise the knowledge you have gained here and never lose focus no matter what.

    “Whenever there is this type of programme, the question is: what is your decision about life? Life is not a destination but a journey and that is why it will take discipline, determination and the fear of God will help you achieve success,” he said.

    Fourteen students graduated from the school while 18 proceeded to the Senior Secondary School cadre.

    Pastor Aderibigbe Richard, who spoke on ‘Success for all’ during his message, implored the graduands to use the knowledge they’ve gained to make themselves, the school, the family and the Nigeria a better place.

    The former head girl of the school, Oladejo Mayowa Victoria, who dreams to becoming a computer engineer in future,  recounted how as a prefect, she often run into trouble waters while directing er schoolmates some of whom she said were older than her.

    The school general manager Mr Mabogunje Adetokunbo led the management with parents in a prayer session for the graduands.

    Different group of students made their presentations in drama, cultural dance, talk show etc.

    Responding to one of the questions at the talk show, Mrs Patience Oyenuga, representing the parents’ body advised other parents to support the teachers’ effort after school to help their children better academically.

     

  • Namibia to focus on value addition in trade with Nigeria – Envoy

    The High Commis-sioner of Namibia to Nigeria, Amb. Peingeondjabi Shipoh, said Namibia will focus more on value addition to bridge the wide gap in its trade with Nigeria.

    Shipoh told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja at the weekend that the value addition was necessary  because the volume of trade between both countries was not impressive.

    “ What has been imported into Nigeria from Namibia has not been impressive at all, although there is a slight increase in the figures.

    “When we look at the imports and exports in terms of years, starting from 2009 to 2013; taking a specific year, 2011, the trade between the two countries wasn’t up to one million dollars, just within 800,000 dollars.

    “With over 160 million Nigerians and over 3 million Namibians, it is unbelievable that Namibia’s trade with

    Nigeria has not crossed one million dollar (about N160 million)”, he said.

    He added that it was important for citizens to have the right information about the two countries and the investment opportunities that existed.

    The envoy noted that opportunities for trade existed in the areas of salt production, fish processing, oil and gas exploration, education, health, among others.

    He also noted that the government had introduced favourable policies that would protect and encourage investors.

  • Focus on children with special needs

    Children with special needs are to be given attention in the programme of Ikeja Golden Lions Club in the 2013/2014 service year.

    This indication was given during the investiture of Lion Mercy Aje-Omosun as the 22nd president of the club.

    She stated the mission of the club this year to include raising the club’s standard to an enviable height that will become a brand of reference

    The core project, according to Aje-Omosun, is “the rehabilitation and restoration of the designated classrooms of Bola Memorial School for Children with special needs, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja.

    Earlier, she stressed the need to give attention to children with disability so that they will have a sense of belonging which is important for optimal performance in all endeavours. She defined disability as ‘a physical or mental impairment that has a long term, substantial adverse effect on the ability to perform day-to-day activites”.

    Aje-Omosun promised to provide enabling environment through viable programmes . She praised the efforts of her predecessors, noting they will serve as impetus for her to do more.

  • Be focused, Rufai tells Keshi

    Be focused, Rufai tells Keshi

    • Edo sports commissioner begs Jonathan to increase bonus

    A former Super Eagles of Nigeria goalkeeper, Peter Rufai has advised Stephen Keshi and the Eagles players to be focused as they engage the Ethiopian senior national team on Sunday in the first leg of playoff for the 2014 World Cup.

    The ex-Eagles goal tender gave the advice when he visited the Edo Commissioner for Youths and Sports Lady Omorede Osifo in Benin City.

    He said though the match is going to be a tough one, Rufai therefore urged the coach and the players to avoid any form of distraction form their opponent.

    Rufai, who commended the present crops of players in the national team, said all they need to emerge victorious was for them to remain focused before and during the match.

    He said he considered the match a difficult one because it is easier playing against a European team than an Africa team.

    “That is why I am urging the players and their handlers to remain focused and not consider their opponent a weak team.

    “Nobody should consider them weak for them to have come this far.

    “The Eagles must also be careful because the Ethiopians are going to throw all forms of antics to ensure they win the match come Sunday.

    “So, our players and handlers should and must prepare themselves to overcome these distractions, especially the issue of bumpy pitch,” he stressed.

    Asked which department of the game he considers as Eagles strongest, Rufai responded saying, “Football is a team game and one department does not win a match.

    “What I am trying to say is that presently, we are good in every department of the game, from the coaching crew to the attack.

    Also speaking, Lady Osifo appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to increase the match bonus for players and coaches in the match against Ethiopia.

    According to her,the added bonus, would serve as an encouragement for the team just as she predicted 3-1 victory in favour of the Nigeria national team.

    “In spite of the fact that they are playing away does not stop them from winning the match.The present crop of players are capable of winning any match irrespective of where it is played.”

  • ILO urges focus on workers’ safety

    ILO urges focus on workers’ safety

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has called on the Federal, state and local governments to make the health and safety of their workers a priority, stressing that recent statistics on the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among adults in the world shows that Nigeria has the second largest number of people living with disease

    ILO-HIV Technical expert, Dr. Runo Onosode, who made the call in Lagos while presenting the keynote address on HIV/AIDS in the workplace and link to occupational safety and Health, at the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), in Lagos, said the programme was a collaboration between Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NISTF) and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).

    She said: “We commend the efforts of NSITF in collaboration with NECA to ensuing safety in the workplace in the country because it is on record that Nigeria has the second-largest number of people living with HIV as the prevalence rate among adults’ ages 15 to 49 is 0.9 per cent.”

    “The human cost of this daily adversity is vast and the economic burden of poor occupational safety and health practices is estimated at four per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year that needs urgent attention like the ongoing enlightenment forum.”

    Onosode , who emphasised that youth and young adults in Nigeria are more vulnerable to HIV, with young women at higher risk than young men, however, said: “There are many risk factors that have contributed to the spread of HIV, including prostitution, high-risk practices among itinerant workers, high prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI), clandestine high-risk heterosexual and homosexual practices, international trafficking of women and irregular blood screening.”

    Chairman, NSITF, Dr Ngozi Olejeme, said the committee set up last year on workplace safety would continue to implement the safe work intervention project of the fund.

    “The joint committee will continue to identify and intervene appropriately in improving the health and safety infrastructure of companies/employers, which facilities fall below acceptable standards in the country,” she said.

    NECA’sDirector-General, Mr Mr Olusegun Oshinowo stressed that the project was inspired by the realisation that human capacity was the most valuable asset in any business.

    “To any business, the human capital is the most valuable asset and as your most valuable asset, common sense and enlightened self-interest dictates that you pay special attention to that very valuable asset. That is what has informed NECA’s interest in this project,” he said.

    Also, the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Ilo who represented the Minister of Labour and Productivity Emeka Wogu emphasised the importance of human capital development to the development of any nation.

    He however pledged the commitment of the ministry to ensuring the successful completion of the project.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Keep the focus on China cyber threat

    Keep the focus on China cyber threat

    Throughout the past week, the US media have been dominated by revelations concerning America’s National Security Agency from Edward Snowden. Most of the focus has been on the NSA’s domestic surveillance activities and the extent to which it collects data traffic from millions of Americans. But on Wednesday, the whistleblower focused on another NSA activity: its spying on China. The NSA had “61,000 hacking operations globally”, with hundreds of targets in Hong Kong and China. This “gives us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands of computers.”

    A claim like this should surprise nobody. The NSA, like most national intelligence services, does lots of spying overseas. That is what they are paid to do. But Mr Snowden’s words have allowed Chinese commentators to hit back at the US after months in which Washington has openly attacked China for its cyber espionage activities. The Chinese are arguing that Mr Snowden’s revelations in an interview show the US is hypocritical and guilty of double standards.

    That argument must be challenged. The US and China both engage in cyber offence. But there are big differences in what they do. The US is largely focused on securing information that protects national security. China’s operations are alleged to be different. The bulk of its operations – often conducted by the military – are said to involve the theft of intellectual property from western companies. China has always denied such activity. But western businesses say they find it truly alarming.

    It is still unclear how the US can counter the threat from China. US lawmakers want to pass legislation punishing Chinese companies that use stolen trade secrets. They want to impose visa bans on known Chinese hackers. President Barack Obama wants to get China to agree to norms of behaviour in cyberspace, akin to trade rules. But progress is slow.

    One point must not be lost, however. The great danger of the furore over the NSA in recent days is that it will distract attention from the immense threat from China that US companies face. Yes, the US government must be accountable and transparent when it comes to the surveillance of its own citizens. But the scale of cyber espionage by China against western companies is on an altogether different scale. The concerns that western companies have on this issue must not be overshadowed by debates on US civil liberties.

     

    Financial Times

     

  • U.S. should focus on helping Egyptians protect their freedoms

    U.S. should focus on helping Egyptians protect their freedoms

    IN EGYPT’S secular society, conventional wisdom holds that the United States is backing the Islamist government of Mohamed Morsi and reconstructing with his Muslim Brotherhood the corrupt relationship it once had with strongman Hosni Mubarak. For the most part, it’s an untrue and unfair story. But the fact that so many prominent and well-educated Egyptians believe it is an indication of how the Obama administration is failing to conduct or even articulate a coherent policy for post-revolutionary Egypt.

    Egyptians who believe in the Morsi-as-American-client theory point to his close cooperation with President Obama during last year’s fighting between Israel and Hamas, the announcement of $250 million in fresh economic aid by Secretary of State John F. Kerry during a visit to Cairo last month, and Washington’s low-key response to Mr. Morsi’s violations of democratic order. Mr. Morsi, like Mr. Mubarak before him, seems to be allowed a free hand to repress opponents and concentrate power in exchange for keeping peace with Israel and cooperating in hot spots such as the Gaza Strip.

    The reality is that the United States is not so much propping up Mr. Morsi’s government as it is flailing in its attempts to build a working relationship with it and exert influence. While U.S. cooperation with the Egyptian military, which has walled itself off from the civilian government, remains strong, there has been little in the way of strategic cooperation between the administration and Mr. Morsi in recent months. A proposed visit by the president to Washington was twice postponed and is now on hold.

    Mr. Kerry’s aid announcement was aimed at coaxing Mr. Morsi into finalizing a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail out Egypt’s crumbling economy. U.S. officials hoped the pact would serve the political purpose of forcing the Islamists to compromise with the secular opposition to win public toleration of IMF-mandated austerity measures. But Mr. Morsi short-circuited that strategy by seeking, and quickly winning, $5 billion in aid from Qatar and Libya — funds that should allow the government to avoid both an IMF deal and a financial collapse before October, when new parliamentary elections are now expected.

    With the Arab money in hand, Mr. Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders appear increasingly disinclined to heed advice, appeals or even criticism from Washington. A proposed law that would eviscerate civil society groups and ban congressionally funded organizations such as the National Democratic Institute from operating in Egypt is moving forward. Senior leaders have been spewing anti-American rhetoric. An expression of concern by the State Department about a criminal case brought against a television satirist prompted an angry response from the ruling party.

    The right way for the administration to regain its footing in Egypt is neither to pivot toward backing the secular opposition nor to seek accommodation with the government. Instead, the United States should have a policy centered on widening and preserving the democratic opening that followed the 2011 revolution. The administration should speak more, including from the White House, when free speech, free assembly or free elections are threatened; it should find ways to continue and increase its support for Egypt’s civil society. It should reach out more to opposition leaders, while making clear to them and to the military that non-peaceful means for challenging Mr. Morsi’s government are unacceptable.

    In short, the United States should worry less about influencing or cooperating with Mr. Morsi’s government and more about helping Egyptians defend liberal values.

    Washington Post

     

  • Lagos Assembly renews focus

    Lagos Assembly renews focus

    How did the Lagos State House of Assembly fare in 2012? OZIEGBE OKOEKI examines the past legislative year, the laws and resolutions passed, and the areas of priority in 2013.

     

    There was no dull moment during the crtitical legislative year. Lawmakers achieved a shift in collective focus. Unlike 2011, the Lagos State House of Assembly passed more bils and resolutions for good governance. in 2012. The deputy speaker of the House, Mr. Kolawole Taiwo, affirmed the shift. “We have moved from establishment laws to ‘law and order’ laws and we will continue with it this year. This is because we know that if we can let our people see reason now, why we need to live based on law and order, we would have solved several problems,”he said.

    The House passed 11 bills into law in 2012. The most important of them, according to Taiwo, was the traffic law. Although the law was trailed by a lot of controversies and protests by commercial motorcycle riders, popularly called Okada, leading to destruction of property and sometimes lost of lives, the law has come to stay, more so when a suit filed by the Okada riders against the state government as a result of the law was thrown out by the courts. Many Lagosians agree that the law has instilled sanity on Lagos roads, although it has deprived a lot of people their means of livelihood.

    Other laws passed include: The 2012 Appropriation Law; A law to amend the Lagos State Law Reform Commission; A Law to amend the High Court Law Cap. H3 Laws of Lagos State; A Law to provide for Lagos State Polytechnic; A law to amend and re-order the 2012 Appropriation Law; A law to establish the Lagos State Scholarship Board; 2013 Appropriation Law, and The Cremation Law.

    The Cremation Law which was passed at the last sitting of the House in December 2012 remained controversial until the day it was passed because of the opposition of some religious groups and individuals to it. But Taiwo said that though the bill was controversial, “we passed it to correct imbalances on how we bury our dead, particularly unclaimed and unidentified corpses”. The law provides for cremation on unclaimed corpses in morgues and their voluntary cremation.

    About twelve bills are at different stages of passage. Prominent among them are: Consumer Protection Agency Bill; Lagos State Revenue Administration Bill; Lagos State Oil and Gas Corporation Bill; Facilities Management and Maintenance Bill; Freedom of Information Bill; Lagos State Lands Registration Bill; Lagos State Anti-Terrorism Bill; Lagos state House of Assembly Budget and Legislative Research Office; Local Government (Administration) (Repeal and Re-enactment) bill etc.  About seven other bills are awaiting executive briefing.

    The Lagos State Revenue Administration Bill would have been passed in December 2012 but for the disagreement between chairman, Hon. Adefunmilayo Tejuosho and Vice Chairman, Hon. Oluyinka Ogundimu and other members of the Finance Committee over the committee report presented to the House.

    The Deputy Speaker also revealed: “The Consumer Protection Agency bill is one of the ‘law and order’ bill though it is yet to be passed, it is going to assist us; we lack political will to face reality when it comes to controlling the quality of products that come into our society. We will pass the consumer protection law which will move us from quality control to quality assurance which is the global standard. And we will be sure of a quality that is acceptable to our environment.”

    The House was applaudee for recorded the early passage of the 2013 Appropriation Law. Governor Babatunde Fashola, while signing the bill into law, said it had not happened in a long time.

    The House also passed 62 resolutions in 2012 which resolved many contentious issues that could cause major crisis in the state, such as land disputes, state of roads especially federal roads, revenue and power generation, oil and gas production, local councils’ rates, deployment of indigenes of the state to crisis-prone areas in the North for their National Youths Service; demolition of faulty buildings, etc.

    The resolutions are as follows: “That the state government takes advantage of the new policy on power transmission to provide light for citizens; that the federal government should rehabilitate deplorable federal roads in the state; redeployment of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members from volatile states in the North; deplorable state of Ikorodu/Itoikin and Ikorodu/Sagamu Roads; the need to strengthen monetary policy, manage inflation and ensure economic growth; indiscriminate increase in petroleum products’ prices by independent petroleum marketers and hawking of petroleum products in the state.

    The lawmakers were also not found wanting on oversight functions.  They either undertook several fact-finding visits to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) or invited officials from the executive to come and explain one action, expenditure or the other either in the House.

    The House was also up and doing in the area of infrastructural development in the Assembly. It improved on infrastructure in the complex as it commissioned an ultra-modern legislative chamber last year. And another six-storey block of offices for lawmakers is almost ready for commissioning. It also did not relent in capacity building programmes for lawmakers and staff of the Assembly.

    In the area of Executive-Legislative relationship, 2012 witnessed the best in relationship between both arms. It was devoid of any crisis. This probably explains the early passage of the 2013 Appropriation Law by the lawmakers. And Taiwo confirmed the positive development.

    Taiwo said the House will continue with ‘law and order’ bills this year to bring law and order to the society and ensure that things move smoothly.

    “The consumer protection agency bill is another law and order law is very important to us; we will pass it to ensure that we control the quality of goods and services that come into our society,” he added.

    He disclosed: “We will carry out our town hall meetings to get the feelings of our people. We shall go round the whole state, get information about their expectations from our government.” This time, according to him, officials from the executive, particularly economic planning ministry, will be involved in the town hall meeting.

     

    “The problem of the previous town hall meeting will not surface this time around, because the executive will also be taking note. Therefore, the idea that they will not inculcate our findings in the next budget will not be there .”

    The House, according to Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji, will also witness more capacity-building programmes both for lawmakers and staff of the Assembly, locally and internationally, in the New Year.

    Making a pledge for 2013 on behalf of the Assembly, the Deputy Speaker said: ”We will not relent in making Lagos better; we will not rest on our oars; we will put the executive on its toes to solve most of our problems like electricity and infrastructure.”

     

  • Responsibility of citizenship: The youth in focus (3)

    Responsibility of citizenship: The youth in focus (3)

    Today, I offer the third and final installment of the lecture delivered under the auspices of a group of progressive indigenes of Oyo State on December 18 at the Ibadan Civic Center.

    I now return to the role of the youth in recapturing the essence and consequence of thinking including cooperation to solve challenges. Let us not lose sight of the fact that the indigenous administration that took over the reins of government in the Western region in 1953 made investment in human resources its priority because it believed that human beings are the most important agents of development. As that administration struggled along with other nationalists for independence, it persuaded itself that it needed to invest in educating the youth. Human resource development was its mantra. If we failed to credit that administration with anything, it would be grossly unfair if we failed to recognise its success in the education of the cadre of human power that laid the foundation for the pace-setting achievements. And as the saying goes, if you were promised a gift of clothing and dresses, it is wise to first check out the appearance of the promiser. The members of the Awolowo administration were well-educated. Here then is the first challenge for the ThinkOyo group. Education is the key to all aspects of development.

    The independence era was one of will to excellence. Competition was productive for the regions. Other regions sent delegations to study the success of Universal Primary Education in the West. And building on the fame of its deviant rejection of federal funds in order to have the freedom to use its internal funds for development as it saw fit, the West simply matched on with one achievement after another. This was the case in the pre-independence and early independence periods. When you think Oyo, you must think of what positive achievements could be made with a truly federal structure.

    Your challenge as a group is to engage in collaboration and cooperative endeavors to rebuild the walls of Oyo State. This is a challenge that must be met. I have no doubt that you can do it. Of course, there are obstacles and challenges. But there are also resources to meet those challenges.

    The foremost challenge is the provision of quality education for the masses of children and young adults that are drifting in the ocean of hopelessness so that they are well-placed to make substantial contributions to development. Education is the most effective leveler and an effective education policy that levels the playing field is desperately needed in order to realise an era of ajumose.

    The matter is simple to my mind. I was informed that ThinkOyo is an organisation of successful upwardly mobile young men and women. I would like then to call your attention to an old proverb of our ancestors: Ajooje ko dun beni kan ko ni (it’s impossible to motivate cooperation between haves and have-nots). But just as it is in consumption, so it is in the matter of production: Ajoose ko dun benikan ko ri se. You cannot expect the cooperation of a person of your age who has not been as privileged as you are in educational achievements and employment opportunities. Public education is still the greatest leveler and the greatest contributor to the closing of the inequality gap in a number of countries and you must pay your due to sustain it.

    Second, there is the challenge of youth alienation and despair. The youth are now more than ever especially at risk of drifting in the ocean of individualism where there are only a few islands of community and social responsibility. As a member of the ThinkOyo organisation, you must avoid the temptation of drifting in that ocean. You must join forces in the membership of an inclusive community of responsibility. That community is one that places more emphasis on what can be done for the community and less on what the community can do for it.

    No member of ThinkOyo must consider him or herself as successful just because the Governor knows him or her. Surely, the governor appreciates your loyalty as individuals. However, you must believe that your success as a member of ThinkOyo is because of the success of your mobilisation of others to the cause of helping the Governor to build a new Oyo State where everyone recognises and participates in the work of reconstruction.

    Third is the challenge of inequality. Ajumose entails a shared sacrifice. But glaring inequality militates against “ajumose.” Because it simply means that some are sacrificing much more against their will. Therefore an effective reduction in the gap of inequality is a prerequisite to the implementation of ajumose.

    We should remind ourselves that the original idea and practice of ajumose was in the form of traditional cooperative and collaborative efforts in rural agricultural communities that we all hailed from. In those communities there was no rampant inequality. Communal ownership of land, the principal means of production was a sure guarantee that people needed one another to survive and thrive. Therefore self-reliance was advanced in part by inter-personal assistance between friends and families. The realisation of the idea of the goodness of communal cooperation was not independent of the reality of equality of means and commonality of poverty and need.

    That the youth have a duty to rally to the cause of Oyo in particular and the nation in general is no news. Indeed, it is a duty that grows out of the duty of self preservation and self promotion. For the youth of today, the future of Nigeria as a nation has never been more uncertain. With unemployment skyrocketing and education nose-diving, the youth have good reason to panic about the future that may be their inheritance. And this is why they must see themselves as having a huge stake in the matter. Even if they have little or no memory of history; even if they are not aware of the labours of our heroes past, they can at least relate to their personal needs and appreciate the task that must be done to realise those needs. It is my hope that they are ready to show themselves worthy of the call of their generation to rebuild the walls of Oyo State, Yorubaland, and the nation at large. It’s all in the hands of the youth.

    I am here reminded of a story that must have been told a million times and for which there have been many versions. I first had my version from a Baptist preacher and later from a former university president. I have myself told it many times with different nuances. It is the story of an old sage and a bunch of youthful rascals. The sage was fond of admonishing the youth, always citing historical episodes laced with words of wisdom. The youthful rascals on their part were more like contemporary area boys.

    On the day that the story in question unfolded, the rascals had been out doing one mischief after another. Then they got tired but not until they got hold of a small bird. They argued about what to do with the bird. Some suggested torturing the bird for the fun of it. Others suggested frying it alive for good taste. Then the leader came up with the idea of testing the intelligence and wit of the old sage. They would ask him a simple question: is the bird alive or dead? If the sage replied that the bird was alive, the one assigned to hold the bird will suffocate it and proclaim the stupidity of the sage. If on the other hand he answered that the bird was dead, they would release the bird to freedom in triumph. Either way, they would claim victory and silence the old sage forever.

    The old man was not a sage for nothing, As soon as the rascals encountered him with their question, he knew it was a set up, and he answered them in kind: Whether it is a dead bird or a live bird, it is in your hand. In like manner, I say to ThinkOyo, what Oyo State is and would be is in your hand. Happy New Year!