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Tag: INSTITUTION

  • Institution for child-training (2)

    Institution for child-training (2)

    Dear Reader, last week, we saw the home as the first institution for child-training.  This week, we shall be examining some scriptural examples, being the most powerful tool.

    God’s instruction begins with the expectation that parents will accept and fully live by His commandment, themselves.  One of the most powerful tools is example.  One proof of example carries more impact than a hundred points.  Points may be forgotten with time, but examples will always remain.

    God’s Word says: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deuteronomy 6:7).

    The scripture explains that being an example is the most powerful teaching method of all. But that’s not all. God did not only tell parents to teach their children His ways, but He instructed them to do it diligently. He said it should be done throughout the day when they are sitting, walking, going to bed or getting up in the morning.

    Everything reproduces after its kind.  Your children will prefer to do just what you do, than what you preach/say. Simply ensure that what you do corresponds with what you say. You should live a life worthy of emulation. God’s Word says: Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity (I Timothy 4:12).

    Parents are instructed to be an example in word. You need to watch the words of your mouth.  Many times, out of anger, you may want to abuse your children, but if you let those words escape out of your lips, you have sown a negative seed.  Don’t speak carelessly, not even when you are angry.  Let your words be gracious, life-transforming and destiny-moulding.

    Children are a reflection of their parents.  Murmuring, grumbling and complaining parents will definitely have murmuring, grumbling and complaining children. Stingy parents will have stingy children. Why? Because like begets like.

    Do not expect a “do as I say” approach to bring success. Nothing is more ineffective than for a parent who uses foul language to try to correct his child for using the same. How can a parent teach responsibility, if his own actions are irresponsible?

    Abraham was conscientious in obeying God, and his descendants  Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, also diligently followed God’s ways. Your own example is paramount in properly influencing your children. Children are quick to notice discrepancies between what adults ask them not to do, and what they do themselves.

    Paul pointed out this principle to Jews, who were trying to influence gentiles (non-Jews) yet, were hypocritical: You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ as it is written (Romans 2:21-24).

    Regardless of what parents say, most young people will adopt their parents’ standards and lifestyles. In this case, actions do speak louder than words. Your children are watching the way you kick their mother around, and the way you insult their father. Some conclude in their minds, “If this is what marriage is all about, I don’t think there is need for me to get married”. There are cases like that today. This is because of the negative examples that parents have set before their children. I see change coming your way, today, in Jesus’ name.

    When children are properly taught God’s moral values, they become moral people. When they go to school, they understand that moral people live by a code of conduct that requires them to act honourably and show respect to others. It is time to be a worthy example, because you are not just dealing with children; you are dealing with destinies. Don’t be careless!

    The grace to be a positive example to your children can only be given to you, when you are born again.  To be born again means to surrender your life to Christ. This is by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. If you are ready for this, please say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I believe You died and rose on the third day. Forgive me of my sins.  Cleanse me with Your Precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour.  Now, I know I am a child of God.

    Congratulations! You are now born again! Till I come your way next time, please call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: Email: contact@faithoyedepo.org, counselling@faithoyedepo.org and Tel. No: 07026385437, 08141320204.

     

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Building a Successful Family, Understanding Motherhood, Raising Godly Children, and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored with Dr. David Oyedepo).

  • Institution for child-training

    Institution for child-training

    Dear Reader, you are welcome to this wonderful month of August. This month, my focus will be on how to make your home a conducive atmosphere for child-training.

    The home is the most important institution in the world. It is the first agency of development in a child. By home, I mean primarily the members of the home or more specifically, the father and mother.

    Among the institutions for child’s training, the home has the largest share of the responsibility.  If the home fails, the church, society and the school will be greatly affected. The many atrocities all over the world today, are a direct result of improper home-training.

    Drug addicts, armed robbers and fraudsters are all from the home, because no one dropped from the sky. Every living being today, came from a home. If the home fails to carry out its responsibility, their children will become the dregs of the society. “Charity begins at home,” they say.

    It is also important to understand that child-raising in the home, should be allowed to follow a natural process. While the formal method of training is good, you must use every opportunity that presents itself in the home to pass something across to the child. These include mealtimes, maybe when you are in the kitchen together or in the sitting room or even before bedtime. All these times that you may count as informal, training is going on.

    It is in this atmosphere of love that the Holy Spirit is able to move freely, and the destiny of the child is easily realized. No doubt, it is time to work on the atmosphere of your home and to make it conducive for the Holy Spirit to move. You know that God cannot dwell in a place where there is strife, fighting, envy and bitterness. Where such things are found, there will be room for all kinds of evil. God’s Word says: For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work (James 3:16).

    The question you must answer is, “What kind of home do I have?” Is it a place of healing or a centre of gossip, where you analyze everybody in your church or office and tear them down? I discovered something amazing in Jeremiah 22:29 which says: O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. Do you know that even the ground of your life absorbs what you say? So, when you abuse people, backbite or gossip, your ground is absorbing the words of your mouth! In other words, the words of your mouth are seeds being sown into your ground. The unfortunate thing there is that you are the one sowing, but it is not only you who will reap it; your children will reap it also. May you be found a sower of good seeds.

    The place of a woman in the atmosphere for training the child can never be overemphasized. This is because, to a large extent, it is the woman who determines the atmosphere of the home. Do you know that just by entering a home, you can feel the atmosphere in it? If there is bitterness, envy, strife, etc, you can sense it. But where there is peace, love and joy, it is easy to tell, also.

    We are told, Napoleon Bonarparte, was asked what the greatest need of France was. He said, “Good mothers!” If I am asked what the greatest need of this generation is, I will say, “Good mothers!” This is our greatest need because irrespective of your efforts on the adults of today, if you don’t raise children, you’ll get to tomorrow and find nobody there!

    Until you are born again, you don’t have what it takes for a conducive atmosphere for child’s training. This is done by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. If you are ready for this new birth experience, please say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I believe You died and rose on the third day. Forgive me of my sins.  Cleanse me with Your Precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour.  Now, I know I am a child of God.

     

    Congratulations! You are now born again! Till I come your way next time, please call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: Email: contact@faithoyedepo.org, counselling@faithoyedepo.org and Tel. No: 07026385437, 08141320204.

     

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Building a Successful Family, Understanding Motherhood, Raising Godly Children, and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored with Dr. David Oyedepo).

  • Crisis of institution in Nigeria’s leadership equation

    Anthony ‘Lee’ Iacocca, the American businessman, titled his 2007 bestseller Where Have All the Leaders Gone? In the book, Iacocca was concerned about the role of leadership in the governance equation of any organisation. In his case, he worried about the lack of direction that characterised the political situation of America. The same worry resonates everywhere that governance fails to meet expectations. This anxiety about leadership is not diminished especially when we consider the relationship that ought to be in place between politics and administration that determines the trajectory of good governance especially within a democracy. The significance of Iacocca’s question is essentially the stress it places on the role of leadership in the evolution of institutions and overall institution building. Where this force is absent, such a state is not going anywhere.

    Before my argument is subsumed in nuances, let me state it upfront. I subscribe to the perspective that the future of any nation and the rate of its real development are signalled by the kind of institutions it puts in place. A nation is therefore as good as its institutions or what it makes of them. Leadership effectiveness is thus a function of how effectively the institutions carry the weight of governance and service delivery. The first test for a transformational leader then becomes the priority it places on institutional reform and the building of basic soft infrastructure which s/he will take advantage of to deliver, ultimately, the development outcomes that will in turn translate into good life and prosperity for the teeming masses.

    Leadership is a critical issue that straddles much of the ongoing research in the human sciences, especially political science, sociology, policy development and public administration. Achebe’s The Trouble with Nigeria is a short but decisive articulation of the leadership predicament in Nigeria. We all have something or the other to say about the role of leadership in nation building. Yet, leadership cannot be the omnipotent variable that explains everything; it needs some explaining itself. Within the discourse, the fundamental debate basically surrounds the causal link between leadership and institutions that a leader presides over. Does leadership explain institutions or it is the institutions that influence how a particular leadership behaves?

    Both sides of the divide have their unique contention. For the institutionalists, who a leader is, is a function of the kind of institutions that a state has created for itself. Leaders are therefore strengthened or weakened by existing institutions and structure to become or achieve what they are able to. Thus, a Barack Obama has certain sets of legal and constitutional limitations on his powers. And it was Obama himself who once states that Africa needs strong and behaviour-shaping institutions rather than a strong man. On the other hand, those who advocate the significance of leadership over structures argue essentially that it is actually the presence of a strong man that facilitates the creative combination of centripetal forces and cements their operational dynamics. Without such a strong man or leader, structures and rules would not become institutionalised.

    Even though I have simplified this discourse on leadership and institutions, its essence is still clear: We must choose between the agency of the strong man and the strong institutions. I think this is a false opposition. Human behaviour is so vast and complex to be reduced to an either/or distinction. On the contrary, complex issues like the administration of the human society cannot usually be resolved through one-sided analysis—one singular cause cannot explain political or administrative behaviour of the Nigerian state. A better explanation is found in how leadership and institutions interact: Nigeria’s administrative development requires a critical interaction between the strong man and the strong institution. In other words, leadership is often tasked with the fundamental task of engineering and strengthening institutional capacities which in turn determine leadership quality. Both become essential leverage for delivering developmental outcomes that transform the lives of the citizens. A structure can only be as good as the vision that guides its functions.

    Nowhere is this more urgent than in the collaboration required to propel the political and administrative leadership to a heightened awareness of pushing our institutions beyond the boundaries of low performances and poor outcomes. ‘If there is a spark of genius in the leadership function at all,’ according to Warren Bennis, then ‘it must lie in this transcending ability…to assemble…a clearly articulated vision of the future that is at once simple, easily understood, clearly desirable, and energizing.’ This vision is represented by the entire institutional dynamics that the leadership supervises and motivates. In Nigeria, this translates into the urgent need to create service delivery machinery, represented by the civil service, which serves as the arrowhead for executing the governance strategies of the government. It is in this sense that the civil service, for Schumpeter, becomes a critical complement to democracy.

    It therefore stands to reason that the synergy between these two levels of leadership—the political and the administrative—should facilitate the foundation of effective institutions which would, in turn, define the values and behavioural relationship of the leaders themselves. In this way, we can conveniently transcend the false opposition between leadership and institutions in the administrative framework. What seems certain within the Nigerian context is that the leadership problem is aggravated within an institutional anomie where decisions fail to impact the governance process and agenda. The decision making quotient of the leadership often serve as the strategic fulcrum that motivates the evolution of sustainable institutions. Thus, leadership is inextricably tied with the institutions and structures that influence it.

    The failure to propel these institutions to greater performances results, according to Jared Diamond, from four levels of administrative failures that explain why we allow our institutions to deteriorate to a point of incapacity before we recognise the need to reform them. One, the administrators failure to anticipate a problem before it surfaced; two, failure to see the problem for what it is when it surfaced; three, ignoring the problem even when properly perceived; and finally, failure of attempts to resolve the problem. In other words, the leadership factor in institutional renewal fails to utilise the problem-solving capacity of these institutions for development purposes. It is the task of the leadership to bridge the institutional gap that links decision to social policy and implementation in governance. The first incontrovertible step in this direction is the urgent need to capacitate the institutional matrix to do the right thing and to do things right. Capacitance, to use an electrical term, requires the ability to generate enough electrical charge within the civil service institution that will jolt it into development-readiness.

    The work of development has been laid out for the civil service to do. And here, the truth is that development outcome is dependent on execution relative to national visioning and strategy by a ratio of 85/15 percent. The bigger task, however, is how to execute in an efficient and effective manner that will translate development policies into development outcomes. For Jeffrey Pfeiffer, ‘A company’s…ability to generate those exceptional returns in a knowledge-based economy is dependent, in large measure, upon its ability to attract, retain, and develop the right work force—and whether it succeeds in unleashing their mental capabilities.’ If we are looking for the right leadership direction, this is the path to look at—the path of administrative capacitance. This is where to locate the leaders Iacocca was looking for.

     

    • Olaopa is Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Abuja

  • ‘Lagos centre to partner training institutions’

    The Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) will partner other training institutions, its Director-General Mrs. Olubunmi Fabamwo has said.

    She spoke while receiving a delegation from the Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria led by its President,Dr. Otive Igbuzor, in her office.

    Mrs. Fabamwo said as the training arm of the public service, the centre is poised to equip workers with the tools needed to keep pace with the state’s focus of being Africa’s mega city.

    She said 21st century managers must be equipped with strategic planning tools to remain effective.

    The centre, according to her, has aligned its vision with that of the state and is simultaneously benchmarking its services with other training institutions in Africa to deliver on its mandate.

    The centre, Mrs. Fabamwo emphasised, is not only a training institution, but that it provides solutions for stakeholders, especially in the public service.

    She said a framework was in place to achieve its objectives, adding that 21 old courses have been reworked and 37 new ones designed to accommodate the public service.

    Igbuzor said the visit was part of activities marking the 10th anniversary of the institute.

    The institute chose to reach out to PSSDC because of the recognition of its “critical mandate of developing requisite manpower needed for the sustainable growth and development of the public service in Lagos state”, he said.

    He said the institute was proud to be associated with the centre and would be willing to collaborate with it in deepening strategic management, especially by the public sector.

     

     

  • Alumni condemn closure of institution

    The alumni association of the Federal College of Education, Obudu, Cross River State, has condemned the closure of the institution by the Internal Revenue Service over alleged non-remittance of tax.

    The college was shut for two weeks by the IRS over alleged non-remittance of Income Tax (PAYE) deductions from staff salaries amounting to over N543.9 million for between 2004 and 2009.

    Briefing the National Executive Council of the association in Obudu, a representative of the Governing Board, Dr David Ugbai, said: “We condemn in its totality the unholy act in the recent closure of our alma mater for more than two weeks by the state internal revenue service for non-remittance of taxes.”

    He said it was not in the best interest of any party to have resorted to litigation to resolve the issue, but rather through dialogue and other peaceful means.

    He said the development was not encouraging, the considering the huge investment government was putting into the sector in ensuring that a well-refined teacher education is provided.

    He lauded the management of the institution and the state government for resolving the matter.

    The National President of the association, Mr Justine Akpo, also noted that the development affected the institution’s academic calendar.