The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian

  • Why Nigerian talents perform better outside

    The takeoff point for my reflection in this article is my experience with recruitment both as a public officer and even after my retirement from public service. There is no human resource manager in Nigeria in the public and the private sector that will not be familiar with this tragic experience. There are some positions to be filled; an advert is placed in the newspapers and what happens? Thousands respond to just two or three or 10 spots. And these are not just mere Nigerians; they are super qualified and have been roaming the Nigerian streets for years, writing applications and making ends meet. Some three years ago, there was a sensational outcry when PhDs allegedly responded to an advert for drivers in Dangote Cement. If we check some other lowly sites in the job market, I am sure we will find more sensational news that strike at the heart of Nigeria’s youth unemployment tragedy.

    I used to be a permanent secretary at Federal Ministry for Labour and Productivity, and I am aware of some of the policy disequilibrium and administrative bottlenecks that stifle labour matters and prevent efficient productivity. But nothing trumps youth unemployment as the number one condition that undermines the link between the availability of vast human capital creativity and a national economic framework waiting to be creatively transformed by the boundless energies of the Nigerian youth. We really do not need a prophet to intimate us of the possibility of not dealing with the restiveness that comes from allowing the unemployment statistics to keep growing out of proportion. Increasing criminality will actually be the first stage in an imminent social conflagration whose consequences we may not be able to contain. On the other hand, we also do not need a seer to project the immense and entirely positive effects of channeling the raw entrepreneurial thinking of Nigerian youth into all sectors of the Nigerian society and economy.

    There is therefore a fundamental question we cannot run away from: Why do Nigerians perform better in other climes than their own fatherland? Recently, I got a post on Whatsapp detailing, in statistics, the global, and even ancient and continental, achievements of Nigerians. Consider these: Nigerians are the most educated diaspora community in the United States; the designer of Chevrolet Volt, Jelani Aliyu is a Nigerian; the Imafidon family has been voted as the smartest family in the UK; Toyin Falola is about the most decorated African scholar in the world today; seven Nigerian youngsters recently elected into UK parliament, and the story goes on, from academics to engineering, from investment to politics, and from entertainment to emerging technologies, and from sports to fashion.. We have heard the story of Anthony Joshua, the boxer, and countless other sports persons whom Nigerian authorities rejected but who later went on to make a name for themselves and their adopted countries. We have heard of individual Nigerians who were driven from their fatherland only to rebound in friendlier atmospheres.

    So, what do we make of celebrating the global achievements of Nigerians in this context? Of course, it tells us what we all already know—that Nigerians are smart people with latent possibilities. But it seems we all know this except the government of Nigeria. Or, put in a better sense, Nigeria’s institutional dynamics is rigged in a manner that it rejects its own talents and continues to wallow in underdevelopment. This is the real tragedy of nation building in Nigeria. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American writer captures the pessimistic depth of our condition: “Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.” No one can doubt Nigeria’s heroic foreign policy and peacekeeping efforts across Africa, for instance. Yet, we that can put others’ houses in shape have refused to confront our own dilemma: we have a huge army of unemployed youth and yet we are at a policy loss how to convert their entrepreneurial energies into productivity wealth. This is the open secret of most developing economies all across the world.

    The story is different in Nigeria because we seem to have perfected the act of politicizing or toying cogent development variables in ways that undermine our development drives and aspirations. The 2014 Nigerian Immigration Services recruitment tragic exercise is a case in point where a lot of Nigerians lost their lives trying to vie for just 5000 employment slots. After that incident, politics took over, and the lesson of the tragedy became lost. But that lesson still stares us in the face: Unemployment is not only killing the Nigerian youth, it is equally undermining Nigeria’s progress. There is no thinking nation that will deny the relationship between human capital development and national development and progress. It is in this sense that the youth are the future of any country. It is also in this sense that the leadership is often concerned about policies that have the youth as its focus. This is why unemployment is not only a socio-economic but also a moral problem. Thus, if Nigerians have succeeded immensely in other places, why are they not succeeding here? This is where we confront an institutional dysfunction that lacks the critical capacity to inculcate and harness the potentiality that the Nigerian youth represents.

    The institutional problem is located at two levels. The first level concerns those institutions charged with producing human capitals. And I have the tertiary institutions in mind here, and a higher education reform blueprint. It is not just sufficient to churn out graduates but only those that are functional enough to engage Nigeria’s predicament at the entrepreneurial level. This therefore requires a crucial institutional cum curricular reform that can adequately transform what is taught and who teaches in our schools. We have a sufficiently large number of tertiary institutions to create a functional pool of human capital that can redress Nigeria’s development impasse. But success must really be defined in terms of youth who will graduate without pining after white collar employment. If the tertiary institutions fail to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of the Nigerian youth, then higher education has failed Nigeria. On the other hand, we have a host of other administrative institutions, especially the executive arm of government, which is tasked with the responsibility of harnessing the knowledge, technical insights and vocational techniques that the youth have been armed with. However, the starting point for a transformatory reform in this context is simple: education and employment are correlatives that cannot be politicised.

    Politics is often the enemy of reform since the two hardly have the same objectives. Politicians sometimes want to grandstand over what is superficial; reforms take time and reformers must patiently calibrate the reform elements while watching out for critical landmines. And a clash often becomes inevitable. However, the moment the Nigerian government understands that reform must sometimes defeat facile political gaming, then that would be the moment to bend political will to the urgent tasks of national development.

    The Nigerian youth are not to blame for whatever is happening in terms of development in Nigeria. All they ever want is some form of policy action that would not only involve them as active participants, but would also actively formulate and implement wide ranging institutional reforms, starting with the Nigerian Constitution, which will give the youth a critical participatory voice in their own country, and enable them to flourish in their fatherland. Anthony Joshua, the Nigerian-born boxing rave, was eager to fight for Nigeria about nine years ago. He was blatantly rejected, and Great Britain claimed him. Now, it is time for Nigeria to pick her bruised and battered youth from the shameful heap of unemployment and mould them into what we can be proud ten years from now.

     

    • Dr. Olaopa is executive vice-chairman, Ibadan School of Government & Public Policy.
  • SON certifies Nigerian yam flour for export

    SON certifies Nigerian yam flour for export

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has certified and awarded conformity to standards certificate to PE & I Nigeria Limited,a Gboko-based, Benue State yam flour processing company.

    Director General of SON Osita Aboloma, who performed the certification award ceremony, hailed the company for its strict adherence to standards and quality productions.

    According to him, SON decided to award the company the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP)certificate after due diligence profiling and testing conducted on the company’s operations and products.

    Aboloma, who was represented by SON Benue State Coordinator Mr. Samson Makolo, said the firm represents a ray of hope for the flourishing of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) across the country.

    He added that the agency is ready and willing to assist SMEs operators in the area of standardisation and quality assurance.

    The firm’s Managing Director, Mr. Isaac Sar, expressed delight over the MANCAP Certification Award.

    He added that the company decided to work with SON in order to adopt best practices in its operations.

    He said the award would remain a motivation for the company to do more in terms of products quality.

  • ‘Potato Pohtato’ takes Nigerian acts to Cannes

    AN African comedy movie, ‘Potato Pohtato’ was one of the contents for which some Nigerian artistes like OC Ukeje and Kemi Lala Akindoju participated at the just concluded Cannes International Film Festival in France.

    The film, by notable Ghanaian female director, Shirley Frimpong Manso, screened to invited Cannes festival goers on May 24, as an aside show, with promises of feats that can be attributed a continental co-production.

    The premiere held at Gray d’Albion 2, 38 Rue des Serbes, 06400 Cannes, tells the story of a divorced couple whose plans to share their matrimonial home descend into chaos after the husband Tony brings in an attractive female house help. When his ex-wife Lulu then hires an attractive young man to help her out, a roller coaster ride of laughter, jealousy and tears ensues.

    “Potato Potahto” is written and directed by the award winning Frimpong-Manso, who is well known for her positive and complex portrayal of African women in films.

    “I have written a lot about marriage and new relationships but never about divorce. I wanted to put a hilarious spin on it, especially when the divorcees become victims of their own tricks,” says Frimpong-Manso.

    “I think we touched on an interesting aspect of love and relationships. And I think we made something that people will have genuine empathy for,” says OC Ukeje.

    “Potato Potahto has a fantastic creative team behind it. This film is definitely worth seeing,” says producer Inya Lawal.

    “The soundtrack was recorded on three different continents and features recordings from Swedish, French, British, Ghanaian and Nigerian artistes,” says co-producer Georges Williams

    Pundits say the film has broken new ground with its Ghanaian, Nigerian, British, French and Swedish co-production aimed at making African-made cinema more accessible for global markets.

    The film also stars Ghanaian actress and TV star Joselyn Dumas; award-winning Nollywood veteran Joke Silva and notable Nollywood actor Blossom Chukwujekwu.

    Others are Chris Attoh, Lala Akindoju, Nikki Samonas, Adjetey Anang and Victoria Micheals.

    ‘Potato Potahto’ is a co-production of WB Entertainment, 19 April Entertainment, Ascend International Studios, Virgo Sun Ltd, and Lufodo Productions.

    Distributed by Jambo Play, Nigeria-based distribution company FilmOne has first-look rights for Nigeria and UK.

  • Nigerian child, endangered specie

    SIR: This year’s Children Day may have come and gone and for the umpteenth time we have celebrated with no real value added to the life of the Nigeria child.  My mind is preoccupied with the morbid thought that what the adults and elites gather to celebrate is actually the death of the Nigerian child. The hypocritical activities planned annually for the day is actually meant to drive the death knell in. The Nigerian government can be likened to an undertaker, supervising the death and burial of our children with relish. Nigeria pretends to belong to the civilized world by being signatory to international conventions and treaties on the rights of the child, particularly, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child. But in reality, through actions of omission and commission supports the exploitation, dehumanization and decimination of the Nigerian child.

    The Nigerian child in this context refers to the millions of children residing in such slums as Ajegunle, Makoko, Somolu, Mushin etc. and these settlements are not only limited to Lagos alone. They practically litter our entire landscape. Included in this category are the children in the Internally Displaced Persons Camps (IDPS) who to no fault of theirs are refugees in their own country.

    Truth is the Nigerian child lives a life that is futile and hollow. Children are a very significant and vulnerable group in society which accounts for why in sane climes conscious efforts is put in place to protect and nurture them to full potentials. This accounts for why John F Kennedy, former US president referred to children “as the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”.  Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, on the other hand said “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”.

    The high incidence of infant mortality deaths is a clear demonstration of our soullessness. This is because in this age of artificial intelligence, robotics and other advancement in all spheres of life, especially in medicine, we are losing our children to such preventable deaths such as polio, measles, cholera, malaria etc. Children are subjected to all forms of degrading and dehumanizing treatments. From hawking on the streets, to being used as domestic helps, to being married off as children all in the name of religion, to child rape, to being objects of domestic violence. The list is hopelessly endless. The case is made worse and hopeless in our clime because those saddled with the responsibility of promulgating laws that will guarantee the good life for them are too preoccupied with matters of greed and looting. They have also in our recent history have openly endorsed pedophilia.

    It is such a sad commentary that from Lagos to Sokoto; from Port Harcourt to Zungeru – in fact, across the six geopolitical zones, the population of out of school children is alarming. Children who are pickpockets and robbers, to children who are abusing substances, to children recruits as political thugs. The sum total is that we are a nation at the precipice. Bequeathing our future to malformed children. The conspiracy by all and sundry in not providing the right environment for the Nigerian child is one that will haunt us sooner than later.

    All is stacked against the Nigerian child. He struggles against all odds to come into this world, albeit unwillingly to parents who can barely take care of him while in the womb. While here, if he able to survive his early years it will be due largely to factors of providence and miracle. School is a struggle, feeding a problem, healthcare simply nonexistent. The elites run the risk of feeling insulated. These unattended to children will grow to unleash unimaginable terror on society.

     

    • Michael Ose,

    Lagos.

  • Igniting Nigerian socio-economic revolution via digital animation

    Igniting Nigerian socio-economic revolution via digital animation

    Text of a speech delivered by Information, Culture & Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed at the opening of the Seventh African Digital TV Development Meeting in Beijing, China.

    I will like to express my immense pleasure and gratitude for the invitation extended to me and my delegation to attend this 7th African Digital TV Development Seminar here at the scenic Yanqi Lake Resort. I am particularly delighted because I am among friends and staunch allies of Nigeria.

    It is no longer news that a 2014 BBC World Service poll revealed Nigeria to be the most pro-Chinese country in the world, with 85 per cent of Nigerians viewing Beijing’s influence in the world positively. Nothing has changed.

    The great Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, once remarked: Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream.

    Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream. China is an undisputed power today because it has cultivated great success via boundless optimism and persistently finding and creating solutions.

    The world has watched the Chinese people unite in the face of difficult challenges, looked inwards for ways to nurture and actualise their dreams and have succeeded spectacularly.

    The Chinese story is an inspiration for the ages and one the Nigerian people can find some encouragement in. Like China, Nigeria continues to look for ways to harness and optimise its teeming human resources. Like China, it continues to look for ways to build a just, equitable and prosperous society for all its citizens while fighting waste, corruption and other socio-economic virulence. And of course, Nigeria keeps striving for organic, intuitive and homegrown solutions, undaunted by setbacks and false dawns, in its quest to turn problems to progress and claim its place amongst the global greats. This quest has led it to embrace and adopt digital technology solutions.

    Everywhere you look at these days, digital technology is defying and disrupting the old ways of doing things, democratising access to information and improved quality of life as well as proving a great leveller for people in Africa and other developing parts of the world.

    It’s a brave new world and the frenetic, live-at-the-click-of-a-button pace is not for the faint of heart. The lifespan of digital products continue to plummet. And the future predicted by popular science fiction, the future bustling with concepts like augmented and virtual reality, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, the Internet of Things, 3D printing and nanotechnology, no longer looks or sounds outlandish anymore. We seem to live it every other week.

    Nigeria’s quest to diversify its economy and stimulate business and employment growth has compelled it to examine the digital economy closely and invest in it more assiduously. For example, the advent of a fast-growing “digital age” in Nigeria, the growing popularity of the Internet, and the establishment of various media-distribution platforms have given rise to an increasing demand for content and services like animation and digital artistry. Ranked seventh in global internet usage, methods of communication and entertainment in the country are fast evolving. Corporate entities and advertising agencies are adopting new creative methods of getting information across. The creative industry, of which film and animation are an integral part, is developing and adopting new technology and the demand for content shows tremendous growth potential with the advent of various digital platforms. A widening gap has been opened and is barely being filled, hence the need for an animation industry to keep up with global trends.

    The animation market is exploding worldwide. It currently represents 25 per cent of the world audiovisual market, a figure that is only set to increase with the introduction of new delivery systems, changing scheduling patterns, and a proliferation of new media forms. The major animation markets include the United States, Canada, Japan, China, France, Britain, South Korea and Germany, while the major emerging animation markets include China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In Africa, we have South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt.

    American animation has developed as America’s sixth largest pillar industry; in Japan, the animation industry has outperformed automobile, iron & steel industries to be the third largest industry; and South Korea has undertaken nearly one third of the global animation production business. Most of the segments in the animation industry are growing at the rate of 10 per cent year-over-year, and some segments are growing at 15 per cent year-on-year. The output value of global animation industry has reached over $300 billion, and animation-related derivatives have exceeded $500 billion. The animation industry has gradually become a pillar of the national economy and a new economic growth engine in some countries.

    The multinational animation studios leverage various forms of partnership, co-production and joint ventures with global partners (countries) who subsidise their national film industries, including animation. Funding flows for co-production from Hollywood to other countries and vice versa have become common practice. As co-production increases, animation studios in China and India have become popular co-production partners of studios in Europe, Japan, and North America.

    From the point of view of the major studios, co-production provides subsidised/cheaper production cost as well as flexibility, while working with small studios and bring new and fresh creativity from other countries.

    Outsourcing of animation has also become widespread. Many entertainment giants such as The Walt Disney Company and IMAX are beginning to outsource an increasing amount of their animation production to Asian countries, particularly India, while other companies are outsourcing animation from India for commercials and computer games.

    In all these, Nigeria, and indeed much of Africa, scarcely play a part in this industry, but aim to rectify the situation by making a grab for their share of the pie in this massive economic boom. Now, why does Nigeria believe it has a shot at this? In the first instance, because it has a ready domestic audience and market, Nigeria has about 86.2 million people online, and that’s 46.1 per cent  of the population, ranking it number one in Africa and number seven in the world. It has 44 million TV viewing homes in the country. Nigeria is expected to switch over to digital broadcasting when all 44 million homes have to invest in purchasing Set-Top Boxes.

    In addition, Nigeria’s telecommunication industry has grown to $25 billion, and active lines are said to be well over 113 million, in comparison with 450,000 people and $500 million investment portfolio in year 2000, again ranking it No. 1 in Africa and 11th in the world.

    Nigeria’s smartphone penetration is estimated at 15.5 million. 70 per cent of the population are below 30 years of age, about 50 per cent are below 20 (approximately 80 million), and over 40 per cent of the total population are children under 14 (over 70 million), while about 20 per cent of the population are teens (approx. 30 million). These demographics amply demonstrate that the uptake of animated content is already guaranteed.

    Secondly, the Nigerian film industry, ranked third in the world on the scale of output, has content consumed nationally and globally and is a ready-made conduit for animation-based content.

    Thirdly, the country boasts of an incredible treasure trove of literature, brimming with exciting classics such as a Forest of a Thousand Daemons, a book translated from its original Yoruba language to English by the Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, The Lion and the Jewel, The Passport of Mallam Illia and Things fall apart.  These works are crammed with wondrous worlds and richl-realised characters that can be successfully adapted into animated feature length movies and TV series, all capable of astounding and entertaining global audiences. Finally, the country has an English-speaking workforce that can potentially provide a large supply of low-cost, high-quality, creative talent for a thriving animation industry.

    So, what are the challenges Nigeria and other developing African countries facing in joining the animation party? For one, lack of adequate training for creative talent and animators. To build a competent workforce capable of meeting global manpower demands, Nigeria needs to train competent animation, graphic artists and post production professionals. This will cover all the needs of the animation, film and entertainment industry at large. Secondly, it suffers from lack of funding. Insufficient financial support affects the quality of production. This derives directly from inadequate investment in skill development and production tools to achieve competitive global standards. It also prevents independent producers from taking advantage of the global animation space. As far back as 2008, the top four animation producers spent between 150 -250 million euros per country on animation. With just 20 per cent of this, Nigeria can achieve the same production output of animation content that these countries boast of.

    Thirdly, useful partnerships are nearly non-existent.

    Partnerships in terms of software, hardware, distribution, and animation production resources will need to be forged in order to derive maximum value from the investments in training and production.

    Finally, for a long time, previous regimes did not prioritise the animation industry and so it suffered from lack of government support and enabling policies. For the animation industry to thrive, the existence of favorable government support, policies and trade agreements is paramount. In China, for example, there has been a lot of encouragement to develop animation.

    What are we currently doing to rectify the situation and help build up the animation industry in Nigeria? In the words of Confucius: If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of 10 years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people. We must train an army of animation professionals.

    The current administration is committed to developing the animation/creative industry into a new growth sector by promoting Nigeria’s creativity and creating a highly-skilled workforce for the industry. Already, it has created a programme called N-POWER CREATIVE, a job creation and empowerment initiative by the Federal Government of Nigeria for the purpose of training and encouraging the development of creative and technological skills in young Nigerians such as animation, graphic illustration, script writing, story-telling, sequential arts and post-production.

    With such skills, young Nigerians will be able to find employment in the ever-growing creative and animation industry. Its target will be to equip about 15,000 creative industry professionals across story/script writing, graphics/illustration, animation and post-production this year and that figure should rise to 75,000 by 2020 year end.

    By next year, we shall have a pool of creative industry professionals, locally producing content for and providing services to enhance and grow other Nigerian industries and economic sectors as follows: television, education and training, architecture, Nollywood and entertainment, print, animation and visual effects, as well as gaming.

    We also aim to:

    • Be ranked among the top emerging markets in the global animation industry by the end of next year.
    • Rake in $5-10 billion additional revenues from overseas markets by 2020 through co-productions and outsourcing from other major animation and creative industry markets, especially United States (U.S.) and Europe.
    • Be ranked among the top 10 countries with major global animation producing markets for the global industry by 2022.

    We also aim to initiate government and private funding to jumpstart the animation industry. We are working on a slew of annual exhibitions for the creative industry.

    In conclusion, let us reiterate that global animation industry is at a thriving point with content from global locations taking key positions in annual growth. Nigeria’s entertainment in film has positioned itself as the third largest in the world and has content consumed nationally and globally.

    Noting the influence of already established Nigerian entertainment media, the Nigerian animation industry will extend this effect through producing home-grown animation content as well as becoming an outsourcing destination for global animation services.

    Within two years, Nigeria will also position itself as a global power house of the top 5 emerging market destinations for outsourced animation from key animation producing nations.

    All these might look daunting, but we are encouraged, once again, by the immortal words of Lao Tzu: “Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. With your kind support, we can achieve spectacular success.

  • Leadership and Nigerian youths

    Leadership and Nigerian youths

    Let me start with a straightforward incontestable development maxim: The Nigerian youth constitute the singular most important democratic and development capital that the leadership has ignored for far too long. We pay strenuous lip service to the importance of the youth in nation building—we even call them the “leaders of tomorrow”—but in spite of our best effort, the statistics of youth unemployment and the widening gulf between their expectation and their frustration keep growing at an alarming geometric rate that belies our supposed commitment to them. Yet everything has been falling apart for Nigeria in terms of deploying her youthful energies and entrepreneurial creativity productively. The Nigerian youth are not only unemployed, those who manage to escape are leaving the shores of the nation in droves and turning their energies into achievements on behalf of other nations.

    This dire situation tells us a simple fact—that we have not sufficiently taken Nigeria seriously. And this is all the more so because Nigeria is, like Africa, right in the midst of her once-in-a-while demographic youth bulge that could be turned into a considerable productivity opportunity. Taking Nigeria Seriously, to deepen Odia Ofeimun’s book title, simply means taking the youth and youth development seriously. And this translates, in the final analysis, into the first condition for transforming Nigeria into a developmental state. A developmental state is known by its critical engagement with social policy. Social policy refers to policy initiatives, social relations and institutional arrangements which energise human well-being. It constitutes a deliberate attempt, on the part of government, to intervene in the redistribution of resources among its citizens as a means of achieving welfare objectives that empowers the citizens. Articulating a vision of social policy however goes beyond just guaranteeing a minimum level of policy requirements for social well-being. On the contrary, social policy represents a deeper development agenda that translates into good governance.

    This is where the Youth Governance Dialogue initiative, by the Youth Development Centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), becomes a significant intervention in the ongoing attempt at reintegrating the youth back into the governance dynamics of the nation. And this, tragically, is against the historical trajectory of our colonial agitation which saw radical youth in the vanguard of nationalist struggle for a fatherland they truly believe in. I can sincerely associate with this gesture. As a former permanent secretary at the Ministry for Youth Development, I was significantly instrumental to the strategic planning process that conceived and delivered a Youth Development National Strategy and Action Plan in 2013. But since then, I have become fully aware of a significant point: Whereas there are in place sufficient strategies and action plans for taking youth development to the next level, one can exercise legitimate doubt as to how far these strategies and frameworks have succeeded in undermining the youth challenge. What is clear is that Nigeria has many agencies and organisations involved in youth-oriented activities, but we still cannot outline in concrete terms the impact of these agencies. For one, these agencies have failed, for instance, to achieve significant buy-in among the youth who see them as essentially self-serving or even highly politicised. This realisation has then inspired the advocacy we embarked upon, especially with the birth of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP).

    The first issue, which makes this initiative of the Youth governance dialogue unique, is understanding what the youth challenge is. Let’s take some statistics first. The African youth demographics are worse in terms of the relationship between youth empowerment and national development. And this is all the more so because more than 65% of Africa’s total population today that are under the age of 35; there is a further 35% that stands in the demographic gap between 15 and 35 years (this makes for about 200 million people between age 15 and 35). These figures are expected to double by 2045. However, close to 75million of the youths are unemployed. Those who are employed are trapped in unproductive jobs that promised no future advancement. The vast army of the unemployed is otherwise engaged in the thriving informal criminal economy which deprived the continent of their productive energies. And regularly, close to 10 million—a figure which continues to rise—youths are offloaded to the labour market every month. And in Nigeria as at 2011, unemployment rate in Nigeria stood at 23.9% while youth unemployment stood at over 50%. Added to this is the grim statistics that there is an alarming 16% growth rate of unemployment. Thus, when we think of the youth, what the sociological observation forces into our minds are the miscreants and garage touts (“area boys”), the loafers, drop outs, the almajiris, the unemployed, and all those who have been socially abused, humiliated and deprived of an sense of meaning in life.

    Thus, in spite of the cacophony of youthful voices screaming their frustration across the social media, it is obvious that the Nigerian policy makers have still not woken up to institutional predicament which has continually failed to give the youth access to democratic processes that will help them make informed choices about their roles in Nigeria’s democratic experiment, and as viable component in the search for a viable development paradigm. Consider the following essential questions that bear out this reflection about the state of the youth in national thinking:

    • How many political parties in Nigeria have a youth wing that contributes to internal party policy?
    • How many civil society groups are committed to youth development beyond the mere lip service to their significance?
    • How many religious organisation, for that matter, look to the spiritual rejuvenation of the youth beyond the mere number that attends the church or the mosque?
    • How many organisations are dedicated to youth empowerment in Nigeria?
    • In what sense have the youth been integrated into national decision making process?
    • Is there any longer active student movements that would challenge national injustices and political brigandage?
    • The OOPL Youth Governance Dialogue is therefore confronted with the fundamental challenge of how Nigeria can move from the pessimism of the gloomy youth unemployment statistics to a future of proactive demographics that will generate policy and governance dynamics which can enable Nigeria to harness the boundless creative energies of the ambitious and adventuresome youth. The fundamental issue is therefore to forcefully interrogate the policy intent of the Nigerian government towards the youth.

    The noble intent of the Youth Governance Dialogue is meant to explore ways by which the Nigerian youth can be successfully factored into the governance framework of the Nigerian state. I suspect that this objective can be further enlarged and deepened if tied to a more inter-generational dialogue which locates the youth and their malaise in a wider historical and socioeconomic and political trajectory. This dynamic trajectory derives from leadership and generational deficiencies over the decades since Nigeria’s independence. In dialoguing with the past, the Nigerian youth can therefore engage and query the tokenism that has characterised their enlistment into the political system in Nigeria as personal or special assistants or even as thugs; interrogate the leadership of the country and their anti-progress and anti-development policies; engage with their own complicity in a system which exploit and subjugate their aspirations; attempt to undermine the orthodox national narratives, and in-the-box thinking, which call them “leaders of tomorrow” but prevent their democratic participation; and generally we all can also help create an additive culture, rather than an extractive one, that exalt the value of what we can add to Nigeria and not what can be taken away through corrupt enrichment.

    If we would not allow a Nigerian Spring to burst on us as a result of our lackadaisical attitude and policy listlessness, it is now time to really move away from all the lip service and rhetoric flourish that characterise our relationship with the Nigerian youth to a more institutionalised structure of democratic participation and political succession which allow the Nigerian youth bring their expertise, creativity and knowledge to the development table. If the youth constitute a significant portion of our development, then we have kept them out of that equation for far too long. It is now time to start redressing that lopsidedness.

     

    • Olaopa, the Executive Vice-Chairman, Ibadan School of Government & Public Policy (ISGPP), delivered this paper at a dialogue with youths, organised by the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).
  • Indian, Nigerian Navies for joint training as foreign warship visits

    Indian, Nigerian Navies for joint training as foreign warship visits

    No foster the existing India-Nigeria relationships and boost capacity of military personnel, a visiting Indian Navy Ship (INS) TARKASH would soon begin tactical and operational trainings of some Nigerian Navy (NN) personnel.

    Flag Officers Commanding (FOCs) Western Naval Command (WNC) and Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC), Rear Admirals Ferguson Bobai and Ifeola Mohammed broke  the news during  the  Indian warship’s maiden visit to  Nigeria yesterday.

    This is just as two NN officers would board the Indian warship to Angola for a joint training for enhanced security in the Gulf of Guinea (GOG).

    The admirals, who received INS TARKASH’s Commanding Officer, Captain Rituraj Sahu and Indian High Commission’s Defence Adviser, Captain Marhawa Gautama in their offices, said the ship’s visit was in commemoration of the NN week and to strengthen existing friendship between both nations.

    Bobai said the ship sailed into harbour Wednesday morning, adding that both navies  would have trainings to improve manpower.

    He said: “As you are aware, the NN is celebrating it’s 61st anniversary which would end with ceremonial sunset on Thursday evening. Their visit is one of the flag showing roles of navies worldwide. Friendly navies exchange visits like this.

    “The Indian Navy has been instrumental in the training of Nigerian military personnel. It is hoped that this visit would further cement existing relationship between Nigeria and India.

    “In the course of the visit, the INS would conduct medical rhapsody and some tactical and operational trainings.

    “To have them here shows they are friends. We would exchange ideas, discuss on topical issues and security situations globally particularly in the GOG.

    According to Mohammed, both navies share a lot in common in training, manpower development and equipment transfer.

    He said: “Discussions on training assistance expected by NAVTRAC from some Indian Training experts are ongoing. Nigerian military is ever prepared to partner India on manpower development.”

    Captain Gautama said: “The bilateral relationship which has been existing between both navies, goes beyond training. There are ongoing discussions on provision of equipment to the Nigerian Navy. In the nearest future, you might see a ship built by India in Lagos.

    Captain Sahu said the ship has a crew of 300, adding that they would undertake free medical services for the needy.

    He said: “The entire crew and myself are very delighted to make this port call to Nigeria. It has been a long journey. It took us 10 days to arrive here from Casablanca, Morocco.

    The ship is here to strengthen existing friendship and corporation.

    “This visit was particularly designed to commemorate the Nigerian Navy Day. I have onboard a total of 300 crew including 36 officers. INS TARKASH was built by the Russians and commissioned on November 9, 2012. It is a very new ship.

    “When we make visits like this, we usually do some benevolent activities. This time around, we would undertake few medical service for the needy. The ship’s medical team would be there to render whatever medical attention is needed.”

  • World Bank invests $70m in Nigerian varsities

    The World Bank has invested $70m in 10 universities to promote Science and Technology in Nigeria.

    The beneficiaries include: Redeemers University, Mowe; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Jos; University of Benin, Benin; and African University of Science and Technology, Abuja.

    Others are:  University of Port-Harcourt; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Bayero University, Kano; Benue State University, Makurdi; and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

    This gesture is in line with the bank’s African Centre for Excellence (ACE) project aimed at making the African region competitive with regard to science and technology.

    World Bank Lead Economist Global Practice Education, Andreas Blom, made this known at the opening of a three-day Regional Workshop of the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island,Lagos, last week.

    Bloom said of the $165m WB deposited for 22 ACEs project around the African region, $70m has been invested in 10 universities in Nigeria to boost science and technology, which according to him, is now competitive around the world.

    He said Nigeria being the biggest country in the African Region, has strong universities that have little or no recognition outside the country.

    Said Blom: “Nigeria has strong universities but they are not well recognised outside. They are very few regional students coming into Nigeria. So the quality needs to be raised.

    “A lot of Nigerians are going outside, spending lot of money on quality education. Nigerian talents can remain in Nigeria and be educated in Nigeria but we need better universities. We need good teachers, curriculum and laboratories. For Nigeria, we are funding several areas of science. For instance, we are on infectious diseases.

    “In particular, there is the Centre of Excellence for infectious diseases at Redeemers University. That was the testing site for the Ebola crises in Nigeria. They were able to test and turn around the result within six hours. It was critical information and scientific centre that confirmed it was Ebola and allowed the government to very quickly respond and hence contained the virus.

    “The other area we are funding is post-harvest technologies. Around 40 per cent of crops and foods are wasted due to poor storage, transportation and loss. Imagine all that food that would have been available for the hungry if we had the right technologies and knowledge among the people handling the food. Also the reproductive health is another area, more practical science around oil sector. Nigeria is the largest oil producing country in the region but a lot of experts, foreigners come in to take up jobs in these areas, but we are trying to educate Nigerian engineers, chemical engineers, petroleum engineers that can take up well positioned places and have value added in the Nigerian oil industry.”

    He noted that the WB African Centre for Excellence project, which started in 2014, would elapse in 2019. However, Blom said WB might consider postponing the deadline.

    The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, said the commission, which hosted the event, is impressed with the project having gone round the ACEs and is committed to achieving its aims.

    He said: ‘’NUC has completed programme resource verification and national accreditation of the programmes of the centre. We are glad to report that almost all the programmes, I think about 96 per cent of them got full accreditation. We would like to see the ACEs and NUC working in close partnership with research institutes to address developmental challenges. NUC would be working closely with the Ministry of Science and Technology as well as relevant stakeholders, to ensure the achievement of project goals”’’he added.

    Minister of State for Education Prof Anthony Gozie Anwukah, said Federal Government is proud of the ACE project and satisfied with progress made. He said the Federal Government through ACE engagement is revolutionising higher education in areas of research and post graduate training, and would ensure sustainability of the project beyond the World Bank 2019 intervention deadline.

  • Nigerian to administer Rhodes scholarship

    A Nigerian, Ike Chioke, has been appointed National Secretary for the administration of the Rhodes Scholarship in West Africa.

    Chioke, Managing Director of Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, was a beneficiary of the Rhodes Scholarship, which provides funding for exceptional students to undertake postgraduate studies at the prestigious University of Oxford.

    Charles Conn, Chief Executive Officer of The Rhodes Trust and Warden of Rhodes House in Oxford, United Kingdom, said Chioke was considered because of his role in seeking the restoration of the scholarship in West Africa.

    “For many years, Ike has been such a strong supporter of the reinstatement of the Rhodes Scholarship for West Africa. That, coupled with his knowledge of Nigeria, Ghana and the entire sub-region, makes him the standout choice for the role,” said Conn in a statement made available to The Nation.

    Chioke, who earned an M. Phil in Management from Oxford, will be working with another Nigerian, Tope Folarin, who has been named Strategic Adviser for the sub-region. Folarin is an award-wining writer and a former spokesperson for google.

    Conn described Folarin as “a highly motivated and hard working individual who is passionate about development in Africa.”

    He added that Folarin’s creativity and drive would be vital to strengthening the Rhodes scholarship in West Africa.

    The pair will work with others to oversee the selection process for a brilliant student from West Africa to get full funding to study at Oxford University for the September 2018 academic session.

    Over time, the Trust seeks to endow up to three Rhodes scholarships for the region each year to ensure that they exist in perpetuity.

  • Rising profile of Olamide, Nigerian Cinematographer in Hollywood

    Rising profile of Olamide, Nigerian Cinematographer in Hollywood

    From being a photographer to film editing and now a cinematographer of international repute, Nigeria’s Olamide Oladimeji who has been booked to shoot an impressive list of commercials, music videos and movies in the US, Central Europe and Africa even till 2020 says “I’m seriously looking at coming back home to lens some projects with some productions that have contacted me, and to collaborate with other filmmakers.”

    Oladimeji who started off as photographer while pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, graduated in 2013.

    Those formative years, he says he owed to his passion for photography and people who helped to advance his love for the art.

    “Though I loved photography and enjoyed shooting clips, it was from UNILAG I got to meet the man who would eventually encourage me to go study filmmaking, my boss Bolaji Salu,” he said.

    The nudge to take filmmaking more seriously led Oladimeji to undertake a short filmmaking programme in Abu Dhabi, and according to him, “we were taught to be directors but that’s when I knew I had attachments to lights, perspective, colors and camera. It was then I knew I wanted to study cinematography”.

    Shortly after his convocation from UNILAG, Oladimeji went on to study Cinematography at the New York Film Academy. This was a good foundation for him to learn not just from school but the industry. “The real learning was after film school, but God has been faithful towards me since my graduation in 2015. It’s not been a roller coaster, of course, but it’s a steady constant development in terms of working and learning. Also, I have one of the coolest and amazing persons as my mentor, Tommy Maddox-Upshaw, who had worked on Oscar nominated projects.

    Upon graduation from film school, Oladimeji has done several projects as a cinematographer, and most of them have been nationally and internationally accepted. He was one of the Directors of Photography for the 2016 BET Awards in Los Angeles which he describes as an amazing event. “It was two days’ work for us, one for prep and the other was the event itself”. He has also worked with other big names like Benny Boom, Terrence Howard, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Kevin Hart, Nick Cannon, Jeremih, Bob The Drag Queen, Comedy Central to mention a few.