The Nation Newspaper

Tag: thrive

  • ‘Why fake Prophets thrive in Nigeria’

    Superior Apostle Moses Popoola is the Conference Supervising Pastor of Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Worldwide and chairman Organisation of Africa Instituted Churches (OAIC) Kwara State Chapter. He spoke with Daniel Adeleye on the menace of fake prophecies and sundry issue. Excerpts:

    Why are there so many fake prophecies around?

    Well, it has been recorded in the Bible that in the end time, there will be a lot of false prophets springing up. So what’s happening today is not a new thing. I want to believe that we are approaching the end time and so there is no way we can stop the trend.

    The basic thing is Christians should know the God they serve. And more so, I must say poverty is one of the reasons fake and evil prophets keep thriving in this part of the world. When I was growing up, you could count the number of churches around on your fingertips but today you see churches everywhere.

    Let government provide food, job, shelter and other basic amenities and you’ll see that many of those churches will go into extinction. What are you going to prophesy when I have money in my bank accounts?

    How would you now say there are witches and wizards holding me and I will believe you when I can eat and have accommodation? But because people have diverse problems everywhere, they are suffering. So they exploit the poverty of people to prophesy.

    There are some who are looking for cheap popularity; some of them are doing because of money and all that. God sent Prophet Isaiah to a king that he will die and immediately the king told God he didn’t want to die. God added fifteen more years to his lifespan. Assuming the prophet has rushed to the media the King would die and the king did not die, what would happen?

    In 2014, God revealed to me that Buhari would win the election but Nigerians will suffer. I didn’t go to the press to say it. So it is a process, a prophet of God shouldn’t be eager to talk. Nobody has monopoly of revelations.

    What’s your take on the spate of killings by herdsmen?

    Sometimes I ask myself has God abandoned this nation or we Nigerians have decided not to obey God? We have stayed together in this country for so long. I can’t really figure out the reason for the sudden killings among us. And the government in the other hands has not taken any decisive action in handling the situation.

    The security personnel too had not lived to the expectation of their duties and responsibilities of protecting lives and properties. It seems there are powerful people who are in involved and government does not want to ruffle their feathers. Because I believe that the number of the security personnel that we have in this nation can curtail the ugly trend.

    How are those people perpetrating the evil acts move in weapons from one place to another? Does it mean that our borders have been left so porous that the security men could not intercept those arms while they are being imported into the country? So as far as I am concerned, government, security personnel, community and other stakeholders have not done well at all.

    Though it hard to believe but I want to believe that this ugly trend has more of political undertone than religion. These killings started from the time when a Christian President was at the helm of affairs. Now we have Muslim President and the killings persist; as they attack Christians so they attack Muslims. So to me, it is more of political than religious affiliation.

    As 2019 general elections approach, there are more Christians indicating interests in elective positions. What’s your take on this?

    In fact if I had my way, I would encourage every Christian that has opportunity to go and seek for elective positions. But I would advise Christians who are aspiring elective positions to do it based on directives of God. That is what stands out Christians. They do things based on God’s call.

    Many biblical prophets like Isaiah, Daniel and Joseph were involved in politics. Born again Christians should be encouraged to seek for elective positions to correct many wrongs in this country.  Of course I believe if we have more genuine Christians in government, they could proffer solutions to the challenges staring us in the face in this country.

    It’s time Nigerians shunned money politics, if we truly desire to progress. Continuous selling of votes for money is like mortgaging our future. I don’t care what religion background the candidate is coming from all I need is good governance. Its high time Nigerians voted their conscience.

    There are so many fetish practices and doctrines among some C&S churches. What efforts are on to reform such acts?

    When the church started in 1925, it came from nowhere and the churches in the land then, Anglican, Catholic, were against the setting up of C&S. When the founder of the church, Moses Orimolade went to register the church, another person also went to register his own as C&S.

    So if the government of the land at that time has said two different people cannot register organisations with the same name, we won’t be having this kind of challenge that we are having in C&S today. But the government of the day approved it. Anybody can go to government and register their church and when the certificate of registration is issued to them, you have no power to do anything.

    But be as it may, we have identified the problem and that is why we came up with what we called Unification of C&S church. We’ll have one constitution to checkmate our doctrines and agree on which one is acceptable. Secondly, to organise lectures of excellence, where we are teaching the people the truth of the scriptures because some of them are practicing what they know and not what the Bible laid on the ground for the followers of Christ.

    They want to mix African beliefs to Christianity. So by seminars, symposium and workshops, we have been sensitising them on the true scriptures. Now we have Bible schools all over the places and theological colleges. Then we also organise formal training to become real priests.

    So in that we can sanction any member who go against the constitution of the church or practice doctrine that is not accepted to procedures. But yet there are some who had refused to be part of Unification and there is nothing we can do about them.

    They are left for government to deal with because government registered them and they have refused to join the Unification. But for those who have agreed to join us, we are trying to make people see the truth.

    There is the perception that only old man becomes leaders in OAIC and C&S churches. Is this a good thing?

    That is not correct. The constitution of OAIC does not spell out that you must attain a certain age to become a leader. Among OAIC churches there is nowhere such is being practiced. When God calls you, it’s widely believed that you can do the work that God has committed unto you.

    In the whole OAIC churches there is nothing like only the old men that can mount the position of leadership. I am a young man and I am the chairman of Kwara State chapter of OAIC. My counterpart in Nasarawa State is less than forty years old; the one in Ondo State is about fifty years and a lot of them all over Nigeria.

    But OAIC appears to be the least visible of all the CAN blocs, why is this?

    Well is not the least but you know, we have our problems. Ordinarily OAIC is supposed to be the mother of all blocs in CAN. Churches all over African countries supposed to belong to OAIC. Presently we are having our headquarters in Kenya. But we have the problem of insecurity and leadership.

    All Pentecostal churches are supposed to be part of OAIC but they have left it for only white garment churches. Formerly Anglican, Catholic and so many others were part of it but at a point some that felt they were rich left and formed PFN. OAIC has been established since 1973, it is older than CAN and every other Christian bodies that you can see today.

    The migration of youths from C&S churches is worsening. How do you intend to keep them back in the church?

    Let me correct this impression, there is no church in the world where you won’t find people migrating to other churches. I know many people, some of who are ranking members from Redeemed Church, Winners Chapel, Deeper Life and so on who have left for another church.

    But the different is that they don’t celebrate their exit the way we celebrate ours in the Orthodox churches. I don’t know may be it is because the way we perceive ourselves. Be it as it may, we have recognised that fact and we are putting some programmes in place to keep our members especially the youths.

    Currently we have youth churches and youth fellowships. I am a product of youth fellowship, I grew up from youth fellowship and by the grace of God I am one of the leaders in C&S church today. So we have been trying to encourage them and part of them is what I mentioned earlier.

  • ‘Banking, others need digital operations to thrive’

    Group Managing Director of SO&U limited, Udeme Ufot has called on banks and other companies to embrace digital technology to enable them understand and know how customers think, act and connect with one another. This, he said will lead to better output and improved customer relations.

    Speaking at the Marketing Edge national stakeholders summit in Lagos, on the theme: Marketing Paradigms in the Age of Digitalization, he challenged organisations to be more receptive to digital innovation.

    “Today, technology is democratising information with its wide spread. At the click of a button, the consumer can have virtually whatever information he needs, even those he does not seek are forced on him. At the click of a button, he can literally transport himself to any market he desires, compare offerings, and negotiate the best deals for himself. If he is unhappy with the service he has received, or disappointed with the performance of your brand, he can spread easily the word globally in a matter of seconds”

    “Today’s consumer not only receives information, he is a disseminator of information, and co-creator of the brand. Today’s consumers can contribute to building your brand into the most loved and trusted in its category, and can also destroy your brand in seconds. The consumer has become a communication vehicle and given “word of mouth” a new dimension I can describe as “word of finger”. The customer has transformed into a most unexpected and powerful creature, one that you offend at great peril to your brand” he adds

    Ufot challenged agencies to maintain relevance by familiarizing themselves with the transformations in the market place and leading clients through the digital space by taking a deeper look at how they practice marketing through all the various stages, from ideation through to strategy, internal processes and systems to implementation in order to effectively communicate, connect with and profitably satisfy the needs and desires of customers in the Digital Age.

  • Huge room for private schools to thrive in Nigeria, says ex-VC

    • School unveils founder’s bust

    Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof Rahamon Bello has said opportunities will abound for private schools to thrive in the next 50 years in Nigeria.

    He said this on Monday while delivering a lecture to mark the 50th anniversary of Grace Schools Gbagada, Lagos.

    Speaking on the topic: “Private Education in Nigeria: Sustainability in the next 50 Years”, Bello said the inadequate number of public primary and secondary schools, especially in Lagos State, as well as the challenge of poor quality were gaps private schools could fill.

    He also said private providers of education could seize on the shortage of secondary schools to provide both academic and quality vocational and entrepreneurial skills which employers will appreciate.

    “The demand for private education rather than wane in the years ahead is likely to multiply. The public sector is unlikely to have all the resources needed to meet the demands of the 6-3-3-4 policy on education. The private sector investment in private education is very substantial and will continue to increase and as such cannot be ignored by government as it is supplementary. Governments must therefore fine tune their strategies on regulation through monitoring and inspection,” he said.

    It was not all about the lecture alone. The programme also featured the unveiling of a bust in honour of the school’s founder, Mrs Grace Oshinowo by the Representative of Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs Lola Adegbite, as well as a huge banner containing the names of all alumni who completed their primary education in the school.

    Other highpoints were the cutting of the anniversary cake, the introduction of the first registered pupil of the school, Mrs Grace Ogunwo, and special presentations by the pupils including a poem recitation in Mandarin.

    In an interview, Mrs Ogunwo told The Nation that she learnt a lot as a pioneer pupil of the school under Mrs Oshinowo, who was also her aunt.

    “She was a disciplinarian. She liked education and because of the Motto of the school ‘God First’. She instilled moral values.

    “The experience really made me a strong woman. I was a Banker for 18 years, I am now a trader. That spirit that she instilled in me is still working,” she said.

    Founder of St Bernadette Educational Services, Mrs Clementina Doregos, praised the late Mrs Oshinowo for her values.

    “The founder of Grace School Chief Mrs Oshinowo was a mentor. We were in the same Early Childhood Organization. She was an officer there. We used to come to her school. She will entertain us at the meeting. There was nothing you asked of her as regards education that she will not tell you. She is very friendly, takes us like her children and tells us a lot of things,” she said.

    On her part, the school’s administrator and founder’s daughter, Mrs Olatokunbo Edun, attributed the school’s success in 50 years to her mother’s discipline, focus and succession planning.

    “We live in a country where most businesses do not even survive up to 10 years but we have been able to survive for 50 years so we every reason to glorify God.

    “I have been in charge officially for 35 years. When I was at the university and secondary school I used to work here.  My mum was a disciplinarian. You have to be of excellent behavior. She was very focused; she was not a wasteful person. So I learnt all that from her to be disciplined,” she said.

  • ‘Judiciary needs committed leadership to thrive’

    ‘Judiciary needs committed leadership to thrive’

    The challenges facing the Judiciary are not insurmountable. Speakers at the 10th Annual Business Luncheon (ABL) of SPA Ajibade & Co. said through a committed leadership, things can get better. JOSEPH JIBUEZE reports.

    Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Opeyemi Oke, has blamed lawyers for encouraging corruption in the judiciary.

    He said lawyers close their eyes to acts of corruption rather than reporting culprits to the appropriate authorities for sanctions.

    She spoke at the 10th Annual Business Luncheon (ABL) of SPA Ajibade & Co, with the theme:  Commitment to Leadership.

    Justice Oke, who co-chaired the event, emphasised the need for partnership between lawyers and the judiciary.

    She also highlighted strides the judiciary is making in Lagos state under her stewardship in stamping out ineptitude and misconduct amongst its staff.

    The CJ blamed the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for not doing enough to stamp out corruption in the judiciary.

    “The leadership of the NBA really needs to sit up because most of the problem that we are having in the judiciary, in respect of performance and so on, the root or the foundation of the vices actually are implanted by the members of the Bar.

    “It is the members of the Bar that come to the court environment to conduct their businesses and also tempt our workers especially those in the administrative cadre.

    “I cannot imagine why a lawyer who knows his right from his left will want to give a sort of brown envelope or some gratification to a registrar of the court so that they can take your file for assignment.

    “It’s high time that members of the Bar looked inwards and try to raise the standard of discipline among the members of the Bar,” she said.

    Justice Oke said it was regrettable that the Nigerian culture of showing appreciation had been bastardised among court workers, who now demanded gratification to do their job.

    She reiterated her commitment to sanitising the judiciary and solicited lawyers’ support.

    The luncheon, which held last December 14 at the Metropolitan Club in Victoria Island,  focused on the need to improve the legal industry and the administration of justice .

    In addition to celebrating a decade of the concurrent run of the ABL, the firm held a tripartite celebration to mark its 50th anniversary, and the launch of its first published book titled: A Review of Contemporary Legal Trends in Nigerian Law, which was authored by associates and partners in the Firm.

    The book, published by LexisNexis, provides up-to-date advisory information on recent laws, regulations and policies as well as analyses of contemporary developments to the various legal sectors that would be of interest to foreign investors and local practitioners.

    The first co-chair, former Supreme Court Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, spoke on ways in which legal practitioners can uphold leadership in their capacity as lawyers to ensure the continued prestige and respect of the legal profession.

    He expressed regrets that 90 per cent of the appeals going before the Supreme Court nowadays are on technicalities rather than substantive issues of law.

    This trend, he said, was a proof that the country’s jurisprudence is on a progressive decline.

    “When you get to the Court of Appeal, when you get to the Supreme Court and when you look at the index of the law reports, you’d find that 90 per cent of reported cases coming before our highest court are all about technicalities and procedure, nothing, absolutely nothing about substantive law.

    “The judges are not to blame, because it is what the lawyers put forward that the judges will consider.

    “The Nigerian Bar must be resourceful and dynamic. Jurisprudence must be nurtured and developed. The dearth of legal textbooks must be removed.

    “We must rebuild the legal profession if legal contemporary trends are to be the father of future legal trends. We must begin to put higher values on legal learning. We must be bold and daring enough to strengthen, assist and encourage younger lawyers in every form.”

    The firm’s Managing Partner, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade (SAN) reflected on its journey through the years and discussed ground-breaking plans for the future, which includes fostering a partnership with the judiciary and recommending ways to improve efficiency.

    He assured the “reformist Chief Judge” that she had a ready partner in the law firm in her quest to maintain the highest standard of ethics and discipline in the judiciary.

    The firm’s founder, Chief Simon Peter Ajibade (SAN), relived how the firm was established and reflected on the changes that have occurred in the legal profession over the years.

    He said he was impressed with what the firm he started in 1957, seven years after being called to the Bar, had become.

    Ajibade, a former Attorney-General of the Western State, recalled with nolstagia his early practice days in Ibadan with Justice Ayoola and his brother.

     

    Partners’ recommendations

    Three partners in the firm highlighted significant topics in their areas of practice and the role SPA Ajibade & Co is playing to support desired improvements in the legal industry.

    Partner and Head of the Intellectual Property Department, Mr. John Chike Onyido, addressed the legislative and adjudicatory shortcomings regarding intellectual property litigation in Nigeria.

    For example, in the area of Copyright Law, he contended that the locus of foreign copyright owners to institute actions for infringement before the Courts merited review and clear interpretation of Section 41 of the Copyright Act.

    The section, he noted, empowers the Minister to certify by means of an official gazette particular countries who are signatories to international treaties/conventions along with Nigeria, and who accord reciprocal protection to works by Nigerian authors first published in Nigeria.

    He added that loopholes in the Act have been exploited by some to escape liability for copyright infringement instituted by foreign authors.

    He also discussed the Court of Appeal’s decision in the case of Microsoft Inc. v. Franike Enterprises Ltd..

    He argued that the decision was issued per incuriam (through or characterised by lack of due regard to the law or the facts) in view of the fact that the Copyright (Reciprocal Extension) Order 1972 actually listed the appellant’s country of residence as one of the countries whose authors are eligible for copyright protection in Nigeria.

    He pointed out that the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction to entertain intellectual property matters under the 1999 Constitution and the Federal High Court Act were less than optimal.

    According to Onyido, they require further amendments to broaden their scope and reach to accommodate the protection of trade secrets and commercially sensitive information.

    Partner and Head of Real Estate and Succession Department, Mr. Olayimika Olasewere, discussed issues encountered by practitioners and their clients in dealing with the Probate Registry.

    He suggested how the whole process could be simplified by redesigning the Probate Forms and Letters of Administration Forms to ease confusion and difficulties in the filing process.

    The firm, he said, had taken the initiative to design a set of forms, proposed as templates for the official form for grants of probate and letters of administration in Lagos State.

    The forms, he said, are simple to use, structured and organised with the purpose of aiding both the applicants and the probate staff to provide, understand and put to use, the necessary information.

    The improved forms may be made available in electronic format on the court’s website for ease of access, he said.

    A litigation partner in the firm, Mr. Kolawole Mayomi, presented three proposals and recommendations for improving the speed and efficiency of commercial dispute resolution practices in Nigeria.

    These are: an amendment Section 286 of the 1999 Constitution to abolish the right of appeal from jurisdictional challenges between the Federal and State High Court; and block-time scheduling of trials, based on counsel and the court’s assessment of how long a case may take, as a panacea to the frustration experienced in the frequent and often long adjournment of cases.

    “This approach will help build up a proper costs practice in Nigeria, rather than the present nominal costs approach, particularly where a long-scheduled matter is sought to be peremptorily truncated by a flippant application for adjournment on the morning of the hearing,” Mayomi said.

    Another recommendation he made is the deliberate placing of arbitration-related matters and applications on judicial fact-track order to enhance Nigerian’s standing as a viable seat of arbitration.

  • ‘Ondo will thrive under Akeredolu’

    ‘Ondo will thrive under Akeredolu’

    Olaoluwa Adeyeye is an international trade and investment lawyer who recently contested the governorship elections in Ondo State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, he speaks on the prospects of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s government in Ondo State, among other sundry issues. Excerpts:

    You sought your party’s nomination in the 2016 governorship elections in Ondo State which Rotimi Akeredolu won. Does APC victory in that election inspire you?

    One thing was very clear at that time, Ondo State needed to be salvaged from a downturn into poverty, starvation, mediocrity and the economic stagnancy militating against the state. The Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the state had stayed on the same level for a very long time and even at a time it dropped. The infrastructure of the state appeared abandoned to rot. No pipe borne water; no power supply in the entire southern senatorial district for many years. The four local government areas in the Akoko region became most horrible with little or no economic activity in play. So from all indications, it was very clear that there was need to take the state in another direction. I was clear in my mind that the APC candidate was going to win the last election regardless of whether it was my humble self or indeed anyone of the other eminently qualified aspirants. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been able to put my hand up and indicate interest in that office and that desire was borne out of a faith we had and we still have in the future of Ondo State to be a trendsetting state in this country.

    What is your assessment of Governor Akeredolu’s performance thus far?

    Coming into office for the first time is different from an incumbent who would have had a hang of things. Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu has come into office for the very first time as the governor of Ondo State. We need to give him the benefit of time to fully appreciate, assimilate what he has met on ground and set the pace for his tenure. He has already begun to demonstrate the tone of his term with a few remarkable strides he has taken in this short period. For example, he’s trying to catch up with the salary arrears that the past administration left unpaid. He has also mapped out plans on how the state is going to move forward economically. He has commenced long outstanding road projects that are so crucial for the state in keeping with his five cardinal programmes promised, which include massive infrastructure deployment. Governor Akeredolu recently entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to construct a road that will connect Ondo State directly with Lagos State thereby enhancing much needed access to market for farmers as well as other added benefits. We are moving forward and I believe that Governor Akeredolu is going to do very well for Ondo State.

    Do you see Akeredolu performing better than his predecessor?

    I can say categorically that my expectation from Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is much higher than that of the former governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko. Governor Akeredolu is not just a legal practitioner; he is a legal practitioner par excellence. He is someone who has practiced our profession at the very highest level. He comes to Ondo State with a reputation and a record that is intimidating both in practicing and administering the profession as a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He is a man that we know to be courageous, that will take the right stand even if everybody is going the other way. Our expectation of Akeredolu is very high and I’m certain he will not disappoint the good people of Ondo State.

    As an international trade and investment lawyer, how do you think you can contribute to the development of Ondo State, using your wealth of experience and connections?

    My specialty in the practice of law has given me the opportunity to see firsthand how capital can be harnessed to stimulate development in the form of projects. One thing is quite clear now; we cannot leave the development of our nation and in this case Ondo State to the government alone to do. I’m already a mobile billboard for the amazing strategic opportunities that are possible in Ondo State and whenever I see willing players, I will be more than willing to steer them towards my dear state.

    Is it true that you collected money to step aside for Senator Ajayi Boroffice a week to the primaries?

    Let me state for the records as I have on a few occasions addressed this issue recently; I don’t make light of my statements nor do I delight in misrepresentations. I Michael Olaoluwa Adeyeye did not receive a dime to step down from the governorship race. I did not receive any money from/on behalf of the Boroffice Campaign Organisation. It was a decision I made and I followed through on my own. But you know people will always talk but that doesn’t bother me. I would rather focus on achieving set goals. While some disgruntled members of the APC moved over to the AD after the primaries, I stood firmly in the APC because there is no need to go right, left and centre when you have not finished the programme you are working with. So, we are still in the APC, we’ve always been in the APC and we are glad that our party won the election.

    Should the people of Akure be watching out for you in 2019?

    2019 is very close and yet it is very much far away. At the moment we are focused on some of the community impact initiatives that we want to drive forward.  Those projects are much more important than elections and political projections. We are in politics to impact the lives of the people firstly. Very soon, we will let you know our decision about 2019 if any. Presently, we have a number of projects in the pipeline; a community library coming up and we are trying to find a site for sport facilities and a health center somewhere inside of our two local governments between Akure North and Akure South.

    Tell us more about Olaoluwa Adeyeye Foundation?

    Olaloluwa Adeoye Foundation is a vehicle I convened and is supported by my family and my friends as a platform via which we will give back to society, especially the people at the lower wrung of the ladder.  Some of the people who support the foundation are old friends that I grew up with in Ondo State and some others are not even from Ondo State but they have come to identify with the passion I have for the state and its people.

  • That our mother tongue may thrive

    By compelling teachers and lecturers to teach several subjects in English Language, the government has, inadvertently, relegated our native dialects or mother tongue in our national life.

    For many in post-colonial Africa, the local language is for uncivilised people, still attached to their “inferior” roots. The rapid advancement in science and technology does not help the situation. In this age, the ambition of the world is to unite all people under one language and cultures, which are rooted in western civilisation.

    Perhaps, in years to come, speakers of local dialects would be seen as nomads of pre-civilisation period. Or a local people, as we always call rural dwellers in this part of the world.

    However, language is the nutrient that nourishes the tree of civilisation and culture. In countries, such as India, the native language is the cohesive force that binds diverse nationalities of people, who share common folklore. Instead of the official language inherited from the British colonialists, Indians speak Hindi and conduct the affairs of government in the same language so that citizens that did not understand English can know what is going on.

    But this is not the case in Nigeria and many African nations. I remembered my elementary school when one of my teachers would say she could never speak other language except her dialect, which she used to speak. What made her to have such belief was not clear to us – her pupils – but now, the woman’s conviction has made people to respect her through her outspokenness.

    In Nigeria, as a child grows up, he will pick up varieties of languages through formal and informal learning process. Apart from his mother’s tongue, any language a child is able to speak, according to one of my lecturers, is called second language.

    We have English language as official language in Nigeria. This is the same in Ghana Republic and some Anglophonic African countries. In Ivory Coast and other Francophone countries, French is the official language. Alas, all these languages are alien to our culture but we give them relevance and make them as language of communication among ourselves.

    The nub of this discourse is to expose how people ridicule their languages and classify them as local. What is local in my Yoruba language, for instance, when some set of people in South America speak the language with pride?

    Maybe that is the reason why majority of students are failing in indigenous language examination. Nowadays, hardly can we see educated parents speaking their dialect to their children. This makes me remember short Yoruba prose that we used to recite during my primary school days.

    The text was about an elderly woman who carried one of her grandchildren on her back for an outing. Unfortunately, the old woman could not understand the language of child when he wanted to defecate. Frustrated, the child used different signs to demonstrate what he wanted to do but the old woman could not understand; she thought the child was looking for his shoe. Before the woman could understand her grandchild, the kid had embarrassed her by defecating everywhere.

    This, in a simple way, explains why parents must speak their dialect to their children and allow the children to also learn the so-called local language. The origin of mother’s tongue is based on the notion that linguistic skill of a child is honed by the mother. Therefore, the language being spoken by the mother will be the first language that the child will learn.

    In 2006, locals in a city in Australia, Sydney, gathered together to celebrate International Mother Language Day in a colourful way. Can we also start something like this to prevent our dialects from going into extinction?

    Research carried out in several countries on the place and role of mother tongue in education and learning has lead UNESCO to conclude that: “Children who begin their education in their mother tongue make a better start, and to continue to perform better than those for whom school starts with a new language.”

    In a nutshell, mother’s tongue or native language should be encouraged to flourish among Africans. It favours a sound educational development of a child, thus laying the good foundation for intellectual and economic development. It gives a sense of identity to human being in a globalised environment and lays a solid foundation for the cognitive development of those who speak it.

    The mastery of one’s mother’s tongue can go a long way in producing a world-class personality.

     

    Akinola, NDII Mass Comm., OFFA POLY

     

  • A heart to thrive

    A heart to thrive

    Everyone knows that you need more than wings to fly. More than anything else, you need a heart. To make a success of anything, you require more than tools or tutelage. You need a heart to fly, a fire to propel you.

    Only a few years ago, planes were falling off the Nigerian sky at an alarming frequency, plunging people to a most horrific death. It wasn’t that Nigerian pilots could not fly an aircraft. Nor was it that the planes were wingless or not altogether airworthy. The aircraft were crashing simply because there was no heart to ensure safety in the air. Without such a heart, therefore, no one prioritised the installation of obligatory flying aids. Nor was the right orientation in place for ground personnel. The result was the unforgettable catalogue of air tragedies of the Obasanjo years. The moment the right heart came the planes flew began to fly peacefully in the Nigerian air space.

    Hard-nosed football coaches look for this sort of heart in their players especially the strikers. A good pair of legs is not enough. Nor is ball control. Do you have enough push, an insatiable hunger to put the ball behind the opponent’s net? Attackers are rested if this fire is not in their belly.

    We need such fire to successfully tackle every challenge facing this country, including insecurity. These days of Boko Haram bloodletting, we have read that virtually every world power has lent us their security and intelligence services to help tackle terrorism. The other day, we read again that the Jonathan administration appealed to Britain for help in this regard.

    If outsiders help, it is all well and good, considering that no nation is, or can be, an island. But as a people, we need a heart of our own to confront evil. External help is welcome but it may not endure. Beyond the obligation stirred by our common humanity, the West will only help us or anyone if the gesture will benefit its people one way or another. There are interests to protect, new grounds to break and virgin frontiers to explore. Beyond that, you are essentially on your own. We need a heart to survive before the helpers come. We need a heart to survive while they are here. And we definitely need a heart to stay alive after the helpers are gone.

    Such a heart has eluded the Nigerian leadership. In spite of assorted national mantra, slogans and other forms of rhetoric, leadership has perpetually failed the nation and its people. Why? No heart to swing things. No heart to fly.

    A few examples won’t go amiss. Our leadership has consistently expended a lot of energy and cash to project a polished Nigerian brand to the world. We have been urged to dress Nigerian and to love the local fabric. But what effort has been made to revive the abandoned indigenous textile industry that should spin out the fabric?

    The Ministry of Works takes a handsome cut of statutory funds from the federal purse but has failed to build roads or repair damaged ones on which our perish every day.

    Every government has trumpeted its iron-cast resolve to put corruption out of the Nigerian space, but the monster continues to grow in stature nevertheless. It continues to cripple everything we hold dear. Providing electricity, for instance, has since become an unsolvable puzzle essentially because of corruption.

    Some might say we lack most of the things we need to take off. No. We have everything we need. We do not lack resources, whether in human or natural form. If crude oil were for drinking, I believe we have enough of it to serve every family three times a day. But its abundance has ironically not always guaranteed its availability nor stopped us from importing fuel at a huge cost. Our human resources have also been helping to build overseas nations. But we cannot build ours. Why? We lack a heart to convert resources to assets, deployable to the common good.

    Boko Haram has set everyone’s teeth on edge. Last week our prized federal lawmakers were in an uncoordinated marathon race, beginning from their hallowed seats and terminating in the open space outside the legislative chambers where they felt safe. A security officer was later to dismiss the marathon as a needless product of an empty rumour. But you won’t blame the frightened lawmakers any more than you will chide a man who was robbed by someone wielding what he suspected was a toy gun. Who will wait to find out if a Boko Haram threat is a baseless rumour, or that a robber’s weapon is actually not made of iron?

    So bring in the British anti-terror experts, but we must bear in mind that we need much more than them to live peacefully in this country. We need a heart to protect our own, and a new order that puts premium on the human life, even that of a single individual.

     

    First published September 25, 2011