DEMOCRACY THRIVES WITH MUTUAL RESPECT

Democracy allows room for the electorate to write petitions and sue the leadership where there are conflicts that have not been resolved satisfactorily by dialogue. Democracy also allows room for freedom of expression, these are key elements that were absent in the time of military leadership. There were many cases of arrests and detentions without trial; there were raids of media outfits with many working items being taken away and editors always being taken to undisclosed locations for interrogation and detention.  There was a ‘phantom coup’ that led to traumatizing experiences for retired Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, retired Gen. Oladipo Diya, Sen. Chris Anyanwu and many others.

Much as Nigerians deride the style of democracy being practiced in Nigeria, among the many benefits of democracy in Nigeria are the fact that there is freedom of expression and room for the electorate to sue the government and the leadership. The outspoken ways of western media has to an extent rubbed off on the Nigerian public as people abuse the rights of expression and the rights to litigation.

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan will testify that he may never have been as insulted in his entire life as when he became President of Nigeria. It is not ‘cool’ to heap insults on the President. As the number one citizen in Nigeria, certain people saw him fit and capable if not they would not have fielded or supported hims as the candidate for the office of the President.  If only for the wisdom and integrity of these few Nigerians as well the good judgement of those who voted for him, he should be accorded some respect even while criticizing his leadership style.

Commercial motorbike operators popularly known as Okada operators in Lagos resisted the traffic laws of Lagos State until the conflict between their union and Lagos State government degenerated to violence and threats of the union to sue the government. Using motorbikes for commercial transport was never in the plan in Lagos State as they were never recognized in the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It started on a casual basis due to traffic congestion within the metropolis and the need for people to arrive their destinations with minimal delay. In the interest of the operators and consumers, the government restricted the use of commercial motorbikes in over 400 routes in Lagos metropolis and all hell seems to have broken loose because some lawyers encourage the union to sue the state government. This is a clear example of abuse of democratic processes.

Since the Edo State government turned its searchlight in the direction of school teachers, acts of ineptitude, misconduct and non-productivity among school teachers have been uncovered. Sanctions applied are now being resisted and the authority of the governor and the ministry of education to apply sanctions is being questioned. A certain group of teachers threatened to go on strike, to boycott the recent swearing-in ceremony of the governor and they also threatened to sue the government and the governor. One of the arguments put forward by this group of teachers is that since the governor could not sanction medical consultants who reported to work late, then he had no authority to sanction teachers.

The argument is so worrisome considering the fact that it was put forward by teachers who were collecting illegal levies from school children, who would sit in the staff room chatting while the children were abandoned to fritter away the hours, teachers who attend school only once in a week and teachers who sold exam questions to students.

Consultants the world over do not resume at the same time as nurses or the student doctors and whether or not they are sanctioned is not the issue. Teachers lead and must do so by inculcating good examples in their children. Once again, the people abuse democratic processes.

If we must practice democracy, it is not the opportunity for the people insult their leaders and make unreasonable claims and demands because they have the resources to hire lawyers who are learned enough to know that their arguments are baseless.

GOD bless Nigeria.

THREAT TO EARLY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

The earliest days of learning of a child should be within the homestead and subsequently as the child starts to interact with other children in school, he begins to learn more. The school forms the bedrock of the foundation of the learning of children and utmost care must be applied in ensuring that the love for learning and studying is effectively inculcated in children from a very tender age.  In the usual way of trivializing issues and handling things casually, many stages of early learning have been circumvented and discarded by most operators of private nursery and primary schools in Nigeria.

The trend among many privately owned nursery and primary schools is to hire young school leavers who fail to secure admission into tertiary institutions as teachers for nursery and primary school children. It is now accepted in many private schools that as soon as the hireling secures something better to do, he or she will move on. These and many more acts of disservice came to the fore during studies we carried out on private schools in Nigeria on the necessary prerequisites for establishing a standard for private schools.

Owners of some private schools pay as low as N5,000.00 per month to teachers and during holidays, their teachers receive no salaries. This is absolutely scandalous and completely violates the minimum wage stipulated by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity. The domestic servants or house-helps of many families earn much more than N5,000.00 and many parents would cringe at the thought of having someone of less qualification than their house-help pretending to be erecting the foundation blocks of the learning process of their children. What manner of knowledge would an un-trained teacher who earns N5,000.00 per month pass to the children of families that can afford the service of a house-help at N10,000.00 per month?

The quality of education received by the child could be likened to the quality of legal service that one gets when one is being represented by a ‘pro bono’ lawyer.

Many young school leavers are sent to coaching lessons to prepare for the next Universities Matriculation Examination (UME) by parents who can afford to but for those who cannot afford to, they encourage their children to go and work and these ‘mushroom’ private schools are always on the look-out for young school leavers to hire.

A closer look will show that these ‘teachers’ are more or less dim-witted kids who can hardly cope with much academic strain. Once they spot children’s workings that are not exactly the same as what they managed to learn, the child is scored zero. These ‘teachers’ are unable to exercise much reason and they fail to comprehend the reasoning of the children they teach. They effectively dent the confidence and self-worth of these children so badly and many of the children end up being confused very early in life because of the confused teachers teaching them.

In addition, many parents hold the opinion that these schools are teaching in accordance with the same curriculum, using the same learning materials; this is quite correct but parents must also visit these schools during school-hours and see the caliber of individuals who are said to be teaching their children. Parents should not be deceived by lower charges, the lower charges amounts to loss of franchise as they can hardly complain over poor teaching service as they would be quickly reminded that there are many other private schools that offer the same service at higher rates. This argument can only hold in states where the governors have failed to make education a priority point of the government but not in a place like Edo State where parents are fast returning their children to government owned schools. Nevertheless, these small private schools are still in business and many of these ‘teachers’ are kids who should still be out at play or carrying out their own studies but due to economic reasons, they go out early in search of employment and these tiny schools eagerly employ them inspite of their inherent lack of teacher training.

Many private schools are known to pay well and they also embark on training programmes for the trained teachers that they hire.

The ‘mushroom’ private schools should be encouraged to restructure their set up in the interest of the children or they should be encouraged to close shop instead of confusing little children and making them hate school.

GOD bless Nigeria.

THE MANY UNDESIRABLE FRUITS OF QUACKERY

It begins to add up why we have the kind of results we have in almost all facets of life in Nigeria. Nigerians believe firmly in praying for little effort that will produce harvest in abundance; so much that it has become a philosophical approach to life relationships and business among most Nigerians. Take a simple example in something like confectionary available in our markets. What consumers are requested to pay for such products is so insignificant that it effectively takes away their franchise. The price they pay is so minuscule that we cannot even complain when we discover that we have parted with money for chaff.

I love Nigeria and I want to see Nigeria in a position to contend with other viable and respectable nations of the world; however do I sincerely and joyfully consume products that are produced by manufacturers established in Nigeria? The answer is no!

Again, the syndrome of ‘let’s just start’ is the culprit of choice and I make no ceremonies of fingering the syndrome as suspect. Good thing, we are faced with the reality of the undesirable fruits that we have produced. 

Nigerians have lost the essence of building from scratch having become fixated with fast-food/take-away mentality of processing life. The implication is that most Nigerians now prefer short-cut approach to making sacrifices of our time and resources. I had the opportunity to watch some movies made by Nigerians in Nigeria and London; it was clear that a lot of money had been spent but quality leaves a lot to be desired. I reasoned that the works of great performers like Hubert Ogunde and Duro Ladipo  produced several years before now are way beyond what this crop of actors, actresses and movie producers are turning out for consumers to pay their hard-earned money for.

Nigerian politicians are not trained for leadership positions they occupy and they find it easy to speak from the abundance of their heart without finesse or decorum. Some of them openly show total disregard for members of the public and the office they occupy not because they are not well brought up but because they do not have the necessary training to conduct themselves in public office and as public servants. In essence, they are not competent to occupy the position they do; I feel good classifying them as quacks.

People see training as a waste of time and as much as possible, circumvent training that they perceive to be taking too long. Many years before now, people who had interest in teaching started their teachers’ training education right from post primary schools designed specifically for training teachers from which they proceeded to Colleges of Education and Advanced Teachers’ College. Further trainings in education were offered domestically and internationally at Universities. Products of teacher training colleges were trained to teach primary school children in the past but with the UBE method of education, secondary school leavers who have absolutely no form of teacher training are now employed to teach primary school children. This is a form of damaging the structure of education and it becomes a burden when children continue along the defective track with the parents hoping that the defect will be regularized at some point. Sadly, the damage is done and if government does not quickly check the activities of most private nursery and primary schools the decadence will continue.

I emphatically and confidently conclude that not a single area of human endeavor is spared; not even religion or romantic relationships.

I am also comforted to believe that ‘a problem identified is a problem half-solved.’ We do not need to continue setting up committees and panels for investigating poor results; we have the results and the root causes sitting side by side.

It starts one man at a time; start by brightening the painting in your bedroom so you can see the clutter and litter easier; taking it a little further, a change in the way people think and approach one another will help to put ourselves in the shoes of the next man and be a little more considerate towards him.

GOD bless Nigeria.

GOOD FOR THE GOOSE, GOOD FOR THE GANDER

 

The rapid rehabilitation of government facilities and institutions in Edo State is one of the factors that has endeared the comrade governor, Adams Oshiomhole to the good people of Edo State. The projects embarked upon by the administration of Gov. Oshiomhole are presently centered on making life easier for the people of Edo State. Among these projects are improved education and learning facilities, rehabilitation of roads and drainages, improved health care delivery services as well as good transport scheme to ease movement. There is more than enough evidence of the commitment and determination of this administration to attain success.

It was a bit incomprehensible when opposing candidates contending with Gov. Oshiomhole for the office of governor of Edo State repeatedly harped on the weakness of this administration in not being able to bring about a turn-around in the position of most of the existing facilities and institutions. Some of the candidates did not seem to appreciate promises of the governor to establish many new institutions that would provide many more jobs for the able bodied people residing in Edo State. A visit to the civil service complex popularly known as ‘Palm House’ in Benin City makes it clear why the opposition would have deemed it ok to stress this weakness. The complex makes mockery of the many initiatives of this administration; it is in a very bad and dilapidated condition that groans and begs for executive intervention.

The ‘Palm House’ was a pet-project of the administration of the now retired Col. Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia; majority of the institutions still existing in one form or the other in the defunct Midwest State formerly Bendel State which was eventually split into Delta State and Edo State were established by this administration. Focusing on Edo State, the administrators who have chaired the running and management of Edo State have not been able to salvage and redeem the once glorious ‘Palm House.’

The ‘Palm House’ in Benin is supposed to house many ministries and government offices; it is depressing to see that many offices of ministries still exist in the derelict complex while the state government maintains offices in other locations scattered all over the state capital. Many of these other locations are in equally poor states of existence like the Ministry of Education at Iyaro in Benin City. These are supposed to be symbols that represent the dynamic, youthful presence of the comrade governor and his cabinet; on the contrary, they seem to spell an aging city at the edge of expiration. The counsel given the governor to rehabilitate government schools in Edo State has paid off greatly as the people are being relieved of the bondage of high cost of educating children in privately owned schools in that many parents have withdrawn their children from private schools and transferred them to state owned schools.

The ‘Palm House’ being the secretariat of civil service in Edo State is like the reception area of the corporate organization known as Edo State; the Lagos State government did not take lightly the rehabilitation and modernization of its secretariat at Alausa and this sends a very strong message of organization and order to any one visiting the secretariat. Edo State government civil service commission secretariat should also be placed on the priority list of projects that must be quickly rehabilitated to help in redeeming the badly dented image of Edo State.

GOD bless Nigeria.

A CLOSER LOOK AT NIGERIAN BROADCAST INDUSTRY

There was a time Nigerians had no choice but love, welcome and accept the local TV and radio stations because they were the only ones on the air and government had total monopoly.  I remember as a child, we happily and eagerly waited for the TV station to commence transmission at 6pm.  The ritual before the opening involved some non-descript scratch-like sound, some music and eventually the national anthem and the citizens’ pledge.  After the children’s belt, the current affairs and news programmes dominate the airwaves until after the network or national news when a lean movie would be aired until the station would close at midnight.

More than 50years after the introduction of TV transmission in Nigeria, privatization seems to have provided some improvement in broadcasting.  Today, some stations air two or three different episodes of a soap opera in one day, some others show up to five different football matches in a day unlike when all that was available was the results of the matches played and of course seeing some snap shots of the action in newspapers, posters or cards of chewing gum, etc.  Today, one can programme your TV to record what is aired on another channel while away altogether.

Dark as those days may seem to a child of this generation, it was a period when TV did a lot in terms of enlightenment and entertainment.  News coverage was very much controlled then because of the military government which was quite understandable.  However, the news we got then was news that was useful.  Radio stations were equally exciting to listen to. It was pure joy listening to selections of music, drama on radio, football commentaries, sermons as well as debates on politics, consumer issues, etc.  One sure way to get the right pronunciation of some new words was by listening to the news broadcast.  There was not much of a choice to be made so we appreciated what was available.  However there must have been aspirations towards better coverage, reporting and production of programmes on radio and TV.  It is only normal that one expects that after experiencing a certain position the next position would be expected to be slightly better.

Professionals who were well trained, disciplined and dedicated to excellence were the ones on the airwaves then.  Among them were Bode Alalade, Siene Allwell-Brown, Bimbo (Roberts) Oloyede, Julie Coker, Rosemary Anieze Adams, Mike Enahoro, Kate Okwuechime, Bankole Olayebi, Alison Mesango, Willy Egbe, Ikenna Ndaguba, etc.

For the purpose of keeping abreast with happenings in our country, we had to check with our local news and that was when it became clear that a lot of people do not know when our news is broadcast either on TV or on the radio.  Further inquiry revealed that many Nigerians stopped listening to news on our local stations many years ago.  They listen to news of the world as well as news of Nigeria from other stations that are thought to be more credible and better prepared to deliver news.  Respondents indicate that our local stations have redefined free-style and audience participation presentations so much that it is the audience that is mainly reporting and of course such news is largely unverified.  Most news items are stale or inaccurate and one can hardly receive any breaking news on our local stations because of the political quagmire.   Also adverts are produced and packaged by one and the same person in some back studio without any professional input which results in very hastily and poorly produced adverts which offend and hinder rather than attract the consumer.  Many Nigerians report to only prefer listening to radio and watching TV between 11pm and 6am when they are sure there will be no defective news or adverts to air.

What we have come to understand is that broadcasting is one area that was established on a very solid foundation in Nigeria.  A lot of fund was committed by the government to equipment and manpower development.  Many radio and TV presenters were a delight to listen to then because they had been trained abroad before coming to take their positions in our radio and TV stations; more so, they took the job very seriously and being on air was a big deal. The exposure to foreign training made many of the ace broadcasters have a foreign sounding accent and diction and many of today’s broadcasters who are trained locally fake the accent and diction while shamelessly misplacing their tenses.

Many Nigerian establishments were founded on the basis of getting people to come in and then begin training later but broadcasting was not established like that.  Standards in broadcasting were very high in the formative years. Until Alex Ibru, came up with the need for better standards, newspapers were headed downhill. There is in an urgent need to raise the standards once again and flush out every element of incompetence and poor service delivery. 

We hopefully wait and expect the revolution and renaissance in our broadcast industry.

GOD bless Nigeria.

PROTECTING THE AGED FROM PREDATORS

 

‘Hustling and bustling’ have greatly altered the original arrangements of family structuring so much treasured by Africans. The African family arrangement was in the past structured in such a way that people were never completely helpless or exposed to predators in the society.  Children were cared for by parents and the extended family until they developed enough to be independent; as parents grew older, their offspring and other family arranged for caring for them. The barren and orphans were never left without care in African societies.

Not many aged people in Nigerian society enjoy the benefit of having quality care from their offspring in their twilight years. Defective family values and false doctrine have provided the perfect opportunity for young people to consolidate the excuse of ‘hustling and bustling’ as reason for not being able to adequately provide and care for their aged parents.

Predators in the form of sales people marketing obnoxious products including things that are supposed to promote good health and long life, employees who see to take advantage of them because they perceive that they are exposed since their children and younger members of the family are not immediately seen around them and religious zealots who go from house to house targeting aged people with pedestrian prayers and visions. Predators also come in the form of irresponsible children who resort to emotional blackmail by milking their parents of their lean resources and not leaving home or not living far away from home. These elements are very present in our society and people must become alert to their responsibility towards older members of their families.

There have been diverse opinions about signing up parents and the aged for care in old people’s homes. the few old people’s homes in Nigerian are more like homes for destitute and homeless senior citizens and many people feel discouraged about exposing their loved ones to such places.

Privatization of many businesses that had hitherto been established and managed by government has proven to be a sure way of rapid growth and development. Nigeria is still facing challenges in poor service delivery and the worrisome activities of ‘quacks’ in the society; these are issues that must not be used as excuse not to make effort in providing decent care for the aged in our society.

I recently came across an institution providing decent standard of care for the aged in East Africa and it seemed to be managed quite effectively and I wondered if such a template could possibly work in Nigeria. I gathered that the institution was started by two aged sisters who had a big expanse of property and needed companionship. Their children invited business consultants and that is how the institution came into being.

It required people to enroll and make contributions that would make them entitled to move in a stay in the facilities of the institution for as long as they desired and could afford. They had quality medical attention round the clock, excellent protection, satisfactory accommodation with feeding, recreation and exercise regimen. The aged made friends and were quite happy to be in each other’s company and they were clearly out of the way of busy children and their dignity was not in any way compromised. The aged people living within the home were indeed happier with the arrangement they had there than what they had at home where most of their contemporaries had become senile, incontinent and dead. The amount of joy and camaraderie they experienced was enough to extend their lives by a few more happy years. The aged people in our society will appreciate such opportunity if they had such facilities in Nigeria and if we truly seek to modernize, then it would be proper to modernize thoroughly and not shirk our responsibility of caring for the aged in our society.

GOD bless Nigeria.

POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE FAMILY

 

Women are excellent managers of home and business. Women are hardly ever entrusted with serious decisions or management roles without a fight. This conflict is one that has been on for years and the earliest thinkers and philosophers like Sigmund Freud did not help matters because they did not recognize women when they wrote and dialogued extensively on the workings of the human mind.

The activities of feminist philosophers like Mary Daly and women liberationist as well as personal determination have greatly influenced the opinion of many people about women in the modern society. However, many women still suffer discrimination and oppression especially in corporate environments of the world.

In Nigeria, many politicians in government pride themselves and arrogantly make elaborate declarations of employing women in their cabinet as if it is a special favour they do by recognizing the effort and the presence of women in the society. Also, many successful men owe their success in life to their mothers, wives, sisters or other female relatives who are most often unsung. Many men know for a fact that their finance is safer managed by women but they would resist the idea of a woman managing the resources of a state or a country. Many Nigerians will be quick to point at Mrs. Ngozi Okono-Iweala as the Minister of Finance of Nigeria. However she is just one person out of over 50million Nigerian women.

In Nigeria and many other African societies, the joy of being a female member of the family ends at the death of the father or the husband. If the female child is unfortunate not to have married and found a new father in her husband, she is systematically introduced to the fact that she has no more place in her father’s house. In some cultures in Nigeria, only male children are entitled to the family inheritance and in some cases, only the first son inherits all of the father’s property. If there is a strong enough bond of love in the family, he may choose to share with his younger siblings otherwise, he is not under any obligation to share with anyone. In this way many women, mostly widows have been denied the ‘fruits of their labour.’

Some women discover this truth a little late while few are fortunate enough to be aware of their lot earlier in life. For those who discover early enough, they are able to start early in building their own empire and they know they must defend and protect what belongs to them. Female offspring are often called upon and looked up to for support and care for the family and family property while parents and husbands live but as soon as death visits, these benefactors are shown the door.

Many cases of sibling rivalries escalated to become life-threatening battles and many successful business empires have collapsed after the death of the owner due to these irregularities. Many parents have made effort in addressing these issues in their life time and have in the process ensured peace and unity among their children. The more parents resolve these issues before they bow out of the stage of life, the more their legacy will last. If these family secrets are not confronted and ironed out accordingly, in a very little while, there will be no more family or family name. 

GOD bless Nigeria

REGULATION OF WORSHIP

 

The new thinking among many young Nigerians should be one that makes it necessary for them to review their religious preference and choice of religious group to associate with. Many years ago, the great Fela of Africa sang on the need for people to look around and see that our religious leaders live in affluence and in many cases, many of them are listed as some of the wealthiest members of the society.

Many religious leaders lay claim to ownership of their own businesses and careers although the account of the organization must have contributed in no small measure to the survival and growth of their private business. Many leaders of religious organizations are also known to employ the service of their members and paying them pittance which does not come anywhere near the prescribed standard of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

All religious organizations in Nigeria were established under temporary conditions and many of such organizations have grown over the years but they have failed to transform in accordance with what obtains with religious organizations that are established and managed in accordance with international standards.

The Lagos State government introduced and commenced enforcement of regulation of noise levels emanating from places of worship. Prior to that time, there was no regulation and in the course of worship, people made unwholesome noise that was more of a source of pollution than a form of spiritual edification or upliftment.

All the years that Nigerians have embraced imported forms of worship, there have been no clear regulations from government on establishment and administering many of the organizations. Officially, government recognizes Islam, Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians in government institutions. In many other fora, Methodist, CAC, CCC, Baptist, ECWA, COCIN are also given some recognition as they are covered under the Protestant umbrella with Anglican churches. However, there has been a steady increase in the number of ‘mushroom’ religious groups in Nigeria. Many of them are so classified because of their small size and the fact that they are new; furthermore, many of them are products of irreconcilable differences in parent organizations.

Essentially, anyone who is able to raise enough money goes away with a few loyal members to start an organization with a new name. Many churches have come into existence as a result of such differences or conflicts; in some cases, the purpose of establishing the churches exclude evangelism which should be the main reason for establishing churches ordinarily. The fragmentization continues indefinitely and it becomes part of the identity of the church that there are seasonal break-away so to speak. The idea of breaking away is not foreign to Nigerians and the same ideology has seen to the creation of 36 states from the original three regions at the onset and there is no guarantee if many more states will not be created out of the present 36 states. By now, it should be clear that breaking away does a people no good at all.

Leaders of such churches have little or no experience in handling the delicate issues that arise within families and what results most times is that family structures are torn apart rather than consolidating on structures that already exist. Also essential values that make for harmonious co-existence with other members of the society are down-played so much and replaced with values that are not logical or indicative of having any fear of GOD and the sanctity of human lives.

For many of these ‘mushroom’ organizations, they must be made to affiliate with bigger, older and better-structured organizations. For teachings that will be made available to a section of the public, government must ensure that the ideology follows the same trend as credible and decent religious teachings and not just whatever any ‘preacher’ seeks to force down the throat of his followers.

The issue of Corporate Social Responsibility is one that many religious organizations are supposed to be firmly involved in but it is not the case with many of them. If government will need to lay down guidelines for the quality of CSR that these organizations must give then so be it.

 Religion is lucrative and organizations in the sector of religion must be made to make returns to government. If the organizations or the leader can afford to live in opulence and affluence, then it would not be out of place for government to demand ‘returns.’

GOD bless Nigeria.

 

FEEDBACK FOR SERVANT HOOD

 

Feedback gives the accurate status of what message has been sent out. When one sends out messages and there is no feedback or the feedback given does not match the message that was sent out, then it is clear that there has been a breakdown in communication. If the message being sent out is worthy and of some relevance, the sender would appreciate a suitable response or feedback.

What quality of messages is being sent out to Nigerians? What quality of messages is being sent by the leaders to the people? we must continue to clamour until there is a perfect understanding that leaders are appointed to serve and not to boss, bully or intimidate the people. The leader who believes and sees himself as a servant must necessarily render account of his stewardship even while still in office and not when he is on the campaign trail for re-election.

In addition, if accounts of his stewardship are worthy and credible, then it will be worth documenting so that history will not be manipulated by unsound minds after some years must have passed.

Financial resources expended on celebrations of vanity and insanity could be spent in convening interactive sessions in which the leaders are made to brief the people on their achievements and challenges in office. The former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo made effort to hold meetings with the press on a monthly basis during his tenure in office and to an extent such short briefings showed a genuine desire to render accounts despite several factors that worked against the regular convenance of the press briefings with the president.

An interactive session will provide a much broader platform for interaction and also an opportunity for the people to speak to the leaders without too many barriers of bureaucracy. It will also serve the purpose of tracking the level of progress being made in accordance with the manifesto that the office holder campaigned when he sought the mandate of the electorate. Such briefings will provide the opportunity for genuine issues to be presented before government and will largely stem the gradually increasing tendency of Nigerians to partake in street protests.

For many reasons, many office holders would want to shy away from such sessions for many reasons and there should be a law to mandate them to attend. Many political office holders are active on social media of their own free will and have made themselves accessible to members of their constituency but it is not the same with many other office holders who are supposed to be representing the people.

Appointees should not feel too important to attend such functions where they will be confronted with their shortcomings as leaders; rather they should embrace the opportunity to willingly take part in the programme if they have the true interest of the people and progress of the land at heart.

It is always disgusting to see political office seekers going about ‘cap-in-hand’ begging for votes and even offering bribes to the electorate during their campaigns while we all know that as soon as they succeed, they create fierce barricades between their office and the same electorate that gave them the mandate to represent the people. It is a complete scam and that is not how it should be; servant hood starts on assumption of office and not that it ends on assumption of office.

THE HIGH COST OF FREEDOM

 

Freedom is the essence added to an individual which empowers the person to take certain actions or cause other people to do his bidding based on the power that has been allowed him. Being in the position to use other people to perform roles and duties on his instruction implies that the one who has been so empowered in unencumbered and free to play much more sensitive or critical roles. Freedom is not intended to be taken as more time for leisure or recreation.

Every free moment should be expended constructively in view of inevitable accountability. What many take as more time for relaxation will be accounted for at some point. This is the very reason why people must be cautious with freedom because in the end, there is no such thing as ‘free time’ or ‘spare time.’

For effective leadership, many people are empowered with authority by management, government or voters but it turns out that due to misconceptions that freedom allows more time for leisure and more authority which may never be accounted for, many people entrusted with authority tend to violate the trust and confidence that comes with the position.

There was news report of a Nigerian who was appointed a Federal Minister and he went to his hometown with a large entourage of aides blaring sirens and shooting into the air to herald his heroic arrival. It indicates that the minister did not understand that his appointment as a minister was an opportunity to serve his local community and the nation. Nigerians are still at that level where a new appointment attracts congratulatory messages in newspaper pages and loud testimonies in places of worship. Our appointees have yet to come to terms with the fact that those newspaper adverts are pervert and suggestive of bribery and corruption.

The only people who gain from such adverts are the media organizations; the community that the appoint is supposed to be serving does not benefit in any way. Rather, the appointee is subtly pressured to take note of the name of the sponsor of the advert in view of when contracts are being awarded. This is one issue that many newspapers would rather overlook but in truth, money expended on such distasteful adverts could be spent in sponsoring renovation, equipping of our schools in the name of the appointee and the sponsor.

At a time like this that Nigeria is hard hit by floods, it would indeed be completely vulgar for any appointee to be receiving or encouraging any of such displays from contractors, colleagues, subordinates or their family members.

Accepting the appointment effectively makes the appointee a servant of the state who is answerable to the people who pay him. It is progressive for people to learn to believe that authority given them is meant for them to use in serving the people and not for chastising or intimidating the people. in the end, when Nigerians to decline offers of government or political appointments, it would show that they are coming to terms with the reality of servant hood.

GOD bless Nigeria.

MAKING LIFE A LITTLE EASIER FOR THE NEXT MAN

 

The philosophy behind African culture encourages people to care for one another and show concern for the welfare of their neighbours. Religious teachings that have been imported into the Nigerian society also teach the importance of caring for one another. There has been no clear teaching that discounts the relevance of caring for one another and this makes one wonder why it is so common to see that people hardly empathize with other people.

There so little tolerance among people and it is alarming to see how easy it has become to harm other people and destroy their lives and their property. Henry Edewo, 21 and Emmanuel Isikhuime both students of Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State are presently under arrest and assisting the NPF in investigations over the kidnap, rape and murder of a female student of the same institution, Mercy Peter, 21 while a third suspect simply identified as Charles is said to be on the run. The female student was kidnapped on the 29^th of July, 2012, murdered her four days after and buried her corpse in a shallow grave somewhere in Ugbor village in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. And the young men must have quietly continued living their lives.

Nigeria is not the only country that is faced with challenges in governance and administration but Nigeria has unfortunately become host to hostile and violent terrorists and this has contributed largely in setting Nigeria back.

There seem to be a very large number of Nigerians who pray for peace and progress; these few provide the encouragement to young Nigerians that there is hope for the future. However, it is very important that Nigerians revive the culture of caring for one another. Adopting just one person at a time to show care and kindness to will come in handy in saving Nigeria and Nigerians from the strange visitors of the republic. The strange visitors are socio-cultural practices that are alien to our original African culture and as a matter of fact considered anti-social among Africans.

Love songs, motivational speakers/writers and religious teachers harp on love and kindness on a very regular basis but one wonders why their teachings have not found fertile ground to grow and yield in the hearts of modern Nigerians. Leaders of sorts boast of a large number of followers but it is becoming clear that not much good or progressive thought processing is being imparted to the followers by the leaders. This shows that the idea of having a large followership has not really served any useful purpose; infact, having a large followership turns out to be borne out of a purely selfish and bigoted motive. What young Nigerians should be asking is why they have to be part of a followership where the leaders focus more on their egoistic projects than on caring about the welfare of human beings.

A permanent secretary with Edo State was recently relieved of her appointment by the state governor. It is reported that a retired civil servant was ailing and need of his entitlement to enable him secure medical treatment but the permanent secretary was said to have insisted on his physical presence. The pensioner was taken before her, she approved his request but he died the following day. The governor visited the office of the permanent secretary the following week and promptly relieved her of her duties. The woman in question failed to care about the well being of the pensioner; one wonders if she would not have acted differently if he were her relative.

A little kindness will go a long way in salvaging Nigeria and Nigerians. Taking this kindness one man at a time will be a much more meaningful option to consider as against depending on schools and religious leaders.

GOD bless Nigeria.

CURING RECALCITRANCE AMONG TEACHERS

 

The many challenges of the Nigerian education sector are compounded by recalcitrant behavior among Nigerian school teachers. Violent protests have become the acceptable way of expressing dissatisfaction among Nigerians but it would be indeed unbecoming and unacceptable for school children to be grouping and participating violent protests over the unsatisfactory delivery of education by teachers in government institutions in Nigeria.

Many state governments pride themselves with success at increasing the number of primary and secondary schools established, refurbished and modernized in their states. While appreciating the good work of many of these states, the performance of teachers who are hired to deliver the service of education leaves much to be desired.

It is reported that teachers are now employed from the ward level depending on the political party they support. This effectively provides room for mediocre and incompetent people to be hired to educate school children.

Many teachers are known to prefer living in the state capitals and when they are transferred to rural areas, they do everything possible to change the posting to the capital city and for others who are not able to secure a change, they live in the capital and maybe once in a week travel to their station to check on activities in the school of their primary assignment. A lot of teachers are actively involved in business and a lot of the time they travel out of their station or the country leaving the school children at the mercy of equally incompetent teachers who combine several classrooms of students. This prevents thorough assessment of student performance; sometimes teachers can simply not be bothered by what atrocities the students get up to.

If only parents would pay unscheduled visits to these schools, they would not need to be told before they would make alternative arrangements for the education of their children. The governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has taken up the role of ‘chief inspector’ of activities of such teachers. He has gradually acquired the new profile among teachers in Edo State as a governor who is capable of defying every protocol of office including ‘scaling walls’ in a bid to catch erring teachers. A week ago, he paid unscheduled visits to some schools in Benin and caught several teachers in one misdemeanor or the other and he immediately sanctioned them. This caused many teachers to sit-up. Gov. Oshiomhole reported at schools in Etsako Local Government Area as early as 8.00am on Monday, 14^th October and several teachers were caught and immediately sanctioned.

For how long will teachers be chased about like the little children they are supposed to be teaching? What values are they imparting on the minds of these little children who are looking up to them?

Gone are the days when teachers were owed indefinitely; if people feel the profession is not satisfactory, why would they not honourably quit and make way for willing and capable people to fill the noble position of teachers in our society?

GOD bless Nigeria

IDLENESS AND MISMANAGEMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL

 

On several occasions when I had reason to go into some of the side streets in Lagos, I always saw a disturbingly large number of young Nigerians hanging around doing what can at best be described as nothing. The number of young Nigerians one sees in one pursuit or the other on a daily basis would give the impression that most young Nigerians are gainfully pursuing one thing or the other.

In a particular area of Ikorodu Road in Lagos State, I always marvel at the speed with which young men assemble whenever there was a breakdown of a commercial vehicle on the road. I found it strange that they would quickly gather and make a lot of noise demanding to be settled by the driver of the vehicle without offering any form of assistance to the driver in distress.

A recent visit to Warri also showed a large number of idle Nigerian youth. I also came across a large number of idle youth in Benin. This not a good omen for government and for Nigerians. It gives reason for inquiry especially as these young people are known to have a taste for the good things of life.

A nation where much of its workforce population is idle is breeding a generation of criminals and the few decent and hardworking Nigerians will never know peace because of the growing generation of criminals. It is clear that many of these idle youth are not pleased with being idle but they believe they are helpless because of difficulty in changing their status.

Government must come to terms with the fact that if these people are constructively occupied by government, there would be further reduction in the increasing crime rate in Nigeria. There must be a way that the government can involve young Nigerians in the business part of government; many of these young people see nothing wrong in hanging around when able bodied men and women are out pursuing one venture or the other. They also see nothing wrong in taking to a life of crime; on the contrary, they feel that they are using what they have to collect what they want mostly by force. And in applying force, they feel that the society has been unfair to them and they would stop at nothing in getting back at the society.

The effort of the Lagos State government in adopting and employing many young men and women in state agencies like Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) and Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) would have been a perfect example save for the dent by the resurgence of violent armed robbery operations by a group which the police has identified as ‘one million and one boys’ of Ajegunle.

A state like Delta would do well to create agencies like what obtains in Lagos State as a way of helping many more young people to feel the impact of government in their state. All states in Nigeria that are experiencing incidence of crime would do well to embark on programmes that would directly involve and occupy young people to ensure that  they are not made to feel ‘left out.’ In addition, several calls have been made for young Nigerians to participate in reviving the prosperity of the Agricultural sector by taking to farming. Government would do well to provide every support to young Nigerians who are willing to take up farming.

Police detention facilities are bursting at the seams with the number of young people  who are being held in detention and courts that have cases brought before them are also being over-stretched.

GOD bless Nigeria.

THE WISDOM IN INVESTING IN PEOPLE

 

People need each other and successful relationships form the bedrock for effective networking. Connecting and relating with people at various levels are necessary for business survival, growth and success.

It is very important for people who seem to have succeeded in their areas of endevour to spare a thought for those around them who seem to be or are actually deprived. Not by giving charity but by lifting them to a position where they can earn something from working. By lifting people around themselves, successful people will be under less pressure to provide for such people as they too would be able to provide for themselves or there will be many more successful people to share the burden that would ordinarily have been borne by one rich man in the midst of several poor relatives. In addition, the successful one would be more at ease among his relatives as the fear of being attacked by hungry relatives would have been effectively handled.

Many preachers like to teach that ‘God loves a cheerful giver;’ however what scripture teaches is that we are asked to give so that something will be credited to our account among believers. In essence, giving puts people in a position of credit-worthiness as they are able to store something in their personal accounts by giving. A relationship with a bank or a financial institution requires opening an account which would be funded before any transactions like giving credits or loans can be considered. Ability to maintain such an account by keeping it active and well funded increases the credit-worthiness of the customer. Also, people are taught to sow what they expect to reap; invariably, sowing people would mean that the sower is growing a strong network of people. life is about growing healthy and valuable relationships with people.

A number of people have experienced disappointments in investing in people and they position to use it as a basis for not wanting to lift people anymore.   The truth is that people need each other and suffering disappointments in the hands of people should not be reason enough to stop investing in people. A lot of the time, other people witness how someone suffers in the hands of people he had invested in and to an extent, these witnesses can speak in favour of the person who had been cheated. One way or the other, the investment does not entirely go to waste.

Business can hardly thrive without a good network which is actually a good relationship with people at different levels. A good relationship would require truth and fairness to grow and satisfy the people involved in the relationship. Truthfulness has become a very rare factor in many associations today which brings about cracks and early disintegration of what could have been a rich and long lasting relationship.

Truthfulness in relationships help one to earn favour from others involved in the relationship and in many cases what would appear impossible under other circumstances can easily be achieved where there exists a good relationship.

SURVIVING NATURAL DISASTERS

In times of peril, the predatory nature of man becomes enhanced and more pronounced.

If preparedness to survive natural disasters is a measure of how developed or civilized a nation is, then it would not be out of place to class Nigeria as an uncivilized nation.

Documentary reports of how nations that have been ravaged by natural disasters make one wonder how well we would cope if we found ourselves in such perilous circumstances.

Nigeria is so blessed that the cases of natural disasters are few and far between  and even the few cases of natural disasters that Nigeria has experience are mild compared to what some developed countries of the world have had to contend with.

The recent cases of flooding experienced in many states of Nigeria shows that there has never been any measures put in place by government to help Nigerians survive any incidence of natural disaster. In the case of Nigeria, it is like natural disasters simply spell the loss of lives and property without leaving any room for survival or rehabilitation for the few who are lucky to escape with their lives.

The rains continue and flooding also continues and government as well as certain Nigerians has been making monetary donations to affected areas. Mind-boggling sums of money and relief materials are delivered to the make-shift camp sites that have been provided by the government. Affected areas are now clamouring for such donations and for the heads of governments to pay visits to them to witness what they are going through.

Sadly at a time like this, the natural tendency of people to prey on other people comes to the fore due to many reasons including the need to lash out at someone else for losses and frustrations felt at being confronted with a very bleak future. Reports from several camps provided in Benue State reveal that about 19 women have been attacked and raped.

It is very sorry that there is no blue-print that is being applied in securing and giving succor to people who have been made homeless and exposed to other people whom they would ordinarily prefer to avoid. There should have been firm arrangements for shelter, food/water, drugs, security and some level of comfort at the very least. Such cases of violence could have been avoided.

At a time like this, counseling and encouraging are very key to those who have survived but government must also protect the survivors from predatory religious organizations and NGOs who seek to use the survivors as bait for securing grants and aid from international organizations.

Also, survivors need to be encouraged not to give up on life because of their losses but hopefully approach the future with a grateful heart for surviving the calamity. They should be encouraged that there must be hope since they still have life.

GOD bless Nigeria.

THE IMPLICATION OF EDUCATING A NIGERIAN

Education means broadening one’s mind by acquiring skills and knowledge as well as changing one’s view on issues of life. Education is not limited to academic exploits and should not be restricted to reading, writing and speaking the lingua franca. It is beyond dressing in western fashion or forming a sick-sounding ‘western’ accent or being able to navigate and interact on social media. It encompasses breaking away from traditional superstitions and dogma. It requires being able to confront and question the conventional.

Many Nigerians lay claim to some level of education and in truth, many Nigerians hold certifications that are quite impressive. However, education is a long and painfully slow process that brings about a change in one’s disposition, value system and general outlook. It is not just about the acquisition of certificates.

The history of Nigeria informs us that at a time, Nigerians of the eastern regions were averse to producing twin children and many twin babies were slaughtered or thrown into the evil forest until the coming of Mary Slessor who took the pains of enlightening and educating the people; encouraging them to do away with the evil practice. It is believed that those people have since done away with the practice.

The history of Nigeria also informs us that many regions of Nigeria thrived and actively participated in the very lucrative trade of slaves until the Abolition was attained by the concerted effort of Christian Missionaries in 1833. It was believed that slavery had ended until the CNN Freedom project started making public revelations that slave trade still thrives in various forms and dimensions all over the world.

Many Nigerians are believed to have put away pagan worship and have become converted to un-Nigerian religions. There are still reports of Nigerian converts participating in pagan festivals and rituals. It is understandable that it takes time so people should stop deluding themselves that Nigerians can be easily converted to any un-Nigerian religion.

Nigerians are known to have actively participated in cannibalism although it is also believed that they have overcome the penchant for feeding on human flesh.

Many Nigerians have been caught in money and power seeking rituals that involved human sacrifice; it is to a large extent believed that Nigerians have become civilized and have put away such devilish acts.

Many Nigerians are known even in this day and age to be actively involved in criminal activities that boarder around terrorism.

Many Nigerians have been caught in pervert and nefarious activities that make one wonder if they have in any way received any form of education? It is obvious that the purpose of education in Nigeria has not been fully accomplished. The certification would amount to very little without the necessary change of mindset.

It is beginning to look like Nigerians may have had more reverence for the Supreme Being and the sanctity of human life before the coming of the Missionaries. It is now as if conversion to the un-Nigerian religion has given people reason to believe that they can get away with iniquitous acts because their instant-justice peddling deities have been relegated to the background. It looks like people prefer evil to good. Like people have no more regard for human life.

The trend shows that true education has not yet penetrated the minds of Nigerians. It is obvious that schools and religious organizations have a long way to go in educating Nigerians.

Nigerians are already plagued with the fundamental problems of barbarism, tribalism and traditional superstitions and inspite of claims to education, many Nigerians still operate at this level and they still find ways of introducing these primitive, pedestrian and retrogressive approaches to life and business.

GOD bless Nigeria.

STARTING OUT EARLY

In the past, we were encouraged to study hard and excel at studies so we will be properly positioned to secure a job that offers so much security that we will be assured of pension and gratuity when we retire.

A lot of people went into civil service with the mind that it provided security and they were assured of their pension and gratuity when they attained the age of retirement. The current trend shows that government is having a lot of challenges in providing for retired civil servants who have fulfilled their own end of the bargain by working for government and contributing to what government proposed and promised would be their pension scheme.

As is always the case with government issues, there will be grandiose ad verbiage to what in reality is looking like a ‘financial fraud.’ Where pensioners receive their entitlements it is under pitiable and sometimes hostile and inhumane circumstances because of harshness and unkindness that is shown by young men and women who are still actively in the service of government.

Pensioners feel a sentimental attachment to their entitlements and they take great pains to ensure that they collect their money inspite of the hardship that they experience. Offspring who have succeeded in one area of endeavour or the other have made futile attempts to convince their parents to abandon their entitlements with government instead of going at irregular intervals to line up under the sun and rain but for this attachment, many pensioners would have done so long ago.

Government keeps coming up with half-hearted measures to alleviate the suffering of Nigerian pensioners; half-hearted in the sense that financial experts from the USA have very quickly drawn up schemes and programmes which are being effectively used in Lagos State and it would take them very little time to draw up a payment scheme for pensioners so that they are not made to suffer unnecessarily.

It is important that young and able Nigerians who are in government service take a critical look at how much hardship pensioners are made to undergo and quickly begin to consider how they will overcome these hardships when it comes to their turn.

For this reason, people must consider other streams of income because it is not likely that government will succeed in making it easier for future pensioners to collect their entitlements. It is important that people come up with other methods of earning money after their retirement by starting the engine running now so that by the time they are due for retirement, the business will already be earning them revenue that will be sufficient for them to meet their obligations and putting them in the position to live a decent life.

GOD bless Nigeria.

THE FUTURE OF NEW BUSINESSES IN NIGERIA

 

The trend these days is that people get blamed for trusting people they have never done business with before especially when the business fails. The generation of people who did business on the basis of trust is fast fading. Sadly there is no replacement because the young people of these days have time and again given reason for people not to trust them.

They have not given a good account of themselves in that they have not shown that they place any value in decency and honour. Too many loans and transactions involving young people go bad and for these reasons, most banks and other financial institutions express reservation in doing business with young people. this is not good for business because for the few honourable ones, they are made to go through so many huddles in business and most banks out rightly refuse to do business with them.

Young Nigerians should be worried that after some time, the ‘old hands’ that have been providing cover for them in their quest for bank loans will no longer be there for them so who will be left to help new businesses in Nigeria? It is looking like what obtains in India where it is almost impossible for new businesses and entrepreneurs to enter the business world.

Creation and sustenance of new business depends on financial assistance or support in the form of loans. If banks continue and the rate they are presently going, future businesses in Nigeria may have difficulty in securing bank loans. Banks may want to justify the stringent conditions that loan seekers are compelled to fulfill before they are given loans by the fact that a lot of young Nigerian business people have shown lack of integrity in business relationships.

Securing loans in a place like Dubai where people value integrity is not as cumbersome and as mysterious as what obtains in Nigeria. The probability of securing approval for a bank loan can be predicted by one’s portfolio with the bank and status in the country but it is not the case in Nigeria. There are no known standards or guidelines for accessing one’s likelihood of receiving the approval of a loan.

It is essential that young Nigerians review their value system and consider the urgent need to develop their character as a means of ensuring a good future. It is very wrong for young people to be keen on wealth acquisition and having a taste for the good things of life while not laying the proper foundation on which to establish their claim to wealth.

It is very touching to see how easily young people secure loans in UAE and an African nation like Ghana. And one wonders why Nigerian young people refuse to develop values that will help build business that will be properly structured and positioned to outlive the founder.

GOD bless Nigeria.

SOS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA OVER OVIA RIVER

 

The bridge over River Ovia on the Lagos/Benin express has been in the news over the last few months and villages around the river and road users have been calling for help over the increasing number of fatal accidents that occur on the bridge daily. The protective railings that should shield vehicles from the river have given way totally and there is an urgent need to have them replaced.

The bridge over the River Ovia is very strategic in that it is on the Lagos/Benin expressway and an enormous number of road users pass the bride on a daily basis. The steady decline of the bridge over the last few months has reached a point that what is left of the bridge is a mere carcass and it provides no protection to vehicles and road users. There has also been a steady increase in the number of accident cases where vehicles have plunged into the river.

Many well-meaning Nigerians have lent their voices to the call to the FGN to take immediate action in replacing the Ovia Bridge and the Lagos/Benin express being a FGN road is beyond the jurisdiction of Edo State government that is currently rehabilitating roads and bridges of Edo State.

We join these well-meaning Nigerians in appealing to the FGN to urgently commence replacement of the railings to prevent further accidents and loss of lives. We are fast approaching the end of the year and knowing Nigerians of the eastern regions normally slate a lot of activities for the end of the year, many of them will be travelling that road day and night. Many of such travelers will driving on that road for the first time and it takes an experienced driver to successfully navigate that road, implying that many of these first time drivers will be exposed to a lot of danger on the highway.

In addition, highway robbers have been reported to have taken advantage of the faulty bridge to cause drivers and their vehicles full of passengers to miss the bad spot and plunge into the river. Just last week, a fully-loaded 14-seater commuter bus was being chased by robbers and missed the bad spot which caused the bus to plunge into the river and all passengers were feared to have died although six corpses could not be recovered from the river.

Nigerian road users will greatly appreciate if the FGN will immediately approve commencement of work on that bridge to guard against further loss of lives.

GOD bless Nigeria.

ENDANGERMENT OF YOUNG NIGERIAN MALES

Several failed attempts to locate the female vendor whom we normally purchase recharge card from by Mende Market revealed that she had been gruesomely stabbed by her brother and locked up in her bedroom in the pool of her own blood to die a slow and painful death. The brother was tracked, arrested and detained by NPF at Panti; it turns out that the two siblings are the only offspring of their old and widowed mother.

Violent armed robbery attacks, botched kidnap cases, assassinations, violence against women, terrorist attacks, domestic battering of workers, step-children/parents, communal clashes, religious clashes, police brutality and killings, road accidents, plane crashes, ritual killings, etc all involve shedding blood.

The bigger picture that all Nigerians must confront is that there is a lot of blood wasting in the land and at the rate people are going, it is beginning to look like Nigerian males are endangered species. Every violent attack in Nigeria cuts short young men in their prime or the law condemns guilty young Nigerian male citizens to death or life imprisonment as the case may be.

The current trend implies that wives are made widows, wives to be are denied marriage, children are made orphans, mothers and fathers are made to witness the termination of the visions and the lives of their sons and in the end there is man-shortage. It is very negative for the population of a nation to be predominantly female or the aged. This is the ultimate result of all the long stories that Nigerians have been telling. This ultimate agenda should give Nigerians reason to worry and be apprehensive. The fact that your little boy in whom you invest your youth and resources is susceptible to attack and destruction by other human beings who have become agents of untimely death should make Nigerians parents worry. The Nigerian male is no longer safe no matter his religion or philosophy towards life.

This matter should not be reduced to elements of political excuses; we cannot blame the government alone for failure to protect the Nigerian male from impending extinction. What Nigeria is faced with is the manifestation of seeds sown many years ago that have come to maturity.

Parents have effectively transferred the upbringing of their children to teachers and house helps. The art of raising children has long been discounted and reduced to the level of feeding, ensuring good academic results and providing comfort and entertainment for children. Parents who were taught to ‘love their neighbours as themselves’ have failed to impart the same culture to their children. Young Nigerians have lost touch with true African values but they have not adopted the values of western societies either. Rather, they are a pot-pourri of assortment of cultures, traditions and values making them appear alien every where they show up even in Nigeria.

Religious organizations and leaders should hide their heads in shame because many young men who perpetrate evil are known to belong to one religious organization or the other so what are they teaching there? Nigeria professes religion of all sorts and there is so much violence and death in the land; maybe government will need to review the necessity of having so many religious bodies in a land that is rife with bloodshed.

Every Nigerian male should be made aware of the fact that they are subject to an evil scheme to rob them of life and their visions. Nigerian males must learn very early that they are endangered and self-preservation is what they must aim to achieve by securing knowledge and applying wisdom and caution in all their dealings with fellow human beings.

GOD bless Nigeria

COMING OUT OF THE DARK

Nigerians believe that the amalgamation in 1914 of the north and south regions of Nigeria was an unwelcomed development. They still see it as an act of deliberate perversion of justice on the part of Lord Lugard. A lot of historians record the origins of the conflicts that resulted in the civil war of 1967 to the actions of Lord Lugard. Lord Lugard did not exactly have an easy experience with Nigerians of the southern region who as it were, were more educationally and politically exposed than the simple minded Nigerians of the northern stock. Lord Lugard did everything possible to favour the north over the south; he gave all his support to securing a stronger and more stable political and economic position for the north.

Lord Lugard was believed to have had a very sound knowledge of Africans and their ways. He went on to write the book the “Dual Mandate” which was published in 1922. In the book, he wrote on indirect rule in colonial Africa. He also gave reasons why Britain must hold on tightly to Africa which were basically economic. Some of his justifications included spreading Christianity and ending barbarism. He also saw state-sponsored colonization as a way to protect missionaries, local chiefs, and local people from each other as well as from foreign powers. Also, for Lugard, it was vital that Britain gain control of unclaimed areas before Germany, Portugal, or France claimed the land and its resources for themselves. He realized that there were vast profits to be made through the exporting of resources like rubber and through taxation of native populations, as well as importers and exporters.

In his book he also gave what he believed to be a clear description of the mentality of the native African which he rationalized to be sufficient to describe Nigerians as well and in his words, ”In character and temperament, the typical African of this race-type is a happy, thriftless, excitable person. Lacking in self control, discipline and foresight. Naturally courageous, and naturally courteous and polite, full of personal vanity, with little sense of veracity, fond of music and loving weapons as an oriental loves jewellery. His thoughts are concentrated on the events and feelings of the moment, and he suffers little from the apprehension for the future or grief for the past.

His mind is far nearer to the animal world than that of the European or Asiatic, and exhibits something of the animal’s placidity and want of desire to rise beyond the state he has reached. Through the ages the African appears to have evolved no organized religious creed, and though some tribes appear to believe in a deity, the religious sense seldom rises above pantheistic animalism and seems more often to take the form of a vague dread of the supernatural. He lacks the power of organization, and is conspicuously deficient in the management and control alike of men or business. He loves the display of power, but fails to realize its responsibility…he will work hard with a less incentive than most races. He has the courage of the fighting animal, an instinct rather than a moral virtue… In brief, the virtues and defects of this race-type are those of attractive children, whose confidence when it is won is given ungrudgingly as to an older and wiser superior and without envy… Perhaps the two traits which have impressed me as those most characteristic of the African native are his lack of apprehension and his lack of ability to visualize the future.”
{.-Lord Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, The Dual Mandate, pg.70 (1926)}

Lord Frederick Dealtry Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945)

Lord Fredrick Lugard like every other individual is entitled to his own opinion. Secondly, Nigerians of the southern region gave Lord Lugard many reasons to detest their uncompromising demand for self-rule. There were well educated professionals among them and they contributed in every way to hasten the departure of the British. Lord Lugard was biased and his loyalty and sentiments leaned heavily towards the north. He made things as difficult as he could for the south in favour of the north. Many of the seeds of discord sown by Lord Lugard have blossomed and matured into fruit-bearing plants today and their effects stare us in the face. Lastly, a man can be called any name by anyone; it is the one the man answers to that is his name. Lord Lugard has done his bit and gone the way all men born of women go. His writings are not curses, even if they were curses, 52 years together as a nation is enough to break the potency of such curses. It is time to come out of the dark and stop blaming the British or Lugard for our failure to make appreciable progress.

Nigerians are predominantly warm, laidback and very casual people in their approach to all issues. Nigerians may truly find some ideal that challenges their intellect but Nigerians will never stick out their neck enough to want to or agree to die for any cause.

At this point, I dare say that fewer Nigerians know that our national flag is made up of two and only two colours; fewer Nigerians know by heart the wordings of the national anthem and the national pledge. These three elements are common to all Nigerians, we as a people must know them just as we know our personal names.

What (where) are our values as a people? As soon as we can truthfully answer this question, we will be able to draw up a table of standards of how we approach business and life.

We will need to begin with learning and practicing small chunks of self respect as well as mutual respect as a first step towards stepping out of the dark. It is a long journey but if we get it right at the foundation stage, the rest of the journey will be a pleasure. Once again, we will need to believe that Nigeria is our country and the only home we have. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians and not just the northerners or the westerners or the easterners. We must show Nigeria some love for her to yield her abundance to the people.

 Happy 52^nd anniversary to Nigeria and GOD bless Nigeria!