₦airaland Forum

Politicians are unbelievable!!! He thinks it is business as usual

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
On August 9, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped in a second Japanese city, Nagasaki.
Japan was devastated. Nigeria in 1960 (and in every year since independence) was better off. The Japanese rebuilt their nation, and the period after war was an iconic one and regarded as an Economic miracle. Perhaps, the only thing grey-haired Economics professors regard as a miracle.

Between 1950 and 1953, the Korean war devastated both North Korea and South Korea. But South Korea went on to achieve the unbelievable -- went from a country subsisting on foreign aids to a high-income developed country in one generation. They had rivers that stank like the Lagos Lagoon. And they spent over $17 billion to restore them. Now, South Korea is the most industrialized country in the world.

Singapore gained independence in 1963 from UK (like us). But they didn't believe they could survive on their own, so they joined Malaysia. Things didn't go as smooth as they intended, so in 1965 they broke free from Malaysia and became an independent country. They've got almost nothing -- no land, no mineral resources, few people. But they used their brains exceptionally well, and built the world's best airports and the most affluent economy. They have the world's highest percentage of millionaires. The government doesn't give social securities or have a minimum wage in place; it made it clear that every family should cater for itself. Everyone worked their butts off to build the lives they wanted.

Then let's come home -- Nigeria.

And here are my thoughts about Nigeria --

It's clear that a small percentage of us are extremely corrupt and have infiltrated the government at all levels
It's clear that this small percentage are ruining the educational system, and creating unfair industrial advantages for themselves
But there was a time it was like this in UK and France (go read Charles Dickens' novels or history)
Fortunately, there's no law against self education. No extremely high tax rate to prevent entrepreneurship.
Our politicians aren't smart enough to see that the pie is getting smaller and smaller.
The world is becoming flat, a global village. I often get work requests from US, UK and France. I get my earnings tax free. Opportunities are so vast that if we put the energy we spend on discussing the eternally corrupt politicians to seeking out those hidden pearls, we would soon be better off than most of the politicians.
There is a system that works, regardless of who you are. Wishing doesn't make any difference. Everyone can't be employed by an oil company. Everyone can't be employed by a well paying company. Some of us have to build rare skills. Some of us have to start unusual businesses. Some of us have to start poor and with a hustling that makes people wonder.
Our biggest disadvantage is not the not-for-any-good politicians. It's our lack of exposure. We do not see the big picture. Nigeria is just a small part of the picture and not the entire picture. If you live right, besides the low life expectancy rate, nothing can harm your chances of success.
We keep making unreasonable comparisons. What people are enjoying in the US and UK by just being citizens were fought for and ensured by others. The politicians in UK and US work a million times harder for the benefit of their country than our politicians here. God is not unjust; you can't expect him to give us same prosperity and benefits.

We have what we need to be the next USA. The problem is that we don't use it. For some us, the load on our neck is used purely for fashion and doing I pass my neighbor.
And one day, when we finally meet God and ask him why we didn't become a prosperous nation despite our fervent prayers, He's going to say, -- "Can you all feel that big ball sitting on your necks? I put it there for a reason. The other guys don't have two of it per person. If you had used it well, with patience and consistency, you'd have become a prosperous nation too."

http://www.olafusimichael.com/2013/12/my-thoughts-on-nigeria.html

To create something that is unique and full of value. That's being a genius.

Talent wins you a competition; genius has no competition. And everyone can be a genius. Forget about what your school reports said about you. Forget about what your teachers said about you. Forget about what your colleagues say about you. Get out of the competition mentality. What you are destined/designed to do is beyond what currently exists and what any other person can conceive. You are different for a purpose. Don't let anyone compare you to someone else. Don't let anyone cage your potential. Don't let anyone tell you how far you can go. Don't let anyone dim your light.
Unleash your potential. Do something no one is doing -- start a unique blog, start a unique foundation, meet a unique need, stand for a unique value, live the unique life you've always dreamed of. Be a genius.

Then don't stop. Don't give up. The beginning is always the toughest. Even Shakespeare had it rough in the beginning. His plays were considered lame, shaky. Thomas Edison was a master of failure. He had more experience at failing than at succeeding. Michelangelo was a workaholic. He frequently forgot to shower, eat or sleep. Steve Jobs kept rejecting all rejections and made his own chances. Mother Theresa gave her dream her all. She ignored all criticism. Barack Obama wrote the history he wanted to read. No matter how critical we are of Fela's life, he showed us how to stand for what we believe.


If you look at all the people that have changed our world, they have almost nothing in common. Some were obviously not brilliant. What mattered was the life they lived, a very unique life. Each one chose to be a genius. And you too can. It's what your destined for.


http://www.olafusimichael.com/2014/01/be-genius.html

The world is changing very fast, and our current educational system is becoming obsolete. In the US, President Barack Obama has put in place a vision 2020. Just as we have our own government set vision 2020. Except that they are backing theirs with SMARTER (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Evaluate & Re-evaluate) actions. Ours are backed vigorously with TTT (Talk, Talk & Talk).

In Obama's vision 2020, one of the goals is to have an educational system that makes it extremely easy for anyone to get a University education and degree. Especially the people who couldn't afford a university education while growing up but are discouraged by the volume of course work and time required to get a degree now that they can financially afford it. They dread having to start from the scratch, put in same classes with their youngest child. Yet they would love to get a university degree.

And how is America trying to achieve this? Through competency-based education.

And here is how it works.
The current educational curriculum will be scrapped. We won't have to pass through Primary 1 to Primary 6, then JSS 1 to SS 3, and then do a regular 4 or 5 years university programme to get a BSc. The new curriculum will be skill/competence based. Every learning module will aim to teach you a specific and measurable skill. The new KG1 might be broken into 2 learning modules. One is to teach you to count from 1 to 1000. And the other is to teach you to read and write all the letters of the alphabet. No child will be mandated to spend a whole year in the KG1 class. If you achieve the learning objective (skill) in 3 months, you move to KG2 instantly. If your parents had taught you these before enrolling you in school, you'll skip KG1 altogether. And if it takes you 2 years to achieve this, you'll remain at KG1 for the entire 2 years. It's until you achieve the competency before you can more to others that depend on that particular skill.


But here's the big picture.



Last week Emeka was given a chieftaincy title at Anambra state in acknowledgement of his philanthropy and the huge employment opportunities his company is creating for youths of the state. But despite the fame and money, Emeka is not happy. He lost his parents at the age of 10 and had to stop schooling. He used to be the brightest boy in his class and enjoyed school. And though, he began living with his grandparents who couldn't afford to keep in him in school, he was always borrowing and reading the schoolbooks of his friends. His dream was to become a Doctor. But the death of his parents smashed it. And every year that passes reminds him of how impossible it is for him to go back to school and get his primary school leaving certificate, secondary school leaving certificate, scale JAMB, and do the stressful 7 years to become a doctor.

Then a miracle happens. I become the President (now you understand the miracle part; it will take a miracle for me to become a President). Then I institute the Competency-based education system. Now Emeka can realise his dream. He applies to University of Ibadan to study medicine. He is made to go through an intensive 2 days knowledge and skill test. They found out that his Use of English is good enough, his mathematics skill is good enough, his computer knowledge is good enough, his knowledge Biology is amazing perfectly and his knowledge of Physics is acceptable. They list out all the other competencies he must acquire to be considered for a spot in the University. Chief Emeka goes back home extremely happy. He hands over the day-to-day running of his company to his eldest son. Then spends the next 2 years acquiring all the requisite knowledge and skills he's deficient in.

He hires expensive personal tutors and does rigorous study. Then he goes back to University of Ibadan for another assessment. And this time, to the pleasant surprise of everyone, he meets all requirements and brilliantly too. And with that fervor, he begins his MBBS. 7 years later, he becomes Chief Dr Emeka Obi.

He is so happy he renovates Anambra state hospital with over a billion naira and begins working there as a junior doctor. He's finally living his dream.

And that's how revolutionary competency-based education is. It's like working in a bank, they don't care what your first degree is. They train you for the job and evaluate you regularly, and a Yoruba history graduate becomes a risk analysis expert. And that's what the modern world has turned to. It's no longer certificate based or years of formal school education based. It's competency-based, and recognizes skills you acquired in a non-formal education setting. It gives equal weight to same knowledge regardless of the mode of acquisition.

And that, my friend, is the future of education.


http://www.olafusimichael.com/2014/03/the-future-of-education.html

Beautiful idea....!

There used to be a time when I thought that being the best is all that matters. At school, at the games I play and, later, at work I aimed only at being the best. And to be fair, there is nothing bad about wanting to be the best. I think most of all I achieved growing up were the results of that motivation to be the best. Just that there is one big fault with always wanting to be the best: you have to follow rules and take a path everyone else is taking. Even if you are creative about the way you run that path.

I have certifications I don't use and paid heavily in study time and money to get. I have worked jobs that weren't designed around my strengths and personality. I have had to do the things I enjoy only after work and on weekends. And I was constantly trying to show my value to the company I worked for. It made the most part of my life look like a race. A competition. Climbing an overcrowded ladder.

Then I began thinking hard about my life and the lives of the people around me. I began considering what it is I really want to do with my life. But every time I thought about going for my dream I was always faced with an inner voice of doubt telling me that I am not equipped enough, that I am not the best or the biggest.

And I see this thought trail in others too. You love writing but you don't want to do it full-time because you are not the best writer there is around nor the biggest (most popular) one. You have a business idea but you don't want to commit to it because you see better and bigger businesses already established. Everyday, there is someone delaying his dream because he doesn't consider himself the best or the biggest.Today, I want to tell you that it doesn't matter that you're not the best or biggest. Most likely, too, the company you work for or the path you keep walking along is also not the best or biggest. You should see your life as a journey, an expedition, and not a recurring sprint. You don't have to do the things you don't want so you can only dream of the things you want. You don't have to climb an overcrowded ladder just because you see someone you are better than up above you. You don't have to be constantly in a race, walking the same path as everyone else.

When you care too much about being the best or the biggest you miss out of the fun in the journey. Though I quit my job last year to build the best and biggest Excel consulting firm in Nigeria, now, after a year of experiencing things I have only read about or seen in movies I am more concerned about going at my own pace and enjoying the journey. I don't care if you are not as good as me and you make more than 10x my income. I don't care if you are bigger than me despite I have superior services. I don't care if I don't get any external support. I don't care if everyone is speeding past me. I'm not in a race (anymore). I am on a journey, an adventure, and thoroughly enjoying it is what matters most. I don't have to be the best or the biggest.

http://www.olafusimichael.com/2015/03/you-dont-have-to-be-best-or-biggest.html

doctokwus:
Well said.
Its only hoped that when d stark reality of d full disclosure of d frightening economic situation we are in is revealed,after May 29,we all can see y GMB must be supported to take drastic action on these daylight robbery in d name of severance package for former governors and d further robbery in d name of salary to legislators.
In GMB, we have what we have lacked for several years, a man with the moral authority to look corruption in d face,because this is what all these pay are,and tackle it head on.
But he needs serious support from all Nigerians and civil society groups because some of d benefactors won't let go because they have no other job to fall unto than these humongous pension benefits.

God bless you for this comment!!!!

Aminat508:
I Love Buhari

yeah!! Me too! He doesn't play to the gallery. That's one attribute that i seriously love about him.
Extremely Proud of my Green Passport now......



#however, that may not even be an intended handshake, or GMB didn't see it coming..

interesting

nigerdeltaa:
why didn't they recognize Biafra? double standard I guess. rubbish

what is Biafra? I hope you are not adding the South-South to that your illusion?

Very true!!!! While i appreciate the new message and cause he is trying to pursue, he is also part of the problem. Imagine him giving Award of Excellence to corrupt and inept state governors!! Everybody knows his awards are up for the highest bidders. Even the Pageantry he organizes is laced with fraud!! That man ruined NTA, and if i remember correctly, he was unceremoniously fired from that job.

however, let's watch and see!! Who would have thought Farouk Lawan was a thief with the way he was going about the Petrol Subsidy issue, only for Otedola to show us the true Facrook!!!

God Bless the President-Elect, and all those who truly believe in positive 'change'!!!!
God will see us through, we will triumph!!! Naysayers will be disappointed!

God bless the Vice President-Elect !!!


Forward Ever.......!!!

PassingShot:
Na me love am pass.

Una Love for Baba dey learn work for wey my love dey!!!

this is cool!!! Thanks for the information

gists:
my broda no be small thing o. What I have with those guys can buy a small tear-rubber car!
It hurts to get turned-down by people you call friends who for reasons best known to them refuse to give you this loan - especially when you know they have it. So, I was just thinking how to get this short-time loan and the next thing I saw was a statement of account from my PFA in my inbox telling me I have x million. The PFA is not even ashamed to tell me my money has grown by a miserable 5% since I stated.
Their should be a way to talk to these guys to let me take a part of it for the next 6 weeks as loan. I don't mind signing an undertaking that I will return 100% the money in 2 months max!

5%? hah!!!

I hope mine is giving me double figures o!!! Please enquire from your PFA if you can loan some of 'your money' , and get back to us so that we can follow suit!!

LOL!!! me sef go like to know o!!!! i have been wondering about that as well.

Very Irritating!!!! Madam Voodoo-Economics....!!! that's the problem when you hire textbook economists!!

The most fouled player in EPL. People wey done chop card for this guy head too plenty!!!!

#Blues 4eva ojare!!!!

omoteamac:
hahaha....those complaining about dealdey,I know your type...na your type go order for items and later reject the items when delivered giving useless excuses...

Dealdey....I like that wallet thing jarey...thumbs up..you are not like konga and Jumia that tolerates nonsense from all those unserious buyers..

Are you a Retard?

Amaechi ooo!!!!!

Nice One Imoke!!!! One of the most Civil governors ever!!! Cross River State keeps getting admirable governors!!! enviable State!!

the Heroes of PDP are thugs and election riggers!!! people who trot around with impunity and uncivilized utterances. PDP has no room for decent people like Muazu. Kashamu and Fayose are the poster child for PDP, and that is why we rejected them. And we will keep rejecting them until they reform themselves into decent human beings!!!!!

great!!

jaybee3:
There you go
I'm challenging barcanista to open yet another thread to critique the real TRANSITION committee members not the yeye inauguration committe that was set up to organise a mere may 29th event party

Do not mind that lowlife.

That 1966 Coup ruined this country.

The Biafra war is understandable,but it dragged on for too long because 2 elephants were having an ego play, while the grass suffered the heat.

#Arrogance complicated issues in both cases!

#I wish both never happened.

and so? kini big deal?

kolomax:
Nice work our gallant soldiers will join you soon...presently NA is PDP Army when buhari take-over am sure things gonna fall in place

That's what we are all hoping for!!! A new and more decent Nigeria where all the institutions stick to their constitutional roles.

N’djamena – Col. Azem Agouna, Chadian Army Spokesman, said on Wednesday that they have repatriated 43 children, who had been kidnapped by Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram and forced to become child soldiers.

He said in N’djamena that the children, who are aged 12 and older and are Chadian nationals, were found in the Nigerian town of Damasak, in North-Eastern Borno.

Damasak was under Boko Haram control until Chadian and Nigerian forces recaptured the town in early March.

Agouna said the children managed to escape during the clashes between the insurgents and soldiers, while the local families helped them to hide from the jihadists.

He disclosed that when it was certain that Boko Haram had been defeated and would not return to the town, the children came out of their hiding places and asked Chadian security forces for help.

The spokesman said the army would look into how and when Boko Haram abducted the children from Chad.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/chads-army-rescues-43-boko-haram-child-soldiers-in-nigeria/

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Wednesday disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has started refunding $1.48bn into the Federation Account as recommended by an audit firm, PriceWaterHouse Coopers.

She however did not disclose how much has so far been refunded by the corporation.

She also denied reports that she was seeking the assistance of some highly-placed persons in other to get soft landing from the incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Alison-Madueke spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It will be recalled that the Federation Account Allocation Committee on Monday night constituted a committee to find out the reasons for the delay in the refund of the sum.

PriceWaterHouse Coopers had in its forensic audit report of the corporation recommended that the NNPC should refund the amount to the Federation Account.

The firm was last year hired to carry out the audit following an allegation by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, that $20bn was not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC.

PWC had stated in the report that while the total gross revenue generated from crude oil lifting was $69.34bn between January 2012 and July 2013 and not $67bn as earlier stated by the Senate Reconciliation Committee, what was remitted to the Federation Account was $50.81bn and not $47bn.

The audit report revealed that $28.22bn was the value of domestic crude oil allocated to the NNPC, adding that total amount spent on subsidy for Premium Motor Spirit was $5.32bn.

Alison-Madueke however explained that the unremitted fund was owed by NPDC for a block that had been assigned from NNPC to NPDC.

She said, “The PriceWaterHouse Coopers forensic audit that was done a few weeks ago, in its recommendation mentioned that $1.48bn was owed by NPDC for a block that had hitherto been assigned from the NNPC to NPDC which is its subsidiary.

“They felt that the right process would be that NPDC will refund that money to the Federation Account. NPDC has apparently started those refunds and it is also in discussion with NNPC and DPR on same. So the refund has actually begun.”

While saying that the payment was being done under her directives, she insisted that the sum was not missing but transferred by the NNPC to NPDC which is a subsidiary.


http://www.punchng.com/news/nnpc-starts-refunding-1-48bn-to-federation-account-diezani/?utm_source=&utm_medium=facebook

nice

abbacar:
it is clear u refuse to be knowledgable.....u dont know the meaning of the word- 'duly' i will teach u ma boy....indeed u are a disgrace to manhood, u cant reason things out for ur self most i literally spell it out for you...u are what some will call "apá amu"
duly: : in the proper or expected way
is it proper if proven tomorrow dat buhari does not have d said certificate and has committed perjury for swearing to an affidavit that he has....is that not fraud ...forgery in the highest order....let me explain what forgery is
forgery-Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive.....buhari and apc decieved inec into accepting a wortless affidavit it adapted ..perjury...
ur presido elect committed perjury to become apc presdential aspirant and in that act of perjury he won an election .....is that not electoral malpractice....

dullard i never said or used the word annullment u introduced that word to suit u....even at dat ur argument holds no water.... not every election malpractice case end in an annullment and another election is conducted...in edo state osunbor was removed and oshiomole sworn in as governor without reelection......u are too dull...

thank god u admit osibanjo wont be sworn in as president in as much his principal commited electoral fraud.....olodo...
and yes that paper(inec certifictate of return) becomes useless when it is proven he committed perjury.....he would show it to his grand children on the need to go to school....
ewu.......

u can not even read what u summited ....where did you see the word 'duly elected' on inec's ''certificate of return''.....its elected that is there not duly elected.....now who is a disgrace to his alma mata.....yes you guessed right you....you messed up...u cant even read ur own summitions....
your a total waste of ur parents/ guardian time and resources.....i will have to ask you to show ur certificate ..prove to us u went to school....what disgrace..PRODUCE YOUR CERTIFICATE

The word is "submission" not "summitions". At this point, I think i should end this discussion. I can see that you enjoy arguing blindly and out of point.
The case between Oshiomole and Osunbor was based on false declaration of result. That's a different kettle of fish altogether.

https://www.nairaland.com/121698/election-tribunal-reverses-daylight-robbery

Buhari swore an affidavit saying his certificate was with the military. How is that even Perjury? If the military has misplaced the certificate, how is that Buhari's problem?
The question is, was the military at one point with the man's certificate? That's something the plaintiffs will have to prove otherwise for the case to hold water.

Secondly, even if Buhari is said to have been ineligible to contest as an individual, from your own calculations, does that automatically make Osinbajo ineligible. They both won the election on a single ticket, the ineligibility of one of the pair does not nullify the ticket.

#Elected in Buhari's case means 'duly elected', having gotten the most number of votes, and getting at least 25% of votes in 2/3 of the states. And this isn't in contention. Am not sure how you understand and interpret stuffs.

#Buhari did not commit perjury, and that case is 'Dead on Arrival'.

http://encomium.ng/buharis-certificate-court-case-will-fail-legal-experts-say-its-a-waste-of-time/