₦airaland Forum

seguntijan:
By Lateef Adewole

Email: lateefadewole23@gmail.com

It was a great delight watching the budget defence of the Ministry of Education on Tuesday, when they came to do so before the Joint Committee of Senate on Tertiary Education and Services. The Honourable Minister, Mr. Adamu Adamu led the delegation. He did the major defence.

Then, it was the turn of Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). He made his defence, which blew everyone away. He got what is equivalent of a "standing ovation", in praises. The committee members, Senators and Honourable members could not stop eulogising him. He was appreciated and showered with encomium.

The more interesting part was that, they were not the usual "sycophantic or political" praises as we are used to, especially when they come from one arm of government to another among politicians. They were sincere and based on substance. They were based on the professor's unprecedented performance in a very short time, just about 3 years since he was appointed to that office.

Indeed, Professor Oloyede has continued to distinguish himself in public service, displays exceptional leadership capacity, competence, integrity and he represents the leadership of our dreams for our country, Nigeria. His activities since taken over the leadership of JAMB, a critical examination body to attaining higher education in Nigeria, which shapes the future of the youths, have been nothing but revolutionary. It is ingenious to us, to our country.

His appointment was followed with scathing criticisms, majorly based on religious jingoism, as it is usual with us in Nigeria. Some people accused the president of furthering his "Islamisation agenda" with that, considering that Professor Oloyede is an Islamic scholar and a professor of Islamic and Arabic studies for that matter. He is also the current Secretary General, National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, a position he has occupied since May 2013. However, many forgot or deliberately overlooked the fact that he was once the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin.

Some even derided him as being not suitable to head such a "sensitive and technical" body, being not an expert in that field (technocrat). That he is an "alfa". He is also fully "home grown", with all his major academics from Certificate in Arabic and Islamic studies from the University of Ibadan in 1976/77, to the professorial level (UNILORIN), all achieved within the supposed "dysfunctional" education system in Nigeria. Not Havard, not Cambridge, Not Oxford, not Yate! All from Nigeria. Yet, he has proven his detractors wrong.

He has shown all of us, friends and foes alike, that tribalism or religious inclinations have no bearing on competence. He has been exemplary and phenomenon. He is one of the best appointees of President Buhari since his first term. We hope those who criticised his appointment will be humble enough to apologise to him, or in the least, show appreciation of the works he has been doing in JAMB since his appointment.

But, what has he done to deserve all these accolades? At that Tuesday budget defence, he revealed "uncommon" strides in Nigeria. He shocked everyone present when he told the public that the body is now fully self-funded, with all their capital expenditures and overheads completely taken care of by the body without collecting a kobo from the federal allocations. Despite that, they are remitting 3 billion naira to federation account, apart from another 2 billion naira, which the FG has approved for their capital projects, all from their internally generated revenues of 2019 only. Also, that was in spite of the reduction in the cost of the JAMB registration by 30% for the same year 2019.

That may not be a "new" news. The biggest shock happened after he conducted the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), following his new appointment in October 2016. The results were released in an unprecedented record time of within few days (less than one week) of conducting the exams. This was a departure from the past when candidates had to wait like forever, just to know their scores. He then went ahead to declare a surplus money in excess of 5.1 billion naira! From just one examination?

This was 10,000% (ten thousand percent- not a mistake please!) increase over what the same JAMB declared for previous 7 years (2010 to 2016), which showed about ridiculous 50 million naira only (according to records). Seven years fah! How come? And those at the helms during those years are still walking around free. That is still being investigated. No wonder snakes, rats, lions and all kinds of animals, ate millions of naira in JAMB offices, as seen in the revelation from Benue JAMB office last year.

The following year 2018, he remitted 7.1 billion naira to the federation account after conducting the 2017 UTME. Several innovations have been introduced to curb the menace of cheating in the exams. It is now fully computer based test. He has said the candidates for 2020 exams must provide their National Identity Number (NIN), which is unique to individuals. This is to check the cases of double registrations and impersonations. Most of the whole processes have been computerised and automated for ease of administration. The system has continously been upgraded as well to protect it from cyber-attack. There is more efficiency now in the system.

I took time to x-ray all of these to exemplify what competent leadership can achieve. But how was he able to do all of these in the spate of 3 years? These are lessons we can all learn from there, especially many political office holders at all levels; federal, state and local government.

Is it not shocking to know that majority of the staff who were there in those "locust" years are still the same people who are running the organisation, with exception of some changes and the reorganisational postings? Then, what made all the difference? It is the leadership provided by Professor Oloyede! He made his personality and character to bear on the organisation he heads. The same old staff members realised that a "new sheriff" is truly in town, not a "pretender".

While he faced the fight against corruption in the system head-on, he has been doing it "sincerely and holistically", not punishing some people, while shielding others, based on their tribes, religion, nepotism or closeness to him. He does his fight without fear or favor. That is why it will be difficult to fault him in that respect. He recommends appropriate rewards and punishments based on the merits of each person's case.

Inclusiveness in administration. While the rots discovered, and still being revealed, are enough to have him labelled the staff he met on resumption as corrupt, alienate himself from them or even mistreat them, he never did. All he showed them was that, things will no longer be business as usual. Those who shaped up, continued to enjoy robust relationship with him. Those who are recalcitrant are expected to be shipped out. He carried everybody along. This made those of his staff, who have no skeleton in their cupboard, to trust him.

Capacity. You cannot give what you don't have, as they say. With a career in academics and various management positions in public and private sectors, that spanned almost four decades, he sure has what it takes to make things happen. However, that is not a given. His "personal" abilities and character made all the difference. His period as the VC of Unilorin was a testament. As Senator Egwu said at the budget defence, he turned around the administration of that institution. His legacies there endure till date. He also graduated with a First-Class in his first degree.

Self-discipline. A critical attribute that is lacking in many of us, especially our leaders, is self-discipline. They often forget the "temporariness" of power and office. They live and act recklessly many times, without a care in this world. When a leader cannot discipline himself or herself, he or she has no moral right to demand same from his or her subordinates or followers. But in Nigeria, that is not applicable. We, too many times, see cups calling the kettles black. Leadership should be by example rather than precept.

Focus. In spite of all the "shades" thrown at him after his appointment, Professor Ishaq Oloyede never got distracted. He has his mind set on his goals and he pursued them vigorously with all his might and being. Those working with him had no choice but to rise up to the occasion. That is the result of which we are seeing. He did not abandon his current responsibility and begin to blame all the past registrars of the body for everything that is wrong there. He simply moved on and faced his job squarely.

Shared commendation. I have listened to Professor Oloyede's interviews a few times. While everyone talks about him and his achievements, he never missed any opportunity to publicly acknowledge the contributions, supports and dedication of all the members of staff of the organisation. Likewise his board members. He never took the accolades alone. This encourages his staff continue to do more.

In all of these, while it looks so bleak like Nigeria may never move forward, the time of Professor Ishaq Oloyede at the JAMB leadership shows that, if we resolve to make changes for better, Nigeria can actually move forward, even beyond our imaginations. All that we all need is the collective will to do the right things, and eschew hatred, tribalism, cronyism, nepotism and religious divisiveness. And it all starts by always doing our best to put our best foot forward, whether for elective or appointive positions.

President Buhari got this one very right. God bless him for that. And we can only wish and hope that he will be guided while making many more appointments, going forward. The JAMB should be a case study and a temple for him. Many of his appointees were disappointment, while he continues to retain them or reappointed them for another term, more at the expense of the wellbeing of Nigeria and Nigerians. Current security situation in Nigeria comes to mind.

Professor Ishaq Oloyede is not without his own flaws, just like any normal human being, but, where those flaws are dwarfed by his good sides, the result will be positive. Many nigerians are very proud of him and we wish him greater success as he move JAMB to the "next level"!

May God continue to guide us aright.

God Bless Nigeria.

Dremog:
Yes, i have applied to WES(US) and have gotten my reference number from them but i saw they require certificate and transcripts from my university. I can get the transcripts from my school but the certificate is not ready yet.

Dremog:
Hello everyone,
Pls i want to do WES(US) course to course evaluation of my degree but currently my certificate is not yet ready what i have is my statement of result. I want to know if my statement of result can be accepted by WES(US) for the evaluation. Thanks.

Olu317:
Even if I feel bittered about some wrong information in his misinterpretation of characters inside the Bible,still I recognised the fact that Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther is a Legend.

Kelvin30286063:
I know what mum means... The capitalization of the M is what I was talking about. That makes it a noun. I'm a master degree holder in English language so I'm not stupid.

The moment it becomes 'Mum' then it becomes a noun not a verb!

Kelvin30286063:
Mum bawo... Which one is mum now. OP and mods are on hight quality weed.

alonzoiv:
A good one. Better than what we have even at the federal level. Up to the commissioners to make impact.

However, anyone vast in Kwara Politics knows that most of the names are prominent family names. But that being said, the ability to perform in office is what is paramount.

May their tenure bring succor to the hearts of Kwarans.

nairalandposter:
-By the age of 10 or thereabouts, he had people working for him, he was an entrepreneur or something like that.

- He was from the Obatala priesthood although unfortunately, his mum, an Obatala priestess, was sold into slavery but he was able to redeem her (I'll doublecheck this story)

- He and his relatives were captured in the Oyo region, but he later found his mother, uncle and sisters in Abeokuta after his return to Nigeria

-His father survived the raid that brought Samuel Ajayi Crowther into slavery, however, he (his father) was captured in another raid later on

-His mother was one of his first Christian converts in 1848.

IjebuWarrior:
You no go see traffic for this article. How many of dem sabi wetin Stress-Testing mean sef?

Chai.. the future of 9ja youths and Nigeria..

hekkyboi:
las las u will never agree because ur moniker says it all

stagger:
Kotoka does not compare with Senegal's Blaise Diagne.

LifeQuest:
Dear Bro Nigeria,

My name is RWANDA..Your small bro...This letter is a bit long...anyway, how are You? Hope you are good...Just like Me. Bro, It's long since we talked but this letter is urgent ! You have to do what I say!

Bro, in April 1994, the worst happened to Me. After the death of My President, Juvenal Habyarimana, who was a TUTSI, my people went totally crazy!

You see, The TUTSI and HUTU were the major tribes that I had...Now, the HUTU were smaller than the TUTSI and the TUTSI had held on to power for so long! And in April, madness began!

After a fierce campaign propaganda by the angry HUTUs, who wanted power too, I watched as the HUTU bought 581,000 machetes (pangas) from China.

I sadly watched as the HUTU also bought rocket launchers, mortar bombs, grenades and ammunition worth £18M from Egypt.

My heart was beating. My soul was scared. I watched, with sadness and fear, the media spreading false propaganda, lies and innuendo to the public!

I even watched the CHURCH preaching hatred, ethnicity and war.

I couldn't believe this was happening. The stage was set for War. My children were getting prepared for the worst! Hate Leaflets were being spread. The HUTU were getting armed. The TUTSI were getting scared.

Bro, one sad morning, IT HAPPENED!

I heard children screaming! I saw women crying! I heard men wailing! MY HEART ALMOST STOPPED!

Bro, within 100 days, My children turned into animals! They butchered each other! Slaughtered each other! Ambushed each other!

I watched as 1,000 TUTSI children were burnt alive in a Polish Catholic Church!

I watched as 2,500 TUTSI men were bombed to death while hiding in a tiny, crowded Church!

I watched sadly as around 250,000 girls were mercilessly raped and beaten to death!

I watched as 400,000 TUTSI men lost their manhood after it was cut in public by the HUTU!

I watched as 2,000 women were thrown into a pit of fire like dead houseflies!

I watched endless rivers of blood flow in my streets!

I watched children crying, children mourning their parents, children being slaughtered with machetes!

I watched as USA President, Bill Clinton and the U.N peace keepers ignored Me! Letting Me destroy myself!

I knew that was the END OF ME.

It was sad! Painful! Unbelievable!

For 100 days, My children did the worst! It was blood, tears, sorrow, pain, death and agony!

And Finally, I LOST A MILLION PEOPLE! Yes, A MILLION Tutsi and Hutu died in just 100 days!

When the madness stopped, I knelt and thanked God!

They were fighting for a politician! Fighting for a tribe! Fighting for power!

BUT what did they gain? NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING!

Until today, I HAVE NEVER recovered from the madness! I have so many scars, so much pain!

My dear brother, I am aware of the religious and tribal sentiments that have divided your people, I am also aware of campaign of hatred and ethnicity going on among your people at the moment.

Please shun violence and embrace peace.
love one another and live together in unity.
I don't want u to have the bitter experience of genocide that I had.

Remember that I lost over 1 million of my children to the war, my children killed and butchered each other like animals.
I don't wish that happen to you my bother.
I love you my brother.
Peace be unto you.

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CEEY01:
What happened? It's over 3years and the story is not complete. I love the story n it's very inspiring, was it updated elsewhere

Ranchhoddas:
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