₦airaland Forum

Dear OP, I sympathize with you over the unfortunate incident. But more importantly, I rejoice with you over your safe return. And yes, this experience of yours calls for more vigilance at this time. I had a 'one chance' encounter in the very same Port Harcourt the week that preceded the 17th of June, 2017. May it never be well with those who set out to rob from and inflict harm on innocent members of the society.

The keen observer will notice that there is a current trend in Nigeria especially in the labour sector. It is simply a push for entrepreneurship! This in itself is not a bad thing. It is quite commendable. What is suspect, however, in the entire arrangement is what this polemic proposes to interrogate. In recent times, a lot of people especially those in public office and others who themselves are in paid employment have constantly been asking our young people to become entrepreneurs; to start their own businesses no matter how small. To drive home the point, they offer through mass media to organise or recommend seminars and workshops on entrepreneurship and how to start small businesses. All of these because there are no jobs! Even though seemingly well intentioned, this approach is clearly counter-intuitive as it is counter-productive. The reason for this is straightforward, really: it is the responsibility of government to create jobs and not that of the individual citizen.

In spite of what is very obvious, the proprietors of this new drive instead of harping on the government to live up to its billing by creating jobs and generating sustainable employment have turned logic on its head by suggesting that it is not the duty of the government to create jobs. As they go about this campaign, what these people fail to realise is that they are attempting to give new meanings to the words: ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘entrepreneurship’. Well, the truth is that everyone is not cut out to be an entrepreneur. To become one should be a matter of deep conviction rather than coercion. In any event, for most people their entrepreneurial efforts will fail woefully due to the workings of the same system that made it impossible for government to create jobs in the first place.

More importantly, have these people even bothered to ask why the government in the United Kingdom, the United States and other highly developed countries despite the advancement of their economies still talk about job creation. In fact, job creation and repatriation most times form the fulcrum of the manifestoes of those seeking elective offices in those countries! And so, the current campaigns in Nigeria must be halted at this point in order to appraise and rework the strategy. In that connection, we must insist that the government does the proper thing by investing actively in programmes and projects that will create sustainable employment. It makes absolutely no sense to transfer government’s responsibility to the populace simply because government at all levels have failed in that regard.

A note of caution, though! This is not an attempt dampen the zeal of young, budding entrepreneurs. No, sir! It is quite the opposite. It is really a call to those who are deeply passionate about the subject to engage in purposeful entrepreneurship. I believe and do propose that a lot more people should get involved in entrepreneurship. If for nothing else, no one can pay you what you think you deserve. And the most important bit? It is nearly impossible to gain financial freedom by working under a paid employment arrangement for life.

@ODNEsq.

Thanks: Seun; Lalasticlala

sammydirectly:
Listic1, please which axis? Please tell.

PH.

ruggedtimi:
my girlfrnd had similar experience in ph around gra bus stop. They nearly strangled her to death...and dey were boasting of how many girls they have killed that particular day. Luckly they dropped her off and took her phone.

Coincidentally, this happened in nearly the same area. These guys are becoming audacious.

EgunMogaji:
OP is probably one of those that will rally against legal gun ownership.

Really?

Enoquin:
Wow! That was how one of my brothers was dispossessed of a tangible sum yesternight. There have been complaints in Uyo of these sort of incidences especially via Keke even those with ATMs aren't spared as the thieves go around with POS.

Funny too, I have been thinking what I'd do if such happens to me. Now, that your's came to pass, I pray mine doesn't.

It is really an awkward situation. Be careful what you think about, please.

Nma27:
Oga lawyer so you have to buy anoda wig and gown now? People are wicked!

That is what it means.

bigsmoke2:
I have one golden rule, to never ride a bus that did not load at the car park. If I find myself in a situation where I need to ride one I take uber and I pay with my bank account so the uber driver can be traced if need be.

This is a very sensible way of going about some of these things. I can't agree any less.

peter0071:
too bad... but i guess u didnt take the car number when it reversed....

Yeah. The whole event happened too fast. When the car reversed I was concerned more about my safety than anything else.

0b100100111:
What is the security code of the phone that was collected?

I really don't know. But I have an app on it that can disable the phone if the SIM card is changed. However, if they flash the phone before inserting a new SIM card it may not work.

hoodedjaystrim:
Too Bad U Won't Be Able To Sue Their Sorry Asses

Hahaha. Sad reality.

Caustics:
was the lady working with them or the picked her again for more activities?

I believe so. But there is little or no evidence for this apart from what I have stated up there.

TarOrfeek:
O. P take heart.
especially a well beating one.

Thank you.

gazilion:
These are some of the writings that should have been at the front page when it was written rather the mods will be pushing out terrible front page stuffs that do not educate anyone

Your observation is spot on.

Monday the 5th of June, 2017 is one day I won’t forget in a hurry. Very early that day, I freshened up and started on my way to court which was ‘outside jurisdiction’. For some inexplicable reasons, there were not very many vehicles on the road. Somehow, this particular vehicle, a red Toyota or Honda salon car – but converted to a taxi, appeared before me. I inquired from the driver whether he was headed in my direction of which he responded in the affirmative. I then boarded the vehicle. After sitting down I noticed that there were two young men in the vehicle – one in the front passenger seat wearing a red face cap and red hooded jacket and the other in the passenger seat behind the driver wearing a white polo shirt. However, I never took time to steal glances at their faces. I sat next to this passenger. Shortly after I boarded, another lady was picked along the road. This lady sat beside me.

A few minutes thereafter the driver stopped the car and the passenger in front, turning backwards to face those behind, greeted everyone at the back and asked what we have in our bags as he raised his pistol for all to see. Before I could say anything, the young chap beside me took my bag from me and started searching my trouser and suit jacket pockets. In the process, he took my phone and a few wards of N500 notes which I left in my left back pocket in case I needed to make a quick expense having put my wallet in the bag. At the same time, the dude with the gun took the lady’s bag, her phone and asked her to pull off the ‘gold’ she was wearing. After doing that, the young man turned to me with his gun pointed and asked me how much I was with. I told him and added that everything is in my wallet which was in my bag and that his colleague has taken the notes that I didn’t put in the wallet as well. As I was saying this, I was inexplicably extremely relaxed and smiling and also asking them to give me the tools of my trade: case file, wig and gown, diary and bib and collar which were in the bag; stuff which I knew would be useless to them. This is awkward and weird, I know. Perhaps, infuriated by my disposition the young chap pushed me on my left side to expose my left leg and said: ‘you think say we dey joke here? I go just put this ‘ginot’ for your leg’. His other colleague began pleading with him not to try anything stupid; he was reminded of how he could not control himself the last time and he eventually killed someone. This sort of calmed him down a bit.

Well, after satisfying themselves that they have properly waylaid us, we were asked to go of the vehicle and sit on the kerb by the roadside. As they were about to drive off, the guy who sat beside me asked again what I had in my bag and I told him and also asked that he should give the bag back to me after taking the money having told him where I kept it. The young man opened the bag, brought out only the case file, dropped it on the ground and they drove off. As I and the lady stood up to find our level but me to pick up my case file first, the very car came back in reverse. The lady was asked to get into the vehicle and they drove away. In all of these the driver did not utter even a word. However, I know that they were all working in concert. I thereafter retreated to some safe corner where I was ruminating over what just transpired; the first and I believe the last of its kind I would experience and how over the weekend, Saturday, I guess, I was asking myself how I would react if a gun was pointed at me. It is a funny life!

While deep in thought, from the corner of my eye I saw that car drop of the lady who then entered another vehicle. At this point, I approached a bystander who only assisted by giving me his phone to call my family. This was a wasted effort as all the numbers I had off hand didn’t connect. In this state of slight confusion, I decided to search my jacket pockets. And boy what did I see? Some change in the only pocket that was not searched! With that I went in search of my bearing!

End.

PS: I have a feeling, a very strong feeling, that something very bad would happen to the young man with the gun.

Sometime in December, 2014 I tweeted that General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) should be given a chance by Nigerians after he won the All Progressives Congress (APC’s) presidential primary election. I did that not because I supported the General personally but because of his persistence – spanning at least a decade – which indicated that he had something meaningful to offer Nigerians. Upon his election and subsequent swearing in as President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), it took him more than three months for the President to announce his cabinet. The excuse the President gave for this telling and grave failure was exceptionally pedestrian! But that is an entirely different matter. Well, at that point I knew that PMB and I say this with the greatest sense of responsibility, had no plans; he was completely empty, won’t be able to fly, won’t perform that magic and he is not prepared for leadership. Or that if he did, he was not in a hurry to translate it into something concrete in spite of the sorry state in which Nigerians have subjected Nigeria. This in itself was a very terrible misstep!

11:59pm yesterday marked the end of the second year of PMB’s administration and today the beginning of his third. Within the last two years of the administration, nothing solid was achieved by the President and I dare say nothing worthwhile will be achieved in the critical sectors in this year and the next when the tenure will elapse. In a bizarre twist, what we have seen instead is an unprecedented level of hardship visited on, mostly, hapless Nigerians due to a serious deficit of policies and or lack of a common sense approach to policy implementation. The suggestion that no serious change may occur within the second half of this administration was not stumbled upon. There is a solid basis for it and it is twofold.

The first is that PMB does not appear to be physically, ‘politically’ and medically suited to the rigours of presiding over Nigeria at this time. The second and perhaps more important is the fact that we have entered a political, or if you like an election preparation, year. A year in which there will be a lot of scheming and horse-trading for the Presidency culminating in the election in 2019. INEC’s announcement of a tentative date for the election certainly does not help the situation even though that step is commendable. Undoubtedly, this will cause serious distractions for PMB thereby making it nearly impossible for his government to concentrate and deliver on the much mouthed change! It is therefore highly unfortunate that PMB squandered much of the goodwill he hitherto enjoyed in this way. But much more troubling is the fact that another four years will just slip away in this manner in a country that is in very dire straits!

From a concerned citizen and this is not intended as a political piece, please.

@ODNEsq.

Many thanks: Seun; Lalasticlala

Generally speaking, big populations have been regarded as assets. Whether this is in relation to families, communities and, more recently, countries does not change anything; it does not negate what is a truism. This is primarily because; historically speaking at least, there are enough hands to work in the fields ensuring a continuous boost in production which as a result and in addition to other factors guarantee the sustenance of the family unit and the community at large. This was the picture of society a few centuries ago.

With the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and the advancement in technology, serious societies had to rethink the purpose and ends of procreation, of big populations. In the process, measures were introduced to address the redundancy that will arise when machines took up the roles of human beings in the plantations and other spheres of human endeavour: thus, the introduction of family planning. One must be quick to clarify, though, that attempts to control human reproduction is not entirely a modern phenomenon. Throughout history, human beings have engaged in both pro and anti-natalist practices directed at enhancing social welfare. Unfortunately, however, it appears this reality has been lost on some families, communities and countries. One of the countries which fall within the latter group is Nigeria. And this is a matter for deep regret.

As of today, no one knows authoritatively or with any air of certainty the population of Nigeria. Irrespective of where one is looking at for this information, it is believed that 180,000,000 people will be close to reality. Based on the controversial 2006 census figure of roughly 140,000,000 people, it means that in each year within the last decade, Nigerians saw the addition of a minimum of 4,000,000 new souls to their number. UNICEF, however, has a higher figure of 5,900,000, but this is beside the point. The implication of these figures is that Nigerians make up around 2.48% of the world’s total population. That is to say, 1 out of every 43 people and 1 out of every 7 Black people in the planet is a Nigerian. By all standards, this is quite something; it is a very impressive statistics and holds great potentials. It should be noted that this figure is not an extraordinary one in and of itself. After all Nigeria’s population, although number 1 in Africa and the entire Black world, is only number 7 in the world behind the likes of Brazil and Pakistan. However, what makes this figure frightening and problematic in Nigeria’s case is that ours is a population that is unwieldy and largely unproductive due to the interplay of several factors - these are beyond the scope of this piece.

It is therefore for this reason that I believe that Nigeria currently has a demographic challenge. Well, saying that what we face now is a mere challenge is trivialising the issue. What we face in Nigeria is a demographic crisis! And it must be given adequate attention in order that it does not snowball into something more catastrophic. One is thus gladdened by the growing awareness that families should trim their sizes and have the number of children they can comfortably cater for. This call has recently been made by no less a person than the Governor of Ogun State, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, who advised that due to the economic recession in Nigeria couples should spend more time planning their families and cut the number where possible by adopting appropriate family planning measures. This is without discussion a very sensible view and one that makes a lot of common sense.

However, it is contended that this admonition alone is clearly not enough. It is thus submitted that irrespective of the existence of economic recession families must be properly planned. As such, the better view is that proactive steps must be taken by government at all levels but particularly the federal and state governments and other critical stakeholders to address what is turning out to be a very serious problem. This is because certain people and groups won’t budge unless they are compelled to so act. The government, for instance, must come up with deliberate birth control legislations and policies. Quite simply, the government must take steps to cut down the projected geometric rise in our population. Since it appears the people of the country are not perturbed by the trend even in the absence of concrete social safety nets; the traditional extended family arrangement is obviously inadequate. Other progressive countries have taken similar routes and they are better for it.

I have happened on discussions and arguments to the effect that cutting down on the population won’t do the trick. That it is akin to using a sledge hammer to kill a fly that is resting on a delicate spot. That it is extreme. These pundits posit that Nigeria is a ‘blessed’ country and rich enough to take care of her citizens provided there is employment and her ‘leaders’ don’t continue to dip their hands in the public till. Well, to be absolutely clear, Nigeria is not a rich country and has never been one. This is for the simple reason that our Gross National Income (GNI) per capita has always been amongst the lowest in the world. An illustration will drive home the point. As of December, 2015 Nigeria’s per capita income, depending on the source of the information, stood at about $2,548 whereas Norway and Saudi Arabia, two countries which like Nigeria are oil producing, have per capita incomes of $89,741 and $21,312, respectively.

On the issue of unemployment, it is very sad that there is precious little that can be done in the short to medium term to address this pressing issue - especially graduate unemployment. This is so because the easiest way to create jobs is through industrialisation and a thriving manufacturing sector. But as even the blind can see, little or nothing is being done to set the nation on the path of focused industrialisation. In any event, industrialisation takes time and visionary leadership. Unfortunately, visionary leadership is one commodity that is literally in short supply in this part. Furthermore, preventing Nigeria’s leadership class from stealing public funds, while this is ideal, can only go so far in helping the country take care of its citizens. For one, government revenue cannot be shared amongst the citizens. But most importantly, if public funds are not embezzled will that automatically translate into an improved standard of living for the populace? Sadly, I must answer this question in the negative. What is required to improve the welfare of the citizenry is two-fold: citizens who are highly enlightened and a visionary leadership - which as I have already alluded to, are obviously lacking in Nigeria.

It is therefore proposed that a family unit in Nigeria by law should be composed of a maximum number of five people for the next twenty years at least; subject to review thereafter. This figure includes both parents and children. This proposition is anchored solidly on close to a decade of research into population size and sustainable development especially in the ‘developing’ global south. One even wonders: what joy do people derive from having too many children in this modern world with all the attendant challenges! As I always say while joking with friends; in this contemporary era, when a couple is approaching the two children mark they should start engaging the procreation brake pedal. However, when they hit the third child the entire tyres of the procreation vehicle must be pulled off. This analogy may be somewhat funny but it underscores the need for couples to stay within reasonable limits of reproduction in order not to overburden themselves and those around them with unnecessary ‘baggage’.

Furthermore, where despite best efforts to the contrary people have unfortunately been put in the family way every legal and medical facility should be provided for these people to enable them take control of their lives. Once it is established that it is not in their best interests to go through all the natural stages required by such a development. Society must not in an attempt to enforce a shadowy, elusive morality, set the stage for more problems in the lives of our young people and families. If for nothing, this will go a long way to prevent the unnecessary and avoidable deaths occasioned by the patronage of quacks.

The foregoing is without doubt a very radical and aggressive proposition which will be opposed by many on religious, cultural and other grounds. But as the saying goes, desperate situations require desperate measures. Nigeria, population wise, is in desperate times. It is simply a catastrophe waiting to happen. Accordingly, desperate and unusual measures must be introduced at this time to save the situation. To oppose this very modest proposition is to expose the country to more and more chaos. Chaos expressed in the form of rising, audacious and very violent criminality, grave unemployment, crass illiteracy, grinding poverty and a deplorable standard of living.

Respectfully,
@ODNEsq.

Thank you: Seun and Lalasticlala

In the last couple of years, Nigerians have woken up to the realisation that a ‘new’ word has been introduced into their country’s official lexicon. That word, which is now very fashionable among the ruling political class, is: ‘amnesty’. Within the context of our own peculiar circumstances, the word represents a situation where the government whether at the federal or state level grants pardon to (suspected) criminals who took up arms against the state and her citizens and as result, these criminals can no longer be prosecuted for their (alleged) crimes. The words ‘suspected’ and ‘alleged’ are employed in this piece most reluctantly. This is because of the very simple reason that under normal circumstances, which Nigeria most times doesn’t fall within, an ‘innocent’ member of society should not accept amnesty for a crime that they never committed or participated in.

Amnesty, as used in this piece, gained certain notoriety sometime in the year 2009 when the Federal Government of Nigeria headed by Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (now late) decided to implement some of the recommendations of a committee on the ‘Niger Delta’ (whatever that means) set up earlier by the government to suggest ways to address the blatant criminality, or if you like militancy or ‘freedom fighting’, ravaging the region. The compelling need to set up the committee in the first place or even implement the recommendations was borne out of the desire of the government to continue to exploit the petro carbons in the area and have access to easy foreign exchange. But that is beside the point. The young people in the region, the story goes, took to arms due to the ‘marginalisation’ of their area expressed in the obvious lack of infrastructural development in the region which is believed to be the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs. And which, very poignantly, suffers the deleterious effects of petro carbon exploration and exploitation by multinational energy corporations.  It was therefore expedient that the oil and gas industry in the region be destabilised in order to correct the anomaly.

The amnesty offer by the Federal Government of Nigeria which was accepted by the militants, or agitators, as they preferred to be addressed (and for some after they were flown straight into the State House, Abuja on presidential jets), was not properly thought through. Or more appropriately, was not properly executed. While the committee included the offer of amnesty in its recommendations, it was one of the last things to come after justice must have been served on the community. However, because the government was more interested in having access to easy money, it implemented the recommendation that should have come at a later time at the beginning – which is akin to putting the cart in front of the horse. And so, genuine and fake militants and agitators came out to accept amnesty and also surrender their arms to the government. While all of these were ongoing, no one bothered to ask about justice for the community and very importantly, how these people came about these assault rifles when Nigeria obviously does not commercially produce weapons or if it did at all, not the types surrendered by the militants. The arms surrendered were, in any event, a far cry from what was on the streets at the time. Amnesty International at the time had published a report which suggested that more than nine million light weapons and small arms were illegally on the streets of the Niger Delta.

Anyways, for accepting the amnesty offer these militants and agitators were incorporated into a re-orientation programme and an official minimum monthly stipend of N65,000.00 was paid to them in a country where the minimum wage and the allowance for members of the National Youth Service Corps Scheme was less than N18,000.00 and N19,800.00 per month, respectively, at the time. In addition, some others who had academic promise and potential were sent to European, Asian and other African countries for academic programmes and short courses. For those who were discerning, it was only a matter of time for a new breed and perhaps more ruthless group to spring up and for disaster to happen. We are now living witnesses to the many armed groups that are claiming, in a cruelly ironic way, to be fighting for justice, including environmental justice, for the Niger Delta and its people by blowing up oil and gas installations that are in the region.

It is therefore with this background in mind that I consider the grant of amnesty to cultists in Rivers State by the Governor Nyesom Wike led administration a wrong approach to addressing the issue of criminality in the state – ditto for Benue and Imo States. And this has nothing to do with the raging legalese as to whether the governor can by law grant amnesty. To my mind, the grant of amnesty is in itself not a bad thing provided certain conditions are met. Governments the world over routinely do this in the interest of the generality of society. However, it is strongly suggested that our present circumstances do not favour it. From recent experiments, at least, the grant of amnesty has been shown to be counterproductive. To drive home this point, one is reminded of a recent event in Rivers State. Sometime in August 2016 the media in Rivers State was awash with news that a notorious criminal, popularly known as Igbudu, had accepted the offer of amnesty from the Rivers State Government. In a bizarre twist and most shockingly, a few days afterwards we were treated to the news that this same person and some members of his gang had been killed by the Rivers State Command of the Nigeria Police Force while attempting to rob a commercial bus plying the Ahoada section of the East-West Road.

At the heart of this treatise is the undisguised view that the grant of amnesty to criminals and cultists begs the issue. It is at best mere window dressing and at worst a curious denial of responsibility. It is a conspicuous failure of the government granting same to discharge its primary responsibility of keeping society reasonably safe by the appropriate deployment of the means of coercion. Quite frankly, we can’t continue to celebrate and reward blatant criminality – a type that is so mindless, senseless and depraved culminating in the decapitation of people for sheer fun. When discussing the grant of amnesty to criminals what most of the pundits fail to consider or deliberately gloss over is this:  where is justice for the community and indeed the incentive for the young people who have continued to toe the path of decorous living in spite of the very strong temptation to do otherwise!

The nagging question that begs for an answer meantime is: what is the alternative –   how can we address the case of rising, audacious, and very violent criminality in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria at large, going forward. In the long term, for us to have relative peace that will necessarily drive development, the state while working with relevant stakeholders must comprehensively address the following issues – which are in no particular order: an unwieldy and unproductive population; grinding poverty; grave unemployment; lack of prospects for our young people; easy access to hard drugs and cheap intoxicants and crass illiteracy. Except these issues, and perhaps some others which may have not been mentioned here, are attended to promptly we will continue to move in circles all the while remaining in the same spot.

 @ODNEsq.

Thanks: Lalasticlala

It goes without saying that quality, growth promoting and self-actualising education is, perhaps, the greatest gift any society can provide its citizens and indeed bequeath to its posterity. This is for the simple reason that: (a) a society that cannot devise a system that will give expression to the innate  potentials that continue to lie dormant in the citizenry is, to put it mildly, an unserious one which will continue to dodder for as long as that folly lasts; and (b) off course except for death or other serious, mind-impairing medical conditions, whatever information that has been deposited in the reflective reservoir of the human nature, cannot be stolen, destroyed or rendered redundant. This is especially when contrasted with the easily destructible but hugely expensive inanities for which public funds have been and continue to be expended i.e. pilgrimages, welfare of public officers and the likes.

Despite the deeply fundamental nature of and utility of education to the individual and society, the Nigerian society - society is employed here in the widest sense - has deliberately refused to place it in the front burner. The government, civil society as well as other stakeholders have for long been unconcerned about the destination, or lack of it, of Nigeria’s education at all levels (but in this article the focus is predominantly on tertiary education). And what is the repercussion of this for society? The answer to this question is not rocket science. It is simple, really. It is that our society is light years behind in nearly every respect of civilised living. In fact, it is a society that is not functional. If I may borrow the words of Karl Maier, ours is a society that ‘like so many…in Africa, is patently not...developing….It is [rapidly] underdeveloping’.

It is out of a desperate desire to force a systemic shift that this polemic has become an unavoidable necessity. We can least afford the beggarly, shameful and annoying reliance on ‘others’ for the provision of solutions to our problems. We cannot continue to wait on this ‘others’ for the lead when we have serious medical and other national and continental emergencies. Quite frankly, I think the time is up. The time has fast run out on us. We must therefore pause, take stock and do a turnaround and in that way, take our destinies into our own hands. I suggest that we can only achieve this by rejigging our education, by consciously positioning it to deliver value.

Someone might ask: why positioning instead of repositioning or something along that line? Well, it is the view here that there has never been a deliberate effort at ‘positioning’ in these parts before now. Repositioning or similar words will therefore not capture the essence of the precarious situation we are in. If I am to be honest, the education on offering has never delivered quality; it has never delivered emancipation and it has never delivered transformation. And the reason for this is quite straightforward. All along, over the decades, the focus of Nigeria’s educational policy has not consciously been to proffer sustainable, contemporary solutions to the myriad challenges bedevilling the country and other Black nations.  Which challenges have united to make the country, I dare say a whole continent, floundering, an item of ridicule and the subject matter of countless international seminars, roundtable discussions and global submits.

Rather, I will hazard that what the current system offers is an education that is uninspiring, limiting and that only gets us by. It is an education that does not afford us the benefit of competition in a stifling ‘global village’. We have now seen, well some of us at least, that the current arrangement is not good enough. This is because the global village is run by education that provides incentives for the unleashing of the vast potentials of the mind. That is to say, the maximisation of the innate, latent possibilities buried deep within the human reality. It is an education that facilitates creative and imaginative thinking. A kind of thinking that easily identifies and solves problems in a sustainable way.

The critical question now, the overwhelming concern really, is how we can position our educational institutions for optimum value delivery. No doubt, several persons and groups must have made representations in this regard. The far-reaching suggestions below are my own contribution to the body of opinion and literature on the subject. In some cases, they serve to amplify whatever suggestions have been made before now.

And so, it is forcefully suggested that there must be a total overhaul of our educational policies at all levels i.e. from the federal level to the local government level. Nigeria’s educational policy must be organic. It must first and foremost be tailored to address our immediate challenges. We can’t at this time still hold tenaciously to or be working with tools that have long become obsolete; with theories that have long been discarded by their original proponents for being irrelevant to contemporary issues and current circumstances. It is no use itemising here the countless topics and portions of our educational curricula that have now become redundant and of no value, relevance or consequence whatsoever. The relevant stakeholders must without any further delay get to work with reviewing Nigeria’s educational curricula in order to make it conform and be fit for purpose.

Education in Nigeria must be one that encourages reflective thinking and not the current ‘garbage in garbage out’ arrangement we have. A lot of people, particularly young people, have been made to believe as a function of the education received so far that ‘readers are leaders’. That is to say, they are more likely to participate in leadership if they give themselves to reading. I disagree. This statement is not entirely correct even though I agree to a large extent with the sense in it for the reason I shall come to shortly. I believe that society must do everything it can to encourage reading. This is because reading helps in no small way to hone and enhance the thinking skills of a devotee. I would wager that a society that does not read is a blind one. But that is as far as it gets. I suggest instead that society through the kind of education it offers it members must take the game a notch higher. It must as a matter of emergency do everything it can to ‘force’ its members to think and imaginatively too! Except people can think in this way, they cannot find solutions to their own most pressing challenges and even that of the larger society. A society that fails to do so will not only be blind, it will become deaf, dumb and completely useless. Any wonder we are in such dire straits?!

One area in our educational system, especially at the tertiary level, which must be addressed as soon as possible is the duration of the courses. Most courses on offer in our universities could be studied comprehensively for a year or two less than what is obtainable presently. It has been observed that students in our tertiary institutions are forced to study ‘foundational’ courses that have little or no relevance to their current course of study or to their career progression. In some institutions, students in their first year do not take any module within their field of study. Where they are so fortunate to so do, it does not go beyond just one. This unnecessarily drags out the period these students are supposed to stay in school. Aside the duration of these courses, it is widely believed that studying in a Nigerian tertiary educational institution carries with it an unknown variable. This is because lecturers of these institutions embark on strikes regularly while the administrators similarly suspend all academic activities with little or no notice on account of very bizarre policies and strategies which turn out to be counterproductive and as a result cause avoidable disruptions in the academic calendar of these institutions. Are we any surprised that no school in Nigeria or other typically Black nations rank among the best globally?

Closely connected with the above issue, is the many unnecessary examinations that prospective tertiary institutions’ students are forced to take. Originally, it used to be one. The examination conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). If anything, this examination became notorious for preventing students from gaining admission into institutions of their choice or studying courses they would really love to study. This was done, amongst other things, through the use of ‘supplementary forms’ which, for the most part, only served to enrich the examination body and the institutions. As if this was not bad enough, sometime in 2005, the Minister of Education – Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili – in the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidency in an attempt to address the issue of the falling standard of education in Nigeria introduced what is now known as ‘aptitude test’. As it is designed, a student after sitting for and getting the required cut off mark from JAMB examination is forced to apply to all the institutions they chose (which under current arrangement could be up to 5) in order to take the institution’s own admission test. For each application, the student is made to part with a reasonable sum as administrative fee.

It is submitted that all these cut and dry techniques will never produce any meaningful result. They are not known to produce results anyway. It did not solve the problem and it is not solving it since it was not properly conceived. Little wonder nothing has changed. Rather it is having the opposite effect. In fact, it is only making things difficult for our young people and compounding the woes of struggling families. As I have always said, I have not seen a people who take great interest and pride in making things difficult for themselves. If not so, how can a system run by human beings, properly so called, require prospective students, who in any case are financially challenged else they would have been overseas studying or in some private university with less stringent requirements, to register for JAMB examination and then also register with all the institutions they intend to study in for aptitude test at great expense? And no one should even raise the idea that if education is considered expensive, these young people should try ignorance. It is clearly not applicable here. In any event, functional knowledge is not expensive and should not be expensive because of the deleterious effect of ignorance and illiteracy in any society.

It is further contended that this current system encourages and entrenches corruption in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. In most cases, after taking these examinations students who are intelligent and have the disposition to contribute significantly to the university community and student experience are shut out because they don’t know any top ranking officer in the institution or simply because they are not indigenes. For those who have such surreptitious influence, they are asked to pay a certain amount of money to the top ranking officer and admission is guaranteed them without recourse to the academic capabilities of such students. This reminds me of an experience I had close to a decade ago. I visited a particular office in one of the public universities in Nigeria. While there, a prospective student walked into the office and informed the officer that he was sent by a particular uncle. Right in my presence, the officer in a matter of fact fashion told the young student that for Law, his first choice course, he will have to pay N100, 000 (one hundred thousand naira) and for Mass Communication, his second choice course, he will have to part with N60, 000 (sixty thousand naira) in order to gain admission as a result of the ‘competition’. Whatever ‘competition’ means within the context of that discussion only the officer knows. Unfortunately, this is the story all over the country save for a handful of private institutions which, in most cases, give admission to students who have to pay for it. What can a student who has to bribe his way into a tertiary institution offer that institution or the society?

Against the backdrop of the above, what in practical terms is the core function of JAMB since the institutions now organise their own matriculation examinations in the name of aptitude test? What is the essence of preserving JAMB? Well, I propose that aptitude test should be scrapped (as if they were reading my mind, while preparing to publish this work I was most delighted to hear that the Federal Government of Nigeria has scrapped the useless examination). I also suggest that JAMB should no longer conduct examinations. I propose, instead, that JAMB’s modus operandi be changed to run thus: accept higher education applications - consisting of a personal statement which will address: the choice of course and relevance to career progression, institution(s) chosen, and the skills necessary for success on the course; and all academic certificates/transcripts - from prospective students to at least five institutions as is currently done. These will in turn be forwarded to the different institutions by JAMB. The institutions will consider the applications and thereafter communicate their decision to JAMB which will relay same to the prospective students. JAMB, as an agent, must however work closely with all the institutions to see that a reasonable percentage of the prospective students gain admission in any given year. For this service, JAMB should charge a moderate administrative fee. The reason for this is to counteract the long term implication on both the student and society of having a lot of young people outside of the ‘system’ for an unreasonably long time. It is a less expensive but personal development enhancing alternative. This proposition is not from the moon. It used to be the practice before the creation of JAMB, albeit, with a slight twist. Most educationally advanced countries of the world use this method. A good example is the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) operational in the United Kingdom. Instructively, even Ghana has adopted something similar.

Governments at all levels and other stakeholders must invest massively in education in terms of staff remuneration and the facilities that aid learning. It is beyond scandalous that government has over the years refused to invest in education. The reason for this is unknown. However, one may suggest that it is not unconnected with a deliberate attempt to keep the masses perpetually in the darkness of ignorance and servitude. But this must stop! The times have changed. We cannot propose to go forward by doing things that are actually taking us backward. The government, especially, must set apart reasonable sums as research grants for our universities. Governments at all levels can no longer focus and expend their energy on irrelevancies to the detriment of the single most important ingredient needed for sustainable socio-economic transformation. Also, public spirited Nigerians and corporate citizens should derive great satisfaction and fulfilment in setting up trusts and creating professorial chairs for our educational institutions. This will in no small measure transform our academic community into a vibrant hub for the creation and delivery of targeted and sustainable solutions - solutions in renewable energy, construction and engineering, medicine, telecommunication, sciences, etc. that can be marketed by these institutions to drive revenue. By this approach, our tertiary institutions will be forced to take their focus away from the only way they know to boost revenue: increment in schools fees and the introduction of new, funny sounding charges which almost always leads to rioting by students.

And lastly, student must be encouraged to learn. Incentives must be provided for students that will encourage deep and imaginative thinking. Our bursary arrangement and student loan system must be revived. This will relieve students from the unnecessary stress associated with studying under enormous financial pressure. The time spent by the student thinking of how he can improve his situation while studying can then be invested in thinking of solutions to some of society’s challenges. It is contended that a financially stressed student cannot learn for even himself. How much more society?

In closing, it is submitted that all of the above will empower and position Nigeria’s tertiary institutions to focus more on value provision. That is to say, provide alternative, sustainable and cost effective solution to Nigeria’s and Black Africa’s perennial and most pressing challenges like easily preventable diseases, fuel scarcity and lack of electricity among others. It is more than disappointing that when ‘ordinary’ citizens are throwing up their hands in utter confusion and surrender, our tertiary educational institutions also seem confounded and cannot chart the way forward despite the fact that such places should primarily be places where solutions are created and propagated. Things have got to change, and in no time. Otherwise, we will continue to be at the mercy of ‘those’ who hold the key and are exerting their mental energy in order to continuously remain relevant.

 
Respectfully,
@ODNEsq

Has anyone from Rivers State in the cadet cadre done vetting or documentation?

Desdee101

Bro, please, do you have any idea what the medical requirements are? Do they carry out any blood tests? And if so, what are those?

Much appreciated.

Desdee101,

Please, do you have any idea whether most states have called for vetting? In my state everyone I've spoken to has not heard back from them after the interview.

I'm now thinking of calling the number that was used to invite me for the interview. Is that a good idea? Thanks.

Over the years, we have been inundated with thesis after thesis and prognosis after prognosis by members of the intelligentsia of the very many challenges facing Nigeria. Curiously, only a few of these pundits, if at all, have been able to articulately identify how we can pull ourselves back from the brink which they have forcefully argued that the country is currently positioned. To be clear, Nigeria has a lot of issues. This fact, some have posited, is visible to the blind and audible to even the deaf. This essay can’t exhaustively itemise those issues. In fact, I will wager that everything that has to be said or written about Nigeria have all been done and in very colourful ways. Those materials are not in short supply.

Not surprising then, these talk shows and discussions and the many master pieces on Nigeria’s myriad problems, even though beneficial in some respects, have never been known to solve any problem. And so, the question arises: how can we as a people, take our country from the current uninspiring situation it has been deliberately subjected to by decades of mindless living by all of its citizens but particularly the leadership class, and place it on the path of ‘change’, regeneration and mega achievement? At the core of that question is the deeply entrenched and widely recognised potential which continue to lie dormant in the belly of a country that could easily be counted amongst the very best globally; a country that could be the giant of Africa and also be a light for the whole of the Black Race - all of these depending only on the country getting its acts right!

In attempting to provide answers to the question of Nigeria’s rescue, some have argued that we should continue to seek the face of God. They advise that we should continually intercede for our country and her leaders. For this set of people, since it was God that brought us together, only He can help us surmount our most pressing challenges, if not all of them. Some others have posited that corruption is our greatest problem in Nigeria. They believe that if corruption can be seriously addressed, pronto, all of Nigeria’s issues will be resolved. Just like the wave of a magic wand! This view, which I am greatly persuaded by, is anchored on the fact that corruption in Nigeria, like cancer, has spread all over the country and is now eating up and undermining the very vital institutions and workings of the Nigerian State. And before long, there will be nothing left of it.

At the heart of the thesis of yet some others is the fact that the bane of our development is in the largely criminal and irresponsible leadership we have had the misfortune of having from independence till date. While this postulation may be valid in some other setting, under our present arrangement in Nigeria, it appears not to hold water. This is for the simple reason that the members of the leadership class in Nigeria are first and foremost Nigerians themselves. They are not brought in from outer space to pilot our affairs. They are an integral part of the failed ‘Nigerian system’ that makes a ‘black of white’ and ‘bad of good’. Put simply, leadership mirrors society. This, however, is in no way an excuse for the sustained misgovernance of Nigeria by those who have been very fortunate to find themselves at the helm of affairs.

There are other views worth highlighting. Meantime, though, the question that arises from all of these for me is: are these different postulations the way forward? My first and very sincere response will be in the negative. In as much as the different issues highlighted above have all in some ways affected and impeded our growth and development as a people and country, I will be very careful to attribute our sorry situation to them. In fact, I will hesitate to do so. The reason for this is simple: SOCIETIES AND NATIONS THE WORLD OVER ARE MAN-MADE. This is irrespective of whether they are great or small; or indeed whether they are successful or a massive failure. Essentially therefore, it is the human element that is the single most important ingredient required for nation building. It is what forms and moulds nations.

And so, if we must make a functional nation out of present Nigeria, the entire people of the country - Nigerians - must purpose in their hearts that they want their country to work. That is to say, they want responsible leadership and a country that thrives on the highest levels of ethical conduct rather than corrupt, retrogressive practices. They must determine by their actions and conduct that they desire a ‘change’ in the way their country is run; that the years of ‘business as usual’ are gone. They must wholeheartedly jettison meaningless sloganeering and grandstanding. Then and only then can we be said to have put ourselves on the path of ‘change’ and development. I dare say, on the path of mega achievement and positive global significance. Anything short of this will amount to playing the fool. The question, however, whether Nigerians are prepared for this level of sacrifice, based on present arrangement, is a discussion for another day.

Respectfully,
@ODNEsq

Many thanks: Lalasticlala

This is perhaps one very controversial statement most people will be hearing in such a direct way. The reasons for this are not far-fetched. From the formative stages of their lives, many people have been deliberately made to believe that it is very good to lead very modest lives - and this in itself is a worthwhile aspiration. The only downside, however, is that for majority of these people a modest living simply means getting some education and a nine to five job with just enough pay to take care of their individual, basic needs.

In fact, they have been made to believe, whether erroneously or not, that to be wealthy or to aspire to great wealth is evil. The background to this being that society views people who are wealthy as people who are greedy - people who deliberately take advantage of the poor and less privileged. And so, society indirectly frowns at anyone who attempts to take themselves out of a beggarly and lacklustre reality and onto a decent and settled living for themselves and those they cherish - a life devoid of the struggle and unhappiness that characterise everyday existence.

Another factor and I suggest an even more insidious one than earlier imagined, is the teaching of some religious leaders who believe they have been handed the licence to legislate on what should be the acceptable level of wealth that a person should have or aspire to. They go about this business by citing lots of scriptural passages, amongst other things, on how it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the ‘Kingdom’; they declare that a good name is better than riches; and the one that always keeps me wondering, that ‘money is the root of all evil’ but whose proper rendering is ‘the love of money is the root of all evil’.

Without attempting to do a theological analysis of the very many passages quoted by these pundits, it is the view in this polemic that the meaning derived from a clear and contextual understanding of those very wise sayings is a far cry from the meaning popularly ascribed to them. A very simple question will bring home this point: how possible is it that the love of money is the root of ALL evil? Does that make any logical sense? Can we seriously and honestly attribute all kinds of evils - the kinds pervading our society today - to just the love of money? My response and I guess that of most people will be in the negative. This is for the simple reason that evils associated with unbridled ambition, hate, anger, terrorism among others cannot simply be linked to the love of money.

But of more importance to this author is the proposition: why you should be wealthy, I mean, exceedingly wealthy. Different people will have varying reasons why anyone or they should be wealthy. It is no use, really, itemising those here. For present purposes, however, the single most important reason why you, and I am very serious about this, should have good, sustainable wealth is simple: if you, as a good man or a good woman, don’t go for it, invariably, an evil man or woman will go for it. That reality will be better imagined than experienced. The reason for this is very straightforward. Wealth as expressed in money - a good deal of it - is emotionless. It is neutral. It is the emotion or the identity that we give to it that it takes on and acts out. Accordingly, if an evil man has access to huge sums of money, he will primarily use it to further his evil motives. As a result, good men and women who have all along dissociated themselves from riches and society at large will pay dearly for it.

The long term effect of this therefore is that evil will continue to rise in our society. If what obtains in our society is replicated globally then it means that the global community will be at the perpetual mercy of these evil people. A good example to drive home this point is the case of the late Osama Bin Laden. It has been reported widely that at his death, Bin Laden was worth at least $50,000,000.00 (fifty million dollars). Considering the kind of person Bin laden was (a man who dedicated the later part of his life, perhaps all of it, to a campaign of terror) that was an outrageously huge sum of money in the wrong hands! It therefore behoves on all good men and women, good people everywhere to rise up, acquire relevant financial knowledge, work very hard and smart to acquire good wealth. The reason for this is, again, very simple: one cannot do good on a large scale without good wealth!


Respectfully,
Listic1; @ODNEsq

Thanks: Seun; Lalasticlala

DBounty:
Firstly,u ceated an impression not to b biased but ended up on a biased note.Anyway, my opinion is that NYSC shd b modified and not scrapped. Why? Because it has and will continue to achieve integration,interaction,and support. How? Thru language,marriage,culture,religion,etc understanding,acceptance and tolerance.Also, d billions spend and d time taken are are seriously needed to sustain and maintain d d hundreds of many half -baked graduates in d country.As for corruption in NYSC,it begins right from primary school-Teachers inclusive.
Thanks.

Please, how did I end on a biased note? I had to take a position one way or another. I couldn't have possibly concluded the article in an open ended way.

Rationalmind: Please, is it common practice to use a personal letterhead to write a cover letter? Thanks.

Biodun37:
The fact that people like you only reason along this line the moment your man GEJ lost re-election bid shows sentiment towards ethnic line. Anyway, I'm not surprised since Bh uprising also gain momentum after the failed bid to return power back to the north, but I know Biafra will not succeed just as Bh.

However, I'm not really bothered about possibility of breaking this present amalgamation as the suffering will only be temporary for all the new nations (including the agitators) if the leaders are focused on economic development (orun n yaabo ni, ko yo enikan sile meaning 'if heaven falls, no one will escape its wrath).

I'm for one Nigeria, none of these mushroom countries even in Europe has really made meaningful impact on the life of people who actually fourth for it as they only created more wealthy, rich and affuence families in the midst of suffering people.

Igbo youth, be wise!!!

This has always been my view about Nigeria. The piece you just read has very little or nothing to do with the politics of who occupies which national office. Very importantly, if we don't do anything about the issues raised, even the current PMB's government can only DO SO MUCH! You see, the most pressing challenge Nigeria has is a foundational one. I believe you know the right step to be taken when it is discovered that a building has a foundational/structural problem!

Major towns and cities across the ‘South-East’ and ‘South-South’ have been nearly overwhelmed by days of unprecedented protests organised by members of the group that goes by the name, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Following these protests and very importantly, the level of mobilisation that has been recorded, one has been forced to revisit the issue of Nigeria’s unity and the question of self-determination by different sections and interests within the blighted Federation.

If the reports in the media are anything to go by, these demonstrations have been organised and have continued to gather momentum due to the arrest and continued detention of the Leader of the IPOB who also doubles as the Director of Radio Biafra - a man by the name: Nnamdi Kanu. Mr Kanu was arrested sometime in October by men of the Department of State Services (Nigeria’s Secret Police) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on his arrival in Nigeria and has since then been in detention in spite of the fact that, again according to reports, a court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, has ordered his release and all conditions have been met. What is it with Mr. Kanu, one might ask? Simply put, he wants his people, the Igbos (majorly) and the other smaller, ‘minority’ ethnic groups around the Middle Belt and the River Niger Delta, out of the Nigerian Federation.

It is, perhaps, unarguable that the Igbos, who have always been the predominant group in the ‘Biafra’ struggle, believe more in the Nigerian enterprise. The reason for this is very straightforward: there is perhaps no community in Nigeria that you won’t find an Igbo man doing what he has to do for sustenance. In fact, it has been said that if you visit a community in any part of Nigeria and you don’t find a person of Igbo extraction there, you should leave such a place without any hesitations because it is not safe for habitation by a visitor. That is how far the Igbo man has gone in an attempt to integrate himself in Nigeria. With this amount of sacrifice, one can’t help but wonder why this same people are the easy target in times of religious, ethnic and political conflicts in some parts of the country. In addition, why are they the ones who suffer the greatest injustice within the framework of the Nigerian skewed arrangement?

It is this sentiment - a feeling of great injustice and marginalisation which has characterised the Nigerian existence - that has continuously made agitations for secession by different groups over the decades an enticing and irresistible temptation. The reason for this growing call for secession is not farfetched. The Nigerian Nation, unlike the ostrich, has for a while buried its head in the mud, in the grand deception that all is well. That the country, as they are wont to say, is ‘moving forward’. The Nigerian Federation has for so long criminally refused to organise any dialogue that will conclusively ascribe a meaning to what has been termed ‘a mere geographical expression’ or to craft an ethos that will be befitting for a country that is deserving of its name.

As I have always postulated, any country that is afraid to ask itself certain questions like: the management and allocation of resources, the just and commensurate reward for those who contribute the most ingredients in the preparation of the ‘National Cake’ and most importantly, the benefit or utility of a united and continued existence, is really living a lie and does not want to make any progress. The countries that are recording giant strides in terms of their contribution to humanity today are those which continually discuss the quantum and relevance of their individual efforts to the whole. A good example that quickly comes to mind in this connection is the United Kingdom. In the last quarter of 2014, the Government of the United Kingdom made real a 2012 promise to conduct a referendum for the people of Scotland to test the point I have been trying to pass across all along: whether they will be better off going it alone! As it turned out, the vast majority of the Scottish people were swayed by the superior argument: they wanted in. For them, it was better to remain in a ‘united’ United Kingdom.

And so I ask, what is Nigeria afraid of? No! What are those people who think they have invested so much in the Nigerian project afraid of? Every now and again I ask myself: what is really sacred about the unity of Nigeria that it cannot form the subject of focused national discourse? It beggars belief, really, that those who champion the inviolability of the Nigerian State have deliberately shied away from putting forward any coherent thesis that showcases the superiority of their argument and the strength of their position. If they truly believe in the mantra of ‘one Nigeria’ or in that sham phrase ‘we the people’ why can’t they subject it to an objective test by, for instance, conducting a referendum or a sovereign national conference?

The evident truth that cannot be wished away is that: without justice and equity, there cannot be peace! In fact, all we have been through and we will see subsequently (of course these issues will continue to crop up) that threaten the very essence of this nation have been the natural consequences of the fact that we have a very faulty foundation. Only a frank discussion of the basis of our unity, which the agitation for Biafra and other similar movements are invitations to, can help redirect the course of the ship of this nation and then place it on the path of self-realisation and meaningful existence!

Respectfully,
@ODNEsq


Cc: Seun; Lalasticlala. Many thanks.

einsteino:
Oops I am not much of a twitter buddy. As I am of the view that people only go there to waste their time following celebs who don't care about them.

are you "ODNEsq" ?

It is ok and I agree with you substantially on the Twitter thing. Yes, I am ODNEsq. The first three letters are my initials and the last three is the abbreviation of my professional appellation.

flokii:
@OP I swear nysc fuckup if dem no nominate you for presidential award..

see as you analyze am in-to-to.. with decree/acts sote I no fit read am finish sef
omo you too much...

buh av you considered d number of people that'll lose their jobs as per federal cake

Lolz at nomination for Presidential Award. Thank you. Your concern regarding job loss is legitimate. However, like I said in the article everything will balance out in the long run. Even if it doesn't, the effect will be minimal.

einsteino:
Wow he writes so well. Though it was lengthy but I couldnt notice because I enjoyed reading it. Who is this guy?

Thank you very much. Please, follow @ODNEsq on Twitter to find out more. I have a few write ups on Nairaland and some more are on the way.