₦airaland Forum

Okobaba/Agbowa Re-Development

"Renewal of Okobaba Area into a Modern City in collaboration with the Government of Lagos State which will be in harmony with a Proposed plan to build and re-develop failed and non-existing social and commercial infrastructure facilities on a concession bases"

Rendering



Name: Okobaba/Agbowa Re-Dvelopment
City: Lagos
Use: Masterplan
Status: Preparation

Lagos intensifies efforts on master plans

Monday, 20 April 2009


The Lagos State Government has set in motion necessary steps aimed enhancing the preparation of master plans and development guides with a view fast-tracking the development of the state.
State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Bolaji Abosede, who disclosed this at a recent event to commemorate the second anniversary of Fashola administration in the state, noted that preliminary survey works have commenced on both the Badagry and the Lagos Mainland Central Master Plan projects, for which contracts have already been awarded.

Abosede also said that field works on the Ikorodu Master Plan have been concluded, while the preliminary report was ready for review.

Other projects already approved, he noted, include the Ikeja Model City Plan, which was recently presented to stakeholders, with the final report expected to be ready soon; and the Alimosho Model City Plan, which is currently awaiting the consideration of the state Consultancy Board.

The Commissioner said that the planned relocation of the Oko Baba Sawmill is on course, with the Agbowa site approved for the resettlement of its operators already cleared for sand filling and redevelopment with a Memorandum of Understanding already agreed with developers under the Public-Private Partnership model.

Abosede said work was progressing on the redevelopment of Tejuosho Market, with the construction of the basement floor and DPC level, as well as the Oyingbo Market which is currently at the sub-structure level, while the development of the Oluwole Market had commenced with the resettlement of the residents, where actual construction had reached the third floor level.

He further disclosed that the site of the Ikorodu Regional Foodstuffs Market is being prepared for possession under a PPP arrangement. It will host market men and women who would be moved from the Mile 12 Market, on completion. He added that the site for the proposed Ikeja Shopping Plaza has already been cleared with actual development set to commence soon.

The commissioner noted that work is on-going on the ECOWAS Wholesale Market, Badagry; and the relocation of auto parts dealers to Mowe and the Computer Village from Ikeja to Oke Odo in Alimosho.

Abosede highlighted the successful demolition of the partially collapsed Bank of Industry building on Broad Street with the site being currently cleared, while the design of the development proposal for the area around the site was ongoing.

He noted that his ministry is also establishing the alignment of Right of Way of the10-lane Badagry Expressway to incorporate the light rail corridor; the Lekki-Epe Expressway and coastal road; Yaba-Oyingbo Way, and was taking inventory of properties within the alignments.

Obj is still the best so far until a better president will come and beat him then we will know the best then. obj remain d best.Yara dua whatever you call that sleeping goat he has never done one percent in this country we are still waiting.He have two years left for him.

I believe Virgin is Worse than a Prostitute.No doubt about it. I cant say but that what I believe.

We need Niger delta Island republic. Which will Include Delta state,Beyelsa,Port Harcourt,calabar & cross river. Just five abeg.We don't need more again. We can dash Asaba to Anambra for free. We need Niger Delta Island rep.


Let stand for our right because Nigerians are afraid to stand for their right it is better we divided.

I cant adopt.I need to think about it becos my head is full. Thanks for your Advice.

During the days If you get what i means.The Doctor has confirm it she cant have babies anymore.I am a traditional man in Nigeria and I need a child but i love this girl so much and she is even young and a wife material every man could love to have as a wife.she don't lie she open up to me.I don't know what to do.I love to see my kids and playing with them.but problem with my future wife.

She is pretty and a Wife Material but she confess that she cant have babies.I love her so much I don't know what to do.Please does Marriage work without babies?

I thought this Thread it suppose to be Ugly Britain. We all know Nigeria have slum.I still don't get the point of some bastard here.I always say it and I will continue to say it. Most Nigerians in the UK has be affected and they don't know where they came from.I already new it from the beginning problem like this will come up.Nigerians in the UK lost some sense. they forgot where they came from.don't worry keep sitting in UK.I promise you they will deport you to Somalia very soon.

If No.Why are Nigerians Mentality That Every body want to build a house on his own.Buy his own cars.I find it selfish because that is the most of the reason why Nigerians commit crime and blame the Govt for it.Everyone want to build house and buy car.everyone want the Country to change like America in a mins.You are the cause to the problem in Nigeria.Must everyone in Nigeria depend on the Govt? Why cant we do Genuine Business than committing crime.

Olusengun Obansanjo

Please help.Do Every American citizen own a House? I will like to know if Every America citizen own a House.

The problem with you Nigerian I want to be rich in one day.There are work in Nigeria.I find my job in Nigeria before i was transfer  to Ghana. There are job in Nigeria.Cleaning of road is a Job.All Nigerians has already left the farm.We all think of Big things. Must you always depend on the oil or must you always depend on Federal Government.You keep complain Nigeria is this and that. There are million of Ghanaian who don't have job here but they keep hustling to survive. We Nigeria want a Easy life like America and the Western World.It cant possible if we cant work it here in Nigeria.I don't blame the Government on other hand but I blame them on the other hand.Nigeria want Quick money.Chinedu don buy hummer Jeep.Me I never buy. that is Nigerians Mentality.There are a lot of Job in Nigeria to do if you are not Educated.My brother running away wont solve the problem.Nigeria Mentality are difficult to Understand if someone can studying it very well you will understand.There are million of Nigeria who has money but they all depend on Government to create the roads and make Nigeria beautiful in one day. for me the blame don't go to Nigeria herself but for the peoples who call themselves Nigerians.

Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) yesterday assured the people of the state that his administration is making steady progress in all its on-going projects which it has been closely monitoring.

Governor Fashola who stated this while addressing newsmen at the end of his tour of on –going projects in Ikeja, Agege and Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Areas of the state said he was happy to confirm from his personal visits that work at most of the project sites have reached 90 percent mark.

He said: "I am happy to note that a lot of progress has been made from the last time I was here and what is seen now is beyond the 90 percent mark. We are in the final stages of the process. There is no need to revoke any contract at this stage.

"Progress is being made and this is how we keep a check on contractors to ensure that people get value for their money and that tax payers get the benefit for their taxes. As you saw on the Alakuko road where the contractor has just moved to site about four weeks ago and he has promised that by September when the drains have been concluded, he should be ready to deliver the road.

"Seriously there has been appreciable progress from most of the work we have gone to see. From the Magistrate Courts in Ogba, we went to the Stadium in Agege and from the Stadium in Agege we went to a few roads. We went to the old Otta road, the Ekoro road and we are here to see the work going on in the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) complex. The students’ hostel is what we have come to look at and also the block for the Clinical Sciences which were at some stages of development when we came here to hand over the BT Pediatric and Diagnostic Centre.

"As for the road works also, from the last time I went to Ekoro, we have seen much more progress. The same progress has been made from the last time I went to Old Otta road. I have also observed that the Magistrate Courts in Ogba was just coming out of the ground when we went there in September last year, but has hit the roof level now".

Asked why the 700 days in office of the administration was not being celebrated in the conventional sense but with work, Governor Fashola said the task ahead demanded so. "We are not celebrating 700 days, we are not celebrating anything, there is a lot of work to be done and we use this opportunity to once again give feedback to Lagosians about what is going on in their areas and in areas where they don’t normally traverse as a matter of daily travel and to also know that something is going on in other parts of the state."

"We don’t just sit down waiting for cold paper work that the contractor has finished his work. We stay with the contractor all through the stages. We know that some of them may encounter problems so it also enables us to assist them to solve problems that they have."

The contractor that had problems with pipelines has overcome them and more progress is being made now but we have moved on beyond that".

While wishing all Nigerian workers a very happy workers day in advance, Fashola said the Lagos State will continue to do a lot more than it is doing now in order to keep the economy going.

He sasid the present administration has put its money where its mouth is by ensuring that it keeps people at work as the several construction companies working all over the state are employing people.

In his words: "Two days ago when I went round to Tejuosho, Oyingbo and all that, I took very clear statistics and that day alone at four sites that I visited there were two thousand people employed by four different companies. Today, I have taken a statistics at some sites. Some had fifty people at work, some had a hundred people, here (LASUCOM) we have I think almost a hundred people".

In what could be the first of its kind since the menace of kidnapping in Nigeria, a 23-year-old university undergraduate has been killed two weeks after her kidnap and despite the fact that the father had reportedly paid a N10 million ransom for her freedom.
Sources told THISDAY that Miss Aniefon Anidi-Abasi, daughter of Abak Council Chairman of Akwa Ibom State, Anidi Abasi, was killed last Tuesday and the dead body dumped in the morning at Ikot Okoro road near the gates of the State College of Agriculture, Obio Akpa in Oruk-Anam Local Government Area.
Within the period the girl, also a student of the State College of Agriculture, was held captive by her abductors, the father had opened discussion with the kidnappers. They were said to have demanded N10 million as ransom.
Out of the N10 million demanded by the hoodlums, sources said the council boss rushed to pay N5 million for the life of her first daughter to be spared, but the militants insisted that the additional N5 million should be paid, a demand which was also met.
Although the cause for the killing of the girl could not be ascertained, it was believed that the girl might have recognised some of the people involved in the act.
Other sources said the cruel killing of the girl might not be unconnected with the volatile political situation of the local government where some stakeholders were not comfortable with the style of administration of the council boss.
The State Police Command described the killing as “very shocking and pathetic”, asking what a 23-year-old girl could have done to attract such punishment from the hand of the kidnappers.
The new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Walter Joseph Rugbere, expressed shock at the dastardly act, saying his mission in the state is to flush out hoodlums, kidnappers, armed robbers and other criminals.
Rugbere, who assumed duties in the state last week, said he would use the next few weeks to study the geography and people of the state before swinging into full action with visits to stakeholders in the state.
Also speaking on the issue, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr. Oki, expressed optimism that before the end of work yesterday, the Command would record a breakthrough in its investigations and those involved would be arrested.
The Police, he said, had spread their drag net across the state based on the theories surrounding the girl’s death, adding they would not leave any stone unturned in tracking those behind the killing.
He said: “We are working on three theories which for security reasons I will not like to disclose. We have spread our dragnet everywhere and before the end of today (yesterday) we will make some arrests.”


http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=142192

Former Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade is widely known as a through-bred soldier with unflinching support for democratic government. Many Nigerians will not forget in a hurry his roles in the hey days of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) when pro-democracy activists fought for the revalidation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late Chief MKO Abiola but annulled by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida. Akinrinade's his efforts, within the pro-democracy movement to promote the re-structuring of Nigeria through the convocation of a national conference where Nigerians will sit down and discuss how to live together, are also well documented. In this interview, he warns against misuse of soldiers for electoral process, how Nigeria can become a nation and why the burden of conducting free and fair election rests on President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

Akinrinade's interview came against confusing signals from the government over the controversial issue of deployment of soldiers to Ekiti to maintain law and order during the re-run governorship election in 10 local councils of the state today. For, although presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniniyi said earlier in the week that President Yar'Adua would not order soldiers to Ekiti, media reports yesterday indicated that soldiers were, indeed, sighted in parts of Ekiti, as stakeholders put finishing touches to their preparations for today's polls in the state they call 'The Fountain of Knowledge'.

Assuming you meet the President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, as a former Army chief, would you advise him not to deploy soldiers for the Ekiti rerun election?

I will ask him to make a categorical and strong statement about what he wants as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I would want him to say that he wants a clean election, starting with Ekiti, as small as it is.

He is the President of the country, not a party. I am sure he wants Nigeria to be respected everywhere in the world. They are talking of re-branding Nigeria; let it start with Ekiti. What are you re-branding if in one small way you cannot make a big difference?

That will tell us that in the future, this is a President that would not stand by while people mess around. He can do that. He doesn't need soldiers to do so. He may not even need too many police personnel, if he makes a categorical statement to that effect.

Ask yourself, who are those doing things? They are the politicians. He is a politician, so he can and should call them to order, rather than bringing in our soldiers, only to soil them. We (soldiers) had had a bad name before, which we are now trying to repair. I am happy to see their leaders trying to put things in order. And then suddenly, some people are trying to expose them again to Nigerians for abuse. I don't think it is good for us.

In Dafur, Sudan, everybody is commending our activities, as has been done elsewhere before now. So, why at home should somebody, just because he wants to become a commissioner whatever, involve us in elections?

We had done that in a small way before in the 1979 election, first to make sure that the people were able to vote without being molested and then to check political thugs from thwarting the electoral process.

I think the difference, from what I have read in the newspapers, is the way our elected leaders are talking about it. It is either they are being misquoted or they don't have any idea when the military should be involved in the electoral process.

The military can only be involved to protect the populace and above all, in times of aggression. That is the main purpose of the military. Everything else is discretionary, such as trying to keep peace within the country, which should not be so if the police were efficient and properly trained and equipped to do their job.

Let our politicians wake up and know that all of us own this country and that we are not moving forward until the people are allowed to choose those to given them, which can only be possible in free and fair elections.

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua himself admitted being a beneficiary of a flawed and very bad election and I thought the Justice Muhammadu Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) was an opportunity for him to remedy the situation, as a leader.

But what we are hearing is the bastardisation of the ERC report. It would appear that the President does not see it as something that is a challenge to him and so didn't take it very seriously. Hence he sent it to some small committee of his cabinet to consider first, which decided to mutilate and manipulate it for their own interest. That is a tragedy for the country.

As for the Ekiti rerun, it is a litmus test for the President. This is all about leadership. If the President says he wants a clean election and tells the electoral body and the parties involved so, they would do things aright.

The so-called re-branding of Nigeria should start with that. If he deems it necessary, based on security reports, he can order the deployment of more police personnel to the state for the election to keep peace, not to influence or intimidate people. There is still time and I hope the President would show leadership by coming out clear to say that he wants a clean election in Ekiti.

Once that is done, I know that we have a very good army that can hold its own anywhere in the world, like it has been doing in peacekeeping operations abroad; there is no reason why we would not be able to help our own people.

The average army officer today is a graduate and I don't think they would just line up to be used by the politicians for the purpose of rigging an election. They played commendable roles in Ondo, for example, during the last election for which they were commended by the election tribunal.

I am sure the army will keep that reputation. I trust the army leadership to do the right thing. I am sure the President is not going to give the order for his army to go to Ekiti and start molesting people and making sure that somebody wins the election.

I doubt whether he would do that, and even if he does, this army that I know, especially with the new leadership is not likely to go and soil their reputation.

Don't forget that the army was the biggest loser in what has been happening in Nigeria in the past 20 years. It got destroyed by its involvement in politics and government. It is only when the civilians are manning the government that soldiers have the opportunity to re-organise themselves and really sit back and start improving themselves and their institutions. Right now, there is relative peace in our barracks.

Our schools are improving. The Command and Staff College, Jaji, the Staff College and War College are doing well and can hold their own in the world.

How is it going to look for the Chief of Defence Staff or Chief of Army staff to be brought or involved in election rigging? I don't think the Army wants to be involved in that kind of thing.

Soldiers have been reportedly involved in cases of molestation of civilians. What do you say to that?

The army for instance, has over 100,000 personnel in its fold. There must be some bad eggs in the armed forces that would bring the various arms into disrepute. There must be people who woke up on the wrong side of the bed one morning and forgot about discipline and went on to molest some civilians along the line.

It is for such reasons that we have an Army Act and other statutes, which deal with such issues, like the Court Marshall, which does not give too many niceties to an erring officer in doing justice, because the Army does not like their people disgracing themselves or terrorising people.

If we didn't hear what really happened eventually to erring officers, it is mainly because we didn't care to find out. The military will not sweep such cases under the carpet.

The Nigerian military officers seem to have accumulated so much wealth and influence in the country's politics over the years?

One of my own respected colleagues recently admitted that they tried very hard to mobilise people and resources to get General Olusegun Obasanjo elected in 1999 and 2003. But that was for Gen. Obasanjo. I am not sure that there were other instances of such nature. They were focusing on leadership; somebody that had done it before and maybe would do much better this time around. I think they miscalculated in that case.

I don't think the retired officers are that comfortable, so powerful and rich as to dictate where the politics of the country will go. Yes, they were involved in it many years ago and were in it for a very long time. But if they were politicians, there were very few and their influence has been declining and not pervasive right now.

In 1979, the military just wanted to show that they were in support of the process, after many years of military rule. They wanted it to go well and didn't want anybody to disrupt it. But we didn't go to the polling stations; we just did what we call 'flag-march,' just to show that we were around and in support of the process and wanted it to work. It wasn't like we are hearing now that some people are saying they want to deploy soldiers to Ekiti to ensure the victory of a candidate.

I can assure you that the military that I know will not accept that.

After eight years of democracy, we are still talking of how to ensure credible election. How can we get out of this situation and what is your take on calls for the President to sack the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu?

Whatever we do, whether we like certain things or not, we have to bend over backwards and play within the rules and regulations and laws. If Iwu has a tenure, unless there are ways by which we can abrogate that tenure, I don't it is right for the President to just wake up one morning and remove him. I don't even think he has the power to, but even if he does, we must be very careful how, in our anger, we take some decisions.

The President admitted the flaws in the election that brought him to office, therefore, he must bend over backward also to do something to make sure it doesn't happen again.

The Ekiti rerun is a very small election and it is easy to police; it would be very easy to find out what happened and if the election was rigged. If I were him, I will want to prove that it is possible to have clean election in this country. It will be very easy to have a clean election in Ekiti (today) if he desires it to be so, as we had in 1993, even though the military at that time decided to annul it.

But there is a major problem that we are not talking so much about today, which people have not been bold enough to sit down to discuss. That is the question of how our country is to be organised for governance and development. This is very important.

That is why I believe we are still telling ourselves very proudly that our yesterday was better than our today. I know that a lot of people are running to and around in Abuja now trying to have new states created. When we had just three or four regions, we did much better. Later on, we had 36 states and now some people probably want to make it 72. It is a waste of time; we are just addressing the wrong issues.

The real issue to address, I strongly believe, is our constitution. The one we have now, whether people like it or not, is one which the Nigerian people do not respect. For me, it is such a large document that its size alone tells that we are not a country. If we are a country, we don't need such a big constitution. I am not a lawyer, but I also know that the moment you decide that every relationship we should have must be documented and according to certain ways, you stifle debate and people's thinking and your constitution becomes an albatross on your neck. And that is what we have today. I don't think it can get us anywhere until we address the issue.

My belief is that when the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha died, they should have put it in his pocket and buried it with him and let the people sit down together and decide whether they want to live together.

I don't believe in its review; review what? I think it is a waste of time trying to review or amend it. What are you reviewing a basic document that started on the wrong premise for? It does not need and is not amendable to review.

Our culture and values system are being gradually eroded. As an elder, how do we get back to the past?

When you want to enslave a people, the first thing you do is to remove their language, culture and tradition and convince them that yours is superior to theirs. Every nationality in Nigeria has suffered it. We don't have the same culture, tradition and language in this country; we only work towards justice, fairness and telling the truth all the time and all that. No country in the world that had developed in any area of human endeavour did so using other people's languages. That was where we started to go wrong.

I agree that we can and indeed are doing something about it, as many of us are working very hard to revive our languages, culture and traditions and learn from others.

What is your opinion on the state of affairs of Afenifere?

Afenifere has a history of being synonymous with the politics of the left, as almost all the Yoruba are leftist. But Afenifere is not going to do anything about culture, language and traditions beyond having policies that we can use to further these issues.

There are other organisations that are also working in these directions, without playing politics.

Apart from having a new constitution for ourselves, I think what we can do is to impose good values on ourselves and our children, so that when we have an election, we can know exactly what people are talking about.

What we had in 2003, I don't think was an election. The President has said that the 2007 election was flawed, so who is representing who now at the various levels? You can only represent people that want you to represent them.

We have not started politics in Nigeria; what is happening now is that everybody is trying to rake in as much as possible into their own pockets. When we start real politics, then people will come out with manifestos and try to convince us, the electorate, about what we have to vote for and leave us to vote according to our conscience and they will count these votes.

We have not reached that stage yet. We were there before, but later abandoned it. At a certain point, some leaders would emerge and make up their mind to take us out of this situation.

What is your take on the Halliburton scandal involving some prominent Nigerians?

When you look at the period covered by the Halliburton scandal, you would agree that there must be other 'Halliburtons.' And when you look into the insinuations, I call them so because I don't know whether they have the documents or facts yet, the names being mentioned are not small. Which President is going to go after them?

I don't think the government is willing to go the whole hug. It is not a question of buying time.

What is your assessment of the Governor Babatunde Fashola administration in Lagos?

Let me just simply say that Fashola makes me proud. I have known him as Chief of Staff to former governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; he has always been a selfless worker.

Then when he became governor, I think he just put together all the plans he had been making and continued his selfless service to the people of the state. I think he deserves the credit for his strides in Lagos.

What do you make of electoral reforms?

I am unhappy that people of the calibre of Uwais could sit down and produce a document that is out of place. It is out of place to me, because having a good electoral system does not translate to good government. This is because we do not have a good constitution that would allow us to institute good governance.

So let us start from the beginning by discarding the present constitution and fashioning out another one that would be acceptable to majority of Nigerians and would take care of our structural problems. We have to first sit down and decide whether we want to continue to live together as one country or not.

If the answer is yes, we can then have a constitution. It must not be as big as what we have now. It is in an attempt to cheat one another that we ended up with a constitution that is too big for even the whole world.

So we have to do re-structuring. It is then that we can begin to talk of electoral reforms.

Ade-Ajayi At 80

'Let's Rebuild Our Middle Class And Stop Blaming Colonialism, Neo-colonialism For Our Underdevelopment'
By Anote Ajeluorou

As a great Pan-Africanist, what were the core values that will spur the development of African nations?

Well, it's often said that instead of nationalism being the lead of the movement for establishing Nigerians as rulers in their country, we should look for Pan-Africanism; that the Pan-African movement was the core of nationalism of Nigeria. And if you ask what distinguishes Nigerians from, say, Ghanaians, you'll find that you're both motivated by Pan-Africanism.

Have these values survived till date, in your view?

I think so. They are there. Nigeria often says that Africa was its foreign policy, for example and, therefore, the yardstick for measuring the nationalism was cooperation, with other nations within the African union.

But then, most part of Africa is still largely under-developed. Is it because of wrong application of Pan-Africanism or it's misinterpretation?

Well, we have not consistently pursued pan-Africanism as the measure of our nationalism. We have often said that Africa is the centre of our foreign policy but we don't seem to work hand in hand with the French-speaking, the Portuguese-speaking nations in Africa. We know more about the English-speaking nations. And this has been a factor.

Most people, including the intellectual community, still blame colonialism or neo-colonialism for Africa's woes even after decades of independence.

Is this justified?

In the comity of nations, it's not a matter of blaming colonialism or neo-colonialism for the under-development of Africa. The former colonial masters used their African subjects as they liked, as they could; but there's nothing to gain by continuing to blame Britain or France for the under-development of African nations. The Europeans took whatever they could; it was a good thing they took our petroleum for export. Before then they took our Cocoa, our Palm oil, groundnut and so on. They fixed the export price. They took our labour and used it as they liked. I don't think that we're going to gain anything by blaming France or Portugal for our under-development.

What about the role the middle class ought to have played in turning the fortunes of our continent around?

There have been policies, for example, Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which was targeted against the middle class; they protested and yet the colonial powers subjected us to the control of the United Nations, which projected the programme at the middle class. And this made it difficult for the middle class to really play the role it was supposed to play.

It's over a decade now from the SAP era. Can't they shake off the yoke of that programme and reinvent themselves?

I don't think you understand the operations of SAP. Even up to Abacha's time, we were still getting SAP- modulated policies as the prime factor in our foreign policy. Our internal economic relationship was based upon SAP. That's how many years ago? So, I don't think we can just dismiss it and say SAP was meant for a particular period.

But how can we reinvent ourselves and move on?

To reinvent ourselves, which we have been trying to do, we have to do away with corruption. We have to re-energise nationalism. You don't find us preaching nationalism except on the football pitch when we're supporting Nigeria. But on economic front, economic basis of nation-building, we have not supported the core factor.

History and culture tend to go hand in hand. How can we use the two as tools for national development?

The greatest obstacle to our going back to pre-colonial structures and cultures is that our culture, especially Nigeria, is composed of so many diverse ethnic groups and cultures. If the government wanted to start projecting our future in terms of the cultures, the cultures will then become factors of division.

Division? How so?

You'll find the Yoruba culture, the Igbo culture, the Hausa culture and the others are not compatible. This is our limitation. For example, there's a Yoruba group that says that we should not call ourselves Yoruba but that we should call ourselves Omo-Oluwabi; that it suits the Yoruba people better. If We started spending time on that kind of argument, you'll find that you'll be opposed by the Igbo and the Hausa and so on. So we have to agree that our multi-ethnicity has placed a major obstacle on the extent to which we can use our pre-colonial culture as a basis of our post colonial civilisation.

What about what we remember of that culture, can't it serve us just as well without worrying about its pre-colonial status?

Yes, but the Yoruba culture, for example, you'll be amazed at the extent which people mix Yoruba with English in normal speech. They are not speaking Yoruba in the National Assembly or even in the state Houses of Assembly. Therefore, the possibility of basing our post-colonial policies on this pre-colonial culture is limited.

But even in Western thought system right now, there's talk about indigenous knowledge and cultural expressions as tools of development. Isn't there a way for us in these directions?

You might say that there is a way. Even a place like Britain that has a long period of managing basically three different ethnic groups - English, Scot and Welsh - they come up against the problem and still talk about united tribes of England. I don't think that it will be easy for a country like Nigeria to say let us go back to the pre-colonial cultures and use whatever is left of it for development.

As a school administrator of repute, what can be done to reverse the falling standard of education?

I am very concerned that the standard of education has fallen from what it was in the colonial days to what it is now. The factors responsible for this are so complex and difficult to grasp. For example, many parents take their children to go and lobby for cheating. They go to WAEC offices to ask for help for their children. The parents are not conscious of the need for objectivity and control of major examinations.

And there is the problem of using ethnic cultures, pre-colonial cultures as basis for development today, that mothers or fathers do not respect the examination cultures; they do not in their actions support the sanctity of the examinations. These are some factors that make it difficult to maintain standards in educational field. Parents of students do not support the sanctity of examinations. They offer money to bribe teachers and examiners in the system.

What does this say about our values as a people when parent help their children to cheat?

Values are not sacrosanct. Values have to evolve to the changing social-economic factors. But we have to be careful that this is not done at the expense of the basic values. We are talking about WAEC and government introduced NECO; it has not solved the problem of keeping the examinations and standards sacrosanct.

What about inconsistent educational policies from government?

I'm not sure that structural changes that you have mentioned, which are aimed at helping to sustain sanctity of examinations can be used to explain falling standards. I'm not sure.

How then can the nation be positioned in the global economy if the education system continue to slide in a world that is knowledge-based?

We'll have to do something that will not allow the structural change in the system to erode the basic standard in the knowledge environment. If we are not careful, we will become the laughing stock of the world.

Your former university, the University of Ibadan is not even rated 200th in the world. Does that bother you?

There was a time when if you have credit in Ibadan, you'd gain admission to any university in the world, where standards of Ibadan were accepted and regarded. But now, not even in London are the exams of Ibadan accepted without questioning. You know that we expanded the system too rapidly at the expense of standards. I do not know how many universities there are now in Nigeria, the official ones versus the individual universities and religious organisations and so on.

For many years, we used to argue that we should develop Ibadan as a post-graduate school to train teachers for other universities but our appeals went largely unheeded. Yet we are multiplying the numbers of universities without taking account of how will the teachers be made. We need to develop Ibadan with two or three other universities to withstand the strain and stop taking undergraduates and take only graduates and give them thorough training so that they will be able to make good teachers in other environments.

That means you support the policy that only people with Ph.Ds should teach in universities?

Yes, not just that but that the doctorate degrees themselves should be accreditable on a worldwide basis so that we set aside two or three universities that will concentrate on post graduate training programmes.

Which were the most exciting moments you remember as an administrator?

I'm not sure what you mean. But the introduction of Youth Service, Ali Must Go saga when the students exercised their rights - that was when a former minister of education decided to bring people with arms to monitor students, saying that only a small proportion of students were trying to exercise power over the rest. Things like that began to introduce arms into campuses.

You're a member of the Jadeas Trust. What is it about?

It's a kind of educational and cultural body, Non governmental Organisation, NGO, promoting education and culture.

Nigeria, portrait of a culture; What is it about?

It's a television programme. It was initiated by somebody in the NTA. We were brought in to try and make it work. We shot the programme and edited it. Later, the man left the NTA and tried to revive it by editing it from its initial one hour to 30 minutes per episode to improve the quality. We then called upon NTA to project the series in its programmes. NTA said they don't collaborate with others.

It's the kind of programme that other countries will be interested in because of its high cultural value. But we have not completely given up on it. We're still working at it.

Each time you take a look at Nigeria's leadership, are you convinced they have learnt anything from history?

"You know I have never joined any political party so I cannot speak for any party. But it seems to me that we have not embraced the lessons from our own development. We are talking about the place of culture in national development; it seems to me that we have not learnt the lessons that we ought to have learnt.

For example, we encourage leaders to use our politics to make money; a local government counsellor now earns more than a university professor. That kind of lopsidedness is not right. We know that Abuja is a place where people go to make money. We know that elections have gone purely commercial; people have to spend so much to get elected! So, people look for ways of recouping their expenditure. I don't know what we have turned ourselves into.

(PUT citation IN BOX)

CITATION

Prof. J.F. Ade Ajayi is one of Africa's most distinguished intellectuals and academics. A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Ajayi is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Ibadan, where he has also served as Acting Vice Chancellor.__Professor Ajayi was born on May 26, 1926. He attended St. Paul's School, Ikole-Ekiti, from 1934-1939; Christ's School, Ado-Ekiti, 1940; and Igbobi College, Yaba Lagos, from 1941-1946. In 1947, he was admitted to Higher College, Yaba, and later, to University College, presently University of Ibadan, from 1948-1951. __Between 1951 and 1958, he obtained a first class honours Bachelor of Arts degree (History); B.A. (General Studies History, Latin and English), and PhD (History) from University College, Leicester, and University of London , King's College. Soon after graduation, he was appointed a Derby Research Scholar of London

University, 1955-1957; as well as a research fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, London, 1957-1958.__Professor Ajayi has served variously as Chairman, Committee of Vice chancellors; Vice President and member, UNESCO National Commission of Nigeria, 1965-84; Chairman, Scientific and Planning Council, CAFRAD, Tangier, 1979-82; and the Dean of Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, 1964-1966. He has been a member of several university councils, including Cape Coast University, 1972-1976; National University of Lesotho, 1977-1983; and University of Science and Technology, Kumasi , 1976. Professor Ajayi has also been a member, board of the international Association of Universities, 1980-1990; and Pro-chancellor and chairman of council, Ado Ekiti State University, 1984-1988. __His significant scholarship has produced several books, monographs and journals. Among them are the following: Milestones in Nigerian History, 1962;

Yoruba Warfare in the Nineteenth century, 1964; Evolution of political culture in Nigeria, 1985, A Thousand years of West African History, 1965; The Narrative of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, The continuity of African institutions under colonialism, The University and the state in Nigeria, and The Development of Secondary Grammar School Education in Nigeria. For all these achievements and his humanitarian services, Ajayi has been recognized and honored both at home and abroad. His awards include several honorary degrees from universities such as Leicester, 1975; Birmingham , 1984; and Ondo State University, 1992. He has also been appointed Hon Fellow, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, 1994; Foundation Fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 1980; Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Britain, 1979, Nigerian National order of Merit, October, 1986; Ondo State Role of Honour, 1989. __In 1987, Professor Ajayi was presented with the 25th Anniversary Gold medal, University of Lagos. He has also received the Distinguished Africanist Award, 1993; UNESCO Avicenna silver medal for outstanding contribution to the General History of Africa (1964-1999); Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR), 2000; and most distinguished Alumnus Awards (MDA), University of Ibadan, 2001. His traditional titles are Babapitan of Ikole-Ekiti, January 1983 and Onikoyi of Ife, April 1983.

The Achebe Foundation Interview

'Federal Government Takes Much Of National Revenue Because We Don't Operate True Federalism'

Sir, many believe that the trouble with Nigeria lies squarely at the feet of poor leadership. Some blame the former colonial powers for not preparing Nigeria's early leaders for power. What is your view?

Yes, in many ways, the era of colonialism did not prepare us for democracy, so we cannot really blame the first crop of leaders in the country for our present day woes. The colonial masters were interested in developing the traditional institution, particularly in Northern Nigeria, which complicated leadership problems in the rest of the country. They encouraged a master-servant relationship, and this became deeply rooted into the psyche of the people.

Similarly, the colonial leaders inculcated, in soldiers, the idea that it was the lot of the army to rule the bloody civilians. That attitude has persisted till date. Unfortunately, the civil hierarchies were not disoriented from this way of thinking, and this in my view, has had even more disastrous consequences. Colonialism, to a great extent, still determines the type of leadership we have in the post-military era.

Do you think it is possible to identify a particular period in Nigeria's history when the deterioration commenced, or should we assume the downward slide is, perhaps, as old as the nation itself?

Well, I would say that our problem began with the country's founding but became a true pathology in the 1980s -- during the unfortunate period of despotic regimes -- with a deliberate attack on the middle class. Government policies, following the influence of the World Bank, IMF loan, SAP and so on, attacked the middle class, and subsequently, destroyed middle class values. The middle class comprised of people, educated, and otherwise, who were prepared to invest their money in the country and watch it grow through hardwork and integrity; but the regimes of the period wilfully prevented that from happening.

Thus, we have continued to witness a re-cycling of people whose contributions to nation building - to the economy of this country - cannot be traced. They have continued to take from the country, yet have given nothing at all back to the society. With each administration, these people continue to be recycled; they are given one portfolio after the other that creates even more avenues for them to continue taking. I do not know anywhere else in the world where one man alone dominates the economy of the nation except here in Nigeria.

You have mentioned SAP and other unpopular government policies as precipitant factors in destroying the once vibrant middle class in Nigeria.

For me, the overall effect of the structural Adjustment programme, SAP is twofold. One, it succeeded in destroying the productive sector of the economy, and two -- it saw to the collapse of the middle class. And until we can rebuild the middle class, the country will never progress; we cannot talk of good governance. Presently, we are engaged in talks about debt relief; however, what relief can we actually expect? This is the time when we should be asking the question - how much did we borrow? And what did we do with the loan? And beyond these questions, is time to ask for reparation and not debt forgiveness. Our so-called creditors know that they owe us; they have taken so much from us. The Paris club actually owes us more than we are asking them to forgive!

Corruption has long been the bane of our nation. What steps, in your opinion, can Nigeria take to tame this scourge?

This is a very simple issue to assess. With the collapse of the middle class, the country lost the values that encouraged individuals to create personal wealth and enjoy it. What has happened is that people no longer want to work for their wealth; society no longer frowns on vices. And it begins with governance. Why would a person who never saw the four walls of a university be allowed to give instructions to Vice chancellors or take it upon him or herself to control the university system?

Now, take the present crop of politicians. Politics, for them, is an investment to fill their bank accounts. If any money was spent during election campaigns, the aim becomes to make back such monies multiple-folds. And they do this as if they are sure of the future. But no one ever is. Neither you nor I can predict even the next moment. So, these politicians grab without thinking with both hands. And I have to wonder whether politics should be a part time thing or a full time engagement, because the senate and House of Representatives hardly sit through the year; they go on recess quite often.

The fact that we do not operate a true federalism also paves way for several loopholes. What happens is that the federal government takes so much of our national revenue that it has resources in excess, whereas the states do not have enough. And this allows a great deal of wastage in terms of government spending. The government also allocates so much to itself, thus encouraging senators and House members to ask for all kinds of unmerited allowances. This, I think, has allowed for corruption. Government has agreed to the need for a new constitution; however this has not helped matters.

The term resource control has come into vogue recently as a mechanism for the survival and sustained development of the Niger Delta. Do you think it will achieve its stated objective, if implemented?

When the issue of resource control came up for discussion at the National Political Conference, it became a controversial issue. Why? This was not always a thorny issue, when each ethnic group managed and controlled its own resources. And I'm one of those who believe that resource control should be total. Nigeria will not develop until you take the heavy hand of the federal government off the oil. You see so much corruption in this whole issue of oil products.

For the past five years, this administration has propounded its fight against corruption. However, for three consecutive years now, the country has ended up high on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. What do you think is wrong with the crusade against corruption?

In my opinion, these isolated cases of bringing government officials who appropriate public funds to book are not enough. There must be far reaching laws that impress upon us all that nobody is untouchable. There are too many people who ought to be behind bars, who are still walking the streets as free men. There is no seriousness in government's effort so far.

On Education

You have mentioned the militarization of the polity as one reason for the collapse of the educational sector. Could you expand on this?

Our president called a meeting, which he called the Council of Elders, to examine the NEEDS report. And my comment was that education is still the true leading intervention to the development of any nation. And I laid the blame of the obstruction of education in the country, at the feet of the World Bank -- that the World Bank discourages education and financial commitment to higher education. And this was the main reason the military had no special place for education -- the military actively discouraged education for the masses.

With blind obedience to the policies of the World Bank, the former military regimes must have decided, at some point, to control the educational system. The Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) propounded by the World Bank, discouraged investment in tertiary education, and rather, laid emphasis on elementary education. While it is true that the foundation is laid at the elementary stage, the strength of an educational system depends on the quality of the tertiary training. The teachers, professors, and so on, who contribute to the strength of the educational system, determine the quality of tutoring given to persons at the tertiary level. And it was as if the military decided to undermine higher education, because they wanted to protect themselves from criticism at an intellectual level.

ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) vigorously resisted the military's imposition of SAP policies on universities.

There were two major areas where opposition to the military was effective. It took its time, and systematically destroyed them both, and brought those activities under control. The first is labour -- organised labour -- which has the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASSU -- under its umbrella. Unfortunately, ASUU overused strikes as a weapon for negotiating with government. Government also tried, and succeeded in controlling labour congress. For various reasons, the university system played into the hands of the government, and once the university lost its autonomy, it lost the power to navigate its own course. However, Babangida took autonomy to mean self-funding. You cannot put a gun to the neck of a doctor and say, treat or else I will blow off your neck.

The military came from nowhere, and imposed itself on academics. Soldiers who understood nothing about the university system took it upon themselves to dictate to academics what to do. There is no way, of course, that sort of thing would work. People who did understand the workings of the university system were prevented from doing the appropriate work along professional lines. And that fostered corruption in its own way.

ASUU has overused its weapon of strikes to the extent that it has lost the confidence of students. The relationship between lecturers and students should be one of trust; once that is hampered, thats really the end. People who were part of the university system were not allowed to run the system, and this negatively affected quality. It determined how much the government was prepared to give in terms of allocation to tertiary institutions, and in an attempt to control the university in 1974 the government asked the NUC to put up a budget on behalf of the universities. The universities became so dependent on the NUC, that it became a regulatory body. This simply encouraged a minimum standard.

The senate of the universities could not sit by and allow this running down of the system, but it was helpless because of its funding predicament. And this is why I say that the rot in the educational sector is not necessarily as a result of inadequate funding. The government has also been a major part of the problem.

On Gender Issues

You have alluded to Nigerian style Affirmative Action in the public sector and political process. Many people believe that Women have become a forgotten minority group

When we talk about affirmative action, we can say that because of a long period of discrimination, women might ask for affirmative action in order to ensure their adequate representation in all spheres of government and in all the sectors of the economy.

In reality, there are many prejudices against women. Parents may choose between sending a son to school to carry on the family name, while a woman is considered a temporary member of the family who will leave for, and contribute to another family. So many families would rather invest in a boy child, rather than a girl child. Special effort, therefore, needs to be made in order to overcome these types of prejudices against educating women.

There are several other forms of discrimination against women in Nigerian other than in education

Yes, in other areas, there are forms of discrimination apart from education. In certain Igbo communities, if a woman's husband dies, even if she has his children, his brother might come around and say -- in our tradition, you are my wife and property, thus, your husband's land and all that he owned belongs to me. If the woman rejects this proposition, it becomes difficult for her to survive in that society. And the husband's brother is going to make life difficult for her.

There are various forms of discriminations against the woman, and she is supposed to succumb to all these pressures or is brought to her knees, upon the death of her husband. If she is prosperous, she may be the envy of her in-laws, and her husband's death is an opportunity to pay her back. So these days, I tell people to look carefully into the customs of the people they marry.

What does the future portend for Nigeria's girls and women? How can women become equal participants in nation building?

Now, things have looked up for the woman since the Beijing conference (The Fourth World Conference on Women , Beijing , China ; 4-15 September , 1995). Women always blame men for their oppression. But if you look at it women's emancipation is really in their own hands. The reorientation of male attitudes towards women should begin in the homes. Women should bring up their sons to respect women and understand that they may want to pursue educational goals as well as positions of authority while maintaining their traditional roles in the family. The challenge to families is balancing the two. One can not succeed without the other.

We see that a certain proportion of the president's cabinet goes to women, which doesn't happen normally in reality, one has to go through a party's platform. And it is true that looking after a family and a home is a full time occupation thus women, who find this their lot, find it difficult to compete equally against the men who have other opportunities to make money for political campaigns.

Creating an environment through positive economic and social policies for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential is therefore crucial.

We must insist on equal access to participation and decision making for women in the social, political and economic life of the nation otherwise it is a sheer waste of more than 50 per cent of the nation's population. Other areas that need crucial attention include health care, quality education at all levels, career and vocational guidance, employment and equal remuneration.

What role can men play to improve the status of women in Nigeria?

One finds that a lot of men do not give their wives the support they need, in terms of building up a career. Traditionally, men might want their wives to excel, but not necessarily over themselves. Yes, I can pray to God for my children to do better than I do, but I don't think I want to pray that my wife should do better than me. Yes, she should excel, do well in her own endeavours, but when she comes home, the degree of her submission to me will determine how much support she'd get from me. This is not always the case with progressive and younger generations, however. If the woman excels in politics, it needs not affect the relationship in the home. Her ability to marry the two effectively adds to her success story. But the man and the woman both have their place in the family. Some men may delight in having their wives as President, but when she comes back home, she will still have to play her role as a wife and a mother.

It reminds me of the story of a man who woke up one day, and said, God, let me have some of these privileges that my wife enjoys. I got out to work, and do all the struggling and she stays at home. Let me just swap roles with her for one day. And God said, Okay, fine. The next morning, the wife went to work, and he discovered that housework was not simply about staying idle at home all day. He discovered that his wife began her daily routines by waking the children up, making their bed, preparing breakfast, preparing the children for school, and then taking them to school. Then it was time to iron clothes, clean the house, get lunch ready, and when that was done, bring the children home from school. He found that she was constantly busy right up to bedtime. Even after all that, the man still expected his wife to play her wifely role. The man went to God once again, and prayed: God, let my wife have her role back; I

Didn't know she has to contend with so much!

Here, in Ibadan, we've had cases of couples where the wife is sharper than the husband, just as some people will say Claire Blair is a probably brighter lawyer than her husband, and Hillary Clinton also is said to be sharper than her husband. We should not encourage lowering standards, but be seen to be thinking in terms of excellence. Where a woman is obviously better than a man, she should be rated so.

On Economy and middle class

How, in your opinion, does Nigeria revive the economy and agricultural sector?

I still maintain that, in terms of economic rejuvenation, we should try to revive the middle class and the values associated with it, which life is not about how much one accumulates. When that is done, I have said that we should emphasize resource control. We should not all continue to quarrel over the crude oil revenues. There is the need to insist that those people in whose soil crude oil is situated, own that resource, and should control it. Let the owners of such land control their resources, while others spend their energies in discovering what resources they have in their own territories. If we continue to fight over crude oil, and stop indigenes from controlling it, the foreign oil companies will be the ones in control as they are, today.

Nigerians are not the ones who control the oil resources, yet we are fighting over it. But if the people in whose soil the oil is found, under the basis of true federalism, are allowed to control the oil and everyone else discovers what other resources that we have in the country, we should all be the better for it. There would be far greater development, and less reliance on crude oil. And you would be surprised that we've got quite a lot of other just as significant resources- precious metals, kaolin, clay, ceramic and so on. People will discover new resources; as unlikely as it might sound, agriculture will become an alternative to crude oil, and cassava will become just as important. Cocoa too will be a major source of revenue generation for those on whose soil it is grown. Just go to China and India, who don't rely on crude oil, and see the growth of development in those areas.

Now the Chinese are coming into this country in droves, and we must be very careful. Nigerians are not allowed easy access into other countries! In any case, the Chinese are so pressed for land in their own country that if they are allowed to come into Nigeria so freely, and find so much land lying fallow because we don't seem to know what to do with it, they will take over and one cannot predict how far they will go. Land, in itself, is a major, major resource. Whether we know it or not, there is hardly any need that land does not provide. But more importantly, we should take advantage of this, and fully enjoy the benefits of our numerous resources.

You have mentioned several times in our conversation, the destruction of the middle class as a fundamental factor in Nigeria's economic decline. What needs to be done to redevelop this energetic cadre of citizens?

Well, I keep harping on the issue of the middle class and middle class values. However, I espouse this with good reason, for this is what generates wealth and employment, in general.

Successful nations have a prosperous, energetic middle class. That is where most of the action takes place economically, socially and politically. Whether you look at Europe, Asia or America, the same story can be unearthed. An educated, skilled middle class that encompasses the majority of the population, leads to economic prosperity. You often hear of swing voters such as soccer mothers in America being members of this group. A good eighty percent of the American population is middle class. That is how prosperity is preserved and from whence values that sustain a civilization are harnessed and sustained. America, however, is in decline, in my opinion, because she is beginning to ignore and deviate from her middle class values. Nigeria has a lot to learn from this.

Another factor which we donate emphasize enough is loyalty to the country -- that is, patriotism. Of course, the Yoruba say that, if you lean on the tree and the tree cannot sustain your weight, if the tree falls on you, it can kill you. So if you cant rely on your country to provide you with employment, to allow you a decent life and livelihood even when you are willing to work hard, then you cannot generate love for such a country. Right now, we associate the country with armed robbery, insecurity of life, and lack of jobs, So, to encourage Nigerians to appreciate the country that they have, we should begin to appreciate our advantages an average Nigerian will grumble about this or that, you can then say, okay, which country in Africa will you prefer to come from? And he or she will hesitate to name one.

What must Nigeria do to position itself in the right direction for sustained economic restructuring and development?

The issue of true federalism is paramount to restructuring, in terms of governance of the country. People (in the North) are propounding the theory that the groundnut pyramids from the North were used to build up Lagos , and that it is time for them to control the country's oil resources in order to build Abuja and the rest of the North. So there is that controversy. We are not going to be able to live with one another, as long as one ethnic group sees itself as born to rule, and the rest of us to be ruled over by them!

Provided we operate true federalism so that whatever what one has is large enough to fill his or her plate; create our own resources, and use them to run our own affairs, it is only then that we can begin to think seriously. That way, no group would be interested in ruling over everybody else. And if some people choose to develop along the lines of the agricultural sector, and others to support nomadic education, then they should have a right do so. But don't say you must have your normadic education, and at the same time impose it on the rest of the country. That would be too much.

At the moment, however, the federal government has accumulated to itself the right to interfere in every aspect of national life. Look, for instance, at what is happening between local governments in Lagos State and the Federal government. Every executive governor wants the President to endorse him for a second or third term. They submit to the authority of the federal government, seek the endorsement of the federal government, and therefore disrupt true federalism. We must stick to true federalism and resource control where everyone tries to create his own wealth as is done within middle class value systems the individual creates his or her own wealth and enjoys it. The entertainment industry is improving in leaps and bounds, and can bring in great wealth to the country; however, the economy, at this point, is unable to sustain it, and until we make appropriate moves towards a viable economy, we have not yet begun.

We must stick to our tried and tested middle class, morally viable values and not desire foreign so-called progressive values. American society, for instance, is a collapsing system. Men are marrying men; couples marry, but don't want any children. In many cases, weddings are being negotiated as if they are contractual situations -- I love you, till death do us part, and, by the way, on the occasion that you fail to meet up with certain conditions, you can have the bed, I will have the cooker, you have the car, I will keep the apartment, and so on.

This is contrary to the divine order of the world; to me, as an observer, the American society is collapsing, because I don't see how you can successfully run a society with the family system in obvious trouble. So, we see that gradually that society is moving towards disintegration. Things that were previously viewed as criminal have come to be accepted as the norm. There must be a limit to progress; progress should not be a stage of classlessness -- a Utopian society of no values, no order.

(The Achebe Foundation Interview was done in 2005)

On UI and challenge of African History Curriculum

When you went from high school to the Higher College in '47 and '48 you also experienced the transformation of the Higher College to the beginning of Ibadan University.

What were the problems - what was the situation like- can you give a brief description of the nature of the problems, which faced the young university in those days?

The Higher College as you might know, was started about 1934 as a very colonial kind of institution, to give some form of higher education, prepare people who attended for government, but not to the full professional level, as assistant doctors, assistant engineers, and assistant pharmacists, etc., even though they would have done full medical courses and full engineering

courses. So in many ways the Higher College was very frustrating - administered, as it was, as a government department. The transition from that to a university institution, to which was brought a distinguished scholar from Britain as its principal and he was not under the control of the colonial officials and therefore could try to establish an autonomous university as a real centre of learning, was a very great change. And also we were beginning to get people into the university

who were neither missionaries nor government officials.

These were the educators we knew before, either

missionaries or colonial officials, who of course, were bound by either their religion or the instructions of the colonial office sbddenly to find professors who were agnostic, for example, or did not care about formal dress, or feel a preoccupation with praising or upholding the empire, was a completely new experience.

On the whole, we found the new u~iversity college very stimulating. But of course, the initial subjects offered were very limited. Authorities of the university college were very cautious because they wanted to maintain very high standards; they admitted very few students and the failure rate was very high.

They didn't want to start new courses, they said the library was not yet good enough. After we did what was then called Intermediate, we thought that degree courses would be available in subjects like history. However, when we came back in October '48; they said the only courses available were the classics. I didn't want to do the

classics, so I went out to teach for a year came back in October '49, but we were told that they still didn't have honours degrees available in history. We had to do a general degree and so I had to do English and Latin and History, some of which I didn't really find very palatable. But we had to. That was the only thing available. Eventually I had to go to Britain to do a degree in History.

So, you spent the time between 1952 and 1958 in Britain: first in Leicester and then later on in London. What sort of traditions - historical, methodological traditions did you come across whilst you were in Britain, Leicester first, and then later in London?

Well, I just of course, did the regular courses that

were available in Britain in those days, that is English history and European history, and Commonwealth history; hardly anything about African history, which didn't really exist in those days as an academic discipline.

But by the time I had done the degree, and I wanted to select a research topic, and I went down to London, I decided to study the Christian missions because their records were quite copious. In many ways the missionaries were close to the people in Nigeria at the time and their records provided a useful basis for one who generally

had to educate himself in African history. It was also a time when in London people began to think in terms of the methodology of African history, the role of a archaeology, linguistics and so on. So that some of the new historiography was being developed in London in the period when I was there from '55 to '58 and of course the development continued when I got back to Nigeria.

Who were the pioneers of the important intellectual antecedents to tte ideas you perhaps later used in your own approach to history?

Well, there have been a number of people who preceeded me in terms of the new methodology of African History.

Some of the first people, you might say, were the

nationalists, people who rebelled against the idea that Africans have no history and were recording the traditions of various African peoples into various books; then the people of Dr. Dike's generation. Dike took a Ph.D. in 1950 and later joined the Staff of the University College. I think he was one of the first to insist that all our traditions should be accepted as a form of

evidence in historical writing which was a very important development. And we followed in their footsteps. I think it was in 1954 or 1955 that London University appolnted the first lecturer in African history- Dr. Roland Oliver who had done some work on Christian missions in East Africa. He organised a number of seminars and workshops on the methodology of African history in which we all participated in '53, '56, and '58, in London, to begin to try and work out some methodology so that the use of these non-written sources for historical writing could be tackled in a systematic and scholarly manner.

You mentioned oral data: what is your assessment - your summary assessment - of the value of oral data as a source of historical evidence?

I don't eh , You have to evaluate each particular

data on its merits. As you know, there are various

types of oral data: some of them are formal texts that are very formally committed to memory; and various precautions are taken to ensure that the text is handed down with as little change as possible. Some of these are praise verses, which are developed within various families; others are of religious kind, for example, those used in the course of divination. Others are myths in terms of the origin of a particular society.

Some are preserved in ritual and handed down from generation to generation as part of the beliefs of that society. Such traditions change and are modified according to the fortunes or ambitions of the particular society. So, oral material like written sources has to be evaluated on its merits. As you know, written sources can be an Act of payliament which has a definite text - it could be a letter in which somebody tries to disguise what's his real motives are: if you take a letter literally you may be mistaken, so you have to evaluate a particular piece of evidence, whether it is written or not written, on its merits.

Which problems would you at this stage identify as dominant ones in contemporary African historical studies?

At this very moment, I think we are witnessing the impact of some kind of a Marxist-oriented challenge to the kinds of histories that we were writing in the '60s and early '70s.

The feeling is that we have been writing in terms of decolonisation, the history of the struggle against imperialist societies and so on. Now we have a group of radical people at the moment who are saying that the themes we have been interested in are not necessarily the most relevant - that history must be a factor of change in society. And if you are merely writing a history which shows one bourgeois group of Africans

taking over from the bourgeois group of white capitalists without seeking to introduce fundamental social change that is history as a factor of change in society, that one is virtually limited to the role of an irrelevant observer. We now hear slogans like underdevelopment rather than development and so on. And I think it's this kind of debate that at the moment dominates African historiography: that African history

should not merely explain how Africans have survived, or how they have managed to take over from the imperial powers, but should actually explain why it is that Africa is far less developed than other continents; and that this ought to be the major factor; that one should get away from the dominance of politics of some of the earlier writings and put more emphasis on economics, and systems of production - the economic and

social factors of change.

(This Section on African History is sourced from the internet)

Concerns arose over the health of United States’ President Barack Obama weekend as one of the people he shook hands with on his recent trip to Mexico reportedly died suddenly of a lethal pork flu pandemic that has claimed 81 lives worldwide.
Obama had shaken hands with an archaeologist, Felipe Solis, who died of the disease soon after the encounter. The White House, however, said Obama’s health had not been endangered by his trip to Mexico City last week, in spite of reports in the Mexican press that an archaeologist who met the US leader, died soon after from “flu-like symptoms”.
With the high death toll and 1,300 people already infected, authorities across the globe have been warned against an economic standstill in world's major cities if the pandemic persists.
Meanwhile, doctors in America are advising worried patients to buy painters’ masks as a precaution against the outbreak as the epidemic spreads to US, New Zealand and possibly Europe.
As at yesterday, the US was still allowing people to cross the border from Mexico - where it is thought the swine flu emerged last week - although customs officials at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border crossings were given protective masks.
It is thought that eight people in US border towns have gone down with swine flu, while Mayor Michael Bloomberg also yesterday said a further eight cases had been confirmed among students in New York.
There have been no deaths north of the Mexican border, however, and as of yesterday the anti-viral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza were readily available from pharmacies in major cities.
One of the greatest concerns over the new strain of flu is that it is seems to target young, healthy adults - the same group affected by the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 - which killed up to 100 million people.
Medical experts will meet tomorrow to advise the World Health Organisation (WHO) on whether to raise the current pandemic alert level.
“We need more epidemiological evidence from Mexico before the experts would be in a position to advise on a pandemic change,” Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman, said.
“An advisory body will recommend whether or not the director-general should up (raise) the phase. They are meeting again Tuesday,” he said.
The current pandemic alert level is 3 on a scale of 1 (low risk of human cases) to 6 (efficient, sustained transmission between humans).
About 15 international experts held a teleconference on Saturday to advise WHO Director-General Margaret Chan on measures to take to combat the outbreaks.
They stopped short of recommending a change in the pandemic alert level, saying that more data was required on the virus, including its way of spreading among humans.
Chan on Saturday declared the outbreaks a “public health emergency of international concern,” which means that there is a risk of the new disease spreading to other countries.
Drug makers said yesterday they could supply millions of doses of medicine and were ready to work on a vaccine against the new type of swine flu Reuters reported.
Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, and Glaxo SmithKline Plc's Relenza, or zanamivir, are both recommended drugs for seasonal flu and have been shown to work against viral samples of the new disease.
Tamiflu is expected to be in greatest demand should swine flu develop into a pandemic, as experts fear it may, since it is given as a tablet. Relenza must be inhaled.
Roche said it had a stockpile of three million packages of Tamiflu ready for use by the WHO, half held in the US and half in Switzerland.
“So far, the WHO has not requested we deploy this stockpile. Of course, as soon as the WHO requires that we deploy it we will do so,” said Roche spokeswoman Claudia Schmitt.
Both Roche and Glaxo said they were in contact with the WHO, US authorities and the government in Mexico.
The two companies have received contracts in recent years from individual governments and corporations for stockpiles of their medicines, following earlier fears over bird flu.

The Federal Executive Council at its meeting on Wednesday approved contracts for the rehabilitation of 26 federal highways across the six geo-political zones. The projects will cost N116.5bn.
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Minister of Works and Housing, Dr. Hassan Lawal

It said that the road contracts were awarded under a Presidential Zonal Intervention Projects initiated by President Umaru Yar’Adua to ensure that all zones in the country felt the impact of the Federal Government.

The projects are to be funded through budgetary allocations.

The Minister of Works, Dr. Hassan Lawal, who briefed journalists on the outcome of the FEC meeting said the 26 roads were selected by a special committee, comprising members of the executive and legislative arms of government.

The roads were selected based on criteria such as their socio-economic importance, their state of disrepair and the urgency of the need to repair them.

A breakdown of the roads shows that the North-Central Zone, the North-East and the North-West each got four road projects, while the South-East Zone received the highest share with seven.

Also, the South-South Zone got three contracts, while the South-West had four.

The affected roads are:

South-West Zone

- Rehabilitation of Kabba-Omuo-Ifaki-Ado Ekiti-Aramoko-Itawure-Efon Alaye-Erinmo-Osigbo Road Section 1 in Ekiti State;

- Rehabilitation of Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomoso Road Section 1 in Oyo State;

- Rehabilitation of Sagamu-Ajebandele-Ore-Benin Road Section 1 in Ondo State;

- Rehabilitation of Sagamu-Ajebandele-Ore-Benin Road Section 2 in Ogun State;

North-Central Zone.

- Rehabilitation of the 9th Mile-Oturkpo-Makurdi Road (Otukpa-Oturkpo Junction);

- Rehabilitation of the Mararaba-Pambeguwa Saminaka-Jos Road Section 1, Mararaba-Pambeguwa in Kaduna State ;

- Rehabilitation of the Mararaba-Pambeguwa Saminaka-Jos Road Section 2, Mararaba-Pambeguwa in Kaduna State ;

- Rehabilitation of the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa Road; Ilorin-Jebba Section Phase 1 in Kwara State.

North-East Zone.

- Rehabilitation of Gombe-Numan-Yola Section 2, Numan-Gombe in Adamawa/Gombe states;

- Rehabilitation of Maiduguri-Bama-Gwoza-Hong Road Section 2, Bama-Gwoza in Borno State;

- Rehabilitation of Maiduguri-Bama-Gwoza-Hong Road Section 1; Maiduguri-Bama-Banki in Borno State;

North-West Zone.

- Rehabilitation of Kano-Katsina-Kaura Namoda-Jibiya Road Section 3 in Zamfara/Katsina states.

- Rehabilitation of Kano-Katsina-Kaura Namoda-Jibiya Road Section 4 in Zamfara/Katsina states;

- Rehabilitation of Kano-Kazaure-Daura-Mai Adua Road in Katsina State .

- Rehabilitation of Kano-Katsina-Kaura Namoda-Jibia Road Section 1, Kano-Katsina State Border Road .

South-East Zone

- Rehabilitation of the 9th Mile-Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway in Enugu/Abia states;

- Rehabilitation of Onitsha-Enugu Dual Carriageway Section 2; Anambra State Border-Enugu Road;

- Rehabilitation of Oba-Nnewi Section 1 in Anambra State;

- Rehabilitation of Abakaliki-Afikpo Road Section 1 in Ebonyi State;

- Rehabilitation of Aba-Owerri Road in Abia State;

- Rehabilitation of Oba-Nnewi-Okigwe Road Route 429 Section 2; Anambra/Imo State Border-Ibinta-Okigwe Road in Imo State.

South-South Zone

- Rehabilitation of Calabar-Ugep-Ogoja-Katsina Ala Road Section 1 in Cross River State;

- Rehabilitation of Calabar-Ugep-Ogoja-Katsina Ala Road Section 2 in Benue/Cross River State.

- Construction of Yenagoa-Okaki-Kolo in Bayelsa State.

The completion period of the various contracts ranges from 12 months to 30 months.

Lawal said the approval for the projects was historic .

He said, “Today, history has been made in the Federal Executive Council of this government because since independence there has been no regime, be it military or civilian, that has awarded contracts for 26 road projects to the tune of N116bn.”

Journalists, however, reminded the minister that some of the roads listed were part of similar contracts awarded by some past administrations, which eventually failed to yield the results.

But Lawal insisted that the Federal Government had already ensured adequate budgetary provisions for the road projects.

He added the Federal Ministry of Works would ensure adequate supervision.

“In the past, we had problems where contracts could not be completed due to lack of funds,” he said.

He, however, noted that the road projects that failed in the past were not initiated by the Yar’Adua administration.

Responding to concerns that some zones, particularly the South-South, did not receive a major share of the contracts, Lawal said the South-East benefited more than the others due to the ecological problems in the region.

He said that Yar’Adua realised that commerce and trade were the major preoccupation of the South-East and that the road network in the zone should be efficient to ease the movement of goods and persons.

The minister dismissed insinuations that the South-South was shortchanged, noting that the zone had benefited more than others through the newly-established Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission.

He also drew attention to the contracts for the construction of the East-West Road in the South-South, which the FEC recently approved at the cost of N74bn.

Other road contracts approved by the FEC on Wednesday included a contract for the rehabilitation and extension of the Abuja Airport Expressway Lot 1 and 2 awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.

Both projects are to be completed in 23 months.

Also, the FEC approved contracts for the rehabilitation and expansion of the outer northern section of the Murtala Muhammed Expressway North Plots 1 and 2 in the sum of N66.8bn and N81.9bn respectively.

M y attention is constantly drawn with utter dismay and disgust to the voice of Nigerians howling like a finger-sucking infant, bullied out of a favorite candy. We criticize the government over everything, we endure and whine about NEPA, we complain about our roads, we curse and abuse those in power, but regrettably, we stick our fingers back into our mouths and earnestly linger for a divine rescue from Entebbe. A glance across several internet chat rooms depicts this complacent image – where Nigerians pose behind their keyboards to insult each other over manipulated news with distorted facts coming out of our contaminated News media outlets.

Regressively, we have maintained our finger-sucking position
and indulged in fruitless regurgitation of common facts. As
someone would say "madness is doing the same thing
repeatedly and expecting a different result". We no longer
need to be educated on corruption; Fela sang corruption until
his demise. Do not enlighten us about the condition of our
roads; we feel it because Nigerians perish on it in record
number. There is no need to “over-grammarfy” our pitiable
power situation because the nagging sound of generators
echoes repeatedly in the deepest part of our sleep. Please,
spare us the tale of thieves in government because we
discussed Umaru Diko under the mango tree in our
elementary schools. The Nigerian situation has been
engraved in our memory as a result of everyday experience.

Our problem is not mainly with the government, because the
government is a combined product of the society and her
citizens. But our predicament is with over one hundred million
people who choose to blubber about our woes but willfully
conform to the status of servant-hood in place of their immutable “God-given” rights as sons and daughters of Nigeria. As a matter of custom, we ignore our civic duties and responsibilities to guarantee a functional government, while we prayerfully wait for a divine rescue. We smear our government as corrupt, yet, we indoctrinate our children into a culture of bribery as we educate them on how to enroll into any school of choice regardless of their results; and if they can’t scale the hurdles of learning, we simply push them over with a few bucks – afterall, "everybody dey do-am". We cowardly conform to the malevolent demand of fellow citizens in black uniforms for sake of convenience, despite our knowledge of good and evil. We clamor for a better government, yet we repudiate the very process that guarantees good governance. The process is corrupt, yes I know, but how will there be a change unless good citizens get involved?

It is absolute stupidity to expect a responsible government while we celebrate politicians who plainly deprive and rob our chances for good governance. We patronize them; send our children to schools they built with stolen money, fly airlines floated with money stolen directly from public funds, lodge in hotels built with money meant to secure the future of our children. How can the government be in check when our acclaimed opposition leaders issue repeated calls for revolution only on the pages of the newspaper, while they cozy behind air-conditioned windows? Who will impose a superior order, when our religious leaders who ought to be the moral gatekeepers of our society have dimmed their righteous radiance for a reward of convenience? In the past, kings trembled at the mere sighting of a prophet, but presently, an invitation to dine with those who oppress and mangle the will of the people, those who kill to win elections is accounted as divine favor and celebrated as evidence of God’s blessing and approval.

Howbeit, the Nigerian problem is not irreversibly unique, many great nations of the world experienced episodes of difficulty, mismanagement, and corrupt leadership in their history, including the United States. The unique thing about Nigeria is the response of the citizens to our present condition. America transformed into a free nation because ordinary people refused to conform to the infringement of their God given rights. The blacks in America won their freedom because they refused to conform to status quo, and would rather walk in dignity than enjoy the ride powered in utter degradation. The horrors of slave trade ended in Britain because a young British lawmaker vehemently opposed the trend and refused to conform to the world of his day. The society is a field that will always reproduce whatever seed it receives. We cannot continue to conform and participate in corruption while we anticipate a better society. Be not deceived, my friends, for He who is up there cannot be mocked, whatever we sow, we will definitely reap. Saddam Hussein invested years and several billions to construct formidable edifice of safety, but ended up smoked out from a hole and hanged like a common thief - maybe, the end really justifies the means.

Social reformation will remain elusive in Nigeria until we choose to become a generation of transformed non-conformists. Until we chose to openly disobey and rebel against anything that has the appearance of evil, regardless of the consequences we might suffer. Until we decide to exchange weakness for excellence and chose to live for conviction emplace of convenience. Whether you are a student, a parent, a teacher, a pastor, a public servant, employed or unemployed remember that, at any given moment when we chose to conform to the way of the crowd, we are directly perpetuating an evil system which the reward is only a time away. On the other hand, every single step we take to do what is right sows a redemptive seed of goodness which we will eventually reap. In other to see the rise of a new day in Nigeria, we must adhere to Paul “to no longer conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind”

We must be the renewed generation of estranged non-conformers who will demolish the “afterall, every one does it mentality”. History has delivered a blank board to every living soul; its inscription is totally up to us. On the board of Dr. Martin Luther King, he wrote "the hope of the oppressed” while Imelda Marcus wrote (as voted by Newsweek Magazine) “one of the Greediest People of All Time”. If you are a pastor, choose this day, what shall be carved on your board: One who preached the truth and lived by the truth or one who conformed like Pilate in other to please the crowd. If you are a young person, do not fly through the wider gates, because the end there off, while it may appear unperturbed for a while, is full of misery. If you are a politician, choose to engrave a name on your history that will pave a way for your children and their offspring. Do not conform to provide for them at present and damn their future with the evil seed of looting the bone entrusted on your neck. Be aware that whatever is hidden now, will one day be blown out in the open.

To the heroes who have maintained the mindset of non-conformers, you are not alone; keep up the excellent work. Disregard the negative labels and endure the present persecution. Remember that while Jesus hung on the cross, Caesar reigned in the palace, but two thousand years later, the reign of every Caesar is only remembered by the birth and death of Jesus. Your work will go unnoticed only for a while, because there is a new Nigeria on the horizon: It shall break forth with the emergence of transformed non-conformists in every sphere of influence.

The White House Security Spokesman, Mike Hammer, has explained why United States President, Barack Obama did not visit Nigeria or any other African country in his 100 days in office.
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Senator Barack Obama

According to a United States-based Nigerians news agency, Empowered Newswire, the official stated this in an interview with foreign correspondent in Washington on Wednesday.

Hammer stated that President Obama’s engagement on foreign policy was very clear ”from the very beginning, dating even back to the campaign. But if you look at his inaugural address, that his top priority getting started was to re-establish America‘s standing in the world and to have a dialogue with our friends and partners and as well as our adversaries, ”

He was asked by Empowered Newswire why there has not been much action on Nigeria or Africa in the past 100 days.

He said, ”We are certainly engaged on the issues that are most pressing at the moment, whether that be in terms of Sudan, concern about the situation in Zimbabwe. And we just saw the important election that took place in South Africa.”

US government sources had earlier disclosed that during March 23 meeting in Washington, DC, between Nigeria‘s Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, and US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hilary Clinton, the issue of a visit to the White House by Nigeria‘s President, Umaru Yar’Adua, was discussed without a clear outcome.

The minister had reportedly made the request which was met with reluctance.

At the 100-day press briefing Empowered Newswire sought clarification on the matter asking what the expectations should be from Africa, whether Obama would visit Africa.

The US Spokesman declined to make any ”announcements on presidential travels.”

He stated ”I don’t think I will be making news today in terms of travel by the President to Africa. But as you can fully appreciate, given his own upbringing, he has very deep affection for the continent and is very eager to have an opportunity to visit.”

In addition he said ”while I don’t want to make any announcements on presidential travel today, you can certainly anticipate that whenever he gets an opportunity, he‘ll want to travel to Africa.”


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Please Post and Say Hello my Nigeria virgin.

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Guys can you buy a Car for a Girl and don't want any in return. I was Watching a Movie.This Guy Has done everything for the girl and the girl was expecting if the boy will ask in return but the guy don't want any in return He just like the Girl Naturally. Does this really Exist in life?

First I am not sure if you had a baby yet. I think that is good for you. go to the hospital now to check if you are Pregnant. That will be an Evidence against your Husband in court of law.

I find it difficult to believe. I don't why I just believe there must be something to come up with later.

What I really mean Can a man and woman just be friends without any Private Relationship both of them are really thinking. Can a man and Woman Just be friends.

Please Where can I listen to Bob Marley all round track. Not Youtube. Please someone give me Link.

What link do you want. I am talking about my personal friend. It is left to you guys weather you go or not Just a peace of Advice. I am done.