GOOD GOVERNANCE,A PREREQUSITE FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

THE SUMMARY OF MALLAM NASIR EL-RUFAI’S LECTURE AT THE 54^th ANNUAL HALL WEEK OF ALEXANDER BROWN HALL, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN WHICH TOOK PLACE AT THE PAUL HENDRICKSE LECTURE THEATRE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL, IBADAN.

In a lecture delivered by the Former FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who was the guest speaker at the just concluded Alexander Brown Hall, University of Ibadan Hall Week 2012, He pointed out the need for good governance which he said can only be achieved through the rule of law by ensuring that we have free and fair elections in Nigeria.

Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This includes the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them.

Societies make progress when visionary leaders emerge to organize and direct collective actions for peaceful coexistence, with sensible rules, clear incentives and sanctions that enable individuals realize their full potentials. When the leadership emerges through a process that provides equal opportunity for all citizens to participate via free, fair and credible elections, accountability is highest, governance performance more likely to be assured and freedoms of citizens guaranteed. Such an inclusive process usually produces growth with development in both the economic and political realms.

The World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 215 economies over the period 1996–2011, for six dimensions of governance: Voice and Accountability, Political Stability and Absence of Violence, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law and Control of Corruption.

These aggregate indicators developed by Danny Kaufmann, AartKraay and Massimo Mastuzzi combine the views of a large number of business, citizen and expert surveys in industrial as well as developing countries. The WGI indicators are based on 30 individual data sources produced by a variety of survey institutes, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and private sector firms

These dimensions are consistent with the characteristics of good governance identified by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). These comprise the following:

·         Participation – by both men and women either through direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives;

·         Rule of Law – fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially;

·         Transparency – decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows laid down rules and regulations;

·         Responsiveness – serving all stakeholders within a reasonable time frame;

·         Consensus oriented – mediation of the different interests in a society to reach a broad consensus in the overall interest of the whole community;

·         Equity and inclusiveness – all members of the society are availed the opportunity of sense of belonging;

·         Effectiveness and Efficiency – processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of the society while making the best use of available resources; and

·         Accountability – governmental institutions, private sector and civil society organisations are accountable their institutional stakeholders.

On the economic sector, he said economic reforms alone aren’t enough, more efforts should be invested in political reforms and measures between the political and economic reforms should be established from day one as we cannot have sustainable economic reforms without a firm polity.  To find a way to reform and improve democratic rule, we need to get involved and try to improve them.  Societies make progress when visionary leaders arrange to organize and direct collective actions for people’s coexistence, sensible rule that enable individuals to enlarge their full potentials.

He also made mention of the Justice Uwais report recommendation which sought to separate the executive arm completely from INEC in order to guarantee the latter’s autonomy. Most importantly, the report insisted that the President should not have powers to single-handedly appoint or remove the INEC Chairman. The process recommended by Uwais for appointment of INEC Chairman starts with the National Judicial Council (NJC) advertising to the public and spelling out the required qualifications. After receiving the applications, three persons are short-listed and the nominations sent to Council of State to select one person to be forwarded to the Senate for confirmation. Removal of the Chairman or commissioners of INEC should be on the recommendation of the NJC and approval by two-thirds of the Senate which shall include at least 10 members of minority parties.

The logistical problems within INEC need to be solved and there is no better time than now to begin planning. Issues like election materials arriving late from Japan as was the case in the last elections are unacceptable. Attempting to register the expected 80 million-plus voters in three weeks will not happen.

At the root of our failure as a country is the absence of true democracy for most of our history. Rigged elections put in place unaccountable leaders with no organic link with the electorate, legitimized only by corruption in the Judiciary but not in the eyes of the citizens. Unelected leaders in power rule, not govern, and do so with impunity. They know the citizenry neither elected nor supported them. They know they are in power only because they paid massive amounts of money to staff of INEC, the Police and the SSS in the first instance. They then spent further amounts to persuade the judges to uphold the fake election results written by the first set of electoral and security officials. Their single-minded focus in power is therefore to ‘make’ as much money as possible to pay to write the results of the next election. They do not care to fulfil any election promises, because they know that our votes have never counted.

The strengths of democracy as the best system of government are political equality, the empowerment of disenfranchised, and the ability to manage societal conflicts peacefully. Elections are the foundations of democracy, but only when conducted with integrity.

He also mentioned that the reason why Nigeria is faced with the problem of terrorism especially that of Boko haram is because of the failure of the government to cater for the young ones. In a country where the per capita income only 1,500 dollars per annum as compared with South Korea was use to be on the same level with Nigeria in 1963 but who now has a per capita income of about 25,000 dollars, what do you expect of the youths of such a country like Nigeria where hunger and unemployment are the order of the day but these two problems for instance should have been the harbinger if the government were responsive enough. He made mention of some northern states of the federation like Yobe and Jigawa in which 2 out of every 3 youths are not well educated or even lacked education in totality, unemployed and not able to feed well. He decried about the poor education system being faced majorly by that zone of the country. He dissociated Islam from the activities of Boko haram and stated that it is as a result of bad governance. He stated that it is easy for hungry and unemployed youths to give in to any false beliefs if they are asked to be suicide bombers and that if they kill for God that they will have inheritance in heaven especially when they are uneducated.

He also mentioned that countries of the world that has developed over the years especially those in Asia are not necessarily practicing democracy.  Indonesia for instance has had some military rule and lots of corruption but has done very well. He recommended a book by Chinua Achebe (The trouble with Nigeria) where Chinua Achebe pointed out that the problem of Nigeria was fully and squarely that of leadership and has remained till today.

Leadership is important in any social grouping but it’s far more central in countries in Africa for the overall success and wealth of nations than anywhere else because we happen to have a weak institution.

He wondered why Nigeria cannot refine his own crude oil and sell at a very high price to other nations of the world. He doesn’t understand why we need to keep exporting oil for refining and not work on our refineries. He couldn’t also understand why the amount paid in subsidy by the government presently was 2.6 trillion naira when that paid by Obasanjo was only 200 billion naira.

He lauded president Obasanjo that he was a very hard working president whom he said worked 21 hours a day trying to make Nigeria better and that he consulted experts always before making any move.

As regards being in the opposition caucus, he affirmed that you will suffer so much to the extent that your livelihood may even be threatened just because you are a critic. He said his construction company being a first class one and noted for its competence across the company may not get much attention since they are in the opposition as nobody will want to offend the present government by awarding them a contract.

The occasion was graced by Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Professor O.O Akinkugbe (CFR, FRCP, FWACP, NNOM) who was the chairman of the day, Professor Abiodun Ilesanmi, former Chief Medical Director, UCH, Ibadan, Professor Babatunde Salako, H.O.D of Medicine Department and  The Dean of Students, Professor A. A Alada.

THE EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS ON EDUCATION

Before I got to the University, I never really knew much about strike actions. I do hear about it but showed little concern probably because I finished from a private secondary school where I did the last three years. Even when I was in my junior secondary school, I can’t remember if we were ever affected by any strike.

During the Obasanjo administration, I remember vividly that my elder ones were at home for about a period of four months when they both told me that they were affected by an industrial action that forced them to stay at home. After a series of meetings the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had with the Federal Government, they failed to reach a compromise and this led to the shut down of Universities across the country and academic activities were paralyzed. It was this period I really started to know what strike action meant. 

Before I got to the higher institution in 2006,I had made a calculation on paper when I tried to figure out the most likely time I would finish school either with the four­-year course I came in with or if eventually I would change my course to medicine in my second year. I would only just have to add two years to the calculated date but then my brother came to the table and saw what I was writing where he told me to add ‘plus x’ to the number of years I’m to spend in the University. Of course, he wasn’t trying to say I was going to have an extra year in the University but he was almost certain that at some point in my study, there would be some delays as a result of an anticipated strike action.

I find it difficult to pen down as I was only just positive that such will not happen in my time.

The first year came and I managed to escape. The session finished February 2007 which was supposed to be the normal time. We were to resume June 2007 but the school adjusted her calendar and added three months extra to our resumption date in order for them to normalize the calendar back to the old ‘September to June’ style after which you can have the months of July and August to yourself as a summer break.

The University didn’t even achieve this for a period of two years before another nationwide strike came on board. It was the same agitation of salary increment and other reforms in the education sector the ASUU cried on in 2005 that led to the strike.  The Government had not heeded to their cry. The whole University calendar was disrupted and the need for another adjustment.

From my second year till the time after my third year when I was about to cross over to the clinical school, there was no major strike that stopped academic activities. However, when we got to clinical school, we were able to do our introductory posting which lasted for eight weeks after which the second strike I just talked about came up.

This time, we were not even taught in the clinics and wards. This lasted for a whole four months. Then I began to wonder if I will ever leave school on time. I thought the ‘plus x’ my brother talked about could only last for not more than a month or  two but lo and behold, it was over seven months extra already and it started to become unbearable. Many of my friends complained on a daily basis but we could not do anything to help the situation as we just watched in despair. We started to talk about the political aspect of the whole situation and how badly this has affected the education sector and the kind of image it’s giving to the nation. 

ASUU strike had not only been our problem. We had in the past been affected also by other strike actions be it at the State or Federal level. Among these are health workers strikes, fuel crises, and local political unrest to mention but a few. All these have in one way or the other affected our studies.

The education system has really deteriorated. We don’t produce quality graduates as of the old. 

Many things are lacking. Strike is just one major factor I talked on. There are other factors; the instability in electricity that adversely affects teaching, clinical trials and laboratory researches, inappropriate funding of the educational sector by the Government, undue politicizing of some major posts in the University, nepotism, tribalism and inadequate reward of success of brilliant students.

My question is now to Nigerian University students. On our own, how do you think we can deal with these negative changes particularly that of the strike actions which halt our education on a yearly basis? 

 Do you think we can influence these to a large scale to suit our own purpose? Do you even think ASUU have a plan for us or they are just after their own welfare alone? After all when they go on strike, we automatically do too.

Similar link:  The ASUU strike and it's effect on the Nigerian students  http://www.ynaija.com/opinion-the-asuu-strike-and-its-effect-on-nigerian-students/

THE MIRACLE OF THE MODERN TELEPHONE IN NIGERIA

The world has really moved forward. The system of communication is now much better than in the past. It is now less complicated. We no longer use telephone with wires and poles again. Things are now computerized. Gone are the days when you have to be at home only to receive your calls and whenever you are outside your home, that is not possible.

People now use less complicated phones in terms of size and density. In the past, you couldn’t pocket your phone. It’s not even possible. You can’t even have a grasp of it in your hand; you have to carry it with your two hands.

I remember where I grew up; only three flats out of twelve flats had land phones at that time. When these phones ring, we could hear loud and clear from our various homes. They all share a common ringtone. Our next door neighbour had two of their children abroad that called in to one of these three homes. The children of the owner of the land phone shouted their names to quickly come downstairs to speak on the telephone with their children. Sometimes, they would have to cut the call and ask them to call back immediately so that they can save some time.

The people that had land phones were respected. It added to the beauty of their living rooms. They were the only ones who could contribute on television and radio programmes. The most common telephone was the analogue telephone with a round plastic ring consisting of small holes and a telephone box with curly wires attached to it. As a fearful young boy, I was always scared of touching the phone let alone press any part of it. It was like the whole credit would burn out. I felt so special one Sunday afternoon when I was called to come and speak with my in-law on the phone. I’m not so sure if that was my first time but I still remember that day.

Nowadays, things have changed. I remember when mum first got her Motorola walkie-talkie with a green screen and a short antenna, it was like a breakthrough. I felt like it is my property even though I had nobody’s phone number.

It was the turn of my sister. She got a Nokia 3310. Nobody dared touch the phone, you can only watch from a distance. This phone I also wished was my property but thanks to luck, I later got it. My sister gave it to me when she left the country.

Before we knew it in Nigeria, many people started getting connected to each other and people could pass information a lot easier than what use to be in the past when you have to go to a cybercafé to check your mails. That is if you have one.

The saying that the world is a global village now started to make sense to me. Apart from calls, I could send text messages to my friends. This was not possible on the analogue phone. Now, we can receive calls outside our homes and the phones are handy. No doubt nowadays you can do a lot with your phone. The modern phone is smaller, lighter, well packaged and has a lot of functions. It can vibrate if you wish to put it on silent mode. Most even come with multimedia. It is now like a replica of one’s life. Almost all the information you need to get going in life can be accessed from your small phone as most of them are internet enabled. You can check your mails without having to visit the café, relate with your friends via the social networks, read news and blogs and watch events around the world and the most fascinating of all, see your caller thousands of miles away.

Life keeps getting better. The unimaginable device is on its way.

                    You can also read this article on YNaija Online Magazine published on the 24th of July,2013: 
        http://www.ynaija.com/opinion-the-miracle-of-the-modern-telephone-in-nigeria/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

THE RICH (IN NIGERIA) DON’T KNOW THEY ALSO SUFFER

I looked at our society and how we live our lives. Our conception of what enjoyment is, is far from what it truly is.
The imperfections and misconceptions have made our thinking crude and in our behaviours, there are deviations from what obtains in a normal society.
We live in a society where the so called rich look down on the poor. They feel superior. They are braggarts. They show off and are probably happy at the suffering of others. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean they laugh about it but the ‘I don’t care’ and ‘I can’t help’ attitudes are what I am referring to.

My perception about how life should be lived changed when I travelled to Europe in 2009.
The way people live their lives is totally different. I couldn’t separate the rich from the poor. They all shared the same facilities.
Unlike in Nigeria, I wouldn’t have to observe for more than a split second before I guess the social status of an individual, rich or poor. The way we live our lives is what I have termed as ‘excess’. You can deduce this from the person’s speech, dressing which is not only in the clothing material but also the complements; the Dubai necklace, the expensive gold wristwatch, the Italian shoes and other belongings like the Blackberry, Iphones and the latest car models.
In developed countries, this is not so. People don’t show off. They dress simple. They don’t even have to wear the best dresses as those dresses will eventually be covered by the overall in cold places, which is the winter jacket. They live a life of moderation.
When it comes to feeding, we miss it. We take too much calories which are very dangerous to our health. Red meat for instance, can cause heart disease leading to stroke and death. Fish and animal liver are better as they supply the body vitamins and necessary nutrients. If so, why don’t the rich go for them more than they do for meat?

The white man will exercise on a daily or weekly basis judiciously. He takes a walk, climbs the hills, goes for picnics with families and friends and participates in sporting activities, not necessarily competitive in order to ensure that they are in a good state of health.
In Nigeria, this is not the case. Many people will tell you that you have a mental illness if you keep your cars at home and take a walk to your office.

I saw old people in their 70’s and 80’s go to the stores on their bicycles. I was so shocked thinking some of them would fall off their bikes.
Taking a walk or exercising your body prevents you from developing some blood vessel diseases. It reduces your chances of having deep venous thrombosis and keeps you fit.
Look at our transportation system, very poor. The so called high class people in the society ride big cars on pot holes, without direction, traffic and street lights. No pedestrian pavement or sidewalks. No special roads for oil tankers. We risk our lives moving on the same roads with them.
Our rail system is nothing to write home about. We are still in the coal age in this modern time. In a country where electricity is not even stable, how can we ever think of electric train?
This train issue brings to mind on how I saw both the rich and the poor in their large numbers boarding train to their work places. It’s not that they couldn’t afford to fuel their cars but they did not see anything wrong in sharing. They chose rather what was convenient.
A lot of competitions go on as to what type of generator an individual has. We see 30, 50 and even 100 KVA generators that power household gadgets. They probably see this as a yardstick for prestige, not knowing that they make noise and disturb the neighbourhood with the unwanted sounds and also pollute the environment with the exhaust emanating from the machines. Some even get special transformers from Power companies. This is just a burden. Electricity is supposed to be controlled centrally in totality and nothing of such should ever be found in an household.
What about the bore-holes they dig, they are using their wealth to disturb the soil and rocks without proper approval. These we know are very dangerous and too many of such acts will result in the weakness of the rocks and other soil components thereby serving as a potential future disaster for tremors and quakes.

Our security system is another issue. The rich are being forced to lock themselves in tall iron gates like they are being caged. Just picture my explanation. A lot of these iron gates and burglaries I see around are very beautiful, well customised and I’m pretty sure, very expensive.
Should I continue to talk about the wrong attitudes of the so called rich?

Are they actually at fault? Well, in any way they can make changes to better the society with their wealth, they should.
The major challenge is to the government who can aid in building a sane society.
Our nation has been plagued with corruption. Instead of improving the quality of lives of their citizens, they choose to share the resources among themselves.
We do not channel our revenue properly to harness our resources and help the common man. Our social infrastructures are very poor.
They chose to dig bore-holes with their names inscribed on it rather than lay pipes to homes where water can reach every individual, clean and free of diseases.
Instead of them to invest truthfully in electricity, they keep allowing a few import generators thinking those will put smiles on our faces.
No adequate plan to meet the ever growing population. The health care system is poor. No reasonable health insurance policy. Maternal morbidity and mortality are on the increase.
In Germany for instance, adequate care is given to pregnant women. They are registered with their unborn baby and from the moment they deliver, a certain amount is given to each mother monthly to cater for her child.
The poor don’t suffer in such developed countries. I don’t even know the reason why they are referred to as poor? The government feed and provide shelter for them. The rich understand what it means to be poor. They do not neglect them, rather they embrace them, contribute their quota regularly through the payment of taxes according to earnings and through voluntary donations. The rich help the poor to attain an average level. The healthy takes care of the sick.
We also need to stress the area of awareness in our society. The rich and the poor are both poor when it comes to awareness. Just like we have it in our society, it should not be a yearly thing, but daily and weekly. It’s not going to cost us anything. The benefits outweigh the stress.
Examples of such are in the areas of education, religion and more importantly, our health. Routine medical check-up, once or twice a year, screening tests, knowing of genotype before marriage and HIV status.
The use of seat belts, safe answering of phone calls, waste disposals, traffic rules, reporting of suspicious movements to the police and so on should be regularly publicized on our electronic media on a daily basis.
Our so called celebrities are not left behind. We not only want to listen to their new songs or watch them on our satellite televisions but we want to see how they can meaningfully impact the society.

We need to improve on how we live our lives in Nigeria, know the things that actually matter, cut down on excesses and care for the man that needs our help next door.

Something Out of Nothing

He created something out of nothing.It was void and empty.No tiny air.Nothing like gas.He made the visible from the invisible.How was it possible? He made the living from the dead. Yes! You who live,are you not from the dust?
He made the light from the darkness.What did He use? He used just the Word of His mouth.See the great utilisation.
God used just His Word and It has made a great impact in the earth and heavens today.
His Word his far above everything,even His name.Oh! such a "WORD" that you cannot even see or pick and It has become 'Something out of Nothing'
You that have something(the resources),have you made 'something out of something', let alone 'something out of nothing' just like He did in the beginning.His Word is invisible,how much more something that is visible.
Do not leave this place without making something out of nothing or better your resources(ideas,knowledge,wealth,education,qualification and so on) or better still, 'something out of something'
Ecc 9:10.
This poem was read on SplashFM Radio on the 21st of April,2011.

Our Youths,Our Future

My in-law and sister just came on a visit to nigeria after 8 years and 4 years, respectively.They are married with kids.
My in-law is worried about our young ones.He said,unlike in Germany where the young believe in hardwork & that they compete on how to get holiday jobs to earn a few bucks or euros to help themselves,the case is not so in Nigeria.He noticed that most of the conversations he listened to, those between ages 14-25 only talk about how t o get rich quick..do yahoo yahoo.some even carry guns(Higher institution students).I saw some of these things while I was in U.I especially the yahoo guys with their flashy cars and shady deals.OTHERS want to be president & legislators & steal also when they get there.They worship those who ride expensive cars & build houses,some of them with stolen money.The poor & average mean nothing to them.Our mind is corrupted.We are not getting it right.It's about hardwork & dignity,not money
I think we can help

This issue was discussed on Morning Splash,Splash FM 105.5 radio,16th August,2011.