At a very recent function in Lagos, a participant placed this question before the gathering; what exacerbates Nigeria’s current political and socioeconomic challenges? And just immediately, he got two separate but related responses from two personalities I consider well-informed, self-contained and quietly influential Nigerians.
The first stated thus; the situation (poor leadership) in the country is not party, tribe/ethnic, religion, state governors or federal government insulted. Rather, it is a ‘total national leadership collapse in the country from ‘top to bottom’. It is a brazen manifestation of a bunch that is yet to internalize the fact that power is nothing but the ability to achieve the purpose-a and strength required to bring about social, economic, political, cultural and religious changes.
The second captured his response this way; not that the nation’s leadership is lacking in vision but their vision more often than not is not masses-centred. Even those that could qualify as people purposed are in most cases stripped of clear definition, the goals to be achieved, or the means chosen to address the problems and to achieve the goals and making the entire narrative a crisis is that the system has virtually no consideration for connecting the poor with good means of livelihood-food, job, and security.
This is the only possible explanation for the situation and will continue until the present crop of leaders productively looks back to draw both inspiration and lessons from the nation’s forgotten pacesetters and forbearers such as Pa Obafemi Awolowo, the late premier of the western region of Nigeria; Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello of Eastern and Northern regions respectively; Pa Michael Ajasin of old Ondo State and Ambrose Folorunsho Alli, the one-time Governor of the now defunct Bendel State, he concluded.
Indeed, to any student of history, these facts should not be a surprise.
Maybe I am missing something here but from the above admonition, this piece believed and still believes that what today’s leaders need is to study these departed pacesetters, nationalists and nation builders, to study their history, study the actions of these eminent men, to see how they conducted themselves and to discover the reasons for their victories or their defeats so that they can avoid the later and imitate the former’.
Aside from assisting the nation not to wander in dilemma, the above action is important as ‘knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And people who want to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives.’
Take, as an example, as documented in his Path to Nigerian Freedom (1947), Pa Awo drew the first systematic federalist manifesto. He advocated federalism as the only basis for equitable national integration and, as head of the Action Group he led demands for a federal constitution, which was introduced in the 1954 Lyttleton Constitution, following primarily the model proposed by the Western Region delegation led by him.
As the premier, he proved to be and was viewed as a man of vision and a dynamic administrator. He was also the country’s leading social democratic politician. He supported limited public ownership and limited central planning in government.
He believed that the state should channel Nigeria’s resources into education and state-led infrastructural development. Controversially, and at considerable expense, he introduced free primary education for all and free health care for children in the Western Region, established the first television service in Africa in 1959, and the Oduduwa Group, all of which were financed from the highly lucrative cocoa industry which was the mainstay of the regional economy.
Under his leadership, nobody needed to fly to Canada or the UK to go and look for an education. It was here. People from Canada were doing Commonwealth exchange; coming from Canada to go and study at the University of Ife. If you want to go out, it was just for the fun of it not because the education here was inferior to what you are going to get outside.
Awo, Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, former Governor of old Ondo State, whom many describe as the moving spirit of the Free Education Programme of the defunct Western Region, and Ambrose Folorunsho Alli (22 September 1929 – 22 September 1989), the first civilian governor of the old Bendel State, shone like a billion star in the areas of education, infrastructural provision and nation building. They shared similar but interesting attributes worth emulating by Nigeria’s current crops of leaders.
Ambrose Alli, for example, was a member of the constituent assembly that drafted the 1978 Nigeria constitution. He joined the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and ran successfully as a UPN candidate in the Bendel State governorship election of 1979 and won the election. He founded Bendel State University now Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Many campuses in Ekpoma, Abraka and Asaba were established during his tenure. However, with the creation of Delta State by the administration of Gen. Babangida, the university became two universities, namely Delta State University, Abraka and Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, posthumously named after him.
He brought massive development to Bendel in different sectors, from the establishment of numerous post-primary schools and tertiary institutions to the massive construction of roads and housing. His main thrust as governor was to increase educational opportunities. He established over 600 new secondary schools and abolished secondary school fees.
Apart from the establishment of the university, he also established various Colleges of Education in Ekiadolor near Benin City, Agbor, Warri, Ozoro, and three Polytechnics, with a College of Agriculture and Fishery proposed for Agenebode.
He also established four teacher training colleges to supply staff to the new schools, as well as several other higher educational institutions. Other reforms included abolishing charges for services and drugs at state-owned hospitals and eliminating the flat-rate tax.
His administration carried out massive construction of roads to open up the rural areas. In the housing sector, he built low-cost housing estates in Ugbowo, Ikpoba Hill in Benin City, and Bendel Estates in Warri. As Governor, he always wore sandals, joking that he was so busy working in Government House that he never had time to buy shoes for himself. When Ambrose Alli left office in 1983, he retired to his family house.
Aside from the above account, we are equally witnesses to the fact that in the Midwest and Bendel State of old, there existed government-owned companies established by the then leaders. They were established to among other aims create employment while bringing revenue to government coffers.
Examples of such companies include but are not limited to MidWest Lines, Bendel Hotel, Bendel Insurance, and Bendel Glass, among others.
That was in the good old days.
Therefore, as the nation braces up for the 2023 general elections, there is no doubt that presently, Nigeria is at a leadership crossroad and there is a wise saying that “if you do not know the direction you are headed, then, get to the crossroad and you will find the way to your destination’. Nigerians should take hope in the fact that a cross-road is a place of decision, difficult decisions.
Again, ‘it is sometimes convenient to forget. At others, it is uncomfortable to remember. To forget is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of nature. But to remember can also be an invaluable asset sometimes”. It is, therefore, the opinion of this piece that come 2023, Nigerians will not forget the present crossroad. But even if as humans they forget, history will be there to remind them.
Utomi Jerome-Mario is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), a Lagos-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). He can be reached via Jeromeutomi@yahoo.com/08032725374
Managing Rising Inflation in Nigeria
International Youth Day 2022 and Nigerian Youth Ordeals
Nigeria and Beggar Bowl Leadership Approach
Why Leadership is the Problem
The Quest for Leadership Skills: How to Truly Become a Leader
The barrage of reactions and commentaries that trailed the recently published disturbing pictures that drew the attention of the Delta State government to the visibly distressed structures, dilapidated classrooms with fallen ceilings, windows and doors at Oyoko Primary School, Abavo, Ika South Local Government Area of the state has again given credibility to the belief that a free press is not a privilege but an organic necessity in a great society.
For without reliable and intelligent reporting, the government cannot govern. For there is no adequate way in which it can keep itself informed about what the people of the country are thinking, doing and needing.
Despite this new awareness, what has, however, caused concern among Deltans with critical interest as well as qualifies the development in the state’s education sector as a crisis is a fact that before the dust raised by the ‘deplorable, inhuman and gory account of Oyoko school condition could settle, another was up. This time, it has to do with an eyewitness account of the poor state of a secondary school in Abavo town, St Charles College.
For clarity, St Charles College, he said, was originally built, owned and operated by the Catholic mission in the state. The school has to its credit produced prominent citizens of Ika nation extraction and Nigeria as a whole. Also remarkable is the fact that the college was at a time the only secondary school within the Abavo clan that could boast of boarding facilities. Those were the good old days.
The school, like other missionary schools in the state, was seized by the state government, mismanaged, starved of funds, stripped of learning convenience, ‘killed’ and the carcass finally returned to the original owners by the administration of Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan without any form of financial mitigation or infrastructural remediation.
The commentator noted with nostalgia that ever since the government led its cold hands on St. Charles, the centre can no longer hold and things fall apart.
Even the new owner (the mission) is currently in search of the courage needed to tackle the degree of infrastructural decay in the school. The once celebrated hostel facility that previously housed students who are today not just prominent but great men in society is presently without a roof, lying lonely, fallow and deserted. The same fate befell the school laboratory building until recently when the old boys of the school took it upon themselves and had the laboratory building roofed. But even with that feat, the science laboratory cannot boast of a single test tube.
This state of affairs, he lamented, is in sharp contrast with the Anambra State experience under Governor Peter Obi’s administration who funded and equipped the schools with state-of-the-art ICT learning facilities, and provided school buses before he seamlessly handed over the school to the missions.
As the author, what is undeniably my concern, in addition to the above awareness, is not the commentator’s admission that the decay in the majority of schools (primary and secondary alike) did not start with the present administration, rather, it is his declaration that if the level of decay in previous administrations were considered a challenge, what is happening presently should be characterized as a crisis.
To further consolidate his position, he said; Governor Okowa’s mother is from the Abavo community. For that reason, if the Governor could abandon projects and neglect schools in the community where his mother hails from, that will give an insight to what is happening in other parts of the state.
In May 2015, he added, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa assumed office without doing anything substantial to save these financially emasculated schools returned to the missionaries or serve the people; forgetting that governance is a continuum. The Governor at the beginning of this year (2022) promised these mission schools some money, but such promises like many others have gone with political winds. We are particularly unhappy that Governor Okowa abandoned his people, he concluded.
Let’s assume the state government ignored St. Charles because it has been handed over to the mission and is now not directly under the preview of the government. It will again necessitate the question of how well has the government treated its own secondary schools under its watch?
To answer this perennial question, the findings of this study/research along with collaboration from many other investigations using different procedures suggest that both government secondary schools and the recently handed over mission schools share ‘equal sorrows’, virtues and attributes.
The similarity in structural deficiencies is a common denominator.
Take, as an illustration, St Anthony College, Ubulu-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of the state is a wholly owned government model school. But there is nothing model or modern about the school. The classes are far from being 21st-century learning environment compliant. The few new structures found in the school are attributable to the personal efforts of good-spirited individuals and the school’s old boys association.
The school hostel previously reputed for housing over 300 students is now a show of itself- infested with rodents and reptiles-these dangerous animals jostle for space with students. The environment is laced with dilapidated structures, falling windows and surrounded overgrown bushes. Even the promises made by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) have not appreciably changed St. Anthony College’s misfortune or changed their narratives, he concluded.
Certainly, there is, in my view, a reason to believe that these commentators may not be alone in this line of belief.
For instance, Ika Weekly Newspaper, a well-respected community newspaper based in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of the state, in its recent editorial comment entitled Calling on Gov. Okowa to Address the Sorry State of Oyoko Primary Schools Abavo, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, among other concerns stated that, “no learning takes place in such an environment. Yes, the students may gather at that point called Oyoko Primary School but we hold the opinion that evidence on the ground cannot qualify or ascribe such an environment as conducive for learning. More pathetically, that such a ‘learning environment’ still exists in the state and in the community where the Governor’s mother hails from, is a painful experience.”
Definitely, in my view, there is a funding challenge in the education sector not just in the state but the nation as a whole. Notwithstanding, this piece believes that in many ways, the present administration in the state may have a sincere desire to move the nation forward, but there are two militating factors. First, there is no clear definition of the problem as it concerns the education sector, the goals to be achieved, or the means chosen to address the problems. Secondly, this is the only possible explanation for this situation.
As an incentive to solve this lingering challenge, the state must depart from the cosmetic approach and get involved with more work and make more reforms. They must look for ways to develop/implement plans and policies that will lead to proper funding of the education sector in the state as any development plan without access to quality education is a sheer waste of time.
Also, drawing a lesson from the Anambra State experience under Peter Obi’s administration will be considered a right step taken in the right direction.
This piece holds the opinion that the state government needs to do this not for political reason(s) but for the survival of our democracy and the future of our children.
Utomi Jerome-Mario is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), a Lagos-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). He can be reached via Jeromeutomi@yahoo.com/08032725374
No doubt, inflation is a barrier to the much a country can do in terms of value and wealth creation as it affects every aspect of its productivity. Tragically, this is currently the state of Nigeria where the purchasing power of the Naira declines day by day. This decline is not without effect on daily living – everything increases as the purchasing power decreases.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual percentage change in value is known as inflation. It accurately gauges how much a portfolio of goods and services prices vary over the course of a year. The CPI for 2022 increased to 15.60 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2022, according to records from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Based on the NBS, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased from 9.0 per cent in 2015 to 17.71 per cent as of May 2022 (year on year).
It is obvious that over the years, the value of money in Nigeria has been falling, thereby causing a negative impact. Usually, this inflation is expected to reduce purchasing power by 2 per cent or 3 per cent to bounce back to stability but it seems that the inflation in Nigeria has risen above 10 per cent.
In a state like this, Nigeria is gradually tilting into hyper-inflation, thereby reducing the value of the Naira. Over the past 10 years, Nigeria has long struggled with a general increase in the cost of food, goods, and other necessities as well as a decline in buying power which has barely retraced the market.
Inflation rates of 2 per cent to 3 per cent assist an economy because they stimulate consumers to take out more loans and make more expenditures because interest rates are also held at historically low levels at these levels.
Inflation is brought on by the following among others:
As it is known, the value of money decreases when the economy undergoes inflation, which is an increase in the price of goods and services as a result, a given unit of currency now buys fewer products and services.
According to data from the NBS, the economy made an improvement in 2022’s first quarter, as evidenced by a 3.1 per cent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Both individuals and the nation as a whole are impacted by this high inflation.
The effects on consumers are the harshest – people can no longer maintain a budget since their income is so low. Consumers find it challenging to purchase even the necessities of life due to the high cost of everyday goods. They are forced to request higher pay as a result, which gives them no choice.
In order to manage inflation, the government and the central bank typically regulate the economy through monetary and fiscal policies. Monetary policy is the principal strategy employed (interest rate fluctuation). However, inflation can be controlled with the following measures:
Friday, August 12, 2022, is a very important date in the global calendar. It is a day that the global community sets aside to celebrate this year’s International Youth Day. The important purpose of this annual celebration, going to information from the United Nations (UN), is to among other things raise voices against any injustice or discrimination happening in the world against the youth. Again, going by available records, International Youth Day was recognized by the United Nations when they passed a resolution towards creating it in 1999 at the United Nations General Assembly. This day came into existence with the recommendation of the World Conference of Ministers and they are responsible for 12th August being declared as International Youth Day.
Essentially, there was a need for this day because a very large amount of youth in the world are struggling with issues related to physical or mental health, education and employment and thus all these issues need to be addressed. When the government or society does not focus on the proper development of the youth, they tend to become rebellious and many times they can opt for the choices which are neither good for their development nor for their country.
Certainly, the global community uses workshops, concerts, conferences, cultural events, seminars and meetings involving national and local government officials and youth organizations to celebrate the day while recognizing the contributions of young people and volunteers who are working towards the betterment of the society and are raising important issues that need more attention of the society, there are, however, painful signs that the situation back here in the country says instead of celebrating, the average Nigerian youth is currently in a state of frustration.
From commentaries, the frustration of these young victims of our nation’s socioeconomic challenge was not only fuelled by the gap between the extravagant promises made in the past by the government without fulfilment but predicated on the ills that flow from bad leadership which daily manifests in the tradition of leading without recourse to transparency and accountability. And as a consequence, ‘stifles development, siphons all scarce resources that could improve infrastructure, bolster education systems and strengthen public health and stack the deck against the poor masses.
To explain this position, a recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), reveals that in the second-quarter Q2:2020 unemployment rate among young people (15-34 years old) was 34.9%, up from 29.7%, while the rate of underemployment for the same age group rose to 28.2% from 25.7% in Q3, 2018. These rates were the highest when compared to other age groupings. Nigeria’s youth population eligible to work is about 40 million out of which only 14.7 million are fully employed and another 11.2 million are unemployed.
For a better understanding of where this piece is headed, youth in every society, says a study report, has the potential to stimulate economic growth, social progress and our all-national development. The strategic role of youths in the development of different societies of the world such as Cuba, Libya, China, Russia and Israel is obvious.
Youth unemployment is potentially dangerous as it sends a signal to all segments of Nigerian society. Here in Nigeria, the rate of youth unemployment is high, even during the period of economic normalcy i.e. the oil boom of the 1970s (6.2%); 1980s (9.8%) and 1990s (11.5%). Youth unemployment, therefore, is not a recent phenomenon. But if what happened in the 1980s/90s was a challenge of sorts, what is happening presently, going by the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is a challenge. This and many other concerns have expectedly caused divided opinion and a proliferation of solutions.
From the above, it is obvious that ‘we are in a dire state of strait because unemployment has diverse implications. Security-wise, the large unemployed youth population is a threat to the security of the few that are employed. Any transformation agenda that does not have job creation at the centre of its programme will take us nowhere.’
From unemployment challenges to the poor education sector, it is accurately documented that many Nigerian children are out of school not because they are not willing to be educated but because the cost of education is beyond the reach of their parents. The public schools are short of teachers with dilapidated buildings. Private schools on the other hand where the environment is conducive to learning are cost-intensive and out of reach of so many students and their parents.
In like manner, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike since February 14, 2022. The group embarked on such industrial action to protest the government’s inability to implement their demands on salaries and allowances of lecturers, and improved funding for universities.
The implication is that for the past six months and counting, these youths have been idling away at home and the Federal Government has not considered the damage such failures impose on this future strength of the nation that their generation will provide the next leaders.
Now, looking at the above painful account, and considering the fact that the nation Nigeria races to the 2023 general election, the question(s) may be asked; how far can the youth go in a nation where tribal loyalty is stronger than our common sense of nationhood? Can the youth effectively guard their courage? How far can the youths go as change agents in a country where excruciating poverty and starvation continue to drive more people into the ranks of beggars, whose desperate struggle for bread renders them insensible to all feelings of decency and self-respect? Or in a society where the majority of the youths can easily be induced to work across purpose and in a political space where a high density of the youth’s population resides in various villages with no access to information or livelihood? Can they truly create any impact? Or remain united for a very long time.
While the answer(s) to these questions is being awaited, the truth must be told to the effect that to make this year’s world youth day rewarding as well as change this trend, and achieve the objective of engaging youth in formal political mechanisms, increase the fairness of political processes by reducing democratic deficits, contributes to better and more sustainable policies which have symbolic importance that can further contribute to restoring trust in public institutions, especially among youth, there are inescapable actions that the youths must take, there are steps/action plans that Nigerian youths must execute.
Separate from constructively and sustainably engaging the Federal Government, It will not in any way be described as out of place if the youths harness their population advantage and their demographic dividends to form a formidable opposition that holds the government accountable or better still seek political offices come 2023 general election.
Supporting this position is Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution adopted from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948) which gives everyone the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The youth must also access the power of the press as Section 22 stipulates that “the press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall, at all times, be free to upload the fundamental objectives contained in this Chapter [Chapter IV: Fundamental Rights] and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people”, which has been emboldened by the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
It is important that Nigerian youths continue to speak up against violations of human rights, suppression of free speech and freedom of the press. Unlike their elders, youths must not initiate, encourage or spread false, mischievous or divisive information capable, or with outright intent, of misleading the populace and disrupting societal harmony and peace. Within the ambience of the law, they must speak up with facts against any wrongdoing or oppression by the government or fellow citizens capable of endangering sustainable democracy and the effective delivery of good governance.
They (youths) should view as evil the argument by political deconstructionists that Nigerian youths must face difficulties as there is no nation where each has his/her own job and house, and where all children receive as much education as their minds can absorb. This claim is not only ‘rationally inexplicable but morally unjustifiable. It is a fact that government lacks the capacity to fix socioeconomic challenges alone. But any government with goodwill and sincerity to save and serve the people must develop creative and innovative channels to promote sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development, environmental protection and job creation.
Also, Nigerians are in agreement that the law is the supreme instrument of the state which must be respected and no one is above the law. This particular fact, if well understood, will assist the youths to comprehend that as citizens, they are constitutionally eligible to vote and be voted for.
Utomi Jerome-Mario is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), a Lagos-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). He can be reached via Jeromeutomi@yahoo.com/08032725374