The National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced the June/July 2016 Senior Secondary Schools results in which 88.51 percent of the candidates got at least five credits including Mathematics and English Language. Registrar of the Council, Professor Charles Uwakwe, who released the results at the Headquarters in Minna, said that 905,011 (84.54 per cent) of candidates got five credits and above in English Language while 812,846 (80.16 percent) got five credits and above in Mathematics. He said that the comparative analysis of candidates performance in the examination for 2015 and 2016 shows that there is one percent (1%) improvement in the general performance of candidates in 2016 (88.51%) as compared with 2015 (87.51 percent). The analysis of candidates’ performance by State has Ekiti State recording the highest of 96.48 percent and Katsina State recording the least with 72.59 percent. Prof. Uwakwe said that 1,022,474 candidates in Nigeria and other countries sat and wrote the examination out of 1,027,016 who registered. He said that 43,905 cases of malpractice was recorded, and the number of schools involved in mass cheating as 194, adding that the results of candidates involved have been cancelled. The Registrar said that the council was able to sustain its timely release of results at the stipulated time from the date the last paper was written. [myad]
Whoever came up with the aphorism that “like attracts like” deserves a special place in the Guinness Book of World Records. How true! Our country Nigeria went to the Rio Olympics and came back with a bronze medal in football, looking really pitiable on the overall medals table whereas countries like Kenya, South and Ethiopia tried to put up some struggle for Africa. But now it is the Paralympics in the same Rio, Brazil, still in the year 2016, and Nigeria’s representatives are suddenly winning medals upon medals and breaking world records. As at the time of this writing, Nigeria has won 11 medals at the Paralympics, and we are 10th on the overall medals table. We have smashed at least two world records thanks to Flora Ugwunwa in Javelin and to Josephine Orji who shattered the world record with a lift of 160 kg in the women’s +84 kg lifting event. I don’t want to imagine myself in the same room with Josephine. Less than 160 kg as I am, she could lift me with a finger onto a bed, do what she likes with me, and no matter how happy the outcome of that imaginary encounter could be, she could still throw me out of the window with another finger. Woman pass man! Res-pe-ct!
But that is not how she is applying her talents; she is winning gold for Nigeria! A country where able-bodied men and women cannot achieve results but special persons go to the world stage and save the country’s face is what country: a country of specially challenged people. We have finally found our level. We are a country of gifted, but challenged people. We have economic recession at home. We are winning medals at a strategically recessed international competition. We fail persons who are physically challenged at home. We treat them like they do not belong. We do not pay enough attention to them. What is going on at the Rio Paralympics is a wake up call on the need for government at all levels to pay better attention to the special people among us: they have always risen beyond their challenges to do this nation proud, but this nation has always failed them.
When our fit and capable men and women went to the Rio Olympics, they came back with not just a face-saving bronze medal, but also with a truck-load of scandals. These include kits that arrived terribly late, flights that had to be arranged through charity, a Sports Minister that perpetually kept his foot in his mouth, hotel bills that could not be paid and just pure shame upon shame, including the spectacle of a Japanese philanthropist, Katsuya Takasu, having to come to the rescue of the Nigerian football team. When the main Olympics ended, the shame was so much, the athletes simply dispersed into thin air. Nobody bothered to receive and thank them for their effort. State officials insulted the Japanese philanthropist who supported Nigeria.
Not even Chierika Ukogu, the courageous lady who represented Nigeria for the first time at the Olympics in rowing was remembered. Samson Siasia, the man who led the Nigerian football team to a bronze medal was so furious he threw in the towel after the event. We can’t say he has given up on Nigeria, but he couldn’t hide his disgust. Golden boy, Mikel Obi used his own money to sustain the national soccer team at the Rio Olympics: he paid hotel bills, but nobody has deemed it necessary to send him something as decent as a letter of appreciation and commendation. In the face of all that Solomon Dalung is still sitting tight as Nigeria’s Minister of Sports. I am surprised he has not uttered a word to encourage our Paralympics representatives. No, I should not be surprised. It must be that he does not consider the Paralympics important. He is too busy attending to the able-bodied athletes, for him the Paralympics must be a parody. It is not like that elsewhere, though, not in Britain or the United States. Dalung must learn to be everybody’s Sports Minister.
The cold shoulder that the Rio Olympics Nigeria team got is unacceptable. Nobody invited the team for a handshake. They were just allowed to disperse without ceremony. This speaks volumes. Could it mean that we no longer consider sports important and strategic? Anyone who has followed the Olympics closely would know that it is an opportunity and a platform for projecting national strength, capability, pride and achievement. Human beings determine the profile and the fortunes of nations. They do so in virtually every field of human endeavour. The British at a point no longer did well at the Olympics and other international sporting events. It was a blow on their national brand. They identified the problem, invested in finding a solution and today, Great Britain is back in contention as a nation of great sporting talents. That is how strategic thinking and diligent policy implementation work. But here in Nigeria, policy flip flops and lack of continuity in policy implementation and the rise of dangerous insularity, exclusion and a me-myself-my people-governance style has produced at all levels a new normal pitched on values different from national objectives and interest.
I’d like to ask for one thing. As soon as possible, somebody in government should arrange for both the Rio Olympics and the Rio Paralympics teams to be properly received at Aso Villa. We also need to say a simple thank you to Delta Airlines, the airline that airlifted the Nigerian soccer team from Atlanta free of charge to Brazil. The boys arrived a few hours to their first match and they went on to win Nigeria’s only medal in the entire tournament. Without Delta United, that would never have happened. They deserve a we-are-grateful handshake, and the earlier the better. I also try to imagine how the first Nigerian to participate in rowing must be feeling.
She had to raise funds to get to the Rio Olympics. Many of her diaspora-based kind are competing for other countries, but she decided to stick with Nigeria and put this country on the map. And nobody has given her a phone call? Haba! I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ministry of Sports doesn’t even have her phone number. When people are treated badly, they give up on their country. They lose hope. They become angry and inconsolable. They feel used. The message of the god of small things is that small things can transform lives, build bridges, strengthen values and provide everlasting hope. In Nigeria, we trample upon small things, we ignore big things because we easily lose sight of things that matter.
When the National Honours List for this year is to be drawn up (there should be a National Honours List- about time!), the recipients should be strictly those persons who have done something significant for the nation. I will put all the obvious heroes and heroines I have mentioned or alluded to in this piece on that list, not the men, women and merchants of accidental privilege who suddenly become important because they have occupied some prominent positions in government. For once, let us honour those who deserve recognition, not some persons who have done nothing other than to benefit from Nigeria at everyone’s expense.
It is ironic that Nigeria’s able-bodied representatives at the 2016 Rio Olympics simply disappeared after the event; that should not happen with our gold-winning special athletes at the Rio Paralympics. They deserve a rousing welcome on their return. All things considered, we need to take sports more seriously. There is a lot that nations achieve with sports. It is a big, brand-building platform that serious nations do not joke with. Sports turn small nations into big nations. Jamaica cannot be described as a small nation, it is the country of Bob Marley, and it also has Usain Bolt, and other impressive and legendary athletes. Jamaica has no crude oil, but it has great sportsmen and women. Nigeria has over 200 million people, talented and capable men and women but see how we make a mess of opportunities and short-change the entire nation. The next challenge is to pull that valuable human resource away from the traps of recession and depression. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and minister of budget and national planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, marching to the venue of a retreat organized by the Presidency to search for solution to the economic recession and sound budgeting. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged his ministers and other stakeholders to think-out-of-the-box in order to lead Nigeria out of the present recession.
The President, who spoke at a ministerial retreat on economy and budget, held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Thursday said: “the challenges we face in the current recession require ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, to deploy strategies that involve engaging meaningfully with the private sector, to raise the level of private sector investment in the economy as a whole.”
The theme of the retreat is: “Building Inter-ministerial Synergy for Effective Planning and Budgeting in Nigeria,” which President Buhari said is very apt and timely, “especially as we are in the process of developing the 2017 Budget.”
The President recalled that over the years, there had been a mismatch between planned targets and budgetary outcomes at the National and sectorial levels.
He said that the Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), have not also benefited significantly from working together and building consensus around common national objectives, a situation which he said had has impeded growth and development of the country.
“It is in this context that this Retreat has been designed to discuss issues around the State of the Economy and build consensus amongst Cabinet Members and top Government officials. The Retreat will also serve as an opportunity to have a general overview of the economy and discuss the framework for the 2017 Budget, its key priorities and deliverables.”
The President said that the retreat is coming at a critical time in our economic history, when the Nigerian economy is in a recession, with significant downturn in performance in various sectors.
“It is with regard to the importance of this Retreat that I decided to sit through the first part of the session to listen to the views from experienced economists and development experts on how best to implement our plans to rid the country of its oil dependence and to diversify the economy and bring the country out of the current economic recession.
“This is in line with our Administration’s determination to lay a solid foundation for growth and development as outlined in the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) of our Change Agenda.
“Given that this Retreat is a lead-up to the 2017 Budget, my expectation is that we will come out of the these sessions with a determination and common position on how to have improved synergy amongst the various Ministries and Departments for the effective formulation and implementation of the 2017 Budget.
“I also trust that the breakout sessions will enable you to discuss extensively amongst yourselves, the details of the four sub-themes and come up with practical solutions on the way forward in order to come out with a set of prioritized projects and programmes that will fit into the 2017 Budget. [myad]
President Muhammdu Buhari has said that some Ministries may get significantly less capital allocation than they received in 2016, while others may get significantly more.
“In this regard, let me inform you that because of the need to focus on our key priorities, some Ministries may get significantly less capital allocation than they received in 2016, while others may get significantly more.”
The President spoke today, Thursday, at a ministerial retreat on recession vis-a-vis the 2017 national budget, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said that the inclusion of some key non-spending agencies, such as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), in the retreat underscores the commitment of his government to leverage on private sector resources, through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and other arrangements, in order to augment the scarce budgetary resources at our disposal and to accelerate investments in building critical infrastructure.
The President is confident that the level of private investment will grow as his government is determined to make it easier to do business in Nigeria by the reforms the government is introducing under the auspices of the Presidential Committee on Ease of Doing Business.
“Let me reiterate that this Government will continue to strategize on how we can turn the current challenges into opportunities for our nation and especially for our vibrant youth on whose shoulders lies the future of this nation. This is why we have embarked on measures and actions that will open up the opportunities we have seen in the Power, Housing, Agriculture, Mining, Trade and Investment, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Sectors, Tourism, Transport and other sectors.
“I wish to reassure its teeming youth that this Government would remain steadfast in its effort to ensure greater progress and prosperity for you.
“While Government is taking the lead in the task of repositioning our economy for Change, we cannot achieve this completely by ourselves. We will need, and we ask for the support and cooperation of the private sector’s domestic and foreign investors, the States and Local Governments, the National Assembly and the Judiciary as well as all well-meaning Nigerians in this important task. We are confident that working together, we shall succeed.”
Buhari asked the cabinet members to learn from the experiences of the Resource persons and facilitators at the retreat to enable them prioritise their sector programmes and projects to bring the country out of the current economic recession and place it on the path of growth and development.
He also asked the Ministers and other senior government officials at the retreat to actively participate in the Second Technical Session, which he believed will provide them with deeper insight into the complex issues that will open opportunities for them to identify critical priority projects and programmes for the 2017 Budget. [myad]
The Kaduna State Government has threatened to prosecute parents who obstruct the immunization of their wards below the ages of five against Polio.
A statement today, Thursday by the Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, reminded parents that the vaccination is compulsory, saying that a new round of Polio vaccination has since commenced across the 23 local government areas in the state.
“The government wishes to clarify that any parent found obstructing health workers from carrying out their statutory functions will be prosecuted according to the law.’’
The government stressed: “polio-free state is a mission that all parents must support for the sake of all children in the state.
“The campaign reflects the government’s determination to ensure that no child is exposed to the hazards of a disease that can be prevented, and which has been eradicated in most parts of the world.’’
The statement said that the state’s Taskforce on Polio Eradication Initiative and Routine Immunization headed by the governor, had reiterated the need to ensure the success of the programme.
It quoted the taskforce as saying: “children must be protected from the severe consequences of non-immunization. “The polio taskforce believes that most parents would easily appreciate the need to vaccinate their children.
“However, the public interest to protect children against avoidable health threats has led to a decision to make polio vaccination compulsory.
“The state cannot tolerate a situation where the laxity or levity of some parents may expose children to a bleak future.
“Parents and government must cooperate in guaranteeing good health for children in Kaduna state. The government said that the threat from polio was real and urged parents to treat it as an emergency. It advised parents and guardians to ensure that their wards were made available for immunization to ensure its success.
“The government has further directed that all eligible children in transit within Kaduna State be made available for immunization at all transit sites during the period of the campaign.”
It said that teams of vaccinators have been deployed to work with FRSC and NDLEA officials at partial roadblocks to vaccinate children in transit through highways in the State.
It commended parents, religious and traditional institutions in the state for their support in previous immunization campaigns even as it said that the parents’ continued cooperation in the effort to eradicate polio in the state is deeply appreciated as a most worthwhile investment in the future of our children. [myad]
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has opened fire on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose leadership called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign on the basis of the current economic recession. The APC said that instead of what it called ‘silly’ call on the President to resign, the PDP chieftains should honourably return huge loots they had made in their years of ruling the country.
In a statement issued Thursday in Abuja and signed by its national secretary, Mai Mala Buni, the APC said: “instead of this charade by the PDP, we advise the PDP and their cronies to apologize to Nigerians and toe the path of honour by returning public funds stolen under its watch.
“While the PDP attempts to fraudulently re-write history and misrepresent facts on its misrule of the country, Nigerians are traumatized on a daily basis on disclosures of the startling level of pillage of the country’s commonwealth perpetuated under its watch.
“The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is drawn to the latest ridiculous demand by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari returns the country to the voodoo economics and reckless fiscal policies the country was subjected to during the immediate-past PDP administration.
“The PDP faction by its demand to return the country to the years where looting of the public treasury was the order of the day, has taken its orchestrated plot to deflect attention from the economic mess it left behind to new insensitive and shameless heights.”
The statement read:
“Instead of saving for the rainy day, past PDP administrations and their cronies literally looted the public treasury blind, using the loot to build luxury hotels and other properties, stashing loot in farmlands and hidden bank accounts.
“While the APC led administration is open to and welcomes positive and constructive contributions on resolving the country’s economic challenges, the Party assures Nigerians that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is already employing all legitimate and innovative means to restore the country’s battered economy back to health in the quickest possible time.
“The results of the fiscal and economic agendas embarked by the President Buhari administration to tackle the effects of the country’s diminishing crude oil revenues, falling value of the Naira and resuscitate the economy will be evident soon.
“The APC appeals for patience and cooperation from Nigerians as the President Muhammadu Buhari administration works assiduously to pull the country out of the present hardships and restore the country on the path growth in all facets.” [myad]
The government of Ayodele Fayose has set aside the sum of N1.9 billion for the construction of new governors’ office and high court complex in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. The Commissioner for Works and Transportation, Funmi Ogun, who made this known today during an open bidding for the two projects in Ado-Ekiti, said that the projects were conceived as part of plans to the state a facelift in terms of infrastructure development. She said that when completed, both projects would add to the existing legacy projects of the present administration in the state. According to her, the consultants’ proposed bill for the construction of the new governor’s office is N687, 028, 630.63 million while that of the High Court Complex is N1, 299, 613, 897.60. The contractors that bid for the new governor’s office project at the session included Vyouad Construction Company Limited, Tianjin Yuyang Construction Company and Goodek Ventures Limited. For the construction of the proposed court complex, Grid Associates Limited and Fovak Construction Limited jostled for the job. The commissioner stated that the open tender confirmed the transparency of Fayose’s government and its commitment to prudent management of the state’s lean resources. Ogun said: “What we are doing today confirms the transparency of our government. “It shows that Governor. Fayose is incurably committed to giving Ekiti a facelift and make Ado Ekiti capital city a real modern city. “Ekiti will clock 20 years on October 1, 2016 and we have to embark on projects that will make Ekiti a developing state that can compete with other capital cities in terms of infrastructure. “The High Court we are presently using was inherited from the old Ondo state and constructing a new one of our own will afford us the opportunity to put state-of-the-art equipment.” [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the frosty relationship between states and local government as “a very serious constitutional problem.” He added: “the relationship between the three tiers of government is not a very nice one, especially that between the local governments and the states.” The President, who received the leadership of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON) today, Thursday, in Abuja, said that he will support a constitutional amendment to free local governments from the stranglehold of states to enable them better the lot of Nigerians at the grass root level. He said that a constitutional amendment is urgently required to clearly define the relationship among the three tiers of government. “The states feel like they own the local government, if they are of the same party. It is worse if they are not. “This is a very serious constitutional problem and unless there is absolute clarity and transparency, the relationship will continue to be exploited against the interest of the ordinary people of the country.” the President advised the ALGON executives to hold consultations with their people and lawyers with a view to presenting a bill that will seek a constitutional amendment to free the councils from the stranglehold of the states. “This will limit the damage they can do to you. The quicker you do this the better, so that you can help your people much more.” The President acknowledged the request by ALGON for the release of 3.2 billion dollars wrongfully deducted by the Federal government for the final settlement of foreign debts in 2005. Supported by Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, the Minister of Finance, President Buhari said the government recognized the judgment debt but the timing of the request for its repayment was wrong given the current economic situation in the country. In his remarks, Acting ALGON National President Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Karaye presented a six-point demand to the President which included the repayment of the 3.2 billion debt and the need to ensure the sovereignty of local government administration in the country. The ALGON leaders expressed their full support to the President’s programmes on improving security, anti-corruption campaign and economic revival. [myad]
Acting Director of defense information of the Nigerian Defense Headquarters, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, has dismissed the threat by Boko Haram insurgents to capture President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as a joke.
Reacting to a 13-minute-long Boko Haram video posted online, in which a leader of the insurgent group threatens to kill or capture President Buhari, by calling it a sign of weakness, Abubakar said Boko Haram has been so severely weakened by a concentrated assault by the Nigerian military and police that the Internet is the only place it has any strength.
“The only place they have an agenda for now is the social media. The only ground the Boko Haram can go to hide and pretend to be alive is the social media because it is everybody’s home. “The so-called video is an attempt by the remnants to remind us that there were once some Boko Haram elements. The issue of the threat to capture PMB is a complete joke and a dream of the century.
“Therefore, the entire clip should be ignored as everybody is appreciative of our feat against Boko Haram. It is not just an empty threat; it is a threat that has no substance at all. It is a senseless threat from their imagination. Nigeria should simply ignore it.”
The video depicts Boko Haram forces in a prayer for the Eid-al-Adha holiday, and an unidentified leader addressing them in Hausa and in Arabic. He identifies himself as a follower of leader Abubakar Shekau, believed by the Nigerian military to have been killed; Shekau does not appear in the video.
“This is a message to the leader of the infidels Buhari, who says he will crush us. Infidels before him made similar threats, Buhari who says he will crush us; in sha Allah [by the grace of Allah] he will only die. By the grace of Allah, under the leadership of the leader of this movement our imam, we will capture Buhari hand to hand…we will deal with all our enemies, we are prepared at all times. Just as you all love life, so do we love death. This time around, no retreat, no surrender, in sha Allah. We shall be granted victory over you all,” the leader said. [myad]
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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has opened fire on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose leadership called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign on the basis of the current economic recession. The APC said that instead of what it called ‘silly’ call on the President to resign, the PDP chieftains should honourably return huge loots they had made in their years of ruling the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the frosty relationship between states and local government as “a very serious constitutional problem.”
Acting Director of defense information of the Nigerian Defense Headquarters, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, has dismissed the threat by Boko Haram insurgents to capture President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as a joke.
Nigeria and the Rio Paralympics, By Reuben Abati
Whoever came up with the aphorism that “like attracts like” deserves a special place in the Guinness Book of World Records. How true! Our country Nigeria went to the Rio Olympics and came back with a bronze medal in football, looking really pitiable on the overall medals table whereas countries like Kenya, South and Ethiopia tried to put up some struggle for Africa. But now it is the Paralympics in the same Rio, Brazil, still in the year 2016, and Nigeria’s representatives are suddenly winning medals upon medals and breaking world records. As at the time of this writing, Nigeria has won 11 medals at the Paralympics, and we are 10th on the overall medals table. We have smashed at least two world records thanks to Flora Ugwunwa in Javelin and to Josephine Orji who shattered the world record with a lift of 160 kg in the women’s +84 kg lifting event. I don’t want to imagine myself in the same room with Josephine. Less than 160 kg as I am, she could lift me with a finger onto a bed, do what she likes with me, and no matter how happy the outcome of that imaginary encounter could be, she could still throw me out of the window with another finger. Woman pass man! Res-pe-ct!
But that is not how she is applying her talents; she is winning gold for Nigeria! A country where able-bodied men and women cannot achieve results but special persons go to the world stage and save the country’s face is what country: a country of specially challenged people. We have finally found our level. We are a country of gifted, but challenged people. We have economic recession at home. We are winning medals at a strategically recessed international competition. We fail persons who are physically challenged at home. We treat them like they do not belong. We do not pay enough attention to them. What is going on at the Rio Paralympics is a wake up call on the need for government at all levels to pay better attention to the special people among us: they have always risen beyond their challenges to do this nation proud, but this nation has always failed them.
When our fit and capable men and women went to the Rio Olympics, they came back with not just a face-saving bronze medal, but also with a truck-load of scandals. These include kits that arrived terribly late, flights that had to be arranged through charity, a Sports Minister that perpetually kept his foot in his mouth, hotel bills that could not be paid and just pure shame upon shame, including the spectacle of a Japanese philanthropist, Katsuya Takasu, having to come to the rescue of the Nigerian football team. When the main Olympics ended, the shame was so much, the athletes simply dispersed into thin air. Nobody bothered to receive and thank them for their effort. State officials insulted the Japanese philanthropist who supported Nigeria.
Not even Chierika Ukogu, the courageous lady who represented Nigeria for the first time at the Olympics in rowing was remembered. Samson Siasia, the man who led the Nigerian football team to a bronze medal was so furious he threw in the towel after the event. We can’t say he has given up on Nigeria, but he couldn’t hide his disgust. Golden boy, Mikel Obi used his own money to sustain the national soccer team at the Rio Olympics: he paid hotel bills, but nobody has deemed it necessary to send him something as decent as a letter of appreciation and commendation. In the face of all that Solomon Dalung is still sitting tight as Nigeria’s Minister of Sports. I am surprised he has not uttered a word to encourage our Paralympics representatives. No, I should not be surprised. It must be that he does not consider the Paralympics important. He is too busy attending to the able-bodied athletes, for him the Paralympics must be a parody. It is not like that elsewhere, though, not in Britain or the United States. Dalung must learn to be everybody’s Sports Minister.
The cold shoulder that the Rio Olympics Nigeria team got is unacceptable. Nobody invited the team for a handshake. They were just allowed to disperse without ceremony. This speaks volumes. Could it mean that we no longer consider sports important and strategic? Anyone who has followed the Olympics closely would know that it is an opportunity and a platform for projecting national strength, capability, pride and achievement. Human beings determine the profile and the fortunes of nations. They do so in virtually every field of human endeavour. The British at a point no longer did well at the Olympics and other international sporting events. It was a blow on their national brand. They identified the problem, invested in finding a solution and today, Great Britain is back in contention as a nation of great sporting talents. That is how strategic thinking and diligent policy implementation work. But here in Nigeria, policy flip flops and lack of continuity in policy implementation and the rise of dangerous insularity, exclusion and a me-myself-my people-governance style has produced at all levels a new normal pitched on values different from national objectives and interest.
I’d like to ask for one thing. As soon as possible, somebody in government should arrange for both the Rio Olympics and the Rio Paralympics teams to be properly received at Aso Villa. We also need to say a simple thank you to Delta Airlines, the airline that airlifted the Nigerian soccer team from Atlanta free of charge to Brazil. The boys arrived a few hours to their first match and they went on to win Nigeria’s only medal in the entire tournament. Without Delta United, that would never have happened. They deserve a we-are-grateful handshake, and the earlier the better. I also try to imagine how the first Nigerian to participate in rowing must be feeling.
She had to raise funds to get to the Rio Olympics. Many of her diaspora-based kind are competing for other countries, but she decided to stick with Nigeria and put this country on the map. And nobody has given her a phone call? Haba! I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ministry of Sports doesn’t even have her phone number. When people are treated badly, they give up on their country. They lose hope. They become angry and inconsolable. They feel used. The message of the god of small things is that small things can transform lives, build bridges, strengthen values and provide everlasting hope. In Nigeria, we trample upon small things, we ignore big things because we easily lose sight of things that matter.
When the National Honours List for this year is to be drawn up (there should be a National Honours List- about time!), the recipients should be strictly those persons who have done something significant for the nation. I will put all the obvious heroes and heroines I have mentioned or alluded to in this piece on that list, not the men, women and merchants of accidental privilege who suddenly become important because they have occupied some prominent positions in government. For once, let us honour those who deserve recognition, not some persons who have done nothing other than to benefit from Nigeria at everyone’s expense.
It is ironic that Nigeria’s able-bodied representatives at the 2016 Rio Olympics simply disappeared after the event; that should not happen with our gold-winning special athletes at the Rio Paralympics. They deserve a rousing welcome on their return. All things considered, we need to take sports more seriously. There is a lot that nations achieve with sports. It is a big, brand-building platform that serious nations do not joke with. Sports turn small nations into big nations. Jamaica cannot be described as a small nation, it is the country of Bob Marley, and it also has Usain Bolt, and other impressive and legendary athletes. Jamaica has no crude oil, but it has great sportsmen and women. Nigeria has over 200 million people, talented and capable men and women but see how we make a mess of opportunities and short-change the entire nation. The next challenge is to pull that valuable human resource away from the traps of recession and depression. [myad]