Twenty people were feared to have roasted to death while many others sustained third degree burns in an inferno that occurred the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN located at Calabar Road by the Millennium Park .
The explosion which took place at about 11.45am set the main edifice of the bank on fire effectively trapping many staff and visitors, resulting in the high casualty.
Eye witnesses said that a team of mobile policemen and soldiers, assisted by nurses and personnel of the Nigeria Security and civil defense Corps around 12’00 pm were keeping guard over the place while officials of the Federal and State Fires Services were putting out the fire and rescuing those trapped in the building.
“I cannot give exact figures of how many people are dead but many people were burnt beyond recognition while many sustained third degree burns; rescue operation is going on to ensure everyone is brought out soon,” an Official of the Federal Fire Service at the Calabar Airport said.
He added that the source of the explosion is not known but was assumed to be some locally made improvised device even as others suspected the explosion of gas tank at the generator house.
Ambulances from the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) and General Hospital Calabar were brought in to evacuate the dead and those wounded while rescue efforts were being made to extricate those still inside.
No official of the bank was willing to speak to the press on the cause of the inferno but the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone six, Baba Bolanta said that so far, eighteen persons were injoured “but no death has been recorded.” [myad]
A veteran journalist, editor and communication specialist, Mallam Garba Deen Muhammad has emerged as one of the Group General Managers in the changes that have just been effected by the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He was named as new head of the Corporation’s Group Public Affairs Department. Garba Deen as he is fondly called, is the incumbent President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), a position he attained after the appointment of Mr. Femi Adesina, former NGE president, as Presidential Spokesman by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The new spokesman NNPC is assuming office as an accomplished media professional who is highly respected by his colleagues.
According a statement by NNPC, other new unit heads who have been appointed are expected to resume fully by April 1, 2016.
The full list of the shake-up, appointments at NNPC are as follows:
Appointed GEDs/COOs
Upstream – Bello Rabiu
Downstream – Henry Ikem–Obih
Refineries – Anibor Kragha
Gas and Power – Saidu Mohammed
Ventures – Babatunde Adeniran
Finance & Accounts – Isiaka Abdulrazaq
Corporate Services – Isa Inuwa
GGMs Strategy & Execution (Supporting the GEDs/COOs)
The National Technical Director, Shuaibu Amodu, has charged the U-17 National Women Team, Flamingos, to go into tomorrow’s FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifier match against the Bantwana of South Africa of South Africa with the determination to win and get the required result that will render the second leg a mere formality. The match will be played the main bowl of the Abuja National Stadium starting from 4pm. Amodu, a four-time Super Eagles Head Coach, who attended the team’s training session in Abuja encouraged the girls to continue their impressive performances that got them to the final round of the qualification, especially the 9-0 aggregate mauling of the Baby Gladiators of Namibia. He also made it clear to the girls that the future is in their hands and that they should maximise all their opportunities. “I encourage and thank you on behalf of the Nigeria Football Federation for all the sacrifices you have made. We have heard reports of your discipline and dedication, and all I have to add now is for you not to relent. Try and sustain the discipline and also to be determined that every team that comes across you would be crushed. The Federation will continue to fully support the team to achieve greater height.” Captain Rasheedat Ajibade thanked the National Technical Director for the visit and once again promised that the team will not let the country down. “We will do everything to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Jordan.” Only three spots are being reserved for Africa at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan. The other qualifiers to be decided this weekend will see the Ghana facing Morocco, while Cameroon take on Egypt. Nigeria has featured in all previous editions of the World Cup since it began in 2008. [myad]
Present at the launching of a book titled: ‘So Long Too Long Nigeria’ by Segun Adeleye, at the Afe Babalola Hall, University of Lagos yesterday, March 10, were from right to left: Dr. Adeleke Ipaye, Senior Special Assistant to Osun State Governor, representing the Governor Rauf Aregbesola; Molara Wood, Head of the Corporate Communications, Resort International Ltd, representing Dr. Wale Babalakin; Mr. Segun Adeleye, President/CEO of World Stage Ltd who is founder of Segun Adeleye Foundation for Good Leadership in Africa (SAFFGLIA); Mr. Joe Bankole, Head of Lagos Operations, News Agency of Nigeria, representing Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed as well as Mrs. Tosin Adeleye, Trustee of SAFFGLI. [myad]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
What can we make out of this statement? We were not told that this world was created with the mixing of materials to build or construct things, but through spoken words. In Yoruba, they called it ‘Ofo’. When God created heaven and earth, it was through pronouncement, it happened, it was gazetted, which could be interpreted to mean that it was published and that communication or journalism was one of the earliest skills.
As we are here today to exchange ideas, so also would be thousands of gatherings all over the world with the sole aim of getting people to listen to one another. But it’s easy to take this for granted, asking that what have we gained from all the talks of the past? This could explain why in this part of the world, we don’t seem to see the knowledgeable chief executives or top government officials readily sharing their wealth of experience with the rest of the world at conferences. They have left the burden to their spokespersons to clarify their stands on issues; that is when it’s absolutely necessary. But in most cases, they are only trying to be careful, to protect their comfort zone and avoid being misunderstood, and most importantly, not to be seen to oppose the position of the authority in power, even when they have different opinions about how things can be done better. But can we really make progress without speaking out our mind? If we are not making progress here despite how much we talk, could it be that we are not saying the right things or could it be that we are not even listening to one another?
The next thing after speaking out in order of importance is taking action. This event should have taken place on January 20th last year to mark my golden jubilee birthday, but it didn’t happen and a lot of things happened after that including the passing on of my inspirational father, Pa Joseph Adeleye on February 9, 2015, that should have prompted me to call it off, but because I acted and didn’t give up, that’s why we are here today.
What is leadership? Let me take you back to the first republic in Nigeria. After the major players had exhausted their weaknesses and ignorance, the trio of Major Nzeogwu, Ifeajuma and Ademoyega on January 15, 1966 put an end to the ‘Pekele mess’ and despite the divergence of views over the merit of their action, there was a national consensus then about the need for a change.
There was a similarity with what happened at a critical stage of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa in 1961 when the African National Congress (ANC) set up its military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), headed by Nelson Mandela, to add fresh momentum to the agitation. It’s all about taking action.
Nzeogwu and his friends struck then in Nigeria because they were convinced that they were the only ones, through the instrument of their profession, the military, that could stop the nation’s drift. But since then, which individual using the instrument of their professions apart from Fela Anikulapokuti and Gani Faweyinmi have taken a great risk to rescue Nigeria from her persistent drift?
It is not common in history to see the masses taking action to change their plight. It has always being a case of one or few people acting on their strong convictions to change the course of history, or how do we explain why it’s Muritala Muhammed who ruled for only six months (July 30, 1975 – February 13, 1976) that is seen as the only hero of all those who had ruled Nigeria till date?
If we reflect on the major discourse in our country for so long too long now, it’s about corruption- the EFCC arraigning people almost every day for stealing millions or billions of naira. A lot of people had stolen so much in the name of taking their share of the national cake, such that the young ones coming up can no longer think straight of how to be successful, but waiting for their turn to have access to the treasury. If you are not in government, your reaction to the tales of billions of naira being stolen will most likely be incredulous, but if you’re inside, you may tend to have some understanding to justify how many loose funds find their ways into some private pockets.
Professor Wole Soyinka recently asked a thought provoking question about ‘where did we go wrong?’ concerning Nigerian youths in their 20s and 30s that are still depending on their parents compared with when “Awolowo was 37 years, Akintola 36, Ahmadu Bello 36, Balewa 34, Okotie-Eboh 27 and Enahoro 27 and only Zik was 42 when they led the struggle for Nigeria Independence after the death of Macaulay.
He went on to add that in 1966, the first military coup was led by K Nzeogwu who was 29 years and countered by M. Mohammed 28, T. Danjuma 28, I. Babangida 25, J. Garba 23, Sani Abacha 23, and M. Yar’adua 23. It brought into power Y. Gowon 32, Ojukwu 33, Obasanjo 29, and Buhari 24.
But today, he asked: “Why is it that almost all this age bracket is today still sleeping in 3-seater chairs in their parents’ homes? Why is it that this age bracket is today still collecting pocket money from their parents? Why is it that this age bracket is today still writing JAMB? Why is it that this age bracket today still ‘sagg’ their trousers? Why is it that this age bracket is today still searching for jobs and not yet married? Why is it that this age bracket is today no longer qualified to even be leaders of youth wings of political parties? Why is it that this age bracket is today so docile? Why is this age bracket today incapable of feeding itself? Why is it that this age bracket is today barred from even aspiring to certain political offices? Why is it that this age bracket is today incapacitated, unwilling, unable and incapable of asking questions?”
One may not be able to do justice to these questions by merely comparing the two periods of time without raising more questions, such as, was it normal for the destiny of a nation to fall into the hands of youths in their 20s and 30s? Has that ever happened anywhere in the world? Did they perform creditably well or would it have been better if there was no vacuum of history? What created the vacuum that the older citizens in their 40s to 60s who should have more wisdom, were completely bypassed?
We only need to examine the age long calamities and injustice in history to establish the fact that the destiny of a nation was thrown in the laps of some young men in their 20s then, and that the same age bracket now are docile dependants, are all descending consequences that will continue to depreciate in standard until there is a conscious reawakening about what went wrong and who we are.
By the way, what should be the limit of history? What use is history if it is abridged, fragmented or distorted? If you enter a room when a man was giving his wife a dirty slap but missed the Act 1 when the wife first hit him on the head with the curve end of a fry pan, you may leave the scene with the wrong impression about who was the aggressor.
Where did we go wrong? Does the history you have capture the scene where we went wrong? Are you aware that Egypt in Africa was the most civilized country in the world throughout antiquity, and the dream place to be between 7,000 and 2,000 years ago?
Let me open you up with a little bit of history from, ‘White Invasion of Africa Started In 1450 BCE’, an adaption from Naiwu Osahon’s book: The End of Knowledge.
It narrated that large scale migrations of primitive white-skin tribes called ‘Sea People’ by Africans, into the prosperous southern Mediterranean region, particularly Egypt, happened by 1350 BCE during the reign of Pharaoh Akhnaton, who adopted very liberal attitude to the emerging phenomena. The movements of ‘Sea People’ reached alarming proportions within 100 years and began upsetting the ethnic balance of the region. As the movements continued in the 700 years that followed, absorbed immigrants became ambitious and rebellious, taking advantage of their hosts’ generous and accommodating disposition, to set themselves up as Lords and Chiefs in territories they settled in.
White ascent in the world began taking shape after Whites had imbibed African education, industry, religion, social engineering and civilization.
Greeks who studied in Egypt and put their names to African ideas and philosophies stolen from the Egyptian Mystery System, to become world famous, included Thales of Miletus (c624-c565 BCE), Pythagoras (c582-c500 BCE), Democritus (c470-c400 BCE), Socrates (470-399 BC), Plato (427-347 BCE), Aristotle (384-322 BCE), and all the other world famous ancient Greek philosophers Greece entered world history when she conquered Egypt in 332 BCE and White scholars think that is enough for them to usurp more than 15,000 years of African origination, nurturing and systematic evolution of modern civilization. Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE), was educated by Aristotle who himself graduated from Egypt.
The Greeks ride on their stolen secret ancient intellectual properties of the Africans to dazzle an essentially backward and gullible world as their cradle of philosophical thoughts and civilization. It was easy for the Greeks to do this because the African Mystery System was, of course, secretive. It prohibited publication of its teachings. The original materials were there to steal and cannibalize after they conquered Egypt. As the Greeks did that, they injured and grievously scared an entire race of people, the original race of man. To cover up their dishonesty and permanently destroy all evidence of African glorious past, they caricatured African culture in their illustrations and literature. By their disgraceful act of subversion, they assassinated the true history of mankind, and unnecessarily and seriously disabled universal scholarship for over two thousand years.
In a more recent episode during the “Scramble for Africa” was the invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the period of New Imperialism, between 1881 and 1914. In 1870, only 10 percent of Africa was under European control; by 1914 it had increased to 90 percent of the continent, with only Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Liberia still being independent. The only colony the United States had claim to was Liberia which was established by the American Colonization Society on January 7, 1822.
As established above, “the movements of white people into Africa continued in 700 years with absorbed immigrants becoming ambitious and rebellious, taking advantage of their hosts’ generous and accommodating disposition, to set themselves up as Lords and Chiefs in territories they settled in.”
But is it a crime to be generous and accommodating?
When Africans were subdued and conquered then, it was a catastrophic loss for the generations after up till today being born to unconsciously live with the belief that they are weaker and inferior. Was the conscious or unconscious acceptance of the defeat as a failure not more devastating than the loss itself? Wasn’t that really ‘where we got it wrong?’
The world order was made for Africa to live with without its input. It has no control over what to plant, eat, sell, govern, speak, teach, think and even how to raise its children. Things are getting worse day by day and the only aspiration left for Africans is to be like the whites. Now foreign food tastes better, their dresses look better, their names, music sound better and recently, their accents are more acceptable. If a successful African wants to give his family a treat, the logical thing to do is to take them on vacation to a foreign land. From the early age, the young ones are programmed to see foreign land and everything there as better than home, and they are initiated into the rat race to become what they are not. The root of the corruption we so much debated came from the same source with the added greed to the unquenchable appetite to buy houses abroad, keep looted funds abroad to sustain exotic comfort.
If an African professor wants to do a research and discovers that something similar had been done by someone from abroad, he would most likely feel defeated that there is no point wasting time doing it again since someone from such advanced environment had done it. It has been universally accepted that you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. But was this not imposed so that Africans will not ask questions? Were Africans there when the wheel was invented? What if the wheel was wrongly invented in the first place? Why must Africans accept everything they are told? Who says car must always be driven on the road? Can’t it fly? Who says the fastest means of transport must be by air? Can’t we just disappear? If the whites had first made it to the moon while aiming Mars, while can’t Africa aim at the star?
Education, the advancement of knowledge is at the initiative and the pace of foreigners on what African must learn and believe. Native dialects have become secondary languages which the African child has to learn through the foreign languages. The best of African can only be in an imposed curriculum with the success being judged and approved through the prism of foreign standards. The history of Africa being thought in African schools is the limit of the version the foreigners want the Africans to know and believe about themselves. In Nigeria, the history being thought in the schools was specially package for the country to remain disunited. It’s about the late 1950s and early 1960s when Amadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikwe and Obafemi Awolowo were scheming to rule the country. When this history is taught, the children can only be made angry, with the Ibos justifying their marginalisation claims, blaming the north for that and the west for scuttling their chance to rule, while the Yorubas will feel frustrated by a union that has limited its advancement. But the history was deliberately cut short as people that wrote it failed to open it further for children to see that even the actors of the first republic were victims and consequences of the past defeat. If an Ibo man should set up a business today, he will most likely feel comfortable having people from the east to work for him, so also if a northerner is elevated to a high political position, he will bring people mostly from his region to work with him. In Africa now, the Muslims are more comfortable with fellow Muslims while some Christians cannot even allow their children to marry Muslims. But if history is opened further and everyone is made to see that all Africans came from the same parents, would they still behave the same way? If a corrupt politician that stole so much to provide comfort for his family can be made to see in history that the remaining populace that are left to suffer are actually his brothers and sisters, will he not think twice?
The most dangerous trend now is that most Africans don’t even know that something is wrong, while those that have the feeling that something is missing have given up, believing that it could be a case of mental sickness, retardation, generation curse and hopeless situation. If something is not wrong, why are Africans playing second fiddle in all human endeavors such as in sports, entertainment, art, governance, science and technology and all others? Why is it that African leaders will loot the commonwealth and keep it in foreign banks while million are suffering at home. The fact now is that the descendants of those that were taken on slavery centuries ago are far better than the offspring of those left behind.
When I thought about this great tragedy, the two possible solutions that came to my mind were that, first, if it is possible to have a government in any African country, where the leader will be conscious of the full history, so that he can live it, preach it for Africans to start seeing that they are perfectly made without any subjugation to others; unlimitedly endowed to attain any goal they set their minds on. Only few Africans, such as Fela that had seen the full history ended up being radical and revolutionary in nature. In the entire African countries, they can be counted from our finger tips.
The second option was what made me to form Segun Adeleye Foundation for Good Leadership in Africa (SAFFGLIA). Far from seeking cheap popularity or personal enrichment, it was not even conceived to have my name, but after over a dozen names with ‘leadership’, ‘governance’ all rejected by registration authority, I had to accept the suggestion to add my name before it sailed through.
The foundation will lead the crusade for good leadership in Africa by making Africans to rediscover who they are. Imagine if the veil can be removed from the faces of about 10 people in every university in every African country every year from now on?
The foundation will carry out activities and projects that will encourage governments across Africa to embrace good governance in order to uplift the standard of living of the people. In doing this, it will employ all possible means including legal actions.
* It will draw attention to activities of governments from local to national levels and encourage/compel them to do things in the best interest of the people
* It will engage in leadership training programmes that will raise new generation of positive leaders who will champion the spirit of development of their societies in Nigeria and Africa.
* It will provide scholarships in higher institution level to youths with leadership qualities in Nigeria and other African countries.
* It will promote research into good leadership in Africa.
* It will engage in research into alternative policies to government policies that are not working.
* It will provide counselling, support and care for people that are unjustifiably victimised by bad governments in Africa.
* It will organise Annual SAFFGLIA African Leadership Lecture, seminars, briefings, workshops and interventional programmes on issues of good leadership.
* It will engage in opinion moulding, empowerment, and building confidence of people on how to make their governments accountable.
* It will develop SAFFGLIA Good Leadership Africa Index (SGLAI) as a barometer for measuring performances of leaders across Africa.
* It will encourage/recognise leaders that are doing well through The African Man Award.
* It will establish the African Hall of Fame for distinguished leaders both in the public and private sectors.
I am particularly happy over how it turned out that Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture will deliver the first Annual SAFFGLIA African Leadership Lecture in view of the message the foundation intends to take to every corner of the continent. With the complete derailment of Africans, the ministry of Information and Culture stands out as the most important in any African country, even more important than petroleum, as government can be projected through the true value of who we are. The ministry can make the mission easier by first ensuring the reintroduction of our full history to the schools. Anything short of the full history will not restore our past glory.
The choice of this beautiful academic setting for the lecture is for the students to get involved, so that their eyes can be opened to know who they are. The time is still on their side to join the crusade for the enlightenment of other Africans. The task ahead of the youth is enormous if Africa will ever have any relevance and saying in the world’s affairs in years to come. Make no mistake to think that our being docile, gentle, obedient, careless, being too much religious with endless vigils and prayers will one day reverse the monumental injustice of the past. The world was not built on justice. The aggressors will not go to sleep. We heard that sinners will not go unpunished, but when, nobody knows. In fact, the wicked and the sinners of yesterday are the first in line to receive the mercy of God. The only time when there will be justice in this world will be at the end of time when we would have all died. If you doubt this, go and read the stories of Cain and Abel; Esau and Jacob; Israel and Egypt. It has always been as in the Kingdom of God that suffers violence and the violent takes it by force.
As you hear this message, the idea is not to be angry and start rejecting everything made by foreigners, after all, in the full history we know that human beings came from the same source, with the whites being our long distance adventurous cousins that left only to return and dominate. The message is for Africans to rise up, stop being copycats, stop taking whatever is thrown at them while being what they are not, but to recognise their identity, essence and proudly bring their values and aspiration to the table as contribution to international relations. Africa needs its voice and identity to focus and realise its entire God given potentials. The glory of Africa has been covered for centuries with generation after generation being born into mental slavery. If we don’t do anything now, of course, the world will not come to an end, but our children will continue to be slaves to their counterparts in other land. But if we start something now with our collective awareness, we can change our destiny and our children will be proud that at certain time in history, we woke up to take our rightful place in the world. Africa must rise again. Thank you all for coming.
God bless Nigeria, God bless Africa.
*A speech by Mr Segun Adeleye, Founder, Segun Adeleye Foundation For Good Leadership In Africa (SFFGLIA) at the Inaugural Lecture of the foundation/Launch of his book ‘So Long Too Long Nigeria’ at the Afe Babalola Auditorium, University of Lagos, Nigeria, on March 10, 2016. [myad]
Nigeria’ grazing reserve law was established in 1965. This created an area, mainly in the north, for exclusive use of the Fulani nomads to graze their animals. It was the first attempt at incorporating the interest of the grazers into national development. The law protected herders against intimidation and deprivation by sedentary cultivators, cattle ranchers and commercial intruders. In the same year, the northern Nigerian government, as it were, domesticated the law in the region by incorporating a Fulani amenities proposal into the grazing reserve law to protect herdsmen who lived and carried out grazing activities at the mercies of farmers that made themselves lordliness of occupied and unoccupied land.
The Fulani amenities proposal was the article that suggested the establishment of grazing reserves. It had also called for the improvement of Fulani welfare and the transformation of their herd management system. Over 6.5 million hectares of forest reserve and 98 percent in the savannah was gazetted for that purpose. The area spanned from Sokoto, in the west, through to Bauchi, in the east, and then south to Ilorin, present day Kwara State. But an increasing population and development within the areas that were earlier marked as grazing reserves led to changes in grazing; from surpluses to subsistence and survival methods that brought to fore our unthinkable experiences of this day.
The reason, when we hear about Fulani attacks against farming communities in parts of Nigeria or other innocent citizens, it is not a battle of hate but that of survival, for their cattle over insufficient pasture. This scarcity means the Fulani’s now increasingly take their herd to forage further south, through towns and large villages as they traverse from north to south, roaming cattle, goats and sheep, sometimes scavenging playgrounds, school compounds, residential areas and national highways. In doing this, they intrude and cause traffic obstructions and in extreme cases, bring violence on farming communities when confronted in remote villages for trespassing on farm lands. There have been recurring clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the central Benue, Plateau, Nassarawa states and further south in Delta. It was reported that the late Obi of Ubuluku Akaeze Edward Ofulue III was kidnapped by Fulani herdsmen in Delta state. The suspects were said to have been traced to Fulani settlements in Adamawa and Sokoto states. Only last week, there were more attacks in the Agatu communities of Benue State where at least 300 villagers including women and children were savagely mowed down by assailants suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
His pain and anguish was palpable as Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state spoke to journalists at the Aso Rock presidential villa after his talks on the carnage with President Muhammadu Buhari. Clashes and casualties could have been avoided if government had taken time to review and repeal laws in line with new boundary adjustments and demarcations in the 51 years since the grazing reserve law were established. When the law was established in 1965, Nigeria was a country with only four regions comprising the north, east, west and the mid-west. The population was also about 52 million. Few roads had been constructed at the time with less infrastructures and absence of new towns and settlements. There were also no plans to even relocate civil servants from Lagos to a new capital in the central region or present day Abuja. And I believe Abuja was probably part of that grazing belt region.
That is how far gone things have been. Of note is the role played by successive military governments in over 30 years of our development in downplaying and not visualizing the problems posed by herdsmen, whose lands in the north have become bare due to the encroaching Sahara desert, migrating further south. In their desperation to feed their livestock, herdsmen continue to encroach on farmlands, hence the clashes with farmers and their communities. Democracy didn’t bring much relief to the situation. Instead, politicians have taken advantage of the perennial clashes as a political tool to entrench their interests.
Politicians would be better served working with herdsmen to help organize them into groups or even cooperatives in the various regions and create grazing ranches instead of wooing them through their associations for selfish agendas. This is a major reason various administrations are now arm twisted and unable to wield the big stick in instances where lives have been lost due to savage attacks on farming communities. Without mapping out modern cattle rearing routes or grazing areas to curb these clashes that have now taken on a national face and increasingly polarizing the country along ethnic, regional and religious divide, the farmer – herdsmen clashes is keg of gunpowder waiting to be ignited..
President Buhari is trying to douse the tension, especially after the Agatu incident, and also work to reduce the casualties because of these clashes. Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh announced the government’s plans to import grasses from Brazil for use to produce hectares of grassplots for grazing. But he did not say where they will be planted, even though the imported forage will arrive in three months. He did not disclose at how much it will cost task payers to import these grasses or when the bidding for the procurements was done in line with the change agenda of the administration.
Apart from laws establishing grazing reserves, the scheme has been a drain pipe on tax payers over the years. Billions of naira has been appropriated at different intervals to develop grazing routes and reserves whenever these clashes between herdsmen and farmers threaten to bubble over. In 2008 and 2009, 415 reserves were said to have been revived with additional 15, 000 cattle route of 4000 kilometers to curb incursions into farmlands. It was the same period that 57 billion naira was also appropriated for an agricultural land mapping project. Maybe the Fulani herdsmen can tell us how they benefitted from these projects. But I doubt they did.
However, except for politics these people need not to be spoon fed in this age and time instead their excesses should be treated and curtailed according to the law. A country that is in need of investors in the agricultural sector and wants to add value to its produce should not be breeding or pampering cold blooded assassins who kill in the course of providing for their cattle. It should instead introduce them to ranching and encourage them to build ranches. After all their ventures are private and commercial initiatives. Nigeria is not a communist neither a socialist country where the state owns and supervise the production circle be it agriculture or industrial.
The federal government needs to also punish those perpetrating heinous crimes against their own people. The government also needs to further investigate and fish out the aliens amongst them, directing appropriate government agencies to arrest and detain for the purpose of repatriating those who are not Nigerians as alleged by Ogbeh and at other time the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase. Though, the Fulanis could be good brides at election seasons they should not be seen to be above the law. If it is a crime for an average Nigerian citizen to move around publicly with weapons-arms and ammunition, then the Fulani nomads should not be allowed to roam about in our towns, villages and hamlets with weapons especially the unregistered. Nigeria signed the charter on the non-proliferation of small arms at various times even at the AU, we have to abide by its protocol in the West African sub region. There have been enough carnage already it is therefore time to halt these bloodbaths to allow our country grow in all aspects of human endeavors with the arrival of change.
The inaugural lecture of Centre for Financial Journalism has been scheduled to hold on March 17 by 11am at The Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to Mr. Ray Echebiri, founder and CEO of the Centre, the inaugural lecture marks the formal commencement of activities of the Centre, which will focus on training of journalists in the country on financial journalism, and research.
The inaugural lecture which will be delivered by erudite Economist, Professor, Akpan Hogan Ekpo, Director-General of West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management and former Vice-Chancellor of University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, is entitled Steering Nigeria Out of Economic Turbulence – Policy Choices for Buhari’s Administration. The lecture will be chaired by Professor Pat Utomi, Director, Lagos Business School, while the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, will be the Special Guest of Honour.
Prof. Ekpo’s lecture will be discussed by Mr. Femi Awoyemi, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and CEO of Proshare Nigeria, and Mr. Tilewa Adebajo, an economic expert and CEO of The CFG Advisory.
CFJ Nigeria was established to provide specialised training programmes in financial journalism with a view to addressing the knowledge and skills gap in the practice of the trade; and to conduct research on financial journalism, business, the economy, banking and finance.
The Centre is governed at the board level by eminent Nigerians, with Mr. Ernest Ebi, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria as Chairman. The faculty is populated by some of the best brains in Journalism, Finance and Banking, Economics, Law, Development and Politics, who will be bringing their expertise and wealth of experience to bear on the offerings of the Centre. [myad]
Riding on the success of its maiden edition held last year, Connect Marketing Services has unveiled plans for the 2016 edition of Nigeria’s biggest tech event – TechPlus.
According to the organisers, the 2016 Techplus event is billed to hold from July 21 to 23 at the Eko Hotels Conference Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The theme for this year is ‘A Connected World’.
In its second year, Techplus is a gathering of everything technology, providing a robust tripartite tech experience through its conference, exhibition and gaming structures whilst serving as a platform for knowledge sharing, networking and marketplace for consumers and businesses.
Convening over 6,000 techy and non-techy participants with 30 other speakers and panelists at its 2015 edition, Techplus has positioned itself as the premier and most authoritative tech gathering in Nigeria. The maiden edition of the event also saw the display of hi-tech innovations and gaming solutions, recording over 1,096 gamers.
In a statement published on the event website – www.techplus.ng- the 2016 edition of the event will provide an avenue to advance technological discourse, ideas, displays and networks in and around Nigeria.
“TechplusConference and Expo is a place where new technology comes to life, new products are launched and innovations converge, providing manufacturers, concept generators, software and hardware companies, content developers a platform to bring their products and services to life.”
The event is primed as the “main platform for innovations and new products to be introduced to consumers and businesses.”
Relating the plans for Techplus 2016, Executive Director, Connect Marketing, Kazeem Abimbola, noted that the event will capture emerging realities of global technological revolutions and how Nigeria can benefit from such.
“We are excited to announce the 2016 edition of Techplus Nigeria – the leading convergence of everything tech in Nigeria. This year, we will showcase more of Africa’s technological innovations that will advance both the human and social development of the country.Ultimately, this will yield value for both customers and businesses. This year, the event will include a Hackathon and a Pitch Event”
Techplus 2016 is billed to hold from 21st to 23rd July at the Eko Hotels Conference Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Interested participants can pre-register atwww.techplus.ng.
Interested brands can visit www.techplus.ngfor sponsorship and partnership opportunities.
You can also connect with the event on major social media platforms via @techplusngand join the conversation of ‘A Connected World’ via the official event hashtag #TechPlus2016. [myad]
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has threatened to retrieve all government landed properties that were illegally encroached upon by individuals and corporate bodies with a view to returning same to the government.
The minister, who spoke during an unscheduled visit to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) Dump Site in Gosa, Sewer Treatment Plant, Wupa and the proposed Waste Transfer Station at Mpape over the weekend insisted that such lands would be put for their original uses in line with the Abuja Master Plan.
“Any government property or government land encroached in Abuja will be taken back and given to the government and that is the easiest of our jobs because it’s government that gives people land.
“If somebody encroaches on government land, it’s very easy for government to take back its land because nobody can take government’s land and get away with it.”
FCT, The minister said that all the departments of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board would be strengthened to ensure that liquid and solid wastes are well managed and disposed off.
According to him, the strengthening will involve some massive staff changes so that the Board would be geared towards doing what needs to be done, adding: “it will also include the rehabilitation of existing facilities and as a matter of fact, even creation of new ones because the city is growing at a very fast pace and it is obvious that our facilities for cleaning the city have lagged very much behind.”
He said that the small office block at the proposed Waste Transfer Station is obviously not enough to serve as a sorting centre for the entire city, stressing: “this facility here can however take care of waste management in the Maitama District since its closer to the place.” [myad]
Economists have long found Nigeria to be something of a conundrum. The macro picture has always appeared compelling – large population, oil reserves, mineral reserves, endless tracts of arable land, land and sea borders for regional domination. Indeed the absurdity of our underperformance is only surpassed by our ability to accurately quantify our losses and missed opportunities.
In the short period that I have been privileged to serve as Minister of Finance, I have observed that even the most basic systems and controls over the management of our resources are in dire need of strengthening. While we are regaled with and shocked by details of amounts stolen, diverted or wasted, we must face the cold reality that such acts are facilitated by weaknesses in our systems. Even if we successfully prosecute and jail every looter, ghost worker and other economic saboteur, there is every risk that those caught will only be replaced by persons who are just as bad, or worse – unless we radically strengthen our systems and institutions.
Our President’s brave and committed fight against corruption and waste is as much an economic crusade as it is a moral one. The objective is not just to stem the corruption and loss but to execute an economic plan to channel those monies into much needed areas that will support and reposition the economy. In short, the fight against corruption is not about “retribution” and meting out punishment, it is about releasing funds for our economy. I am humbled to be part of the ongoing work on recovery and can report that the urgency in the work, especially our interface with nations where our money has been stashed, is propelled by our need for funds to invest into our economy.
Our economic plans are not about austerity and frugality; if that were the case then we would not be attempting an expansionary budget. We could have pursued fiscal consolidation and maintained 2015 budget size, and then introduced severe public spending cuts to balance the books by laying off workers and cutting projects. Had we done so, we would by now be the darling of the IMF and other multi-laterals.
Conversely, we are undertaking an ambitious counter cyclical strategy to stimulate our sluggish economy and expanding government spending with a focus on infrastructure, the true catalyst for economic growth. This will have contractors returning to site and re-engaging workers, it will see new projects commencing, arrears released and economic activity reinvigorated across the nation. We plan to take advantage of low global prices for commodities and contract prices. Existing contracts are being renegotiated downwards, with significant savings recorded and new projects priced to reflect current commercial realities. Our spending stimulus is private sector driven, supported by a robust procurement system that will see permanent local capacity built in a number of sectors including oil and gas, housing construction and agriculture. However, and this is the key differentiator, we plan to spend in a disciplined manner that will extract the maximum value for every naira spent.
The process of building the internal control framework to support this need for disciplined spending has begun in earnest. Our Efficiency Unit has reviewed four years of detailed expenditure data to identify trends and is already negotiating volume discounts that appropriately reflect the buying power of government. Personnel remains our largest cost. In addition to the BVN driven cleaning of our payrolls that has so far removed 23,000 fraudulent entries, we have initiated significantly stronger controls over our payroll. These efforts will exert a constant downward pressure on personnel costs until such a time as we have assurance that every payment is accurate and valid. A similar process is now commencing in Pensions. The N160 Billion spent monthly on personnel and pensions related costs demands this as an absolute minimum.
The revenue focus is non oil. We are revisiting historical decisions that are no longer in the best interests of the national economy. The establishment of various Boards and Parastatals to undertake the operational and revenue generating business of government was a well-intentioned attempt to provide separation from policy makers. However, as the economy has grown, so too has the revenue earned in these agencies and their financial autonomy has grown in a manner that no longer fully serves the public interest. Port charges, maritime charges, airport landing fees, visa charges, passport charges, telecoms licence fees, among many others, must be tracked and accounted for. While the Fiscal Responsibility Act was designed to provide control, actual compliance has been poor. The result has been leakage on a staggering scale, as findings from our ongoing audits suggest. This is a serious issue. The upside is a significant revenue opportunity which the TSA implementation has given us sight of, and which we are supporting with a proactive drive for improved accountability.
At the same time, our traditional revenue sources are being supported to be more effective. In Customs, we are making the necessary investments in container scanners and other equipment required to improve collection efficiency. This is combined with the results of a compensation survey which will see the introduction of performance related pay, to reduce corruption and create an alignment of interest that will enhance revenue generation. With FIRS there is a well-defined plan to enhance compliance by widening the tax net. Using data to drive tax compliance, we will ensure that the tax regime is efficiently administered and that everyone pays their fair share.
There is a need for disciplined and effective system of managing our financial resources to ensure maximum value. We will no longer measure performance by the size of our budget or the amount disbursed; we must measure by the impact of that expenditure on the lives of Nigerians. To measure and manage this we have already made some key changes in the way funds are released. We have abandoned the old system of capital releases that funnelled a proportional share of available funds released to each Ministry, Department and Agency. We have a robust system in place where funds are tied to specific outcomes as documented by each agency. This is being supported by follow up reviews to ensure implementation.
As Benjamin Disraeli once said, “We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance.” I am firmly convinced that Nigeria is on the right path. The path of discipline will confront some age old destructive habits. It will challenge some unwritten rules, and I personally will step on some highly placed toes on this journey. All this I am fully prepared for, and so I do not expect nor do I particularly want to be popular.
However, I will act in the best interest of all Nigerians to ensure that we build the economy that we desire and richly deserve.
Kemi Adeosun is Nigeria’s current minister of finance. [myad]
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Twenty people were feared to have roasted to death while many others sustained third degree burns in an inferno that occurred the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN located at Calabar Road by the Millennium Park .
![TECH+ Conference Session[2][2]](https://greenbreporters.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TECH-Conference-Session22.jpg)
Africa: The Tragedy Of Wrong History, By Segun Adeleye
What can we make out of this statement? We were not told that this world was created with the mixing of materials to build or construct things, but through spoken words. In Yoruba, they called it ‘Ofo’. When God created heaven and earth, it was through pronouncement, it happened, it was gazetted, which could be interpreted to mean that it was published and that communication or journalism was one of the earliest skills.
As we are here today to exchange ideas, so also would be thousands of gatherings all over the world with the sole aim of getting people to listen to one another. But it’s easy to take this for granted, asking that what have we gained from all the talks of the past? This could explain why in this part of the world, we don’t seem to see the knowledgeable chief executives or top government officials readily sharing their wealth of experience with the rest of the world at conferences. They have left the burden to their spokespersons to clarify their stands on issues; that is when it’s absolutely necessary. But in most cases, they are only trying to be careful, to protect their comfort zone and avoid being misunderstood, and most importantly, not to be seen to oppose the position of the authority in power, even when they have different opinions about how things can be done better. But can we really make progress without speaking out our mind? If we are not making progress here despite how much we talk, could it be that we are not saying the right things or could it be that we are not even listening to one another?
The next thing after speaking out in order of importance is taking action. This event should have taken place on January 20th last year to mark my golden jubilee birthday, but it didn’t happen and a lot of things happened after that including the passing on of my inspirational father, Pa Joseph Adeleye on February 9, 2015, that should have prompted me to call it off, but because I acted and didn’t give up, that’s why we are here today.
What is leadership? Let me take you back to the first republic in Nigeria. After the major players had exhausted their weaknesses and ignorance, the trio of Major Nzeogwu, Ifeajuma and Ademoyega on January 15, 1966 put an end to the ‘Pekele mess’ and despite the divergence of views over the merit of their action, there was a national consensus then about the need for a change.
There was a similarity with what happened at a critical stage of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa in 1961 when the African National Congress (ANC) set up its military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), headed by Nelson Mandela, to add fresh momentum to the agitation. It’s all about taking action.
Nzeogwu and his friends struck then in Nigeria because they were convinced that they were the only ones, through the instrument of their profession, the military, that could stop the nation’s drift. But since then, which individual using the instrument of their professions apart from Fela Anikulapokuti and Gani Faweyinmi have taken a great risk to rescue Nigeria from her persistent drift?
It is not common in history to see the masses taking action to change their plight. It has always being a case of one or few people acting on their strong convictions to change the course of history, or how do we explain why it’s Muritala Muhammed who ruled for only six months (July 30, 1975 – February 13, 1976) that is seen as the only hero of all those who had ruled Nigeria till date?
If we reflect on the major discourse in our country for so long too long now, it’s about corruption- the EFCC arraigning people almost every day for stealing millions or billions of naira. A lot of people had stolen so much in the name of taking their share of the national cake, such that the young ones coming up can no longer think straight of how to be successful, but waiting for their turn to have access to the treasury. If you are not in government, your reaction to the tales of billions of naira being stolen will most likely be incredulous, but if you’re inside, you may tend to have some understanding to justify how many loose funds find their ways into some private pockets.
Professor Wole Soyinka recently asked a thought provoking question about ‘where did we go wrong?’ concerning Nigerian youths in their 20s and 30s that are still depending on their parents compared with when “Awolowo was 37 years, Akintola 36, Ahmadu Bello 36, Balewa 34, Okotie-Eboh 27 and Enahoro 27 and only Zik was 42 when they led the struggle for Nigeria Independence after the death of Macaulay.
He went on to add that in 1966, the first military coup was led by K Nzeogwu who was 29 years and countered by M. Mohammed 28, T. Danjuma 28, I. Babangida 25, J. Garba 23, Sani Abacha 23, and M. Yar’adua 23. It brought into power Y. Gowon 32, Ojukwu 33, Obasanjo 29, and Buhari 24.
But today, he asked: “Why is it that almost all this age bracket is today still sleeping in 3-seater chairs in their parents’ homes? Why is it that this age bracket is today still collecting pocket money from their parents? Why is it that this age bracket is today still writing JAMB? Why is it that this age bracket today still ‘sagg’ their trousers? Why is it that this age bracket is today still searching for jobs and not yet married? Why is it that this age bracket is today no longer qualified to even be leaders of youth wings of political parties? Why is it that this age bracket is today so docile? Why is this age bracket today incapable of feeding itself? Why is it that this age bracket is today barred from even aspiring to certain political offices? Why is it that this age bracket is today incapacitated, unwilling, unable and incapable of asking questions?”
One may not be able to do justice to these questions by merely comparing the two periods of time without raising more questions, such as, was it normal for the destiny of a nation to fall into the hands of youths in their 20s and 30s? Has that ever happened anywhere in the world? Did they perform creditably well or would it have been better if there was no vacuum of history? What created the vacuum that the older citizens in their 40s to 60s who should have more wisdom, were completely bypassed?
We only need to examine the age long calamities and injustice in history to establish the fact that the destiny of a nation was thrown in the laps of some young men in their 20s then, and that the same age bracket now are docile dependants, are all descending consequences that will continue to depreciate in standard until there is a conscious reawakening about what went wrong and who we are.
By the way, what should be the limit of history? What use is history if it is abridged, fragmented or distorted? If you enter a room when a man was giving his wife a dirty slap but missed the Act 1 when the wife first hit him on the head with the curve end of a fry pan, you may leave the scene with the wrong impression about who was the aggressor.
Where did we go wrong? Does the history you have capture the scene where we went wrong? Are you aware that Egypt in Africa was the most civilized country in the world throughout antiquity, and the dream place to be between 7,000 and 2,000 years ago?
Let me open you up with a little bit of history from, ‘White Invasion of Africa Started In 1450 BCE’, an adaption from Naiwu Osahon’s book: The End of Knowledge.
It narrated that large scale migrations of primitive white-skin tribes called ‘Sea People’ by Africans, into the prosperous southern Mediterranean region, particularly Egypt, happened by 1350 BCE during the reign of Pharaoh Akhnaton, who adopted very liberal attitude to the emerging phenomena. The movements of ‘Sea People’ reached alarming proportions within 100 years and began upsetting the ethnic balance of the region. As the movements continued in the 700 years that followed, absorbed immigrants became ambitious and rebellious, taking advantage of their hosts’ generous and accommodating disposition, to set themselves up as Lords and Chiefs in territories they settled in.
White ascent in the world began taking shape after Whites had imbibed African education, industry, religion, social engineering and civilization.
Greeks who studied in Egypt and put their names to African ideas and philosophies stolen from the Egyptian Mystery System, to become world famous, included Thales of Miletus (c624-c565 BCE), Pythagoras (c582-c500 BCE), Democritus (c470-c400 BCE), Socrates (470-399 BC), Plato (427-347 BCE), Aristotle (384-322 BCE), and all the other world famous ancient Greek philosophers Greece entered world history when she conquered Egypt in 332 BCE and White scholars think that is enough for them to usurp more than 15,000 years of African origination, nurturing and systematic evolution of modern civilization. Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE), was educated by Aristotle who himself graduated from Egypt.
The Greeks ride on their stolen secret ancient intellectual properties of the Africans to dazzle an essentially backward and gullible world as their cradle of philosophical thoughts and civilization. It was easy for the Greeks to do this because the African Mystery System was, of course, secretive. It prohibited publication of its teachings. The original materials were there to steal and cannibalize after they conquered Egypt. As the Greeks did that, they injured and grievously scared an entire race of people, the original race of man. To cover up their dishonesty and permanently destroy all evidence of African glorious past, they caricatured African culture in their illustrations and literature. By their disgraceful act of subversion, they assassinated the true history of mankind, and unnecessarily and seriously disabled universal scholarship for over two thousand years.
In a more recent episode during the “Scramble for Africa” was the invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the period of New Imperialism, between 1881 and 1914. In 1870, only 10 percent of Africa was under European control; by 1914 it had increased to 90 percent of the continent, with only Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Liberia still being independent. The only colony the United States had claim to was Liberia which was established by the American Colonization Society on January 7, 1822.
As established above, “the movements of white people into Africa continued in 700 years with absorbed immigrants becoming ambitious and rebellious, taking advantage of their hosts’ generous and accommodating disposition, to set themselves up as Lords and Chiefs in territories they settled in.”
But is it a crime to be generous and accommodating?
When Africans were subdued and conquered then, it was a catastrophic loss for the generations after up till today being born to unconsciously live with the belief that they are weaker and inferior. Was the conscious or unconscious acceptance of the defeat as a failure not more devastating than the loss itself? Wasn’t that really ‘where we got it wrong?’
The world order was made for Africa to live with without its input. It has no control over what to plant, eat, sell, govern, speak, teach, think and even how to raise its children. Things are getting worse day by day and the only aspiration left for Africans is to be like the whites. Now foreign food tastes better, their dresses look better, their names, music sound better and recently, their accents are more acceptable. If a successful African wants to give his family a treat, the logical thing to do is to take them on vacation to a foreign land. From the early age, the young ones are programmed to see foreign land and everything there as better than home, and they are initiated into the rat race to become what they are not. The root of the corruption we so much debated came from the same source with the added greed to the unquenchable appetite to buy houses abroad, keep looted funds abroad to sustain exotic comfort.
If an African professor wants to do a research and discovers that something similar had been done by someone from abroad, he would most likely feel defeated that there is no point wasting time doing it again since someone from such advanced environment had done it. It has been universally accepted that you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. But was this not imposed so that Africans will not ask questions? Were Africans there when the wheel was invented? What if the wheel was wrongly invented in the first place? Why must Africans accept everything they are told? Who says car must always be driven on the road? Can’t it fly? Who says the fastest means of transport must be by air? Can’t we just disappear? If the whites had first made it to the moon while aiming Mars, while can’t Africa aim at the star?
Education, the advancement of knowledge is at the initiative and the pace of foreigners on what African must learn and believe. Native dialects have become secondary languages which the African child has to learn through the foreign languages. The best of African can only be in an imposed curriculum with the success being judged and approved through the prism of foreign standards. The history of Africa being thought in African schools is the limit of the version the foreigners want the Africans to know and believe about themselves. In Nigeria, the history being thought in the schools was specially package for the country to remain disunited. It’s about the late 1950s and early 1960s when Amadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikwe and Obafemi Awolowo were scheming to rule the country. When this history is taught, the children can only be made angry, with the Ibos justifying their marginalisation claims, blaming the north for that and the west for scuttling their chance to rule, while the Yorubas will feel frustrated by a union that has limited its advancement. But the history was deliberately cut short as people that wrote it failed to open it further for children to see that even the actors of the first republic were victims and consequences of the past defeat. If an Ibo man should set up a business today, he will most likely feel comfortable having people from the east to work for him, so also if a northerner is elevated to a high political position, he will bring people mostly from his region to work with him. In Africa now, the Muslims are more comfortable with fellow Muslims while some Christians cannot even allow their children to marry Muslims. But if history is opened further and everyone is made to see that all Africans came from the same parents, would they still behave the same way? If a corrupt politician that stole so much to provide comfort for his family can be made to see in history that the remaining populace that are left to suffer are actually his brothers and sisters, will he not think twice?
The most dangerous trend now is that most Africans don’t even know that something is wrong, while those that have the feeling that something is missing have given up, believing that it could be a case of mental sickness, retardation, generation curse and hopeless situation. If something is not wrong, why are Africans playing second fiddle in all human endeavors such as in sports, entertainment, art, governance, science and technology and all others? Why is it that African leaders will loot the commonwealth and keep it in foreign banks while million are suffering at home. The fact now is that the descendants of those that were taken on slavery centuries ago are far better than the offspring of those left behind.
When I thought about this great tragedy, the two possible solutions that came to my mind were that, first, if it is possible to have a government in any African country, where the leader will be conscious of the full history, so that he can live it, preach it for Africans to start seeing that they are perfectly made without any subjugation to others; unlimitedly endowed to attain any goal they set their minds on. Only few Africans, such as Fela that had seen the full history ended up being radical and revolutionary in nature. In the entire African countries, they can be counted from our finger tips.
The second option was what made me to form Segun Adeleye Foundation for Good Leadership in Africa (SAFFGLIA). Far from seeking cheap popularity or personal enrichment, it was not even conceived to have my name, but after over a dozen names with ‘leadership’, ‘governance’ all rejected by registration authority, I had to accept the suggestion to add my name before it sailed through.
The foundation will lead the crusade for good leadership in Africa by making Africans to rediscover who they are. Imagine if the veil can be removed from the faces of about 10 people in every university in every African country every year from now on?
The foundation will carry out activities and projects that will encourage governments across Africa to embrace good governance in order to uplift the standard of living of the people. In doing this, it will employ all possible means including legal actions.
* It will draw attention to activities of governments from local to national levels and encourage/compel them to do things in the best interest of the people
* It will engage in leadership training programmes that will raise new generation of positive leaders who will champion the spirit of development of their societies in Nigeria and Africa.
* It will provide scholarships in higher institution level to youths with leadership qualities in Nigeria and other African countries.
* It will promote research into good leadership in Africa.
* It will engage in research into alternative policies to government policies that are not working.
* It will provide counselling, support and care for people that are unjustifiably victimised by bad governments in Africa.
* It will organise Annual SAFFGLIA African Leadership Lecture, seminars, briefings, workshops and interventional programmes on issues of good leadership.
* It will engage in opinion moulding, empowerment, and building confidence of people on how to make their governments accountable.
* It will develop SAFFGLIA Good Leadership Africa Index (SGLAI) as a barometer for measuring performances of leaders across Africa.
* It will encourage/recognise leaders that are doing well through The African Man Award.
* It will establish the African Hall of Fame for distinguished leaders both in the public and private sectors.
I am particularly happy over how it turned out that Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture will deliver the first Annual SAFFGLIA African Leadership Lecture in view of the message the foundation intends to take to every corner of the continent. With the complete derailment of Africans, the ministry of Information and Culture stands out as the most important in any African country, even more important than petroleum, as government can be projected through the true value of who we are. The ministry can make the mission easier by first ensuring the reintroduction of our full history to the schools. Anything short of the full history will not restore our past glory.
The choice of this beautiful academic setting for the lecture is for the students to get involved, so that their eyes can be opened to know who they are. The time is still on their side to join the crusade for the enlightenment of other Africans. The task ahead of the youth is enormous if Africa will ever have any relevance and saying in the world’s affairs in years to come. Make no mistake to think that our being docile, gentle, obedient, careless, being too much religious with endless vigils and prayers will one day reverse the monumental injustice of the past. The world was not built on justice. The aggressors will not go to sleep. We heard that sinners will not go unpunished, but when, nobody knows. In fact, the wicked and the sinners of yesterday are the first in line to receive the mercy of God. The only time when there will be justice in this world will be at the end of time when we would have all died. If you doubt this, go and read the stories of Cain and Abel; Esau and Jacob; Israel and Egypt. It has always been as in the Kingdom of God that suffers violence and the violent takes it by force.
As you hear this message, the idea is not to be angry and start rejecting everything made by foreigners, after all, in the full history we know that human beings came from the same source, with the whites being our long distance adventurous cousins that left only to return and dominate. The message is for Africans to rise up, stop being copycats, stop taking whatever is thrown at them while being what they are not, but to recognise their identity, essence and proudly bring their values and aspiration to the table as contribution to international relations. Africa needs its voice and identity to focus and realise its entire God given potentials. The glory of Africa has been covered for centuries with generation after generation being born into mental slavery. If we don’t do anything now, of course, the world will not come to an end, but our children will continue to be slaves to their counterparts in other land. But if we start something now with our collective awareness, we can change our destiny and our children will be proud that at certain time in history, we woke up to take our rightful place in the world. Africa must rise again. Thank you all for coming.
God bless Nigeria, God bless Africa.
*A speech by Mr Segun Adeleye, Founder, Segun Adeleye Foundation For Good Leadership In Africa (SFFGLIA) at the Inaugural Lecture of the foundation/Launch of his book ‘So Long Too Long Nigeria’ at the Afe Babalola Auditorium, University of Lagos, Nigeria, on March 10, 2016. [myad]