M.E.D.I.O.C.R.I.T.Y & 20-2020

Dear All,

I assume you already know that this is picking up from where we stopped the last time - so if you did not read the last post, scroll down a bit and go through before reading this one; otherwise, we may not be speaking the same language.

It was in the news this morning that one of our own senators - daughter of the immediate past President who is the "apostle of 20-2020" and a paramount traditional chief- alluded to the fact that she took part, and indeed facilitated the stashing of 10 million naira of OUR money.

I read in the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday, April 8 (page 79) an interesting article by George Ehusani. The title of the article was "Once again, the triumph of mediocrity." It told the story of how a paramount traditional ruler ruled in favour of "extortionist" traders because he felt a "modest" man was "spoiling" trade for them. The real issue was that this man that I call "modest" sold his bags of cement with a modest profit margin, much below what the people whom I call "extortionists" sold theirs. This latter group went to the Kabiyesi and reported our "modest" friend as "spoiling" business for them. After a "fair" hearing, the king ruled that our friend sell at the cartel price or leave the business entirely. Of course, the "extortionists" jubilated!

The two cases above present a certain kind of commentary on the ambience in our dear fatherland, as we move on towards being one of the 20 leading world economies by the year 2020. What's the commentary? Quite obvious to the perceptive mind - THE TRIUMPH OF MEDIOCRITY IN LEADERSHIP.

Did you realise that both cases happened in a land where we used to say to wrongdoers "Ni ilu t'o l'oba, t'o n'ijoye" (meaning, in a land where there's a king and chiefs). The import of the saying is that kings and chiefs would not permit evil to go unpunished. What an irony! To say that corruption now emerge from the abodes of these kings and chiefs!

As we move towards 2020, we need to remeber that as long as mediocrity remains in leadership as much as we have it now, the journey WILL BE ROUGH. So if you're on this journey, you'd better TIGHTEN YOUR SEAT BELT or ROUGHEN YOUR KNEES A BIT MORE (if you know what I mean).

To be continued.

VISION 20-2020

I've been away from here for some time now - it's nothing but some other work I've had to pay attention to. It's good to have you back there.

Here now, I like you to consider with me one of the main issues of our time in Nigeria - the VISION 20-2020. For those who don't know, what that means is that Nigeria would be one of the 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020.

Did I hear someone say it's impossible? From a vantage point I dare say that it's possible. My only concern is that it's not going to be possible if we still do business as usual. Like Zig Ziglar said, the height of insanity is to do what you've always done and expect different results. But that's what we're doing in Nigeria. Or how do you explain the fact that we keep recycling the same old hands - whose "deeds" or "misdeeds" brought us to where we are today - in leadership. No wonder ministers have to resign on allegation of corruption - just about 1 year in office. Na wa o!

Have you ever wondered what the source of the whole 20-2020 "visioneering" is? It came as a fallout of the Goldman Sachs Report in 2006 which suggested that Nigeria would grow to become one of the 20 leading economies in the world by the year 2020. The government of the day - then led by President Olusegun Obasanjo - caught that and sold it to the public through the brilliant Frank Nweke, Jr. Not surprisingly, the somewhat "directionless" government of Yar'adua just imported it into its "development agenda". This was so convenient to do for a President who did not even have a clear idea of what to do with his presidency.

What our "champions" did not notice - or maybe they know but are not admitting it - is the fact that the same report noted that the predication will only be valid IF THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY CONTINUES TO GROW STEADILY at a certain rate. That rate has not changed and rather than moving towards it, we are actually drifting away. For instance, for a nation to develop industrially, its manufacturing industries MUST contribute at least 25% to its GDP annually. I ask, is that the case here? Furthermore, the economy has to grow at an annual rate above 9%. The highest we have attained in recent times is around 7%.

Besides, the report made it clear that it also assumed that the countries which are presently above Nigeria on the development ladder remain where they are. For God's sake how is that possible? While it is true that some might actually fall or remain stagnant, it is also true that some will rise beyond their present levels too! In fact, independent analyses have shown that Nigeria has many countries to topple for the prediction to hold true. One of such analyses by Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and co showed that we have about 50 countries to topple for that prediction to happen. You might like to know that those countries include South Korea, India, China, Malaysia, Israel, Brazil and South Africa.

The foregoing clearly shows that the dream is a VERY tall one. But I said I believe it is possible. Ask me how and I'll just point you to a 2020 that I know. In the second part of 2 Chronicles 20:20 we read "Believe the LORD and you will be ESTABLISHED; believe His prophets and you will PROSPER." Without being unnecessarily optimistic, I dare say that if we, at least, the so-called CHILDREN OF GOD make this our own REAL 2020, we will be contributing in no small measure towards making our Nigeria realise her 20-2020 vision. I must let you know that we hold the key to convincing - by example - our leaders that the real 2020 is not what we are presently amplifying, it's in our turining to God and taking His words seriously.

To be continued

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 3.2: TIME IN AFRICA

Not long after posting yesterday’s piece I was engaged in some talks with a colleague in the office. We both wondered why the world seems to know little about success stories in Africa – as if there are none. My opinion was that we, in Africa, do not tell our stories to the world while the west has consistently done that. With that the discussion shifted to the question “Why” and my colleague’s opinion was that we are “shortcut-crazy” in Africa. We seem to want to get everything done “quick and good”. At the end of that discourse, I gained two insights.

First, the future of Africa depends greatly on this generation. It’s going to make a whole lot of difference what we teach ourselves and our children. When I remember Otabil Mensah’s allusion to the fact that the people of the British Isles became what they are by the power of time management: and the obvious gap between Africa and the west in terms of how time is valued, I conclude that perhaps the greatest skill that must be taught to this generation and the off springs therefore is the fundamentals of time management.

To my mind, it is clearly a cultural issue. Except for South Africa where the white people have clearly made a difference, I do not know of any of any of our cultures in Africa that is not hypocritical about the management of time. The Yorubas (South–Western Nigeria) for instance, have a lot of sound and inspiring proverbs about time. They say, for example, “Igba ara ni a n bura, enikan kii bu sango ni eerun”. Literally, this means that swearing is to be done at its right time, no one abuses Sango, the god of thunder during the dry season. The import of this saying is that the right thing should be done at the right time. Yet when you consider carefully the things these people spend their time on, you’ll be amazed: parties, gossip, socializing and excessive leisure.

In fact, one major problem that has plagued the public service in South-Western Nigeria is what people do with office time. And it defies ranks. I have visited offices where the most superior officers are the ones leading the time-wasting efforts. Again, people can leave their own work to burst in on another person’s time. Unplanned and unannounced visits - mostly fruitless and purposeless. ‘Mo kan ni ki n ki yin ni’ (I just thought to see how you’re doing) yet they stay with you for hours, feeling offended if you don’t spare your work to give them attention.

Sincerely, I believe there are certain parts of our beliefs and attitudes as a people that must change – how what we do with our time is one of them. It is time in Africa for a change. Every minute of our time must be made to count. While a few of us have already embraced this paradigm, we still require a critical mass. So much about that.

The second insight is about time investment. The average “shortcut-crazy” African wants to do outstanding things in no time. It does not happen anywhere. We have to learn and then teach our children to give time to all that we do; we need to take time off fruitless efforts and divert it into fruitful ones. It is equally important for us to know that every great achievement is like a tree, first planted then diligently watered till maturity. And that is where delayed gratification comes in. The best books take years to write; the richest people worked hard in obscurity for some time; the gold medalists trained hard for many years. For us to come out of our status quo we’re got to learn to invest our time now, that we may reap in years to come, the fruits of peace.

To the mind that craves for more, I recommend you read The State of Africa. The book, written by veteran journalist, Martin Meredith, chronicles the story of Africa since the 50’s. When I read it, I saw here and there, throughout our history, how we (or they?) squandered the past that brought us this present. Are we (or are you) going to squander this present again to give a poor future? My people, it’s time in Africa…

THERE ARE STILL THOUGHTFUL NIGERIANS

I was checking my mails today and I gor this mail from an old classmate of mine. Immediately I read through, one thing kept ringing in my mind: there are still thoughtful Nigerians; people who care what happens to us as a nation; people who are concerned about how we are treated. Take away all personal sentiments, the writer of this article just demonstrated the kind of attitude our leaders should have.

American Embassy Plc (By Sochima Ndu; Published: Monday, 26 Mar 2007)

I was sad when I read the account narrated by Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, the Managing Director of
MDS – a Division of the UACN Plc, in the Saturday PUNCH of March 17, concerning the appalling, and indeed pathetic, treatment that was meted to his wife by the Canadian Embassy in Lagos. The Ogunnirans are not alone in the saga of ill-treatment of Nigerians at the hands of foreign embassies.

Top on the list of these notorious embassies is the American Embassy on Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos. The visa section of the American Embassy is the revenue generation unit of the element and I can imagine that, like any profit-oriented enterprise, they start the year with a target of revenue and profitability which they must generate at all costs. The modus operandi for extracting the targeted sums from Nigerians starts with the invitation forinterview. The embassy exploits the desires of many Nigerians to visit foreign countries while on holiday, broaden their knowledge by attending seminars and conferences abroad and yes, even explore their destinies in other countries, by inviting them for these spurious interviews. It seems that they count the applications and decide how many must come per day and how many must have to reapply for the targets to be met.

In most cases, the letters of rejection have already been prepared in advance of the interviews. The candidates are invited, not to be heard, but for their N14,000 which is vital to the income and expenditure account of the embassy. Does the upfront collection of non-refundable application fees by these embassies not qualify as a definition of advance fee fraud? Can these embassies not collect a lower amount as non-refundable processing fee (say N1,000), while the N14,000 could remain as a visa issuance fee taken only from successful applicants?

I heard the case of a medical doctor whose son gained admission into Princeton and visited the American Embassy for a visa. Apparently knowing the penchant of consular officers to make instant illogical decisions on visa applications, he arranged to be at the embassy on the same day (perhaps to renew his visitor’s visa) so he could lend his voice to his son’s student’s visainterview. The visa official questioned him as to why he wanted his son to study in America instead of in a Nigerian university. What right does that American have to determine where a man wants his children to go to school? The answer is very simple – how many of the staff of the American embassy studied in Princeton or Harvard? It irks them to think that Nigerians aredaring to exceed those mundane limits which they have set for us in their finite minds.

In my few years in the service industry, I have learnt that revenues are compensations for values which have been added to a customer’s life or business. The question that then arises is, what value is the American embassy (our typical example and the worst culprit) adding to the lives of Nigerians to justify the gargantuan amount of money that it milks from them? Is it the number of hours that people must spend in order to attend those grueling interviews? Is it the sheer rudeness of the security personnel at the embassy? Is it the degrading attitude of the insincere embassy staff? Where lies the value addition in all of this experience?
In today’s world of branding, where organizations of different characters are taking concerted steps to develop positive perceptions from the public relative to their brand image, the likes of the Canadian and American embassies are very brazen in their disregard for the views and perceptions of Nigerians. Or is that not the case?

The truth is that what is being meted to the Nigerian citizenry is a direct reflection of the degree ofdisregard and disrespect that these people and their nations have for our country and our governments. They treat this country as a pariah and pay lip service to relationships.

They treat our leaders as clowns and show no modicum of respect for them. It is probably for this reason that even our leaders show no form of concern at the treatment meted to our citizenry. It seems normal to them. It is in this bizarre abnormality that the mystery lies. We have mortgaged every iota of self-respect for a fee and sacrificed our national destiny on the altar of greed and unabridged corruption. The Nigerian high commissions in other countries cannot even dream of conducting business in any manner near what these people do here. Their governments will shout to the high heavens. If our embassies do not crawl in penitence, they will blackmail, arm-twist, and threaten to bring down sanctions or even worse.

I call on the leadership of this country, in the spirit of the national anthem and the Nigerian pledge, to shake itself free from all apathy and protect its citizenry by standing up against the injustices and maltreatment which are handed down to Nigerians by all hostile foreign embassies operating on Nigerian soil.

Ndu writes from 23, Balogun Road, Ogba, Lagos.
Culled from the Punch Newspaper

WHAT'S FOR INDEPENDENCE?

On October 1st 1960, the Union Jack was brought down in Nigeria and the "green-white-green" was flown. Today, 46 years after, the Nigeria that we know is far from it used to be. Many reasons have been advanced for the downward trend this nation has suffered over the years but it all boils down to one thing: POOR LEADERSHIP. And that's what has made the difference between us and the United States, for example.

I was not there but I was told and I've read that the quest for independence cost us so much as a nation. It is unfortunate, however, that we are now our own taskmasters despite the price we paid to free ourselves from the foreigners. The extent of steady decadence over the years, and the fact that many of us in this generation were born into it, has led many Nigerians to believe (erroneously, though) that Nigeria "ko le dara mo" (can no longer be good).

I am one Nigerian who sees a bright future for this land and in spite of all, I'm always quick to say "THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER." I am so excited about it and I believe every Nigerian should. NIGERIA IS WORKING AGAIN AND IT SHALL WORK EVEN BETTER; the truth, as I believe, is that WE HAVE TO JOIN HANDS TO MAKE IT WORK with the FAITH that our fatherland WILL work again. WHETHER WE THINK IT CAN OR WE THINK IT CANNOT, WE'RE RIGHT.

For you to know that I'm not a lone ranger on this path, I give to you a text message on January 2nd, 2006 at 3:22pm

This is to wish you a fulfilling 2006.

May we live long enough to witness

A Nigeria where Power Holding (NEPA)

Will announce before a 5-minute interruption

Where our streets will be gleaming with bitumen

Where our able-bodied will choose

The type of work to do

Where the disabled will live

Without having to beg

Where tummy tuck can be done

At our Community Health Centres

Where we shall have surplus

That we initiate immigration programs (visa lottery)

Where our young shall die at the age of 80

Where no man shall sleep with a woman/lady

In order to make ends meet

But out of love/choice

Where our brothers/sisters overseas

Shall come back home

Not out of ill-luck or failure

But because they will be left out

Of civilisation if they fail to do so

Where we shall not ride okada for a living

But power bikes for Formula One

Where we shall look forward to retirement

Because it's sweet

DID I HEAR "AMENS?"

That piece was sent to me by EMMANUEL OLUWATOSIN, a product specialist with Globacom