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VOLUME II

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CONTENT The Nigerian Elastic Transition to Democratic Rule: Have we finally made it? (2000) Alhaji Dr. Shehu A. Musa ..............................................................................................4 The Journey!!! All Hands on Deck: The Ship must not sink (2001) Prof. Oladipo O. Oduye...................................................................................................17 Humanism in Chains: An Applied Example (2002) Dr Stanley N. Macebuh...................................................................................................35 An Assessment of the Impact of Higher Education on Sustainable Developmentin Nigeria (2003) Prof. Mildred A. Amakiri..................................................................................................49 Political Scepticism as an Impediment to the Sustenance of Nigeria Democracy: The View of Sociologist in Politics (2004) His Execellency George Akume........................................................................................65 The Politics of Development (2005) Sen Dr. J.S Zwingina.........................................................................................................77 The Nigeria Police in the Emerging Democratic Culture (2006) Mr Sunday G. Ehindero.....................................................................................................91 Banking Reforms: The Nigerian Experience (2007) Mr. Babatunde W. Dabiri..................................................................................................116 A Decade to Fix Education (2008) Sen. Prof. Jibril Aminu.......................................................................................................145 Political and Electoral Reforms: Imperatives for Survival of Nigeria’s Democracy (2009) His Excellency, Chief T. A Orji.........................................................................................176 Corruption and Rule Of Law; Wither Nigeria Chief Adeniyi Akintola,SAN...............................................................................................189 The Last Mile: The Great Opportunity for Rapid Development (2012) Dr. Tarilah Tebaphah.........................................................................................................209 Education for All and the Liberation of Nigeria (2013) Professor Godini G. Darah..................................................................................................217

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Nigeria, a Trajectory of Dashed Expectation: Looking Into the Future (2014) Chief John Odigie – Oyegun............................................................................................... 240 The Nigerian Economy: Creating a Path to Sustainable Growth (2016) Sola David-Borha..................................................................................................................254

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The Nigerian Elastic Transition to Democratic Rule: Have we Finally Made it?

Alhaji (Dr) Shehu A. Musa (2000)

Introduction I wish to begin by expressing my profound gratitude to the Almighty Allah, for sparing my life, in good health to participate in this very historic occasion, and for the privilege of being selected by the Executive Committee of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association to be the guest lecturer at this year’s annual Alumni lecture. Indeed, I also owe the Committee a debt of gratitude for considering me worthy of the honour especially in view of my somewhat below expected level of participation in the Association activities due to the demands of public service office to which I find myself repeatedly recycled since retirement in 1983. Of course, I have been keeping myself abreast and fully identified with the fortunes and misfortunes of the University, since I graduated in 1960 and started a career in the civil service. The point however is that, given my deep attachment to the University, I have always felt that I have not done enough for the development of the institution that imparted so much to me and prepared me to enter the rough terrain of Nigerian public service. Apart from a few convocations, which I attended, I was privileged to deliver the 40th Anniversary lecture of the founding of the University. I also served as a member of the 50th Anniversary Planning Committee. I am in frequent touch with my Hall of Residence; the great Sultan Bello Hall, most significantly for three years. I served as the Chairman of the University College Teaching Hospital (1974-1977). I say thank you the Great 0.1, 1 am very proud of you, and I pledge to give the expected level of attention when I shortly and finally retire from the interim retirement. When the distinguished President of the Alumni Association, Hon Sir Philip Edorhe, intimated me about the decision of the National Executive to draft me to deliver the millennium alumni lecture, I was so excited that my response of accepting to perform the pleasant task was spontaneous. Research has shown that the concept of the millennium is arbitrary because it is based on the Christian calendar, which was not adopted for worldwide use until the late 1800s. If, for instance, we were using the Jewish calendar, this year would be 5759 not dose to a millennium year. The Hindu calendar says lius is 5101 while “according to the Muslim calendar it is only 1471. However, it is an established fact that the year 2100 on the Christian calendar is the first millennium on any calendar that will be widely noted. In the year 1000, there was no celebration even in the Christian world because, without the printing press, calendars were not generally availablable. The distinguished President of the Association, Sir Philip Edorhe wisely left the choice of the topic with me perhaps to give me no chance to decline on the grounds of the given subject being unfamiliar or strange to my calling and experience. I therefore chose the topic of the lecture: The Nigerian Elastic Transition to Democratic Rule: Have we finally made it? About this, I would

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say Nigerians holds varied opinions, and if in the end I venture to answer the question, it will be one such answer out of many hundreds. Of course, ours is a citadel of learning; the Premier University and centre of excellence: a meeting and breeding point of scholarship and scholars, hence, I feel proud to add my humble contribution to the works of erudite eggheads of this world. Much has been written and said about Nigeria's several attempts at transiting from Military to Civil rule. The failure to achieve the set objectives for the transition both before and following each transition programme has led some to view the nation’s condition as being in a permanent state offlux. From 1975 to date, Nigeria has gone through four transition programmes and the last one was uniquely directed by divine power and propelled by the overwhelming public resolve that were fed up with military dictatorship and gross mismanagement. Each of the programmes was designed ostensibly to usher in democratic rule. So let us discover the character of democracy beyond the classic Abraham Lincoln’s common description as “the government of the people, by the people and for the people” by which they decide who should govern what policies the rulers should execute, and when rulers should leave office. Students of Political Science learn that the principles of democracy include popular consultation, popular sovereignty, political equality, regular free and fair elections, protection of minority interests, the rule of law, respect for fundamental human rights, universal adult suffrage (one man, one vote- vote of equal weight), free vibrant press, vigilant populace, public accountability, caring, responsible and representative government and majority rule. Other features of contemporary democratic regime are; first, two or more parties compete for the control of government. Second, out of these parties, one party or a coalition of parties is chosen by people in a popular election to run the government. Tthird, such elections are held at periods which the ruling party cannot alter or manipulate. Fourth, all sane adults who are permanent residents of the society vote during the elections. Fifth, each voter casts only one vote in the election. Sixth, the party or coalition that receives the support of the majority of the voters takes over the rein of government till the next election, and seventh, the party in power never attempts to restrict the political activities of any citizen or party as long as they do not attempt violent overthrow of her government. I must confess that all these attributes of democracy are universal and idealistic and not fully achievable spontaneously especially during a learning process, such as the case for us in Nigeria. Paradoxically, Military intervention to overthrow elected governments has been explained often by the military dictators to be act of patriotism to save the country from mismanagement, ineptitude and disintegration. As we all know, the first in 1966 led us into unnecessary but costly civil war which lasted thirty months. Nigerians experienced unmitigated human rights violation during the nine years of military rule which nevertheless was considered benevolent virtue of the involvement of prominent first republic politicians and patriots like the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Anthony Enahoro, late Alhaji Aminu Kano and Alhaji Shehu Shagari. General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi who “took” over the reing of power from the remnant of the assassinated Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa led-government did not offer any transition plan at all. He spent the six months of his rule to “dig in” as he consolidated his absolute dictatorship over the country. When he was overthrown, General Gowon promised to put a handover programme in place by 1970. When he failed to keep this promise evert by 1975, a “dissident” group led by the late General Murtala Mohammed (who was assassinated after being in office for only six

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months), overthrew his government. He pledged to return the country to democratic rule in 1979, a promise his successor (then General Olusegun Obasanjo) kept, which brought about the installation of the Second Republic. Thus, the first transition to democratically elected representative government was successfully implemented, not without charges of election rigging and manipulation in favour of the winner of the presidential ticket, Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari. The outgoing military administration constituted a team of technocrats to discuss with a team appointed by the President-elect, the modalities of smooth hand over over of the administration’s assets, liabilities and government business-in-process. This ensured smooth transition from military to civilian rule. The National Party of Nigeria (N.P.N) government that was delivered by the 1979 transitional programme did not command majority support in the National Assembly but lasted its full constitutional first term of four years employing very wide consultative means, formal and informal, to enrich its policy formulation and programme implementation. The administration conducted the affairs of the nation in accordance with the provisions of the 1979 Constitution. It presented budget to the National Assembly, executed its programmes as approved in the Finance Act, appointed all the statutory bodies prescribed in the constitution and all of them functioned accordingly. It did not indulge in extra-budgetary spending or giving “donations” to institutions etc. However, the administration faced stiff opposition from Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Nigerian People's Party (NPP) and Great Nigerian Peoples' party (GNPP which ganged up to constitute themselves into the then so-called "Progressives". As the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), I testify to a great extent that President Shagari, his Vice, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and his Ministers notably Chief Richard Akinjide went to steer the ship of the nation on Constitutional course in executing its programmes. Most of the ministers of the government discharged their duties with dedication even though one or two were clearly overzealous and arrogantly power drunk. The stiff opposition mounted was alien to the tradition of the (nascent) Presidential System as practised in the older democracies such as the United States of America after which our system was modelled. For instance, in his resolve to constitute an effective Code of Conduct Bureau, the President presented a former senior colleague of his in the First Republic, late Alhaji Isa Kaita who was not only widely respected, but regarded as an honest and nonsense veteran politician as the Chairman of the Bureau. The stiff opposition mounted to block the nomination was aimed at frustrating his bold initiative, lest he succeeded to score a major political point in government’s bid to address corruption in the public service. A case of "the end justifying the means”, would, you say? The Ethical Revolution programme was given cold shoulder and ridiculed only to be adapted in part by the succeeding military government as War Against Indiscipline. The administration’s food production pet project tagged “Green Revolution” was tackled with even stiffer opposition as the political adversaries dragged the government to court to test the constitutionality of prosecution of agricultural project by the Government of the Federation. Again, one state government bulldozed a Federal Housing Estate being constructed to provide needed housing for the people of the area concerned while another obstructed construction of a trunk “A” highway merely to deny the then Vice President and his party the credit of executing such a vital project for the people of the area.

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As the learning process continue, with time, the intergovernmental relationships improved by the day. The State governments controlled by U.P.N., N.P.P., G.N.P.P. and Peoples Redemption Party (P.R.P) appreciated the mutual advantage and benefit to their people that cooperation and collaboration with the Federal Government was bound to yield. A couple of examples will suffice. The Federal and Lagos State Governments needed consultation and cooperation with regards to programmes designed to enhance the metropolis, which then was the Federal Capital of Nigeria. Hence, the “Action Governor", Chief Lateef Jakande held monthly meetings with the President and his Commissioners with relevant Ministers to resolve issues of mutual interest and benefit to the two governments. Again, the Lagos state government conceived of the mass transit project as requiring massive external finance facility which could only be obtained with the cooperation and support of the President who directed the appropriate department of his government to process the documentation of the project to facilitate its execution. Subsequently, President Shehu Shagari was invited by the “Action Governor” of Lagos State to perform the ceremony of the filming of the sod to herald the start of the project, which was however, stalled by the 1983 military intervention. Similarly, the then Governor of Oyo State, Chief Bola Ige pursued and sought the cooperation of the Federal Government to restructure ownership and operation of the Igbetti Marble Company for the benefit of the people of Oyo State. Governor Solomon Lar of Plateau State, Abubakar Barde of Gongola State moderated partnership to establish mutually beneficial inter-governmental relationship with the Federal Government. It was evident that strong foundation for meaningful progress aad development based on democratic principles and true federalism was being laid during that era. The intra-party crises took a lot of time of the President in session with the N.P.N. national caucus members who met regularly often into early hours of the morning to resolve, then the most troubled states being Rivers, Kwara and Cross River. I would not forget three significant events that occurred during the Second Republic; first, the African Economic Ssummit where the Lagos Plan of Action was drawn up. Nigeria clearly took the lead to convene this conference at which President Shagari courageously condemned the Military coup that overthrew the late President W. Tolbert and which was executed by Master Sergeant Doe who assumed the leadership of that country for several years until he was killed in a most savage way in a counter coup. The point here is to stress the total commitment of President Shagari to democracy in Nigeria and the African continent. Secondly, between 1980 to 1981, oil prices collapsed in the world market as a result of world-wide oil glut, and Nigeria did not sell a single barrel of crude oil, which meant not earning a kobo by way of oil revenue for two weeks. The President had to take swift action to mitigate the adverse effect this would have on the national economy. He relied upon the support of the National Assembly to pass the austerity measure bill which helped to adjust that year's budget to the level of the reduced earning. From the era of General Olusegun Obasanjo as the military head of state, the IMF had proposed, or should I say ordered Nigeria to devalue the naira, which the General rejected. During the four- year tenure of President Shagari, the IMF did not relent to enforce the devaluation of the naira but the administration stood its grounds up to the last day. The government certainly had its shortcomings, but considering the brief highlights I have given above, it’s an idle talk to describe that government as inept (after only four years) by none other

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than a military officer who had been part of the unimpressive thirteen-year military dictatorship. On the early morning of December 31, 1983, three months after President Shagari had assumed office for a second term, Nigeria was rudely awoken by a radio broadcast announcing another military intervention and I quote;

“Fellow country men and women, I, Brigadier Sani Abacha of the Nigerian Army, address you this morning on behalf of the Nigerian Armed Forces. You are living witnesses to the grave economic predicament and uncertainty which an inept and corrupt leadership has imposed on our beloved nation or the past four years....”

With this dawn broadcast, all the governments in the federation at the three tiers were rubbished, while the National and State Assemblies chosen by the people were dismissed. Thus, the historic achievement of General Olusegun Obasanjo was wiped out by the military cabal that described itself as the off-shoot of Murtala Obasanjo regime. The elected officials were haunted and detained indiscriminately and later sentenced to ridiculous terms of imprisonment after trial by kangaroo courts, by the so-called special military tribunals established by the government. The monumental human rights violation during the Buhari/Idiagbon reign of terror is a public knowledge and I shall not take your valuable time to bore you with its account in this lecture. Suffice to say that it took another Military putsch in 1985 to free the nation from the oppressive rule of that junta. Needless to say that the era was a serious set back to the democratic agenda of Nigeria. The next eight years witnessed the arrival of a self-styled military president with ministers to the bargain. Again, the account of General Babangida’s regime is well-known and should not concern us in this lecture-text, except his transition programme, which ended with the annulment of a free and fair election held on June 12, 1993. Before then, the regime was bedevilled with attempted coups, two of which led to the arrest, trial, conviction and execution of promising officers in the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force. The elasticity of transition from military to civil democratic rule programme clearly manifested during the Babangida's regime. He initially named 1990 as the “hand over” date which he changed to 1992 only to be further extended to 1993 when the exercise was finally aborted by the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election which was considered a free and fair exercise. Earlier in 1988, the regime inaugurated the National Population Commission with the mandate to conduct a national head count in 1991 before the transitional elections. This is sequel to the recommendation made by the political bureau; the regime set up to plan the transition programme. The regime stated that it had genuine concern for an enduring national census in the words of former Vice President Augustus Aikhomu at the inauguration of the National Population Commission on April 22, 1988 thus: “We cannot run away from counting ourselves and providing vital

information about the actual population of the country and major demographic characteristics such as age, sex, occupation, income profile and distribution of economic and social activities which are crucial for policy decisions and national development”.

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Few Nigerians, however, believed that the objective of introducing the programme at that time was for national development, rather, the political class was very skeptical, given the history of census taking in Nigeria characterized by the tensions and controversies, which threatened the basis of our fragile national unity.

Before November 1991, not less than twelve concerted attempts were made to conduct accurate head count and virtually all produced neither accurate nor reliable results. Many Nigerians would readily wish away the national census as a sleeping dog, which must be left to lie. Against this background the introduction of the programme as part of the already shifted transition date was seen as a hidden agenda of the regime which anticipated the exercise to fail and find itself a good exercise to further extend the “hand over” date. The Commission under my humble leadership mounted a vigorous civic education campaign for the exercise to be seen as statistical enumeration of all persons living in the country. A thorough groundwork was carried out with the support and cooperation of public and private organizations, religious and social groups, the media, traditional rulers and relevant professional groups. Census 91 was scientifically conducted in November, 1991. Provisional results was presented to, and accepted by the Federal Military Government in March, 1992. Two census tribunals were set up to hear all complaints arising from census 91 and to adjudicate there on. Between them, they handled as many as one hundred and four (104) complaints, which emanated mainly from communities, local governments and state governments throughout the country. Thus, the exercise did not give the regime the widely feared cause to extend the transition programme. Permit me Mr. Chairman to digress and defend the National Population Commission under my leadership against sporadic unsubstantiated allegation of manipulation or fraud of the Census 91 results (figures). I stand before you and God to say that my colleagues and I applied diligence, technical know-how and sound management to conduct the head count with very close collaboration of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA). We accepted to serve our fatherland for patriotic reason only. We believe that all those who had evidence of fraud, errors of omission or commission, put them forward before the two census tribunals, which settled in favour or against the Commission. That should be a satisfactory pausing point to cease-fire as we await and prepare for the 2001 census. The transition programme of that administration began with the announcement of lifting the ban on political activities. Thereafter, the National Electoral Commission, NEC was set up under the leadership of first Professor, Erne Awa and later Professor, H. Nwosu. It kicked off by inviting political associations to apply for registration. Altogether, thirteen (13) Associations filled applications which after due process, two were recommended for recognition and registration. However, the regime declined to accept the Commission’s recommendations; instead, it established two parties, one to the right, the National Republic Convention (NRC) and the other to the left, the Social Democratic Party (SDP). They were both seen and regarded as parastatals receving their orders from government. The government reviewed and approved their constitutions and manifestos which were a clear sign of direct involvement in the implementation of the transition programme with what remotely controlled and failed parties’

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primaries which led to the disqualification of all the 24 aspirants of the two parties thereby extending the time fixed for the presidential elections. The other elections to Local Government Councils, States Assemblies, Governorship and National Assembly haven earlier taken place. The ground for disqualification was the allegation of corrupt practice that bedevilled the primary elections. Many of the people concerned or affected, however, know better taste of government’s hidden agenda in the transition programme. A fresh start had to be made with government appointed officials running the two parties and organizing party conventions, which elected new party leadership. The parties’ conventions held in Port Harcourt (NRC) and Jos (SOP) were remarkable in the reported huge monetary incentives doled out to the delegates to which the government turned deaf ears since the two candidates that emerged were very well known personal friends of the incumbent President Babangida. The wide expectation, therefore, was that the president or indeed the outgoing government would be at ease with whichever of the candidates won the election. That expectation did not materialize. The presidential election registered impressive turn out of voters and national and international observers assessed it as "free and fair". The electoral body, NEC, was ordered to stop the announcement of the results of the election which was tending to be in favour of Chief M.K.O. Abiola. Subsequently, the government annulled the election altogether. This turning point in the implementation of the transition shook the nation to its very foundation, to put it mildly. The announcement was met with spontaneous violent demonstration and destruction of government properties. The nation found itself at crossroads leading to chaos and disintegration. The most elastic portion of the transition programme had been torn apart as the government train got derailed right there at the desolate station before its destination. The President had to “step aside” for a nominated proxy Head of State; Chief Ernest Sonekan with his hand-picked cabinet to run the affairs of the Nation and conduct another election. The Interim National Government (ING) as it was known was virtually a non-starter as it was denied recognition, respect and legitimacy. In fact before the administration was ousted through a palace coup masterminded by its own Minister of Defence, General Sani Abacha, a court had declared it unconstitutional. The era of General Abacha began with the suppression of the June 12th insurrection and persistent call for convening of “sovereign national conference” by political activists and militants, to discuss and decide the re-structuring of the country with a view to installing true federalism. The regime mounted a powerful public relation campaign to gain support for the option of convening a National Constitutional Conference which came into existence in July, 1993, after the instituted National Constitutional Conference Commission had organized election into the Conference, prepared its agenda and time-table. Although, the Conference was not widely accepted as aviable option for a “sovereign national conference” as demanded by political activists, however, some notable personalities elected and appointed by government as members, persuaded the generality of Nigerians to go along with the Constitutional Conference idea especially when the conference passed the motion requesting the military to terminate its tenure in 1996. This position brought to the open the feud between General Sani Abacha and General Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua, a leading sponsor of the motion. If that motion had not been reversed by a subsequent motion sponsored by government nominees at the Conference, the government would have been morally obliged to shorten its transition plan. In spite of this, it was generally held that the draft constitution the conference crafted, if adopted without

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doctoring by the government, would have provided a genuine basis for true federalism to emerge. However, a combination of self-succession agenda and strong desire to destroy perceived opponents led to unwarranted alterations of the draft constitution, contrary to the Head of State's publicly expressed pledge during the presentation of the draft to him to adopt the document without any amendment. The presentation and implementation of the regime's sham "transition” plan was heavily overshadowed by the intense internal opposition against repression and violation of human rights and the international sanctions including the expulsion of Nigeria from the Commonwealth club. To actualize governments’ self-succession agenda, two separate agencies; the Transition Implementation Commission, an umbrella agency, and the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON) to undertake the electoral process aspects were established. Both bodies clearly carried on their mandates under the supervision of the Presidency, which decided which political parties were registered and who got selected as their respective managers. The Presidency also sponsored campaigns for the self succession agenda as several organizations sprang up to promote the incumbent Plead of State who was ultimately adopted as the sole presidential candidate by all the five registered parties. Meanwhile the detention, imprisonment, murder and execution of perceived opponents who had potential in any way to constrain the realization of the self succession programme were prosecuted with apparent precision. Sham elections were held for local government councils nationwide, states’ houses of assembly, and national assembly without any of the organs being made operative: At the height of campaign for self-succession and stiff civil society criticism, the government collapsed through divine intervention to end yet another unimplemented and overstretched transition programme. At this juncture, it is appropriate to point out that the rise of civil society to tight injustice dictatorship and overstretching of the transition to suit the convenience of the then Head of State was not only unique in the history of Nigerian political struggle for sustenance of democracy, but also timely, in that it generated consensus of opinion among Nigerians to press for military disengagement from governance right from the time General Sani Abacha died. Thus, General Abubakar successor government had the nation's unwritten mandate for a brief “care taker" tenure. Another factor which must not be forgotten is the concerted prayers offered by Nigerians to the Almighty to save the nation front the dangerous path of violent disintegration which it was heading at top gear. The overwhelming social distress of the people and international isolation of Nigeria came to an end over night so to speak. Thanks to the Almighty, we have overcome. Against the backdrop of the tragic end of the Abacha regime, General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s successor regime gave itself just under a year to organize a credible election as it brought about national reconciliation amongst the various feuding groups and interests. He also vigorously pursued the mending of the bashed international image of the country with appreciable success. He endeared himself to Nigerians and the international community with respect of human dignity and freedom, he granted political pensoners. The establishment of a new electoral body, Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to replace the disbanded NECON was his first priority as he conducted extensive nationwide

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consultations before the adoption of the shortest ever transition programme stretching from August 1998 to May 29, 1999 when he handed over the reing of government to the elected representatives of the people. The electoral process was commenced in earnest with voters registration, and registration of new political parties in accordance with the published official time-table. The nation was mobilized to support and cooperate with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the government respected the independence of the commission to successfully carry out its national assignment. The first election was held on December 5, 1998 for local government councils throughout the country. This was followed by the elections to the state houses of assembly and state governors: then to the national assembly and finally the presidential election on February 27, 1999. It is gratifying to note that the elections were free and fair and this amply testified to by more than one thousand election observers. It would be less than honest if the foregoing gives the impression that all was well with the electoral process. There were lapses here and there, and election petitions were heard and decided by me tribunals set up for the purpose. One area we in the Commission found most disturbing was the lack of democracy within the parties as sadly demonstrated in many reported instances during the parties’ primaries. For instance, multiple lists for the same positions became a regular occurrence right from the local government election. In at least one instance, the National Chairman of a party sent the name of a candidate, while the National Secretary sent a different one to be screened by the Commission for the same seat. Being in the vanguard of the democratic process, it is incumbent on the parties to ensure that democratic principles are adhered to at all times. Sadly enough, such trend of violation of democratic principles has persisted till today within the three registered parties resulting into clear divisions within their ranks, which does not augur well for sustenance of democratic culture. Over the years, the omnipresence and omnipotence of the state has been accentuated in all our development programmes. This has bred prebendalism in politics - that is viewing politics as an unconstrained struggle for power and access to state offices, with the Chief mission of accumulation of the spoils of office for one’s sectional groups or one’s self. In that regard, late Claude Ake: one of Nigeria’s political scholars, said, and I quote:

“...the crux of the problem of Nigeria today is the over politicization of social life. We are intoxicated with politics; the premium on political power is so high that we are prone to take the most extreme measures to win and maintain power. Nigerian state appears to intervene everywhere and to own virtually everything including access to status and wealth. Inevitably, a desperate struggle to win control of state power ensues since this control means for all practical purposes being all powerful and owning everything -politics became warfare, matter of life and death”.

We all know that this cankerworm has given rise to cash and carry politics in our beloved Nigeria. Exploiting the large-scale material poverty of the populace, actors monetized the polity and victories are won by the highest bidders. That is why the elimination of poverty is therefore a sine qua non to the attainment of a truly democratic political culture. The Poverty Alleviation Programme of the Obasanjo Administration must be taken very seriously as a means of

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eliminating poverty, and thereby providing healthy environment for growth of democratic culture. This programme should be heavily complemented by another to generate wealth through production and provision of efficient services. In the same vein, there is an inverse relationship between corruption and democracy, as the elimination of the former, leads to the sustenance of the latter. While corruption is inherent in human nature as no society or country is corruption free, however, the level of corruption in Nigeria is simply alarming. In fact many people think that corruption is institutionalized, and it is not only that the officials are corrupt, but that corruption is official. The situation seems to deteriorate every day though we shed crocodile tears for it. Again, President Obasanjo’s anti-corruption initiative is not only a step in the right direction but its successful implementation will be a great assurance for ushering true democratic political culture. The Punch Newspaper has in its front page comment in its May 29th, 2000 edition, and I quote:

“If this hard-worn democracy must deliver according to the people’s

expectations, it must first survive. And to survive, we believe it must be nurtured to maturity by the necessary political institutions. These include an efficient legislature, a visionary, transparent and. competent executive, an upright, independent judiciary, functional political parties, a free, responsiible press and politically conscious citizenry...”

It goes further and I quote:

“Going by decree 35 of 1998, only three parties - the Alliance for Democracy (AD), All People's Party (APP), and People s Democratic Party (PDP) are legally permitted to function as political parties in Nigeria. Regrettably, as we have argued in previous editorials, all three parties failed completely in the last one year to act as viable agents of democratic transformation. Only crisis, internal bickering and organizationl disarray emanate from the parties. So impotent is their machinery that the ruling PDP has proved unable to get its majority legislators in the National Assembly to cooperate with the President, a PDP member, to pass basic bills initiated by the Executive. Not only have these unhealthy intra party bickering slowed down legislative business in the National Assembly, there is dearth of robust, well articulated political disourse in the legislative business in the legislature; instead, executive-legislative acrimony-sometimes carried to embarrassing levels has been most pronounced. One year of the restoration of democracy had effect, ironically of unleashing sporadic communal, religious and ethnic violence, which has claimed several hundred lives and property worth millions of Naira in parts of the country. Indeed, President Obasanjo admitted only last Friday at a special meeting with media executives that his regime had not performed very satisfactorily in the area of controlling such destructive clashes”.

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Since May, 29 when the foregoing comment with which I wholly agree was published, the situation, I would say, has in fact turned for the worse than depicted here. The intra party bickering has underpinned the authorities of the elected national officers. Though this development is unlikely to derail the democratic system put in place, it can prolong instability in the polity.While it is generally held that the prospect of military intervention in the present and even future democratic dispensation is remote, if not totally non existent, the threat to the unit of the country remain an opening through which the unexpected intruder could sneak in. We should recollect General Ishaya Bamaiyi’s tip during his pull qut of service ceremony, that there are “hot heads” still left in the military who aspire to political power. He warned the nation to guard against these elements. Subsequently, we heard former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter preaching to the barracks people, respect for an electorally empowered and constituted government. In the same vein, President Olusegun Obasanjo admonished the military in these words; and I quote:

“Do not allow yourselves any expensive diversion from your constitutional role. Allow the political class and the civil society to contend themselves, to make their own mistakes, to learn their lessons and to build upon their lessons”.

From the foregoing accounts, it is clear that we have successfully transited from the Military to Civil democratic rule. However, we are still learning the strings of democratic system, experiencing hiccups as we go along. Whether or not we have finally made it depends largely on the ability of the civil society to maintain its resolve to keep out the military from governance for ever and ever. The better if the military will heed the wise advice of President Olusegun Obasanjo quoted above.

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Facts about Shehu Ahmadu Musa (Makama Nupe)

Late Alhaji (Dr.) Shehu Ahmadu Musa, CFR, Makama Nupe, was born on January 16, 1935 in Bida Niger State to the family of Mallam Musa and Hajiya Maimuna. He was married with children, grand children and great grand child. Alhaji Shehu Musa attended South- Elementary School Bida between 1943 and 1947 and Bida Middle School, Bida, in 1948. His Secondary School Education was at Zaria Secondary School now Barewa College, Zaria, between 1949-1954. After a brilliant performance in the Cambridge School Certificate Examination in which he obtained Grade I, he proceeded to the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria between 1955-1957 where he studied for the University of London General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced level in Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Physics ; a combination that was known to scare many people but exclusively reserved for gifted individuals). He immediately proceeded to the nation’s premier University, the University College, Ibadan now University of Ibadan (the University he is always very proud of and never hide his affection and gratitude to this great institution). He obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Honours (London) in Mathematics and Physics in 1960. He holds the record of being the first Nupe man from Bida to hold a University degree. Alhaji Shehu Musa’s search for the Golden Fleece (Education) took him to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis’s U.S.A. between 1962-1963 for a Master of Science (M.Sc) in Public Administration.

Dr. Shehu Musa is one individual in Nigeria that his entire life after school has been dedicated to the service of his fatherland. His career in the public service started in 1960 in the Audit Department of the former Northern Region where he rose to the position of Senior Auditor between 1963-1965. He was on service transfer to the Federal Civil Service in 1965 as Senior Assistant Secretary, Board of Customs and Excise – 1967 – 1977. He was later appointed the Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, 1971 – 1974 and later Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Health, 1974 – 1977. Based on his Wealth of Experience and reliability, he was appointed as Director of Customs and Excise on Special Assignment by the General Murtala Mohammed Corrective regime to reorganize the Department of Customs and Excise and streamline its operations. This assignment was between September 1975 to March 1976 and it provided the very foundation which the entire department was built for its viable role in the economic life of the nation. Between 1978 – 1979, he was the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Finance. He got to the peak of his career when he was appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in the Second Republic. These among others provided a potent source of inspiration to the succeeding generations who witnessed the emergence of a Nupe man to be at the position of authority in Nigeria. He has been a role model to the younger generations for his intellectual gift, humility and patriotism. During his tenure as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation between 1979 and 1983, the then Executive President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari described Shehu Musa as:…

“A man of courteous but authoritative bearing, Shehu Musa was clever, impressively efficient and widely respected by his colleagues. He seemed all the apposite as I felt that our new democratic voyage needed as the first SGF and someone who knew his way around the federal

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bureaucracy, how it worked, or didn’t work. Moreover, as a non-party man he would not be seen as a rival by ministers or special advisers. As the SGF, the homo type of Britain’s Secretary, Shehu Musa was unarguably the single most powerful official in the Federal Government or indeed in Shehu Shagaris cabinet to serve from Nupe land.”

Shehu Musa is a man of honour, distinction and pride. He is acknowledged not only at home but in the committee of nations for his historic feat and breaking the myth for organizing the only acceptable National Population Census in 1991 when he served as the Pioneer Chairman of National Population Commission, after several unsuccessful attempts. He has been honoured by several local and International Organisations. He is a recipient of Honorary Doctorate Degrees of the University of Jos, Federal University of Technology, Owerri and the University of Calabar. His contributions are of significant bearing in national life. Shehu Musa was also a presidential aspirant of NRC during Babangida regime where he felt he can contribute his best as a Nigerian in 1988. His appointment into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a National Commissioner remains one of such important contributions to the democratic evolution of Nigeria. He has attended several service courses, seminars and conferences in Nigeria and abroad, including representing Nigeria at World Bank, I.M.F., Commonwealth Heads of Government (Officials) and Finance Ministers Meeting.

Alhaji Shehu Musa’s contribution to national development is not only in public service but in other sectors of national life too. The picture of this “National Servant” can be seen from his record of service to his community, the nation and humanity. He has served as a member and chairman to over twenty parastatals including private sector organisations and Non Governmental Organisations.

Alhaji Shehu Musa is indeed a man of honour and a national servant per excellence. In recognition of his tremendous contributions to national development; several communities in Nigeria have honoured him with various traditional titles. These are in addition to national and international awards he had received at one time or the other.

National Honours: Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (C.F.R.) – 1982. International Mercury Award – 1992.

Traditional Awards: Makama Nupe (Niger State) – 1980, Onotu of Ogume (Delta State) – 1982, Boba Selu of Osogbo (Osun State) -1983, Ezeanyin of Ibusa (Delta State) – 1988, Jagunmolu of Ikirun (Osun State) – 1990, Onwanitilora of Assah Ibilerem – 1991, (Imo State), Batolu of Lagos (Lagos State) – 1991, Aare Atunluse of Ibadan – 1991, (Oyo State), Seriki Mayegun of Oke Ona Egba – 1991 (Ogun State) and Bajowa of Eefon Alaaye – 1990 (Ondo State).

People he cherishes most in his life are people that contributed in the development of this great Nation as a whole. His hobbies are reading, writing, thinking for meaningful planning and sports.

He wants to be remembered as some one that did his best at every responsibility given to him to contribute in the development of this Nation as service to humanity.

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The Journey!!! All Hands on Deck:

This Ship Must Not Sink

Oladipo Olusegun Oduye (2001)

Introduction It is a rare privilege for serving officers to be asked to give a lecture on the platform of the Alumni Association. Such a honour is usually reserved for those have left their home base (the institution) and have made it in their field of endeavour. They are then asked to come back home and provide the home audience with their nostalgic views on what was, what is, and perhaps what should be. Until the wee hours of Friday, 5th October, when I was given this responsibility by the organizing committee, I was an ordinary lecturer doing as I was directed by my head of Department. Even though I know how ordinary I am, the organizing committee suddenly tried to elevate me to the status of giants like Honourable Justice Olakunle Orojo, Chief Emeka C.Anyaoku, the late Mr. Ken Saro-Wiwa, Professor Chukuemeka Ike, Dr. Gamaliel O. Onosode, Chief Bola Ige, SAN. Professor O.O.O.Akinkugbe, Professor T.T.Tamuno to mention a few. Whilst recognizing their shoes are too big for me. I will try to drag them on with my tiny and trembling feet. Perhaps at the end of the day, I might have moved closer to their heels. For this rare privilege and honour to be bestowed on me is beyond comprehension. The God of the Universe does His things in miraculous ways. Who am I to ask Him questions? Even if I ask, He will not provide me with a perceptible answer, but the fact remains that He that has done what He wanted to do and that is that. My answer lies in a passage from the Holy Quran; chapter 3, Suratual- Al-Imran, verse 26 which says:

Say “O Allah! Lord of Power (and Ruler) Thou givest Power To those thou pleasest And thou stipplest off Power From whom Thou-Pleasest. Thou endurest with honour Whom thou pleasest, And thou bringest low

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Whom thou pleasest. In thy Hand is all good

Verily, over all things Thou hast Power”.

It is to this God of the Universe that I give thanks for this opportunity which I accepted with trepidation because I know it is heavy, but because I also know that He has promised me according to His words in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 (Suratal Bakarat) verse 286 and the Holy Bible that,

"On on soul doth God

Place a burden greater Than it can bear”

I am now facing it with the courage which He has also endowed me with. To the organizers of this Alumni Lecture I salute your courage for charging an unknown and unsung figure like me with this responsibility. I only hope I do not terribly disappoint you. Not only did you charge me with this awesome responsibility, you also gave me the difficulty burden of selecting a topic of my choice. I thought deeply in this politically turbulent and charged atmosphere and decided as an insider of this GREATEST institution to air my views on some burning issues to give all of us, the past, the present and perhaps the future generations of students some food for thought. My wonderful mentor, the great dynamine, T.N.T. for short; Professor Tekena N. Tamuno stood at this same podium three years ago to talk about the motto of our Institution- RECTE SAPERE FONS: CUI BONO? For knowledge and Sound Judgement: in whose interest? It is not my wish to review his delivered lecture, but just to make references to that motto whch speaks volumes and ask us, the present operators of this system, (Staff and Students) alike if we are living up to the great expectations of the founding parents embodied in Recte Sapere Fons. My answer is "Your guess is as good as mine.” The Journey Our ship has set sail on a very long journey. The beginning we knew because it was accomplished with, and accompanied by a great gan-fare. The first time few kilometers was a smooth sail. As we sailed on, we managed to discharge some of the cargoes and passengers while taking on new cargoes and passengers almost to the point of overloading the ship whilst we failed to check the physical state of our vessel before moving further into the middle of the ocean, the sail became less smooth or shall I say, it became turbulent. At that stage, the captain and his crew were busy trying to ensure the comfort and safety of the passengers and their cargoes, but it came to a stage in the turbulent ship when the captain, his crew, and the passengers were all involved in keeping the ship a float. Even the owners from the ship having listened to weather forcast and messages from the ship's crew, set on a mission that the ship must not capsize or sink. And for that to happen, all hands had to be on deck even if it meant sending a powerful mission to effect the rescue. Sometimes in the process, the ship owners sent conflicting signals to the captain, the crew and the passengers, complicating the confusion and anxiety. The least they could do notwithstanding is to keep vigil and pray. Some even volunteered to go on the rescue mission.

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At this stage of the game, nobody, I repeat nobody had time to apportion any blame. Everybody tried to put some effort into the rescue task. As it were, some passengers with little understanding or shall I say total ignorance, not quite conversant with the rules at sea in such a circumstance inevitably got into the ways of the Captain and the crew, and made matters got worse for the rescue operation. Every stakeholder was totally involved in the rescue operation. The good news was that although battered, the ship sailed through the storm with weary captain, crew and passengers and maneuvered its way on to the nearest sage ground. After anchoring, salvage teamon board assessed the damaged and prescribed the necessary repairs that had to be done before the ship could set sail again. I have chosen to tell this short story of stormy sailing at sea to illustrate my understanding of the journey of our great University. The founding in 1948 was greeted wit great fan fare. It started with great expectations and aspirations. Although we have covered some distance, I am sure we could all discern that we are now at the very turbulent sail of our journey. We do not intend to end up in a capsized ship or sunken ship or in a shipwreck. For us not to end up in the accompanying disaster, all of us present in this audience today must have our hands on deck. Whether anybody wants to believe it or not, the government representing the ship owner is here, the teachers representing the captain and the crew are here, the students representing the passengers are here, the parents representing the shareholders are here, the users of the end products representing the owners of the cargoes are here while the Alumni and Alumnae representing previous passengers (old cargoes) are also here. To prevent this “Ship” from sinking is no longer the job of one stakeholder but all the stakeholders as represented above. Every one of us present here today is a stakeholder in the development and progress of this University. By the time we all depart, I would like everyone to give him or herself the task of playing his or her role well so that we can restore the image of our University to what it was at the beginning (if not better) so that the future generations who are fortunate enough to sail on this ship can look forward to very pleasant journeys. I strongly believe that to get out of present predicament, every stakeholder should re-examine himself or herself role and be prepared to make amends instead of passing buck and engaging in mud-sliding rheotorics; we have done enough of that. It is in an attempt to help all the stakeholders in this self-examination that I have chosen to take this rare opportunity to attempt to play a neutral role as an objective observer. Please do not forget we are still at sea. Let us now cruise along. The repair team will come on board after we have anchored. I do see myself falling into three of the categories of the stakeholders namely as a teacher, as a parent and as an alumus. I am willing to accept my own shares of the blame and make amends. I do hope everyone will see these criticisms the way I see them. If we all do it is certain that we are all together on this journey. All our hands should be on deck and by the Grace of God our ship will not sink. Falling Academic Standard According to the University of Ibadan Act 1962, “It shall be the general function of the University to encourage the advancement of learning throughout Nigeria and to hold out to all persons without distinction of rare creed or sex, the opportunity of acquiring “A LIBERAL

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EDUCATION”; and for the purpose of carrying out that function, it shall be the duty of the University, so far as its resources permit:

To provide such facilities for the pursuit of learning and acquistion of a liberal education as appropriate for a University of the highest standing.

To make those facilities available on PROPER TERMS to such persons as are equipped to benefit from the use of the facilities."

A very close look at this shows that our University was established for the sole function of providing a LIBERAL EDUCATION to all who pass through the Institution. What liberal education is, or whether we are providing a liberal education is a subject of debate, which I do not intend to dabble into in the course of this discussion. It is also incumbent on the University to provide facilities for a liberal education as appropriate for a University of the highest standard. This connotes that we must produce graduates of the highest academic standards. The beginning was good and Univeristy of Ibadan could boast of fulfilling this role in the early stages of her life. Today, we cannot boast of the same integrity in our standard of education. What this means is that the only product or commodity, which our business enterprise is charged with, can no longer pass the quality control test. Why! Why!! Why!!! It is the big question; I have choosen this to be the main theme of my discussion this afternoon. I will attempt to do it by addressing how all the stakeholders in this business have contributed to this dismal state. Falling academic standard is described and talked about every day. The end users of our products are complaining about it. We, the producers are complaining about it and yet nobody, I repeat, nobody seems to be willing to do something about it. If it is being done, it does not appear to be visible or effective. Why has the standard of our products declined to this level? The answer to my mind is a collective blame which has to be shared by the government, the teahers, the parents, and the students, who are the users of our products, and the ALUMNI and ALUMNAE. The Government The biggest problem in this equation is the Government which on the one hand laments and decries the falling standard of our tertiary education but on the other hand continues to create a conducive atmosphere for a rapid precipitation in the standard. To me this is diabolical. How has the government managed to produce and sustain these two phases? The available information from the office of the Executive Secretary of the Universities Commission shows quite clearly that the cost of training a student in our University was about $650 (US) annually in 1991. Conversion at the current rate of international monetary exchange puts this value at N78, 000. This is clearly about 10% of what it cost to train a student in the least expensive college or University in the United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom. Does the government expect to have the same quality education and knowledge in our

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students as it is done in the USA, Canada or UK with about 10% of what it costs them to do the same? Certainly, this is an impossible task, even if we have all the best teachers in the entire world concentrated in our Institution. Clearly, something has to be done to improve the situation. We must acknowledge that this figure has recently increased to about N22, 000, thanks to the negotiations and agreement between the trade unions, and the Federal Government. Despite the apparent improvement, it is still far cry from the real value required to do a decent job. There is no denying the fact that government has since 1975 cried out loud that it cannot alone; single handedly finance education at the tertiary level. Whilst I can partially understand government position of cost sharing in the training of our students, I cannot comprehend why the same government has made it impossible for the University to obtain funds from the beneficiaries of the University services. This was done by continuously preventing the University from charging any tuition fees for the services rendered. The same government since 1975 dis engaged herself from student accommodation, and at the same time pagged the fees for a bed space at N90 per annum; ironically the cost of a bottled of Coca-cola (liquid contents only). Frankly speaking, this is ridiculous. It is even more ridiculous when we know that some of the students have found it expedient to buy and sell the same bed-space for as much as N25,000, while the government; the sole properitor of this Institution has the right to complain of the heavy burden of single-handedly financing education, it has no justification for making pronouncements that will harm string the University administration from charging tuition and other fees that will improve the standard of education through improved funding. In whose interest is the government making these pronouncment? certainly not in the interest of the teachers, the students and the users of the end product or the employers of labour. More astonishingly, government is also working against its own interest. It is therefore better for the government to be silent rather than make pronouncements that are counter productive in the academic pursuit of the students. Ironically, government then charges the University administration to generate funds to augment its subvention. Again, this to me is beyond comprehension because it is not in the interest of any of the stakeholders. By their training and calling, University teachers are not trained in the art of business and making money. Their job is to impart knowledge by studying, researching, and teaching. To make them deviate from their calling is to cause disaster for the educational system. They will simply neglect their line of duty for more financially rewarding ventures. I wonder why those who advise government on education have never been able to draw attention to this fact. The example of events seen in the primary and secondary schools should teach us some lesson. It is a known fact that many of the teachers at these levels are now traders, who display or hawk their wares openly and spend more time marketing them, sometimes to their pupils or students. This certainly is not what the government wants. Not only is government funding grossly inadequately to run the acedemic affairs of our University, the funds are not released in time to make it possible for proper planning of our programmes. Our administrators have to make several trips to Abuja to effect often belated releases of funds.

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It is not often realized that the University Community is run as a municipality or local government where you have to pay for:

a) Water Supply. b) Generation of Electricity. c) Provision of a good road network. d) Provision of Security. e) Provision of Health Services.

I dare say that all the above services should be provided by the Local government in which we are situated. This is not done. Instead, we are expected to spend part of the money released by the government on all these services. Until something is done about these municipal activities the University will continue to suffer academic decline. The University is, I am reliably informed, a government parastatals just like NEPA, NNPC, NITEL, NIPOST to name a few. Even government parastatal produces some commodities and sells to the public at economic prices. It is therefore very difficulty for me to understand why the only commodity produced by the University, which costs so much, should be provided free of charge. It would have been clearly understood if the government is prepared to pay the whole cost of production. If government is only willing to pay about 30% of the production cost, then the remaining 70% has to come from some other sources. Ironically, when there is an increase in the prices of NEPA, NNPC, NITEL, or NIPOST products, the cost of producing our only commodity also goes up because we are not excluded from such price increase. We give our products to NEPA, NNPC, NITEL or NIPOST free of charge and they keep on escalating the price at which they sell their products to us. I cannot find any logic in this; neither can I think of any justification for such scenario. Some thing has to be done to bring about equity in the whole process. Many in the audience could recall a State government in the late 70s or early 80s who was asked to name the mineral deposits found in his state. We were all amazed at his display of ignorance when he jumped to name them as Coca cola, Fanta, Sprite, Pepsi Cola, Mirinda, and Seven Up. May be he made some people laugh but for me, I thought that this nation was in a serious trouble if he represented the caliber of some of our political leaders. However, remembering that it was in a democracy, we probably deserved him because we elected him. I cannot say the same for one of the government officials who during the 1992 Federal Government’ ASSU phase off in response to the ASUU’s explanation of the troubles academic staff have to go through in the publish or perish game retorted that there are many publishing houses in Kaduna and Abuja that should be given the privilege of publishing their papers. “Just send the manuscripts to them and they will publish them,” he said. Why should government send people who do not understand the problem of education to deal with education? We know it is common practice for government to repay their political allies or supporters with appointments on boards, but I equally believe that there must be some exceptions to this rule. At least in education, there are many qualified and appreciative Nigerians who could be called upon to serve. They are not difficult to find if only we look around. The repercussion of this act of putting round pegs in square holes only helps to harden

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the temperamental youths who have today seized power from their more moderate and accommodating peers. One of the signs of unseriousness that would be displayed by any government functionary is the feigning of ignorance on or total denial of his predecessors’ previous activities and commitments particularly in relation to education. When they accept these “lofty” appointments, they must realize that these are political as well as administrative responsibilities which have their own share of assets and liabilities. What we have witnessed is the tendency to accept all the assets but a total or partial rejection of the liabilities. Such an action usually puts the back of even the mildest of intelligent up against such pronouncements. We have had several examples of this in the recent past. May we appeal to our political leaders that if they have scores to settle amongst themselves, they should avoid using the education arena to do so. It is such a sensitive area that we cannot afford this kind of game. And it could be expensive for government. The Teachers Those of us described as University teachers also have a big share of the blame. My experience as an undergraduate in those days (in early life) was that the most experienced lecturers, snenior lecturers and professors bore the brunt of lectures. They carried as much as 80% - 90% of the lectures whilst directing the affairs in the practical classes. The less experienced ones were relegated to pratical demonstrations under the supervision of the more or most experienced ones. Examination questions were set and administered by the most senior ones who also corrected the scripts and collated the marks in the stipulated time provided by the University rules and regulations. What we have today is a total deviation from the above mentioned scenario. It is the assistant lecturers that are charged with the responsibilities of delivering most of the lecturers even though some professors’ names are tagged to such schedules. They conduct the examinations and also grade the answer scripts. These are the people who are supposed to understudy their senior colleagues for a minimum period of 4-5 years before being given the opportunity to deliver one or two lecturers in a 30 lecture course schedule. What emanates from the results collated and accepted is best imagined than realized. Worst still come senior teachers who have answer scripts to correct/grade leave them till 3 or 4 reminders have been sent before hurriedly passing them to their graduate assistants for grading. This is not acceptable. Our senior teachers must accept to take responsibilities and discharged them accordingly. The University teachers have contributed in no small measure to the poor financial status of the Institution. Whilst appreciating their pressure on government to improve University funding and general working conditions in the environment, it is difficult to comprehend that the same teachers would tell government not to allow charging of fees in our University. It is even more incomprehensible when the teachers are asking for about 1000% increase in their take-home pay. We may have won the battle so far, but let me quickly warn that the war has just began. Until we are able to provide adequate space, equipment, books and consumables to take care of the teaming population of students, we cannot claim to be out of the woods. Promise is one thing, fulfillment of promise is another. Signing the agreement is one phase; implementation of the

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signed agreement is another, and the way the operators of government policies behave, I have my serious reservation. Let me take this debate further. We have earlier argued and proved that the cost of training a student in the Nigerian University in 1991 was about N78, 000. Now, it is approximately N22, 000. That is what the government pays. However, it would cost much more than that if we are to do a better job. I know we can do it. Judging by our efficiency and super-management of resources, it will not cost less than half of what takes the USA, Canada or U.K to do the same thing. This will be about N400, 000. Are we equitable in saying that this amount should be spent annually on a selected few Nigerian students for four years or five years or six years as the case may be without the beneficiaries contributing? Where is the equity in that argument? The answer is, there is no equity at all. I seriously consider that every Nigerian student should contribute about 20% to the cost of his/her training. After all, he/She is the sole beneficiary of all the advantages accruing from his/ her prosperity as a result of his/her education. Let me quickly add that about 50% - 80% of all the students in our University are products of private nursery, primary and secondary schools where some parents pay as much as N350,000 per annum to educate these children. My argument here is that, to sustain our posture we would be asking the poor tax payers to pay for the education of the children of the rich. This is just nof fair. If anything is required, it is the 15-20% of the students from poor family backgrounds that need to be assisted. I would strongly advocate that we work out adequate modalities for taking care of this lot. It can be done if we are sincere with ourselves. I can go on proffering arguments on this issue but time does not permit. Let me draw attention to a Yoruba adage which says Ogun ti a ko fi owo se, ehin aro ni ongbe. What this means is that most people in this world do not appreciate what they have not paid for. The students will be more serious if they know that failures at the end of a year or programme mean a lot of money going down the drain. The parents/guardians too will take more interest in the performance and progress of their children/wards. Some of the most often pursued arguments of the teachers is that:

i. We do not know how much money accrues from the sale of our major export commodity, oil.

ii. The government functionaries squander money any how, if what we read in the newspapers and hear from our electronic media houses are anything to go by.

iii. The lawmakers are extravagant and ostentatious in their ways. Some of the funds should be diverted to educate the future leaders.

But if I may ask, are we sure about the questions we raise in our arguments, granted that there is no smoke without fire, everybody has his own calling as summed up in Tai Solarin’s “The Way Down, The Way Up.”

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“You can become whatever you choose to be, No king, no lord no knave can say you nay. For we believe that man is a potential laywer, Doctor, teacher, crook or dwarf or giant Whichever he sets his mind to be. We shall be TEACHERS and therefore we shall Work and work and work and work Even if we must work our fingers to the bones So help us God”.

We have chosen to be teachers. Let us resolve to do what we have chosen to do with all out strength and might, and leave those who have chosen to be crooks to do that which is primary on their mind. For all I know, everyone will reap whatever he sows, if not here, but certainly in the hereafter. A popular saying goes thus:-

“A house divided in itself cannot stand”. This is certainly true in our own circumstance. We as teachers are here as surrogate parents. Like in any nuclear family where sharp and unnecessary division between father and mother adversely affects their offspring, so does it in our setting without us taking adequate notice. By nature, we are not equally talented and there is no way we will all agree on all issues. It is however very disturbing that when we disagree amongst ourselves; some of us resort to discussing with our students (children) in an attempt to destroy the credibility of one another and win the sympathy of the students, what an error. We end up confusing some of these students to the extent that it has a profound effect on their academic performance as well as their character. We should therefore exercise sound judgment in these matters. One major problem we have as teachers is the mode of our academic advancement. The process of evaluation is too heavily weighted in favour of publications-hence the coinage of the term publish or perish syndrome. There is very little attention or reward (if there is any at all) given to the teaching ability/efficiency of the teachers. Naturally, most people given more priority and lay emphasis on research and publication, regrettably to the neglect of teaching, the primary assignment for which we have been employed. Very good teachers have therefore been heavily penalized. Many of them have left the system in frustration. I strongly believed that the time has come when we must find a way to redress this anomaly if we really want an improvement in our standard of delivery. The repercussion of the massive brain drain was that the University lost a good number of the seasoned and experienced teacher. We could actually admit that we lost the cream of the lot. Simultaneously, we were admitting more students into the University. Recruitment of staff was therefore imperative. The sad experience was that many departments have to make do with the available materials that under normal circumstances would not have been considered. In short, some of our classrooms were manned by those I will call inadequate teaching materials. It was an inevitably price we had to pay for the neglect we suffered from the hands of the power(s) that be. Although we are not totally yet out of the woods, but can now breathe a sign of relief with some improvements that had taken place in the conditions of service of University teachers. We can now compete with other employers of labour and hopefully those good teaching materials

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will starts to reappear in some of our classrooms. It is also my fervent hope that those who joined in the “Andrew syndrome” and are still healthy would come back to pick things up where they left. I also hope those of us left in the system will not make their return impossible. It would appear that the poverty of the recent past has turned the teachers and the University administration against each other. Naturally, the teachers want improved facilities to effect their main assignment while the administration had failed to prove such not because it was unwilling but because it did not have the wherewithal. In an attempt to manage this poverty, the administration hoarded information. Rumours flew about, the character assassination became rampant. This was often compounded by the wrong signals given by government in order to save its face. Sometimes the behaviour of the teacher (crew) to the administration (captain) in the institution (the ship) could aptly be described in the maritime world as mutiny. When you have that, it is a perfect setting for disaster at sea. The administration and the teachers should work more closely together by trusting each other and helping themselves to run the institution better. The students will, if they see co-operation between these two turn a new leaf because there will be no where else to turn. Before we forget and turn a deaf ear to this advice, I will like to say that History has a way of repeating itself simply because human begins always fail to learn from history. The story of our voyage on the University of Ibadan ship is very similar to that titled “Mutiny on the Bounty.” The Bounty was a British Navel ship sent on a Mission by he Majesty's Government to a tropical country to bring some species of plants that would increase food production for the British people. Whilst they made adequate provision of food and water for the captain and his crew, they forgot to make provision for their plant cargo. The captain decided to give as much water as was necessaiy to the plants and was ready to starve the crew of drinks by rationing. The attendant agony of deprivation sparked of mutiny on the ship and the captain was releaved of his post by mutiny. The leader of the mutiny also suffered the same fate, he metted out to his own captain. Such is t,.he natural law of justice."Thou shall reap whatever thou soweth”. Need I say any more? A word is sufficient for the wise. The Parents The major problem with parents and guardians is that they appear not to show any keen interest in the academic progress of their children or wards. I am aware that for a very long time (close to 8 or 10 years) no official report was released was released to sponsors on the academic performances of their wards. Yet there was no information that any sponsors (parent/guardians) wrote to the Registrar of this University demanding such reports. It is as if they could not be bothered about anything that happened to their children or wards. There have been instances when some parents showed up for the graduation ceremony of their children only to be told that their children still had 2-4 semesters to complete the academic requirements of their programmes. Worst still were situations where parents or guardians on such occasions learnt for the first time that their children or wards have been rusticated for 4 semesters or dismissed from the Institution to atone for various types of misbehaviour. Had such

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parents or guardians been paying fees, they would certainly have demanded to know the progress or otherwise of their children/wards much earlier. This further goes to buttress the earlier submission that little care that's if any at all is taken to free gifts because of lack of appreciation. Some parents mislead their children by dictating to them what they want them to be. In most cases, they fail to recognize the ability and the interest of the child or children. Some even go to the ridicoulous extent to disowning their children if they fail to comply with their wish. Experience has shown that such students rarely did well because they have been forced or compelled to satisfy their parents desire against their own will and ability. What such parents have failed to appreciate is that every child has his/her natural ability, gift and tendencies. What we need do as parents is to assist them in the best possible way to develop their God given potentials and talents. Another area worthy of comment is the way parents push their under-aged children into this free academic world before they mature and are able to handle the vagaries of the system. I do not know what we stand to gain by pushing kids into this adult world at the age of 14 or 15. They enter into a free world ill-prepared and they just fritter away their time, engaging in frivolous activities. We should desist from swearing to affidavits to beat the University regulations. We must also realise that we are teaching this kids to defraud the system. What a bad example we are to our children. One of the most disturbing features is the role of parents is fraudulent practices. Some parents pay for the purchase of forged certificates, examination questions papers (leakage of examinations), alteration of marks, all in an attempt to get their children into the University. It is amazing the level to which some parents will descend to achieve their goals. The results have always ended in disaster. Some would openly proclaim that they would do whatever it takes to secure admission for their children. This situation is compounded by the availability of willing accomplices at the examination boards, committees or councils. It is not mandatory that every willing child will secure a place in the University. Even if we expand our facilities to accommodate double our current student population, not every student will be admitted. Let there be merit in the process. Until JAMB returns to where it right belongs and the University is given the freehand to determine and administer its own admission requirements in line with what it was before JAMB, the pathetic situation will continue to exist. Let us therefore hope that we can do everything to hasten the demise of JAMB. Students The role of students in this sinking ship is multidimentional. Many students come into the system ill-prepared to face the rigours of being on their own for the first time in their lives. They become lazy, not willing to work. They prefer to sleep all day having attended to late night parties, thus missing lectures and practical classes. It is not uncommon to have a bright student dropping out so early because of failure to attend to his academic duties. At every available opportunity, they resent orders and prefer to go on rampage all in an attempt to show off or declare themselves independent. Some of them even believe they have the whole world at their feet to the extent that they forget about time, before you know it, they have fallen prey to a few

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militants whose main purpose of being here is to disrupt all activities. But most astonishingly, some believe they can buy their teachers to award them marks they do not deserve. Amazingly too, some teachers have compromised. Certainly, this is not going to lead them anywhere at all. Examination malpractice has become the order of the day. We have even been told of examination malpractice syndicates or rackets. For those who get away with cheating, it soon catches up with them because they are devoid of the knowledge which they are expected to display at work which is waiting for them. The truth is that they have managed to cheat themselves. There is special group of students who spend more than 50% of their time attending to fellowship programmes or prayers. They forget the fact that there is time for everything. Mr Lawrence Oluwole Oyatobo, a first year college student in 1954 advised such students with what he rightly titled “The Secret of Life'’. “Let us work hard before we pray and we shall find it successful; but praying without hard working will lead us to a poorer end”. Unfortunately, these students are not the only ones that suufers the consequences of their action or inaction; the whole nation does, and we can not afford such wasted talents. Our selection process for new intakes into the citadel of learning needs urgent reform. It is difficult these days to authenticate the credentials of applicants because of examination malpractices and fraudulent activities. Presented certificates must be verified several times before they could be accepted. Sometimes, the discrepancy between the SSCE results and the JAMB scores should actually attract police investigations. Such is the decadence to which the students have descended, that one begins to wonder who amongst these students is here legitimately. The time has come when this University should revert to the former system of conducting concessional entrance examinations for all interested candidates with the examination results being published in one or two of the national newspapers before students or their parents have

access to the admission procedure for abuse. The Users of End-products Our University is the main engine on which the lives of almost every industry depend. Name it, our products are there contributing in no small measure to the progress of the nation in general. Will it not be better, if we all join hands to ensure adequate and continued lubrication of this engine to prevent it from breaking down? We will all have ourselves to blame if we allow this to happen by error of commission or omission. Inspite of the benefits we derive from this super engine, we would appear that the other industries which depend on it have conspired to run it down, but because of time constraint, I will illustrate my assertion with two examples. First is the almighty Nigerian Electric Power Authority (NEPA) which enjoys free patronage of our products both in the administrative and technical lines. Whilst we give our product to them

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free of charge, they have to charge the University commercial rate of NEPA Tariff. The University is not a commercial industry, why should it then be charged and made to pay commercial rate in its power consumption? Every plea to get NEPA to review this decision has fallen on deaf ears. What is more, if there is a storm that destroys any NEPA pole or cable supplying the University, until we have paid for it, supplied the labour and transportation, we will remain in total darkness. How could NEPA officials be so insensitive to the plight of the University? It is like the proverbial saying that one should avoid biting the finger that feeds it. NEPA does it regularly. I will also briefly mention the devastating role of Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) on the activities of the University. In this day and age of information explosion, the University cannot communicate with the outside world. No thanks to the inactivity/insensitivity of NITEL. How can we in the University Community link up with Internet without telephone? For the first part of ten years, NITEL has not found it fit to provide a hitch free cable system to supply our University Community. NITEL will want the University to provide the cable before it could do anything. It is ironical that the community that will provide NITEL with the highest revenue compared to all others is the one it has chosen to neglect. But the more important damage is that it has a profound detrimental effect on learning process of our students. We could go on and on. This attitude has to change if these industries will not indulge in the proverbial adage of “killing the goose that lays the golden egg”. The Boards of NEPA and NITEL are strongly advised to resolve to have heavy inputs into our University Departments of Electrical/Electronic Engineering and Physics with Electronics for a better practical orientation of our products so that they can serve them better. Alumni/Alumnae We must give credit to the University of Ibadan Alumni Association for what she has accomplished so far. Over the past twenty years or so, it has been the same committed faces (very few) that have sustain the association. How beautiful will it be if every alumni/alumnae would realise that he/she is what he/she is today because of what he/she took from here, and try to plough something back for the future generations to enjoy better facilities. It is a culture that we all have to imbibe. All over the world, the role of former students in the development of their institutions has been phenomenal. Alumni/alumnae take very keen interest in the development and progress of their Alma Mater. The same can be done here. Unfortunately, we didn’t entrench this tradition in the first few generations of alumni/alumnae because government provided everything needed by the University. The development of alumni association started rather late with its consequences. Many of us are so well placed and endowed to the extent that we can assist this University from our resources without making a dent on our wealth. Resources do not only deal with money. Some of us are so highly placed that we can make thing happen for our University. Let each and everyone of us appeal to him/herself and do the right thing. The call for me to deliver this year’s Alumni Lecture has suddenly opened my eyes that for so long, I have left undone something I should have done, but I do promise that from now on, I will take an active part in the affairs of the Alumni Association. What is your own promise?

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The alumni/alumnae should see themselves as the owners of this University. We should all see ourselves belonging to a very big family compound where our formative years were spent before we dispersed into the world to fend for ourselves. If we see the University as our parent, then we must look back to see to its welfare and when it is in need, we should not be asked before we do that which is right according to the African tradition. The more we give, the more this parent and another ONE we can not see but WHO sees us will bless us. We should be on the alert, and wade into any crisis that may engulf the University before it is too late. Our mediatory role must be perceptible. There is a limit to which we can blame the government as the husband of our University. The time she was the only wife, she had everything she required for her sustenance and growth, and like a typical African family setting, the father decided to have other wives. The consequence of such in familiar parlance is - “Mothers take care of thy children because the resources of the father could not cope. Whatever our complaints, other institutions “married” after University of Ibadan will have to take out of the father’s estate. The scenario is so typical that the government as the father forgets that University Ibadan is the first-wife, otherwise, the younger ones would not be allocated more funds than University of Ibadan. The government has its own favourite Universities. It is in line with this that we must adopt our own survival strategy. We as Ibadan siblings cannot afford to see her suffer because her husband had more, or less relegated her to the background. Please let us rise up to the occasion and the time is now. Nobody has the exclusive answer to the organizational role of a body like ours, but certainly, a lot of people have good ideas. Let us distil them for the betterment of our wonderful Alma Mater. Recommendations

All hands on deck, the ship must not sink.

Every effort must be made to revive the falling academic standard. Government, as a matter of urgency should improve subvention to this University.

Government should find a way of releasing the funds on time to allow for planning and

preparation in the University.

Government should allow the University to charge some fees to augment its subvention. It should desist from making pronouncements that make this impossible.

Government should be mindful of appointments to educational councils and boards by

putting “square pegs in square holes”.

Government functionaries in the educational arena should not use this field to settle their political quarrels.

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The most senior teachers must accept to take responsibilities and dicharge them accordingly.

The teachers must stop making it impossible for government to allow charging of

appropriate fees in our University.

The teachers must, as a matter of urgency work out the modalities for assisting the needy students from poor family background. All teachers must resolve to be good teachers. Teachers should exercise sound judgement in dealing with students so as not to destroy the image of their colleagues.

The process of evaluating and rewarding University teachers should be less punitive to very good teachers but with fewer published work so as not to frustrate them away from the system.

The teachers should make it possible for their colleagues who fled the country in the very hard times to come back and pick up where they left.

The teachers and administration should work more closely together. They should be tolerant and accommodating to each other.

(a) the teachers should be more trust worthy. (b) the administration should be more open with information.

Parents should show more keen interest in the progress of their children in the University.

Periodic and unscheduled visits to their children and their wards will go a long way in

checking their excesses and playfulness.

Parents and Guardians should demand the progress re-ports of their children or wards at the end of every academic session.

Parents should stop choosing what to study for their children.

They should assist the children to develop their God given potentials and

talents.

Parents and Guardians should avoid sending under-aged children and wards to the University.

Parents and Guardians should desist from paying for forged certificates, examination

papers and alteration of marks for their children and wards.

Parents and Guardians should be prepared to contribute to the cost of training their children and wards annually.

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Students should face their academic work squarely.

Students should be law abiding.

Students should desist from examination malpractices and forging of entry requirements into the University.

NEPA should endeavour to provide uninterrupted power supply to the University

Community.

NITEL should provide uninterrupted telephone communication link between the University and the rest of the world.

Both NEPA and NITEL should resolve to have heavy inputs into our Departments of

Electrical/ Electronic Engineering and Physics for a better practical orientation of our products so as to serve the country / nation better.

Alumni/ Alumnae should see themselves as siblings of our University and use part of

their wealth and resources to improve the learning conditions of the future generations.

They must be prepared at all times to wade into any crises that may engulf the University.

The Alumni forum has allowed me to constitute myself into a one- man independent investigative panel and produce a report and recommendations on why academic standard has fallen in our University. It is almost certain that other panels will be set up or set themselves up either to compliment these findings or refute them. Whatever the caption or the opening story, it is clear that the University of Ibadan is on an everlasting journey. In her short existence of life, she has had anuxed bag of fortunes and misfortunes. Her initial fortune stems from the fact that she was the only tertiary Institution of the Nation for quite a while before the others were born after varying periods of gestation. Arrival or the birth of other Universities has brought a chechered development and growth to the University of Ibadan. Inspite of neglect, this University is still expected to provide the leadership role she was originally designed to play in the socio-economic and political life of the Nation. Whether she does that will depend on how we handle her in the future beginning from now.

However, it is obvious that Ibadan’s problems did not arise from one factor but through a multiple of factors created by all the stakeholders amongst who are the government, the teachers, the parents, the students, the end users of University of Ibadan products and the Alumni/Alumnae. The Interactions of these multiple adverse factors created knowingly or unknowingly by the stakeholders had produced an effect which had started to jeopardise the quality of our main products (the graduates) that are now purported to have acquired lower academic standard. This is the most appropriate time in the life of this great Institution that we must get all our acts right and put her on a platform that can withstand all the storms, the gales, the hurricanes and the

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tempest that she is likely to encounter on her life-long journey. With everyone accepting and playing his/her role well, this University will become stabilised to sail through life with minimal trauma. I have in the last one hour or so, tried to take us through the major contributing factors that are associated with the so much decried falling academic standard in our University. I have tried to liken it to a sinking ship which all the stakeholders have to do everything to ensure it does not sink. And when one takes a critical look at the falling standard, it is a rescue operation that can be effectively carried out within a period of 12-24 months if only all the participants are willing to accept their share of the error (contributing factors) and make the necessary amends. These are my thoughts on just one issue (falling academic standard) affecting our Alma Mater. I will be the first to admit that my findings and recommendations are not exhaustive. At least I have expressed my views in the available time I am allowed to do this. Please take a look, criticize, add, and delete as the case may be. Let us keep talking. That will send the right message that all hands of stakeholder are on deck; the ship will not sink. Long Live the University of Ibadan. Long Live the University of Ibadan Alumni Association. Thank you for your attention.

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Humanism in Chain: An Applied Example

Stanley N. Macebuh (2002)

I am deeply grateful to the Alumni Association of the University of Ibadan, for the invitation that brings me here today, and I am also a little anxious over what the outcome of my appearance might be. Traditionally, governments and Universities in Nigeria normally meet in the most contentious of circumstances, usually when University unions have some non-negotiable demand to make, or when governments have some vexatious decree to pronounce. Fortunately, in my case, I neither have any decree to announce, nor if I understand my brief correctly, am I obliged to carry away with me any problematic demands from ASUU to my temporary employers. I stand here primarily as an alumnus of this University from an almost forgotten age, and in deep and lasting gratitude for the priceless inheritance that I acquired here. Belonging, as I do to the first set of students who graduated from this University upon her coming of age as an autonomous Institution, and being, almost certainly, the first alumnus of that generation to be invited to deliver an Annual Alumni Lecture, the invitation affords me a rare opportunity to reflect with you on the contemporary dilemmas of the intellectual project in Nigeria. At the present time, and presumably because of the opening up of the intellectual space in our country, surely one of the less visible ‘dividends’ of democracy is that academic community is being called upon to provide hopefully useful answers to our countless anxieties, not the least of which is an anxiety over the true foundations of our nationhood. Were the consequences of it not so potentially tragic, it would be a trivial observation to remark that there is much indeed that remains unsettled concerning our basic national assumptions, and that our Universities have not, for much of the last decade or more, provided the intellectual leadership that is traditionally required of them. Certainly, we may take it as given, that whether willfully or involuntarily, our Universities and academics many years ago appear to have abandoned what surely must be regarded as part of their primary responsibility to provide the organizing intellectual context from which society selects its guiding principles. It is a painful admission one has to make, but the strong suspicion persists, that the contribution of the Universities to the intellectual history and development of Nigeria has been in inverse proportion to our country’s march to progress, or perdition. I dare to make here an imprecise, and certainly controversial proposition but it is nevertheless tempting to speculate that serious intellectual output concerning the social and political foundations of our existence as a country ended somewhat abruptly in the mid- 80's. By 1985, it seems to me, the Achebe's, Soyinka’s, Billy Dudley's, Claude Ake’s,Abiola Irele’s, Michael Echeruo’s, Biodun Jeyifo’s,Isidore Okpewho's,Festus Iyayi's and Omafune Onoge’s had already put out their best work. Prior to that, of course Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo had made their own contributions to the understanding of the political economy of Nigeria, all of them striving to described and lead us

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to some understanding of a lost world whose relative certainties were fast disappearing. Not much, in my view, of compelling intellectual significance has come out of the Universities since then, though the primarily literary output of both university based and civil society based writers from a younger generation has been quite impressive. And it is instructive to inquire into the reasons. It is always difficult in these matters to determine what “cause” is and what “effect” is. Most of us, I think, would agree that our persistent national discontent began with the events that led to the Civil War, and to that war's own consequences. The psychic and material dislocations of the war led to a degree of vulgarization, both of sensibility and of morals and values, totally unprecedented in the country’s brief history up till then. The post-war oil-boom brought in what we all thought was a great deal of money at the time, but it also brought in its train; a large number of evils, among them are the monetization of our ethics, and the abandonment of any serious concern for national community, in preference for parochial, or merely individual survival. The rise of military dictatorship, and the increasing confidence of the soldiers in their power to do whatever they pleased, including the devising undefined and mostly undefinable theories of governance and social organization, contributed to the decline, if not in fact to the total demise, of the tradition of systematic thought and analysis in Nigeria. It does not provide for us any consolation whatsoever, that successive Military administration in Nigeria has tended to use, or to abuse the services of more intellectual and academics than civilian governments have been accustomed to. For it would seem to me that Military rulers have tended to enjoy the proximity of academics and intellectuals, without appearing to have gained much from such company. The excessive experimentation of the Babangida era, for instance, with its innumerable theories of social, economic and political organization appear now, in retrospect, to have been undertaken as ends in themselves, rather than as means towards discovering a lasting paradigm for our political economic. By 1993, when that era ended, the entire polity was both politically, intellectually and emotional exhausted to the extent that the intellectuals who had been intimate with that regime, discovered a curious obligation to justify their role in it to explain why there appeared to have been so much activity which, nevertheless, left us in the end with no clearer understanding either of our fundamental dilemmas or of any reliable resolutions of them. The rise of journalism both as a professional calling and an industry, itself the direct-consequence of the economic empowerment of a few individuals who benefited from the oil boom became, during the immediate post-war period, a more glamorous but nevertheless unfortunate substitute for rigorous intellectual engagement. This is unfortunate, in the sense that, notwithstanding the natural inclination of the columnist or editorialist to confer infallibility or omniscience upon his daily or weekly offerings in the newspapers and magazines, such outpourings inevitably lacked the discipline of systematic study and research: for it is simply impossible to derive from the hasty and merely provisional offerings of the newsroom or editorial office any lasting interpretation either of social history or of social doctrine. Increased urban migration led to the general impoverishment of life in the cities, and that in turn accelerated the collapse of traditional structures of social organization. The immediate post-civil

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war period saw consequently the beginning of the interminable ethnic and religious conflicts which continue to haunt us even today. Most of them in my view arise from the unfamiliar crowding and narrowing of space in the urban centres which not surprisingly lacked the minimum facilities for accommodating such a large influx of migrants from the rural areas. The compulsive and pervasive search for wealth as a panacea for our social distress led to the abandonment, or nullification of the myth, if not the reality, of the relative sanctity of the Ivory Tower, and the much tested notion of the functional divide between town and gown gradually disappeared, unfortunately to the tragic disadvantage of the University and whatever vision of life that was previously associated with it. Many of the best talents from the Universities, unable or unwilling to withstand the brutishness of Nigerian life, took to foreign shores, and to that extent therefore, impoverished the idea of the University in Nigeria, and deprived the country of what it most needed at the time, that rebellious but disciplined spirit that refuses to accommodate social evil. Those who voluntarily stayed behind, or could not for other reasons emigrate, gradually became frustrated and embittered, and increasingly helplessly found themselves being drawn into the vortex of an alien culture in which the life of the mind, or any familiarity with it became a decisive disadvantage in the vulgar struggle for survival. Besides, it is not often recognized, it seems to me the extent to which received notions of political theory in Nigeria used to be an inseparable derivative of the international climate of deadly conflict between the two great doctrines of Capitalism and Socialism. A generation of Nigerian intellectuals was breast-fed on this schism, most of them inclining towards the Marxist paradigm of social analysis. Now, this inclination was clearly predicated on the expectation that Marxism, with its deterministic certainties about the inexorable trajectory of history, would ultimately triumph, especially in Nigeria, but when this expectation died, with the some what hasty collapse of the Soviet Empire, it all so suddenly deprived our Marxist and Marxist-inspired intellectuals of the pragmatic basis of their convictions, and to this extent, therefore, it seems to me permissible that we should incline towards the conclusion that both nature, as it were, and the practical realities of life, probably exacerbated the progressive decline of the life of tire mind in our firmament. A tragic outcome of this deterioration in the commitment to the intellectual life, was the spurious and unnecessary distinction that began in the last twenty years to be drawn between training in the Humanities, which was now thought to lack much utilitarian value, and what vulgarly referred to as ‘functional education’, which was thought to hold the key to our rapid development. History, Philosophy, Literature, Language and the Classics lost whatever value they might have previously had, and the acquisition of skills taught often in a vacuum that discountenanced any grounding in conceptual paradigms, became for us the ultimate end of education. Even the study of Law and Science became significant more for its utilitarian value, for its ability to fetch jobs and employment and income, and gradually less for what it had to teach us about the human condition and its possibilities. Gradually, we began to turn out from our Universities a generation of young Nigerians who took what I have preciously referred to as the monetization of our national ethic as a sacred national religion, and consequently could not, and could not be expected to formulate any useful distinctions between means and ends, or between legitimate social goals and the satisfaction of merely individual desires.

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The basic fallacy in all this was of course, that we began to construct a wholly artificial separation between a sound grounding in the humanistic disciplines, and a necessarily inadequate pursuit of skills, and in doing so, we forgot that since man was and is essentially a creature of community and society, whatever skills he acquired could be ideally utilized only in the context of some understanding of the true ends of social existence. Such issues as Development and the Environment; Activism/Militancy, Youth interests and development; Inequality and Social Justice; Religious Pluralism and National Development, and Human and People’s Rights, to name only a few, are not issues that can be frilly understood and negotiated in a plural, modern society, merely by reference to any utilitarian skills we may acquire from their study. They can only be understood within the perspective of some moral and philosophical discrimination, of some knowledge of man’s history, and the lessons that may usefully be learned from that history. To my mind, this is the most uncomplicated way of justifying the proposition, that training in the Humanities, History, Literature, Philosophy, Language, Law and the Social Sciences is a precondition for the acquisition of skills, no matter how complex those skills may be. An exceedingly competent technician (and here I include those latter-day scions of the theory of the market, for whom money is all), not possessing a sufficiently trained mind, is a most unpredictable, fundamentally illiterate threat to social order. Familiarity with the technical mysteries of the Internet is indeed a requirement for useful social existence in the contemporary world, but it is most unlikely ever to become a useful substitute for the responsibility of the citizen to impose his mind on his environment. And this he is most unlikely to achieve through the mechanistic acquisition of utilitarian skills. An illustrious Nigerian engineer or computer genius who has never read, let alone inwardly digested the offerings of an Amos Tutuola, a Wole Soyinka, a Chinue Achebe, a Cyprian Ekwensi, an Osofisan or Ofeimun or Okri or Rotimi; who has not read Billy Dudley or Claude Alee or Moyibi Amoda or Ade Ajayi or Ben Nwabueze; or Abiola Irele or Isidore Okpewho or Michael Echeruo or Omafune Onoge or Festus Iyayi, to name only a few of those who have in their various ways striven to explain to us the nature of our Universe; such an illustrious engineer may be a talented, even brilliant technician. But he can at best operate only as a historiless automat, probably sufficiently well-informed concerning the ways of Europe and America, but totally incapable of dominating the local impulses of his own culture, a domination, to my mind, which would obviously extract far greater value from his professional transactions. Whether we like it or not, globalism, the current pseudo-dogma of the so-called global village, is a pitifully reductionist dogma, some would say even a refurbished imperialist instrument, for nullifying local meaning and local content. And we art most unlikely to survive in this century as a people with a distinctive history and a tradition that possess, in sufficient measure, the internal impulses that are necessary for our own upliftment, unless we deliberately insist on a continuous study and internalization of what our own history and our own traditions teach us, in comparison with, and sometimes in contradiction to other histories and other cultures. That, after all, is the true meaning of humanism, that conscious effort that man in all epochs continues to make to harness the best impulses and lessons of his universal history and experience, with a view to achieving the highest possible ideal both of consciousness and of the individual’s relations with his fellow men.

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Humanism is never exclusively about moral absolutes. Humanism is negotiation between the absolutisms of Kant, and the tawdry cynicism of Hobbes: between the fatalism of Tutuola, and the supreme egotism of Achebe’s hero in Things Fall Apart. The state of mind which humanism engenders is impossible without reflection and contemplation, for it is through contemplation that we arrive at that humility without which experience, no matter how profound, becomes a mere end in itself, rather than an opportunity for self-recognition and regeneration. Let me now attempt to situate these general propositions within the context of the dilemmas of a specific national group, the Igbo in Nigeria with whom I am sufficiently familiar, being myself one. The fundamental contemporary dilemma of the Igbo, in my view, is to be traced, not so much to the dislocations of civil war, as is often argued, as to the systemic disruption of the fragile equilibrium inherent in traditional Igbo conceptions of man in society, a disruption that manifests itself especially in psychic anxieties that sometimes lead to anarchic behaviour. The tension was always there, between social responsibility and egotism of the anti-social kind. And that tension could quite easily have exploded for other reason even if there had not been a civil war. There were, in the beginning, three major elements in traditional Igbo concepts social organization. First, was the ideal of apprenticeship. Young men especially, were required to submit themselves to the tutelage of their elders, to learn from them, to be subsequently certified by them as having come of age, and therefore having qualified to participate in the general governance of their communities. In this context, the worship of youth for its own sake was decidedly anathema. Youth was regarded primarily as preparation, not as some form of autonomous, terminal being. Secondly, personal achievement, through means recognized by the community as legitimate, was an indispensable condition for anyone who wished to be influential in his community. Inherited wealth was judged to be mildly interesting, but did not constitute sufficient grounds for recognition. Thirdly, maturity denoted, not just material achievement, but the arrival at a state of wisdom, based on knowledge, experience, and evidence of ability and willingness to conform, no matter how provisionally, with the norms of the community. Obviously inherent in this paradigm was a pronounced concession to the necessity for personal heroism, and to the ethic of competition, particularly in the pursuit of personal, material well-being, and above all, Igbo social philosophy was suffused with optimism, with faith in the individual's ability, if not obligation, to surmount all difficulties, and with the hunger to put a personal stamp on his environment. Now, this was all very well and good, only for as long as the community found the means to sustain the very delicate balance that existed between communal need and the individual’s ambition to excel, even at the expense of the community’s security or well-being. In some other non-Igbo communities, this delicate balance was protected, not merely through purely temporal and political sanctions, but by the existence of an authoritative, or even a merely influential priesthood, which was presumed to have the power to prescribe what we can only describe as

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extra- phenomenal sanctions on the erring individual. Cultism, which has today become a profoundly destabilizing phenomenon in contemporary Nigerian society, was once, in some traditional societies, a perfectly convenient instrument of social organization. It has today become a threat to social order, not because it is new, but primarily because the contemporary version of it is not only urban (by which I mean that it is rootless), but also because it is not tied to any conceivable ideal of social order. Strictly regarded, however, the Igbo never really had such a traditional facility, such a metaphysical superstructure. Indeed, it was a rather commonplace presumption among the Igbo that a man personal god was merely an executor of the man’s will, an agent, not the fountain or source of his being. Without this pronounced metaphysical superstructure, the foundations of Igbo social relations were, consequently, primarily characterized by their fragility. Any change in the normal conditions of the environment, any tilt in the delicate balance between social necessity and individual ambition, was bound, inevitably therefore, to cause a profound dislocation in the community’s assumptions about social existence, and in its competence to adapt to new realities, and it is strictly in this context that the Civil War becomes truly significant in the contemporary travails of the Igbo. The dislocations of the civil war were, for the Igbo, who almost exclusively bore the brunt of that war’s brutality indeed numerous and far- reaching. The war destroyed the communal reference point of all action, and caused a shift in the hierarchy of values from the reverence forage, knowledge, experience, maturity and wisdom, to the cult of youth and the rejection of the concept of apprenticeship, and therefore of accountability. At a time when no one could be certain to be alive the next day, when one was virtually obliged to die young, it was natural to be contemptuous of age and to resolutely pursue whatever gratifications were to be had before one died prematurely. The war and its aftermath exacerbated the materialistic impulse that was always there in Igbo traditional culture, and destroyed the traditional basis for optimism, for the faith that, always subject to the personal passion that the individual brought to his transactions, all was well with the world, and received notions of human conduct were perfectly in order. It brought to the fore of Igbo sensibility the existential conviction that regard for self and self- interest must necessarily now become the measure of all things. I shall in a moment suggest the linkages between all this and the theme of my address, which is “Humanism in Chains”, but I doubt that I could do a decent job of it, without first providing a workable description of the contemporary Igbo psyche. The prevalent, though hardly exclusive paradigm of the contemporary Igbo mind, is that which negates and refutes virtually all traditional norms and restraints. It is perhaps most graphically illustrated in what we might here allude to as the “Alaba Market” Syndrome. The cardinal presumption of the Alaba theory of existence is the proposition that wealth, no matter how acquired, is the measure of man or woman. It preaches the supremacy of the wallet over the mind. It proposes a rejection, or abandonment of the intellect; and it exhibits a profound contempt for education, even for the mere acquisition of utilitarian skills. Standard assumptions

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concerning the bases of social order are for it a hoax. It demonstrates, in action, a deep uneasiness with tested moral values. It is suffused with a stark vulgarity of consciousness. It worships at the hitherto unfamiliar altar of opportunism and irrationality. It is ostentatious and egotistical, and it thrives most in the ramparts of the mob and of the trickster. Were this syndrome a manor, insignificant trend within the mainstream of contemporary Igbo consciousness, one would be happy to dismiss it with some amusement, but it remains a fact today that the vast majority of the population of the Igbo consists of those who were born in 1960 and after, who therefore are the authentic children of the war and all its dislocations. One would feel a great deal less agitated by the prospects that these children of the war offer, were they content to confine their exploits to Alaba Market and its more sophisticated electronic extensions, but these illustrious children of Igboland, these anger-ridden, more driven avengers of a collective grievance, have already appropriated the highest councils of governance in Igboland and the forums of the state and nation legislatures. Governance, unfortunately, is far too serious and problematic a matter to be left in the hands of enthusiasts, angry, ill-bred, ill-tutored, contemptuous of knowledge experience and tested ethical values, and priding themselves in their presumably superior mercantilist exploits, and in their youthfulness. Narcissism, by which I mean the worship of youth and the fear of aging, used to be thought to be a peculiar American blight alien to much older cultures like Africa’s or Asia's or Europe's, which had progressively discovered creative means of accommodating the ravages of time, and the relative compensations of age and aging, but it is instructive that narcissism, as a curious political and social tendency in Nigeria, originated in the South-East (with fellow travelers in the South-West), and stands in stark, a historical contradiction to every fundamental African ethic. We, as a people, or as an aggregation of peoples, appear to have abandoned those constant confrontations with history - our history and the history of other nations by which alone we may understand, and hopefully dominate the vexations of contemporary society. I use the term ‘history’, of course, as an omnibus term, denoting the sum total of human intellectual transactions, in whatever discipline of learning we choose to exercise our minds. For I do take the somewhat old-fashioned view that all transactions of the intellect are humanistic transactions which, even when they are not selfishly centered on man, nevertheless than the common and ultimate goal of illuminating the trajectory of man’s endless journey toward self-realization. It is tempting to seek to rely on a deterministic interpretation of history as an explanation for the contemporary response of the Igbo in Nigeria to the new challenges that arose from the civil war. The psychological effects of defeat in war, the potential for resignation or for fool-hardy heroism is always there of course, but history teaches us that in the affairs of men, there is always room for the intervention of the individual sensibility for the human ability to choose a course of action that is not necessarily predetermined. Yet, such intervention is possible only if available options are mediated by systematic analysis, by thought, and by 51 lined reflection. In the case of the Igbo, it is, in my humble view, not especially remarkable that the confusion in the fundamental Igbo response to its current predicaments came at a time when, perhaps as a result of the war's dislocations, the race had

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abandoned all serious concern for the life of the mind. There is a measure of sobriety and balance that men and women like Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Christopher Okigbo, Pius Okigbo, Michael Echeruo, Ben Nwabueze, Adiele Afigbo and Flora Nwapa to name only a few, imposed, from their various and varying perspectives on the Igbo vision. And it would not be overstretching the matter if we were to surmise, that the contemporary confusion in Igbo thought derives precisely from the current absence, in the main, of a continuing tradition of serious intellectual, even artistic meditation and reflection among the Igbo. That I submit is the source of the aggravating ambivalence today, between materialism and the anxious search, among the Igbo, for a suitable political role within the context of the Nigerian federation. There is a sense in which it may at least be tentatively proposed that an intrinsic relation does exist between familiarity with the complexities of organizing and sustaining an empire, and organizing and sustaining power at the federal level in contemporary Nigeria. Sustaining an empire, however briefly, implies, often, a certain confidence that derives as much from guile, deception, scheming, duplicity and manipulation, as from diplomacy and administrative competence. Empires are and defended through arrogant conviction that reasons of state are compelling justification even for atrocity: Governance, in an imperial scheme thing, is not necessarily so much about protecting the interests of the individual, as it is about protecting and defending the system. In our own history, the Hausa Fulani empire, and the empires of Oyo, Ire and Ibadan, have prepared the descendants of those empires for strategic, long-term planning; for the reduction of the ethnic political project to a simple one that, precisely because of a long history (familiarity with authority, if not with authoritarianism, more readily commands both the obedience of the race, and the chances of success in political contests. In a word, while we can argue that both the North West and South West Zones Nigeria as presently constituted are by their history familiar with the complexities of acquiring and sustaining political power, we cannot, alas, make any such claims for the South East. There were no empires in the South East. Political organization in the area was at worst, atomistic, and at best, more akin to the city-states framework of Athens. There is one hundred and ten records before 1966 of any great wars among the people of the South East, but we can easily recall the wars of the Jihad, and the great internecine wars among the Yoruba, and between the Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani. And wars, as history continues to teach us, not only make empires; they also differentiate the victors as a distinctive people. Thus, while it is sometimes convenient to compare Igbo political organization with that of Athens, whatever similarity there may be between the two can only, in reality, be a notional one. We must never forget that while it is true that democracy was a unique bequest of the Athenians to the world, it was also the politics of empire, the necessity to build alliances between cities which were not all democratic, that ultimately led to the very demise of democracy in the Hellenic world. Consequently, I propose that very little in the history or experience of the Igbo has prepared us for our current aspiration to political leadership at the centre in Nigeria. I propose, further, that it is the failed to respond to the authentic impulses of our history and culture that has led to our current anxieties, and to the obvious contradictions in our political preferences. Let me explain.

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It is difficult to contrive a persuasive cohabitation between the doctrine of True Federalism and the desire for power at the centre, for the simple reason that True Federalism detracts from, and diminishes the grandeur of power at the centre, and no one should, strictly speaking, desire control of the centre if it is denuded of all its authority and omnipotence. The North West and the North East do not often show much interest in a federation in which political power is devolved to the federating states from the centre, and quite understandably. The South West on the other hand, takes the more logical view that power at the centre is insignificant if and when sufficient power is devolved to the regions. It is only in the South East and the South (or portions of this last region at any rate) that we find a simultaneous demand both for devolution and for the rotation of power at the centre. I humbly suggest that there is an obvious analytical difficulty here, a confusion that cries for resolution. Furthermore, all the evidence would seem to me to point to a future with or without devolution, in which the splendour that was the federal government is fated, like the state in Karl Max’s ideology, to progressively wither away and die. Indeed, the philosophy of the private sector driven economy which the incumbent Federal Government has been pursuing with such resoluteness can have, in this regard, only one outcome. It will not, in the future, be the politicians, the governors and the presidents who will primarily control our lives. The federal government, and even the state governments, will no longer breathe down on us with arrogance and seeming inevitability. There will be little patronage to be had from those who wield political power. There will be no parastatals or commercialized, state-owned companies to lease out to favoured political supporters. Elections to the centre will become ritualised and virtually ceremonial. INEC will no longer be the behemoth upon the entire fate of the republic depends in election years. There is unlikely to be any state owned television or radio stations, no state owned newspapers, no ministries of information. Abuja will have become what its creators intended it to an administrative provincial town, and the federal state will itself have become little more than a virtual state. Even the most vociferous advocates of a rotational presidency will have little work to do if only it is not the mere shell of a largely powerless presidency that they are desirous of rotating. Those who lampoon President Obasanjo for not having delivered the dividends of democracy fast enough, do not, in my opinion, appear to understand fully enough what he is truly about. It is not often in history that we come about a ruler presiding over a powerful central government, who voluntarily and diligently sets about dismantling the pillars of his own power the way he has been doing. And it is at least worthy of some inquiring into, whether indeed his seeming reluctance to assist in convening a national conference does not derive from his inner certainty that a dismantled federal government which does not have that much to devolve or to rotate, is far less likely to be the priceless jewel for which we are so prepared to maim and kill. Those who see the retreat back to tribal enclaves, in the guise of ethnic nationalism, as the true wave of the future, are in my view, mistaken. The future, even, if not especially in Nigeria, will not be remarkable principally because of the ingenious political arrangements we invent to accommodate the anxieties of a multi-ethnic federation, the future will not be about who rules us. It will be about who controls our rulers.

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Those who control our rulers, and determine the scope and emphases of our political debates will be those who control our banks and refineries, our insurance companies and telecommunications outfits, our air lines and industries, our newspapers and magazines, broadcast stand, advertising and entertainment institutions and our hospitals. These institutions will not be constrained or impelled by ethnic particularizations. For them, state, national and sub-regional boundaries will constitute an impediment, an irritant, rather than the justification for their exploits. It is a world that compared to our present would be totally unrecognizable, but it is there in the making, and it will come. I propose that it is in this new world that the Igbo nation will come into its own and thrive. It is a world which I am convinced the Igbo nation must actively welcome, because it is a world that actively responds to the authentic impulses of then culture. If there is any group that can reasonably be categorized as a ‘stateless' group in Nigeria, it is surely the Igbo. They have never conceded that geography and artificial boundaries can justly impose a rein on their restlessness or enterprise. Strictly regarded, they have never really been a people of government, for the simple reason that they have never been a people of empire. Only on those occasions when they have seen government as a constraint on their freedom rather than a guarantor of it have they been driven to intervene, to seek a place and a role in it sometimes with disastrous consequences, as in the civil war. Among other reasons, is why in my humble view, their simultaneous preoccupation with the concepts of true federalism and rotational power at the centre is mistaken. That is why the half-hearted promotion of an Igbo political part is misguided, especially at a timet when the true priests of ethnic nationalism, the Yoruba are moving away from so constricting a vision of the possibilities open to her. That is why I am convinced that their relative lack of interest in the process by which the federal government is progressively and voluntarily divesting itself constitutes a rejection the premise which the future holds for them. The Igbo are notorious for their enterprise, their creativity, their intellect. They are notorious for their refusal to admit the constraints of geography and boundaries of language and religion. They tolerate, rather than see government as the determinant of their fate, but this, also, appears to be a description of the past values and attributes of an age that is fast disappearing, and we may at least speculate on the reason. It is so easy to forget that one of the basic concerns of the Igbo Union of the 40s and 50s was to encourage and support education in Igboland. It built or contributed to the establishment of primary and secondary schools in Igboland. It sponsored and supported a considerable number of Igbo students in Universities abroad, and the compelling impulse behind this preoccupation was the conviction that education was not only of utilitarian value, but that it was also a means through which certain values of more general utility were sustained. Its more narrowly political concerns apart, its leadership consisted mostly of businessmen and entrepreneurs who occasionally forayed into politics. The Igbo Union, in retrospect, appears to have captured the quintessential characteristic of the Igbo personality, which was the ecumenical spirit of unrestricted enterprise, a spirit that was most certainly not confined to political agitation.

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On the other hand, and notwithstanding its claims to being a sociocultural organization, Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo, the descendant of the Igbo Union, appears unwittingly to have boxed itself into primarily political advocacy, to the extent that it has in effect neglected its responsibility to encourage and promote a sustained interest in education, and the true spirit of unrestricted enterprise, which in my view is the most authentic impulse of the Igbo mind. It is this misplacement of priorities, this failure to act and think in accordance with the dictates of the authentic Igbo personality that has led in contemporary times, to the Igbo failure to grasp the true meaning of the Nigerian future. The failure of the Igbo to decisively participate, as a group, in the on-going privatization process is in my view, a veritable disaster. The failure of Ohanaeze to recognise the probability that all the disputation concerning a rotational presidency is certain to become a mere irrelevancy ten years from now is to be regretted, and its failure to accept that the justifications for true federalism remain independently valid without the ethnic angle is equally to be mourned. Using as I have the contemporary Igbo dilemmaas paradigm, it should not be so difficult to propose some workable description of a broader, national predicament, a predicament which is clearly to be detected in all aspects of Nigerian life today. That predicament I refer to as the enchainment of Humanism as a dynamic intellectual project. There is a sense in which, as I have earlier proposed, it can be argued that serious intellectual engagement with the constantly recurring challenges of Nigerian life appears to have terminated towards the end of the 80's. By the 90's, whatever ambivalence may surround the idea of military government had been decisively resolved in favour of unfettered democracy, but with the resolution of this ambivalence came new difficulties: ethnic nationalism, resource control, regional government, fiscal federalism, the free market economy, and so on. Yet, despite the proliferation of these difficulties, and the intensity of their impact on our lives, the researcher is unlikely to discover any recent and substantive body of systematic study of these issues. I myself cannot, regrettably, find any recent study of these matters as profoundly authoritative. As Claude Ake’s seminar work; The Political Economy of Nigeria, there appears to be a curious presumption that the convening of a national conference, a gathering of the tribes, whether sovereign or not, will automatically and inevitably dispose of all our dilemmas. History teaches us that such conferences; no matter how prolonged in duration they are usually summative in their procedure: that they tend to summarize and enunciate conclusions deriving from previous study and debate. Yet, with the possible exception of Ben Nwabueze and Use Sagay (and I do argue that Professor Nwabueze does come from an earlier age), it would, today, be impossible to demonstrate conclusively that those whose ordinary responsibility is to illuminate our dilemmas have discharged this duty satisfactorily, and that, in effect, leaves us with the unedifying prospect that a national conference, if called today, would end up a mere babel of disconnected sentiments which, while no doubt possessing some cathartic value, would be most unlikely to be produce any but the most tentative conclusions. It is here that, in all humility, I hold the Universities primarily responsible for this unhelpful state of affairs. The ravages of our lives in the past two decades, it is true, did not leave the Universities unscathed, and between the vandalization of University facilities, and the sheer pressure on academics to discover some means of survival even on a daily basis, the University

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teacher, from whom we would normally expect some guidance and consolation in the midst of our travails has unfortunately not been particularly forthcoming. What is worse, it would seem to me at any rate that the malaise that has infected the rest of Nigerian society, our inability to unravel complex and confusing social realities by imposing an enquiring and disciplined mind on them, has also eaten deep into the fabric of University life. I cannot for instance, fully comprehend the fuss surrounding the current controversy over the proposed Bill on University Autonomy submitted to the National Assembly by the Federal Ministry of Education. Beneath all the verbiage, and most of it unnecessarily appears to be some fundamental disagreement over two main issues: the meaning and limits of autonomy; and the nature of the relationship between the teacher and his or her student. On the matter of autonomy, it seems to me some what romantic to expect that those who fund Universities should have no interest in the manner in which Universities are run. More to the point, there appears to me to be an unnecessary confusion between the sociology of private Universities, and that of state-funded Universities. Everywhere in the world, state-owned or state-funded Universities are obliged, as a matter of practical reality to concede some amendment of their traditional freedoms, not excluding the right of the funding state to be involved in the appointment of principal officers of the University, but if I understand it correctly, University teachers appear to be demanding both that the Universities be suitably funded by the state, and that they be thereafter left well alone to exclusively determine the uses to which such funding may be put. I do not see the merit of this argument. It proposes an arrangement, in respect of Universities, which is so unique as to render university teacher (not their students, mark you) an exceptionally privileged class, unaccountable to anyone but themselves; and this at a time when even the laity of religious institutions are demanding a greater role in the process by which bishops are appointed. There appears also to be some question as to whether the student ought to be given some right to express an opinion concerning the competence of those who teach him or her, and whether such opinion may be thought to have any effect whatsoever on the teacher 's assessment by his pen. The Federal Government, again, if I understand it merely appears to believe this should be the case, but the Academic Staff Union seems to feel that this is an unwarranted derogation from traditional concepts of master-student relationships. I find this view unduly-medieval. In the age of the Internet when the student is frequently far better informed in a general sense than his teacher; in a political system in which most students do have the right to vote and to be voted for, I would hazard the opinion that this latter position is not only anti-democratic. It rims in the face of the common practice in virtually every other aspect of our national life. Patients can question the competence of their doctors, and even sue them for negligence. Workers do have the right to express a view on the efficiency or effectiveness of managements. I can find no justification, therefore, for the apparent insistence of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, that university teachers should be exempt from this ordinary requirement. There are good teachers and there are bad ones. The responsibility of the University teacher is two-fold teaching, and research. He must show proof of excellence in both, and the privilege of assessing such excellence, or lack of it cannot be confined only to his peers, and to the exclusion and consequent detriment of the real consumers of his offerings.

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I have sought, in this essay, to point to some correlation between the confusion in the mind of the Igbo, and the general and pervasive distortions of the Nigerian reality. It is my contention that whatever clarity can be discerned from our political and social transactions in the years before 1990, derived primarily from the contemplative offerings of few men and women of ideas. It is equally my contention that contemporary Nigeria suffers almost tragically from the poverty of ideas, from our collective failure, and particularly the failure of the intellectual community, to accept and internalize the age-old axiom that it is not politics that determines the fate of nations, but rather, that it is the offerings of lonely minds working frequently in determined opposition to received notions of reality, who often point to us the hardly obvious possibilities of the future. This last project is the true challenge of humanism, and we, are most unlikely to dominate the often pointless controversies of our age, unless we resuscitate the discipline of reflection and contemplation and return the humanistic disciplines to their earlier pre-eminence.

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Facts about Stanley Macebuh Stanley Macebuh, The Guardian newspapers first Managing Director, was born on December 28, 1942. Macebuh attended Government Primary School, Port Harcourt and the Ngwa High School, Aba, on scholarship. He had his Higher School Certificate at Kings College, Lagos, where he also taught for a while immediately after passing out of KC. He studied English at the University of Ibadan, 1963-1966, left Nigeria in 1967 to the University of Sussex, England, where he acquired his Doctor of Philosophy, D.Phil degree at the age of 26. When the University of California, Berkeley, California, USA began a search for an in-house African philosopher, during the Civil Rights years in the US, his doctoral supervisor recommended the young Macebuh and he joined the Berkeley Faculty. After two years at Berkeley, Columbia University, New York, and City College of New York, USA, both pitched to have him on their faculties, but had to settle to sharing his services as he began to lecture in both Universities at the same time, but taught full-time at the City College and part-time at the Institute of African Studies at the Columbia University. Macebuh left City College in 1977 as a tenured Associate Professor of English, to return to Nigeria as he was invited by the Daily Times newspaper to be the Editorial Adviser, but his un-cherished return to Nigeria was an annoying breach to him of his ultimate ambition of moving to and retiring at the Harvard University as a Professor Emeritus. Until he died, he always rued that breach. From the Daily Times, he left to found what he had intended from day one, to be not just a great liberal newspaper but a flagship of Nigerian journalism; The Guardian newspaper. On leaving The Guardian, and after a sojourn in the business world as an entrepreneur, he still returned to his beloved journalism, but his other efforts at The Sentinel magazine and the Post Express newspaper, both now defunct, were not that successful. In 1999 he became Senior Special Assistant, Special Duties, to former President Olusegun Obasanjo but later appointed the Deputy Chief of Staff to Obasanjo. He left within the first year of Obasanjos second term. Since then, he had lived in semi-retirement doing only consultancy jobs. Macebuh became an author in 1973 with the publication of James Bladwin. a critical evaluation of aesthetics within the Black Civil Rights Movement. Another academic work of his, on Jewish American studies is unpublished, however, has this curious title The Tyranny of Things . Up till his death, Macebuh lamented its non-completion, even after he had written over 400 pages. He died at the National Hospital, Abuja, after a brief illness.

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An Assessment of the Impact of Higher Education on Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Mildred Alali Amakiri (2003)

Introduction I wish to begin from to the very beginning by giving my thanks to God Almighty for this opportunity to stand before you this day for He is the author and giver of life. The little story behind my choice as the Alumni Lecturer for this year began thus. Our indefatigable President and other great Alumni visited my University where I am currently serving the nation, about two years ago. I was among the alumni that welcomed the team to the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt. He was pleasantly surprised that University of Ibadan had an Alumna in that part of the country who was a Professor and who had served in the capacity of a Deputy Vice-Chancellor. I suspect that that probably formed his decision to propose me as an Alumni Lecturer. I am indeed grateful to the entire Executive of Ibadan the University of Ibadan Alumni Association for this great honour. I am filled with gratitude and humility to handle this heavy and prestigious baton which has been handled by great and eloquent speakers from late 1979 as Chief A.M. Oseni, Honourable Justice Olakunle Orojo, Chief D. Akpore, Mrs. Flora Nwakuche, Chief E. C. Anyaoku, Mrs. Winifred W.O. Onyeonwu, Chief F.R.A. Marinho, Chief Olu Falae, Dr. (retired Colonel) Ahmadu Ali, Mr. Ken Saro Wiwa, Prof. (Mrs.) Grace Alele-Williams, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, Senator Francis J. Ella, Dr. Gamaliel Onosode, Chief Bola Ige, SAN, Prof. F.O.S. Idachaba, Prof. O. Akinkugbe, Chief Michael O. Omolayole, Prof. Tekena Tamuno (TNT), Alhaji (Dr.) Shehu A. Musa, Prof. O.O. Oduye and Dr. Stanley Macebuh. Some of these eminent persons have since passed away, may they have eternal rest in Jesus Name Amen. You can now understand what i meant. Thank God that the younger Alumni are also growing. I have chosen to speak on the title ‘Assessment of the Impact of Higher Education on Sustainable Development in Nigeria’. The history of the development of University education in Nigeria is well documented and I do not intend to recount these today. I would rather talk about the aims of higher education. Aims of Higher Education in the Developing Countries According to Patel (1993), higher education unlike other forms of capital such as machines has returns that far transcend mere economic returns. These returns are the very substance of what development is all about, that is the quality of life in its totality including individual dignity, self-respect and command over one’s own life which is the true mark of individual freedom. These returns are difficult to quantify and to compare with economic returns, but they are nevertheless real.

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Education and higher education in particular are part and parcel of the human endeavour for a more civilised existence. Thus, education should be made available to everyone to the extent that he or she could absorb it. Quality and quantity are thus both important and have to be reconciled as far as possible. Higher education is also necessary to satisfy some of the higher aspirations of the society. Castells, (1993), observed that Universities are institutions that perform basic functions that are implicit in the role that is assigned to them by society through political power or economic influence. These functions result from specific history of education, science, culture and ideology in each country. He went on to distinguish four specific roles for Universities:

Universities have historically played a major role as ideological apparatus, rooted in the Europeans tradition of the church-based Universities, although they could work for social change and not social conservation.

Universities have always been mechanism of selection of dominant elites including the

socialization of these elites, the formation of networks for their cohesions and the establishment of distinctions between these elites and the rest of the society.

What seem today to be the most obvious functions of the University, that is, the

generation of new knowledge, is actually the exception throughout the world. In many countries, it was not fully recognised as a fundamental task by the political institutions and private firms until the current technological revolution, which was decisively influenced by United States Science-Oriented Universities in the new processes of economic growth referred to as ‘the silicon valley syndrome’ became apparent. The knowledge-based Universities are found all over the world, but the number is limited. For example, in the US, only 200 out of the 3,500 Universities are so classified.

Training of the bureaucracy is probably the largest and most important. This has been the

basic University function until the process of industrialization required the training of large numbers of Engineers, Accountants, Economists, Social workers and other professions. When the expansion of the system demanded millions of teaching staff and medical personnel, Universities were called upon to provide both the general and specialised training for this massive skilled labour force. At the same time, they also became large consumers of their product, as they had to equip themselves. The professional Universities that focused on training were successful and thus in the US, these professional Universities gave birth to the Science Universities as the economic needs made research a strategic tool to enhance productivity.

The Nigerian Case

The University of Ibadan Act, 1962 sets out the functions of the University as follows:

It shall be the general function of the University to encourage the advancement of learning throughout Nigeria and to hold out to all persons, without distinction of race, creed or sex, the opportunity of acquiring a liberal education. For the purpose of carrying

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out that function, it shall be the duty of the University so far as resources permit. This Act did not address technological issues; it only gave mandate for liberal education. 18 years later, the first University of Science and Technology law stated as follows: To produce scientific and technical manpower of various levels needed for essential

development.

To produce technical and science teachers for development programme.

To assist in the Industrial and other development programmes through consultancy service, special project centres and related activities etc.

In 1991, 29 years after the first University Act, the Longe Commission on the review of higher education defined the goals of Nigerian Universities for the nineties and beyond as: ‘Teaching, research and public service through: (i) Encouragement of learning in diverse disciplines. (ii) The development of high level manpower to meet the identified needs of the economy. (iii) The generation and dissemination of knowledge. (iv) Research to the national and local development problems of the country. (v) The maintenance and transformation of the cultural heritage of the country through the

preservation and adaptation of local traditions and values, (vi) Public Service.

Apart from the laws of the University of Science and Technology, the University Act and the commission did not give any mandate to the Universities for sustainable development of the country. Infact, the flaw in the vision as set out in the Act and Commission could be analysed under the following headings:

1. Philosophy of Education Several scholars have established the fact that there is a need to have a philosophy for education in Nigeria. According to Okujagu and Wokocha, (1999), philosophy of Nigerian Education contains different philosophies which Nduka describes as ‘a mythology of aims, goals and objectives lacking clarity, coherence and consistency. The philosophy does not enunciate a well-rounded theory of society and reality in general and how underlying logical, epistemological, axiological and moral principles impinge on education practice and it does not clarify what goes for knowledge. There was no solid foundation for scientific mobilisation and rational organisation. In the absence of a clear vision on education and expected input/output, how can a student rightly judge the competence of the teacher? Would it be based on the eloquence of delivery or the course content? How do you judge the course content if it is not directed towards measurable variables contained in the indices of sustainable development? The various disciplines as conceived such as Social Sciences, Humanities, Science, Technology, Agriculture, Medicine and Law are generally directed towards the development of an aspect of the society. Of course there is a synergistic relationship

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between all the disciplines for the achievement of sustainable development. If for example, University of Ibadan has produced one thousand medical doctor from her inception and all things being equal, there are ought to be a measurable impact in the level of the health care delivery in the country. The clinics would not be mere consulting outlets while thousands of Nigerians still die from malaria, HIV/AIDS, maternal and infant death. The Science and Technology driven developments are still in their infancy. We rely heavily on importation of goods and services. There is no value added to the raw materials before export so as to earn more money. There is a strong probability that higher education has not influenced the political arena in Nigeria. The events of political shame in Anambra state give a low score as to the level of any impact. The majority of the people probably did not vote for any candidate and therefore could not cry out loudly when the right of the Governor was being infringed upon. It is business as usual where it is “soldier come, soldier go”. Vision 2010 gave some ray of hope when apart from stating that by year 2010, primary school enrolment should be 100% and that at least 26% of government budget should be devoted for education also gave what looked like philosophy of education under its recommendation on Science, Engineering and Technology. I quote,”science, engineering and technology are crucial for any agricultural, industrial or technological take-off in the modern era”. A sound basic education in the sciences and technology is a prerequisite. Such education in the sciences and technology is a prerequisite. Such education will become progressively essential for living in the 21st Century. The emphasis of the country should therefore be on:

Simple technologies that will improve the skills and production of small scale and subsistent farmers.

The development of basic technologies for small, medium scale agricultural and industrial process industries.

The enhanced acquisition of low and medium level technologies that will enhance industrial capacity utilisation in targeted industries where Nigeria has comparative advantage.

Initiating and sustaining capacity building in those high technologies vital for 21st Century industries such as electronics, computers, information technology and biotechnology.

The achievement of the above requires accelerated development of industrial clusters in various parts of the country. This in turn calls for the rehabilitation of laboratories in Polytechnics and Universities; the enhancement of research and development (R&D) in public and private sector activities and the upgrading of facilities in technical, vocational and secondary schools.

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The type of philosophy of education that I would advocate for is the type that was practised in Japan where for the first six years of a Japanese child in the school, the child is taught just how to work in a team. All the apparatus utilised in the schools are geared towards imparting the value of team spirit and hard work. Japan does not have vast agricultural land and so they have to import most of their food. The average Japanese believes that the whole race would die of hunger if he does not work hard. 2. Effective Planning Effective planning can only be achieved when our vision, goal and entire philosophy of education has been properly articulated. We are not achieving sustainable development today because of failure to plan effectively forty years ago. We have to visualise and project into the future the type of society, development and global impact we want to make ahead of time. The policy we put in place today would become visible only in about ten years’ time and that is with devotion. Digital divide, science and technology are moving ahead at a very fast rate that lazy nations would be left behind. The world is talking about globalisation, international property rights and information technology and these are only achieved through sound education of the citizens. There is already an imbalance in trade because we do not add value to our export. It is said that for everyone US dollar that comes into Africa, one dollar and sixty cents goes out. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) has just ended and my prayer is that my country should be motivated by the outcome of the deliberations and negotiations. 3. Our Value System Ake (1988), identifies materialism as an important aspect of our social system that affected the educational system. He observed that we love and worship wealth and that we can do anything to get wealth. This value system is also what Hagher (2002) referred to as the corrupt mindset of Nigeria. This love of money which is the root of all evil according to the Holy book has led to outright robbery of the Central Bank, ritual murders, secret cults and acts of wickedness. The vision 2010 document also touched on the core values to inculcate in the society. These values were identified as:

Honesty and Accountability Openness and Transparency Cooperation and Cohesion Equity and Social Justice Industry Discipline Patriotism and Nationality Self Confidence and Moral Courage Entrepreneurial Spirit Religion and Morality Education Family Values

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The vision summed up all the above when it declared that ‘a society in which some people live above their legitimate income is unlikely to encourage people to put in hard work or be dedicated and accountable’. This is why everybody is striving for political appointments. This is why people can kill and rig elections to get these positions, not for service and advancement of the society, but for accumulation of wealth that is immobilised through storage in foreign banks. 4. Developing the Mind of God Nigerians must rediscover their values in God. Our minds must be renewed with the words of God and we must and should fear God. The Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The founding fathers of America honoured God and made God the architect of their nation and economy. God honours those who honour Him. The moment we begin to fear God, all the ills of the society would be minimised and we will begin to operate in Godly wisdom. We will be able to solve the riddle of how we could be so blessed in human and natural resources and yet to be one of the poorest countries with one of the most degraded environment. The University System: Engine of Development in the New World Economy Science and Technology as Sources of Economic Growth in the information

based Economy

Science and technology play a critical role as sources of economic productivity and competitiveness in the new information technology. Furthermore, the growing interdependency of service activities with manufacturing and agriculture place information processing at the core of productivity growth. Thus, dramatic innovation in information technology in the last two decades has made technologies highly dependent upon the general level of education and culture of labour, there is a growing connection between people’s intellectual skills and their countries’ development potential (Carnoy et al, 1982). However, some authors argue that less developed economies are less concerned about advanced technology as much activity is still linked to traditional agriculture, semi industrial handicraft production and petty trade. The informational economy is also a world economy in which comparative advantages in terms of labour costs only becomes important once a given national economy is connected to the rest of the system on the basis of a sufficient level of communication, productive infrastructure and labour skills. Because of the growing inter penetration of economic processes worldwide, economies that try to reach out beyond subsistence level face a highly sophisticated international economy in which technological capacity is a critical variable. The science and technological systems of the new economy are equivalent to the factories of the industrial age. “ If knowledge is the electricity of the new information age, then Institutions of higher learning are the power sources on which the development process must rely”S. Universities have an important role in the technological transfer and the development of indigenous technology. This poses a big challenge to developing economies such as

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Nigeria, because of the uneven concentrated of science and technology in a few countries (Table 1). The well-known brain drain phenomenon further aggravates the structural gap concentrating the best scientists and engineers in a few countries and within these countries in a few institutions and firms.

Table 1: Scientific and Technical Manpower Potential: Essential for 1980 and 1985

(number/million people)

REGION 1980 1985 World 79,187 18,200

110,760 23,442

Europe 26,733 35,714 37,369 48,600

Africa (excluding Arab State)

243 831

469 1,376

North America 24,178 96,023

33,247 126,200

Source: United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation Data Table 1 shows that while the estimate for North America is 126,200 in 1985; for Africa, it was 1,378. This self-reinforcing trend creates the foundation for the most fundamental inequality in wealth and power. Developing countries can have access to developed technology through technology transfer. This has successfully been achieved as demonstrated by the competitiveness in the electronics industry of the newly industrialising countries in the Asian Pacific. Thus technology has become a major development tool of paramount importance, but it is one of the most unevenly distributed capacities in the world. However, developing countries can benefit from technology transfer. These could be achieved in several ways:

Import of machinery with the instruction and training for using it. Acquisition of licenses to design and produce the necessary equipment. Acquisition of know-how by training scientific and technical personnel by sending

students, scientists and technicians abroad to Universities, government institutions or foreign companies.

Acquisition of know-how by inviting foreign experts to national Universitie. Acquisition of know-how by training national personnel in foreign companies located in

the country. Location in the country of technologically advanced companies that produce for the local

market.

Each form of technology transfer has its strength and weakness. The main limit on the import policy is the balance of trade. Students sent to foreign Universities may not return because of the poor condition at home. Very often multinational firms are economic

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enclaves without real linkages with the local productive structure. They are not also willing to allow their best technology get into the hands of future local competitors. However, technology transfer depends on the bargaining power of the countries on the policies that the countries are able to setup concerning foreign firms. In order for Nigeria to benefit from technology transfer, there is a need to do the following:

An adequate system of communications and telecommunications at the world level. A skilled labour force of workers, technicians, engineers and scientists able to adapt their

skills continuously to the fast pace of technological change. A research system able to assimilate the discoveries taking place in the most advanced

areas of the world, adapt them to the country’s specific needs, and gradually be able to participate in international scientific networks.

An institutional system that is able to link scientific research, technical applications and training of labour force in the context of a process of technology transfer.

Without the fulfilment of the conditions to sustain endogenous process of technological development, the exogenous impulses received through technology transfer will not be assimilated. Clearly, higher institutions are critical for endogenous technological development. They must provide the skilled labour force that is needed for technological transfer and technology development, both in terms of specific skills and general learning ability. They must generate the scientific foundation and the research development (R&D) activities that will be necessary to connect with the process of knowledge generation throughout the world. They will have to adopt innovations produced in other context to the needs of the country, and they must perform such tasks with a level of autonomy that will enable them to take the necessary long-term view for scientific strategy and educational planning. All these can only be achieved with adequate funding. Funding of Education in Nigeria Funding of Higher Education in Nigeria has been a critical problem in the scientific development of education. For the past thirty years, the academic unions within the Universities have always based eighty percent of strike actions on inadequate funding of Universities. The recent six month strike action is based among other things on the issue of funding, the request being that 26% of the national budget should be allocated to educational related matters. The recommendation was also in the vision 2010 document as it related to education. Munzali, (2000), gave a vivid picture of the effectiveness of government funding for all higher institutions as follows:

N64.4 billion was requested in year 2000 N38.2 billion was approved N22.3 billion was received in the first ten months.

Munzali referred to this as an improvement, but Anikpo (2000) concluded that funds have played a crucial role in the governance and development of Nigerian Universities. It is unlikely that any significant changes can be achieved in changing the fortunes of the University system, unless the Universities are declared disaster areas and rescue funds are pumped in to them to revive the dilapidated infrastructure and build new ones. I believe that there should be a way of evaluating

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the impact of money released to the Universities through the use of certain assessment indices that the recognised as sustainable development indices. Tawari, (2003), observed that it was important to apply total quality management in Higher Institutions. Total quality management (TQM) incorporates the self-assessment process with an on-going cycle of continuous improvement to boost client and job satisfaction, increased productivity and quality assurance. For the purpose of this lecture, TQM should be as an assessment tool by both the Government and the Institutions. I have decided to apply the tool of TQM in the form of assessing the impact of higher education in Nigeria by using the indices of sustainable development as adopted in the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) held in Johannesburg, South Africa. What Is Sustainable Development The just concluded World Submit on Sustainable Development, (WSSD) 2002, gave real and practical meaning to sustainable development when it looked at social, economic, health, water, environment, biodiversity and political needs without compromising the very basis on which these needs depend. Sustainable development has to be achieved in all these areas. All countries are expected to implement the decisions and agreements from the Summit. Let us now consider the various facets of sustainable development as defined by WSSD and the status of Nigeria on these issues.

Assessment of Sustainable Development in Nigeria As An Index of The Impact Of Education

1. Social and Economic Dimensions

Poverty Poverty rate has increased significantly in Nigeria in the 1990s. Using two-thirds mean per capita household expenditure to indicate poverty line, poverty level increased from 42.7% to 65.6% in 1996. The number of people in poverty thus increased from 39.7 million in 1992 to 67.1 million in 1996. With approximately 22 percent of the population recorded as having employment problems in 1998 (consisting of 3.4% with open employment and 18.5 with under-employment), many households do not earn enough income to meet their basic human needs. There is feminization of poverty in Nigeria. Women and men experience poverty differently, and many aspects of poverty have gender dimensions.

Demographic Trends

With an annual growth rate of 2.8%, Nigeria’s population is expected to double in less than 25years. Reliable time-series demographic surveys are still lacking; although a number of socio-demographic surveys are conducted periodically. Routine data collection is weak. Thus planning at virtually all level of government is done on an adhoc basis. Low level of awareness and limited knowledge by stakeholders as to the relevance of population issue to national development has resulted in relatively weak political support for population programmes.

Health and Sustainable Development

The various human activities that result in environmental pollution and the resulting health hazards have been on the increase over the last ten years, due to rapid industrialisation and consequent uncontrolled emissions, effluents and waste generation. While life expectancy has increased slowly over the years to reach a level of 53 years in 1991, the life expectancy for

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1999 as indicated by WHO was 48.2 for males and 48.8 for females (which means that there is a decline). There lies the challenge! The life expectancy is decreasing because of very low funding for the health sector, poor management of funds and human resources, limited coverage and inadequate number of workers especially in the key areas. Of course, our health sector has suffered the highest casualty under the brain drain syndrome that plagued Nigeria. Access to safe water and sanitary facilities still remains at low level. Access to water increased very slightly from 50 to 54 percent between 1995 and 1999.

Challenges of Globalisation

Anya, (2002), observed that as a result of changes in Information Technology and Communication, global flows of capital, information, investment, trade, skills and expertise across borders have been facilitated. These changes have fostered new ways of doing business and of learning and in the process the laws and strategies for economic development have also changed.

The issue is how prepared is Nigeria to face the challenges of globalisation? We have a poor economy whose GDP per capita is less than three hundred dollars and we cannot even afford to meet the basic requirements of our citizens for food, shelter water and education. The challenges is to put in place social and economic systems that create the conditions for wealth through technology, trade and investments, which also ensures the equitable distribution of created wealth while rewarding excellence and merit.

2. Conservation and Management of Natural Resources Inspite of the heavy dependence of the country on earnings from oil related activities, Agriculture continues to be the case base of the Nigerian economy employing over 70% of the population. About 34% of the land surface of Nigeria is occupied by crops. Agriculturally related environmental problems are due to inappropriate use of fertilizers, pesticides and other modern inputs as we as practices associated with rain-fed agriculture, including the conversion of forests into agricultural land and expansion of cultivation into environmentally fragile areas. These practices contribute to land degradation and deforestation, erosion and lowland flooding, degrading of water shed protection areas and declining resilience in ecosystems. The annual rate of deforestation of the woodlands in Nigeria averaged 3.5% in the 1980 and 1990, and the southern rainforest that covered 2% of the total land area in Nigeria is also depleted at an annual rate of 3.5%. If this trend continues, it has been predicted that Nigerian forest would totally disappear by 2020. Nigeria is a maritime state with a coastline of about 853km bordering the Atlantic Ocean within the Gulf of Guinea. The resources in the coastal waters have a far-reaching implication for the economy of the nation. However, oil exploration activities including oil spillage have posed a serious threat to the marine life. While in the Northern part of Nigeria, drought and desertification constitute serious environmental problems. Presently, Nigeria is losing 350,000 square metres of its landmass to desertification that is advancing Southwards at the rate of 0.6km per year.

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Although, Nigeria is endowed with renewable and non-renewable energy resources which includes crude oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear fuels, hydropower, solar radiation, wind energy, fuel wood and other biomass. She is unable to provide electric power for her population continuously. We are yet to celebrate 24 hours of interrupted light in many parts of the country. Some countries in Africa have celebrated nine years of uninterrupted electricity supply. Energy is key to sustainable development. Atmospheric emission has been a steadily growing problem since the industrial revolution began. The air quality is becoming very poor with emission from industrial process, higher traffic in the urban areas, refuse burning, gas flaring and use of generators. 3. Toxic Chemicals, Hazardous Waste and Solid Waste Management The need for sound management and community awareness of the toxic chemicals was brought to the fore through the dumping of hazardous waste of Italian origin in Koko in Delta State of Nigeria. The local people were ignorant of the hazards and it was the alert signal of Nigerians abroad that drew the attention of the government to the event. Nigerian cities have been described as being one of the dirtiest, the most unsanitary and the least aesthetically pleasing in the world as a result of problems with waste disposal, (UNSN, 2001). Recycling of waste is not practised to any degree. Meanwhile, waste is generating riches to those countries that have the technology. 4. Management of Our Mono Economy Oil and Gas The management of the Niger Delta environment where over 90% of the wealth of the country is derived is a classical example to demonstrate the impact of higher education or the sustainable development of Nigeria. God placed the oil and gas in a delicately balanced ecosystem. The local people who are mainly fisher people before the advent of oil and gas exploration managed the ecosystem. A Delta is a large, flat low-lying plain of river deposits laid down where the river flows into the sea. The Niger Delta, which is the largest in Africa, criss-crossed by numerous tributaries bordered by levees and separated by low-lying land. There are about twenty-four river mouths along the delta front flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. The mangrove forest is the major forest and it is a very slow growing tree. Shell D’ Arcy started oil exploration about the year 1937 in Nigeria and struck the first oil well of economic quantity in Oloibiri in the Niger Delta in 1958. Exploration continued and a lot of infrastructure was established in the course of oil industry development. These developments involve the clear felling of large areas of the mangrove forest for the construction of pipelines, building of flow stations, helipads and other facilities. In the course of oil production and transportation, there are incidences of oil spillage with huge environmental, health and economic consequences due to the nature of the ecosystem. The oil spillage and environmental degradation continued for a long time without any regulatory by Government. It was not until 1992 that the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) decree was promulgated. Even with this decree, the environmental damage is enormous, not to talk of when there was no law and public awareness between 1937 and 1992. The summary is that the environment is highly polluted with all the consequent health and economic impacts.

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Now, oil exploration and production involves the use of very advance technology. The knowledge should be taught in our Institutions and the environmental implications should be well outlined. An assessment of the development of oil in the Niger Delta does not show that it has been sustainably developed as shown by the following environmental issues:

Land resources degradation as a result of flooding, erosion and land subsistence. Renewable resources degradation, such as fisheries exploitation, forest exploitation especially

the slow growing mangrove forests most of which are clearfelled during oil exploitation activities. During the oil related activities such as pipelines, flowstations, flowlines, seismic lines and drilling operations, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) alone has cleared about 1% of the mangrove population. Nigeria has so many other oil companies doing exactly the same thing that SPDC does.

The biodiversity in the area is threatened due to pollution from oil activities, deforestation and other habitat destroying activities. Relationship between Education and Sustainable Development The strong link between education and sustainable development has been established to the extent that there is now a move to declare a ‘UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development’. This move emerged from the Japan forum for Johnnesburg, formed in 2001 by many NGOs and individuals. This concept has now been endorsed by the Japanese Government and by the WSSD preparatory Committee. Environmental Education that was modified to Education for Sustainable Development has a broad implication not only for environment, but also for development, poverty, population and gender issues. There is a holistic approach to education for sustainable development. Pike and Selby, 1987, neatly described the links between development education, environmental education, human right education and peace education, and the interdependency between them. In a broad sense, the different types of education share common goals and concepts that complement and enhance one and another. In Japan, environmental education started in the 1960s through the move of the public as a result of extreme pollution levels during the period of high economic growth in Japan (1950-1970).

Environmental Education: The history of environmental education started from the pollution education which was an educational movement initiated by the general public in the 1960s. This passed through a lot of processes that led to the drawing up of the National Action for Agenda 21 in 1994, during which several laws concerning environmental responsibility were enacted and enforced nationwide. As a result, industries began tackling their responsibility for the environment in line with the desires of the broader community. Currently, environmental education in Japan focuses on developing comprehensive understanding and awareness of the interaction between the environment and human activities, as well as facilitating the skills needed for effective action for the environment. Japan also started development education in the 1970s. This began as an education activity to improve the understanding of the problems that existed as a result of the disparity between developed and under developed nations. Development education took the view that poverty and environmental problems are the results of the structural problems of developing countries and developed countries.

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Peace Education: This was another initiative in Japan that focussed on the post World War II reflections. The public had to be educated on the effect of the atomic devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Human Rights Education: This evolved as a result of discrimination against groups of people based on the policies created before 1867, whereby society was segregated by residential area and occupation. Japan which is currently regarded as a developed economy has put in place these various educational outlets in order to achieve sustainable development. In achieving sustainable development, education serves as a pivot to galvanise everybody to be aware of the relationship between human activities and environmental degradation. Education would enable the accurate monitoring of the following indicators for a sustainable world. These indicators as proposed by the World Bank (2001) are as follow:

Global emission of carbon dioxide. Land and sea area protected under national or international law or agreement. Area of forest land. Index measuring threat of extinction wild birds. Access to adequate water and sanitation. Ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary education. Infant mortality – death per 1000 births. People living on less than one US dollars per day. Economic losses from ‘unnatural disasters’. Fossil fuel and the global economy.

There are other composite indices such as ecological footprints; balancing the environmental budget and vulnerability index. The vulnerability is built up from a country’s sensitivity to the weather, human pressures, geological and geographical features and its general ecology. There are also attempts to develop broader measures of vulnerability that include economic and social factors. Nigeria definitely needs an educated and informed society to be able to accurately monitor these world indices and benefit from any provisions for amelioration at the world level. What Next Education Policy Reform Our Alma Mater fondly referred to as ‘the first and the best’ has been in existence for almost fifty-five years. What difference has she made to the sustainable development of our country? There comes the re-thinking, paradigm shift change of mindset and vision. The achievements must be assessed not only in terms of the number of products, but also in terms of the impact these products make on the sustainable development of the country. She must continue to be the first and best and be viewed as an engine of development in the new world economy. There should be a continuous self-assessment practice that creates room for improvement to satisfy the clients while preserving those cultures that are dear to the system.

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The following education policy reforms are necessary in the next few years: The crisis of higher education is first and foremost a crisis of quality. Financial and human

constraints will often make the systemic pursuit of research and teaching difficult.

The emphasis on quality means that evaluation of teaching and research in terms of process and outcomes become critically important.

A high standard implies selectivity in admissions.

Country conditions shape the nature of policy analysis in higher education. Issues to be addressed include the historical roots of the education systems, the levels of development and development strategies and the size of the population.

A capacity to undertake scientific research and apply the findings to development and problems is an important aspect of quality in higher institution. Research Institution and Universities that are involved in research activities would need to be connected to world’s scientific network, the country’s development and specific needs and productive structure.

The University should be able to manage the interaction between science, technology, economy and society effectively. This would require the establishment of closer link between Universities, Research Centres in the country and abroad and production sectors.

Based on the current problems in the country, there is a need to revisit the relationship between Government and University. Central Planning and control of Universities have resulted in uniformity, rigidity and politicisation of the system at a time when diversity, responsiveness to evolving development demands and faculty and student commitment in institutional objectives of quality and relevance are essential. Van Vught summarised his views on the matter as follows:

‘Government should provide the general (not so detailed) rules within which institutions can use their autonomy and within which the market can function. The institution should try to maximise their innovative capacities within the context provided by Government. The markets should be used to let societal needs come to the fore’.

Conclusion I have in the last hour or so tried to establish the importance of higher education in the economic development of a country by relating it to the indices of sustainable development. In Nigeria, the various parameters of sustainable development showed clearly that our educational system has not made the desired impact on the environment and total society. The development of the educational system for the desired impact is the collective responsibility of the Government, the University staff and the students, the parents and guardians. There must be a self-assessment by all using the indices of sustainable development t to effect a positive change. There is therefore an urgent need to:

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1. Re-examine the contribution of higher education to technological progress and economic development.

2. Identify strategies for mobilising resources and sharing the burden of developing higher education.

3. Re-think the role of Government in financing, proving and regulating higher education.

4. Investigate the experience of Countries with increased institutional autonomy and market-type delivery mechanism.

5. Assess strategies for regional cooperation.

6. Investigate options for using technology and low-cost mass delivery mechanism.

7. Finally, it is important to research the experience of those Institutions that had succeeded in maintaining their quality in the face of increasing social demand and decreasing public resources. Mr. Vice Chancellor, The President; University of Ibadan Alumni Association, Members of Council and Senate of the University, Lords spiritual and temporal, Distinguished Chiefs, Previous Alumni Lectures here present, Fellow Alumni and Alumnae, Respected Colleagues, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for your kind attention. May the Almighty God who is the Author of knowledge and wisdom continue to grant us knowledge in Jesus Name , Amen. Long Live University of Ibadan. Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Recte sapere fons! .

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Political Scepticism as an Impediment to the Sustenance of Nigerian Democracy: The View of A Sociologist In Politics

Mr. George Akume (2004)

Introduction I stand before you, humbled by the great honour that has been accorded me by the University of Ibadan Alumni Association, who has invited me to deliver the 2004 Annual Alumni Lecture. I am very much conscious of the fact that I am the youngest Guest Lecturer so far in terms of age and year of matriculation since the Alumni Lecture series was inaugurated in l979. As the first matriculant and graduate of the seventies to deliver an Alumni Lecture, I consider it a rare privilege to have been selected to join the ranks of past lecturers, who have included eminent jurists such as Justice Olakunle Orojo, world renowned diplomats of the standing of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and towering politicians of the calibre of late Chief Bola Ige and Chief Olu Falae. Other predecessors have included commerce and industry captains such as Chief F. R. A. Marinho. Chief Gamaliel Onosode and Dr. Michael Omolayole respected academics like Professors Grace Alele Williams, O.O. Akinkugbe, Tekena Tamuno and Francis Idachaba as well as technocrats such as Alhaji (Dr) Shehu Musa. Mr. Vice Chancellor Sir, ladies and gentlemen, for any graduate of the University of Ibadan, it is a singular honour to be opportuned to stand at the podium on the revered stage of Trenchard Hall. This hall has acquired a noble tradition and a myth of its own. The hall has witnessed many intellectual engagements that have been of significant importance to our nation. For sometime now, it has served as the last port of call where undergraduate and postgraduate students are finally pronounced worthy in character and learning to be certified as products of the University of Ibadan. For us the products of Unversity of Ibadan, Trenchard Hall is also the shibboleth by which we fish out impostors who try to infiltrate our great ranks but inevitably betray themselves by mistaking this popular hall for a hall of residence. Before delving into the substance of the lecture, permit me to conclude my preamble by making brief remarks on two issues that are at least tangentially relevant to the business of the day. First, Mr. President, wonder if you aware that in one of the chapters of the association, members are categorised into three groups of ancient, medieval and modern. By that categorisation, I surely belong to the modern group. I believe however, that there is probably an emerging post-modernist group within the association, which may date from the last decade or so. The beauty of it all is that, in most branches and chapters of the Association, these groups blend well and work together. I see in this, assurances for our Association and hope for our alma mater. If members of the association from diverse backgrounds and age brackets can work together and join efforts with other stakeholders in this University, the pre-eminence of University of Ibadan among the Institutions of higher learning in Nigeria will be guaranteed now and into the future. This then Mr. President

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and fellow Alumni members, is our challenge; the challenge is to do our duty to our alma mater as she begins to age, in order to support her regeneration. It is a duty that we all must discharge individually and collectively, to the best of our abilities. Secondly, on an occasion such as this, I cannot help but evoke the guardian spirits of those who taught me in this University, first as an undergraduate and later as a graduate student. Under their able academic tutelage, I was equipped with knowledge and sound judgement that I found most valuable during my career in the public service and which I continue to find of tremendous assistance as a politician. Indeed my study of Sociology has given me a good understanding of human nature and the pressures of our modem society, which has enabled me to walk within the bramble bush of Nigerian politics without being hemorrhaged by its pricks. Political Skepticism I have chosen to speak on the implications of political skepticism for the growth and stability of our democracy because I believe that it lies at the heart of many of the problems we encounter in our political experience in Nigeria today. First, what exactly do I mean by political skepticism? Skepticism is a word that has tended to be problematic over the ages both in its ordinary everyday usage and as a subject of philosophical enquiry. Going back to the age of ancient Greek philosophers, those described as skeptics held the view that there was no knowledge or absolute truth about anything under the sun which amounted to a denial of reality. The notion of unbelief was central to their thinking. Writing in the Rutledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Vol. 8), Richard H. Popkin says that:

“Simply put, skepticism is the view that we fail to know anything. Thus, skeptical doctrines might hold that none of our beliefs is certain, that none of our beliefs is justified, that none of our beliefs is reasonable”. (P.49)

The Chambers encyclopedia thus similarly submits that the skeptics exhibited:

“a distinct tendency to avoid coming to a conclusion one way or another. They seem generally to have denied or at least doubted the trustworthiness of the senses as vehicles of absolute truth” (Vol. 12, P. 256).

In common usage, skepticism refers to an outlook that is predisposed to doubt. I believe that it is usually held to be a negative tendency as a skeptic is looked upon as harbouring extreme disbelief, which requires considerable persuasion before he could be moved to the point of conviction. To give an example that I believe most of us are familiar with but without intending to sound blasphemous. If one were looking for the patron saint of skeptics, one need not look further than Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ, who insisted that until he was able to put his finger in the wounds inflicted on Christ by his crucifixion, he would never believe the report of his resurrection.

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Mr. Chairman Sir, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. I have just mentioned that skepticism in its everyday usage tends to be considered somewhat a negative trait. I want however, to invite our attention to one notable discourse in which skepticism is seen as a positive attribute, indeed a virtue. I hasten to submit though that, that discourse was most certainly not an ordinary, everyday event. About thirty years ago, precisely on Friday, 4th April 1975, Professor Bilh Dudley, fondly called B. J by students in those days, presented an inaugural lecture in this University on the topic Skepticism and Political Virtue. Dudleys’ view of skepticism was as "a general intellectual outlook which does not deny assent but withholds it until justification is given”. To him, questioning attitude which he held to be “closely tied up with the related notions of dissent and protest” was necessary to ensure that those in power remain alive to the concerns of the governed, as only by so doing would the citizenry be motivated to attain political virtue defined in terms of commitment or loyalty to the state. Professor Dudley submitted then that; unless a people cultivate a skeptical attitude, or alternatively, unless a government system accepts and tolerates political skepticism on the part of its citizenry, that citizenry cannot exhibit the property of virtuousness as I have used it. To Dudley therefore, skepticism was necessary for “the articulation and elaboration of the polity”. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Professor Billy Dudley of blessed memory remains to this day an eminently respected scholar who ranks among the most original thinkers and incisive Authors in the field of Political Science that Nigeria and Africa has produced. I emphasize this point to underscore the fact that my use of the term skepticism is only different from Dudley’s and that I do not in any way harbour the desire to join issues with that icon of social science scholarship. I do not use skepticism in this lecture in the extreme philosophical sense of suspension of belief. My usage tilts more towards the common, every day parlance. Thus, I conceive of political skepticism as an attitude, an outlook, a belief, practice or habit on the part of an individual or politician, which is characterised by doubt, tentativeness, and lack of faith or conviction. Such a person or politician tends to hold a laissez faire attitude towards important political issues such as elections, matters of governance, the mobilisation of resources and the support of the citizenry for development, among others. A political skeptic is passive or indecisive when action is required to move the political process forward. If he or she is a politician, he or she does not hold firm views about political ideology, party membership and allegiance. He is probably in politics by chance or was drafted by compulsion and thus subscribes to the defeatist philosophy that if things work out well, it is fine, but if they do not, well life continues. The political skeptic was probably not born a skeptic but may have been driven to this stage by unpleasant experiences during his political career, and these tend to be many in Nigerian politics.

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The politician with a skeptical orientation lives and operates under a perpetual feeling of fear and apprehension. His fear may be real as in the fear of unexpected military intervention or of political opponents. More often than not, however, it is simply fear of the unknown, but to him it is real enough to prevent him from embarking on a course of action that would create a positive impact on society and move the frontiers of democracy and politics forward. Some politicians may experience political scepticism as a passing phase. A classic example was when our very own Chief Bola Ige, a dogged fighter that he was, became exasperated by the Nigerian situation and withdrew to his now famous “sidon look” posture. To others however, it is constant in which case their level of scepticism may be said to have reached a chronic stage, and this may really be the level at which scepticism constitutes a problem for our democratic expenence. It should be obvious from the little portrait I have drawn that there are many political sceptics in Nigeria today among the citizens and within the ranks of Nigerian politicians starting from the lowest to the most high. Indeed, from my experience of Nigerian politics, one may have lowly followers who exhibit gut reactions to issues of politics rather than a deliberate measured and analytical approach, but who may appear to demonstrate greater commitment and conviction than some of their leaders. Consider for example the willingness of a local party follower to die for a leader that perhaps he has never met. Consider further the behaviour of that leader who as a governorship candidate has for a long time canvassed the virtues of Party A against the iniquities and shortcomings of Party B but upon losing the nomination of Party A switches allegiance to Party B on the eve of the elections and hopes to be elected. Such opportunism is home out of lack of faith in the political process, selfishness and indiscipline. There are of course some politicians who for reasons of self-interest or an inherent tendency towards negativism or both, exhibit political behaviour that bothers on the cynical, which I consider an extreme form of scepticism. To these politicians, once they fail to attain any political goal, they would rather bring down Armageddon than allow any other person to attain that goal. Such politicians resort to violence, subvert established procedures, trample upon the common good and are prone to resort to consulting shrines in order to achieve their selfish goals. Let me give you an example of a situation in which I am personally involved. In the recent past, some dailies have carried sensational reports about political violence in Benue State. If one were not familiar with the true situation on the ground, one would indeed believe that the entire state was on fire. Yet, the truth of the matter was that a few politicians who were defeated during the last general elections and had lost their cases in courts of law now resorted to violence to seek relevance. With the active collaboration of hired hands in the media and elsewhere, they fomented violence in a section of one local government out of twenty-three, which was then blown out of proportion in the vain hope that the Federal Government would be prevailed upon to declare a state of emergency in Benue State. The same group had earlier gone to the press to announce my obituary. So for the ambition and interests of a few, some politicians are prepared to sacrifice the well being of an entire state and with it the fate of our democracy.

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What then is responsible for the pervasive influence of scepticism in Nigerian society and politics? For constraints of time however, I shall highlight only a few, the most prominent being the stronglehold that the Military has exerted on the political life of our nation. The Military and Political Scepticism As we all know, direct military intervention in the politics of Nigeria dates back to 15th January 1966 when the group of majors led by Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu staged a coup to remove the Federal Government of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the regional governments led in the North by Sir Ahmadu Bello, in the East by Michael Okpara, in the West by Chiefs. L. Akintola and in the south by Chief Denis Osadebey. This coup failed in the main, but led to Major General John Aguiyi Ironsi heading a Unitary Military Government, which was in turn overthrown in the counter coup of 29th July 1966. Since the coups of 1966 up to 1999, military rule in Nigeria became the norm rather than an aberration. Within the period of thirty-three years, military regimes held power for a total of twenty-eight years, leaving less than five years to democratically elected governments. Some observers of the Nigerian political scene even query the view that Nigeria returned to civilian democratic rule in 1999. To these observers, the handover of power from General Abdulsalami Abubakar to Chief Olusegan Obasanjo was merely the transition from a serving general to another on the reserve list. Those who subscribe to this opinion hold that in spite of Chief Obasanjo’s credentials as an advocate of democracy, his criticism of other military regimes and his persecution under the Abacha dictatorship, he still belongs essentially to the military constituency. To such observers therefore, Nigeria will be deemed to have returned to normal democracy only when we have a President without a military background and retired military officers cease to have direct visible presence in other political structures such as the parties and elective offices at the Federal and state levels. Given the financial clout of the retired military class and the influence of money in Nigerian politics, whether we can ever get to this stage or indeed, whether it is desirable to isolate retired officers from politics is of course a matter for debate. Definitely, the long periods of military rule in Nigeria have worked against the growth and stability of democracy and the emergence of a strong political culture. Many political careers and ambitions have been destroyed by military interventions leading to frustration and scepticism. It is not only the political class that has been negatively influenced by military interv entions in politics as Nigerians in general have been led to develop a sense of apathy to the system of government under which they are governed. This attitude has been exploited repeatedly by the military as each time one regime gave way to another; the incoming regime was assured of support one way or the other. It should be appreciated also that the military has proved a dept at the use of divide-and-rule tactics in its quest for political power. Each time a civilian administration is overthrown, the succeeding military regime first courts the support of those who had been in the opposition, followed by the traditional rulers. Indeed the involvement of notable politicians such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Alhaji Aminu Kano, and Chief J. S. Tarka among others in the Gowon regime had gone a long way to legitimise the administration.

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The frequency of military seizure of political power and the apparatus of governance has also made the political class and public servants apprehensive of the security of their tenures in office. This has been seen as a major contributing factor to the pervasive nature of corruption in Nigeria. Corruption as we know, is anathema to good governance, and without good governance, the citizenry cannot enjoy the benefits of democracy. One other area in which military intervention in politics has promoted political scepticism in Nigeria has been in their manipulation of the programme of transition to perpetuate them in power. With the possible exception of the Obasanjo led administration between 1976t to 1979 and the Abubakar regime of 1998 to 1999, other military administrations have been guilty of this deception. Gowon reneged on Iris pledge to handover power in 1976, leading to a palace coup that brought in General Murtala Muhammed as Head of State. We are of course familiar with the Maradonic twists and turns of the Babangida transition programme, which ended with the annulment of the June 12 election of 1993. The Abacha transition that followed was evidently designed for self succession. Indeed, the five political parties that were referred to sarcastically by our own Cicero of Esa Oke, late Chief Bole Ige, as the “five fingers of a leprous hand” ended up adopting him as a common presidential candidate. Given such brazen manipulation of the transition programmes, it is perhaps understandable that the public is made to develop apathy about the political system and politicians become disillusioned and sceptical. The military remains a portent danger to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. It is true that for the first time since the coups of 1966, Nigeria has experienced more than five years of uninterrupted civilian government. It appears to me however, that Alhaji Shehu Musa’s optimism in the following statement may be a little hasty. Says he

“While it is generally held that the prospect of Military

intervention in the present and even future democratic dispensation is remote if not totally non-existent, the threats to the unity of the country remain an opening through which the unexpected intruder could sneak in” (The Nigerian Elastic Transition to Democratic Rule: Have We Finally Made It? Alumni Lecture 2000 P.22)

We are of course aware that since that statement was made, we have had to contend with a security breach by some elements of the Nigerian Armed forces. It is therefore important that the political class in particular and Nigerians in general remain vigilant to guard against security breaches maturing into full blown coups and once again plunging this nation into political turmoil. The Political Class and the Electorate While it is true that the Military has contributed in large measure to the problem of political scepticism in Nigeria, other sections of the society such as the political class and the electorate must also bear their share of the blame. To begin with the political class, the concept and practice of politics in Nigeria tends to promote scepticism within the ranks of politicians. It is sometimes difficult to determine to what extent those who enter into politics do so with a clear idea of what they intend to do. Their vision may be hazy and their mission may lack focus.

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Politics elsewhere, especially in the established democracies such as the USA, brings together people who share similar core values and they seek power in order to defend and promote such values. While one cannot rule out elements of personal interest even in those situations, the internal control mechanisms of the political parties, long established codes of conduct by holders of public office, the vigilance and power of the mass media, a high degree of public awareness on the part of the citizenry, a tradition of acceptance of the opposition and respect for the rule of law among other safeguards, combine to give a largely positive character to the concept and practice of politics. In Nigeria, self-interest characterised by the winner takes all syndrome, coupled with the fact that about ninety per cent of business depends on government; this appears to be the biggest motivating factor in the quest for political power. For this reason the struggle for power tends often to be vicious such that even within the same political parties, acrimonies emerge and undermine the unity of purpose of members. Under such circumstances, those who win exclude the losers who in turn continually plan to undermine the winners. One can only imagine what the relationship between different parties can be. This restriction of political space and opportunities is largely responsible for the crises that afflict all the political parties in Nigeria and is a source of considerable dissatisfaction on the part of members thus leading to a loss of faith in the system and widespread scepticism. The members of the Nigerian society who constitute the electorate are also partly to blame. Their votes are the means by which politicians gain access to power. The uncritical approach to issues of political choice and often times, complete apathy to politics by our people has not served the cause of democracy in Nigeria. Many believe that politics is a dirty game and not worthy of their participation. Some Nigerians do not bother to register to vote. Among those who register, some prefer to stay at home during elections, yet these same people expect to have good leaders who would guarantee good governance. Those who are referred to as the Nigerian elite, usually well educated and with stable economic base are perhaps even guiltier of political apathy. It may sound convenient to give the excuse of problems associated with exercising one’s franchise in Nigeria or of the problem of rigging or similar hurdles in the electoral process, but to withdraw from one’s civic duties is to give greater room for the emergence of bad leaders with bad programmes that may drag us back, rather than move us forward as a nation. Nigerians must therefore endeavour to be more conscious politically and to use their collective power to influence their political leaders. No matter the degree of imperfection of our political institutions, it is our collective responsibility to improve them even if it is through the process of trial and error. We must remember that faulty elections are still better than no elections at all and that the worst form of democracy is still better than the most benevolent Military rule. Political Scepticism and the March to 2007 Mr. Chairman sir, ladies and gentlemen, one issue of great importance to our national political life and the sustenance of our democracy, which is being threatened by scepticism, is that of transition of power in 2007. All Nigerians, politicians and non-politicians alike, know that the tenures of the incumbent governments at the Federal and state levels will expire by May 2007. It

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is also common knowledge that elections will be held to constitute new governments more so that the President and most of the serving Governors would not be eligible for re-election, having already served a second term in office. Scepticism about 2007 is growing because for whatever strange reasons, a culture of silence has been imposed on this one subject that should be of great interest to the political parties, politicians and the generality of Nigerians. For sure, the year 2007 is of political significance to the entire nation because it would determine whether our democracy has become entrenched well enough to ensure a smooth civilian-to-civilian transition of power or not. Year 2007 will also give a clear indication, if not confirmation, as to whether we have learnt from our past mistakes and corrected some of them, such as the hiccups in our electoral system. Furthermore, 2007 will usher in our new political leaders who are expected to take our nation into the second decade of the new millennium. An issue of such importance to the nation should not be left to mere conjecture. Almost all the parties tend to down play any discussion about 2007, while some have banned such discussions outright. The reason given for this is that the matter is likely to heat up the polity. Yet other issues such as resource control, communal and religious violence among others, are raising the temperature of the polity. Precisely for the reason that open discussions are muted, the issue of 2007 has been driven underground with the result that the views that one hears on the grape vine are distorted and tend to generate apprehension and scepticism among both the politicians and the generality of Nigerians. For us in the Peoples Democratic Party for instance, 2007 seems to be a no go area. Perhaps this is because since we are in government, we do not want any distraction. Yet, one hears today that only President Olusegun Obasanjo knows who will succeed him in 2007. Mr. President contradicts this the next day that only God knows his successor. One hears one day that in 2007 power will again shift to the North only to hear another day that it is the turn of the East or the South-South. There have been instances of some of the main actors banning discussions about their interest in the Presidency and the distribution of their posters to this effect. Such instances are usually followed by more press releases or conferences from different groups and of course more posters on the streets all on the forbidden subject. Mr. Chairman Sir, in order to remove the confusion surrounding the transition of power in 2007, and the scepticism whether that transition would be or not, I suggest that the matter be thrown wide open in 2005. I suggest further that the political parties resolve to support power shift to the North in other to create confidence in the power sharing arrangement that was introduced in our political system in 1999. I say this because after our election, the Northern Governors were told to support power shift to the South, which we did on the understanding that in due course it would again be the turn of the North. This explains why in the PDP, the Presidential candidates from the North were prevailed upon to step down in favour of President Obasanjo’s re-election and those who insisted were rejected during the process of nomination. In the light of the foregoing therefore, I submit that any politician from the North with ambition for elective office should feel free to indicate their interest now so that Nigerians will begin to evaluate them. The issues that will determine those suitable to govern and will not emerge in

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2007 as they are already with us. The longer we are able to discuss them, the more opportunities Nigerians have to reflect over the antecedents of candidates, the greater chances there will be that we shall make informed choices come 2007. Beyond Scepticism: the Way Forward Mr. Chairman Sir, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. I have spoken about how politicians and others who harbour doubts about our democracy and the viability of our nation consciously or unconsciously work against the progress of Nigeria as a nation. I want to emphasize the fact that not all Nigerian politicians are bad or tend to think and act negatively. There are indeed many good and committed politicians, and with all due humility, I would like to count myself as one of them. These hold positive views about our dear nation and in spite of the hard knocks of politics refuse to become sceptical about our strength and what is needed to turn our potential greatness into reality. For us to overcome the problem of scepticism and related issues in our politics, we must endeavour to eliminate those factors that tend to promote them. First then, is the imperative of keeping the Military out of Nigerian politics. I believe that this could be done through a three-pronged approach of reorientation of the Military, Institutionalisation of good governance and the sensitisation of civil society to reject Military intervention. The re-orientation of the military at the beginning of the first term in office of Chief Olusegun Obasanio in 1999, which involved the retirement of officers who had held political offices, was a master stroke. That bold initiative removed the source of much jealousy among officers and men of the Armed forces as well as motivation for the staging of coups. In the process, however, the good were also affected. The upgrading of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) into a degree awarding Institution has also helped by introducing intellectual training in disciplines that would broaden the outlook of Military officers in the formative stages of their careers. The same may be said of the arrangement whereby successful graduands of the National War College also receive the degree of Master of International Relations and Strategic Studies of the University of Ibadan. Efforts should be made to also extend the same or similar opportunities to capable graduands of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji. The re-orientation of the Military must be made a continuous exercise whereby officers especially, also other ranks are made to accept their subordination under civil democratically constituted authority. Those officers and men who in any way demonstrate reluctance in this regard should be promptly shown the way out. In the final analysis however, our Military would be kept out of politics and made to accept their role as defenders of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation akin to their counterparts in the established democracies only if they have reasonable career prospects and adequate conditions of service. The Federal Government must therefore address issues capable of introducing discontent among serving and retired Military personnel such as remuneration, accommodation in barracks, training and equipment, as well as settlement of Military pensions and other entitlements. Retired officers of proven competence and merit can be engaged in other areas in the public and private sectors in order to minimise any feelings of disquiet among the group.

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The concept of good governance is indeed central to the issue of overcoming the problem of skepticism, because by meeting the yearnings of tire people in service delivery and the provision of security among others, sources of discontent in the society will be removed. Citizens who are satisfied with their quality of life will be more amenable to mobilisation to resist military intervention. It is incumbent upon those of us in government and others who have roles to play in addressing contentious issues in the polity, ensuring that peace and security prevail in the country and that Nigerians have access to adequate food, potable water and shelter among other necessities of life, to do so with every commitment and sense of urgency. The issue of good governance brings to fore the imperative of a frontal attack on corruption in our polity. In this regard, the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo deserves commendation for his efforts to tackle corruption through the establishment of the Anti Corruption Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission among others. For the anti-corruption crusade to succeed, all well meaning Nigerians must join effort to ensure that the appropriate laws are enforced and corruption in whatever form is exposed and appropriate sanctions are imposed. Members of the political class and Nigerians in general must also appreciate that our democracy is in its infancy and we are bound to take faltering steps. When we make mistakes, we should not be ashamed to acknowledge them and make amends. If as individuals, politicians meet with frustration, the reaction should not be despondency and loss of faith, but perseverance and hope for a better tomorrow. The practice of politics of inclusion, integration, accommodation and tolerance will go a long way in removing the sources of misunderstanding and conflict within and among political parties and this would greatly enhance the quality of politics thus leading to the firm entrenchment of democracy in our society. Two other important Institutions that are crucial to the growth and sustenance of our Democracy are the Judiciary and the Media. Our judiciary must be strong and fearless in order to be able to dispense justice without fear or favour. The apex courts in the land have proved through landmark decisions that they can be depended upon to uphold the sanctity of our laws. This reputation should be emulated by lower courts as a strong and independent Judiciary that is capable of a fearless interpretation of outlaws provides an effective check on both legislative and executive excesses. The mass media in Nigeria must also rise up to the challenge of providing balanced and objective reports and comments on issues of national importance A strong and responsible Press serves as an indispensable tool for moulding public opinion on sue issues. The Nigerian media must be in the vanguard efforts to promote and entrench our democracy. The Role of UIAA and the Elite Mr. Chairman Sir, ladies and gentlemen. 1 havee earlier made the statement that the elite in Nigeria tend to be nonchalant and even apathetic to issues of politics. This includes many, if not most of the members of our Association. I know from personal experience when I wanted to retire from the civil service to join politics in 1998, some of my friends opposed the idea as they felt that I was throwing away a good career to venture into an area that was not only unpredictable but also dirty in their estimation. I am glad that my involvement has changed the opinion of most of them today.

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During my career in the service, I once served as Director of Protocol to a Governor who was also a reverend gentleman, a priest of the Catholic Church. His foray into politics drew severe condemnation from his colleagues and the laity and there were even calls for his excommunication from the church. Reverend Father Moses Orshio Adasu's defence was that if Christians wanted to sanitise Nigerian politics, they could only do so by drafting more of their members into politics to effect the needed changes from within and that is my charge to fellow Alumni members and the alumni members of sister Universities today. I invite more members of the University of lbadan Alumni Association to join the few of us in politicis so that we can bring the tradition of excellence of our alma mater to bear on the politics of Nigeria. What I advocate may appeal novel to Nigeria but it is an established fact elsewhere in the world. Those who move the politics of the United Kingdom, United States and France among others have roots in the Ivy League universities of these countries. I believe that with the active participation of the elite in politics, we may begin to change the nature of Nigerian politics. I believe that with the involvement of people who are well educated, well exposed and conversant with current trends around the world, we may begin to have less of politics centred on ethnicity, sectionalism and other parochial considerations. Our politics may become more issues oriented, more tolerant of the concept of opposition, and more inclined to the formulation of programmes and projects based on proper situational analysis. Our politics may then be practised with the highest regard for the democratic norms of separation of powers and the rule of law. For the elite to continue to remain aloof to issues of politics, is to become accomplices to the forces, which tend to destabilise the Nigerian polity through inaction. Conclusion Mr. Chairman Sir, the President UIAA, ladies and gentlemen, in the past one hour or so, I have taken us on a journey to explore some of the pitfalls of Nigerian democracy and how we can rise above them. Even the most ardent sceptics accept that democracy is the only system of government that guarantees the rights of citizens and empowers them to have a significant say in how they are governed. Our beloved nation Nigeria has had a chequered political history since her Independence. We know and the entire world agrees with us that we have the potential to be a great nation. Our diversity constitutes our strength as out of many ethnic groups, we can form one people who are united by a common destiny. All it requires to attain that greatness is a good system of governance, visionary leadership and a judicious and transparent utilisation of our resources to achieve meaningful development. Democracy when practised well can take us to the Promised Land. I hope therefore that I may have in a little way pointed to why it is necessary for us to ensure that it is sustained in Nigeria and why we all, politicians and non politicians, must have faith in our country and hope that tomorrow will be a better day for us as a nation. I thank you most sincerely for your patience and attention.

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Facts About George Akume

George Akume was born 27 December 1953. He is the Minority Leader of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and served as the Governor of Benue State from 1999 to 2007. He is the first Executive Governor of Benue State to have completed two terms in office. He was elected governor of Benue State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and was then elected to the Senate. Akume was re-elected Senator for Benue North West in the April 2011 elections, running on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform.

George Akume obtained a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and a Master's Degree In Labour Relations From the University of Ibadan. He became a career civil servant who rose to the apex of the professional career ladder as a permanent secretary. He now resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

Political Career Despite being one of the longest running governors of the state, the capital Makurdi and other local government areas were left worse off than when he arrived in terms of infrastructural development and state GDP. In 2007, he won elections to represent the people of Benue as a senator for Benue North West in Nigeria's legislative arm of government. Akume was reelected Senator for Benue NW in the April 2011 elections, running on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform. He polled 261,726 votes, defeating Terngu Tsegba of the PDP who won 143,354 votes.

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The Politics of Development: What Democratic Paradigm for Nigeria?

Senator (Dr.) Jonathan Silas Zwingina (2005) Introduction We affirm that Nations cannot be built without the popular support and full participation of the people, nor can the economic crisis be resolved and the human and economic conditions be improved without the full and elfective contribution, creativity and popular enthusiasm of the vast ma ority of the people. Afterall, it is to the people that the very benefits of development should and must accrue. We are convinced that neither can Africa’s perpetual economic crisis be overcome, nor can a bright future of Africa and its people see the light of day, unless the structure, pattern and political context of the process of socio-economic development are appropriately altered. The issues I want to raise in today’s discussions are simple. Do the existing political structures and institutions of Nigeria guarantee the appropriate development of our people? Does the Presidential system in its present form ensure effective checks and balances to protect the interest of the people? Was the National Political Reform Conference correct in leaving the present political institutions basically intact? Are there some alterations that we can make to the political structure in order to guarantee better participation by the people and ensure people-oriented development? These questions are, in themselves, subject matters of several seminars and conferences as they have also been covered in previous seminars and conferences. We are therefore, not seeking to provide detailed answers or prescriptions, but creating an opportunity to take a second hard look at our democracy and to make observations for the attention of leaders entrusted with Constitution making. However, before we commence our discussions for the day, may I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the honour done to me by the University of Ibadan Alumni Association, by inviting me to deliver the 2005 Annual Alumni Lecture. I note that my immediate predecessor, Governor George Akurne of Benue State, had claimed the credit of being the youngest guest lecturer at this highly distinguished lecture series. Let me hasten to appropriate that honour and distinction unto myself being 8 months younger than Governor Akume. Let me also join the Governor in appreciating the Alumni Association for considering the 1978 graduating set to deliver two consecutive lectures. I felt humbled after seeing the academic, professional and personality profiles of previous lecturers such as: Chief A.M. Oseni (1948), Mr. Justice Olakunle Orojo (1948). Chief Emeka Anyaoku (1954), Chief M.O. Marinho (1956). Chief Olu Falael (1960). Dr. Ahmadu Ali (1957), Prof. Grace Alele Williams (1950). Dr. Gamaliel Onosode (1952), Chief Bola Ige (1949). Prof. 0.0 Akmkugbe (1941), Alhaji Shehu Musa (1957) and my Vice Chancellor; Professor Emeretus Tekma Tamuno (1952), among others. My plea to this audience is to pardon me in advance, should I fail to approximate to the very high standards set by more learned and experienced lecturers.

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As a young undergraduate coming to the University of Ibadan in 1975, after a preliminary programme at the Jos Campus, I was full of mixed feelings as I was shown to the Azikiwe Hall, for my accommodation being one of few Northern students on the campus. Such feelings did not go away even as I registered to read Political Science at the Faculty of Social Sciences. However, my experience in the next three years were so enriching, so overwhelming and so motivating that I had to rush back to University of Ibadan for my Masters barely a year after graduation. Indeed, but for the offer of a Commonwealth scholarship to study for my Ph.D in Australia, I would have remained at this great University for my Doctorate and, possibly, for a teaching career. One of my pet dreams is that when I retire or step aside from politics, I should enjoy the privilege of returning to this great Institution.'' the first and the best” to teach and to also learn. So proud of this University and indeed of the Department of Political Science, which graduated me at the top of my class, that I have named the street leading to my residence in Asokoro District, Abuja, after the eminent scholar and quintessential intellectual. Professor Billy J. Dudley. Should another opportunity arise to give a street a name, that name will again, come from this great Institution. Now, let us turn to the subject of our enquiry. Some people may with some justification, ask what exactly we mean by the terms Politics, Development, Democracy and even Paradigm. What do we mean by “Politics”? For the purpose of this discussion, I will not bore you with conventional academic debates as to the meaning of politics. A number of views exist as to what the word really means. Perhaps, the best description is that provided by Aristotle, who stated that politics refers to the activities and behaviour of individuals and groups as these relate to the public realm. Secondly, indeed, when he declared that man by nature is a political animal Aristotle did not mean that all men or women play politics but that men and women live in the "polis" (which is the Greek word for city state) and that they derive their essence as human beings only in association with other human beings in that polls. Similarly, Max Weber, regarded politics as the operation of the organized power within a state while Wol considered that of all the authoritative Institutions, society was the political arrangement that characterized its uniqueness. Also, some modern variants of the description is to view politics as who gets what, when, how, where and how much. To reduce our burden let me adopt the view point proffered by B.J. Dudley. In his 1975 inaugural lecture, Prof. Dudley had argued that to pose the question what is politics? was to ask for a description. He compared it to the question what is carpentry? which would also beg for description, and not a definition. He therefore enumerated five elements that can be said to constitute politics. These elements include; (a) The invoking of awareness of a collectivity. (b) There is social mobilization which implies the organization of collectivity for joint

collaborative actions.

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(c) Politics would mean contestation that is the choice of national priorities through the process of argumentation and debates.

(d) Element is to view politics as institutionalized struggle. (e) Transcendence, that is, the attainment of change both at the level of person of the general

system. Political Science would then mean a study of these elements of politics. Meaning of Development The concept of development is a controversial one. There is an entire literature on what it actually connotes, which can take a workshop lasting a good part of two weeks to exhaust. From the literature available, the classical, neo-classical and Marxist traditions all conceived development in Eurocentric terms. This implies that all economic and social development will be patterned after Europe’s or that the attainments of such systems will be conditioned by the experiences of Europe. The Eurocentric tradition in development theory was summarized by Nisbet, who felt that the various writers on development believed that:

“The recent history of the West could be taken as evidence of the direction in which mankind as a whole would move, and following from this, should move”.

The description of development that we find simple and perhaps more appropriate here is that given by Julius Nyerere. In a booklet published October 1968, Nyerere argued that development could only mean the development of people. Roads, buildings, the increases of crop output are in themselves not development but only tools for attaining the development of the people. As he put it:

“A new road extends a man’s freedom only if he travels on it. An increase in the number of School buildings is development only if those buildings can be used to develop the minds of the people. An increase in the output of peas, maize or beans is development only if it leads to the better nutrition of the people”.

This will be context in which our use of the word development should be understood. On Democracy Until about 150 years ago democracy was not a good thing as it implied mob rule or the rule by the “demos”. However, with the various social and industrial revolutions, the power of the “demos” or the people became so overwhelming that it became legitimate and was described as a good thing. Indeed, Abraham Lincoln, summed up the new image of democracy in the famous quotation that “democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people”. Today, democracy is regarded as the best form of government and a yardstick for measuring modernity and all such persons and forces opposed to it are even regarded as enemies of mankind. By democracy therefore, we mean a government elected by the people and run with the participation of the people on the basis of rule of law and the guarantee of fundamental freedoms of speech, of worship, of movement, of association, of choice etc.

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What is a Paradigm? A paradigm, simply put, is a set of rules that define scientific and social problems, procedures data as well assolutions. In summary, a paradigm is akin to a manual which could be used for the understanding of a car engine as well as for fixing it, if it breaks down. A paradigm is therefore a theoretical manual, a framework for problem solving and a guide for the description and resolution of social phenomenon. Virtues and Vices of our Presidential Democracy In order to clearly understand the practical dimension of the Presidential system, especially as operated in Nigeria, we may need to reflect on the Declaration of Independence by the American colonies during the second Continental Congress held on 2nd July, 1776, at which a formal resolution separating tire colonies from Great Britain was adopted. Signed by President, John Hancok, the Declaration stated that the history of the then King of Britain was a history of repeated injuries and of absolute tyranny over the thirteen colonies. To prove those allegations President Hankcok listed the following facts against the King: He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the Rights of Representation in the legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant From the Depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representatives Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers incapable of Annihilation have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasions from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing Iris Assent to Laws for establshing Judiciary Powers. He has made Judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

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He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swanns of officers to harass our People and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing Armies, without consent of our Legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power. The American type Presidential System was therefore designed as a direct response to the tyrannical measures listed above. The main object of the presidential system designed by the founding fathers was to limit the power of the King or any future ruler. This was to be achieved by creating various organs of government that will check each other and ultimately check the President. Everything else in the American system was designed to limit the powers of the Head of State and the Head of Government. I have chosen to dwell on the example of the American system as it relates very closely to the Nigerian system. And to dispense with theoretical arguments and counter-arguments, the framers of our Constitution since 1999 have preferred the Presidential system to the parliamentary on grounds mainly relating to law and order. The dispute between Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as President of the Republic and Alhaji Tafawa Balewa as the Prime Minister with executive powers appear to have scared our legal luminaries away from the merits of the parliamentary system, particularly, those of accountability, popular participation by elected representatives and the parliamentary tenure stabilized only by good governance. In adopting the Presidential system, we shall consider in general terms whether the basic principles that guaranteed the stability and success of such a system in the U.S are contained in our own Constitution. Popular Sovereignty The concept of popular sovereignty is basic to every constitution. It is underlined by the proud opening sentence of the American constitution which states that:

“We the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect Union establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves, and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America”.

The pride of Americans and similar nations is that they can conveniently say “we the People Ordained and established this Constitution”. It is rather unfortunate that in the history of Nigerian Democracy, we have not been able to use such a phrase with legitimacy. The independence constitution was drafted and adopted under colonial authority and therefore, could not legitimately claim the phrase "we the people”.

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Secondly, the 1979 Constitution, was crafted and enforced by the outgoing Military thereby rendering the concepts of “we the people” rather fraudulent. Indeed, the 1988 and 1995 Constitutions were borne and aborted under military dictatorship and therefore laid no claim to operational Constitutions, let alone to the phrase “we the people”. Similarly, the 1999 Constitution was drafted and adopted under the Military rendering the utilitarian value of “we the people” otioise. Since independence, the Nigerian people had been unable to give themselves a Constitution except those imposed by Military regimes. It is therefore not surprising that our democracy has remained weak and feeble containing several contradictions and inadequacies typical of received or imposed Constitutions. It would even seem that we the people of Nigeria lack the capacity for a negotiated coexistence to such a dismal level that the military have become, absurdly, the founding fathers of constitutionalism in Nigeria. No matter the abuse we can heap on the Military, we can never show to ourselves the virtue of dialogue, compromise, negotiation and mutual agreement that are the base of every workable Constitution. Implicitly, we as a nation have lived and are continuing to live together by compulsion of an imposed or guided constitution framed by colonial or military autocrats. The challenges for our democracy therefore, is to be able disprove the cynics. The Rule of Law Under the American Constitution, the founding fathers believed that the rule of law was the life blood of the American social order and basic civil liberties. The rule of law rather than the rule of man is the defining feature of every true democracy. To guarantee such rule of law, the judiciary was established, with clear powers of independence, as well as federal and state presence. An independent judiciary is not just the one declared to be independent, it must include; obedience to its rulings, independent financial authority and a well trained and well enumerated man-power. Mr. Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, our Judiciary inNigeria today has constitutional independence but that independence has been diluted by lack of financial autonomy. Furthermore, the Judiciary has suffered a number of cases of disobedience to its rulings at both federal and state levels. Indeed, so poor are judges remunerated that case of corruption had been cited in several judicial offices including the Supreme Court. Under such circumstances, the rule of law can hardly be sustained. Separation of Powers and a System of Checks and Balances The basic principle of separation of powers including checks and balances were summarized by James Madison in the Federalist papers page 51. In that document, Madison declared that ambition had to counteract ambition; that the interest of men had to be indissolubly welded to the Constitutional rights of the place. He believed that knowledge of human nature would suggest that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of the government. There would therefore be a policy of supplying, by opposite or rival interests, the defect of better motives. In his view, if men and women were angels, then external or internal controls of government would not be necessary, but since human beings are not angels such controls become necessary. In the Nigerian Constitution, the separation of Powers has been well provided for with provisions for the legislative, executive and judicial powers under sections 4, 5 and 6. However,

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such powers were made interdependent in such a way that each organ plays a role in the activities of the other and vice versa. For instance, the President is the Chief Executive, while the National Assembly is the law making body, however, the constitution allows the President to initiate Bills called Executive Bills, to Veto Bills and, when passed by the National Assembly, to sign them into law. In these three ways, the Chief Executive has been made part of the law making system and indeed a leading law maker. Conversely, the legislature takes part in confirming appointments and performing oversight functions authorized by section 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution. In this way, a parliamentarian performs some executive duties. Indeed, when the National Assembly is in session, during public hearings as well as impeachment proceedings, the parliamentarians are performing judicial functions. Similarly, when judicial officers rule on the efficacy or otherwise of a law and particularly, when the Supreme Court rules on any legislation such ruling becomes final and the judiciary in that process has performed a law making functions in a manner superior to even the legislature. While the above checks and balances will appear to be adequate in our system or paradigm, the system has been truly weakened by the absence of financial autonomy for the judiciary and the legislature. Consequently, the executive may and does use its authority to dispense and approve expenditure, to control or seek to influence legislative and or judicial outcomes. Until our constitution is ended to provide for the financial autonomy of all organs of government, the principles of separation of powers accompanied by checks and balances would remain weak in Nigeria. Federalism In her over reaction to the British, the American founding fathers initially drafted articles of confederation 1781-1787 in order to weaken the centre and avoid a British type unitary government that was overbearing on the colonies. However, confederation broke down in 1786 because congress was not given any power to enforce its decisions in the states. As a compromise, the federal system was adopted during the 10th amendment to the constitution. In that amendment a number of activities were reserved for the state, including the power of the state to choose their representatives to the Senate, and the House as well as the members of the electoral collages that choose the President. Furthermore, smaller states were comforted by the adoption of the equality of state representatives in the Senate while the larger states were compensated in the House of Representatives composed on the basis of population. The cooperating colonies on their own decided on the powers to surrender to the central government in view of the failure of the confederation. The powers of the state were therefore, well protected and more in number, governing most areas of the government while the federal government was limited to defence foreign affairs etc. and other regulatory duties. To compare to Nigeria, the story is almost the opposite. Unlike in United State, federalism was a creation of the centre, which seceeded some powers to the state. Like in the American situations, the units seceding some functions and authority always created and reserved advantages to themselves and so the federal government in Nigeria reserved for itself a long list of responsibilities accompanied by a larger chunk of national revenue than the states. Consequently, all revenue allocation formular has always been at the

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discretion as well as to the advantage of the federal government. It is difficult to conceive of a way to reverse this trend because the National Assembly that has the power to amend this often appears reluctant to discomfort itself, being part of the federal set-up. The Struggle For individual rights: The issue of individual rights was the subject of the first 10th amendments to the United States Constitution. The Bill of rights adopted in 1791 limits the ability of government to tresspass upon certain individual liberties including freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion. In addition to this Bill of rights, the 13th constitutional amendment in 1865, the 14th in 1968 and the 15th in 1860 restrained state infringement upon civil liberties. With these provisions principles such as justice, liberty, due process, equality before the law, accompanied by protest movements and civil disobedience have served to guarantee individual freedoms and therefore democracy dividends in the D.S Mr. Chairman. Distinguished Guests, it is obvious that our variant of Presidential system has not adequately cartered for the rights of individuals and the individual is therefore rendered weak and defenseless in standing up to the tyranny of leadership. The Free Press A free press is very essential to democracy. This freedom has been guaranteed in the American constitution and has made it very useful for the press to expose corruption, mal-administration of justice, and inefficiency in the execution of governmental functions. While the Nigerian society is replete with agents of the press; Newspapers, radio and T. V., the ability and capacity of the press to check governmental action or inaction is highly limited. This is because the press is operated by weak proprietors or, due to partisan interest, is unable to be a watch dog of society. Under such circumstances the Nigeria Press is unable to be fair and just in its activities. It would seem like the press is also divided amongst its owners as they compete to advance and defend the interests of such owners. Quite often, our press degenerates into black mail and avoidable falsehood, misrepresentation etc. In the absence of a free press, governmental activity cannot be accountable to the people. Civilian Control of the Military The principle of supremacy of the civil authority and subjugation of military authority to civilian control is extremely important. Indeed, this issue, more than any other consideration, was responsible for the abandonment for parliamentary democracy in Nigeria. With the return of civil rule, tire Nigeria military is recovering from its shock of saluting ‘‘bloody civilians’' that they have bullied for over rhirty years. Although, we cherish our claim to civil rule, it is evident that the militarization of our polity is more pervasive than we are willing to admit. There is resurgence and admiration of the rule of expediency over the rule of propriety in our political system, a preference of personal loyalties to institutional loyalties, a respect for the culture of subservience rather than agitation, and similar- cultural habits typical of the military era are gaining more respect and admiration than in the past. In essence, the atmosphere of Military control of Civilian authorities has not quite gone to bed.

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Democratic Elections The principle of Democratic elections is basic to all democracies and defines democratic and non-democratic governments. Certain attributes are also necessary for a democratic election to be significant on a democracy. The first element is political equality. This implies that all adult citizens enjoy the right to vote: that all political votes are equal, and the vote of one person no matter how special or powerful does not measure to more or less than the vote of another, all votes must have the same weight. The second principle of democratic election is free and fair election. A free and fair election is essential to democracy, for in its absence tire process degenerates to fraud and rigging, leading to an exercise not far from selection or imposition, and therefore unstable with potential for collapse. The third element is the requirement of majority rule and minority right; that is the majoritarian principle. This principle implies that in any dispute, whether a general election or a community meeting, matters shall be settled by votes; that when all equal votes are counted, the side that has the majority of the votes, no matter how adequately perceived, must be the winner. The loosing side, after having enjoyed tire right to express itself, must abide by the decision of the rnajority by yielding to the authority of the elected or respecting the decisions of the majority. Furthermore, that when we speak of democratic elections we are not only concerned with tire general election, but interested in all matters in which all the elective principles is involved. The other most important principle of democratic election is the sovereignty of the electorate. This is a highly misunderstood concept and has been abused severally in Nigeria. By sovereignty of the electorate, we mean that the choice of the elector has no appeal, and that choice does not necessarily have to be good, or lead to a good government, and may, indeed, lead to a bad government. Whatever the consequence however, such a choice is a final act and no person or groups no matter how wiser or stronger should undermine it. Indeed, the wisest step to take would be to allow the electorate some experience in the hands of the bad government they have elected, so that they may be wise to use their vote more carefully at the next election. The practice of annulling elections, as was the case in 1993 is indeed a very bizzarre occurrence and must be discouraged in any democratic setting. Fair Access to Economic and Social Opportunities Access to Economic and Social opportunities is very essential for democratic society, for it provides a fair distribution of income and reduces massive inequalities that undermine democracies. A condition of massive poverty eliminates choices based on principle replacing them with survival choices. Poverty also increases resentiments, envy, hostility and even crime against the wealthy as well as the government. The middle class society is indeed an ideal for a democratic dispensation. In the case of the United States, the foundations for a middle class society based on social justice were laid during the tenure of Lyndon B. Johnson, after the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. In his five years in office, legislative reforms were established to protect social justice. Laws were made to end discrimination in public accommodation, in employment, in private housing etc. Laws for which liberals had dreamed for years were passed in those five years. For

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instance, 61 separate education laws were passed as well as laws that provide Medicare of the aged and the poor and, most importantly, the Civil Rights laws, including the Voting Right law. Lyndon Johnson's presidency provided the high water mark of social justice in America, and the expansion and consolidation of opportunities for the under privileged, particularly the blacks. In Nigeria, there is a need to work out a chart for gainful employment and the need to consolidate and expand on the protection of individual rights and freedom beyond the general provisions of chapter two of the 1999 constitution. What Paradigm for Nigeria? In our discussion, it has been admitted that the presidential paradigm is most preferred by Nigerian leaders. In the recently concluded National Reform Political Conference, three models were debated namely: Parliamentary, Presidential and a mixed system. The conference adopted the presidential, essentially for the same “law and order” considerations, as was the case in 1979. However, after over ten years of the presidential system in Nigeria, (four years in the 2nd Republic and six years in the 4th Republic) it is necessary to examine what modifications may be required to improve on our presidential paradigm. The areas that can be examined include: The power of the presidency Although the Nigerian constitution 1999 has provided for separation of powers and checks and balances, the presidency still remains very powerful and domineering as we have seen in some cases above. The constitutional checks provided against the executive appear inadequate in the absence of financial autonomy of the other organs. A revised constitution should therefore remedy this defect. The second problem with the presidency is the size of the office. Although the exclusive legislative list has 68 items reserved for the Federal Government, the concurrent list containing 30 items is in practical terms an extension of the exclusive list. This is so because whenever a federal legislation is in conflict with that of a state over a concurrent item, the federal law prevails. A combination of the impact of the federal presence through a wide area of intervention has created a domineering federal structure on our states. Infact, some state officials have formed the habits of blaming federal authorities for the failures of some states even in areas under residual list The third problem is the attention that can humanly expect from a President overseeing such a wide area of responsibilities. The Americans resolved this problem by retaining almost all domestic responsibilities to the States and assigning only foreign affairs, defense, currency and other regulatory functions to the federal government. Infact, in the early days of the American Government, and up to the Second World Wait American administrations were essentially isolationist engaged only in minor forays internationally. That isolation enabled the Presidents to concentrate more on domestic affairs and to have their hands, so to speak, on the plough. In the case of Nigeria, the combination of the exclusive list and the concurrent list together with responsibilities in the foreign sector in such areas as ECOWAS, Africa Union, Group of developing countries, Commonwealth of Nations etc, have the capacity to disable a President from concentrating effectively on domestic governance. To resolve this problem, the French have devised a mixed system which allows for the President to concentrate on states matters,

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while the Prime Minister deals with internal matters and governmental administration. The Justification for a Mixed System In a mixed system, the constitution separates the power of the state and the power of the government and these are handled by the President and the Prime Minister respectfully. Fears have been expressed of a possible conflict similar to that in the First Republic or the one in the Niger Republic. These fears can be remedied by the appointment of the Prime Minister directly by the President from the majority party in parliament. By this innovation, the President can concentrate on State matters, while the Prime Minister administers the government under the supervision of the President. The absence of a co-ordinating office, such as that of the Prime Minister has led to several shortcomings in some presidential administrations. Cases have been reported of Presidents signing or approving memoranda without the ability to read through them let alone the ability for supervision and feedback. Cases have also been reported of very busy Presidents, assigning Prime ministerial type responsibilities to a trusted Minister or some other senior official but without official or public accountability. The fourth major problem in our constitution is that impeachment; Section 143 of the 1999 constitution provides for the only effective check or deterrent punishment on the President. This indeed is a penalty last resort and is to be undertaken only in extreme circumstances. Consequently, the President can hardly impeached on matters relating to shortcomings departmental administration or even non-substantial constitutional breaches. It may therefore be necessary for an amended constitution to include the censure motion to discipline erring public officials and a provision for substantive resolution to compel presidential compliance without the veto. These and similar checks can modify and improve on constitution and ensure that our paradigm is effective and that the fear of the American founding fathers as well a Nigerian constitutionalists about a presidential Leviathan is cured. In discussing modifications necessary for the improvement of our presidential paradigm, we have not it any way tried to review detailed provisions of the constitution as this would be a very lengthy exercise indeed. What we have attempted to do is to concentrate or creating a level playing ground for the system of check and balances to operate in a manner as to promote the public good. It is hoped that the exercise of constitution review being undertaken by the National Assembly will address some of these problems. I am pleased to inform the audience that the Constitution Review Committee of the National Assembly, of which this Lecturer is a member, will visit each state of the federation for a public hearing on aspects of the constitution. It is therefore hoped that issues raised in these discussions can be more vigorously canvassed at such public hearings. Mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, in the past one hour or so, I have tried to take us through a review of the Presidential Paradigm we operate in Nigeria, a few comparisons with the American model and some recommendations for constitutional amendment. It is hoped that discussion by better placed experts and the general public will generate sufficient interest and effort in formulating a better, more viable and accountable system of government for our people. As the

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Arusha declaration states, our political structures are a necessary pre-condition for social and economic development in Nigeria. Let me conclude by repeating a popular folklore about the three blind men in the Zoo. They had gone to the corner of the elephant, and each of them touched a different part of the elephant “On their return home” they were asked to explain what an elephant felt like. The first blind man who had merely touched the belly of the elephant described the animal as a wall. The second blind man who had caressed the elephant’s leg described the animal as tree trunks while the last blind man who fiddled with the tail, described the animal as a stick. While none of the blind men fully described what an elephant was, all of them were also not wrong because the part they described belonged to one elephant. It is hoped that my lecture can be excused as the shortcomings of blind man who could only describe the phenomenon he had the privilege to encounter.

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NOTE AND REFERENCES

1. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa: The Africa charter for popular

participation in Development (Arusha. LXECA 199 Page 17 – 18 2. See S. Egite Oyovbaire; The tyranny of borrowed paradigms and the responsibility of

political Science: The Nigeria experience in Barongo. Y; (ed); Political Science in Africa: A Critical Review.

3. S.S Wolin; Politics and Vision (London. George Allen. 1960). Page 2

4. Ibid. B.J Dudley; Scepticism and Political virtue in Ibadan University Press 1975 Page 2-

3

5. J.S. Zwingina; Capitalist Development in An African Economy; The case of Nigeria (Ibadan University Press 1992) Page 1-6

6. R.A. Nisbet; Social Change and History (London O.U.P 1969) page 8

7. J.K Nyerere: Man and Development (London .OUP. 1974) page 26

8. U.S Development of Education; American Legacy; The United State Constitution and

other Essential Documents of American Democracy (Calabasas. Center for Civic Education. 1997) page 7-8

9. Ibid page 12

10. Greg Russell; Democracy papers (U.S Development of state. Office of lntemational

Information programmes)

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The Nigeria Police Force in the Emerging Democratic Culture

Mr. S. G. Ehindero Our Mission “To serve and protect with integrity” Our Vision “To build a Nigeria Police that must challenge the conventional wisdom and stereotype about our style of policing, and develop a strong performance, disciplined culture rooted in probity and the fundamentals of Democratic Policing”. Action Plan “A paradigm shift for the Nigeria Police away from Para-Military policing Community, Democratic constitutional policing with fundamental Principles of Security, Freedom, Justice, Equity, Fair-play that is un-parallel in Evolution of the Nigeria Police Force.”

Introduction I am delighted, and feel highly honoured to be invited to our “Alumni Annual Lecture” Initially, I was informed to present a paper titled “Civil Law in Relation to the Protection of Life and Property”. I had gone half way in conceptualising ‘Civil Law' as ambiguous. In one sense, it means the law that is not criminal law. In another sense, it can mean a domestic law or a state as opposed to International Law. In an extended sense, Civil Law may mean Roman law. Having gone so far, I was advised that discussing the role of the Nigeria Police in the emerging democratic culture is to be preferred. I then changed gear. It is indeed a pleasure to speak or the topic “The Nigeria Police in the Emerging Democratic Culture” to this noble audience. This forum is unique as it embraces Alumni of the great University of Ibadan who have come from the length and breadth of the country and abroad. I also wish to express my profound gratitude to the Alumni Lecture Planning Committee for making this years lecture a reality. The word paradox plays an important role in the discussion of this topic, but what is a Paradox? The word paradox is a synthesis of two Greek words, ‘Para”, beyond and “doxes” belief. The word has a variety of meaning; at a level it means something which appears contradictory but which is true. For instance, that Nigeria is blessed with abundant human and natural resources but yet it is one of the poorest nations of the world. Paradox could also mean something which appears true but which is contradictory. Paradoxes have played a dramatic role in intellectual history. It lies at the heart of many forms of humour, stories, pictures and a host of well-appreciated quicks of human character. There are a number of paradoxes in our contemporary society. Pini Jarson once said during the dark period of our history:

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“Nigeria is a strange country where we import what we have; oil and export ‘what we don’t have democracy”. Another writer also said that:

“Nigeria is a country where the worst never happens”. There are also paradoxes in our legal system. The Nigeria Police; a Federal, Unified Force is charged with the responsibility of enforcing laws in a criminal justice system that is nothing but unified. The criminal procedure deals with the administration of Criminal Justice. Yet there are two different sets of criminal procedure in this country; the Criminal Procedure Act and the Criminal Procedure Code. None of these make provision for rules to guide police interrogation of suspects. The two existing rules, The Judges Rules of England 1964 and the Criminal Procedure (Statement Police Officer) Rules, 1960, which are different, apply to the South and North respectively. This exposes the Police to two different rules in interrogation of suspects. There is also the paradox of life. There is a paradox in the way God works. He makes something from nothing. He empowers ordinary people to penetrate the society. Peter the fisherman became the leader of the church. God turned a murderer named Moses into a leader and a coward named Gideon into a courageous hero. I have leamt while going through the race of life that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, nor the riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilled, but time and chance happen to them all. ‘ Ecclesiastes 9’ Your end result might be to get to the top of your career, but many people have achieved successes that are empty; Successes that have come at the expense of things they suddenly realize were far more valuable to them. You struggle to be a Doctor, Professor, a wealthy man only to discover that the drive to achieve your goal blinded you to the things that really mattered most, and now they are gone. Is it your health, relationship with people? Life is meant to be shared. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance. Being successful is not the same as fullfilling your life's purpose; you may be rich, yet unhappy. Possession only provides temporary happiness and the most valuable things of life are not these things. How different our lives are when we know what is important to us and keep that picture in mind; your health, your relationship with people and your creator. I recommend you read 'The Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren. What on earth am I here for? Life changing events do not happen by accident. They are not by chance. The Lord uses every situation in life to accomplish his purposes. Your success does not happen by chance. The sower must possess the essential credentials. However, success does not depend on the sower's skill or efforts alone. God is the giver of harvest. We can only "plant” and ‘water’ the seed, but only God can give the increase. Neither is he who plants is anything nor he who waters, unless God bless your seed, your effort becomes fruitless. The sower should not only trust God for success but should honour him as a giver of harvest. (Deuteronomy 8:18). Honouring God puts the sower in a place of favour and opens doors for more bountiful harvest in future.

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Emerging Democratic Culture Democracy is widely advocated and sought but its meaning is widely contested. A variety of terms have been used; “Modern Democracy”, “Pluralist Democracy”, “Representative Democracy”, “Parliamentary Democracy”,“Constitutional Democracy”, “Liberal Democracy” etc. Today ancient Democracy cannot be practiced because of the complexity of societies. Therefore Modern democracy or Emerging democracy has to be representative. The change in global politics, Economic and Technological environments affected the nature of Democracy. The language and aspirations of Democracy are increasingly seen within the context of an emerging global ethics which purports to find points of unity in the human condition. Transparency, Accountability and Performance more than ever before form the benchmark for Authority, Legitimacy and Good Governance. Subsequently, Democracy is recognized as the primary vehicle for the fulfillment of individual and collective aspirations, the articulation of interest and the nurturing of civil society. Democracy must fulfil the aspirations of the people, the observance of the rule of law, peace, and respect for human right, liberty and development. The Contextual Framework in Which the Nigeria Police Operates the Nigerian Federation Law enforcement in Nigeria Federal Democracy is arduous because Nigeria Federal System is Unique. It has no comparison. Usually Federalism is a system of sharing powers between the Central and the Federating States in such a way that each has co-ordinate, if not independent, powers on certain matters. This view has been verbosely stated by Nwabueze when he said: ‘Federalism is an arrangement whereby powers of government within a country are shared between national, nationwide government and a number of regionalized (i.e. territorially localized) governments in such a way that each exists as a government separately and independently from the others operating directly on persons and property within its territorial area with a “will of its own and its own apparatus for the conduct of its affairs, and with an authority. However K. C. Wheare defined succinctly Federalism when he said Federalism is the manner of dividing powers so that the general and regional governments are each within a sphere coordinate and independent. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council defined the word Federal to confining its application to cases in which these states, while agreeing on a measure of delegation, yet in the main continue to preserve their original constitution. The constitutions of the government, of the federating states predate that of the federation, and continue to exist and operate with their original authority after the formation of the union. That is how the Federation of United State of Anlerica and that of Australia were formed. In the case of Canada, the Federating States surrender their original constitutions and accept new ones delegating their powers to a common government. However, Federalism in Nigeria had its origin to colonial times when in 1954 the Lyttleton Constitution gave greater authority to the Central government over the Regional government. Nigeria became a Federation of three regions and the Federal Territory of Lagos as the Capital. Our Federation was formed under a Unitary government which devolved by the principles of

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fissiparity part of its powers to the central government. The drafting committee on the review of the Nigerian Constitution in 1951 noted this Uniqueness when it said: The Federal government of USA, Canada and Australia have been built on the basis of separate states surrendering to a Federal government some of their powers for the benefit of all .The reverse process in which we are engaged that of the creation of a federal government by devolution is a political experiment for which there is no precedent to guide us and we are very conscious of the dangers inherent in such an experiment. This political-experiment with no precedent creates myriad of problems for our Democracy including that of Law enforcement. Arthur Worrey, introduced Iris novel with an assertion that Nigeria is a paradox. He went on to seek explanation in the prologue why Nigeria seemingly love disorder, violence and reckless abandon, and no one has really been able to isolate and explain in clear terms its peoples’ seemingly insouciant attitude towards the proper management of its affairs. He went on to ask a number of questions:

Can any person out there propound some basic, rational, explicable, logical, sociological,

anthropological, spiritual or even metaphysical explanation for our endemic and recurring decimal of bad governance, misery, poverty, filth, venality, chaos, mutual disregard, shamelessness (alainitiju), dishonesty, violence, un-civility, disorderliness credulity and laggardiness?

Can any person out there explain with any level of comincing analysis and compelling articulateness why Nigeria defies all known propounded economic, social, political, cultural, moral, historical and psychological theories?

Can any person out there encapsulate the reason why we import what we already have and export what we need; why no humanly designed system solely and exclusively manned by Nigerians,be it administrative, managerial or technological has ever worked in Nigeria in spite of massive capital investment and a huge skilled work force complemented by experts and professionals in every field; why no town or city in the whole land mass known as Nigeria is free of filth, bad roads, poor transportation, beggars, bandits, lawless commercial drivers and motorcycle riders, open gutters, disorganized and dirty motor parks and markets, area boys or street urchins; why we have such a scandalous number of abandoned projects littered across the national landscape; why we are incapable of enthroning a culture of maintenance, attention to detail, and observance of deadliness and schedules?

Can any person out there explain why we have the most underfunded Police and Court

Systems in the world; why the level of theft by workers from employers is so high; why most of the multi-nationals are bringing in their own people to take back the management of companies that were traditionally headed by indigenous managers; why we have continually produced corrupt government officials even when they comprise people who while on the outside complained most about corruption, inefficiency and waste?

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Can there be any enlightenment as to why we are the loudest, noisiest, rudest most argumentative, most boastful citizens on the face of the planet; why we are the people least wanted as visitors to other parts of the world; why we are the least favoured tourist destination in all the world; why we have the worst reputation in all negative aspects of human activity?

Perhaps someone could please tell us why we design the most absurd methods of doing

things and choose the most difficult and rocky paths to destinations that other nations seem to reach so easily; why we periodically enter into cydes of mindless violence: why we engineer our systems in such a manner as to produce every decade new forms of immolation; armed robbery, cultism, unnatural disaster, ethnic warfare and religious slaughter?

Could the young people of our beleaguered land be advised on how a nation that seems

to pay so much attention to the rituals of worship and the intonation of God’s name can be so profligate in its expenditure of His goodwill and so cavalier in its embrace of decadence, corruption and sin? So that the lessons they learn in the mosque and in church and the moral instruction they receive at home and in school can make sense to them?

Can we get a witness as to why a people protected by God from the ravages of natural

disaster have such a compulsive desire to engineer their own tribulations and revel in the backlash?

Can someone please explain why is it that the most widely traveled political, business,

educational, professional and trading elite in Africa is unable to translate this extraordinary level of international exposure, to a conducive living environment at home; why we have one of the highest level of economic emigrants even though we are potentially one of the richest countries in the world; why we are one of the few countries in the world with staff buses in urban centers?

Questions, questions, so many questions and yet more questions. What are the answers?

Is this our lot for all times to be described as the country of great potential, the country of tomorrow, the country of the future yet never able to get going, always agonizing, hoping, wishing, but never quite achieving our goals?

The above lamentation of Fola Arthu’ Worrey is comparable to prophet Jeremiah’s lamentation in the Holy Scripture. It is a case of paradox in the managenlent of our resources and the attitude, non-challance and lack of transparency attendant to it. Nigeria is endowed with human and other resources. Paradoxically we fail in managing our resources for quick improvement in the quality of life of our people. Instead of progress and development we experienced before this administration came on board, persistent deterioration in the quality of our governance leading to instability and the weakening of all public Iinstitutions has been our lot. Good things were shunned and kept away from government; citizens developed distrust in government because promises made for the improvetnent of the conditions of the people were not kept.

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Government officials became progressively indifferent to propriety of conduct and showed little committnent to promoting the general welfare of the people and the public good. Government and its agencies became thoroughly corrupt and reckless. Members of the public had to bribe their way through in the indurstries and parastatals to get attention. The impact of official corruption is so rampant and has earned Nigeria a very bad image at home and abroad. Besides, it has distorted and retrogressed development in infrastructure, PHCN, NITEL, Roads, Rail, Education, Housing and other social services were allowed to decay and collapse. The Human Development Report 1998 prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) considered two variables; Human Development Index (HDI) and Human Poverty Index (HPI). In the World Human Developnlent Report for 1999, Nigeria was ranked low in both reports. The expectancy among our citizens was just over 50 years with only 55% of adults being literate: around 49% have access to safe water and health services and just over 33% will survive to the age of 40. Forty-nine percent (49%) of the citizens lived below the poverty level. The rate of impoverisation between 1993 and 1997 was highest in the history of modern Nigeria. The population of extremely poor has accelerated even faster, from 29% in 1985 to 40% in 1992 and 60% in 1997 of the total population of the poor. Nigeria’s population of the poorest amongst the poor doubled within twelve years, reaching a phenolnenal figure of over 37 million in 1997. It is hardly surprising that Nigeria in 1999 ranked amongst the 25 poorest countries of the world. In a nut shell, we shall see what the present administration has done since 1999 to tackle these problems and what advancements have been made. Development is about people and democratic governance is also about people. Democracy and development are two sides of the same coin. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for any country to achieve sustainable growth and development without the full mobilization and effective utilization of its human resources. Equally, no country can maintain a peaceful, stable democratic policy without a certain degree of sustainable development. Democracy and development are therefore mutually reinforcing. In tackling the management of our resources, the present administration has put in place good governance which is a panacea to these problems. In every area of our national life, this administration has made significant strides. It had institutionalized transparency and accountability and is determined to eradicate corruption and poverty in our national life. It has successfully weathered the storms of boundary disputes, religious and ethnic conflicts, excessive labour unionism and addressed the issue of maginalisation and unemployment. On the infrastructural level, the present administration has made tremendous impact in the areas of electricity generation and supply, supply of water through boreholes, construction of roads, housing, transportation, aviation and communications. There is a high degree of international confidence in the reform programme put in place by the present administration necessitating our European creditors cancelling US $18 billion of our country's foreign debt. The conception of the New Econonlic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) as a strategy to tackle the problelns of poverty, unemployment, corruption, lack of transparency is also worthy of note. So also has the present privatization of unviable government agencies enabled the government to lay a solid foundation for econonlic stability in the areas of

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Agriculture, Petroleuln and Gas, Commerce, Solid Mineral, and Tourism. Similarly, the introduction of the due process in the award and execution of contract has saved the country of financial wastages through corruption. Progress has also been made in the development of human capital through the initiation of forward looking programme in Health, Education, Sports, Science and Technology. Human Resources Nigeria has a vibrant human resource base that is influenced by a birth rate of 40.43 births/1,000 Population, of a life expectancy at a birth per total population of 47.08% years made up of 46.52 (males) and 47.66 years (females). This translates to a population growth rate of 2.38%. The age structure of the country’s 2006 estimated populationof 131,859,731 is as follows: Age Structure of Nigerian Human Resources

This is made up of 42.3 % (0-14 years); 54.6% (15.64 years) and 3.1% (65 year & above). For a country that has been comparatively peaceful without any major threat of internally or externally induced war, the importance of this data is that Nigeria has a vibrant human resource base (15-65years). Even more cherry is the fact that the total literacy population of the Country (2003 estimate) is 68%. This is made up of 75% (male) and 60.6% (female). By implication 68% of Nigerians above the age of 15 years can read and write.

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Breakdown of the 68% Literacy Level of Nigeria In 2003, the labour force totalled 57.5 million, up from 30 million in 1980. Women made up 36 percent of the force, men 64 percent. An estimated 3% of all workers worked in Agriculture, down from 54 percent in 1980; 75 percent worked in the Service Sector; and 22 percent worked in Industry, including mining, manufacturing and construction. Data on Nigeria’s labour force, however, have limited value because most Nigerians earn their living in more than one field. Urban workers “moonlight” to make ends meet and rural dwellers have second jobs to supplement farnling. Accurate unemployment rates are difficult to obtain. Also significant to the human resources configuration of Nigeria is the fact that the Country is made up of more than 250 ethnic groups which according to data contained in The World Fact book (2006) is composed as follows: Ethnic Composition of Nigerian Human Resources

Data Source: World Fact book (2006) Strong as the human resource base of Nigeria is, there are some major negative influences that constantly threaten her vibrancy. Some of the economic challenges faced by the present administration are:

High unemployment rate of 2.9% (2005 estimate)

High poverty level; population living below poverty line is estimated at 60% (2000 estimate).

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Inflation rate (consumer prices) of 15.6% which affects the living standard of the

population (2005 estimate); the challenge is to bring it to a single digit inflation.

Very high risk of major infectious diseases; food and water borne diseases (bacterial and protozoan diarrhea, hepatitis A and Typhoid fever), vector borne diseases (malaria), respiratory diseases (menin & ococcal meningitis) and aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases (Lassa fever).

GDP per capital stood at U5$320 in 2003.

The exchange rate was unstable and foreign reserves stood at only US$7 million despite

high oil prices in 2003.

HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate of 5.4% (2003 estimate).

High infant mortality rate of 97.14 deaths/1000 (2006 estimate).

Adult death rate of 16.94 deaths/10 population (2006 estimate). Brain drain.

Natural hazards.

Crimes against persons resulting from armed robberies, murder, assaults, sectarian and

ethnic violence, etc These entire threats combined to reduce the life expectancy at birth of Nigerian human resources to 47.08 years (2006 estimate). Problems of the Economy In Nigeria’s Economic Reforms Prospects and Challenges, March 2006, the then Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonio-Iweala provided the following:

i. The present Obasanjo administration when it came on board found the structure of the Economy and the Institutions defective. There was corruption and lack of transparency in doing business, a vastly weakened civil service, a fragmental financial sector, a huge infrastructural deficits due to lack of investment in power, water, roads, for about two decades; but the potentials of Nigeria were also high, a wealthy country with a large domestic market, good prospects in Agriculture, Solid Mineral base, Manufacturing, Construction and Real Estate, Financial services, Tourism and Oil and Gas.

ii. The administration became committed to reverse the years of economic mismanagement and corruption which had devastated the Nigerian economy for the past two decades. These reforms aimed at:

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a) Diversifying the economy away from oil and creating job. b) Creating an enabling environment in which the public and private sectors could

deliver sustained improvements in the standard of living of ordinary Nigerians. As mentioned earlier on, the implementation of economic reform was based on NEEDS which targets poverty eradication, wealth creation and employment generation. The economic and structural reforms of NEEDS are designed to achieve the following:

a) Improve macro-economic stability. b) Better public expenditure management. c) Reduce corruption and increase transparency. d) Improvement in the financial sector.

Through prudent management, the government moved from deficits to a consolidated fiscal surplus of about 10% COP in 2004 and 11 % COP in 2005. Inflation fell to 10% in December 2004 from 23% in December 2003. Inflation increased to 11.1 % in 2005 because of petroleum subsidies. However, the target is to have single digit inflation in 2006, Nigeria foreign reserves stood at US $2S billion in December 2005, and as at July 2006 it has risen toUS $38 billion. The value of the Naira has appreciated from N140 to a dollar in 2005 to N128 to a dollar in June 2006. Economic growth rates have average 7.5 per annum over the past three years, but the target for 2006 is 10% growlh. The non-oil sector has a growth rate of 8% in 2005. The COP has a growth rate of 3% in 2006 away from the 0.2% growth rate in 2003. Challenges Associated with the Oil and Gas Sector

Oil spills, burn-off of natural gas, and clearance of vegetation which often have serious effect on the host communities and uninterrupted production.

Pipeline vandalisation and syndicated oil bunkering.

Agitations from the host communities which often lead to hostage taking, vandalisation

of oil installation and proliferation of arms in the Niger Delta region. All these impose additional security challenges on the Police, threatens the very existence of the Oil and Gas sector and loss of oil revenue for the country. Solid Minerals Nigeria is richly endowed with a variety of solid minerals ranging from precious metals, various stones to industrial minerals such as barites, gypsum, kaolin and arable. Most of these are yet to be exploited. Statistically, the level of exploitation of these minerals is very low in relation to the extent of deposits found in the country. One of the objectives of the new National Policy on Solid Minerals is to ensure tire orderly development of the mineral resources of the country. Some of the solid mineral deposits in Nigeria are talc, gypsuim, iron ore, lead/zinc, bentonite and barite, gold, bitumen, coal, rock salt, gemstone and kaolin.

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The major challenges confronting the solid minerals sector has to do with the activities of illegal miners and environnlental degradation and loss of Federal Government revenue arising from their illegal activities. Agriculture Agriculture; farming and herding, accounts for 26 percent of Nigeria's GDP and engages 3% of the economically active population. Agriculture contributed more than 75 percent of export earnings before 1970. With only 33.02% of Nigeria arable land cultivated, the Agricultural sector contributes 26.8% to the nation’s gross domestic products (GDP). Agricultural products include cocoa, groundnuts, tobacco, millet, Kolanuts, melon, cowpeas, bananas, beniseed, cotton, soya beans, cashew nuts, peanuts, palmoil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava, yams, rubber, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, timber and fish. Agricultural based industries also abound in the country. The Agricultural sector is confronted with land disputes and conflicts between pastoralists and farmers over cattle grazing. The Challenge of Law Enforcement in Nigeria Emerging Democracy Law enforcement is the process of implementing and ensuring compliance with the laws of the land to such extent that societal goals of safety and public peace are ensured and maintained. It has been identified further as underpinning and enabling issues for security, social stability, sustainable development and economic growth, and a key to dealing with much of the instability, corruption and lawlessness which have plagued our society. Police is a law enforcement arm primarily concerned with bringing to justice those who breached the law. Police job stems from the criminal and penal codes where punishments are specified for breaches of the law. However, police work entails more than law enforcement. It entails crime control which is considerably broader and encompasses not only law enforcement but also a range of activities designed to encourage the citizens’ respect for the law. Law enforcement becomes one of the numbers of means of achieving crime contro1. Other means include the maintenance of public order and provision of social services. Recently, there have been huge government investments in law- enforcement training and development activity which have brought about relative improvement in law enforcement outcomes, procedures and effectiveness. Also, several activities and operations suggest an ability and willingness amongst law enforcement agencies to unite and confront challenges posed with law enforcement in Federal Nigeria. The Police play important roles in law enforcement without which the sustenance of order, legality, development and democracy may be difficult. The primary role of the Police is policing-securing compliance with existing laws and conformity with the precepts of social order. However, the Police are not the only agency involved in law enforcement in the broad sense of the term. Other law enforcement agencies include the following:-

The State Security Service. The Nigerian Customs Service. The Nigerian Immigrations. The Nigeria Drug Taw Enforcement Agency.

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The Federal Road Safety Commission. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission. The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, and more recently, the

Nigeria Civil Defence Corps and so on. However, the Challenge of Law enforcement would be viewed principally from the perspective of the Nigeria Police Force. This is because apart from the Nigeria Police Force being the principal law enforcement agency in Nigeria, all other law enforcement agencies aforementioned were at one time or the other part of the Nigeria Police. The Police cannot perform their noble role in law enforcement effectively and efficiently except they are provided with adequate funding, equipment, infrastructural facilities, social amenities, and manpower. The level of effectiveness of the Police in any country depends mainly on the level of manpower and equipment provided until recently, the level of violent crimes in Nigeria was on the increase. This condition created concern in the country. For the Nigeria Police Force to effectively fulfill its statutory and constitutional roles of protecting life and property, maintaining law and order, preventing and detecting crimes, apprehending offenders and due enforcement of all laws and regulations, it requires significant input. Sustaining law and order in a couuntry is an expensive venture, which the government must be prepared to adequately fund. The efficiency of any law enforcement agency is influenced by the degree of input at its disposal. The following critical resources are required by the Police for effective performance:

Manpower. Finance. Training Facilities. Equipment, vehicles, communication gadgets, helicopters, computers, etc. Accommodation and other welfare provisions.

i. Manpower When the present administration came on board in 1999, the manpower of the police stood at 110,000. In fact because there was a ban on recruitment, the numerical strength was diminishing due to death, dismissal, retirement and withdrawal. The present administration introduced the policy of recruiting 40,000 policemen yearly so that by 2005, the numerical strength of the police had tripled to 325,000. Recently, approval was given by Mr. President for 50,000 policemen to be recruited between now and 2008. From this number Medical Doctors, Lawyers, Quantity Surveyor, Communication experts etc would be recruited. By 2008 the strength of the Nigeria Police Force would have risen to above 370,000. ii. Finance There is tendency among Nigerians to blame the Nigeria Police Force as an Institution for her shortcomings. The truth is that they should actually be attributed to the inadequate provision of funds necesscuy to finance the operations of the Force. Though it is a fact that the revenue accruing to the government now, may not be enough to meet many urgent demands of the Force,

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just as other governmental agencies, it is however, not contestable that the Nigeria Police Force has been neglected prior to 1999. However, since, 1999, the Nigeria Police Force has received increased funding and patronage from the government, but considering the fact that Nigeria Police Force manpower is rising steadily, and that promotions that have been stalled for several years are now going on the funds reaching the Police have hardly been enough to ensure optimal effectiveness and efficiency. iii. Training The importance of training in changing attitude of policemen cannot be overemphasized. In- service training and training abroad are being undertaken. The syllabi of the training institutions have been modified to incorporate community policing, human rights and communication skills. In no distant future, fifty policemen will be proceeding to United States of America (USA) for training on community policing. iv. Equipment The Nigeria Police Force lacks adequate communication gadgets, vehicles, computers and patrol boats. Even though things have improved in the area of vehicles, a lot more is needed especially in the areas of fueling and maintenance. The Force still needs the services of helicopters, forensic laboratory, dogs, horses, etc, which are currently grossly inadequate. In the area of vehicles, the inadequacy of transport leads to criticism by the general public and the press, in some instances; the public accuse the Police of not answering to their distress calls in time. They also report that when they lay complaints at Police Stations and require vehicle to take them to the scene of crime or to invite an accused person to the station, they meet with the response of ‘no vehicle’, but this is possible as only very few Police divisions have the required functional and serviceable vehicles. The present stocks of communication equipment are grossly inadequate and incapable of ensuring effective maintenance of law and order in a vast nation like Nigeria. Force Animals provide effective security when properly trainee and deployed. They are very useful aids in the control of crowd as when in beat patrols. General1y, it has been observed that one Police dog with its handler are more effective in beat duties than seven armed conventional Policemen. Similarly, one police horse with its mounted trooper could effectively patrol more beat area than ten conventional Policemen. Force Animals are the safest and most effective way of containing crowd without the risk of accidental discharge. However, despite the above advantages, it is disheartening to note that the present strength of the Force is highly inadequate for any meaningfu1 and significant output. v. Accommodation and others Social Welfare Amenities: The importance of provision of resident accommodation for the Nigeria Police Force is to enhance the easy mobilization of officers and men in time of emergency for operational duties. As a result of accommodation inadequacies, most of the junior officers are forced to live in the same environment and interact with prospective robbers and criminals of various types, resulting in the loss of uniforms, arms and ammunition.

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Functions of the Nigeria Police: Police Forces all over the world are saddled with the responsibility of striving to ensure an almost “crime-free Society”. John Anderson enumerated ten objectives of a Police System in a free, permissive and participatory society as follows:

i. To contribute towards liberty, equality and fraternity in human affairs. ii. To help reconcile freedom with security.

iii. To facilitate human dignity through upholding and protecting human rights and the pursuits of happiness.

iv. To provide leadership and participation in dispelling criminogenic social conditions through co-operative social actions.

v. To contribute towards the creation or reinforcement of trust in communities. vi. To strengthen the security of persons and property and the feeling of security of persons.

vii. To investigate, detect and activate the prosecution of offence within the rule of law. viii. To facilitate free passage and movements on highways, roads, on streets and avenues

open to public passage. ix. To curb public disorder. x. To deal with major and minor crisis and help advise those in distress where necessary by

activating other agencies. The Nigeria Police statutory functions as enunciated in the Police Act can be said to be predicated on the foregoing Anderson’s postulation. By S.214 (2) b of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the members of the Nigeria Police Force are vested with such powers and duties as are conferred on them by law. Under the Police Act 2, the Police Force shall be employed for:

i. The prevention and detection of crime; Policing Freedom by John Anderson. ii. The apprehension of offenders.

iii. The preservation of law and order. iv. The protection of life and property. v. The due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charged,

and shall perform such military duties within or without Nigeria as may be required by them, or under the authority of this or any other Act.

In order to align the Nigeria Police Force with the tenets of the Emerging Democratic Culture, far reaching measures have been taken to turn things around through strengthening, reorganizing and restructuring as well re-equipping of the Police. We have also put in place policies aimed at re- invigorating the Nigeria Police to ensure a more modern and up-to-date Police Force that can earn for herself the desired confidence of the people through an efficient and effective performance of her mandate. Highlights of such policies and activities of the Nigeria Police Force are illustrated below:- Overall Policy Framework Re-Orientation of the Police, Improved lmage and Public Relations To bring the desired change in the attitude of the Police toduty and improve its relationship with members of the society which it serves, the Nigeria Police Force organised seminars, workshops

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and symposia aimed at self-examination, identifying the problems confronting the Police, re-orientation and changing the image of the Force. It also embarked on massive public enlightenment to improve on the image of the Police. In consonance with the intention of the present Government to stamp out corruption in the Nigeria fabric, the Police have created the Inspector-General of Police Anti-Corruption Unit to check corruption amongst members of the Police Force and other related Services. The same Units have been created at the Zonal, States and Divisional levels. This has greatly improved the image of the Police as corrupt members are constantly being arrested and flushed out of the Force Robust Public Relation No matter how equipped the Force may be, it could hardly be efficient without public support and co-operation especially in the areas of information on crimes and criminals. The relationship between the Police and the general public is rather dogged by suspicion and the resultant effect is the public unwillingness to assist the Police with information. Within the period under review, the Police embarked on a robust public relation drive to reverse the ugly trend. There has now been a rejuvenation of the Police Community Relations Committee of both the Police and members of the public at various levels i.e. National, States, Divisions and Villages. The purpose is to foster mutual understanding between the police and the public and workout modalities of crime control and other noticeable threats to life and property. Manpower Development and Training It is acknowledged that training is an invaluable tool for effective policing of any society. An untrained or ill-trained Police Officer lacks requisite knowledge, skill and attitude for effective crime combating and he is also a threat to the society. Consequently, the Force embarked on a comprehensive task oriented training programmes for officers and men of the Force. The training programmes, which cover all the aspects police duties, were designed to enhance professionalism and productivity of the force and are adopted in the following critical areas of need; investigation, guard duties, surveillance/intelligence gathering, management leaders skill, crisis/conflict management, prevention and protection of human rights etc. To address these problems, existing training curricular to meet contemporary challenges of crime control and internal security were up dated. Great strides have been made in the training/retraining and capacity building programmes, which cut across a variety of courses undertaken. These include War College, NIPSS, Conllnand Courses, PMF Conlbat Courses, Detective, Refresher, Prolnotion, Traffic, RECRUH, Specialists and Overseas training. Another area that Force has taken steps to improve is on arms drill for Womnen PMF wing. This unit will be effectively used in fighting the scourge of women trafficking and other related offences. The provision of facilities in the Police Colleges and training Schools and their rehabilitation to enable them cope with manpower development has been embarked upon. Also, the Force is working with foreign countries and donor agencies with a view to strenghtening the Nigeria

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Police for better performance in the maintenance of law and order as well as the safety of life and security of property. The Force has been able to secure foreign assistance in local training. The foreign countries and agencies involved indude United States Agency for International Developlnent (USAID) in conjunction with the United States Office of Transition Initiatives (OTT) and British Government through the Department for International Development (DFID). The Government recently signed the agreement on several areas of cooperation induding policing with the Government of South Africa, while the Force is still considering officers in this direction from French and Italian Governments. In addition, police personnel are also being exposed to various specialized courses abroad to enhance professionalism in the Force. The Police Insurance Progratnme being managed by the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON) has within the period been expanded to include the Spy’s, Road Traffic Wardens and Teachers Police Primary and Secondary Schools. Also, the Construction of Police Pensions Offices in each State Command in the Federation aimed at bringing the administration of pension closer to the people, intended to reduce their hardship and ease the problelns of pension payment to Pensioners. Policy Thrust of the Present Police Administration and Achievements As we all know, a policy is a principle of action often enunciated to achieve stated objectives of an organization. Policy alternatives reflect prevailing conditions, challenges and demands of operational environment. In the case of the Nigeria Police Force, in order to have a People's Police that is friendly in outlook, appreciated by members of the public, efficient in service delivery and nurtured by well motivated and dedicated work force, the management team came up with 10-Point programme of action of a holistic nature, which was carefully designed to revamp all the ailing parts of the Force. The 10-point Agenda includes:-

i. Effective crime prevention and control through intelligence - led policing. ii. Combat of violent and economic crime.

iii. Conflict Prevention and Resolution. iv. Community policing and police-public partnership. v. Zero-tolerance for corruption and indiscipline within the Force.

vi. Improved career development, salary and welfare packages to motivate police officers, thereby promoting better service delivery and discipline.

vii. Re-organisation of the investigation outfit or the Force to ensure prompt and timely investigation of cases.

viii. Contribute positively to improving the quality of justice delivery in Nigeria. ix. Empower field officers operationally by devolution of powers to improve the standards,

reliability, consistency, and responsiveness of the service. x. Re-orientate the Force Public Relations Department to focus on improving public

perception and image of the Force.

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Major Achievements of the 10-point Agenda towards Enhancing National Security Significant successes are being recorded through the prosecution of the 10-point agenda, some of which are highlighted below:-

i. Anti-Robbery Operations We have been steadfast in our renewed fight against armed banditry within and beyond our territorial borders. Our achievements derive from effective prosecution of our men “to serve and protect with integrity" designed to encourage indomitable spirit, zeal, honesty and courage in them during confrontations with bandits. Motorised and foot patrols surveillance, decoy operations, intelligence gathering, and inter-service liaison, diligent investigations are some of the methods used in prosecuting this war. All hands have been on deck to recover arms and ammunition from the hoodlums and render their armoury impotent. Police operatives have been alerted to intensify raids on criminal hideouts and positive results have been recorded. Arrest of some notable criminals has also been made which has reduced crime in areas formerly regarded as crime-prone. Concerted efforts are on to build on the successes achieved so far, as investigation is ongoing, and is revealing more details which will definitely assist us profer the panacea necessary to deter violent and economic criminals in our society.

ii. Upsurge in Armed Robbery in Gwagwalada-lokoja-okene Road Consequently upon incessant armed robbery attacks along these routes, we set up a crack team of Anti-Robbery Task Force Operation under the command of the Deputy Commissioner of Police comprises officers and men of Force CID, the Police Mobile Force and the Federal Highway Patrol was charged with the responsibilities of carrying out intensive patrols along the route on twenty-four hours basis. In addition, they are to collate useful information from the public, raid all suspected criminal hideout, black spot and arrest suspected robbers At the aforementioned routes, the Task Force was able to identify known black spots/hideouts of these highways. These men were then deployed to these routes; today, I am happy to tell you that since the inception of the Task Force which commenced operations on 1st April, 2005, it has achieved remarkable success as substantial number of these armed bandits has died during encounters with Police Operatives. iii. Police Public Relations. One of the 10-point programme of action aims at improving public perception and age of the Force. As a corolIary, we embarked upon some initiatives and measures to enhance our relationship with members of the public as follows:

i. Several press releases, conferences and increased participation in media events and talk

show, programmes highlighting our achievenments and set-backs.

ii. Establishment of functional Public Complaints Bureaus (PCB) and Human Right desks at the Force Headquarters, and in all the state Commands to receive and investigate complaints against actions of the Policemen.

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iii. Revitalization of the Human Rights Committee comprising representatives of the Police Force Human Rights Commission to investigate reports of human rights abuses against Policemen.

iv. Regular meetings between students’ leaders and the police authorities which have improved understanding between the police and the students and minimized rancour and confrontation.

v. Regular meetings between the police and media owners; publishers and their representatives including managers, editors and reporters which have facilitated better understanding and appreciation of our operational circumstances and limitations.

vi. Regular contact with members of the Road Transport Workers Associations and Association of Luxury Bus Owners which has also reduced conflict between policemen, transporters and other road users on our public highways.

vii. Community Policing The idea of using the community policing project to encourage grassroots policing of our communities have been further reinforced in Nigeria. It is worthy to mention that the idea to adopt community policing started when Mr. President visited Houston and discovered that the adoption of community policing win enhance the ideals of policing in Nigeria. On the strength of this, seven senior Nigeria Police officers undertook a six week study tour of some Police formations in the United Kingdom in late 2003. Consequently, a project plan was designed for the Community Policing. The plan defined community policing in Nigeria in holistic terms and envisaged transforming the culture and organisation ofthe Nigeria Police, thereby improving the quality of services delivered. The project plan has five major inter-related elements as follow:

i. Creating awareness and information sharing campaign on community policing. ii. Community policing training tor officers in the States.

iii. Examination of Police structure. iv. Development of intelligence led policing, new technology and science. v. Examination of laws and procedures.

From the experimental nature of Community Policing in the pioneer State of Enugu since February 2004, it has been rolled out to five other States of Kano, Ogun, Jigawa, Benue and Ondo. Thanks to the human and financial support of DFID/Mac Arthur Foundation. The shining light of Community Policing has been beamed on the Nigeria Police to show the way towards improving police performance, vis-a-vis quality service delivery, respect for human rights, and demonstrate commitment to duty and loyalty to the wishes and aspirations of the populace as guided by the constitution and the law. Community Policing has been introduced in the whole gamut of policing, to create the enabling environment for the empowerment of all Police personnel in the daily discharge of their numerous duties. It has come to re-model our recruitnent, training and placement strategies, so that the best hands are

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put on the baton; as well as elicit public cooperation and partnership of Policing Nigeria. Our holistic approach to Community Policing is to create and adopt a wholly Nigerian model, which not only accommodates our peculiar circumstances as a pluralistic society, but that also caters for the varying needs and aspirations of the various nationalities in Nigeria. Our model is to accommodate the indigenous autonomous informal policing systems that have been the tradition over the years. We look forward to a model that will be exportable to sister African states who look up to Nigeria for inspiration and good leadership. Interestingly, the dividends derivable from this form of policing has been encouraging in terms of information gathering, reduction in crime wave while it has equally brought policing nearer to the populace. The need to respect human rights and protect them against violation has always been of paramount concern to the world. Human rights are those inherent and inalienable rights of human beings aimed at preserving and restoring their dignity. The Nigeria Police Force is the principal agency for crime control and law enforcement in Nigeria. The Nigeria Police Force is a law enforcement agency controlled by and responsible to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigerian Populace. It is therefore true to say that the Police Force is the solid Rock on which the Government builds its social and economic policies, because without peace and stability, the aims and objectives for economic and social aspirations of the Nation cannot be attained. Apparently, it is obvious that the duty of the Nigeria Police Force is a direct consequence of the powers conferred upon it by law. It becomes mandatory that the law must regulate the performance of its duties relating to arrest, detention, search and seizure, and the use of Force. In other words, these duties must be exercised strictly within the limits prescribed for the police by law. Any form of exercise of these powers which does not strictly conform with the prescriptions of the law can have unpleasant consequences for the Police Force (as a corporate entity, as well as for the individual police personnel). The Nigeria Police has put in place the following measures to ensure that human rights violation is prevented:

Establishment of the Public Complaint Bureau. Enunciation of the concept of Peace Corps in remote rural communities. Organization of seminars, courses and lectures on Human Rights. Training and retraining in mastery use of fireams and restriction of issuance of firearms

to officers of rank corporal and above. Establislment of the Human Rights Desk and designation of a senior officer of the rank of

Assistant Inspector-General of Police to coordinate Human Rights matters. Liaising with Human Rights groups in capacity building and enlightenment programmes. The re-organization of the X-Squad to ensure effectiveness in monitoring and sanctioning

of deviant officers. Proper training, re-orientation of the officers and men in line with the norms of

democratic policing and the rule of law which require civility and respect for the rights of the citizens by the Police in the performance of their duties. It is in view of this that the course contents/manuals in Police Training Institutions were revised/reviewed to

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entrench instructions on Human Rights. The establishment of the Human Rights Sections at the Divisional Area Command and

State Command levels of the Nigeria Police Force with the aim of ensuring:

(a) That innocent people involved in civil non-criminal matters are not to be arrested or detained by the police.

(b) That suspected persons are not to be detained beyond the statutory period allowed by law; and that no person or suspect is subjected to torture or any inhuman degrading treatment in the course of police investigalion.

(c) The introduction of Community Policing Strategy by the Nigeria Police in furtherance of Communty Partnership in Policing.

(d) Articulation of the vision and philosophy of the Force into a 10-Point Programme of Action with a guiding philosophy “To Serve and Protect with Integrity” where the notions of justice, fairness and pursuit of the common good are the focus.

viii. Welfare Programmes Welfare of the men has always been the concern of the management team of the Nigeria Police Force. Regular meetings are held where the management team listened to various complaints from members of the Inspectors rank and file. The avenue has been used to address their requests, and their demands were always given fair consideration. Salary payments have been regular and there is arrangement for upward review of Policemen allowances. Haprily, to this effect the Presidential Committee on Police Reform was set up by Mr. President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR. The report was submitted to the President and it is heart-warming to note that on 09/08/2006 the Federal Executive Council approved the recommendations of the Committee. I am therefore happy to say that there are better days ahead for the Nigeria Police. ix. Police Equipment Fund

His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR also initiated the establishment of a Committee on the Police Equipment Fund. This Committee was inaugurated on the 3rd June, 2006. The Committee is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the Nigeria Police Force gets adequate contributions from citizens and corporate bodies to effect the acquisition of relevant equipment and facilities that will enable us face the challenges of modern policing. Thus, they are to mobilize fund from private sector and other security stakeholders to assist in providing these equipment for the Nigeria Police. Suffice it to say that this is a laudable initiative by His Excellency and we be1ieve the dividends will empower us in our bid to bequeathing to the Nation a Police Force that is dedicated to the service and protection of the people of Nigeria Police with integrity, pride, dignity and consummate professionalism.

x. Respect for Court Orders/ Judgements One of the cardinal attributes of a society under a democratic culture is that once a court order is made, it subsists until set aside on appeal and the person against with the order is made is obliged to abide by it. The practice of disobeying or ignoring court orders proper is perhaps the most embarrassing manifestation of a tyrannical regime.

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However, in line with the Emerging Democratic Culture, the Nigeria Police Force has always had utmost regard and healthy respect for court orders and judgements. We have always complied with the Terms of court orders/judgements that emanate from our court of law. Any objections to such orders/judgelnents have always been by appeal as authorised and laid down by the law. This is because we are of the view that to guarantee the observance and protection of human rights and fundamental freedom in any society, including our own, it is absolutely imperative that the pronouncements of the Judges be complied with by the appropriate authorities. In obeying court orders/judgements, we have always had recourse to the quotation by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice M. L. Uwais, CON:

“If Governments treat court orders/judgements with levity and contempt, the confidence of the citizens in the courts will be seriously eroded; the effect of that will be the beginning of anarchy in replacement of the Rule of Law"

xi. Peaceful Management of Labour Rally

Following the last increase in fuel prices, the Nigeria Labour Congress organized protest rallies in some major cities in the country. The major task that fell on the Nigeria Police Force was how to effectively supervise these protest rallies to prevent it from been hijacked by social miscreants. The trend is obvious capable of leading to a breakdown of law and order given the mass rejection of the said increase in pump price. However, the management of the Nigeria Police Force went into dialogue with the top management of the Nigeria Labour Congress. In the course of the dialogue, the need to strike a balance between pressing for their rights and respect for the law was considered. The Police reiterated its resolve to always perform the statutory duties with which they are charged under the constitution; which includes protection of life and property, preservation of law and order among others. Under this arrangement, we agreed to offer protection to the Nigeria Labour Congress while they assured us that their protest rallies would not lead to any break down of law and order. Upon the commencement of the protest rallies, officers and men in the respective Police Commands were kept on red alert. Our officers and men accompanied the protesters with a view to ensuring that social miscreants in the states do not take undue advantage of the situation to wreck havoc. The protesters were also made to march along certain routes as some routes were designated as trouble-prone areas. During the protest rallies, both overt and covert policing techniques were adopted in the respective states. The close monitor of these protest rallies in all the states where they were held ensured that there was no breakdown of law and order in the country. Conclusion In the light of the foregoing, it is pertinent to note that frantic efforts have been made with a view to aligning the Nigeria Police Force with the tenets of the Emerging Democratic Culture.

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In order to ensure the evolvement of a modern, effective and regenerated Police Force, the Federal Government has taken deliberate measures to modernize and enhance Police Service delivery. A comprehensive Blue Print on Police Reform aimed at revamping and over hauling the existing system of policing by addressing the perceived deficient areas of structure, personnel, and logistics requirements as web training has been initiated for the Force. Some of the reforms and restructuring policies include the restoration of intensive local and international training, new cooperation agreements with other countries especially in the area of Community Policing; restructuring of the force zonal commands from eight to twelve and regular recruitment to increase the numerical strength of the Nigeria Police. The Administration’s Commitment in providing the enabling conditions and required modern logistical support to enable members of the Force maximize their effectiveness is in recognition of the critical place of improved security required under the Emerging Democratic Culture. The Management Team of the Nigeria Police Force on its own has been conscious to ensure that the conduct of our officers and men in the course of policing are in line with accepted democratic practice all around the world. Adequate internal administrative and disciplinary measures have been put in place to ensure compliance with democratic practice of policing. It would be recalled that between 18th - 19th of August, 2005, the Management of the Nigeria Police Force Organized a Workshop on Prevention of Human Rights Violation in Nigeria at Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Abuja. The workshop was attended by dignitaries whose experience in the area of Human Rights adequately empowered them to deliver papers on various aspects of Human Rights Violation to officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force. This workshop has resulted in positive changes in the officers and men especially by having respect for Human Rights in the course of their duties. It is not surprising that the Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and State Commissioners of Police have been holding similar Workshops in their respective Zonal and State Police Commands. The new Police Force we are building is one dedicated to the service and protection of the people of Nigeria with pride, dignity and consumnlate professionalism. The new Force has no place for corruption and all it attendant ramifications. A corrupt Police Force is an ineffective, inefficient and disrespected Police Force. Going by the Management demonstrated zero - tolerance for corrupt practices, and our single-minded dedication to entrenching the ideals of transparency, accountability and due process, any member of the Force, no matter how highly or lowly placed, who dishonours his uniform by engaging in these despicable acts, will not only face dismissal, but will also be prosecuted. I must also use this medium to imploy all Alumni, as well as the general Public to assist the Nigeria Police Force in order to meet the enormous challenges in the policing of this great Nation.

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Facts about Sunday Gabriel Ehindero . Early life and Education Sunday Gabriel Ehindero was the Inspector General of the Nigerian Police from 2005 – 2007. Sunday Ehindero is from Oyin-Akoko in Ondo State. He attended Gboluji Grammar school in Ondo State, and latter obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Ibadan and a Law Degree from the Nigerian Law School. He started his career as teacher in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and transitioned into the Police force in the early 70s. He was born in Jos, Plateau State. He is fluent in Yoruba, Hausa and English. He is the author of many books.

In April 2004, as Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Administration), Sunday Ehindero was involved in an investigation of a case where human bodies and skulls were found at the Okija Shrine in Anambra State.

His Career and Aheivements as Inspector General of Police In January 2005, Inspector General Tafa Balogun was forced to resign after it was revealed that he was under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was replaced by Sunday Ehindero. In February 2006 Sunday Ehindero said the Force would send a bill to the National Assembly to amend police Act to remove gender bias. He also expressed pleasure that the Supreme Court judgment had declared that police lawyers could prosecute criminal cases in any court in Nigeria. In May 2006, after a pipeline explosion at Inagbe beach on the outskirts of Lagos, Ehindero called for Communities and officials of Oyin-Akoko in Ondo State to play a greater role in securing the pipelines.

In August 2006 Sunday Ehindero spoke at a meeting attended by officials of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). He said the police were concerned with control of corruption in the society and within the police itself. He said his administration has started addressing the second issue through improved pay to policemen. On the first issue, he said he was taking steps to educate the National Union of Road Transport Workers to resist N20 illegal extortion. He also voiced support of community partnership in policing. In September 2006 IGP Sunday Ehindero was subjected to over three hours of searching questions by the Senate. He noted that police roadblocks were not by his orders. He said the duplication of anti-corruption commissions like the EFCC and the ICPC were not needed as the police could handle the jobs.

In December 2006, Sunday Ehindero said the police had bought 30 armoured vehicles to combat crime in Lagos, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states. In March 2007, Ehindero said he was confident that the police could cope with any problems that might arise in the forthcoming national gubernatorial and presidential elections. Earlier he had noted that 80,000 weapons and 32 million rounds of ammunition had been procured for the police. Also in 2007, he announced that more than 10,000 officers would be sacked in an attempt to root out dirty cops. He said that the previous IGP Mustafa Balogun, later convicted on corruption charges, had employed thousands of officers with criminal records.

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On 9 April 2007, three weeks before newly elected President Umaru Yar'Adua was sworn-in, Ehindero recommended promotion of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Nuhu Ribadu from commissioner of police to assistant inspector general. In August 2008 questions on the subsequent demotion of Ribadu were challenged on the basis that the original promotion was "illegal, unconstitutional, null and void, and of no legal effect."

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Bibliography

1) Policing Freedom by John Anderson.

2) Constitution of Federal Republic ofNigeria. 1997.

3) The Police Act.

4) Nigerian Law and Practice Journal Vol. 3 No.2. 1999.

5) Nigeria: Review of the Rule of Law and Administration of Justice. 1998.

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Banking Reforms and Consolidation: The Nigerian Experience

Mr. Wahab Babatunde Dabiri (2007)

Introduction I would like to thank the Alumni Planning Committee for selecting me as the guest lecturer for the 2007 Alumni Lecture. I must say that I am highly honoured given the array of qualified alumni that would have easily been chosen for the assignment. The topic chosen is one that I am obviously familiar with as a participant in the recent events. By the end of the paper, I should be able to provide answers to the following questions: Were the reforms necessary? What has been the initial impact? What did the process entail? What were the challenges? How will all this affect the growth of the economy? I will try my best to answer the above questions, and in the process satisfy your expectations from the paper. Structure of the Paper This paper is structured into six sections. In section A, I will take us through air overview of the Nigerian Economy and try to show its performance in the last four years. I will also endeavour to highlight the impact of the economic and banking reforms. In section B, I will briefly review the structure of the Nigerian financial services industry; discuss the role of the other members of the industry, and the impact of the reforms on their activities. In section C, I will briefly review current thinking in the literature of finance and economic growth, and try to establish a strong relationship between financial system development and economic growth. In section D, I will examine the condition of the Nigerian banking sector prior the reforms and highlight the imperatives for the reforms. In section E, I will examine in detail, the consolidation/integration process and how banks responded to the challenge of re-capitalization. In section F, I will try to highlight the impact/benefits of the reforms on the banking system for the common man and ultimately the economy as a whole, and examine whether the exercise was worth the trouble.

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A. Brief Overview of the Nigerian Economy With a population of 140 million people, Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and accounts for about 47% of West Africa's population. In the last four years, Nigeria has made important stand in economic reforms. The economy is on the verge of economic resurgence, facilitated to political stability, policy' continuity, identifiable growth sectors and sustained high price of crude oil in the international market. Nigeria's macroeconomic performance over the last two years has therefore been quite commendable. The econonlic reform efforts are showing positive results including robust economic growth (5.63%, GDP of $142 billion, and per capita income of $1050) lower inflation (reduced to single digit), a dramatic decline in foreign debt (down to $3billion), and an accumulation of significant foreign reserves ($47 billion). A table showing the trend in major economic indicators in the last four years is attached as appendix. The reforms boosted the confidence of international investors in the country and resulted in the inflow of foreign private capital of $7.0 bi1lion up to date. Although. Nigeria’s economy still depends heavily on the oil and gas sector, which contribute 99% of export revenues, 85% of government revenues and about 52% of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the non-oil sector has accelerated during the last three years, and its prospects are very promising. With her large reserves of human and natural resources, Nigeria has potentials to build a prosperous economy, reduce poverty significantly, and provide for health, education and infrastructure services to her citizens. B. Structure of the Nigerian Financial Services Industry Today Nigeria’s financial services industry today consist of banking, insurance, capital markets, pension funds, and micro-finance institutions that are regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Pension Commission (PENCOM), together as a group, they represent the wheel on which the economy revolves and acts as tire efficient allocation of scarce resources in the economy. Our focus in this paper however, would concentrate on the banking sector. Banking The banking industry in Nigeria has undergone series of changes from the year 1891 when the Lagos Office of African Banking Corporation (ABC) was opened to the emergence of universal banking in January 2001, and most recently consolidation in the industry in 2005. The second phase of bank consolidation has already starred with new mergers being forged (Standard Bank of South Africa and IBTC Chartered Bank Plc) while many banks have gone to the capital market to raise additional capital with each struggling to be at the number one position in key variables. The realization, post-consolidation, that attaining a minimum capital of N25 billion is no longer a guarantee for market success, and increased competition for market share galvanized banks in Nigeria to hit the road in search of additional capital to be able to compete effectively, both locally and internationally. The successful conclusion of the first phase of bank consolidation in Nigeria has positioned Nigerian banks to play their expected role as the engine upon which the economy revolves.

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Insurance The insurance sub-sector is another key member of the financial services industry in Nigeria. The insurance industry has the primary mandate of creating a pool of funds to guarantee compensation for a specified loss by fire, death, theft, etc. in the economy. Prior to the reforms in the sector, the insurance industry consisted of 103 insurance companies; five reinsurance companies and 350 insurance brokers. Like the banking sector, it has had its own problems before the recent reforms in the sector. Most of the operators were saddled with weak capitalization, poor financial returns and dwindling confidence of the public in the sector. However, the recent recapitalization exercise has strengthened the sector and positioned it to effectively play its role in the economy and also provide long-term funds for investments in the productive sectors. The new share capital for each class of insurance business is as follows:

Life Business N2.0 billion. None-Life Business N3.0 billion. Re-insurance Business N10 billion. Composite Company N5.0 billion.

As at the time of writing this paper, NAICOM, the regulator, is yet to provide the definitive list of companies that have met the capitalization targets. The consolidation process is continuing with mergers expected among insurance brokerage firms. Capital Markets The Nigerian capital market is the market for medium to long-term funds. It is regulated by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). It is central to the development of the economy, especially in funding infrastructures and other fixed assets. Among the emerging market economies, the Nigerian capital market is one of the fastest growing, and provides the highest returns with total market capitalization of over N8 trillion. The Nigerian capital market is composed of two market segments namely:

Primary market. Secondary market.

The Primary market is the market where new securities are issued. The mode of offer for the securities traded in this market includes offer for subscription, rights issue, offer for sale and private placement. On the other hand, the secondary market is the market for trading of existing securities. This consists of Exchange and over-the-counter markets where securities are bought and sold after their issuance in the primary market. The key participants in the Nigerian capital market are:

The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) which is responsible for the overall regulation of the entire market.

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The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) a self-regulatory organization in Nigerian Capital Market that supervises the operations of the formal quoted market.

Market operators, which consist of Issuing Houses, Stock broking firms, Trustees, Registrars, etc.

Investors, Insurance Companies, Pension Funds, Unit Trusts and Individuals

The major instruments used to raise funds in the market are: Equities ordinary shares and preference shares; Debt - Government Bonds (Federal, State and Local Governments); and Industrial Loans Debenture Stock and Bonds and other exotic products. SEC also recently increased the capitalization requirements for all participants; Issuing houses, stockbrokers, trustees, etc to ensure that the various institutions are strong enough to handle the increasing level of issues. The deadline for compliance is December 2008. Pension Funds Management Pension Funds Management has been in existence in Nigeria since the colonial era. The Nigerian Railway Corporation and Nigeria Coal Corporation amongst other federal establishments all had pension schemes for their workers. The scheme was only reformed by the Pension Reform Act 2004. The Act established a contributory pension scheme for employees in public and private sectors of the economy. Prior to the time the Act was enacted, the pension system in Nigeria was under strain. Most employees neither had any meaningful retirement benefits nor earned enough during their working life to cater for their retirement. The imperative for a reform of the pension system was therefore evident. Consistent with the Federal Government’s medium-term reform and development agenda, (NEEDS), the reform was intended to reduce fiscal cost of pension to the government, achieve fiscal reform through measures designed to raise domestic savings and increase private investments, mobilize long-term savings to finance the real sector to sustain high and broad-based GDP growth, and promote the development of an efficient capital market. At the moment, there are twenty three (23) Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), four (4) Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), and six (6) Closed Pension Fund Administrators (CPFAs) in the country with over N600 billion contributed by pension fund subscribers.

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Microfinance Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to the poor who are traditionally not served by the conventional financial institutions. According to a recent CBN report, the formal financial system provides services to about 35% of the economically active population, while the remaining 65% are excluded from access to financial serv ices. This 65% are often served by the informal financial sector, through NGOs, microfinance institutions, money lenders, Savings Collectors and Cooperatives Societies, friends and relatives. The practice of microfmance in Nigeria is culturally rooted and dates back several centuries. The traditional microfmance institutions provide access to credit for the rural via urban low-income earners. They are mainly of the informal Self Help Groups or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations. Three features distinguish micro finance from other formal financial institutions. These are the smallest of loans advanced and or savings collected with the absence of asset-based collateral, and simplicity of it operations. Latest statistics from the CBN website show that there are currently about 37 licensed microfinance institutions operating in the country. The new focus on this sub-sector is therefore in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s programme for the second phase of the banking system reforms that would address the issues of diversification and encourage the emergence of regional and unit specialized banks. The new microfinance policy, which is the basis of the current efforts recognizes the existing informal institutions and brings them within the supervisory purview of the CBN. This would not only enhance monetary stability, but also expand the financial infrastructure of the economy to meet the financial requirements of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). With the minimum capital requirement of N20 million for microfinance institutions operating as a unit bank (community bank) and N1.0 billion for those operating as state microfinance institutions, the sector is set to play its expected role of providing financing support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the country. Mortgage Banking Mortgage banking is primarily concerned with the packaging of loans for investment in property either on retail or commercial basis. In Nigeria, the mortgage banking sub-sector consists of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMB) and primary mortgage banking institutions. The Federal Mortgage Bank mobilizes funds from contributions to the National Housing Fund (NHF) by employees in both the private and public sectors and grants low interest loans to worker development or for the acquisition of residential homes. The current maximum amount accessible to any contributor to the NHF is N5 million. Access to the FMB loan is facilitated by the primary mortgage banking institutions. Under the current operation framework, a contributor is required to open a savings account with any PMI and deposit a minimum of 10% of the cost of the property. The PMI then processes the loan and obtains approval not less than six months from the date of application for the facility. However, the major problem associated with access to loans from the FMB is the time dration one has to wait before accessing the loan, and limitation on the amount available per application.

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With only about 2% contribution to the GOP and employing a labour force of 5%, mortgage banking is still much undeveloped. Most of the initiatives in the sub-sector come from the private sector (85%) while the public sector maintains a paltry 15%. However, the recent increase in the minimum capital requirement for primary mortgage banks in Nigeria (N2, billion) would provide the needed impetus for a more aggressive activity in this segment of the financial services industry in Nigeria. C. Financial Services Reforms and Economic Growth The nexus between financial sector development and economic growth has received widespread attention in the literature of growth and development. Over the past two decades, two influential economic growth theories were developed. Paul Romer and Robert Lucas’s first advanced of these theories called the “new growth theory'’ also known as the endogenous growth theory in the mid 1980s. The second, which is grounded on the economics of information is called the “new theory of finance”, and is now regarded as an equal partner of neo-classical capital market theory. The main question addressed in the literature by these theories is; why do economies which have a developed financial system exhibit higher per-capita growth rates than economies whose financial systems are underdeveloped? Empirical results indicate that financial systems not only serve to facilitate inter-state resource transfers, but also effect an inter-personal reallocation of resources. This reallocation has positive growth effects if the recipients of the resources have better investment opportunities than those who provide the resources. Also Louis Kasekend in his paper titled “The Financial Industry as a catalyst for Economic Growth" noted that a deep and efficient financial system:

Mobilizes savings and charges the term structure of the savings. Channels savings into productive investments. Improves the efficiency and productivity of investments. Promotes the integration of the domestic economy into the global financial system. Enhances smooth implementation of macroeconomic policies.

In a study comprising of 5 African countries, Kasekende concluded that:

1. Countries with better-developed financial systems tend to grow faster.

2. The levels of banking development and stock market liquidity each exert a positive

influence on economic growth.

3. Better-functioning financial systems ease the external constraints that impede industrial

expansion.

However, in another paper titled “Financial Development Economic Growth and Corporate Governance” presented at the First Annual Seminar on New Development Finance at the Goethe University of Frankfurt, September 22 to October 3, 1997, Adalbert Winkler, argued that an analysis of the links between financial system development and economic growth should start

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with a determination of the extent to which the four indicators of financial system development tells us whether the system is performing its central function of inter-temporal and inter-personal resource transfers. The first two of these indicators -level of liquid liabilities in the banking system and the level of lending by the banking system to private enterprises, measure the extent to which an inter-temporal transfer and inter-personal transfer is being effected in an economy. Results of a cross-country regression analysis conducted by the author assert that "the more extensive the inter-temporal resource transfer organized by the banking system, the higher is the average per-capital growth rate. The other two financial indicators level of lending by commercial banks compared to that by both commercial banks and the central bank and the ratio of claims by the non-financial private sector to domestic credit, give indications on the recipients of the resource transfer from the banking system, whether they are from the private or public sectors. This distinction between the recipients and initiators of resource transfers is important because it suggests that not all individual resource transfers have the same impact on economic growth. Based on the above analysis, he concluded that "the more loans which the banking system (as represented by commercial banks and not the central bank) disburses to the private sector, as opposed to the public sector, the higher will the average growth rate of real per-capital income be. Since the late 1980s, African countries began to implement financial sector reforms as part of broader market-oriented reforms. The objective of the reforms was to build more efficient, robust and deeper financial markets. The financial sector in Africa has improved since the implementation of the reforms. For example, five countries, namely: South Africa, Botswana, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, which have strong growth rates, have relatively developed financial systems. In 34 other countries with low growth rates, the financial sector is characterized by a low level of development. Available evidence therefore supports the existence of strong link between financial system development and economic growth. The banking sector reforms currently being implemented in Algeria are part of broader reform agenda to position Nigeria as one of Africa's growth poles. It will be important to consolidate and institutionalize the gains achieved from the reforms as the foundations for sustained and improved economic growth. D. Banking In Nigeria Prior To Consolidation The Nigerian financial system has had a chequered history. The system could not deliver fully on some of its key roles w hich include:

Mobilization of savings for investment in real sector of theeconomy. Provision of funding support for entrepreneurial initiatives. Mobilization of international capital for the development of the Nigerian economy.

The system was also not poised to provide a strong link for positioning the country and Nigerians to become active players in the 21st century global markets.

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With a population of 140 million people, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and potentially has largest economy. Prior to the banking reforms, there were 89 banks in the system with total capital base of less than $100 million, and about 3,300 branches. This is far from when compared with 8 banks in South Korea with about 4500 branches or one bank in South Africa with larger assets than all the 89 banks in Nigeria at that time. The banking system was oligopolistic in structure as the then ten largest banks accounted for over 70% of total assets and liabilities. The small size of most of the banks, each with separate headquarters, heavy fixed costs, and operating expenses and bunching of branches in few commercial locations, led to very high average cost for the industry, which in turn had implications for the cost of intermediation. The shrinking margins put pressure on some banks to engage in some aggressive practices as a means of survival. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, in his speech to the Bankers' Committee on 6th July 2004, stated that more than N400 billion was outside the banking system owing partly to the strategy of banks to look mostly to high net-worth agents for deposits as depositors with N50.000.00 or less were not welcome. This was neither sustainable nor healthy for the development of the system and the economy in general. According to CBN report at the end of March 2004 showed that while the overall health of the Nigerian banking system could be described as generally satisfactory, the state of some banks was less cheering. Specifically, CBN’s ratings of all banks in Nigeria at the period indicated that 62 out of the 89 banks were classified as sound/satisfactory, while 14 was classified as marginal, 11 as unsound and 2 banks did not render any returns during the periods. The weaknesses of some of the ailing banks were manifested by overdrawn positions with the CBN, high incidence of non-performing loans, carnal deficiencies, weak management and poor corporate governance. As for those banks classified as unsound, the fundamental problems were identified as persistent illiquidity, poor asset quality and unprofitable operations. Another issue that was of great concern to the regulatory authorities prior to the reforms was the significant dependence of many banks in Nigeria on public sector deposits. A CBN report in March 2004 showed that the three tiers of government accounted for over 20% of the total deposit liabilities of deposit money in banks in the country. Although the distribution of these deposits was not uniform amongst banks, some banks dependency ratio was in excess of 50%. The obvious implications are that the resource base of such banks was weak and volatile, rendering their operations vulnerable to swings in government revenue arising from the uncertainties of the international oil market. In addition, the banking structure tended to promote a sticky behaviour in deposit rates, particularly at the retail level, such that while lending rates remained high and positive in real terms, most deposit rates, especially those on savings, remained low and negative. Furthermore, savings mobilization at the grass-root was discouraged by unrealistic conditions for opening of accounts with them. It was therefore, obvious that the Nigerian banking system needed urgent reforms to address these enormous challenges before they snowballed into a crisis.

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E. The Consolidation integration Process The agenda for the reform of the Nigerian Banking system was unfolded to the Banking Community by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Prof. Chukwuma C. Soludo on July 6, 2004. The first phase of the agenda was the directive to all banks operating in Nigeria to increase their capital base to N25 billion by December 31st, 2005. The CBN explained that the reform measures were designed to take proactive steps and positive measures to build a strong, sound, stable, credible and competitive banking system that depositors and investors can trust and rely upon, while the second phase addressed the issues of diversification, which included programmes to encourage the emergence of regional and unspecialized banks. The CBN advocated for mergers and acquisitions as a viable option for meeting the recapitalization challenge. It emphatically stated that the only legal modes of consolidation allowed are mergers and outright acquisition/takeover, and excluded a possibility mere group arrangement to meet the N25 billion minimum capital. The initial reaction from most of us was mixed, as the announcement took the banking community by surprise. While a few bankers welcomed the development, majority were of the view that banks should be allowed to determine their capital requirements in line with their business aspirations. I must confess that I am one those that argued forcefully in this direction. Yet others opted for categorization of banks into three groups based on their capital base as follows:

Mega Banks with N25 billion as minimum capital. Medium Banks - with N10 billion as minimum capital. Small Banks with N5 billion as minimum capital base

The later group even got the support of The Senate, which passed a bill in support of the categorization, though the bill died at that stage as nothing was heard of it till the end of the consolidation exercise in December, 2005. Contrary to the belief of most people outside the banking industry of a smooth sailing exercise, the consolidation process was very tough and tasking. It was indeed an unchartered landscape in which both the banks, regulators, as well as other relevant government agencies collaborated together to ensure the success of the exercise. A review of the literature on mergers and acquisitions show that it was only in Nigeria that cases of mergers involving four, five and even nine organizations have been recorded. Yet the exercise was successfully concluded. As an Igbo proverb says:

“the lizard that jumps down from an iroko tree without hurting itself nods its head in appreciation of its efforts, even if no one praises it”.

I think we should commend the courage and skill of Nigerian bankers for successfully passing through the exercise without collateral damage to the economy.

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At this point ladies and gentlemen, we need some clarifications. What is a merger and what does integration entail? Simply defined, a merger is the legal coming together of one or more entities to form a single entity. The process could result in a change in name of the emerging entity or retention of one of the names of the merging partners. For instance, the coming together of legacy Indo-Nigerian Bank, Magnum Trust Bank, NAL Bank, NBM Bank and Trust Bank of Africa resulted in a new name. STERLING BANK PLC. Integration on the other hand involves combining the operating activities of the constituent institutions. It involves the harmonizing of the processes and procedures of the various institutions, Information Technology harmonization, head office integration, harmonization of credit and human resources policies, customer handling, and handling of surplus assets and selection of management and Board composition. These are very difficult assignments and it took time, efforts and diplomacy to successfully resolve these issues as each legacy bank jostled for preeminence position in the scheme of things. The integration process has essentially been completed for the banks that merged, although certain elements still take some time to fully complete. As shown in statistics on mergers and acquisitions all over the world, two-thirds of cases of M & A usually failed due to integration problems, especially people and culture. Although it might be too early to conclude, but evidence on the ground indicate that this major integration problem has been overcome by the various merged institutions in the banking industry To quicken the pace of the consolidation process, the Central Bank of Nigeria released guidelines on mergers/acquisitions, and issued a number of incentives to encourage banks move in the desired direction. Prominent among the incentives were to be:

Authorization to deal in foreign exchange. Permission to take public sector deposits and recommendation to the fiscal authorities

for the collection of public sector revenue. Prospects of managing part of Nigeria's external reserves.

A complete list of the incentives is shown in appendix 2 at the end of this paper. The guideline provided for three stages of approval for mergers and two stages of approve for take overs. Under mergers, the three stages of approval are:

Pre-merger consent. Approval-in-principle. Final approval.

One of the cardinal requirements for final approval was the conduct of Due Diligence Excercise on the affairs of each member of the merging banks. This is a very crucial exercise that is important for determining the share exchange ratio in the emerging entity. A Due Diligence Excercise examines the entire activities of an organization and includes financial condition, business strategy, technology human resources, legal, customers, chosen markets, etc. A typical Due Diligence requirement for bank mergers is seen in appendix 3.

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In the case of outright takeovers, the two stages of approval are approval-in-principle and final approval. A list of the requirements to cross each stage of approval is included as appendix 4 Nigerian banks responded to the challenge with enthusiasm as several groups of banks emerged with an MOU to forge mergers, while a few others decided to go alone. The first of the merger groups that emerged from the 89 banks that were in the banking system was the Fil Consolidated Bank Group. The group was made up of five banks namely Hallmark Bank Plc, Tion Bank Plc, Universal Trust Bank Plc, All states Trust Bank and Gulf Bank Plc. However, the group later disintegrated due to some irreconcilable differences discovered in the course of the discussions. Incidentally, four of the banks in the group failed to meet the December, 31 deadline while Lion bank was later acquired by Diamond Bank Plc. A list of the 89 banks tha existed prior to the consolidation exercise is included in this paper as appendix 5. The alignment and re-alignment of merging bank groups trying to achieve the required N25 billion minimum capital, created apprehension among a broad spectrum of operators as well as the banking public. Up till the last minute of 31st December, 200, when the CBN drew the curtain on the re-capitalization exercise, several merger and acquisition deals were yet being sealed. However, on 2nd January 2006. The CBN released the outcome of the consolidation exercise, showing that 25 banks emerged from 75 banks out of the 89 banks that existed as at June 2004. According to the apex bank, the successful banks accounted for about 93.5% of the deposit liabilities of the banking system. Subsequent to the release of the 25 successful banks, the CBN revoked the operating licenses of 14 unsuccessful ones. The affected banks are listed in appendix 6. One of the key documents required before a merger is consummated is the Scheme of Merger document. The Scheme of Merger is the agreement binding all parties to be merged together. It is like the contract of marriage between the merging entities. Most importantly, it spells out the share exchange ratio between the merging banks. The Scheme of Merger is prepared with the active participation of the reporting Accountants and Financial Advisers of each of the merger partners, and it provides for a post-merger share adjustment on material differences between what each merger partner disclosed and what was eventually discovered. The Scheme of Merger must be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and sanctioned by a court of competent jurisdiction to give it force of law. Another set of key participants in the merger process are the Shareholders Representatives. They are basically firms representing the interests of the previous shareholders groups of the legacy banks, who must come together to ratify the results of any post-merger share adjustment exercise. Their role becomes critical when the necessity for a post-merger share adjustment exercise arises. Also important are the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) whose necessary approvals must be obtained before the final processes of merger can proceed. Several consultants and advisers, both locally and abroad provided various

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forms of assistance at different stages of the exercise. Apart from the spirited efforts which saw many of us breasting the re-capitalization tape, a few others were able “to stand alone” and made/surpassed the N25 billion minimum capital requirement. Included in this category are two wholly Nigerian banks namely; Zenith Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Others in this group include four banks with either for foreign affiliation or outright ownership - Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Nigeria International Bank Limited (Citibank), Stanbic Bank Limited and Ecobank Plc. In the process of complying with minimum capital requirement, N406.4 billion was raised by banks from the capital market out of which N360 billion was verified and accepted by the CBN. The exercise also led to an inflow of $652 million and £162 million into the banking system as at 31st, December, 2005.

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F. Impacts and Benefits of the Reform (was it all worth it?) It is pertinent to make the following statements in line with the topic of this section:

1. Consolidation in the Nigerian banking industry, although perceived as a settled issue, is still an on going process.

2. The impact of this exercise is vast and will continue to emerge over a period of time. 3. The benefits of this exercise can also not be underplayed as it is geared to position the

Nigerian Financial system for global competition. As mentioned earlier, reforms were recorded in virtually all sectors including pensions, insurance, capital market, oil and gas, telecommunications, energy/power, maritime, solid minerals, mortgage housing, agriculture, tourism, among others. At the macro level, apparently, as initial fruits of the ‘comprehensive’ reforms, all economic indicators improved in desired directions, either hitting or surpass, set targets. The exchange rate of the Naira remained stable, the inflation rate dropped, while foreign reserves kept growing steadily. Both deposit and lending interest rates plummeted with seminal effects on the real sector, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow improved, just as the nation's external debt overhang got whittled down significantly. Industrial capacity utilization improved in most sub-sectors. Emerging benefits of the banking sector consolidation (1) Increased Capitalization The aggregate capitalization of the Nigerian banking system rose astronomically to N755 billion from N327 billion prior to the consolidation programme. It is expected that Nigerian banks can begin to participate effectively in financing big ticket transactions, especially for the multinationals operating within the commanding heights of the economy Oil & Gas, Telecommunications, Aviation, and hence help to meet their needs for loan capital. (2) New Banking System Powering New Economy The Nigerian banking system has never been sounder and stable as we have today. A CAMEL rating of banks by the CBN in August 2007 shows that 6 out the 25 banks were rated as sound, 16 as satisfactory, and 3 as marginal. The report indicates that there was no unsound bank in the Nigerian banking system. The industry deposit structure has changed with growing availability of longer-tenored deposits. There has also been significant reduction in industry ratio of non-performing loans. The payments system has improved tremendously with introduction of ATMs, POS’s, and various card and electronic payments products (3) Larger Branch Network Although the number of operating banks reduced from 89 in 2004 to 25 by January 2006, branch network increased significantly from 3,200 in 2004 to over 4.000 branches by June 2007. Consolidation has resulted in fewer but bigger banks with larger branch networks and capital

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bases. (4) Greater Capability to Partner internationally Consolidation has strengthened Nigerian bank such that the quantum of international commercial and finacial transactions that passed through them have increased significantly, and more banks now have greater access to lines of credit front foreign banks, more Nigerian banks have bilateral and multilateral funds coming through them for on-lending to customers and we have seen increased investment in Nigerian banks by foreign institutions. Nigerian banks can now successfully raise funds from the international financial markets (UBA, First Bank, Access Bank and GT Bank) through Global Depositoit Receipts (GDRs). In addition, Nigeria Banks are now being rated by international credit rating agencies. By the end of 2007, about 7 Nigerian banks are expected to have over $ 1.0 billion as their capital. Eleven banks now have market capitalization ranging between $ 1.0 billion and $5.3 billion; 16 Nigerian banks are now in top 1000 in the world while 5 out of top 10 in Africa are Nigerian banks. It is therefore, not surprising that the Financial Times of London described Nigerian banks as the fastest growing in Africa (December, 2006). (5) Employment The reforms will have a positive impact on employment generation in the long term. With more bank branches being opened by the 25 mega banks, more jobs would be created. A stronger banking system means more support to the productive sector; agriculture and manufacturing leading to employment opportunities. A stronger banking industry would be able to adequately support the real sector in the economy, in turn, rejuvenating the real sector and ultimately creating more jobs within the economy in the long-term. (6) Diversified Market Focus Currently, the average Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) in the Nigerian banking industry is 38%. To maintain this average Return on Invested Capital, banks will need to generate at least N9.5bn in profits before taxation. To sustain such performance, banks are forced to be creative with a universal banking focus. Underserved market segments especially the consumer and capital markets are major focus areas to be cultivated. Banks will also need to expand their operations beyond the Nigerian market to participate in the regional and global financial market place. (7) Ownership The consolidation of the banking sector has considerably modified the system of ownership structure of Nigerian banks, making it more widespread and better diversified. The emerging stakedholder of banking institutions are likely to demand higher level of job ethics, transparency and professionalism in the modus operandi of banking business, which will further promote better corporate governance and will consequently guarantee accountability in the Nigerian banking system (8) Interest Rates/Access to loans With more funds available to banks and few opportunities to deploy them profitably, competition for market share intensified. As almost every bank is focusing on retail and

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consumer banking, access to loans has been simplified with consumer loans now being obtained within 24 hours of application. Some banks have introduced credit cards, thus further simplifying the credit delivery services to consumers. There is also significant drop in average lending rates between the year 2004 and 2006 from about 22% to below 18%. These trends are shown in figures 2.2 and 2.4 below

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Improved Capital MarketActivities The Nigerian capital market witnessed massive expansion both in the volume and value of stocks traded at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) between 2004 and 2006. Listed securities also increased significantly following the listing of recapitalized banks at the stock exchange. Many Nigerians became millionaires through their investments in bank stocks. Returns of over 100% are common in the Nigerian capital market. The trend in major market indices between the year 2004 and December 2006 are shown in figure 4.27 and 4.4 below. Finally, the corporate bond market is set to make a reappearance to supplement the FGN bonds which have been successfully introduced to the money markets and are now being actively trade. Regulation CBN and NDIC are embarking on closer supervision using a risk-based supervisory system (RBS). Better monitoring of banks is achieved using the e-fass platform. Guidelines on corporate governance are being enforced and all banks have been mandated to institute robust risk management structures following strict guidelines. All these are to ensure best practice to international standards and avoid any surprises.

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We can therefore see from the above, that the signs are there that the Nigerian banking sector reforms have started to have positive impact on the Nigerian economy as a whole. CBN and the Federal Government have embarked on the FSS 2020 program which is to firstly position Lagos as the financial hub of the African continent and secondly to ensure that Nigerian GDP is one of the 20 largest in the world. The banks have a critical role to play in the attainment of these objectives and the stronger they are the easier it is for Nigeria to attain these twin objectives. Conclusion I hope I have given you a feel for the recent developments in the banking sector, the experience of consolidation and the impact this has started having on the economy. Despite the misgivings that some of us had when the banking sector reforms was unfolded, the financial services industry in Nigeria has come out better and stronger. The sector reform was imperative given the prevailing conditions in the Nigerian fnancial services industry prior to its introduction. Contrary to expectations of failure, Nigerian banks strongly rose to the challenge and worked assiduously along with the regulators and other government agencies to ensure the success of the exercise through mergers & acquisitions and recapitalization. The reform created strong positive impacts on the banking system, investors in bank stocks, and the ordinary man in the street, and have strong potentials to impact positively on Nigeria's economic growth in the long-run since it has been demonstrated that a strong and stable banking system is critical for sustained economic growth.

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Facts About Babatunde Wahab Dabiri

Mr. Babatunde Wahab Dabiri, a thorough-breed professional banker and administrator per excellence, is an alumnus of University of Ibadan where he graduated with B.Sc (Hons) Economics in 1974. He later bagged a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Columbia University, New York, USA in 1977 after which he had a C.M.B NA Global Credit Certification of Chase Manhattan Bank, NA London.

Mr. Wahab Babatunde Dabiri served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc (Nigeria) until December 12, 2007 and also served as its Managing Director. Mr. Dabiri served as the Deputy General Manager of Chase Merchant Bank Limited (CMB) and left after 11 years service. Mr. Dabiri started his banking career at CMB later Continental Bank. While at CMB, he was seconded to Chase Manhattan Bank, London for fourteen months, where he obtained the Global Credit Certification (1979) of Chase Manhattan Bank. He served as a Deputy Managing Director and Chief Executive Prime Merchant Bank Limited. Mr. Dabiri served at Prime Merchant Bank until 1990 and also founded Fountain Trust Bank Limited in 1990. He served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fountain Trust Bank for 8 years. He served as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Magnum Trust Bank Plc in December 1998. He has been a Vice Chairman of Academy Press Plc since August 28, 2015. He served as a Director of Kakawa Discount House Limited

Mr. Dabiri who is presently the Special Adviser to the Governor/Chairman, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) was born in Lagos on April 19, 1952, had substantive experience/track record in setting up and managing two Merchant and one Commercial Banks, co-ordinated and led the merger of five financial institutions in Nigeria.

As a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Banks for a total of 20 years, Mr. Dabiri is endowed with outstanding competence in all facets of relationship and portfolio management, financial advisory services and banking products marketing. He also has strong preparation in Economics and Management Science, outstanding communication skills and invaluable contact in the business and banking community in Nigeria as well as useful contacts in the major international financial markets.

Mr. Dabiri has also brought his administrative know-how to bear in the educational sector, as he is presently a member of the Governing Council, Lagos State University (LASU) since 2004 to date. He is also a member, University of Ibadan Advancement Board, 2006 to date; President, Lagos Business School (LBS) Alumni Association, 2008/2010 and Council Member, Corona Trust Council.

Mr. Dabiri has also carved a niche for himself in the corporate world. He is the Chairman, Capetex Industries Ltd; and Lawson, Thomas & Colleagues Ltd. He is also the Chairman, Bullrun Resources Ltd; Director, Academy Press Plc; Director, Corporate Leisure Ltd. as well as a Council member, Nigerian Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), Lagos.

He had attended several Training, Seminars and Conferences around the world. These include, African Development Bank Annual Meetings (several times); World Bank Annual Meetings

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(several times); Management Seminar- Universities of Capetown and Witwatersrand (South Africa),1997 and American Express Management Seminar (1987).

Mr. Dabiri’s professional experiences which spanned between 1975 and 2008 began with his NYSC service at the North Eastern State Ministry of Finance , Maiduguri, stretched to Nigerian Industrial Development Bank, Lagos, as Junior Economist, and at Chase Merchant Bank Ltd (later Continental Merchant Bank Ltd), Credit Analyst, Manager/Team Leader and Assistant General Manager, Northern operations, in that order.

He had also served as the Deputy General Manager, Credit and Marketing (Head of Division), Continental Merchant Bank Ltd; Deputy Managing Director and Chief Executive of Prime Merchant Bank Ltd.

Mr. Dabiri was an Executive Director, Financial Markets Consultants Ltd, in 1990; Managing Director and Chief Executive, Fountain Trust Merchant Bank Ltd. 1991-1998; Managing Director and Chief Executive, Magnum Trust Bank Plc (1998- 2005) and Group Managing Director/CEO, Sterling Bank Plc between 2006 and 2008.

He is a well sought after local and international consultant, tutor as well as Executive management coach. He area of core competence is financial engineering, credit administration and management, Strategic leadership and Mentoring of Executives. He Chairman of the Business Executives Academy, key speaker and mentor at BEA’s various programmes such as Business Owners workshop, Strategic Leadership workshop

Mr. Babtunde Dabiri is married with children.

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REFERENCES

1. Paul Romer and Robert Lucas: “New Growth Theory” as sited by Adalbert Winkler in His paper titles “Financial Development. Economic Growth and Corporate Governance" presented at the First Annual Seminar onNew Development Finance at the Goethe University of Frankfurt. September 22 October 3, 1997.

2. Louis Kasekende: “The Financial Industry as Catalyst for Economic Growth”. Paper presented at the Nigeria International Conference on Financial Sector Strategy. June, 2007, Abuja.

3. Adalbert Winkler: “Financial Development, Economic Growth and Corporate Governance". Seminar paper published by the International Centre for Economic Growth in Brief No. 9906.

4. Prof. Chukwuma C. Soludo: "Consolidating the Nigerian Banking Industry to Meet the Development Challenges of the 21 st Century". An address delivered by the CBN Governor to the Special Meeting of the Bankers’ Committee, held on July 6, 2004 at the CBN Headquarters, Abuja.

5. CBN Annual Report 2003.

6. Charles, N.O. Mordi. "Performance of the Nigerian Economy” (Jan.Aug. 2007)

7. Research Department, CBN, September 2007.

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Appendix 1 Key Economic and Capital Market Indicators

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Appendix 2: Incentives for merged institutions 1 The CBN proposed the following incentives for banks that consolidated or were able to

achieve the set minimum capital base within the stipulated period:

Authorisation to deal in foreign exchange. Permission to take public sector deposits and recommendation to the fiscal

authorities for the collection of public sector revenue. Prospects of managing part of Nigeria’s external reserves, subject to prevailing

guidelines. The following additional incentives were proposed: 2 Tax incentives in the areas of capital allowances, company income tax, stamp duties, among

others. 3 Reduction in transaction costs involving the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nigerian

Stock Exchange, Corporate Affairs Commission and all other parties involved in the scheme. 4 The provision and payment of a team of experts to assist consolidating banks.

Appendix 3: Due Diligence Requirements

1. History and Background. 2. Business Overview, Directors, Management and Employees. 3. Accounting systems and Internal Control Enviroment. 4. IT strategy. 5. Disaster recovery plans. 6. Review of Internal and External Reports CBN, NDIC and other Statutory Reports. 7. Risk Management Framework. 8. Financial overview: Copies of Annual Report and External Auditors' Management

Reports. 9. Review of FinancialResults. 10. Review of Financial Positions.

Loans and Advances. Fixed assets/Equipment on lease. Assets Cash and short-term funds, statutory deposit, investments and other assets. Deposits and other accounts. Liabilities

11. Corporate Governance. 12. Taxation. 13. Commitments, contingencies and litigation. 14. Employee benefits. 15. Strategy. 16. Business Strategy. 17. IT Strategy

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Appendix 4

Requirements to Cross Each State of Mergers & Acquisitions Stages of Approval There were three stages of approval for mergers premerger consent, approval-in-principle and final approval.

1 Pre-merger Consent Pre-merger consent represents CBN’s preliminary consent to the banks wishing to merge to the effect that it has no objection to the proposed merger. This is to enable the merging group to forward its application for the merger to the Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the ISA 1999 for processing and approval.

2 Approval-in-principle Approval-in-principle represents CBN's conditional approval of the merger to proceed. 3 Final Approval This approval is given after the merger has been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The successor bank will then be issued a new banking licence. The banking licence(s) of the legacy bank(s) would be withdrawn and cancelled. Documentary Requirements for Mergers A. Pre-merger Consent

i. A formal application by the merging banks addressed to the Governor of Central Bank ofNigeria and signed by the Chairmen and Managing Directors of each of the merging banks accompanied with the following:

ii. The proposed name of the successor bank. iii. Memorandum of Understanding between the merging banks. iv. Current Memorandum and Articles of Association (MEMART) of each of the merging

banks. v. Resolution by each of the boards of the merging banks approving the merger.

vi. Resolution of the shareholders at the AGM or EGM. vii. List of significant shareholders of the existing banks (i.e shareholding of 5% and above)

showing their names, business and residential addresses (not P.O.Box).

i. Organisational structure, showing functional units, reporting relationships and grade status) of heads of departments units of the merging banks.

ii. List of Directors, designation and the interest they represent in the merging banks.

iii. List of the top management team (AGM and above) of the merging banks and their

designation.

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iv. Copies of CBN approvals of the appointments of the directors and top management team listed in paragraph viii and ix.

2 Approval-in-principle.

i. Draft Memorandum and Articles of Association (MEMART) of the successor bank.

ii. List of significant shareholders of the successor bank (i .e. shareholding of 1 % and above) showing their names, business and residential addresses (not P.O.Box).

iii. Organisational structure, showing functional units, reporting relationships and grade

(status) of heads of departments/units ofthe successor bank.

iv. Institute of Directors, their curriculum vitae, designation and interest they represent in the successor bank.

i. List of the proposed top management team (AGM and above), designation and their

detailed curriculum vitae.

ii. Method of valuation agreed to by the banks.

iii. Draft Scheme of Merger.

iv. Due diligence report on each of the merging banks. 3 Final Approvals. Formal application accompanied by the following documents;

i. Original banking licence(s) of the merging bank(s).

ii. The Scheme of Merger approved by Securities and Exchange Commission.

iii. Business/Strategic plan of the successor bank for the next five years showing how the integration process will be managed, future goals and operations, branch expansion/rationalization, treatment of surplus staff and staff to be retained, etc.

iv. Certificate of incorporation of the successor bank.

v. CTC of CAC form 2.5 return of allotment.

vi. CTC of CAC form 2.3 particulars of directors.

vii. CTC of form CAC 6 location of principal place of business. viii. Evidence of de-registration of the relinquent banks by CAC.

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ix. SEC final approval of the merger.

x. A signed undertaking from each proposed Director that he/she will comply with the code of conduct for Directors as the CBN shall from time to time prescribe.

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Appendix 5: List of 89 Banks Prior to Consolidation

1 Access Bank (Nig.) Plc. 2 Afribank International Ltd.(Merchant

Bankers) 3 AfribankNig. Plc 4 ACB International Bank Plc

5 African Express Bank Plc 6 African International Bank Ltd. 7 Allstates Trust Bank Plc. 8 Assurance Bank Nigeria Ltd. 9 Bank of the North Ltd. 10 Bond Bank Ltd 11 Broad Bank of Nig. Ltd. 12 Capital Bank International Ltd. 13 Centre Point Bank Plc 14 Chartered Bank Plc. 15 Citizens International Bank Ltd. 16 City Express Bank plc 17 Continental Trust Bank Ltd 18 Cooperative Bank Plc. 19 Cooperative Developtrent Bank Plc 20 Devcom Bank Ltd. 21 Diamond Bank Ltd 22 Eagle Bank Ltd 23 Ecobank Nig. Plc 24 EIB International Bank Plc 25 Equitorial Trust Bank Ltd. 26 Equity Bank of (Nig.) Ltd. 27 FBN (Merchant Bankers) Ltd 28 Fidelity Bank PIc 29 First Atlantic Bank PIc 30 First Bank of Nigeria PIc

31 First City Monument Bank 32 First Interstate Bank PIc. 33 FSB International Bank PIc 34 Fortune International Bank 35 Fountain Trust Bank PIc. 36 Gateway Bank (Nig.) PIc

37 Global Bank PIc. 38 Guaranty Trust Bank PIc 39 Guardian Express Bank PIc 40 Gulf Bank (Nig.) PIc 41 Habib Nigeria Bank Ltd. 42 Hallmark Bank PIc. 43 Inland Bank (Nig.) PIc

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44 IMB International Bank PIc 45 Indo-Nigerian Bank Ltd. 46 Interity Bank Plc 47 Intercontinental Bank Plc 48 Intematicmal Trust Bank Plc 49 Investment Banking and Trust Company

Ltd 50 Lead Bank PIc. 51 Liberty Bank PIc. 52 Lion Bank (Nig.) Plc 53 Magnum Trust Bank Plc. 54 Manny Bank Plc. 55 Marlila International Bank Ltd. 56 MBC International Bank Ltd

57 Metropolitan Bank Ltd. 58 Midas Bank Plc. 59 NAL Bank Plc 60 National Bank Ltd. 61 NBM Bank Ltd 62 New Africa Merchant Bank Plc. 63 New Nigeria Bank Plc 64 Nigeria American Bank Ltd. 65 Nigeria International Bank Ltd 66 NUB International Bank Ltd. 67 Oceanic Bank Plc. 68 Omega Bank PIc 69 Pacific Bank Ltd. 70 Platinum Bank Ltd 71 Prudent Bank Plc

72. Regent Bank PIc. 73. Reliance Bank Ltd 74. Societe Bancaire Nigeria Ltd.(Merchant Bankers) 75. Societe General Bank (Nig) Ltd 76. Stanbic Bank (Nig.) Ltd. 77. Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 78. Standard Trust Bank (Nig.) PIc. 79. Trade Bank PIc 80. Trans International Bank Plc 81. Triumph Bank Plc. 82. Tropical Commercial Bank Plc 83. Trust Bank of Africa Ltd (Merchant B ankers) 84. Union Bank of Nigeria Plc 85. Union Merchant Bank Ltd. 86. United Bank for Africa Plc 87. Universal Trust Bank Plc. 88. Wema Bank Plc 89. Zenith International Bank Plc.

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Appendix 6 - List of Banks that could not meet the N25 bn Capitalisation requirements

1. African Express Bank 2. All States Trust bank 3. Assurance Bank of Nigeria 4. City Express Bank 5. Eagle Bank 6. Fortune International Bank 7. Gulf Bank 8. Hallmark Bank 9. Lead Bank 10. Liberty Bank 11. Metropolitan Bank 12. Societe Generale Bank 13. Trade Bank 14. Triumph Bank.

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A Decade to Fix Eduaction? The Prospects for Education in Vision 2020

Jibril Aminu CON, FAS (2008) Preamble It is a great privilege and tremendous pleasure to deliver this Alumnus Lecture to the Alumni Association of our esteemed University marking the momentous occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Institution. Let me thank the leaders of the Association and the organizers of this lecture. Being an alumnus of University of Ibadan is a proud label to wear round anyone's neck in this country and around the world of learning. One recalls that, in his Visitor's address to the Silver Jubilee Convocation Ceremony of the University, November 17, 1973, General Yakubu Gowon, then Head of State, succinctly remarked that it is difficult to imagine what Nigeria would have been without this Institution. UP UI !!!. The academic standards here set and enforced from the beginning and which we all were obliged to attain, gave credibility to Nigeria's Higher Education, and produced high quality graduates, scholars, managers and leaders to unite and run Nigeria and its educational systems. For me, it is a lifetime achievement as well as a driving force to have schooled, taught and led in this great citadel of learning. Like Sparta, like Sandhurst, Ibadan always leaves its mark, and any attempt to attempt an attempt to deny this will be vigorously resisted. Being equipped in the way that only University of Ibadan can, and by the grace of God, I enjoyed a very varied and profitable experience at almost every level of educational leadership in this country, including service as a University Chancellor. I owe much of that to University of Ibadan. The only educational leadership I missed before going to Senate was that of a Headmaster; even that has been corrected since the Distinguished Members of the Senate Committee of Foreign Affairs, which I have the honour to chair, affectionately refer to me as “The Headmaster”. Early Suggestions With all the foregoing and now being ten years older than the Alma mater, added to my abiding alumnus love and loyalty to the Institution, I can also, by way of suggestion, mention a few areas where correction could be usefully applied. As we look back with pride but with a sense of realism, our great elitist pride as an Institution patterned after Oxbridge, needed to be accompanied by greater savvy in resource management and wealth creation to ensure that the Institution is by now independent of the Federal Exchequer as the primary funding source. A restructured enrolment and staff profile will raise the reservoir of Alumnus support to the University which could have greatly supplemented the current laudable effort of this Alumni Association; the owners of University of Ibadan tried admirably to

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ensure broad spread all the Federal Universities including through budgetary extra provision as prize and incentive. I am delighted to recall that UI’s younger sister, Maiduguri, so many times won the award. So, it can be done. Finally on reflection, in addition, to awarding a highly prized degree certificate, it would have been fitting for UI, as the great centre for national integration to have long ensured that each of its graduates also spoke one additional Nigerian language, particularly Yoruba. Introduction Let me now express my appreciation at the topic you instructed me to volunteer to speak on; Education. Most of my public life has been in Education and Education remains one of the endeavors in which I am most interested. Much of what I will say today, you might have already heard from me at some time or other in the past. Since you cannot plagiarize yourself, I hope I will not be accused of the other crime, academic incest. Education is the prime sector in this country and has been so far a long time. All successive Administrations, of all tiers and at all times, indeed, every one, recognized the prime place of Education. Education is the sector in which the heaviest investment is and has been made before and since our Civil War. The nearest construction has also largely been of educational Institutions. The expansion in Nigeria of Education since the Civil War is a remarkable story, and the story of this country will never make impressive reading without citing Education. It is therefore, appropriate to contextualize Education properly by a brief reference to the story Nigeria itself. Nigeria Macro Picture: The Seven Point Plan. Vision 2020 Since Nigeria started thinking about Independence from British Rule, the country has been exploring the path towards being a great nation; powerful, peaceful, progressive, free, happy and decent. We are still exploring; each with his or her own ideas about how to get there. We all have the same goal though widely different means about how to get there; on who and who will or should be there; on who does what or has what; where to sit or stand and pursue the goal; in what language etc. The struggle on the means can be acrimonious, violent and deadly, even leading to wars. On why any group will say: we as an ethnic group should survive before all others; what divine power we believe is helping us, namely religion. The differences over means retard us; but we keep moving forward, even if occasionally one step forward, two steps backwards. People do their part while they are in the positions of power and when they are alive. The process carries on regardless. Various regimes have tried to modify the means, accelerate it, alter the direction, and alter the shape or hue. These experiments are labeled plans, visions, orientation, war, etc. and are pursued with varying degrees of seriousness, competence or luck. In recent times, for example, we have had President Shehu Shagari's Green Revolution, General Buhari's War Against Indiscipline (WAI), General Babangida's Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), General Sani Abacha's Vision 2010, President Obasanjo's NEEDS and President Umaru Yar'adua's Seven Point Plan and 2020 target. As I said, all these have more or less the same broad thrust for development of entrenching democracy, plurality, rule of law, freedom, transparency, accountability, discipline, integrity in a happy, affluent and united contractual society.

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The approach is the same, whether we talk of the prolonged Military interregnum or the brief and now thankfully holding party democratic system. The Military led the struggle for giving this country a sense of direction. But, even though I belonged to the Military, we should point out their limitation. The Military differ in their emphasis of democracy and claim to being “corrective”, but, inevitably, as matter of fact, their inability, by definition, to observe the rule of law, retards whatever progress they could have made because such regimes are inconsistent with and contradict the two current rules in socio- economic development.

1. The Rule of Law is the invisible architecture of economic growth.

2. Money (or Capital) is a coward, and does not flow to where there is trouble. The observance of both laws attracts foreign capital and cooperation, and non-observance does the reverse. It is not surprising therefore that any government, civilian or military that does not try to maintain peace and harmony within its borders, and does not try to entrench the rule of law and curtail corruption will not succeed in building a viable economy; including providing food, security, and abolishing poverty, ignorance and preventable diseases. The culture of political and press freedom has always dominated political discourse in the country and condemnation is the popular knee-jerk response to any government. Opposition and criticism are important, but, obsession with condemnation merely to sexpress freedom or political plurality prevents us as a nation noticing even when are doing well, and lack of encouragement is a powerful retarding factor; but we soldier on. President Umaru 'Yar' adua's Seven Point Agenda (7PA) is aimed at realizing Nigeria's potential to become one of the 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020, hence the other acronym of the Plan, 2020, one supposes, intended to convey the sense, not only of orderliness and symmetry, but of some scientific precision.

Enumerating, very briefly, the Seven Points Agenda:

1. Critical Infrastructure including Power, Transportation, Gas distribution and Telecoms.

2. Niger Delta engaging particularly in Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology, Tourism and Industry; recognizing as well environmental degradation and human economic, social and political problems. In other words, building the state.

3. Food security - meaning Agricultural production, Research and Industry, Finance and Agricultural Economics (Investment) as well as Road works.

4. Human Capital Development - meaning Education, Health and Social Welfare including things like Sports and the Arts.

5. Land Tenure System and Home ownership - meaning Laws, laws and more laws as well as Habitat; including Housing and associated facilities for a decent, middle class life.

6. National Security and Intelligence - meaning the Armed Forces, Security and Law Enforcement Agencies, both covert and overt.

7. Wealth creation by engendering an atmosphere where wealth can be created and business pursued to encourage free enterprise, regulated competition, a contractual society and the rule of law.

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A cursory look shows that, from Agriculture, through Transportation to Culture and Tourism, no section of the Economy has been left out as unimportant. It seems to me that the Seven Point Programme is really a Seven Groups Strategy where the function of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) will be grouped in such a way, in each instance, to achieve a broad but clear objective over time, and not for these MDAs to just be there pursuing time – honoured, but nebulous objectives of government of idling away of the endless search for “Development”. It is thus hoped that, between now and 2020, Nigeria, by the diligent pursuit of the 2020 Development Strategy will be taken to the desired objectives. One of the areas to be developed in a way yet to be clearly articulated is of course, Education. All the different strategies mentioned represent a serious effort to do something; but why have they not been such resounding successes? While we wish the 2020 all the best, as a new and somewhat different approach, one is still tempted to ask why such efforts have not been as successful as the resolve with which they were introduced portended. One can only voice one's opinion on this, but, the position of things ought to be obvious; hence the argument is persuasive. To start with, it is obvious that a plan or approach is only effective if it is implemented. Do what you said you would and in the time given. The way government spokesmen, spokeswomen and sycophants of all regimes tended to go about lauding all these plans sounds like they believed that to elaborate a plan is as praiseworthy as actually executing it. No! We have to implement the plan. We have to make the journey every time. As the Americans say, “You must walk the walk and not just talk the talk”. That is what will make the difference.

Those Macro Fundamentals Waiting Besides, one cannot help feeling that, in all this, since Independence, we have not been attending to the fundamentals. They are insidious and tend not to be noticeable in the short term. They are also not noticed because they do not resolve into stark acute political choices like acrimonious disputes over Revenue Allocation, Power Sharing or acute shortages of an essential commodity or even a crisis. Yet, so long as we do not decisively and single-mindedly address these fundamentals, and so long as we are not prepared to invest the necessary political will, time, consensus, partnership and resource, the fundamentals will definitely stand in our way down whatever chosen road of reform and development. Among the Fundamentals are: accurate and up to date data and information at all times, like population and its rate and consequence, estimating the size, variety and allocation of as well as the encumbrances on accessible mineral resources, land resources and management, including minerals rapidly decaying environment with loss of land, animals as well as plant species especially wild ones. Agriculture is another fundamental. The organisation of the modern version of which we seem not to know, judging by the way we keep on changing the organisations and structures said to be charged with administering Agriculture and the way, for decades, you only hear about Fertilizer any time the Ministry is mentioned; or indeed, water management, and the absurdity of us depending on rain-fed Agriculture and allowing the rain water to pass into the sea which is already full, and swallowing islands and coastlines, really, swallowing the Earth.

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Other fundamentals, or their absence, include the deteriorating health care, lack of political stability, with a permanent constitution and efficiency, including the structure of the country, bearing in mind that, when the colonial boundaries were being drawn it was only the colonialists who were there in Berlin in 1886, and they certainly did not draw these boundaries to suit our convenience or to make sure that they functioned efficiently. Then, there is massive and worsening unemployment with an estimated ratio of only 1 to 9 percent of our people working to support the rest (91 percent non-contributing dependents), poor ethics in and practice of work and behaviour. Wherever you look round, you also find that the whole country is gradually becoming a ghetto, the villages developing as the inner cities from the word “GO”. The high and stubborn rate of illiteracy is accepted with a shrug of the shoulder. Population growth worsens it, but it definitely used to be regarded with more concern by our fathers. Equally disturbing is that the unemployment does not, and its stark relationship to poor productivity also does not, seem to worry us. Wanting something for nothing, excessive self opinionatedness, intolerance of the views and interests of others, lack of patriotism, low diligence, insincerity, and lack of seriousness will mask our many noble qualities, among which are kinsmanship, generosity, cheerfulness, forgiveness (even if sometime reckless), and African nationalism and good world citizenship. War on corruption or war to conquer poverty and to achieve economic growth and development must recognise that these evils and disasters are all symptoms of a deep national malaise, and not the causes. They are mere accompaniments of things being fundamentally wrong. They will automatically disappear if we correct the foregoing fundamental wrongs, which cannot all be mentioned here or discussed beyond the mere mention. The enormous problems of the Educational System are also symptoms of these wrongs. Education Overview Education has received the greatest investment in our new found Oil wealth along with construction and our galloping consumerism. Education is the greatest family legacy and the most powerful means of social and economic personal advancement and access to Middle Class existence and respectability. Education is, of course, is not to be seen only in this starkly utilitarian perspective. Indeed, in the Islamic system, Education is for spiritual development, with little or no expectation of a job “on graduation”. The graduate goes into the world to search, to guide and to continue to earn their living in the way they would have done even without the “School”. They do not apply for a job, let alone regard it as a right. The schools for this Islamic higher education are simple. You go to the teacher's house and crouch in front of him to learn the discipline of your choice, according to the teacher's repute in that discipline. The above was the Greek School operated by Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, the latter until he was served a cup of fresh hemlock as a reward for his troubles and for his contribution to society. The Islamic Tradition School, like the Greek before it, has no Ministries of Education, no school buildings or campuses, no Student or staff Unions, no Convocations, no crises, nothing that you know of; yet, they learn all of the

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Humanities and some of Social Sciences disciplines. This is what was happening in Ancient Greece, before the Ancient Romans came to introduce the formal schools along with their macro-organisation mentality, some of which they must have borrowed from earlier civilisations. Back to our own type of Education; Western Education, the general reservations expressed about our political economy and on Education in particular, will definitely hit Education quite hard, and are doing so, but because it is so popular, and because so many of us believe in it, Education will not die and will not collapse. At the worst, we shall notice a worsening limp, with falling standards, increased loss of credibility and esteem (both at home and abroad), inability to deliver, namely not able to do the job of taking us to that competitive plane. Of course, we cannot afford any of that. What is specifically or sectorally wrong with Education, in this tale of woe of our time? Let us Begin by Looking at what the Problems Afflicting Our Education are not. Years ago, in the late eighties, I learnt in Oxford from a meeting with some State Governors and Educationists from the US, that California's main problem in Education was to get the children to attend school and to stay in it. This was because school could not compete with the world outside; with Hollywood, TV, Internet, and Computer Games, etc. I expressed my concern that, after trying so hard as we were doing to build, staff, equip and fill the schools; we could end up with our children not attracted to them. The only episode, one recalls, resembling that of children opting to stay out of available schools was when in the Federal Ministry of Education, we received the report that children were deliberately staying away from schools in what is now the South East, an area normally very keen on Education. A Committee of the National Council on Education investigated this and found that it was true, and that the contraction of the opportunities for rapid and rewarding employment was making the students prefer to be apprentice, shopkeepers and grow up in the business instead of “wasting their time” in school. Not only was the latter case only a transient phenomenon, it was qualitatively different from the California situation. Our people do not perceive Education system as not interesting or as not relevant to their future; far from that. The statistics from admitting agencies like JAMB, WAEC, NECO, the Universities, and the National Common Entrance Examination eloquently testify to the opposite. Besides our people are not suffering from low intellect, low IQ or EQ. We are as brilliant as any other group of people and we have proved that over and over by the brilliance of some of our people in Institutions overseas of great competitiveness. Furthermore, we do not suffer from being ignorant of what to do. In all the Institutions I have had something to do with in Education; I cannot recall the case of some institutional leaders not knowing what to do. The problem cited has always been the wherewithal. M a i n P r o b l e m s o f E d u c a t i o n : D e m a n d Outstripping Resources Given the foregoing on the popularity and essential place of Education, the most obvious and serious problem facing our Educational system is one of “Demand increasingly outstripping available Resources”. The Demand is of the number of students of all ages and levels requiring Education, and of all resources; space, teachers, books and all educational materials. This

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disparity is what leads to congestion and is found in all public schools at all level of school and all tiers of government. Private schools have a choice, but even these demonstrate the congestion at the lower levels. The congestion is caused by absolute population increase and by the liberalisation of access to Education in the country, particularly after the Civil War. There was sudden access to oil wealth and there is the general goodness of the heart, like the UPE and free, 9-year education introduced by leaders who saw what difference Education made to them after their own humble beginnings. Liberalisation also arises from competition among groups, that is to say, ethnic, geographical and even political or religious. There was also Oil wealth induced expansion of employment opportunities or projections. Liberalisation arises in two ways; lowering the rigorous entry requirements, “removing bottlenecks”, or by increasing affordability, that is to say, giving free or subsidised education at a certain level of education. The children of the poor can in any event thus get educated; what would otherwise not have happened. For example, the availability of the UPE, free tuition undergraduate education in many types of Institution or courses; the provider may be the federal government or the State or even some local government, as well as increased scholarships by some big business organisations, like the oil companies. The removal of tuition fees does not offset all the costs of Education, particularly the cost of boarding, feeding, and the purchase of educational materials and paying for other charges, but the subsidy element is always there and helps even though there are serious problems remaining because of increasing poverty and unemployment as well as poor performance of governments. Lowering entry requirements is easy to understand, but measures like Remedial Programmes to enhance qualifications, acceptance of multiple sitting qualifications, granting credits for attaining certain entry requirement (like 2-year's B.Ed. after a good NCE or Sub-degree diploma), long distance courses, and so called satellite campuses are all less obvious but direct liberalisation measures of varying degrees of impact. Liberalisation policies are too politically popular to be abandoned simply because of the obvious observation of exploding population of young people. The same liberalisation of access to students is also matched, especially at the tertiary level, by the overindulgent treatment lucky employees enjoy, like the ease of employment and promotion of teachers and other staff especially since UDOJI. Condition of Services Reviews, Trade Union and other pressures increase the cost, namely, force liberalisation, at any rate, causing financial burdens on the system. In the Tertiary Institutions, the Governing Councils have the power to employ and promote. They do so in style and bloat the staff strength at the top bracket. This, plus the ensuing high pension bill expand the payroll to the point of the insolvency of the Institution. In as far back as the Nineteen Seventies, Ibadan, after UDOJI, was spending up to 25 per cent of its payroll on people who no longer worked for it.

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Liberalisation apart, the rate at which the general population is rapidly increasing in a country already having the inevitable demographic pattern of a developing country, must always be borne in mind. Salutary mass health care provisions, like better and free Ante-natal care, EPI and others increase child survival; a blessing to each family but a burden to society. Education: The Population and the Economic Indicators General Statistics The population and liberalisation burden can be quantified by looking at the Fact Sheet and Social Indicators Figures available from 2006 Country Review Report on Nigeria by the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) itself of the Africa Union (AU). Beginning with the gross national figures will properly situate the information on Education. All such national figures must always be understood; it conceals the great difference among regimes and among states. The total National population is 140,003,542 (2006 Census) about 52 percent male. Life expectation is 46.5 years and average growth rate is 3.2 percent, with a population density of 150 persons/sq. kilometre. The poverty index is 54.4 per cent and the population below the poverty lines of 1 US Dollar a day is about 54.5 per cent (76,161,927). Adult literacy is 69.1% with a Human Development Index of 0.470 ranking Nigeria 158 out of 177 countries. (Table 1 Country Fact Sheet) The economic indicators show that Nigeria had a GDP of 175 Billion US Dollars in 2006, with 41 percent from Agriculture and a slowly rising growth rate of 6.5 percent in 2004 but 4.5 percent in 2006; most likely much worse since 2006; Solid Mineral making 0.26 per cent in 2006; Manufacturing 3.68 percent with growth rate of 10 per cent in 2004, falling to 3.79 per cent with growth rate of 9.71 percent in 2006, and Telecommunication 1.20 percent with growth rate of 28.97 in 2004 rising rapidly to 1.82 with a growth rate of 32 percent in 2006. In short, we predominantly produce in Agriculture and Petroleum, with the latter in trouble and a rapidly expanding Telecom sector and the growth rate fluctuated widely in most indices as seen in (Table 2). We are yet to achieve stability and predictability. Fiscal and monetary performance reveals that the GDP real growth rate rose from 5.4% in 2000 to 9.6 percent in 2003 and dropped to 5.67 in 2006. With the peak of nearly 24 percent in 2000, the oil sector/percentage to the GDP appeared for long very unstable, often in negative territory, including minus 4.51 per cent in 2006, may be even lower now. The non-oil sector is steadily rising slowly to 8.9 in 2006, but, is still miserable and untenable for Nigeria with so much fertile land and so many people with skills and so many to lead. (Table 3) Inflation has been falling to single digits. It was 8.5% in 2006. External Reserves have been accumulating to nearly 42 Billion US Dollars in 2006 and over 50 billion US Dollars now, and thus we have import cover for nearly 24 months. Our current account balance is about 25 per cent of the GDP. Average Bureau de Change value of the Naira has been falling with the Naira stronger at 120 to the US Dollar. (Table 3, 4 & 5) The naira lost considerably to the Dollar in response to the Global Economic melt down of 2008/2009. Our external debt dropped to 3.54 billion US Dollars in 2006 following the forgiveness in 2005 with domestic debt of about 13.81 billion US Dollars. Gross National Savings hover around 21

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per cent of GDP with low capital formation of 12.6 per cent of GDP and manufacturing capacity utilisation about 45 per cent. Stock market share index stood at 33,189.3 in 2006 but has been falling sharply recently even before the current world economic meltdown, as seen in (Table 3, 4 & 5). It is hard to tell if a renewed spate of external borrowing has not been going on. It will be recalled that the Revenue Allocation Formula is 52.68 to the Federal Government, 20.6 percent to the States and 13 percent Derivation to the Oil producing areas.

Education Statistics Education statistics reveal gross shortages compared to world standard, although the gender sensitivity appears quite laudable, with gender ratio around 52.48 in favour of males; but as the gap widens, the higher one goes up the educational ladder with 55.45 male for Junior Secondary School; 56.44 male for Senior Secondary School; 51.49 male for Colleges of Education (indicating female preference for teaching); 59.41 male for Polytechnics and 64.36 male for the Universities. In 2006, we had a National Primary School enrolment of 27,543,639 pupils (between 6 and 11 years) as shown in (Table 6). There was a considerable improvement of about 6.3 million pupils in 2001. The number also approximates to the expected demographic size of this age group (about 20 per cent), in a developing country like Nigeria with a population of about 140 million. Nevertheless, it is a huge size, exceeding the population of many countries; and in a country with the tight economic indicators already shown. There are 86,000 to 90,000 primary schools of all varieties with about 900,000 teachers, with pupil; teacher ratio of 32.1 and school/teacher ratio of 10.01:1. If these statistics are to be believed, they are encouraging. But, they give no indication whatsoever of the quality of the schools, or problems of administration and finance, and, as I said, of internal disparities. The Junior Secondary School statistics at 2006 were 3,695,648 with 11,081 schools, and 161,628 teachers with pupil/teacher ratio of about 1:25 and school/teacher ratio of about 1:15 as shown in (Table 7) For the Senior Secondary School in 2006, there were 2,819,952 students with 11,081 schools and 161,628 teachers and student/teacher ratio of about 1:24, School/Teacher ratio of about 1:14.5 as shown in (Table 7) The Colleges of Education (NCE Awarding) number 75; 22 Federal, 41 States, Private 9 with total enrolment of 354,387 and academic staff of 11,258 and student/staff ratio of about 1:33. Universities and Polytechnic total 102, of which 53 are Federal, 37 State and 12 private with total enrolment of 360,535 and total staff strength of 12,938 and student/staff ratio of about 1:29 as reflected in (Table 8) The latest information from the National Universities Commission on the number of Universities in Nigeria shows that there are 94 Universities: 27 Federal, 33 State and 34 Private. The total enrolment for 2006/2007 academic year was about 1,096,312 and total academic staff of 31,000 and that equals staff student ratio of about 1:30. There are also 35 other Universities classified as

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illegal with unknown enrolment. It is not clear how many, if any of these Universities will ever be approved by the National Universities Commissionas shown in (Table 8) Total enrolment for higher or tertiary education is thus about 1,800,000, amd that is about 1.8 percent of the population. Education planners and development analysts hold that, for any country to achieve science and technology development, at least 15 to 20 percent of the population within the higher education age bracket should receive 3-years post secondary education (higher education). In Nigeria, the age group is about 25 percent of the population and 20 per cent of this will be about 5 per cent. This is clearly more than the 1.8 per cent we have now. This gives an indication of the higher education expansion needed. We cannot say we have fixed education unless we achieve these sorts of normative figures. The only additional figures deemed appropriate to mention here is that, under the age of five, infant mortality is about 201 for every 1000 of live births, over 20 per cent, and that HIV/AIDS prevalence is about 4.8 percent as shown in (Table 9) Complicating Factors Increased Demand/Liberalisation Demand outstripping available resources because of population pressure combined with policies resulting in the liberalisation of access, are undoubtedly the principal factors burdening our education system. There are many other problems and issues complementing the burden which by itself appears to be the result of normal national and leadership policies which are not only defensible, but laudable. The additional problems are all man made and are avoidable. Now, each problem has waxed and appears to have developed a life of its own, and each must be successfully assailed if education is to be fixed. First of all, the system has structurally in-built inefficiencies following the way life in the educational system is arranged with emphasis on welfare, building towns and cities instead of Institutions. There is very poor support any Institution could enjoy or can expect from the ambient community. At lower levels, the parents are as poor as the community; Infrastructure is generally lacking in Institutions, particularly residential ones. Concentration on providing and maintaining municipal services takes most of the money meant for academic expenditure. These services not only also take the time of the authorities to maintain, but are the most potent and frequent sources of discord, dispute and violence. The Institution becomes a municipality and the managers are more like mayoralty leaders than scholars. The Institutions become far from being centres of competent thought and lofty behaviour where genius blooms best or centres of dreamers and researchers who are dedicated to solving problems. Structural inefficiency must be removed by reforms which we all know that it requires brilliant and courageous leadership with sacrifice and cooperation on the part of all. The liberalisation of access through subsidy, or free education is fine, provided the Education is properly funded. As we know, this is not the case in this country. Education and other services are often declared free, but are not funded anywhere near adequately. Increments in expenditure are given without due adjustments in appropriation. The government gets the plaudit, or escapes from the industrial or student disputes, but leaves the system worse off. Most times, the political leaders cannot reverse or modify welfarist subsidies or services which they gratuitously

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introduced. A good example is payment of undergraduate tuition fees in the Federal Universities. Once the people gain some concession from the government they will not easily give it up, if ever. They look at it as a trophy won in a particular battle of a continuing war. Welfarism in Education Against Cost Recovery The entrenched habit of the Institutions being unable to achieve cost recovery of government splashed generosity has for long been a prime source of the impecunuity of public owned Institutions particularly the Universities. What proprietors, including government do now is first of all, to avoid introducing any new welfarist scheme in the public services. The private Institutions keep their operational numbers low and avoid like the plague, many of the now destructive policies and practices which they have seen have led to decadence in the government owned Institutions in which they very likely had worked before. Meanwhile, subsidy and cost recovery are the sore thumbs of issues challenging education in the country, and the sore must be healed. Even without the dire economic picture facing us, most recently by the acute world credit crunch and the collapsing price of crude oil, the truth is beginning to dawn on many of us, particularly on the students and their parents, if not to the slap happy, gallery dancing, social critics in the media and on the soap box. The rude awakening has made the students quite sober. Their teachers are now more militant and more prone to agitation, disputes and even violence. To the student, the present suffering in school is NOT compensated for by employment on graduation. The world of work is hostile, and inaccessible. Low Market Ability Education in Nigeria as already referred to is highly utilitarian, and, beyond the primary school intended to provide for the national manpower requirement, and for the recipient, to enter into a career leading to middle class affluence. Education, in short, is a high powered meal ticket. For all that wants to work, education and the world of work need to be coupled. Increasingly, because of economic pressures on employment, from contracted or failed industrialisation, graduate surplus, excess numbers of inappropriate qualifications, it is being realised that our system has for too long taken the availability of employment from the political economy on graduation too much for granted. It is also realised that the coupling has to be early at the level of the institution, namely at the college, before the student graduates. Appropriate arrangement between each particular company, industry or speciality and the institution will address cost sharing, curricular, course adjustments, numbers and duration, etc. It will not entirely solve the financial problems of the institutions or the problem of unemployment particularly with low or declining industrialization, but it will bring about substantial relief and produce an order leading to the culture of trying to ensure the most efficient allocation of manpower in the economy. Student Financing One of the great tragedies of our educational system is the fact that there are no clear arrangements for financing students where institutional subsidies do not exist or must be supplemented. This is so well known that it requires no expatiation. What is pathetic is that,

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knowing the situation, the federal government in particular just ignored it. Up to the mid nineties, for example, there was a Federal Scholarship Board with offices located in different parts of the country. More important, there was a Student Loans Board, which was quite virile and was programmed to become an Education Bank; indeed, it had proclaimed itself as such. A special allocation of 500 Million Naira was sought for and obtained in 1990 from the President at that time, just to help the students directly. A new dispensation came and dispersed everything, fired the officers, and embezzled the money. Nothing has been heard of since about Student Loans. The bustling Education Attachéd Offices in the UK, in Europe and USA are now empty. You wonder whether we no longer need to learn from the outside world. The failure to support students indeed forces some of them, particularly females, to compromise their honour and principles to be able to go through school, and this has a wider implication. The youth look at it as even more concrete evidence of their elders' callous disregard for the interest of the young and, by definition, their need. It is interesting that, at the time I made the recommendation for the Student Loans Board to receive the half a billion naira, I also recommended that any University Professor who works in a Nigerian University to retirement, shall leave with all his entitlement, just like the Generals and the Judges are said to do. The Loans Board was killed, but the academic staffs continue to happily collect their enhanced pensions, unless their Employer; University's impecunity renders things difficult. Our societal values at this time have emphasised the importance of securing a University degree; any University degree before being considered a success. There is a pecking order of the subjects studied, the grades obtained, and at times, the institutions. Although the reasons for preferring institutions are often not so much academic merit as some primitive affinities. The value placed on a University degree is not accompanied by commensurate concern for both the teacher and, in particular, the student Politicisation of Education Education, because of its material value, is very highly politicized in terms of its control, access in all of its operations and everything regarding the running. Its large number of students and employees make it a centre of labour relations and youth crises; crises of expectation. The crisis over control, understandably, has very much to do with whoever controls the country, and exercises all the influence, admits the students and employs the staff. Politicisation by encouragement of a healthy debate should be good for the society but not now. Politicisation leads to acrimony and even violence. The struggle over ownership, in particular, became very bitter and violent especially during the military era before the 1979 Constitution. At that time, for example, only the Federal Government was allowed to own Universities. The centralisation of admissions, and concerns about fair play in the face of glaring geographical educational imbalance, led to social disagreement and rioting. The acrimony was ended when the 1979 Constitution placed all levels of Education on the Concurrent List. States and private entrepreneurs could thus open their Institutions with the provison that approval needed to be obtained from statutory regulatory bodies, like the National Universities Commission for the Universities, but, the Constitution vested the Federal Government with the powers of determining, observing and ensuring minimum standards at all levels of education.

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Politicisation makes it difficult to set standards of discipline because people tend to use political connections to force a decision in their favour, or force away due discipline. Other sectors, including the Police, also face this. Some staff retires from Universities, but just find reasons for remaining there years after years. Some politicias look at a boarding institution; like a University, as a Republic, and go as far as to brand it a “private property”, and there are those who even insist that they are 'private' even to the Police. One evil expression of politicisation is prejudice. This type of mindset, and others, like the culture of condemnation of whatever Education authorities do, because of politics or personal grudge, or primordial prejudice, interferes with clear and objective dialogue. Prejudice is a serious impediment to stability, progress, and reforms in Education. It is not easy to eradicate prejudice, but, its effect can be stemmed. In the mid-nineties, someone was for personal grudges, so resentful of the centralisation of Education that he worked to transfer the whole of Education to the Exclusive State and Local Government Area List. Thus, the Federal Government would own no educational institution. If that was successful, then, this University of Ibadan, plus the Unity Schools in Oyo State and the College of Education (Special), Oyo, would be handed over to the Oyo State Government. More glaring, Unilag, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Yaba College of Technology, Yaba Technical College, Akoka Federal College of Education (Technical), Kings College, Queen's College, FGC Ijanikin, would all have been handed over to the Lagos State Government. Fortunately, many of us would not let that happen; though, it would have happened, if all had kept quiet. After all, it has been said by Edmund Burke that: “all that is required for evil to reign is for good people to say nothing”. Overcrowding and Squalor for All What our educational system looks like and what goes on is common knowledge, even to a layman. Whatever is observed is as a result of the problems discussed in the fore which are nothing mysterious, nothing that is not man-made and nothing that cannot be remedied. The aspiration of Nigeria to her people and as a nation among nations, and within the scope of Vision 202020, in common with other dreams before that, compeld us to try soonest to halt the rot, correct the defects and take the high road, with the determination never to relapse back into the degradation that President Umaru is meaning to take us out of. Our educational system labours under squalor and overcrowding all rounds. In most of the higher institutions, life is sub-optimal and, in case of the standards, both the academic and residential areas are simply sub-human. I once told students that they often made their lives on campus even more miserable by their hostile penchant of harassing away the very people who could do something for them, like the Ministers and even Presidents. For instance, a President ordered and built a new water supply scheme for a University only for him and his entourage to be booed and stoned when he came on invitation to commission the scheme. At the lower levels, nothing gives the picture of our school been overcrowded better than to stand at the road side in any town, towards the time that the pupils leave school for home at the end of the day. The late Chief S. O.Adebo, one of my great mentors, always warned about what these huge unharnessed numbers portended for the nation.

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Examples of What Is Behind the Squalor in Our Universities The Universities started in 1975, were programmed in both their physical and academic planning to have a maximum enrolment of 10,000 students. Now, all of them must have as many as four to five times this number. Yet none of them has so far completed their first Phase master plan leading to the 10,000 enrolment. The situation is the same everywhere except in schools in some parts of the country where by tragic contrast, many students in primary and secondary levels do not bother to go to school unassisted. Generally, some classes going on are indescribably ugly with students sitting on windows, and on each other, receiving lectures. The situation is, by the way, not too different with respect to Abuja, a city first planned to take two and a half million people, now with nearly ten, and increasing. The overcrowding situation lowers the threshold to communal unrest because the situation simply becomes intolerable to the teachers, support staff and students, setting up the vicious cycle already referred to. The cycle is also propelled by the inevitable deterioration of teaching and, hence, academic standards. Communal life itself seems jungle-like and the net products from these systems cannot be described as scaling the minimum standards of anything. The national manpower they will constitute will be of poor quality and cannot be successful agents of national development in a world of knowledge-based governance and the creation of an enlightened contractual society where integrity and competition are the names of the game. The resource constraint crisis is both national and institutional and the inmates of the system respond to it in various ways, each undesirable and not contributing positively to the system or to society. We have already referred to unrest with further disruption and destruction of the already inadequate facilities. Life on Campus: Teachers The teachers engage in all sorts of trade disputes simply to give vent to their resentment. It used to be more fashionable for only the University or Tertiary education teachers to engage in militancy and agitation. Now it is all of them, including the time- honoured Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT). Apart from agitation, the teachers divert away to other pursuits in business, hunting for contracts, underground political activities, particularly those activities with pecuniary prospects, and penny- a-liner overt or covert journalism. One does hear, but never had a clear proof, of teachers extorting money from their students for handouts, special sessions or, worst of all, grades in tests and examinations. The situation of the teachers is miserable, especially as they tend to compare their situation with their mates and colleagues overseas whom they might even have performed better off in the class, or with their mates and colleagues in other sectors of the economy or in government, or, indeed, the mediocre they taught and passed but who can now buy every ounce of teacher. Some of the teachers lose interest and become plain truant. I met a school supervisor in one of the States in 1986 who did not know the way to the School he was said to be supervising, and that was by no means my most shocking experience. Those teachers who can take the Andrew option ran away in the form of brain drain. Those who can, emigrate. Those who cannot, agitate.

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Life on Campus: Students The students used to engage in direct confrontation with the authorities, and therefore, with the law enforcement agents particularly when they resorted to destruction of property, molestation of their teachers and managers, arson or riots outside the campuses with blockade of highways and molestation of those they saw belonging to their targeted adversary groups. This often resulted in violence and casualties, usually of students. Commemoration of these casualties, often led to more casualties. Commemoration breeds commemoration. Those violent student demonstrations were more rampant during the Military era than during the Civilian spells. There is a temptation to believe that the students were averse to undemocratic rule, and tended to kick during the Military and that was the attractive theory until it turned out that, the more potent reason was that the idle politicians during a military era were also using the students, inciting them, as cannon fodder in the battle with the Military. The students as a group as we already referred to, have been affected by the adversities and are much more sober now. Before, they were hurrying up to graduate to automatically secure jobs. In University of Ibadan in those days, all eyes were then on which new graduate would bring which new car when in a few months they came to graduate on the Foundation Day. When the NYSC scheme was introduced in 1972/1973, the students throughout the University system at that time kicked very violently. Now, the NYSC year is the only guaranteed employment they have. Furthermore, in the Middle Seventies, when I was in the NUC, we had to set up a Special Committee simply to attract graduates into postgraduate programmes in our Universities or overseas; especially graduate with First Class or 2nd Class Upper Honours. In the late 90s, I came to the Convocation Ceremony here, only to find that, at least, one third of the graduates were at Masters or higher levels. As a matter of fact, to avoid staying jobless on graduation, those students who can afford it immediately take on the Masters or some competitive discipline they had always wanted and end up being trapped in the Institution, doing one first degree after another One ugly phenomenon, particularly in the Universities, as a result of the decadence of the system, is the phenomenon of Cultism. Commentators tend to associate it with mysterious dark practices and secret society membership. I, personally, do not think so. Once this type of thing starts, it tends to assume a life of its own, get out of hand and present different perspectives. One thing is certain, this whole culture started in the late Eighties, during the high era of violent Student Unionism, with SAP Riots, etc. The cultists are different from the PYRATES, from whom they might nevertheless have learnt a lot. The cults are more like the West Side Story, gangland warfare gone wild. Unfortunately, I believe that it is the response of the respective University authorities that contributed much to the emergence of cultism. There is an unfortunate parallel with the present militants in the Niger Delta. People think they can mobilise the youth to vigorously protest and pursue an individual or a common cause, thought to be a matter of justice, and then it all gets out of hand. University administrations and others with the means might sponsor a group of students to checkmate the volatile and uncooperative Student Union leaders. The new group could be spliced with funds and other facilities to make them effective. There may be more than one such

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group in a Campus. They adopt both savoury and unsavoury methods (including pretence at mysticism) to cow down the others. The consequences would not be hard to predict. The Student Union gets neutralized by Frankenstein's monster and Dr. Frankenstein may be sitting helpless in his office on the leadership corridors of the institution. Whatever it is, the matter is definitely out of hand, and a new ingenuity and cooperative effort are both needed to rein it in. Tackling It All Prerequisite to All Reforms In discussing any reforms in Education, it is necessary to recall what we talked on issues regarding the fundamentals stunting our efforts and which we need to address in parallel. Obviously, to discuss all that here is out of place. Suffice to say, the issues will need to be approached in another setting. They cannot be wished away. Basic Issues in Educational Reforms Obviously, the educational system cannot be allowed to degenerate to the point where things may not be reversible. It is fashionable now to refer to any such correction strategy as Reforms. Reforms are exactly what they say. They are not a scorched earth chapter, nor do we have to re-invent the wheel, let along the lever. I am always encouraged by what I repeated earlier here, namely that there is tremendous reservoir of interest in Education in this our country. So, provided there is the political will, it can be repaired. Reforms will not be easy, as we shall try to outline some points that, in my opinion, need to be borne in mind. There are a large number of caveats to Reforms, but, those caveats should be confronted. 1. Education is on the concurrent legislative list of the constitution allowing pretty much

everyone, who can start and run an educational institution, provided it receives approval from the appropriate authority, it used not to be so. The “appropriate authorities” are nowadays not hard to convince or to twist.

2. The sheer size of the problem in terms of numbers, complexity and entrenched attitudes. 3. The cost Reforms, particularly to upgrade quality and increase efficiency cannot be had

on the cheap, and cannot be had by only doing some things and avoiding doing others. Reformation is an investment which can be quite demanding. After all, much of the degeneration likely and largely arose from shortage or misapplication of resources. So, costs must be provided for, especially under the present circumstances.

4. The Chaos which means, designing a special strategy to elicit support, and, try to

establish the right atmosphere for people to even accept that there is a need to change and that you cannot be better without being different.

5. There is another dimension to the reforms and that is to overcome inertia. Inertia means

resistance to motion, and is the great ally of obscurantism. Inertia can be demonstrated or, can present itself, in different ways; sometimes by absurd tokenism. For example, one University had to cut costs and achieve greater efficiency and saving. They decided to do this by no longer serving tea at meetings of Senate, and felt that they were doing their

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best. When a Government decided to introduced rationalisation, inertia manifested itself in two curious ways: One, was for each of the University leaders to organise to write to their counterpart in sister Universities urging them to send very eloquent and succinct memos to the government as to why Universities must have all the money they asked for, pointing out national areas of wastages and savings in other sectors of government, and two, was to verbally accept rationalisation and write a manual which, in sum, amounted to no change at all. So, rationalisation was conveniently avoided regardless of what good it could have done. In other words, even where change is accepted in principle, there will always certainly be no agreement as to how to change or how far the changes will go.

6. There is always the freedom to be awkward, ruggedly individualistic or plain awkward. I

am yet to understand for example, why the LOOBO States of the Second Republic decided to opt out of the 6:3:3:4 system of Education only to sheepishly return as soon as the returning military ordered them to do so with no new reason given.

7. Reforms are subject to many external factors which could stultify the effort. For example,

if they are seen to favour education, another sector, say Health, could insist or receiving the same turnover. Or, only some levels could feel that a change was necessary. Or, some tiers of government may not cooperate. Worst of all, are people in the media, of varying degrees of even understanding what it is all about, who will persistently campaign against any reform simply because the idea did not originate from them. We suffered this with Education for the Gifted.

8. Finally, change in policy sometime occurs just because there is a change in those at the

helm. In the late 80s, we struggled to obtain a 140 million US Dollar International Development Agency (IDA) Loan from the World Bank. An IDA loan is regarded almost as a grant, very low interest and long repayment time. Competition for such a loan is very keen and to obtain it was regarded as a feat. Everything was in full gear in the University system when a new Military Administration in the country in 1993 just came and ordered it to be discontinued, and that was it. A great opportunity to upgrade and reform the University system was therefore lost.

Positive Approach to Reforms There is need to agree to change. In my considered view, both the Seven Point Programme and Vision 20-2020 will only achieve sustainable success if we end up with a modern, inclusive, high quality, and enabling educational system. No effort must be spared to obtain a consensus that a nationwide sustained reform in our Education system is needed. Mr. President of the Federal Republic, the National Assembly and the National Council of States and, of course, their State Assemblies must take up leadership on this. Wide consultations shall be needed. The usual blame game, passing the buck, passing the costs, playing to the gallery or being holier-than-thou, or being more knowledgeable-than-thou should be shunned. This will be cooperation for the betterment of our future. Presidential Commission After these necessary preliminaries have been agreed upon, a very powerful Presidential Education Reform Commission (PERC) shall need to be set up by the President, and shall be

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approved by the National Assembly as well as the National Council of States. It could, on the other hand, though this could be more difficult, be a statutory body set up by an Executive Bill to the National Assembly after the Federal Executive Council and the National Council of States approve. The budget of the Commission, in any event, shall be borne by the Federal Government which has the Constitutional responsibility for minimum standards, but, the States should share in hosting the Commission on their visits. The Commission will be like the historic land mark searches in the past like the Ashby Commission of 1958, the Somade Commission of 1970-1973, or the Political Bureau of 1985-87. The new Commission should be more broadly based but with a more focused mission. The White Paper on the Commission Report should also prove to be broadly acceptable, by all the three tiers of government, and by private educational service provider and users. One thing that will help would be for the findings and recommendations of the Commission to be widely publicized; what the British call a Green Paper in other to gather comments that will help in formulating the eventual White Paper. The National Council on Education and the Educational Parastatals will all render an excellent supporting service including providing the Secretariat, and Secretarial services in Abuja, the States and Local Government Areas. Basic Issues in Meaningul Solution Backed by appropriate legislation, at all tiers of government including, if possible, any necessary amendments to the Constitution and the Commission will carry out its assignment bearing in mind always that the Federal Government retains the Constitutional power to set, maintain and enforce for Minimum Standards. This is one area where Agreement must be secured from the beginning. The regulatory bodies like NUC, NBTE, COREN, ICAN, ARCON, etc, must be maintained and strengthened. There should be, and the Commission should agree on an over-arching National Council on Academic Awards (NCAA) or Independent National Council on Educational Standards (INCES), In Nigeria (INCESIN) The Commission shall ensure that the Minimum Standards are maintained by the respective regulatory bodies. Allowing each body like the NUC, COREN or Legal Education Council to concentrate on its area; on a stand alone basis, will not give the broad picture. Other areas that require broad national agreement from the onset are: 1. The Basic Structure of 6:3:3:4 (or 9:3:4) shall be maintained. It is modern, quite

convenient and popular. It is used in many countries including the USA and American Associated Countries as well as Japan.

2. Priority position given to Education should be upgraded and with the proportion of the

Budget augmented; wider area (or angle) of the educational pie chart, like 7 to 10 per cent. This consensus priority on the minimum level of grant to the sector will give adequate and predictable funds to allow for long term planning, sectoral growth and peace.

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3. The Enrolment must be generally measured and optimum to make meaningful planning and functional relativities of the different levels of skills to fit well into the world of work.

4. Broad generalization on cost recovery with great freedom allowed proprietors from free

education to economically run institutions and system, but, no one should establish a school for profit and all educational institutions should be treated as non - profit making organisations, namely, not taxable. Nine-year-education (Primary + Junior Secondary) shall continue to be free, and compulsory, with full compliance assured.

5. Exploitation in schools, whether by the school authority, staff or student shall be

prohibited. Fagging and corporal punishments promote violence and do not prevent anything; it shall be banned. Student rights must be respected and discipline should be humane and intended only to teach and reform. The Institution should enforce discipline but must observe fully the Fundamental Human Rights and Conventional societal values.

6. The educational system should discourage elitism and prepare all for service rather than

for ruling or elitism. It is important not to confuse Educational Excellence with Elitism. A slovenly prince is elitist but is clearly not excellent.

7. Education needs to be linked to the world of work. This will need special studies,

dialogue and cooperation. It will also require viable machinery for doing this. It will, on its own, an important reform in Education if it takes root.

8. We must be bold and determined on the issue of Science and Technology. We shall never catch up with the galloping away of developed, or even some developing countries, unless we major in Science and Technology, including Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Space Research and Conquest, Genetics, Biotechnology, Food Security or any form of self sufficiency Centers of quality to be developed like the successful Indian for example.

9. Special care needs to be taken to fashion out an inspiring and just career for teachers. The

minimum qualification for teaching shall be the NCE. Teachers in large numbers with good minimum qualifications burden the payroll, but, they must be paid and paid regularly. The careers of teachers must be improved, but, so should the qualification and efficiency. Both the Conditions of Service and the Conditions of Work need to be satisfactory. The Teacher does not have to wait until he or she goes to heaven before they enjoy what they see some people enjoying right here on Earth. The Teachers should be respectable and should be made to feel pride in teaching in the Classroom for a life time, and should be spared frustration and envy. In return, they should work and live in the spirit of to whom much is given, much is expected.

10. There should be a rational reward pattern for all graduates across the nation. Renewed

effort must be made in the area of employment, but, once employment is secured, it should be just and fair. This does not straitjacket the free market, but, makes comparison and the fulfillment of expectations rational.

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11. Student financing has already been referred to. Students must not be left ou since they do not work, by definition, they will have no money. They need assistance. They are not a nuisance and are not people to be made to be ashamed of themselves. They are our children and our successors, and our future hope.

12. There should be Special Education for those who need it because of disability, special

gifts and talents, mode of existence or for any other cause. The groups should include the Women, (for enhancement), the Gifted, the Disabled of all varieties, the Nomads and the Migrants. Without Special Education, there will be no total coverage, no realisation of the full potential of everyone, no full harnessing of manpower resources, and no economic benefit from the different modes of existence and no justice and compassion.

13. Research should be accepted as compulsory at all level of Education; each level

according to its means and its remit. Education should seek to improve itself by Educational Research, and to improve society by entrenching the culture of research as an essential part of all forms of organised scholarship, but, as they say, and we should know, research is elitist, it is not for the poor.

14. Educational Institutions must be tools of human development for social engineering, for

promoting national unity, for preserving the environment and enhancing the value of life on earth. The tertiary institutions in particular, must actively pursue national integration in their enrolment, staffing, studies as well as research and public service. The Unity Schools (and the NYSC) have played a great role in national integration, giving our children the chance to grow up together. More of that should be encouraged, rather than trying to dispose of them.

15. We also need to reach some broad agreement on who should be an educational leader, in

terms of character, discipline and accomplishment. For example, the Minister of Education of this country needs to be a Professor, preferably one who was a Vice Chancellor before. Since Women tend to be well represented among Teachers, at least one of the two Ministers of Education should always be a Woman. The Ministry of Education should be headed by someone with a good track record of performance. Some countries greatly value Education, and do so visibly. For example, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the late King Fahad of Saudi Arabia, Former President de Klerk of South Africa, and former Prime Minister of India Mr. Narasima Rao, were all also former Ministers of Education

. 16. Everything should be done to ensure that the Commission completes its onerous task, and

all governments have taken action to make the White Paper come on stream, and for the reforms to take off, by the next General Elections in 2011.

Epilogue If we can get all the machinery outlined above put in place, then, we would have set the stage for fixing Education in this beloved country of ours. I doubt if we can fix education by 2020, but, we would have been on the way; but we cannot say that we are now on the way, or even facing the right direction.

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No one has been able to say that they have fixed their Education. May be, they are not saying anything new. Prime Minister Tony Blair's slogan was “Education, Education, Education" and President G. W. Bush first came to power with the pledge to make every American Child Read and Write. We still have to address even the problem of Reading. But, if we engage as outlined here, we would have made a good start instead of the many false ones. Whatever it is, Education as I said will always be there, in whatever shape, and University of Ibadan will always be there as a Star to aim for in higher education. There will no doubt be changes, and even more challenges. What will the Alumnus Lecturer Speak on at the University's Centenary, not to talk of the end of the next 60 years? We hope and believe that, at whichever anniversary, Ibadan will always find herelf at the current state of the art in knowledge, research and public service, and will retain its great esteem and pride. I am sure that there will always be a robust Alumni Association to promote the best interests of University of Ibadan and support it to the hilt. In spite of my insatiable optimism, I doubt if I am likely to witness those two future occasions, but, I will always be with you in full spirit. Meanwhile, let me renew my boundless gratitude and feeling of being honoured for making me one of the principal actors this time.

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Table 1: Country Fact Sheet

African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of NEPAD 2006 Country Report on Nigeria

Location Lies in the extreme eastern part of West Africa. Border Countries: Niger and Chad (North), Cameroon (East), Benin (West). Also borders on the Bight of Benin/Atlantic Ocean on the West

Total Area 923,768 sq.km Terrain Ranges from southern coastal swamps to tropical forests, open woodlands, grasslands and semi-

desert in the far North. The highest regions are Jos Plateau, which is 1200 -2400 metres above sea level and the mountains along the border with Cameroon.

Climate Climatic regions are Sub-equatorial, Tropical and Sahel. Dry and wet (rainy) reasons. Annual rainfall ranges from 382 cm along the coast to 64cm or less in the far North.

Drainage Major Rivers are Niger, Benue, Sokoto, Kaduna, Hadejia, Gongola, Ogun, Osun, Osse, Imo and Cross River.

Population Characteristics

Total: 140,003,542 (2006 census estimate) Male: 71,709,859(51.22%) Female: 68,293,683 (48.78%) Life Expectancy 46.5 years Average Growth Rate: 3.2% Density (Persons/sq km): 150 Poverty Incidence: 54.4% Population below Poverty line ($1 a day): 76,161,927 Adult Literacy rate: 69.1% Human Development Index (2007/8): 0.470 HDI ranking (2007/8): 158/177 Tele density (2006): 38 million Unemployment rate (2006): 11.9% (Excluding structural) Unemployment) - urban 10.1%, rural (12.3%)

Administration Capital (Abuja), Commercial (Lagos)

Independence October 1,1960; Republic in 1963 Constitution Federal Constitution promulgated May 29,1999 (the 10th since independence, largely based on

the 1979 Constitution) Government Presidential system

Three tier structure: (Federal, State, Local Government 6 Geo-Political zones (North Central; North East, North West, South East; South South; and South West Zones) 774 Local Government Area, and 6 Area Councils within the FCT, 109 Senatorial Districts, 360 Federal Constituencies, 990 State Constituencies Total Government Budget 2006 Budget $14 Billion) Defence (4.5% of budget)

Elections Independent National Election Commission established August 1998 50 Registered Political Parties Elections held (1999, 2003, 2007)

Currency Naira and Kobo (N1.00 = 100 kobo) Major Indigenous Languages

Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo

Official Language English Main Religious Christianity, Islam, Traditional

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Table 2: Economy Mineral Resources Hydrocarbons (petroleum and gas), Coal, Tin, Columbite,

Limestone, Gold, Quartz Sand, Dolomite, Iron ore, Aluminium, Nickel Granite

Main Commercial/ Industrial Cities Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Jos, Onitsha, Maidug uri, Aba, Enugu, Benin city, llorin, Gusau, Bauchi Osogbno, Nnewi, Calabar, Katsina, San'go Ota, Owerri

Iron and Steel Ajaokuta, Aladja-Warri, Oshogbo, Jos, Katsina

Refineries and Petrochemicals Port Harcourt, Elesa Eleme, Warri, Kaduna

Liquefied Natural Gas Bonny

Energy Thermal and Gas Hydro-electric: Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, Egbin (Ikorodu -Lagos), Afam Ughelli, Sapele

Electricity Production

Generation Installed Capacity (2005): 6,130 MW Energy produced 24,208.92 GWH (2004); 20,635.74 GWH (2005)

Aluminum Smelter Ikot Abas, Port Harcourt Fertilizer Lagos (Apapa, Tin-can Island, Roro), Port Harcourt, Warri, Onne

Deep Sea and Hub Port, Calaber (EPZ) Main Airports

Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kaduna, Jos Owerri, Calabar, Maiduguri, llorin, Yola, Sokoto.

International Trade (2005)

Exports $59 billion Main Exports

Crude and refined oil, and distillation products, tin, columbite, nickel, aluminium, sulphur, salt, and other minerals, cocoa, rubber, plastics, crustacean, mollusc, food, cassava, raw hides and skins, leather.

Major Export Partners Main USA (58.4%), Others (U.K. Germany, France, Italy, South Africa, West African Countries, Netherlands, Belgium, China, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia)

Imports $24 billion Main Imports Manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, vehicles,

aircraft, chemical, mineral products, computer and accessories, fuels, oils and products, photographic and cinematographic goods, spirits, tobacco, textiles, telecommunications.

Major Import Partners

China (10.6%) USA (8.3%), Netherlands (5.9%), UK (5.7%), Others (Japan, Germany, France, Brazil Belgium, Argentina, India, Canada, Denmark, South Africa, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Russia, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Spain, Israel, UAE, Scandinavian countries.

African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of NEPAD 2006 Country Report on Nigeria

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Table 4 Federal Government Finance (% of GDP)

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Overall fiscal balance -2.3 -4.3 -5.5 -2.8 -1.5 -1.1 -0.6

Primary Balance 3 4.2 0.4 5.5 5.2 5.6 4.4

Retained revenue 13.1 15.4 13.1 13.9 10.7 11.2 10.1

Total expenditure 15.4 19.6 18.6 16.7 12.2 12.2 10.6

Domestic debt stock 19.8 19.6 21.3 18.1 11.7 10.2 '

External debt stock/GDP (%)

68.1 61.2 72 61.1 41.9 18.1 2,5

Money and Credit (Growth Rate %) Net Domestic credit -25.3 79.9 64.6 29.1 12 14.5 -65.0

! Net credit to Government -170,1 95.2 6,320.60 58.4 -17.9 -37 -676.2

Credit to Private Sector 30.9 43.5 19.7 18.4 26.6 30.8 28.2

Narrow money (Ml) 32.2 28.1 15.9 29.5 8.6 15.5

15.4

Broad money (M2) 48.1 27 21.6 25.0 12.3 16.6 30.9

African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of NEPAD 2006 Country Report on Nigeria

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Table 5

External Sector 1999

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Overall balance (% of GDP) 6.9 0.4 -7.1 -1.6 9.7 9.3 9.8

Current account balance (% of GDP)

15.7 1.5 -3.4 4.9 17.7 20

23.2

Capital and financial account

Balance (% of GDP) -8.6 -11 -3.6 -6.4 -7.9 -10.8 -13.3

Average Official Exch. Rate (N/US$)

91.8 102.1

111.9 121

129.4 133.5 129 128.7

Average Bureau de Change Exchange Rate

(N/US$) 99.2 111.1 133 137.8 142 140.8 141.8 137.1

All NSE Share Index 5,266.40

8,110 10,963.10 12,137.70 20,128.90 23,844.5 24,085.80 33,189.30

Stock Market capitalization/GDP (%)

7.2 9 9.2 9.4 13.1 16.5 19.9 28.4

M2/GDP (%) 21.9 20 18.7 18.7 18.4 17.9 16.7 17.2

Federal Allocation: Federal Govt. (52.68%); State Govt. (26.72%); Local Govt. Councils (20.6%) 13% Derivation in Oil producing States.

Source: Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja/Central Bank of Nigeria/National Bureau of Statistics. African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of NEPAD 2006 Country Report on Nigeria

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Table 6 Social Indicators Education Statistics- Primary Schools

PrimarySchoolData

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Number ofPrimarySchools 49,306 51,870 59,174 59,761 57,761 85,831

Number of Pupils Enrolled (6- 11yrs)

19,263,534 19,881,681 25,772,044 21,575,178 22,267,407 27,543,639

Number of Teachers 487,303 491,751 591,041 597,299 598,981 863,599

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Table 7: Junior Secondary School

African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of NEPAD 2006 Country Report on Nigeria

School Enrolment/

Gender/Year

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Total 2,580,168 2,950,737 3,684,644 3,507,928 3,634,168 3,695,648

Male 1,431,633 1,746,909 2,083,699 1,972,627 1,984,387 2,040,367

Female 1,148,535 1,203,828 1,600,945 1,535,291 1,639,776 1,655,281

Gender ratio

M: 55.49%

F: 44.51%

M: 59.20%

F: 40.80%

M: 56.55%

F: 43.45%

M: 56.23%

F: 43.77%

M: 54.60%

F: 45.40%

M: 55.21%

F: 44.79%

No. of Jun. Sec. Schools 6,92 6,909 10,570 10,913 10,913 11,081

No of teachers 143,317 163,348 180,278 154,594 159,283 161,628

Students/teacher Ratio 18 18 20.4 23 23

Teachers/School Ratio 23 23 17 14 14.6 14.6

Senior Secondary School 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Total 2,020,937 2,173,533 2,826,799 2,771,634 2,773,418 2,819,952

Male 1,115,360 1,201,219 1,579,165 1,567,011 1,559,038 1,587,633

Female 905,577 972,314 1,247,634 1,204,623 1,314,380 1,232,319

Gender ratio

M: 55.10%

F: 44.81%

M: 55.27%

F: 44.73%

M: 55.86%

F: 44.14%

M: 56.54%

F: 43.46%

M: 56.21%

F: 43.79%

M: 56.30%

F: 43.70%

No. of Senior Sec. Schools 6,292 6,909 10,570 10,913 10,913 11,081

No of teachers 143,317 163,348 180,278 154,594 159,283 161,628

Students/teacher Ratio 14 13.31 15.70 18 17.41

Teachers/School Ratio 23 23 17 14 14.6 14.6

Grand Total 4,601,105 5,124,270 6,511,443 |

6,279,562 6,401,581 6, 616, 600

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Table 8

Colleges of Education

72 - Federal (21), State (41), Private (9), Military (1) Other NCE awarding Institutions (3) Student enrolment for the 2006/2007 Academic Year (354,387) Student enrolment gender ratio (male 51%, Female (49%) No. of Academic Staff 11, 256

Polytechnic and Monotechnic Institutions Monotechnic 50 - Federal (32), State (12), Private (6)

Polytechnic 52 - Federal (21), State (25), Private (6) Student enrolment, Polytechnics/Monotechnics for 2006/7 Academic Year: 360,535 Student enrolment ration: male 59%, Female 41% Number of academic staff: 12,928

University

92 - Federal (27), State (31), Private (34) Student enrolment for 2006/2007 academic year: 1,096,312 Student enrolment gender ratio: Male 64%: Female 36% No. of Academic staff 30,452

Source: National Bureau of Statistics, Abuja/Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, 2007 African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of NEPAD 2006 Country Report on Nigeria

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Table 9: Healthcare Statistics. 2006

Total Fertility rate (TFR - 15-49 years) 5.7 Antenatal attendance: 47% Contraceptive prevalence rate CPR) 8% HIV/AIDS Prevalence rate: 4.8% Neonatal mortality rate (NMR) 53/1000 live births Infant Mortality rate (IMR) 113/1000 live births Under 5 mortality Rate: 201/1000 live births Maternal Mortality rate (MMR): 1000/100,000 live births

Deliveries at health facilities: Deliveries at home: 33%, 67% Hospitals:

Total number 23,641 (2004); 24,522 (2005); 24,753 (2006) No of hospital beds , 73,680 (2004); 85,523 (2005); 86,235 (2006)

Health centres and dispensaries 20,653, (2004) 21,222 (2005), 21,325 (2006) Statistical data for key health personnel (2007):

Physicians (2007): 55,376 (M: 77.61%, F: 22.39%); Dentists (2007) 2,572 (M: 66.90%, F: 33.10%) Dental Technologists (2007) 462 (M: 80.09%, F: 19.91%); Dental therapists (2007) 1002 (M; 42.42%, F: 57.58%); Pharmacist (2007) 14,199 (M: 69.53%, F: 30.47%); Nurses (2007) 128,918 (M: 5.43%, F. 94.57%); Midwives (2007) 90,489 (M:0.01%, F: 99.99%); Radiographers (2007) 799 (M: 66.08%. F: 33.92%) Physiotherapists (2007) 1,500 (M: 60.07% F; 39.93%) Under 5 Immunisation results, 2006 & 2007

BCG (against tuberculosis): 44% 2006; 53% 2007 OPV3 (against poliomyelitis, paralysis); 67% 2006; 62% 2007 TT2 (against tetanus); 64% 2006; 50% 2007

HEP B3 (against hepatitis, cancer, liver diseases): 38% 2006; 51% 2007

DDT3 (against diphtheria, whooping cough, 75% 2006; 70% 2007 Measles (against measles): *112% (2006); 85% 2007)

Yellow Fever (against yellow fever): 39% (2006); 85% 2007) Malaria intervention rate: 46% 2007 Routine immunization rate: 70% 2007

Coverage higher than target population. Source: Federal Ministry of Health & PHCDA, Abuja 2008 African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of NEPAD 2006 Country Report

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Facts about Jibril Muhammad Aminu

Jibril Muhammad Aminu was born August 1939. He is a professor of cardiology. He was Nigerian Ambassador to the USA (1999–2003) and was elected Senator for Adamawa Central constituency of Adamawa State, Nigeria, taking office on 29 May 2003. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).[2]

Birth and academic career Aminu was born in August 1939. Studying medicine, he obtained an M.B.B.S from the University of Ibadan in 1965, and a PhD in Medicine from the Royal Post-Graduate Medical School, London in 1972. He was appointed a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science in 1972, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London in 1980 and a Fellow of the West African College of Physicians also in 1980. He was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Nigerian Postgraduate Medical College in 2004.

Aminu was a Consultant in Medicine, Senior Lecturer and Sub-Dean, Clinical Studies at the University of Ibadan Medical School (1973–1975), and Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (1975–1979). He was Visiting Professor of Medicine at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington DC (1979–1980) and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, 1980-1985. He was also Professor of Medicine at the University of Maiduguri (1979–1995).

Political career Aminu held office as Federal Minister of Education and then Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992). While a Petroleum Minister, he was President of the African Petroleum Producers Association (1991) and President of the OPEC Conference (1991–1992). He was elected a delegate to the National Constitutional Conference (1994–1995). From 1999 to 2003, Aminu was Nigerian Ambassador to the United States of America.

Aminu was elected to the Senate for Adamawa Central in 2003 and reelected in 2007. As a Senator, Aminu was appointed to committees on Foreign Affairs, Education, Air Force and Health. In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay said that he had not sponsored any bills, but had contributed to debates on some motions. He had managed the Foreign Affairs Committee well, and was very committed to the activities of the Committee on Education.

On 2 January 2010, Aminu was installed the "Bobaselu of The Source" by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Sijuwade

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Political and Electoral Reforms: Imperatives for Survival of Nigeria's

Democracy

Theodore Ahamefule Orji (2009) Introduction When I was invited to the United States in 2008 to present a lecture at the Annual World Igbo Congress, I made an unusual call on the glitterati of personalities on that occasion drawn from every corner of the universe-to guard their loins for the unpredictable times ahead. I used that occasion also to draw attention to the need for our country Nigeria to buckle up and confront the emerging challenges facing her in order not to be caught unawares whenever the impending global economic crisis set in. I must confess that the present recession was revealed to me long before it came to pass. I knew since 2007 that the world would witness sudden altercation in its social, political and economic life. I knew too that one day the world would face an endemic economic crisis that would have the capacity of rewriting its entire history. That prophetic statement has finally come to pass, sooner than everybody had imagined. What do we have today; less than two years after I foresaw the cataclysm? The world is bedeviled by crisis of varied dimensions, often resulting in heavy conflagrations that have not only caused continual instability, but massive loss of precious lives and properties, thereby worsening the already bad situation caused by the economic upset. At the centre of most of these crises are greed, struggle for power, ethnicity, and lack of judicious political and reform mechanisms. The truth is that the world is passing through its worst times; sixty four years after the pitiful experiences of World War II. As a member of the international community, Nigeria is not insulated from these crises. In fact, available records show that Nigeria is beginning to feel the heat of the global financial meltdown deeper than expected, even though the impact is not as dreadful. Already, out of the 24 banks in the country are passing through difficulty. The implication of this reality is that the general life of the country and her people is also adversely affected by the downturn. This reality has, without argument, challenged the nation more deeply as it plans a systematic reform of its electoral and political life. But one fact that must be considered in whatever effort that being made to effect reforms is the holistic consideration of the dynamics of politics and the economy. The two are intertwined. In fact, it has been agreed, even by the most vitriolic critics, that the political life of any nation, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is affected substantially by the dynamics of her economy. This is why it is believed that political crises are often aggravated by dwindling economic fortunes. The vibrancy of a nation's political life is therefore determined to a reasonable level, by the buoyancy of her economy and the inter play of other forces such as the unfathomable appetite by the elite to acquire and control political power, exploitation of the majority, and the unending agitation by the minorities to assert themselves.

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Reforms have therefore become an integral part of any nascent democracy. It has been observed that Nigeria, since the first election held in 1922 has not done much of reform. Again between 1 977 and 2007, when the last general elections were held, our Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) had witnessed endless changes in leadership, making it an average of 2.7 per tenure. The implication of these facts is that, they have contributed in weighing down our democratic system and making it continually difficult to institutionalize workable ethics to guide the dispositions of the political class to power and conduct elections. Given the heterogeneous and complex nature of our political system, it makes reasonable sense to argue that the survival of our democracy should be predicated on the evolution of a sound and equitable electoral process. The sharp practices that have characterized the conduct of elections, including the collusion between the Electoral Management Bodies and the Security Agencies are at the root of our inability to produce reliable and God-fearing leaders. Voter apathy, use of manual and analogue systems, ignorance among our women and youths (who constitute powerful voting blocks) and absence of sufficient stringent laws to address petitions arising from the conduct of elections are some of the other salient causes of poor democratic culture in Nigeria. As a one-time player in the conduct of elections in Nigeria, having been seconded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I have acquired adequate knowledge about how the system works. This was why I was deeply touched and, at the same time, humbled when our Alumni Association found me worthy to deliver this year's lecture. My presence before you today is indeed like a home coming. As I cast my mind back to my active days in this famed citadel of learning, my heart leaps for joy. I am joyous for the simple reason that this Institution provided many of us the much needed platform to launch ourselves into the precarious world in search of our destinies. Even though the challenges ahead of us were prodigious, we were not intimidated because we left after graduation with a well formed mind about how to wade through the difficulties and travails of life. This Institution is not only the first indigenous University in Nigeria, it has since recorded many firsts in almost every sphere of human endeavour. It is needless listing these firsts one after another because they are already public knowledge, but I cannot fail to point out that I am the second civilian governor produced in the south east zone by the University of Ibadan after Dr. Jim Nwobodo of Old Anambra State. That is not all; my Deputy, Comrade Chris Akomas, and his wife are all products of University of Ibadan. I do not wish to name the numerous ministers and other heavyweights in Politics and Commerce who passed through UNIBADAN. The bottom line is that we are blessed. Even though I have been in touch with the Alumni Association over the years, I have been looking forward to an opportunity to give something back to the Institution that made me who I am today. I am glad that the chance has finally come today. Beauty of the Annual Alumni lecture lies in its ability to bring us together from every nook and cranny of the world under a roof to contribute our modest quota to the advancement of our dear institution, the nation and humanity.

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You will agree with me that the uniqueness of this particular lecture is multi dimensional. Apart from coming a year after celebration of the golden jubilee of our great Alma Mater, it’s holding at an auspicious time in the political evolution of our country. Interestingly, the title of the lecture also capture an important and, often, contentious issue in our democratic development reforms. 'Reforms' is one word that has evoked emotion and tension more than any other in Nigeria's political lexicon. It assumed some form of national acclaim when President Umaru Yar'Adua set up the Justice Mohammed Uwais Committee on Electoral Reforms, which has since submitted its report. Even though government seems to be dragging its feet in holistically implementing the recommendations of the committee, the significance of the report cannot, all the same, be vitiated. The truth is that our politicians are averse to change, even when they know that change in itself is dynamic and inevitable. This is why they have constituted a visible obstacle to the efforts in the past and present times to effect reforms in our electoral and political systems. Reform-From the Beginning Reform is not a new word in our political lexicon. Interestingly, since independence, Nigeria has witnessed numerous efforts to reform her social, economic and political systems without achieving tangible result. Probably, this is the first time it has assumed such a significant dimension. It is this new awareness that is powering the enthusiasm of Nigerians to discuss the issues concerning reforms with so much depth and vivacity. The fall-out in the end will be a more educated and enlightened electorate. It is gratifying to note, nonetheless, that the National Assembly has given an indication to look more dispassionately into the Uwais report, to see areas that could be tinkered within accordance with the exigencies of the times in order to meet the yearnings of Nigerians. It would have amounted to a great disservice to the National Assembly itself and the Nigeria nation if it had maintained its earlier obdurate stance by going ahead to dump the report in its entirety. The beauty of the report lies in its rich intellectual and wide demographic coverage. The committee members worked assiduously for six months, touching every nook and cranny of the country in search of answers to some of the daunting and lingering problems confronting our great nation. Interestingly, the report takes cognizance of one immutable fact and that is Nigerians need a shift from the old political order to a more robust and functional political system. It would have amounted to throwing away the baby with the water if the forces of retrogression had succeeded in quarantining the report. It has to be pointed out here and vehemently too, that it is always a sad chapter in our political life to spend billions of naira on a committee to do a national assignment, only to dump the report in the end. There are numerous government white papers taking refuge in drawers and saves in offices across the country. What then was the purpose of setting up the committees in the first place? I believe that implementing the reports of government panels and committees, as the case may be, is paramount in achieving institutional reforms and agendas. It is anti-development to waste scarce resources on white elephants projects which is a recurring sore in our effort to attain economic buoyancy, political stability and social harmony.

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Constitutional Development and Obstacles Reform Permit to state that Nigeria's political life had continually experienced multiple altercations that made reforms practically impossible before now. Cultural and religious differences, obtuse political interests, ethnicity and clannishness are some of the obstacles to a sincere reform process. These crises have often assumed terrifying dimensions, leading to loss of lives and properties. This large-scale annihilation of lives and properties leaves many people disinterested in future national activities. It is containing this extremism and building a more egalitarian nation that makes it imperative to review some of our statutes and constitutional provisions to make them conform to global parameters and our local needs, especially in relation to national integration and cohesion. It cannot be argued at all that there has never been a genuine and people-oriented constitutional review effort after the constitutional development of the fifties and sixties that gave birth to Nigeria's independence. All the constitutions fashioned after independence had been designed and promulgated by the military without any plebiscite or input of any sort from people. That is why some of the constitutions contain outrageous and retrogressive provisions, and it is the desire to expunge some of these anti-people provisions that has given rise to the persistent clamour for constitutional review. Again, the similarities between the constitutions show a diagonal similarity. This exposes the lack of depth in these constitutions and questions their integrity. Even though it is impracticable to undertake a total overhaul of the 1999 Constitution between now and 2011, substantial work should be done on the existing provisions that have to do with elections, electoral management bodies, the security agencies and balloting. These provisions are at the heart of the peace, progress and unity of Nigeria. The contentiousness of elections and their outcomes are tied to these provisions.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, permit me to emphasize one point before I progress. There are some Nigerians that are not comfortable with the review of the 1999 Constitution because it suits them as it is. It is these people that are working against reforms. They sponsor social unrests, perpetrate heinous crimes against our nation and humanity, and at the same time are found in the corridors of power, but it is important to let them know that their selfish, parochial interests can never override public interest. After all, the survival of Nigeria is not tied to the apron strings of these few greedy and disgruntled Nigerians. This is why I would wish that Nigerians would wake from their slumber and take their destiny into their own hands. In my estimation, reforms can only work in an atmosphere of peace and order. The continual dislocation of the process of civilianization of governance in Nigeria by the military and other extraneous factors could be said to be the most grievous. There were a total of 6 military interventions in Nigeria's political life between 1966 and 1998. This included Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu's Coup of 1966 that brought General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi to power; Yakubu Gowon's of 1966 that toppled Ironsi, Dimka’s of 1975 that led to the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed, and Buhari/ldiagbon's of 1983 that shoved aside the civilian government of Shehu Shagari. In each case, the first casualties had always been the constitutions and democratic institutions. The constitutions were usually replaced with a body of decrees, which is designed to suit the whims of the junta and its allies. Sadly, some of these decrees, which are yet

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to be reviewed or abrogated, still form a substantial part of our statutes. Curiously, some of these decrees have found their way into the various constitutions fashioned within the same period. This was so because the military, being the progenitors of these constitutions, ensured that their vision or interest was encapsulated in and protected by these constitutions. Again, there has never been a serious effort in the past to produce a constitution that would address the peculiar nature of Nigeria’s socio-political life. This is why we have continually had political religious and ethnic insurrections that had threatened the corporate existence of Nigeria. It must be stated at this juncture that constitutional development in Nigeria which dates back to 1922 when the first constitution was fashioned by the colonial administration under Governor-General Clifford, has always posed an endemic problem and given rise to polemics by conflicting interest groups. Between 1922 and 1999, Nigeria has witnessed a variety of constitutions with each designed to address specific purposes. The most remarkable constitution in the annals of the country was the 1960 Independence Constitution, which gave birth to the sovereign nation called Nigeria. Regrettably, no single constitution since 1922 has met the full expectations of Nigerians. The reason for this can be predicated on the heterogeneous and complex ethnic structure of the country. From available facts, Nigeria has over 450 ethnic groups scattered across the country. Curiously, each grouping is working unwaveringly to position itself prominently in the choking existing political space. This point is responsible for the upheavals that greet every election in the country and which have almost rocked the foundation of our democracy. As it may, it has never been in contention that several administrations in the past had made conscious efforts to reform - even though half-heartedly. Incidentally, these efforts failed to produce the desired results because of the insincerity of their progenitors and their failure to realistically evaluate the weight of the problems facing our fragile democracy. Take a cursory look at Nigeria's political history since the end of the unfortunate civil war, especially the period between the 2nd Republic and now, and you will see an interesting pattern of events. Quite instructive was the regular changes in the nomenclature of the national electoral umpire. Even the unwarranted change in the leadership of the commission tells an interesting story. The reason for this could be attributed to the ego-centricity of the political class, which borders on corruption and greed. Curiously, every person in power at the centre would always want to control the machinery of government in order to be able to call the shots. It is painful that despite the enormous powers conferred on the Chairman of the Commission and his team, they still capitulate to the whims of he that appoints them. The 2007 elections exposed the meddlesomeness of the political class in elections In Nigeria. It is very sad that up till this moment, resentment and public outcries against the 2007 elections are still reverberating. In fact, petitions against the outcome of the elections are pending at the various election tribunals less than 2 years before the next general elections. This unfortunate situation should not have arisen if the constitution had made provisions for these unforeseen exigencies, and if the political class had shown some restraint and maturity in their conduct.

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If electoral reforms evoke some nightmare then what becomes of the effort to carry out political reforms? This has posed about the most daunting task. Political reforms have become a norm in the global arena where nations make conscious efforts to enforce societal values and mores. Reforms are like the imperative for economic change. Economic change entails continual research, policy change, strategy review and other forms of theorization that stimulate growth and development. Those who are saddled with the task of enforcing reforms are like military strategists- they continue to research and review their strategies in order to keep the enemy under continual surveillance. Unfortunately, reforms in Nigeria have been handled haphazardly over the years because the objective has been structurally defective and contently anaemic. Democracy and reforms are, therefore, like Siamese twins-overtly inseparable. The Constituent Assembly that fashioned out the 1979 Constitution had genuine intentions to place Nigeria on a solid democratic footing. This was why almost all the input it made to the 1979 constitution had served as a benchmark in subsequent constitution-making. The 1979 Constitution could be said to be the grund norm to other constitutions, and it had a clear focus on which way our democracy should go. Even though the military tampered with the final report of the Constituent Assembly that worked on the constitution, it was able to set the tone for the eventual take-off of the Second Republic. The 6-political party structure at that time was the making of the same constitution. Agreed, the Second Republic lasted for only 51 months, but its benefits were quite significant. The most visible and tangential effort to reform was made by the Ibrahim Babangida Regime that attempted diluted diarchy throughout its existence. It was during that regime that Babangida transformed into a civilian President while still wearing his rank as a General. Babangida attempted varied experimentations in his effort to properly situate Nigeria politically. His two party systems that gave birth to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC) was an arrangement that was targeted at institutionalizing a two party system as opposed to the present multi-party structure. In order to make the system work, the administration curiously granted the National Electoral Commission (NEC) under the chairmanship of Professor Humphrey Nwosu measured autonomy to carry out its functions. It was this seeming autonomy that attracted the like of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola to vie for elective office in the belief that there would be level playing field, but the military bared its fang sooner than later when it annulled the presidential election supposed to have been won by Abiola. This triggered off a nationwide crisis that attracted global attention. The spirit of June 12 Presidential election lives on with us and has continued to shape political events in the country with indefinable immensity and passion. Interestingly, Babangida tried many things. We are all aware of his economic agenda that strove to place Nigeria on a more competitive pedestal globally. His Structural Adjustment programme (SAP) was a classical package geared towards institutional overhaul and taming of the monster of greed and economic sabotage. Unfortunately, SAP was short-lived, and it left the economy in a fix long after it was scrapped by the General Sani Abacha government. The failure of SAP was a direct product of the desperation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to push down the throat of Nigeria its global economic agenda of waste-cutting.

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Nigeria would have attained some stability politically if Babangida's reforms had pulled through. The little success recorded by Babangida in form of reforms was consigned to the dustbin of history by the successive government of General Sani Abacha and Olusegun Obasanjo. The self agenda of Abacha did not allow his reforms to take root. Perhaps the bitter rivalry among the various groups calling on him to transform into a civilian president beclouded his sense of judicious judgment. The birth of five political parties by the administration of Abacha was all part of the secret agenda towards self-perpetuation. The death of Abacha on June 8, 1998 marked a remarkable chapter in Nigeria's political life. It was a death most unexpected. As much as I felt deeply pained by his death many Nigerians, including the international community, saw his demise as a facilitation of the process of return of power to Civilians. Some persons had argued that nobody would have been sure what Abacha had planned to do if he had not died. The foresight of General Abdulasalmi Abubakar in quickening the electoral process to ensure the emergence of a Civilian president on May 29, 1999 was quite commendable. No matter how flawed the process could have been, at least it led to the pushing of the Military back to the barracks. This was followed by the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo which embarked on extensive but disjointed reform programmes ranging from electoral to political. It was Obasanjo that introduced the presidential system of government in 1978. The conduct of the 1979 general elections, though replete with discrepancies, was able to send the Military back to the barracks. The emergence of Shehu Shagari as civilian president marked an important chapter in the nation's political life. Since then there has been a series of reforms which have never survived beyond the person that made them, continued change in policy by successive administrations has made it difficult for reforms to be sustained. It amounts to sheer foolery for anybody to believe we can make meaningful progress in our march toward sustainable democratic culture without well-coordinated and articulated reforms. Reforms underscore the fashionableness and imperativeness of change and accounts for the rapidity of its embracement by many countries of the world. The United States, for instance, despite its giant success in entrenching democratic values in its domain, has sustained its effort at both electoral and political reforms. Right from 1776 when it became an independent nation, America has pursued reforms with such unrelenting commitment that it has almost become peremptorily a way of life. The huge respect she currently enjoys globally is partly attributable to its consistent and unyielding pursuit of change; and this has constantly placed her high above its contemporaries. America ability to initiate and sustain change no matter her intractability is one fine ingredient of the American democratic life. It does not matter on which side of the divide one stands, what is paramount to the average American is the interest of their nation. This is why she has been able to withstand the buffeting from every conceivable angle, particularly from her external aggressors. Significance of and Factors Affecting Reform The interesting thing about reforms is that it seeks ultimately to make politics work. It is the fulcrum on which the wheel of politics revolves. In reforming, there is the need to take into consideration some basic factors such as food, security, agriculture, land reform, security and agitation for autonomy, qualitative and functional education, power and energy

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voter/citizenship education, infiltration of the elite into power struggle, obedience to rule of law, poverty and diseases, influence of money-bags, and dilapidated infrastructure. In determining the impact of these itemized factors above on the effort to reform, we should first consider the complexities of the Nigerian nation: her past history, structure and composition. It is these complexities that have made reform such a sensitive matter. In addition, Nigeria has undergone a series of crises-religious and political-exacerbated by multi-ethnicity that has largely fragmented and polarized the polity. My approach to this lecture is, therefore determined by the realities of the past and the need to place the horse before the cart. It is not enough to just embark on reforms without first deeply tackling the basic problems that shape our past and future as stated earlier in this lecture. We should not, however, lose sight of the fact that a modern global society stands on an inextricable dualism of economics and politics. And this complex nexus evokes such realities as the global financial meltdown. Therefore, whatever reforms that are being embarked upon must address these factors. The inability to address them in the past led to very severe consequences. Other factors worth considering before a reasonable reform programme can be implemented include the mentality of the political and elite classes that constitute just an infinitesimal percentage of the overall population but would like to acquire and control power at all costs, the role of the judiciary, electorate vigilance, appointment of members of and autonomy for the Election Management Bodies, poverty and corruption, reorientation of the electorate, the youths and womenfolk, and strengthening of political parties. The judiciary has been able to stand out among other Institutions that promote and protect the sanctity of the nation's life because it enjoys financial autonomy. It is this autonomy that has emboldened it to face its constitutional responsibilities more squarely and fearlessly. This is the kind of autonomy that INEC needs if we want it to live above board. Similarly, hunger and poverty have contributed in equal dimension to the instability and corruption that run ring around our polity. Addressing the problem of poverty, hunger and unemployment will curtail the unnecessary and mindless manipulation of the citizenry, especially the youths, by politicians. I believe strongly that violence in elections will disappear the moment we engage our youths and other vulnerable persons in meaningful activities. As it stands now, politicians find their litany of thugs, election-riggers and other miscreants among this class of people. Let me dwell a little on political party democracy. Almost all the major political parties in the country are engulfed by internal. It is heart-warming to observe that INEC has made its intention of introducing electronic voting in the next general elections known. When fully operational, it will eliminate the inadequacies of the present manual voting system. Whatever reforms that are being undertaken must address such issues as political party reform and campaign financing, local sector representation, constitutional reform, citizen-voter education, violence, enhancement of the operations of civil society groups, promotion of rule of law, etc. These issues, when fully and objectively addressed, have the capacity of engendering

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free and fair polls, quality representation by the right caliber of persons, peace and progress, and entrenchment of sustainable democratic culture. The truth, therefore, is that each of these items is necessary for the emergence of healthy electoral political systems. Without prejudice, I think the report of the Justice Muhammadu Uwais, Electoral Reform Committee should form the basis of whatever electoral reforms that will evolve in future. The committee, with all due respect, did a very commendable job and delivered an impeccable and forward-looking report. It will amount to a great disservice to our people if the report is misused or incinerated as the case may be. The consequence will be quite grave. One major and radical aspect of the report which will reasonably help to sanitize our electoral system is the autonomy for INEC and removal of the powers conferred on the President to appoint the INEC boss. Whoever opposes this recommendation is an enemy of Nigeria. Autonomy for INEC will facilitate preparations for elections on time and remove unnecessary capitulation by INEC officials to the manipulation of the executive who appointed them. This is why the National Assembly should take it upon themselves to ensure that the grey areas in the report are adequately addressed. Dumping the report is not the solution. It amounts to postponing the doom's day. Epilogue As I said earlier in this lecture, automation of all the operations of INEC has become increasingly important. This is the practice all over the world. We must move with the times. Manual voting breeds corruption and other forms of electoral fraud. Apart from checking fraud, automation will also quicken the process of voting and release of results. It also eliminates unnecessary and avoidable human errors and reduces disagreements with announced results drastically. To attain the target of electoral and political reforms, there is a compelling need to review the constitution piece meal. There are many provisions in the 1999 Constitution that run counter to citizenship rights, rule of law, justice and equality. These provisions are responsible for the hiccups that threaten to destroy the very essence of our democracy. Reviewing the constitution is the most critical step towards achieving reforms. I read in the media recently that some senators insisted that there would not be any constitutional amendment without the creation of new states. Ordinarily, the creation of new states should not be tied to the review of the constitution, both are significant to restore normalcy to our democratic space. There is no way we can view Nigeria as an equitable society when there is visible injustice in the creation of states. The hardest hit in this regard is the South East geopolitical zone that has the least number of states. It is not within the purview of this lecture to list the provisions in the 1999 Constitution that should be amended, expunged or retained. That is the prerogative of the National Assembly, but it must be stated for the benefit of hindsight that no electoral or political reforms can work without amending the constitution. It is the lapses in the existing constitution that are responsible for the tension in the polity; it is as simple as that. The refrain should be "Review the constitution, attain reforms". Allowing the present constitution to stand will engender deeper acrimony, hatred and division and even jeopardize the forthcoming elections.

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Those who fear the differences in tongue and constitute an albatross to the solidification of the democratic process are being unrealistic. The unity of Nigeria has never been in question because we have been living as one entity even before the 1914 amalgamation. This is why you can find Yoruba in parts of the Togo, Hausa in Niger Republic and Efik in Cameroun. Achieving a cohesive, judicious, equitable and functional constitution is a product of thorough and conscious effort. This is why the National Assembly should expedite action on the constitution review in order to round off work on it on time to give enough time for the operational framework to be put in place before the 2011 polls. It may not be out of place to advocate that citizenship/voter education should be given equal attention in the effort to review the constitution. Voter awareness and the need to reorient the citizenry constitute a vital link in the effort to change the attitude of the leaders and the led to elections and power. The do-or-die disposition of our politicians to power and the penchant of the electorate to pander to the biddings of the political class are all tied to the ignorance that characterizes the entire gamut of our political life. This was why I stated from the outset that empowering the citizenry would strengthen their resolve to resist being manipulated by the politicians to foment trouble and endanger our fragile democracy. Many may not unconsciously know that reforms are gradually and regularly taking place in our social system. Take for instance, the scaling down of the salaries of political and judicial officers by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which was a direct response to the global economic crunch. But a holistic and meticulous approach should be adopted in reviewing the entire socio-economic and political life of the country to identify those things that constitute a clog in the wheel of progress. My fellow Alumni, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we do not have a better time to embark on this all-important national assignment than now. The time for rhetoric is over. It is high time we took the bull by the horns and worked to save our democracy. Nigeria, no doubt, occupies a strategic position in global affairs, particularly in Africa, and this makes it imperative for us to reform. I feel a time will soon come, judging by the way the world is moving, when we will completely be left behind if we failed to rise up to the occasion now. Almost all the countries that started the race for sovereignty have overtaken us. It is believed that Nigeria is the largest black nation in the entire universe, but why has she continued to limp when it should be running? I need an answer. Every Nigerian, no matter his political or religious inclination, agrees we must embark on systemic reforms and chart a sustainable course for the advancement of our collective democratic ideals. Bickering over primordial interests will not serve us any useful purpose. It will only set us further apart. The bond of brotherhood that binds us together makes it mandatory for us to work as a team, shun ethnic cleavages, and promote unity, love and friendship among our various tribes. Even though our tongues differ, our unity of purpose remains unbroken and unfettered. Generations of Nigerians yet unborn, look up to our own generation for leadership; leadership anchored on mutual coexistence, respect and conviviality. I have strong faith that our nation will

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outgrow some of its debilitating problems most which are self-inflicted and reassert it more pragmatically in the global frontiers. I do not have any fear whatsoever, that Nigeria will get over some of the problems that drain her energy and make it wobble in the face of global competitions. Things are hard and rough today, but tomorrow will be better. What we need at this critical moment is creativity, patience, understanding and commitment to positive change. We cannot attain our set goals unless we change for the better. I thank the organizers of this rich intellectual bazaar for their dexterity, understanding and for finding me suitable out of an array of similarly qualified persons to present this lecture. I urge us all to work unremittingly to promote the ideals and ethos for which our forbears founded this citadel of learning. We should always bear in mind that we owe this Institution a great service for giving us the sound footing on which our future has been built. We must not allow the vision of our founding founders to be aborted in our time. I assure you of my unremitting determination to continue to be a shining light of this great Institution wherever I may find myself, especially now that I have been saddled with the onerous responsibility of giving my people service as their governor. The success of whatever I have achieved as governor can be traced to the solid foundation laid for me at the University of Ibadan. I will forever cherish this experience . I solicit your prayer and support at all times as we work together to entrench democracy in our country. I believe strongly in the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria. Nigeria is the only country we have. We should therefore strive relentlessly to protect and make her prosper by shunning parochialism, ethnicity, favouritism and all forms of injustice. By the special grace of God our efforts will not be in vain. I have enjoyed every time spent here with you and I look forward to another opportunity in future to share my thoughts with you on issues that shape our collective destiny.

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Facts About Theodore Ahamefule Orji Early Life and Education Theodore Ahamefule Orji was born in his hometown Amaokwe-Ugba, Ibeku in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State on November 11, in the year 1950. His father Chief Tom Orji Ikoro was a man of great means by all measurable standards and ramifications. Going by his background as the only son of his mother, and one whose father was a well known warrant Chief that built a very first storey building in the modern Umuahia capital city (which is still standing till date), one can say without equivocation or any iota of contradiction that Theodore Ahamefule Orji was indeed born with a silver spoon. For his academic pursuit, Chief Theodore Ahamefule Orji started his primary education at St. Michaels Catholic Primary School, Umuahia, Abia State. From there, he proceeded to Santa Crux Secondary School, Olokoro in the present-day Umuahia South LGA in Abia State, and Holy Ghost College, Owerri. Theodore Orji capped his educational pursuit with a Bachelor of Art Degree in English from the prestigious University of Ibadan in 1977. Upon graduation from Nigeria’s premier University, young Theodore got enlisted, for the National Youth Corps Scheme, and was deployed to Sokoto State where he was posted to teach at Government Secondary School, Shinkafi, Isa Local Government Area of present-day Zamfara State. On the successful completion of the National Youth Service Corps Scheme in 1978, Theodore Ahamefule Orji offered himself for public service and was employed as an Administrative Officer in the old Imo State Civil Service on 18th December, 1979. Subsequently, as an Administrative Officer, he served in various capacities in the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Lands and Survey, Ministry of Agriculture and Imo State Government House. Upon the creation of Abia State in August 1991, Theodore Ahamefule Orji returned to Umuahia to contribute in the course of laying a strong foundation for the smooth take-off of the new state. He served at various times in Government House, Umuahia, Bureau of Budget and Planning, and Ministry of Agriculture. In all the places he served, Theodore Ahamefule Orji left indelible footprints in the sands of time. This is one special feat that has endeared him to all who came in contact with him. On March 1st 1996, T.A. Orji was seconded to the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON) now INEC, Abia State, as Administrative Secretary, and was later redeployed to Enugu State in 1997 where he supervised the elections that ushered in the democratic government in that state in 1999. Thereafter, he returned to Abia State to take up another assignment as Principal Secretary, Government House, Umuahia, and later Chief of Staff to the Executive Governor. Political Career In December, 2006, Chief Theodore Orji heeded the clarion call of his people of Abia State to offer himself for the governorship of Abia State, having left no one in doubt of his possession and command of the administrative arsenal needed to propel his dear state to an enviable level. Consequently, he contested for and won the Governorship primaries of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, to contest the 2007 governorship elections in Abia State. Shortly after he clinched the ticket of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) to contest the 2007 elections, he became the target of the most vicious campaigns of calumny from many political foes who knew correctly, that his participation in the polls will seal his opponents’ political ambitions for life. Since hard

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work never fails, and the divine wish of God must come to pass, history was made on April 14, 2007 as Chief Theodore Ahamefule Orji resoundingly emerged the Governor of Abia State, and was sworn in on May 29, 2007 as the 3rd Executive Governor of Abia State. Since the inception of his administration till date, Governor T.A. Orji has not left anyone in doubt, regarding his dream for Abia State, which is to make the State truly great by all standards and ramifications. His policies and programmes have been geared towards providing a foundational synergy in all sectors of Abia State’s development which has transformed the image of the state and positioned her as one of the most active state in the country in terms of sustainable development. Governor T. A. Orji who has liberated Abia State from the clutches of god-fatherism, has ushered in a new lease of life in Abia, with his developmental projects that span across the three senatorial zones in the state. With the new found freedom under the PDP umbrella, Ochendo, is laying a solid foundation for the state. Governor T.A. Orji (Ochendo) is an ardent Christian who has taken his religious evangelism to the seat of governance and politics in Abia State. He has sought in all facets to reinstate Abia State to its epithet as ‘God’s Own State’. First, he rejected the politics of oath taking and allegiance to false gods which hitherto dominated the activities of Abia State, and through that opened the political space for participation of all citizens without allegiance to godfathers. Governor T.A.Orji has integrated the role of the Church and the State as agents for moral and social development in Abia State, and has seen the need to partner with the Church in a non denominational basis to improve the delivery of services, when necessary. He recently handed over 19 Mission schools which have been run by the State in the past 40 years, back to their original Mission Owners, because he appreciates their effective moral stronghold in the building of the ideal citizens. He has donated to various Churches across the State, during harvests and the hosting of Synods, and also supports higher educational religious institutions and Christian Universities across the Nation. Governor T.A.Orji has sponsored many Christian and Moslem pilgrims to the Holy Lands, both at his personal and Government’s expense, and strongly supports religious freedom and plurality. He believes strongly in the building of great edifices in support of Christians and other religious bodies, and the following Church buildings were made possible through his single or collaborative efforts, some of them from the foundation level, and others at different stages of intervention: • St Thomas Aquinas Chaplaincy, Umudike (from foundation to completion) • Church of Christ, Ugba Na Nkata • Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Ugba • St Odilia Catholic Church, Osuokwa, Osisioma • Methodist Church Institute • Anglican Church , Amakama • Church of Christ buildings in Ariam, Nkwo Egwu, Inyienyi and Ozuitem, respectively. He has also donated 65 buses and 15 pleasure vehicles to support the work of churches and Ministers of the Church, and donated cash to support religious activities. He is in his heart, a committed servant of God in the Government House, and his humility and religious commitments speaks well of him. The sky remains his limit and he is a man to watch! His wife Chief Mrs Mercy Odochi Orji is a prayer warrior who has instituted and supported many prayer groups, especially the Abia Prayer Network – which meets every week to reverence God. She has complimented the efforts of her husband in her many charitable and religious works

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Corruption and the Rule of Law; Wither Nigeria?

Chief Adeniyi Akintola, SAN. (2010)

Introduction If there is any topic that has dominated the socio - political and economic landscape of Nigeria in recent times, it is that canker worm called “corruption”. No day passes without the word “corruption” taking a front burner of discussion among Nigerians. From the high to the mighty and the lowly, the issue of “corruption” as a great militating factor against national development and national rebirth has become something that must be tackled with all strength and blood to the extent that even the known defenders of the status - quo among the elites are now discussing the hydra headed evil and danger that corruption portends. What is Corruption? As rightly pointed out by Professor Akin Oyebode, corruption is “so pervasive in Nigeria that it needs no definition”. In the words of Honorable Justice Roberts Jackson of the Supreme Court of United States, “We all know obscenity when we see it”. We all know the act of corruption when we see one. For the purpose of this paper however, let me attempt a definition of some sort of the word “corruption”. In doing this, let me state that my attempt at defining same should not be seen as an all embracing and all inclusive definition. To start with, corruption implies abuse of office, abuse of privilege, undue advantage, undeserved favor obtained through manipulation of the law, rules or regulations, untoward conduct premised on graft or a promise of same, performance of services in exchange for gratification, non-performance of duties or services in order to confer some advantages or benefits, advance fee payments, kick-backs, upfront gratifications, pecuniary or immoral benefits from illegal conduct, sexual harassment of subordinates or the weak, political corruption, nepotism, tribalism, etc these definitions as earlier stated are by no means exhaustive. Some scholars such as Hafiz Adisa, Professor Akin Oyebode, M. M. Akanbi, Oladokun, Akinyemi, Saliu H.A. have in their various papers on corruption tried to conceptualize the definition of corruption. In doing this, some of them took the narrow compass view of the evil called corruption. To Hafiz Adisa, corruption and corrupt practices has to do with fraudulent activities especially the siphoning of public fund that is meant for the general populace for personal use. To Professor Akin Oyebode, corruption is an abuse of office or an abuse of public trust, undue advantage to obtain favor through manipulation. In my article published by ThisDay and Nigeria Tribune Newspapers in September, 2006, I had tried not to fall into the mistake of seeing corruption as a disease that is peculiar to public

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officers. In my article titled “Getting it straight about EFCC, An Appraisal of Ribadu's corrupt method of fighting corruption,” I had detailed eleven unwholesome methods adopted by the erstwhile Chairman of the EFCC in carrying out his mandate. My article was a response to Olusegun Adeniyi's piece of Thursday 31st August, 2006 Edition of ThisDay Newspaper. In that Article I had postulated that the word corruption is highly omnibus in nature, generic and needs to be subjected to empirical analysis in order to appreciate its broad- based application. In its conception of the word corruption, that great scholar of our time, Professor Akin Oyebode categorizes corruption into three that is, petty, ordinary and grand. He also categorizes the perpetrators of corruption into low, powerful and mighty. The erudite Professor's paper came close to my own understanding of what corruption is, but our areas of divergence is the categorization which I see as unnecessary and purely academic. To my mind corruption is corruption. A thief is a thief. The magnitude or quantum of the items stolen is immaterial. The Criminal code that created the offence of stealing makes no distinction between the quantum of the item stolen or the status of the thief. Another area of my difficulty with the postulations of other scholars such as Hafiz Adisa is the attempt to localize corruption or zero -in same to Nigerian public officials. Such localization to my mind is self-limiting and do not seem to be appropriate in the understanding of the concept of corruption. This is because; such conclusion limits the phenomenon of corruption to public officials alone as if private individuals in the society are corrupt free. According to Professor Akinyemi, a simple way of avoiding this narrow compass of viewing corruption is “to accept that corruption is the acquisition of that which one is not entitled to and this takes different forms at different scales”. For the purpose of today, it is safe to assume that corruption includes all illegal and immoral exercise of powers, advantages, and or privileges. This may take different forms. It is an all embracing phenomenon which covers the public and the private sectors, families, friends, employers, employees, institutions at different levels and categories. It is therefore my submission, that what is not morally right cannot be legally justified by any person be it from the private or the public sector. Yes, I agree that morality is an unruly horse, when you get astride it, you can be taken to an unintended destination but there is the “doctrine of common sense” which though not common, differentiates what is good from what is bad. This presupposes that to achieve societal prosperity, the issue of accountability at all levels must be resolved and anything that impedes societal prosperity in any form is “corruption”. I am aware that I may be stretching my hypothesis too far, but let me end this aspect of my paper by saying that as rational beings, we all are presumed to know what is bad from what is good. Corruption therefore, is what we all know is bad. Let us all agree that corruption is a bad phenomenon in simple language and in order to avoid further disputations on the subject by scholars and writers alike.

Definition of Rule of Law Without attempting to discuss what you already know or turn this into an inaugural lecture, may I hasten to say that what Rule of law is, is at the finger-tips of the distinguished guests who are seated here. Without doubt, this fathering consists of some of the finest minds of this country.

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You sure understand this concept better than me. All I am trying to do here is to give a brief summary of the origin and the concept of the Rule of law at least for the benefit of the unlearned but well informed members of the society. History of Rule of law The concept of Rule of law is not a recent one; it is clearly an ancient one which found diverse expression from Plato and Aristotle around 350 BC. Plato believes that where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own; the collapse of the state, in his view is not far off. But if law is the master of the government and the government is it slave, then the situation is full of promise, and men will enjoy all the blessing that gods shower on a state. To Aristotle “law should govern” and those in power should be “servants of the laws”. Aristotle believes that it is more proper that law should govern than any one of the citizens been advantageous where the supreme power is merely placed in some persons who are appointed to be guardians only, and the servants of the law. The ancient concept of rule of law is clearly distinguished from rule by law which we now have in Nigeria. According to Professor Li Shuguang, the difference is that, under the rule of law, the law is pre - eminent and can serve as a check against the abuse of power while under rule by law, the law can serve as a mere tool for a government that suppresses in a legalistic fashion. The supremacy of law is not exclusively a western notion. As early as 1215 AD, King John placed himself, England's future sovereigns and magistrates partially within the rule of law by signing the popular Magna - Carta. In the ancient Oyo Empire, our fore fathers had in place a concept of administration which forbids the concentration of powers in the hands of Alaafin (the King). The King reign. The “OYOMESIS' constitutes the legislative arm of the Empire and the “ESOS'” constitute the Military wing and enforce the laws. Thus, it was common then for a recalcitrant or dictatorial Alaafin to be checked by the “OYOMESIS”’ and the “ESOS'” through the process of asking such Alaafin to be “a man” or better put, commit suicide. So even in the ancient Yoruba Kingdom, the Rule of law was recognized. There was a clear cut of Separation of powers. According to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his book: “The faith of a Democrat”, Rule of law means using law as an instrument of governance. To him, law is not independent. He admitted that the government may use the law to rule the people in such a way as to make government officials to be above the law which will make such law to become an instrument of oppression. He believes that the Rule of law can only be said to exist where the law is independent of the government. In other words, it is the law that rules and dominates the government, and not the other way. Rule of law therefore epitomizes a situation where the law is separated from the government, politics and from religion. In such a situation, the law will be able to serve its purpose by regulating the powers of the government and citizens to govern and exercise their rights. This will ensure the protection of the rights of all; government and citizens alike. It will ensure the prevention of the abuse of power, rights and privileges.

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The name commonly given to the state of affairs in which a legal system is operated in modern society is the Rule of law. By the Rule of law, the specific virtue of legal system has been well analyzed by various writers as shown above. A legal system therefore exemplifies the Rule of law to the extent that its rules are prospective not retroactive, not in any way impossible to comply with, rules are promulgated, clear, coherent with one another, sufficiently stable, and those people who have authority to make, administer, and apply the rules in official capacity are accountable for their compliance and to actually administer the work consistently and in accordance with its tenor. It is therefore safe to say that the Rule of law does not merely shape or modulate project which a ruler already has in mind, it also gives room for new subject matters for authoritative regulations. The Rule of law does not permit a ruler to do what he wills. Rule of law is a virtue of human interaction and community. It therefore exists for the society and not the other way round. In other words, the Rule of law exist for man, man does not exist for it. This brings us to a concept called the limits of Rule of law. Concept of the Limits of Rule of Law As we shall see later in this paper, scholars have stressed that in an age of conceptual dogmatism, the concept of the Rule of law and the society are legitimately many and their employment is subordinated to matters of principle rooted in the basic principles and requirements of practical reasonableness. In other words, any concept of the Rule of law that is not beneficial to generality of the people is a shame. Corruption and Rule of Law: The Nigerian Experiment As seen from the above discussions of the concept of the Rule of law and corruption, it is clear that the application of the latter is a way of over-riding public interest that matters. Any application of the Rule of law that tends to suggest, encourage, or assist the promotion of corruption in any form and under any guise is of no use, non-beneficial and a sham. In brevity, the application of Rule of law for the promotion of corruption, protection of corrupt practices and its perpetrators will amount to an act of corruption in itself. This brings us to the Rule of law mantra of Yar'dua /Jonathan administration. Before the inception of Yar'dua administration in 2007, it was clear that Rule of law under Obasanjo was a mirage. In fact, the fight against corruption then was a weapon of political vendetta. All the gains made earlier by EFCC led by Ribadu at his early inception especially in his fight against advance free fraud were wiped off as a result of Obasanjo's desire to manipulate the constitution and secure illegal third term for himself. He then practically turned EFCC led by Ribadu to a tool of political vendetta. All known and perceived opponents of third term were hounded, harassed and vilified under the guise of fighting corruption. A classical example was the treatment meted out to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and several other members of the opposition parties. In another example, a panel was constituted by Obasanjo under the chairmanship of the then Attorney General of the Federation; Chief Bayo Ojo SAN with Nuh Ribadu, El Rufai, and the then Minister of State for Agriculture to investigate the alleged corruption against the president, met him briefly on a Saturday night and produced a white paper indicting the vice president.

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The following Sunday morning, the inscription “Published and printed by Federal Government Printer: Maalu Road, Apapa” Several Governors and candidates who had secured the nominations of their political parties were disqualified from contesting election with Ribadu playing the hatchet role. The noble role of fighting corruption with foci and commitment was abandoned for political gain. In aforementioned paper of September, 2006, I had stated in pages 3-5 that: “Less I am mistaken, NBA, the Professional Association of learned

men in the country has zero level tolerance for corruption and in fact, would always steadfastly be in the vanguard of stamping out corruption out of the nation's borders. In doing that the NBA is methodical and polished about it and not in the manner Ribadu is rapidly pushing the nation back to hitleric Dark Age's with his Gestapo like operation”.

The EFCC boss brazen bravado and crude disrespect for the Rule of law must give Nigerians some concerns, most especially lawyer and journalists who should cry foul to check the unbridled EFCC. Ribadu refusal to obey orders of court made by Hon. Justice Jonah Adah, granting bail to five accused persons charged with forgery re - arranged them before another court of competent jurisdiction. Accused persons got reprieve eight (8) months later at the Court of Appeal after one of them had become paralyzed and another afflicted with tuberculosis in Ribadu's custody. See Obioma V F.R.N (2005)1.1 WRN 131. Remember also the case of Morris Ibekwe. Refusal to obey order of the FHC, Lagos, presided over by Hon. Justice Abutu on the release of Alhaji Bulama, the former Managing Director of Bank of the North. Intimidation of judges by going round their chambers to seek for their cooperation with EFCC, asking them not to grant bail to suspects arrested by EFCC. Ribadu went to the chambers of Lagos State High Court Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Ade Alabi. The President of the NBA reported this incident to the NBAAGM in Port Harcourt. Ribadu wrote letters to the States Attorneys General asking them to cede their powers under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to him which is ultra - vires to both the EFCC and the State Attorney General. Rather than follow the due process and respect the constitution of the country, Ribadu forum shops for weak judges who would do his biddings. He arrested people in Plateau and prosecuted in Kaduna. Also arrested in Abuja and prosecuted in Lagos and sometimes withdraws cases from uncompromising judges only for the same case to resurface in another court within the same premises, thereby undermining the independence and sanctity of the judiciary. His acts of arresting and detaining people without trial are legion. It is a notorious fact that some people have been detained for months by EFCC without trial. The position of the law is that even if a person commits an offence which attracts maximum punishment, he should be given a steady and speedy trial following all the tenets of law. This is in tandem with the time tested maxim, “justice delayed is justice denied”.

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I refer to the extracts of my paper of September 2006, herein, before mentioned for obvious reasons. Firstly, I had anticipated the despicable role later played by Obasanjo and Ribadu between September 2006 and May 2007 to scuttle the noble fight against corruption. Secondly, I refer to the extracts of my said paper in other to show that there is no conflict between the Rule of law properly so called and fight against corruption. All that is needed is a clear focus of policy formulation and implementation of the general good of citizenry. After all, the Rule of law encompasses the observance of the letter and the spirit of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. Same amplified by late President Umar Musa Yar'adua in his inaugural speech in 2007. Having watched the geometric rise of corruption in the public and private sector in the recent times, I think I owe Ribadu an apology for my views and positions of September 2006. Ribadu was right to some extent. The Social and economic rights contained in Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 especially from Section 13 - 24 of the said constitution stipulates that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of Democracy and Social justice. It states further that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of governance. Section 16(l) (b) states

“Control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice, equality of status and opportunity

In fact, Section 16(1) (c) (d), (2) (a) - (c):

“1(c) without prejudice to its right to operate or participate in areas of the economy, other than the major sectors of the economy, manage and operate the major sector of the economy; (d) Without prejudice to the right of any person to participate in areas of the economy within the major sector of the economy, protect the right of every citizen to engage in any economic activities outside the major sectors of the economy. 2. The State shall direct its policy towards

a) the promotion of a planned and balanced economic development;

b) t ha t t h e mat e r ia l resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good;

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c) that the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of a few individuals or a group”

It is my opinion and I strongly believe that social justice to all and sundry cannot be implemented or enhanced in a corrupt society like Nigeria. Any law, be it the Criminal code, Penal code, EFCC Act, ICPC Act and or the Evidence Act that seeks to protect corruption or provide escape route to corrupt persons under whatever guise including but not limited to Section 138 of the Evidence Act, CAP A14, Laws of the Federation 2004, cannot be said to be in conformity with the provisions of Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. If the objective, intendment, letter, and spirit of Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is to promote social justice, equality and economic prosperity for all, it will amount to playing the Ostrich to expect the prosecutor of a suspected embezzler whose properties or assets are so glaringly incompatible with his income to establish beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the latter. The offence of corruption of whatever magnitude should be that of a strict liability. In fact, the provisions of Sections 5,6,11 of the EFCC Act, Chapter El, Laws of the Federation 2004, and Section 6,8,9, 10, 11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,18,19,20,21,22,24, and 26 of the CPC Act, Chapter C31, Laws of the Federation 2004 need be amended to make all the offences created therein one of strict liability. In other words, the onus should be on the accused person in relating to these offences to prove his innocence and that will be in tandem with the provisions of Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. Do I hear whispers from some of my listeners as to the justifiability of Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999? Yes The Nigerian courts have in the past held that they were precluded from enforcing or recognizing the fundamental objective principles set out in Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 by virtue of Section 6 (6)(c) of the same Constitution. This position of our courts notwithstanding, I submit with profound respect that the audacity to be innovative and creative in our approach to fundamental issues afflicting our nation must be our main objective. Law must be interpreted and argued by us as judges and lawyers to enhance and promote social engineering. We must not be dogmatic and become slaves to laws. We are masters of the craft, and indeed I dare say legal technicians. Happily enough, there are escape routes for innovative minds to get out of this stereotype, archaic and anachronistic views of Chapter II of the Constitution. Nigeria as a nation is a signatory to the A f r i can Charter on Humans and People's Right (Ratification and Enforcement Act) 1983 which has now become part of our municipal laws even under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended in the 1st and 2nd amendments) by virtue of Section 315. The combine effect of the provisions of Sections 315 and the Ratification and Enforcement Act of 1983 makes the African Charter on Peoples Right an Existing law and with superior power over and above our local laws. It is submitted therefore, that since the principal contents of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights centered mainly on social justice, equality and economic emancipation, the fundamental objective principles contained in Chapter II of the Constitution is enforceable

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This reasoning of mine have its foundation in pragmatic approach by the Supreme court in the case of Ogedengbe Attorney General Federation 2002 CLC, Page 226, FWLR [2002] 9 NWLR (Part 772), the Superior court though made no reference to the African Charter on Human and People; Rights in decision reached in Ogendengbe's case, it is gratifying that our courts are gradually transforming into “Judicial government” with approach to constitutional law from a beneficial perspective. It is important to note that Judges must keep in view the need for their decisions to go a long way in shaping the society for the better especially as it concerns the fight against corruption which impedes the development of social justice. The Nigerian legislature having passed a legislation that made the set of fundamental aspirations in the African Charter of Human and Peoples Law applicable in Nigeria, it is incumbent upon the courts to give legal teeth to same especially since the coming into effect of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. It is my humble opinion that the fundamental objective principles of the constitution which promote social justice and negate corruption and other societal ills are now justifiable in Nigeria. As stated by the Court of Appeal Benin, vision in the case of Federal Board on Inland Revenue V Intergrated Data Services Ltd (2009) AFWLR delivered on 7th January, 2009, Ogunwunmiju JCA at Page 788 particularly at 805-807: “There is no equity or presumption about a tax. Nothing is to be read and

nothing is to be implied. One can only look fairly at the l an gu ag e u sed b u t t h e swiftness of interpretation may not always ensure to the subject benefit, for if the person sought to be taxed comes within the letter of the law, he must be taxed however great the hardship may appear to the judicial mind. If a statute is revenue based or revenue oriented it will be part of sound public policy for a court of law to construe the provisions of the statute liberally in favor of revenue or in favor of deriving revenue by the government. This is because; it is in the interest of the generality of the public and to the common good and welfare of the citizenry for Government to be in revenue and affluence to cater for the people. That is the only way it can distribute w ea l th t o t he p eo p l e t o facilitate development to all and sundry. No court of law should lend it hands to a person or body bent on beating the efforts of Government at collecting revenue by relying on technicalities of the law with a frugal aim to cheat Government of its legitimate income”.

In line with the above decisions, I dare say that no court of law should lend its hands to any person or body bent on scuttling the light against corruption by relying on technicalities of the law, or stand on a weak platform of archaic phrases such as “prove beyond reasonable doubt” and non justifiability of the provisions of Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. In the words of Professor Tunde Ogowewo, the idea of judicial government must be advanced and postulated in order to enable the judiciary see its roles as part of the government, and therefore a key part of the developmental processes. In other words, if the aims and objectives of the government is to promote social justice, equality and economic emancipation for all and sundry, any form of law that limits the efforts of the government to fight corruption cannot fall within the ambit of the Rule of law, such will in the words of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu become “the Rule by law”. Though it is very important that all public

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officials and citizens alike respect the law in their actions. Majority of our great jurist and philosophers who have expanded this theory have realized that the idea of the rule of law goes beyond this. The insufficiency of demanding that everybody refrain from breaking the law as it is was revealed in the concept of “national security” and “national interest”, these phrases vague and equivocal as they are, are very potent weapons in the hands of the jurist to protect what it considers to be the interest of the generality of the people. As shown in the testimonies of two South African journalists A. Harber and I. Manoim in their article “ Capricious censorship” Newsweek Magazine of 12th December, 1988 thus: “South African censorship has always had an Orwellian quality. For example, the

National Key Points Act of1980forbids one from photographing a “keypoint”. What is a key point? Nobody knows, because the government says that if it told us, the “enemy” would know where to plant bombs. We will find out what a 'key point is' is only when we photograph it and fined or sent to prison for doing so... Three newspaper have been temporarily suspended in the last eight months, not because they have broken any law or have ever been accused of breaking a law or have been accused of breaking a law, but because the Minister of Home Affairs St off el Botha has decided that they are a threat to public safety. He does not have to explain his decision. The minister sets the rules. What are those rules? He alone knows. We find out only when we break them. Even if we begin to understand what it is he objects to our newspaper, he may change his mind as he pleased and rewrite the rules...All of this is dressed up in an elegant facade reasonableness and due process”.

As stated by the duo of the South African journalists, such issues that are regarded as of national importance or of national interest are in most cases not codified or found in any statute. They are known only to the few in the corridor of powers, and they only determine what constitute national interest or national importance. Therefore, if we have all agreed that corruption constitutes a menace to our nascent democracy and collective well-being, the fight against same should be seen as a matter of national importance, national interest and indeed national security. The cause of corruption is four-fold: Political, Economic, Social and Environmental. It constitutes is a menace to our democracy and the rule of law, and the main cause of our economic instability leading to the depletion of our national wealth. It is the singular reason why our policy makers often make use of our scarce public resources to award uneconomic high-profile projects to the detriment of simple, basic and necessary projects such as schools, hospitals, roads, or the supply of power and water to rural areas. In the recent times, the power project and telecommunications among others rank high. The rule of law been undermined leads to impoverished economy, thus the impact is felt more by the poor. The effect of corruption on the social fabric of society is the most damaging of all. People's trust in the political system, in its institutions and its leadership is corroded. Elected leaders and public officers turn national assets into personal wealth, leaving the country

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drained of its most able and most honest citizens. Indeed, it is a painful irony; the situation in Nigeria is not an exemption as Vermont Supreme Court Justice; John Dooley during the UROL Transparency Audit in October, 2006 has this to say:

“By international standards, the Ukraine courts are are among the least transparent in the world, and that lack of transparency helps breed corruption and prevents establishment of public trust and confidence in the s y s t e m e v e n w h e n corruption is absent. Some progress being made, but the reform measures are weak and are slowly being implemented”

Indeed the later part of Justice John Dooley is the truth reality in our judicial system today. In the words of (finny Pope, the Executive Director of Transparency International, in discussing the consequences of corruption, he said and I quote: “…its well-known; corruption engenders wrong choices. I t encourages

competition in bribery, rather than in quality and price of goods and services. It inhibits the development of a healthy marketplace. Above all, it distorts economic and social development and nowhere with greater damage than in developing countries. Too often, corruption means that the worlds poorest must pay for the corruption of their own officials and of companies from developed countries, although they are least able to afford its costs. Moreover, available evidence shows that if corruption is not contained, it will grow. Once a pattern of successful bribes is institutionalized, corrupt officials have an incentive to demand larger bribes, engendering a “culture” of illegality that in turn breeds market inefficiency.

I am of the opinion without more that the greatest damage that can be done by corruption is institutionalizing itself thus becoming not only a trend but a culture. The structure has been erected by architects of consummate skill and fidelity; its foundations are solid; its compartments are beautiful as well as useful; its arrangements are full of wisdom and order; and its defenses are impregnable from without. It has been reared for immortality if the work of man may justly aspire to such a title. It may, nevertheless, perish in an hour by the folly, or corruption or negligence of its only keepers -the people. Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall when the wise are banished from public councils, because they dare to be honest and the profligate are rewarded because they platter the people, in order to betray them. The need to mount a relentless war against corruption was long highlighted by that erudite, resourceful and utilitarian judge of our time Hon. Justice Kayode Eso; (Retired) in his book Reflections on 32 years of Nigerian Nationhood on pages 12 -13 when he declare thus:

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“Corruption helped in a large sense in the destruction of two (first and second) Republics, that even the grassroots sold their franchise for money. As soon as the First Republic was established, the ugly epithet 'ten per centers' was evolved. Highly placed officials in the public sector were reported to have been inflating contract prices by ten percent of their value. They were actively and shamefully aided and encouraged by foreigners at our shore. The notoriety as a result thereof spread beyond the confines of the country and Nigerian public officers were branded as ten - per center - officials over the business world. The shame of it was that the part played by the foreign aides was subliminated. People lived beyond their means. Ostentation was exclaimed. The officials wore very rich robes even they were begging for loans. Houses consequently sprang up in the priced and choicest area. Foreign contractors who had raked a large sum off public funds courtesy of the public officers and the foreign contractors who shared the guilt of the odium reputedly built these houses for public officers. Leadership by example? The example was to show off the money stolen in a more reckless manner. That was our country of the First Republic. The Second Republic did not fare better. Indeed, it was, from all accounts worse”.

Many people never knew that far back in 1989, attempts were made by the Honourable Prince Bola Ajibola SAN, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice under the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida to wage war against corruption especially in high places. The task of finding a solution to the phenomenon of corruption was placed on the shoulders of Honourable Justice Kayode Eso, when he was made to serve as the Chairman of the National Committee on Corruption and other Economic Crimes in Nigeria. That Committee following its terms of reference made far reaching recommendations and presented a draft law to the government known as Corrupt Practices and Economic Crimes Decree, 1990. That draft Decree contains 14 sections and those sections of the draft addressed four major areas namely: Corruption and Economic Crimes, The Establishment of an Independent Commission against Corruption, Private investigations, and Prosecution and the corrupt practices court. Section 11 of that draft decree was quite novel, and there seem not to have been anything of such before in the history of Nigerian Criminal Justice System.

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The draft section reads: “section 11".

(1) Any person who owns or is in possession, or is in control of money, property or resources disproportionate to his present or past emolument or earnings: or is in possession or is in control of money, property or resources which is reasonably suspected to have been obtained corruptly or in circumstances, which amount to an offence under this Decree: or maintains a standard of living above that which is commensurate with his present or past emolument or earnings, unless he gives an explanation satisfactory to the court as to how he came by same, commits an offence under this decree. (2) Where the court is satisfied in proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) of this Section that, having regard to the closeness of his relationship to the accused, and to other relevant circumstances, there is reason to believe that any person was holding money, property or resources as a gift, or loan without adequate consideration, from the accused; such money, property or resources shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been under the control or in possession of the accused person. ”

Novel and laudable as the draft decree appears to be, the then Military president threw same into the dust bin and all the recommendations never saw the light of the day. In fact, the administration of General Babangida inflicted insult into the injuries of Nigerians on the issue of corruption, by returning all the stolen wealth and properties earlier confiscated from corrupt military and political leaders by General Muritala Muhammed shortly after receiving the recommendations of Justice Kayode Eso. Many of the properties so returned to the executive thieves dotted the various state capitals across the country from Lagos to Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Kano and Jos. The beneficiaries of such ignoble act of Babangida who has stolen from Nigerian’s had their loots returned to then with a backing Decree, and to the consternation and dismay of the Nigerian people. Many of them now parade themselves as statesmen. In a speech entitled “Nigeria and corruption, till death do them part” by Honorable Justice Kayode Eso; the erudite judge has this to say:

“It means in simple language if one has properties in excess of his legitimate earnings and he cannot explain how he has come by them, he forfeits them to the government. Where he had transferred the properties to relations, friends or anybody whatsoever, the arm of the government shall extend to these properties where they may be lurking”.

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In his view, the presumption of innocence whereby the prosecutor bears the onus of proving corrupt or unlawful acquisition or possession of properties is anti - people. The onus of such proof should shift to the possessor of such properties or wealth and he or she should explain to the nation and to the satisfaction of the court how he came about same. We all as stakeholders in the project called Nigeria must bear in mind that corruption engenders the mismanagement of resources and this results in under - development, poverty, and chaos in the polity. It undermines corporate existence of the country, and especially in Nigeria where corruption has become so entrenched that people no longer listen to the government or trust the people in authorities notwithstanding the declared intention of successive governments to rout corruption from the polity. Why the cynicism? The reasons are not farfetched and a few examples will suffice. As at today, 25th February, 2011, successive Nigerian Government has recorded over a hundred cases of uninvestigated corruption and corrupt practices. The Lagos - Ibadan Express Road was twice awarded or slated for rehabilitation with contract running into several billions of naira awarded for same especially from Lagos to Sagamu end, under the supervision of Chief Tony Anenih, and Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe led Ministry of Works. Only the caricature picture of former President; Olusegun Obasanjo, mounted on the bill boards are presented to Nigerians as the outcome of the twice awarded contracts. The Ibadan - Ife second lane Road was commissioned less than 10 years ago after gulping hundred billions of naira. That road was meant to be certain inches thick but at its commissioning, it was clear to all and sundry that the road was nothing but a death trap. Right from Alakia end of the road to Ikire, Gbongan, Akinlalu and Ife end, no one but a murderer would certify same as fit and proper for motoring. The road had claimed thousands of life in the last ten years, that only a sadistic government would have approved the payment for the contract of that road. The first lane that was constructed before I was born is still durable, potholes free and smooth. The Ministers of Works, the Contractors, and the Commission agents for that road are of course walking the streets and taunting the rest of us ordinary mortal as if there is no God. What of the several billions of naira for the award of silos in the Eastern parts of the country? Where are the Silos? What of Ajaokuta contract deal of recent? we heard of the contract scandal for the rehabilitation, refurbishment, and upgrading of certain equipments for the Nigeria Television Authority where the contract sum was said to have exceeded the entire sum budgeted for the hosting of the under - 17 world cup. The Punch Newspaper and indeed Azubuike; its former director must be wondering now why they needed to decapitate so much energies into exposing a scam that would not be investigated even under a re-branding Ministry. As we speak, not less than four former Ministers are supposed to be facing criminal trials on allegation of graft. Some Senators and House of Representative members are not left out. What have become of the trials? Some of the trials have been on for over 3-4 years, yet no head way. Some of these public officers have the temerity to hold on to their positions in government and even aspiring to contest elective posts. What can the ordinary Nigerians do to them? After all, Nigeria is a country of anything goes.

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I have taken the pain to study the average Nigerian elite. He has no shame. He doesn't resign public office, even in the face of glaring allegations of graft and abuse of office against him. However, he does not want to die; he fears death. The question then is what do we do to him to make him thread the path of honor and save the rest of us from his avarice nature and insatiable appetite for filthy wealth? Something has to be given. In other words, we have to do something.

What Is To Be Done? The Way Forward The starting point to my mind should be a comprehensive and holistic review of all the existing laws relating to corruption especially the EFCC Act, the ICPC Act and the code of Conduct Act. This is necessary in order to plug the loopholes inherent in the existing legislations. The limitations for institutional capacity viz- a - vis combating corruption must be squarely addressed. Admittedly, there exist enough legislations in our statute books meant to address this problem, but the bane of the efforts of the successive government has lack political will to build enduring institutions for the fight against corruption, rather what has been in vogue is the creation of a personality cult as it was the case with Ribadu. The entire operational institution of the erstwhile EFCC was built around one man, and that made him an easy prey for manipulation for political interests. A cursory look at the EFCC Act and the ICPC Act would reveal that both acts contains corrupt version of the Eso's draft Decree on Corruption and other Economic crimes in Nigeria. It is my view that the contents of the Eso's draft Decree be injected into the EFCC Act and the ICPC Act fully. There is also the need for a synergy and or collaboration between the EFCC, the ICPC, the Code of Conduct, the NDLEA, the Custom and Exercise, the immigration, the tax board at all levels and professional bodies, such as the Nigerian Bar Association, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Institute of Taxation, the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Institute of Auditors, the Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers and the Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sociologists and Criminologists in the Universities. This is necessary in order to beat fraudulent political office seekers/holders that have the penchant for making anticipatory declarations of assets. A man or woman who makes outrageous asset declarations before the Code of Conduct Bureau should have his forms sent to the Tax board to see how much he has paid as taxes on the declared assets, and whether the tax paid was commensurate with his declared income. The services of the professionals mentioned above would also be very crucial in the fight against corruption at all levels. Apart from having the representative of the professional bodies highlighted in all the institutions charged with the responsibility to fight corruption and economic crimes, the said professional bodies would be in a position to recommend suitable professionals as employees/ consultant lo the anti-graft agencies. The importance of the services of the professionals in combating corruption cannot be over emphasized. A governor who declared 7 billion assets before the Code of Conduct Bureau will have the site of those assets visited by a team of quantity surveyors, and Estate valuers who will write a report as to the correct value of such tangible assets. A lawyer would conduct a search as to the existence or other wise of sue assets, how acquired, when acquired, when registered, stamp duties and consent duties paid and whether same commensurate with the value of such

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assets. The tax expert of course, would do his own bit viz - a vis the tax paid. The journalist would play the role of undercover agent, and of course the Auditor would go into the books of accounts of the assets so declared. Apart from the fact that this method will bring sanity into Nigerian financial system, huge revenue would be generated to the government and no hiding place would be available for would be corrupt act perpetrators. Every elected and public holder must publish his assets in at least three major national newspapers prior to, and after holding such offices. It will be a no win situation, head or tail for would be corrupt public officers. Where he makes phantom anticipatory declaration of asset which is not commensurate with the tax paid, he goes to jail not only for non - payment of tax, or under payment, but also for perjury having submitted a sworn declaration of assets. He or she would also stand disqualified from contesting elective posts for lying on oath. There is also the need to insert in the EFCC and ICPC Acts a penalty of Death sentence for any public officer, contractor, professional or private citizen found guilty of official corruption after a trial by a court competent jurisdiction. Those who aid and abet corruption and the beneficiaries therefore should not be left out. The punishment shall be that of universal application as the practice in Singapore. In each state of the Federation, there should be an established and a specialized court to try corruption cases and other economic and financial crime fines. Call it whatever name; it could be a constitutional court. The court must have a time frame within which to try corruption and cases of Economic and financial crimes ideally within duration not exceeding six months. There should be an established office of Independent Prosecutors at the Federal Level and across the States of the federation with powers to engage private legal practitioners to prosecute corrupt and economic and financial crime offences. These independent prosecutors should not be subject to the control and or supervision of the Attorney General of the Federation or the State. In other words, the provisions of sections 174 and 211 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, shall be inapplicable to the office and functions of the independent prosecutors. The Attorneys General at all levels of government shall also not have power to discontinue or take over the prosecution of any corruption or economic and financial crime cases in court. As stated earlier in this paper, the average Nigerian elite have no shame. He can do all despicable things in order to satisfy his greed, but he does not want to die. There is therefore the need to erect in all the state capitals and the federal capital territories execution points, as it is the case in China. This will instill fear into the spine of the greedy elites whose major industry is the government upon which they feed. This proposal I submit will still be within the ambit of the law and will be covered by the rule of law. No person should be detained without trial. Trial and convictions on the pages of newspapers should not be tolerated. The libel law should be strengthened to ensure that frivolous allegations are not made against innocent people and damages to be awarded against any media house or maker of such allegations should be such that would be enough to put such person or media houses out of business as it the case in Singapore. Investigations of corrupt and economic crimes should be done discretely; as it is the case in western world especially the United States of America and Britain, where you can be investigated for over ten years without you or the media getting to

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know. The 41 Nigerians that were rounded up for credit scam in the US in May, 2009, were investigated for over 3 years by the anti - graft agents of that country without the suspects getting to know even though the investigation went as far as covering Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Our anti - graft agencies are too media driven. The judiciary and indeed members of the legal profession must rise to the challenge being daily posed by corruption. This is necessary in order to ensure that the confidence of the people in the Nigerian Legal System is not eroded. There must be liberal interpretations of any statute that constitutes a barrier to a just and egalitarian society. The fundamental objective principles that deal with social justice, equality and economic emancipation for all cannot be attained in the face of adherence to technical interpretations of statutes such as Sections 138 of the Evidence Act which came with the phrase "prove beyond reasonable doubt”. Also the absurd interpretation of the Evidence Act by some Courts that does not recognize the existence of computer print-out of statement of account is not only backward but archaic and anachronistic. One would have thought that with the advent of modern technologies, the products like computers, GSM, etc would have a bearing on our courts, but not so to some pedantic and timorous soul judex who still operate the guild father telephone mentality, forgetting that laws are made for men and not the other way round. No one captured this absurdity of penchant for adherence to undue technicalities in the face of modern demand for justice more vividly than Honorable Justice Chima Nweze of the Court of Appeal, when on the 30th November, 2009, called for discontinuance of technical rules in Advocacy to achieve speedy dispensation of justice and ensure social justice. Nweke said the resort to such technicalities had made the temple of justice to be likened to abattoirs where “legal practitioners” daily butcher substantive issues in their fencing game in which parties engaged in an exercise of outsmarting each other; with technical rules becoming so triumphant that often times the justice of the case before the court was left lying prostrate, “the inveterate canons of adversarial jurisprudence, which forbade the judge from descending into the real cause of conflicting were often misapplied, resulting to situations where judges often sat back and watched helplessly as lawyers dissipated and squandered the precious time of the court in nauseating applications and all sorts of forensic acrobatics. “Vibrant judiciary”, he said “is a system that can dispense justice expeditiously without fear or favor” The casualties, he added, were speedy dispensation of justice and the integrity of the judicial adjudicatory system. Apart from the role of the new regimes of court rules in defining advocacy in Nigeria, the renowned jurist called for a paradigm shift in advocacy that should involve public interest litigations, which he described as “an existentialist praxis” in advocacy. A form of judicial government being advocated here should approach constitutional and other extant laws from a beneficial point of view. The judex need to keep in mind that his decision in court would go a long way in determining the extent to which social justice, economic emancipation and justice for all is attained. The judex must also be in a position to render a body of jurisprudence that promotes the welfare of the larger society. The idea of slavish adherence to technicalities in the face of glaring evidence to the contrary is an ill - wind that blows nobody any good.

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At the International Bar Association, IBA conference in Madrid, Spain in 2009, one of the sessions on fraud and anti - money laundering dealt extensively with the role of lawyers in combating economic crimes and corruptions. It was stressed that the primary duty of any lawyer is the uncompromising loyalty to his country, and that lawyers by their special callings have special roles to play in ensuring that the interest of the larger society takes precedents over and above any pecuniary gains derivable from the brief of a client. The idea of whistle - blowing was canvassed even though most Nigerian lawyers present at the session agreed that the lousy security situation in Nigeria will impair any effort by Nigerian lawyers to embrace this idea. In Nigeria of today, nobody is safe except those in government. Unresolved murder and assassinations are the order of the day and a sizeable number of Nigerians have been victims of such. They include a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice; Chief Bola Ige SAN, Chief Ajibola Olanipekun SAN, Barnabas Igwe; former Chairman of the NBA Onitsha branch and his wife, to mention but a few. The security situation in Nigeria is very precarious and this brings us to the role of the law enforcement agents especially the Police, the Army, NDLEA, the Custom and Excise personnel.

The way and manner of recruitment of these personnel and the salary and emoluments attached to their offices are nothing to write home about. In fact, Nigeria is seen as an unserious country in terms of security. How do you explain a situation where Nigerian can only boast of one policeman four hundred and thirty three Nigerians? These security personnel are not well catered for by any standard. The uniform they wear is gotten by themselves, the touch light they use, shoes, belts are all paid for from their meager salaries. The salary itself is not a living wage. No accommodation, no transport allowance, no transportation, no modern equipment of any kind. It was reported last year by the Commissioner of Police of Oyo State in the wake of incessant armed robbery operations that the entire police command could boast of only 20 bullet proof vests, thank God, Alao Akala administration just made a donation of security equipment to the State Police command early this month. The customs and NDLEA officials are not any better. Salaries of policemen are not paid as at when due, hence the clamor for stoppage to toll collection by police men on check points goes unheeded. The question then is how do you fight corruption with the aid of underfed, underpaid, under equipped and ill - trained security personnel? This problem must be addressed if we are desirous of combating the menace of corruption headlong. The problem of corruption in Nigeria is political, and this I ouches on every facet of our national life. It is a manifestation of the lack of political will on the part of the state and its failure to maintain law and order. It was once argued by Dukor in 2006, that where there is political corruption, the later will necessarily be immersed in corrupt practices because there will be no moral laws to uphold. One cannot agree more. A situation where so called elected officers are imposed, where the votes of the electorates does not count, where the electoral system stinks to high heaven will necessarily breed embezzlement, contract inflations, diversion of funds, and outright stealing of public funds. There will be lack of accountability. Little wonders that the

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present crops of elected representatives in Nigeria are not accountable to anybody. According to Mabaoogunje 1999, accountability of elected representative and approved public officers to the people is the hallmark of any democratic dispensation that operates within the ambit of the rule of law. This proposition by Maboogunje, I am afraid is alien and unknown to Nigerian elected representatives and Public Officers. They rationalize evil by posing the hypothetical question of “do you know how much I spent to become Governor, Senator, House of Representative member/ Local Government Chairman?” as if the electorate was consulted before he mortgaged all he had worked for to a godfather to secure nomination. The Church and Mosque that should be custodian of moral rebirth have thrown decorum to the dogs. Clergymen now celebrate corruption, election rigging and even conduct thanksgiving services for electoral rouges notwithstanding the fact that the CAN and NSCIA have condemned same. Some even place advertorial in the newspapers to congratulate election riggers. They rationalize evil by preaching fatalism and support whosoever is in government whether he got there by crook or hook. There is no national institution today that is free of filth. Our sense of value and value system has gone to the dogs. I watch with dismay how celebrated clergymen fall over themselves to celebrate with known election riggers, cultists, and political office holder and even certified murderers. LORD have mercy! There used to be the saying that “never trust a Nigerian until he holds public office” I think the phrase should read properly “Never trust a Nigerian until he hold position of trust” I refuse in believe that corruption is a Nigerian; the vast majority of people are very honest, diligent, hardworking and they fear Almighty God. The little stinkers who steal the nation b l in d are very small in number, and in fact, I doubt whether there are up to ten thousand in a country of over more than 140 million people. They are everywhere. They are in commerce, Industry, politics, civil service, military, legal profession, media, the church, the mosque, and indeed the entire fiber of the society. Though very few, but powerful, however, one thing is very clear; they are not as powerful as God, and the w i l l of the people. Come therefore, let us join hands together to confront and destroy them before they destroy our common wealth and nationhood. We can afford to lose them; we can afford to do without them. There is enough for everybody's need in this country, but not enough for everybody's greed. Let us rise up therefore to blow the whistle on them. Smoke and fish them out. Your representatives or neighbors who amass wealth or possess assets that are not commensurate with his earnings should be identified and reported not only to the security agencies, but also to the media. Don't be afraid to die for a noble cause. Of course, you are dying by installments if you condone corruption. Your brothers and sisters are dying on Lagos - Ibadan Expressway daily, on Ibadan - Ife Road, on Sagamu - Benin Road, on Onitsha Owerri Road, on Lafia- Makurdi- Abuja road, or Kano Abuja road daily. Join the crusade for public execution of corrupt public officers today and you will be leaving a worthy legacy for your children yet unborn even if they succeed in snuffing life out of you. As enjoined by God in Qur'an 40 v 19.

“The wrong doers will have neither friends nor any effective intercessors. Eschew wrong for on the Day of Judgment wrong will become manifold darkness; and safeguard yourself against corruption, for corruption ruined

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those who were before you. It incited them to murder and to treat the unlawful. When I appoint someone from among you to public office and he puts away by stealing a needle or even something less. That is corruption, and he will he called to produce it on the day of judgment. ”

And the same God Almighty said in the Holy Bible: Amos Chapter 5 verses 11-2 7:

“For as much therefore, as you are threading is upon the poor and you take from his burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore, the prudent shall keep silence in that time for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of Hosts, shall be with you, as he has spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of Hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. Therefore the LORD, the God of Hosts, the LORD saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the High ways, Alas! Alas! and they shall call the husband man to mourning and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. and in all vineyards shall be wailing; for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! To what end is it for you? The day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it? I hate, / despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Have ye offered unto me sacrifices andd offering in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you go to into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts ”,

And all the people say, Amen.

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Facts about Chief Adeniyi Akintola The Seniour Legal Icon, Life Bencher and Seniour Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Adeniyi Akintola had clocked 58 years of age. Chief Akintola SAN is the Principal Partner of Adeniyi Akintola & Co., a law firm with head office in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, and branch offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and London. Chief Adeniyi Akintola was born in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital of Nigeria. After his primary school education, he went to the military school before he got admission into the Polytechnic. Chief Adeniyi Akintola took a Cambridge University Advance level Examination and pass excellently well. He thereafter got job at Mac-Job Grammar School, Abeokuta as a teacher between 1979 and 1981. He later gained admission into a University and studied Law where he obtained his LL.B. degree Certificate. He therafter proceeded to the Nigerian Law School where he bagged his B. L. Chief Adeniyi Akintola also holds M. Sc. certificate in political Science and had a special certificate in Chartered Arbitration in United Kingdom. Chief Adeniyi Akitola had held several National and State offices, among which are: the Deputy Speaker; Ondo State House of Assembly, member; Body of Benchers, Chairman; Committee on Public Petitions and Judiciary Member; Presidential Review Committee of the 1999 Constitution, member; National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Fellow; London Court of international Arbitration, African Bar Association and International Bar association. Chief Adeniyi Akintola had trained several Lawyers and inspired many court Judges. He is a role model and mentor per excellence who had bagged several prestigious awards. He is Married to Hon. Justice Boyede Adeniyi, a judge of the Oyo State High Court.

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The Last Mile: The Great Opportunity for Rapid Development

Dr. Tarilah Tebepah (2012)

I am honoured to have been asked by my peers and fellow graduates of Nigeria's premier University to deliver this address. I am really humbled to be considered worthy of such a mandate by men and women who, by their own status in life, are regarded by most Nigerians as exemplary citizens. I believe that I have been invited to speak because they recognise that I have upheld the ethical principles of our illustrious alma mater, rather than because of any particular achievement or elevation in my personal status. In that light, my topic today will dwell on these principles as they relate to the issue of service to our beloved nation at this particular time in our history; a time when I believe we are confronted with what I would like to term the opportunities of The Last Mile. Let me explain what I mean by The Last Mile. In telecommunications “The Last Mile” represents the activities and connection between a cell site and your phone that enables you receive service. In physiology, it is when an organ has received instructions through a nerve impulse or hormone to act or produce appropriate responses. For Christians, when Jesus on the cross said "It is finished", from that point onwards it was the implementation of their religious faith that became the necessity for all true believers. I have no doubt that in the Muslim faith, and all other religious movements there are similar moments in the codification of their faith that its practitioners regard in similar vein. For a politician, The Last Mile is not his or her election but the delivery of service to his or her constituency. When a decision has been taken, although the process of arriving at it is usually complex and action must be taken in order for service to be delivered. The complex and tedious processes that take place before we get to the point of service delivery cannot be allowed to prevent such action from being taken. Adherence to the principle of direct action must influence the implementation of decisions taken in order to bring development to the people of the nation. The delivery of development, which is the objective of the Transformation Agenda proposed by the present government, must take this principle into consideration. At the same time it is important that we consider the reality of what exists on the ground, if we are to see the Transformation Agenda as The Last Mile in the process of delivering genuine development to our people. Let us examine how Nigeria is faring in the area of development. By most indices, Nigeria is lagging behind many other countries in the world and even in Africa. Maternal and childhood mortality rates are still among the worst globally. The unemployment rate is the same. The question is how do we tackle these problems and bring development to our people? Clearly, there are two components - perhaps two sides of the same coin. On one side is the entire complex process that must take place to enable decisions to be made. The other side is of course The Last Mile which I have defined as the service delivery process. But let us look, even if

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briefly, at the complex processes that must be performed before the decision to deliver service is made. The most complex process is the preparation of the individual to enable him or her to perform effectively in The Last Mile when provided the opportunity. A child when born is fed, clothed, loved, kept in a shelter, and cured when ill. As the child grows he or she is educated and provided with tools to serve the community and perform the duties that society expects. The ability to perform effectively in The Last Mile is dependent on this initial preparation. Three imperative elements stand out in this period of preparation namely the Family, the State, and the Educational Institution. The family provides the basic necessities of life and helps to create the personality of the individual. The moral upbringing of the individual is done by the family. It is important to create the enabling environment for every family to perform this sacred and important duty for society. The role of the state is equally important. Who is a Nigerian? What is the Nigerian Personality? I believe that I know who an Ijaw man is, although for the younger ones, I am not too sure the concept is very clear in thei rminds. Perhaps I even have an idea who a Yoruba person or Igbo or Fulani or Hausa person is; but who is a Nigerian? What is the Nigerian Personality? Each of us must be able to define this national entity in our own mind and formulate a personal concept of national duty. This is the message that President Jonathan has been labouring to pass on ever since he emerged on the national stage. Sadly the message seems sometimes to be drowned out or diminished by the cacophony of partisanship, insecurity, unnecessary strikes and threats of political division and dissent, but the message is there and it is getting louder by the day. The New Nigerian is truthful, just, hard working, enjoys and values life, loves his neighbour, loves his country, and loves God. This is the Nigerian Personality that the Transformation Agenda of the Nigerian state led by Dr. Goodiuck Jonathan commends to us. The third element that prepares the Nigerian for The Last Mile is the educational Institution. The individual learns the rudiments of life from education in the primary school and at that point he or she starts interacting more frequently with fellow Nigerians. But what is the young Nigerian taught at that stage? The elements of education provided by primary schools include both the formal and the informal, and religious and secular. It is important to contemplate what the little children learn about their fellow Nigerians. Are they taught that all Nigerians are brothers and sisters or cousins or fractional siblings or friends or enemies? What are they taught about who a Nigerian is? Is it only people from the same ethnic group or all the peoples in Nigeria that should be seen as Nigerians? This is an important aspect of early education that needs to be developed in line with the principle of national duty. I have not digressed as in discussing about the Last Mile and seeing it as an opportunity for development, we must be concerned about the preparation of the individual before he or she is ready to function at The Last Mile. Secondary education reinforces what children learn at the primary level, and how they relate to each other as Nigerian individuals. They are confronted with important choices such as what is competition and how do you handle it? How do you pick leaders? What are the responsibilities of a Nigerian? What are his or her benefits? What should be his or her expectations? The proper inculcation of these values and decisions characterize a well-rounded secondary school-leaver.

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Finally, the young Nigerian moves on to Tertiary education which includes the acquisition of vocational skills and knowledge. Please remember that this is a politician not an academic speaking! However in the context of our discussion, the University education in particular is indeed extremely important, it is the final phase of preparing the Nigerian Personality to operate at the level where the implementation of vital policy decisions will be implemented at The Last Mile. It is expected that the University will add the "required" elements to the core elements and that its graduates will emerge reflecting the best elements of its unique personality, which will in turn be an integral component of the true Nigerian Personality. In that light, I now wish to illustrate the process of service delivery in more personal terms, based on my own experience as a graduate of this illustrious institution. Now, who is a University of Ibadan graduate? Obviously an ideal Unibadan graduate must be "truthful, just, hard-working, enjoy and value life, love his or her neighbour, love his or her country and love God". The required elements of the Unibadan personality must also reflect the best ideals of the state. The Ijaw personality, the Yoruba personality, the Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Efik, Kanuri, Tiv, and all the over 200 personalities should be subsumed into the One Nigerian Personality. This is what the Transformation Agenda advocates and I agree with it. However the personalities inculcated in graduates by their Universities must have additional components to the Nigerian personality. So I ask again: What is the University of Ibadan Personality? Perhaps the only qualification that afforded me the great honour of giving this lecture today is that I attended the University of Ibadan. I would therefore wish us to examine whether I have justified the training I received in the Institution. Have I portrayed in any form the Ul personality? The University of Ibadan itself has been very modest. It does not flaunt her personality. Although its core principles of Excellence, Service, Academic Honesty, Innovation, and Leadership permeate every sector of the University life, the students must be attuned to imbibe it. I will present my own score-card and this distinguished audience will be my judge, but before then, please permit me to dwell a little-just a little- on how l imbibed the University of Ibadan personality. I found out that I had been admitted into the University of Ibadan when I received a letter from the Student Affairs Officer congratulating me on my admission and my allocation to Azikiwe Hall. He gave me directions on how to get into UI, and who to ask for. He also said that he was looking forward to meeting me, who was at that time an unknown teacher in a provincial school. The reception I enjoyed at Zik Hall on my arrival was overwhelming. When the orientation programme commenced, the visit to the UI library and the instructions on how to use it, the registration of courses, the lectures, club activities, supervision of clubs, sports, freedom of expression, examinations, all these imprinted the DNA of the UI personality on me and I absorbed it like a dry patch of land soaking up the rains. I was deemed ready in 1979 and so, I left for the outside world to participate in The Last Mile. Now for my score-card illustrating what I have achieved by deploying the attributes of the UI personality bestowed on me by my graduation. As I narrate my record, please look out for those attributes of the UI personality as they relate to the delivery of service to our society over The Last Mile.

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I was Commissioner of Health in Bayelsa State from 1999 to 2003. In 1999, Bayelsa was barely three years old and its public service had only about five indigenous Fellows in the medical profession. In my tenure, with the assistance of the Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital, in lle-lfe, we trained up to 40 specialists. Six nurses did their MSc. Degrees in University of Manchester and this enabled us to establish and staff the School of Nursing and Faculty of Nursing in the Niger Delta University. We introduced the Bayelsa Health Service Scheme which introduced free health care at the point of delivery for which participants contributed just N200 per month. We established a College of Health Sciences within the Niger Delta University with a medical school; the aforementioned Faculty of Nursing and a Faculty of Pharmacy. All these have now produced graduates who are working not only in Bayelsa but elsewhere in the nation. In terms of wider public service, we introduced the Bayelsa Ambulance Service, and distributed specially manufactured drugs in order to prevent the spread of fake drugs. We also established over 50 health centres throughout the State. Since I completed my tenure as a Commissioner of Health, which task could be said was the pinnacle of my service to the profession for which I was trained in Unibadan; I have been privileged to be a Trustee of the Education Trust Fund, now known as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. I represented the South-South Geo-political Zone, and also headed the Research Fund Committee which was very close to my heart. A nation depends on its academic community for research, and research is the engine room for development. University of Ibadan is a centre of research excellence, and while I was serving on the Trust Fund it was treated as such by the Fund. I am now the Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission - an intervention agency for the development of my home region. In the last few months since my appointment, the team that I lead has worked very hard on the preparation for The Last Mile. We have succeeded in streamlining the operational and financial manuals that guide the activities of the organisation. Every operation now has a time line and there is regular performance assessment. We have instituted a major shift towards job creation. So far these are the things I have done with the professional discipline that UI instilled in me. This is what University of Ibadan Personality has enabled me to do. I am still talking about The Last Mile, and I am convinced that if I achieve success in the regional task that has been entrusted to me, national development will be greatly enhanced. Preparation for the Last Mile is extremely important. I have taken for granted that during the preparation stage, the various required knowledge and skills are taught by the various Institutions of society. However, it is the personality that one acquires in training that enables success at The Last Mile. This is why the Nigerian Personality and indeed the other subordinate personalities are of profound importance. Having received, we must now give. The Last Mile covers all the operations and processes that are put in place to deliver service to the consumer. At present, service delivery is a big challenge and yet a huge opportunity in our country. Can we still boast of the standard of service delivery that enabled me to receive a University admission letter even though I lived in a small provincial town called Yenagoa? Throughout my University years my guardian received all my examination results because the University mailed them to him, and he lived in a far smaller community called Gbaranbiri.

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Now can we consider how we can utilize Service Delivery to the advantage of our Nation? Firstly, the Nigerian personality must be given greater prominence. Every Nigerian must be made to imbibe the principle of service through reorientation and mass communication programmes. Every institution should also define its own personality, and make it known to all its members. Secondly there should be established service delivery programmes for every Institution and Organisation. Every service to be rendered must stipulate the skills and knowledge required to implement the measurable results of the service, and the time frame for implementation. For instance, even though the amount of money NDDC receives is very important, the actual service that the money is able to achieve in a given period is more important. If you admit 100 students to study for a Ph.D., how many of them will graduate at the end of the stipulated years? Better still, what milestone is achieved after six months, or one year etc? How frequently should a discipline review its curriculum and determine its societal relevance? It is now widely recognised that education is only a means to an end, not an end in itself. In the past, it was presumed that education by itself would lead to job creation and industrialisation, wrong! In its initial stages, the NDDC equally made the mistake of training a large number of youths without providing job opportunities for them. Job creation occurs when you also stimulate the utilization of the trainees due to the expansion of the relevant industries or creation of new ones. The Agency must therefore cooperate with relevant Universities to overcome this deficiency. Considering the number of challenges our dear country is facing, the Universities can wipe out unemployment in five years or less. How? All our challenges are business opportunities. If all the projects/dissertations/thesis students embark on are planned to lead to solving a problem and creating a business and the students are given two years to complete them, the Universities will be churning out businesses every year. Imagine a graduating student population of 100,000 and a business creation rate of 10% or even 1%. Assuming businesses are evenly distributed in the 36 States and Abuja, each state will have 270 at 10% or 27 at 1 % new businesses each year. And in no time the 10% will employ the remaining 90%. This exercise will probably cost 100 billion naira only. Indeed, job creation for our youths can catapult our nation into the prestigious club of the largest 20 economies in the world within few years. The fact is that, 20th largest economy has a GDP of less than $600 billion which is about N99 trillion. Currently our nation's GDP is probably about half of this figure. Therefore if we put 50 million people to work, each person needs to produce just N990,000 worth of product or services each year to enable our dear country achieve a GDP of $600 billion. Dedicated service delivery in the Last Mile will create the jobs. The last mile is so important that I seek your indulgence to allow me spend the remaining few moments discussing the quality of the performance of our nationals in service delivery. Let us examine reasons why the service delivery keeps failing to reach appropriate levels. To my mind certain factors are involved. The worker that is responsible for a job may not know what he or she is supposed to do. There is often a job description written and stowed away that the worker may not be aware of. There is

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also the problem of lack of supervision, sometimes based on the fact that the person who should be supervising the task is sometimes less qualifies than the person carrying out the task. This circumstance creates bad blood between the manager and the operative, and leads to lethargy and hesitancy in the delivery of service. The performance of the staff in the job is not tied to earnings. A surgeon may do just three surgeries in a month and yet still earn his monthly salary. Lack of a sense of beauty in achievement is another factor. It is the sense of beauty in achievement that enables a worker strives for excellence when performing his or her duty and this makes the difference between a good or conscientious worker or an indolent one. The lack of initiative is another important factor. Sometimes this is imposed on the worker. For instance, a worker in Planning, Research and Statistics Department may want to visit hospitals to determine their status in personnel, equipment, and level of care delivery. But the worker may not be given the funds and other facilities. Overhead allocations are often not being used for the purpose for which they are meant. The most important factor that is killing service delivery is that we do not ask for value for money. If we spend One Hundred Million (N100, 000,000) Naira on health care, what do we receive in terms of care, how many surgeries, number of people immunized, etc. Although the blame for poor service delivery is usually visited on the political heads of organizations, in actual fact, it is the professionals usually called Directors that are truly on the factory floor to do the work. It is the Directors that hold the key to excellent service delivery. At the beginning of every budget year, every Directorate or Department is assigned a certain number of programmes to implement. It is the aggregate performance of all the directors that determine the level of performance of a budget in a given time. Finally, though the major factor militating against efficient service delivery in the Last Mile has to do with the work attitude of those entrusted with delivering service, some Nigerian workers simply do not accept supervision by their fellow Nigerians in a spirit of cooperation but pride. Many of them even prefer to be directed by expatriates in the mistaken belief that their compatriots do not have the right to give them orders. This is a self-negating attitude and must be expunged from the national psyche. Development stems from self-belief rather than from vanity and hostility between fellow citizens. In this era of the Transformation Agenda, the Political Head must demand value for money and ensure that the Directors embrace excellence as the core concept of service delivery. In fact, it is time to have a monthly Work for Happiness Day as a counterpart of Environmental Sanitation Day. On that day, every worker will be expected to clear up his or her desk and performance indicators taken. Let each and every one of us re-commit ourselves to service delivery. In truth, Service Delivery is serving people, and all of us learnt how to do so in our respective families. We learnt how to serve our parents, how to serve aunties and uncles, brothers, sisters and cousins, and our friends.

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As Nigerians, we have already imbibed how to serve, and the quality of service is inherent in us. All we need to do is to bring to bear the excellent skills and attitude we learnt at home into the public arena to serve our fellow Nigerians who indeed are our parents, uncles and aunts, brothers, sisters and cousins and friends. To serve means to help; Good service means effectively helping people. All of us must do our work for the Nation in the Last Mile as a personal duty. At the end of each working day, each and every one of us must feel proud and happy about the service we have rendered to our people and Nation. As adapted from an old song:

"I will do my best You will do your best We will do our best To uplift Nigeria Work for happiness Yes we must unite All must do our best To uplift Nigeria"

This is what President Jonathan's Transformation Agenda of Service Delivery is all about, and I humbly commend it to this distinguished audience and all our fellow Nigerians as we embark on The Last Mile of the journey towards building a wholesome Nation. .

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Education for All and the Liberation of Nigeria

Professor G. G. Darah (2013) Introduction In 1952, the radical Nigerian nationalist, Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu of Ibadan declared as follows: “Education is the foundation of freedom; Ignorance is the basis of slavery. If you would free a people, first and foremost, educate them”. Sixty years after, an elected Nigerian president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, echoed Adelabu's words thus: “I am nothing without education; I came from a poor background.

Without education you will not see Jonathan here (as President). For you to liberate a people, whether they are from southern Nigeria or the extreme North, it is through education”.

President Jonathan made these remarks during his pre-independence day media interview as transcribed in The Guardian Newspaper of September 29, 2013. These two statements reveal that Nigerian politicians recognise the primacy of education in the transformation of the society. Members of the Nigerian elite are beneficiaries of modern education. Many of them were trained in foreign institutions at public expense, and they invest huge financial resources in educating their children and wards in first rated private schools at home and abroad. Governments in Nigeria claim to be committed to providing free education, yet sixty years after independence from colonial rule, Nigeria is still far from achieving the goal of education for all. This is the enigmatic issue that I hope to explore in this lecture. In September, 2013, when the Alumni Association requested me to deliver this lecture, the strike action of the academic staff of Universities was in its second month. All public Universities in the country were shut for five months. When that strike was declared in early July, the industrial action by the academic staff of Nigerian polytechnics had just ended after nearly three months. The polytechnics resumed their action a few months later owing to the failure of the government to meet their demands. In the past one year there have been several short strikes and threats of more in the education sector and other vital public institutions. The upsurge of industrial disputes by workers in the institutions of higher education is symptomatic of a perennial malaise that afflicts the country. The demands of all the aggrieved unions relate to the fundamental issues of the inadequacy of facilities, the deterioration of working conditions, and the inability of the federal and state governments to meet the basic requirements of a knowledge society. In the light of these unending crises, I have chosen to address the imperative challenge of education for all a prerequisite for Nigeria's liberation from the shackles of mass poverty, superstition and economic under-development. The phrase “Education for All” is employed in this context to refer to the slogan created by the

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United Nations systems regarding the inalienable right of all peoples to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to enjoy the benefit of a fulfilled life of freedom. The idea of universal access to education came with the legal package of the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. The United Nations Educational and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) has campaigned for this basic human right for decades and Nigeria is a signatory to all the conventions relating to it. As demonstrated by the example of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's government of Western Nigeria in 1955, governments in Nigeria can afford to fund the programme of compulsory and free literacy programme for all. The intervention of military rule in 1966 interrupted the progress made. In 1976 the Military government in Nigeria introduced the scheme of Universal Basic Education for the entire country, it was not fully implemented, thus by the 1990s, Nigerian governments were still promising that education for all would be available by the magical year, 2000. That millennial year came and went, yet the target was not met. The failure of oil-rich Nigeria to accomplish this fundamental requirement of modernisation has earned the country the membership of the dubious club of the world's nine countries with the largest population of illiterate people, otherwise known as E-9 Nations. Some others are Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Nigeria's notorious position is that she has 47% of the world's population of children out of school. The statistics provided by the Nigerian government for 2013 show that there are 10.5 million children of school age who are not enrolled in school. During the International Literacy event on September 8, 2013, the Federal Ministry of Education disclosed that there are about 34 million adults who have not had the benefit of literacy in any form. With these disclosed figures, it can be estimated that there are no less than 44.5 million Nigerians who are currently denied the enjoyment of the fundamental human right of education. The situation of mass illiteracy is a grave one, and it constitutes the most formidable barrier to the attainment of national sovereignty and socio-economic self-reliance. The issue of mass education should be viewed in the context of the goals of development set by Nigeria. When the Nigerian Civil War ended in 1970, the Military government initiated the Third National Development Plan (1970-1975) to create a prosperous and self-reliant economy. In the forty years since then, there have been several ambitious plans to transform Nigeria into a world economic power. These goals are enunciated in the Vision 20-20 document that projects that Nigeria should be among the twenty most advanced economies of the world by the year 2020, which is about six years from 2014. Some of the nations in this league of prosperous economies are the United States of America, Canada, China, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and South Korea. In each of these countries, literacy rate is about 95%. Adult literacy rate in Nigeria is below 50%. The industrial and commercial accomplishment of the economic super powers was made possible through the democratisation of knowledge. The work force in these economies is constantly upgraded and refined with the application of advanced skills and hi-tech methods acquired through life-long education. How can Nigeria join this exclusive club without empowering its people with the weapon of education? I shall return to this matter later in the lecture.

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Antiquity of Africa and the Knowledge Society Our minds are conditioned by the colonial propaganda that Africa was a “dark continent” before Europeans came to enslave and plunder it about 500 years ago. Owing to this disorientation, even “educated” Africans think that organised education and knowledge have never been central to the development process in African societies. This racist falsehood must be debunked. Over 6,000 years ago, all the Black African civilizations of Egypt and the Nile Valley placed a high premium on Education, Science and Technology. The foundations of modem science, technology, and philosophy were laid in these ancient African societies. The high priests of the temples were analogous to Professors in modem Universities. Pupils in these state-run Institutions were issued mandates such ‘Give thy heart to learning and love her like a mother for there is nothing so precious as learning”. As Professor Will Durant (1954) says of the era, “to be a soldier was a misfortune and to till the earth was weariness; only learning guarantee happiness and fulfillment”. Thus pupils were instructed “to turn the heart to books during the day time and to read during the night”. The accomplishments of black African scientists and inventors are well documented in the works of the foremost Egyptologist, Professor Cheikh Anta Diop of Senegal, especially in his Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology (1991). The facts are firmly established in these studies that Black Africa inaugurated the system of knowledge-driven development that now defines modernity. The Egyptian schools/temples known as “Houses of Life” were the centres for the transmission of accumulated knowledge. According to Diop, these temples were the places where “scholars who specialized in different discipline as well as directors of workshops in charge of writing or recopying papyruses lived”. These black African scholars invented and developed Mathematics, Astronomy, Architecture, Agriculture, Medicine, Philosophy, the theory of monotheism, and other sciences. Egyptian Mechanical Engineering attained its peak during the construction of the Architectural Monuments known in history as the pyramids which have survived for about 4,000 years. The early Uuniversities that originated in ancient Egypt and the Nile Valley survived for several thousand years. It was in these Institutions that most of the venerated Greek thinkers and philosophers were taught - Thales, Pythagoras, Plato, Euxodus, and Aristotle. Thales was the first Greek pupil in Egypt; he spent 13 years as a student of Mathematics, especially geometry. Thales advised his pupil, Pythagoras, to go to Egypt to receive more advanced training. Pythagoras was in Egypt for 22 years as a pupil of black professors. He returned home to Greece to set up his school of Mathematics named after him. We all remember our secondary school experience of “Pythagoras theorem” in Mathematics. It was never disclosed to us that this theorem was originated in Africa and later popularised by Pythagoras. Medicine was the most developed science in the Egyptian system and it reached its apogee in the temple of Imhotep, the world's first multi-genius. Imhotep had expertise to cure over 200 diseases and he knew about blood circulation 4,000 years before it was studied in Europe. For 1,900 years after his death, Imhotep was worshipped as a god/divinity in Africa, Asia, and Europe. About 700 years after his death, a Greek pupil, Hippocrates, received medical training in Imhotep's temple. This pupil that was taught by African medical experts is now wrongly celebrated as the “father of medicine” in European folklore. In our so-called orthodox medicine, African doctors subscribe to the Hippocratic Oath, not the Imhotep Oath. Kwame Nkrumah, the

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first president of Ghana was right: Neo-colonialism is the highest state of imperialism. The fame of the Imhotep temple or medical school survived into the era of Jesus of the Jews about 2,000 years ago. Jesus was taught the science of healing and magic by black African professors attached to the Imhotep temple in Egypt. Jesus had been inducted into the Egyptian Mystery System as a youth and was later admitted as an external candidate of the Mount Camel (Palestine) campus of an Egyptian University. His final initiation (convocation) as a healer and preacher took place in the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) when he was about 30 years old. In the era under consideration, no one in the then civilised world could qualify to be a healer and preacher without being certified and authorised by Egyptian Institutions. Jesus was eternally grateful the education he received from his African roots; that is why he never uttered any words of disrespect and denigration against Africa and Africans in his three-year ministry. Check the New testament bible for veryfication. The indebtedness of Greece, and later Europe, to the cradles of education in black Africa has been copiously demonstrated by African and European scholars and researchers. However, it is important to mention the role of the Greek man, Aristotle, in the stealing and plagiarism of the African legacy in Science and Philosophy. Aristotle was the private tutor of Alexander the Great of Macedonia who conquered Egypt in 333 B.C. Knowing that vast treasures of Science and Philosophy would be available to be looted, Alexander asked Aristotle to accompany him on the mission of conquest. This was how Aristotle coordinated the invasion of the Royal Libraries and carried away to Greece the booty of scientific, philosophic, and religious books. In his book Stolen Legacy, Professor George James explains that Aristotle moved his school and students from Athens to Egypt and converted the royal library first into a research centre and later a University. The Egyptian works stolen and copied into Greek language have come to us as “Greek Philosophy”. We now know how Aristotle, the notorious intellectual pirate, became beatified as the author of 1,000 books in a life-span of 62 years! After the era of the Greeks, Egypt was conquered by the Roman Empire about 50 years before the birth of Jesus. The Roman Empire inherited the knowledge systems of the Egyptians and the Greeks. The religion of Christianity was first established in North African centres of Egypt and Tunisia. The development of the ideas and Philosophy of global Christianity was made possible by African intellectual geniuses such as St. Augustine of Tunisia who, at 27, became a professor in the University of Milan, Italy. He died in 432 A.D. In the fourth century A.D. Roman emperors, starting from Constantine, proclaimed Christianity the only legal religion and banned any form of Egyptian/African education and beliefs. All the ancient Egyptian temples/centres of learning and worship were proscribed and shut throughout the Roman Empire. The Romans conquered Europe and imposed their religion, state and legal systems. England became a Roman colony from General Julius Caesar's time about 44 B.C. The English/British later conquered Nigeria in the 19th century and established the models of European systems of governance and education. Through the churches and schools, we were disoriented to associate Europe with the source of the education and sciences. It is my contention that Nigeria that hosts the largest population of Africans in the world has a responsibility to reclaim the proud heritage of Black African ancestors in the field of education. For us to reinvent that effort and continue the journey of liberation from colonial domination, it is important that we acknowledge how Black Africa taught the world much of

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what are now celebrated as civilization. To summarise this long history, I would like to recall the opinion of Professor Diop on the ancestry and antiquity of African education and knowledge systems:

“In so far as Egypt is the distant mother of Western culture and sciences, most of the ideas that we call foreign are sometimes nothing but mixed up, reversed, modified, elaborated images of creations of our African ancestors, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Dialectics, the Theory of being, the exact sciences, Arithmetic, Geometry, Mechanical Engineering, Astronomy, Medicine, literature (novel, poetry, drama), architecture, the arts, etc”.

“Consequently, no thought, no ideology is, in essence, foreign to Africa, which was their birthplace. It is therefore with total liberty that Africans can draw from the common intellectual heritage of humanity, letting themselves be guided only by the common notions of utility and efficiency". (Civilization or Barbarism) Advent of Formal Education in Nigeria Regrettably, the Nigerian elite have been unable to heed the advice of Professor Diop to be guided by the notions of “utility and efficiency” in our system of education. We are still slavishly held down by the limited purpose of education introduced by the British colonial government about 150 years ago. Formal Western education was introduced to Nigeria in the 1840s through the agencies of Christian missionaries. The first secondary school, C.M.S. Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos, was opened in 1859. Although the Anglican Niger Mission under Samuel Ajayi Crowther also started a school in Lokoja at about the same time, it took more than half a century for a secondary school to be set up in the northern provinces of the country. The first government secondary school in Nigeria, King's College, Lagos, started in 1909. The central purpose of these educational Institutions was to produce clerical personnel to serve the Church, the government and commercial establishments. There was no plan to produce personnel with the goal of transforming the socio-economic fortunes of Nigeria. It is to be noted that there were a few “Nigerian” University graduates before the advent of formal education. For example, Prince Dom Domingos of the ancient Itsekiri kingdom (now in Delta State) graduated from the Portuguese University of Coimbra in 1610 with a B.A. degree in Theology. He became king (olu) in 1625, the first West African to be a graduate king. In 1856, Herbert Jumbo of Bonny, now in Rivers State, graduated from a British University and his brother, John Jumbo, achieved a similar feat in 1878. At about the same period, two Yoruba scholars, Isaac Oluwole and Obidiah Johnson, obtained degrees from British Universities. Many other Nigerians were trained in the Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone from the late 19th century. Pioneers of West African nationalism advocated the setting up of African Universities during this era. Examples are Dr. James Africanus Horton, Dr. Edward Wilmot Blyden, and J.E.Casely Hayford. They proposed Universities that would be Afrocentric in scholarship and management. They envisaged Institutions that would be rooted in African culture and would conduct research to empower African nations to be self-reliant and free from foreign and colonial domination.

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The advocacy for anti-imperialist education was articulated by Nigerian anti-colonial nationalists from the 1930s. Members of the Nigerian Youth Movement pioneered this call and it was intensified by the Zikist Movement from the mid 1940s. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe adumbrated the ideas in his book, Renascent Africa (1937). He coined bombastic expressions like “social regeneration” “mental emancipation” and “political resurgimento” to emphasise his points. Radical socialists such as Kola Balogun, Samuel Adesanya, Raji Abdalla, M.C.K. Ajuluchukwu, Osita Agwuna, Mokwugo Okoye, Eyo Ita, Michael Imoudu, Aminu Kano, and Sa'ad Zungur were in the forefront of the clamour of education for liberation from colonial rule and socio-economic backwardness. Mbonu Ojike's “boycott the boycottables” campaign of the 1940s was part of the anti-imperialist upsurge. Ojike called for the boycott of European books and films for their effect of spiritual alienation. The items identified for boycott included alcoholic beverages, wines, cigarettes, books, dresses, and other luxuries whose import drained the national treasury. It is a sad reminder of our neo-colonial bondage that the number of imported luxuries has increased several fold fifty years after Nigeria's independence in 1960. When the institutions of higher education were established in Nigeria in the 1930s, they were fashioned after the metropolitan models in Britain. Professor Babs Fafunwa's “ A History of Nigerian Higher Education” (1977) examines the details of this tragic wrong step in education. This trend has continued till this day from the establishment of the Yaba Higher College in 1934 and the University College, Ibadan, in 1948. For example, although a vital course such as Engineering was introduced at the Yaba Higher College in 1937, it was not on the curriculum of the University College, Ibadan, which opened in 1948 with the bulk of academic and physical facilities transferred from Yaba. Instead of starting with technical courses, the University College gave premium of place to irrelevant degree programmes such as Latin and Greek. Hundreds of brilliant Nigerian students wasted their talents majoring in these outmoded disciplines. The limpid pace of expansion of tertiary institutions was a deliberate ploy by the colonial regime to underdevelop Nigeria. By 1962, there were only five Universities with an enrolment figure of less than 10,000. Fafunwa's study of the situation led him to lament in his book cited above that “traditional European systems of education as imported to Africa have contributed in no small measure to the backwardness of African development both economically and intellectually”. The Adelabu-Awolowo Paradigm of Education for All The most revolutionary proposals on education for liberation were made in the 1950s by Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu, the “Penkelemesi” of Ibadan politics and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the then Premier of the Western Region. Adelabu represented Ibadan in the federal House of Representatives. His proposals were contained in his 1952 book, “Africa in Ebullition: 4 Handbook of Freedom for Nigerian Nationalists”. The book was intended as a manifesto for the anti-colonial struggle in Nigeria and a guide to the modernisation of the post-colonial country. Part of Adelabu's manifesto was cited at the opening of this lecture. A fuller version is at page 28 of the 2008 reprint of the book where Adelabu declares as follows:

“Education is the foundation of freedom; Ignorance is the basis of slavery. If you would free a people, first and foremost, educate them. Therefore, experts must be called upon immediately to work out detailed plans for the institution of universal, free, compulsory, elementary, mass

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education for the 30 million inhabitants of this country. Primary, Secondary, Teacher-training, Technical, Vocational, University and Post-graduate educational services must be expanded to pyramidal dimensions commensurate with the vast new base of the elementary schools’’'.

Alhaji Adelabu was angry about the wastage of human capital arising from the failure of Nigeria to offer education for all citizens. He expressed his disappointment thus: “Every time I take up a book or periodical to read or utter a word of English,

I suffer from a terrible pang of conscience. It is a shame that over 25 million of my fellow country men will live and die in the second half of the so-called civilized 20th century without tasting of the sublime wine of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Plato, Socrates, Longfellow, Hume, Shaw, Mills, Cicero, Fagunwa, Marshall, 'Spencer, Spurgeon, Drinkwater, Zola, Voltaire, Anderson, Rodo, Awolowo, and Azikiwe".

The names invoked in this passage reflect the diversity and depth of Adelabu's reading and scholarship. He was a product of Government College, Ibadan, and Yaba Technical College. He was the quintessential example of the intellectual geniuses who were active in the anti-colonial movement of the 1950s. Adelabu lambasted the class of the Nigerian bourgeoisie whose ostentatious lifestyle consumed the resources needed to fund the free education scheme. In his words, the reason for the inability to implement the programme was because: “We, the privileged few, prefer to ride about in costly limousines, live in 3-

storey mansions, consume more alcohol than is good for our digestive systems, bring up our children in pampered ease and inglorious leisure instead of discharging our sacred obligations to show the light to our less fortunate brothers. Every item of luxury in our domestic and national budget, whilst there are uneducated people about any remote or outlandish portion of this country, is a sin against the law of God. In quick haste and eager desperation, let us make amends before deserved and overdue retribution overtakes us..."

In 1952 when Alhaji Adelabu wrote this manifesto, some countries in Asia such as the Soviet Union and China had embarked on the revolutionary programme of free education for all. He therefore advised Nigeria not to look the way of conservative Britain or Europe but to take a cue from “the vast lands of Asia with their teeming hordes. The impossible has been done in Russia. It is being done in India and China. The present educational set-up in Nigeria is the hallmark of insufficiency. It is designed to serve the purposes of imperialism". Adelabu died in an automobile accident in 1958 at the age of 43. In 1952 when the Adelabu book first appeared, Chief Obafemi Awolowo became the Leader of Government in the Western Region with its capital in Ibadan. In 1954, he became the Premier of the Region under the government of the Action Group party founded in 1951. It was a sweet coincidence that both Adelabu and Awolowo were based in Ibadan, the cradle of University

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education in Nigeria. Adelabu was in a rival political party, the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) headed by Nnamdi Azikiwe. In 1955, Chief Awolowo's government inaugurated the Free and Universal Education programme in the Western Region, the first of its kind in Africa. The scheme was a huge success and its positive impact has made the southwest areas of Nigeria the host of the highest density of educated persons in Africa. As a consequence, the southwest geo-political zone is also the most industrialised and commercially prosperous section of Nigeria and West Africa. The Awolowo modernisation initiative through education and industrialisation was interrupted by the political upheavals of the 1960-1970 years. He was sentenced to 10 years jail on controversial charges of treasonable felony in 1962. In 1966, the Military coup d'etat took place and the aftermath led to the 1967-1970 Civil War. Whilst in prison in Calabar, Chief Awolowo concluded work on his manifesto for free education for the whole of Nigeria. The ideas were first outlined in chapter 13 of his “The People's Republic book” in 1968. The summary is presented in the third chapter of the sequel, The Strategy and Tactics of the People's Republic of Nigeria (1970). The appendices in this book contain detailed Naira-by-Naira calculation of the cost of running the free education scheme in the country from 1970-1999, that is, a period of 30 years. The Wasted Post-Civil War Years In the decade of post-war reconstruction, Nigeria had the opportunity to implement the programme of mass education for the entire country. Fortuitous wealth from oil “intoxicated”, the military regimes to undertake ostentatious projects, including financial assistance to distressed foreign countries to pay salaries of their workers. Nigeria also initiated state-funded industrial programmes in iron and steel, transport and automobile plants. These plans could not be consummated partly because the country lacked the knowledge base to support them. By the 1980s, the unpatriotic military hegemons succumbed to the pressure by the World Bank and other imperialist powers to destroy the economic foundation through the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Investment in education and public institutions declined. The universal basic education programme started in 1976 was practically abandoned. This was how Nigeria missed the opportunity to overcome the scourge of a huge population without relevant knowledge to build and sustain a modem society. The Current Debacle Fifty years after Nigeria attained independent statehood, the country is still burdened by the problem of nearly half of its school-age children shut out from the system. Statistics derived from the 2006 national census show that there are about 42 million children eligible for enrolment in primary schools; however, the figures published by the Universal Basic Education Commission in The Guardian newspaper of September 13, 2013, indicate that the total enrolment for the entire country in the 2011-2012 period was 23 million. There are, therefore, about 20 million children denied their fundamental right to benefit from the Universal Basic Education scheme. However, the official figure of children out of school is put at 10.5 million. In all likelihood, this figure was obtained from guess work as there has been no reliable census carried out to determine the number. The report carried in The Guardian referred to above shows that there is a shortage of 1.3 million teachers at the primary school level. Millions of school children are also stranded in the transition from the primary to secondary school level.

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The Federal Ministry of Education Statistics of Education in Nigeria 1999-2005, reveals that the total secondary school enrolment in 2005 was about 8.5 million. The story of Tertiary Institutions is not comfortable either. Only a small percentage of those with secondary school certificate are admitted into tertiary institutions. This is primarily because the number of institutions is too small to accommodate all those who are qualified for, and seek admission each year. There are only about 130 Universities in the country with a population of 160 million. The total enrolment in the Universities is estimated to be 1.2 million students. The benchmark projected by UNESCO is that about 16% of a country's population ought to be enrolled at the tertiary level for the country to be competitive in the global system. On the basis of this projection, there should be about 25 million students enrolled in Nigeria's tertiary schools, but there are less than two million currently enrolled in the 130 universities, 115 polytechnics and monotechnics, and 159 technical colleges. Professor Peter Okebukola, the former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), has provided useful insight into the problem of limited access to higher education. He applies the Higher Education Participation Rate (HEPR) to measure Nigeria's poor status. According to him HEPR means “the proportion of eligible population who have access to higher education”. He observes that Africa's “higher education participation rate is currently 10%, while in the United States and Europe it hovers around 50-60%. South Africa had 18% with a plan to push it to 20% by 2012. Britain has set 50% as her HEPR. Data computed from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics sources put Nigeria's HEPR at 8%. Nigeria should set 20% as a target to be met by 2020; to meet the target; we need to achieve at least 10% annual growth in enrolment” Okebukola, (2012). Comparative figures of 2007 from other emerging economies show that Nigeria's transition rate from secondary to tertiary level of education is one of the lowest in the world. For example, the transition rate in Brazil is 30%, while in China is 50% and 90% in South Korea. The Nigerian situation should be further contrasted with that of countries that have taken education more seriously. Each of the three countries; United States of America, China, and India has no less than 5,000 Universities. Indiana State in the United States has 137 Universities, more than the entire number of Universities in Nigeria. The province of Tokyo, the capital of Japan, has about 120 Universities, even Bangladesh, which is materially poorer than Nigeria, but with about the same population, has more than 1,000 universities. The United Kingdom with a population of 60 million has about 400 universities. South Korea with about 50 million people has no less than 150 Universities in addition to 2,800 specialised research centres that provide critical research services for the hi-tech industries and multinational companies. It is the strategic liaison between the Universities and Research centres and industries that guarantees competitive advantage for Korean manufactures and services in the world market. It is pertinent to observe that the free education programme initiated by Chief Obafemi Awolowo's government in the 1950s was several years ahead of a similar one in the Republic of South Korea. In the early 1960s, Korea's Military president, General Park, took measures to halt the mass migration of Korean youths to the United States of America. The first step taken was to inaugurate a radical education reform scheme. His government reasoned that since Korea had no mineral resources to exploit to generate wealth, the best weapon to propel the country to

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modernity was to educate every Korean to University level and, by so doing, implant in their brains/outlook the knowledge and confidence to be able to exploit mineral wealth of other countries to develop the Korean economy. Through a mass movement involving villages and urban communes, General Park's government created slogans and popular songs that ridiculed families that lagged behind in the race for University education. The use of shame culture worked; by the late 1970s, South Korea had one of the densest percentages of University studentship in the world. The Korean government consolidated the development of human capital by embarking on state-sponsored industrialisation. A decree was issued making it mandatory for every wage earner to save 25% of income. The policy yielded large reserves of investible funds in the banks which were instructed to offer liberal loans to investors and industrialists. Some of the industries and companies that developed from this self- reliant policy soon expanded into multinational conglomerates (chaebols) operated by highly literate and globally competitive Korean personnel. Examples of these Korean corporations are Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, and LG which are active in the Nigerian economy. Hyundai and Daewoo heavy industries are involved in the construction of hi-tech facilities for deep-sea oil and gas exploration in Nigeria's coastal waters. Samsung and other Korean electronics giants account for about a third of products in the world; one in every two ocean liners in the global maritime business is built in Korean ship yards. The Korean economic and technological miracle is the harvest of investment in education for all. Let us return to the parlous state of higher education in Nigeria. The number and quality of staff and facilities in the Nigerian Tertiary Institutions constitute another area of distress. The shortage of relevant academic staff in the colleges of education and the polytechnics is estimated to be in the range of 60%. As at 2009, the 95 Nigerian Universities needed about 50,000 academic staff but only about 30,000 were available. The acute short fall in the number and quality of staff is aggravated by the deterioration in facilities. These debilitating factors are the primary reason why no Nigerian University has featured among the league of 500 of the world's best in all rankings conducted in the past one decade. External Orientation of Educational Curricula The crisis of inadequacy of numbers of Institutions and staff is not the only ailment that afflicts our education. The twin problems of irrelevant curricula and external orientation of scholarship constitute another plank of the crisis. This matter has been thoroughly examined by decolonisation scholars such as Frantz Fanon, Basil Davidson, Julius Nyerere, Samir Amin, Ola Oni, Omafume Onoge, Eskor Toyo, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Chinweizu, and Edward Said. Let me illustrate the apprehension of the problem done on the Nigerian situation by some Nigerian scholars. Without prejudice to the accomplishments of individual African scholars and Universities, the overall impression is that our Universities have not contributed significantly to the development of the continent. This is primarily because their academic curricula are not rooted in the culture and environment of Africa. The institutions were not set up to develop indigenous knowledge in Africa and raise it to attain global standards; rather, the tertiary institutions are in the main, impoverished extensions of foreign Universities in Africa. Professor David Okpako in his book, Malaria and Indigenous

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Knowledge in Africa (2011) explains this crisis of external orientation thus:

“...the (African) university has not consciously played the expected leadership role in African cultural renaissance but rather has largely stuck to the colonizers' agenda. The University in Africa has been in the forefront of the propagation of European culture and denigration of African core cultural values. It has therefore been a hindrance to genuine African intellectual emancipation and development”

Professor Olufemi Taiwo's book, Africa Must Be Modern: The Modern Imperative in Contemporary Africa - A Manifesto (2011) reaches a similar conclusion in respect of research focus and relevance. This is how he presents the matter: “Just like what happens in other areas of African life, African exertions on behalf

of knowledge are afflicted with a terminal case of extraversion. All or most of the work that is done locally is not done for immediate or direct local consumption. Rather they are denominated by whether or not they would be good enough for inclusion in overseas outlets. Universities routinely insist that, for advancement, their faculty should publish overwhelming percentage of their intellectual production in so-called 'international journals'” (106)

Professor Taiwo observes further that, “...because African knowledge production is extraverted, the direction of

research and the choice of themes and methodologies are not driven by considerations of what would enable the best self-knowledge or thethorough investigation of local phenomena but by whether or not foreign sponsors from foundations of journals to prospective consumers would be interested in the research agenda. What should have been the primary concern of indigenous modes of knowledge production is relegated to inferior status, and what should have been peripheral is elevated to the core of our scholarly interventions. No one should be surprised that few in the world look to Africa for insights that might be garnered from our strivings for insights into the human condition and its fate in a hostile and fragile world. This, ultimately, is why African Universities do not make it into any lists of the world's best and are unlikely in the near future” (110-111).

Professor Taiwo agrees with other scholars of similar persuasion that this failure is the direct consequence of European colonialism which thwarted the lofty ambitions of the pioneer African nationalists regarding the duty of a University. In his own opinion, what colonialism did instead was to midwife an educational system that was shorn of any high ideals but suffused with crass instrumentalism: produce personnel who would keep the colonial bureaucracy and the limited commercial life designed for Africans rolling. The manpower development and nation-building motif was born of that “perfumed abortion”.

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Professor Taiwo proffers an exit from the quagmire by urging that “We need to embrace the scientific orientation and, even as we may believe in the insufficiency of our nature that makes us hanker after religion or spiritual solace, we must commit to the experimental method, the firm conviction that, using reason, we can force nature to yield her innermost secrets to our probing, and that knowledge is power” Professor Okpako's redemption thesis book cited above is equally elaborate radical. Haying surveyed die crisis higher education sector he concludes as follows:

“Nigerian Universities are dilapidated shadows of their former selves. When Universities in the world are assessed for quality, no University in Africa comes into serious reckoning, as Ibadan was, in the 1970s. The Institutions have lost many leading scholars, through brain drain, migrant labour, suicidal forced retirements, and those who are left behind labour valiantly, but in frustration, lurching from one crisis to another. It is unrealistic to hope that one day, the prosperous days of the 1970s would once again dawn on the Universities; that money would once more be available to pay for the African scholars' indulgences of intellectual dependence on other cultures. It seems to me therefore, that this is the moment for the Universities in Africa to take serious stock of what they teach and how they do it, at research priorities, and what ought to be the best strategies for prosecuting it. I am urging that we turn this period of adversity to advantage and use it to begin to assert our intellectual independence by embarking on a radical review of scholarship in the University in Africa”.

Education For All and National Liberation The analysis in the foregoing sections has established the fact that Nigeria can never attain the status of a sustainable and self-reliant modernisation without first creating a knowledge-based society through universal education. The abundance of natural resources does not guarantee development. The example of South Korea has demonstrated that a country can be a major player in the world's economy without endowments in natural resources. There are data to show that Nigeria has more natural resources than all of the countries in South East Asia. Yet, as our experience of six decades of oil and gas has proven, these riches can fatten the fortunes of foreign exploiters at our own expense. It is instructive that Nigeria has produced a programme of economic and technological self-reliance as envisaged in the Vision 20-20 and the Transformation of Agenda 2011-2015 of the current administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Regrettably, the aspirations in the two documents do not go far enough to emancipate Nigeria from dependency on foreign knowledge and services. For example, the job creation section of the Transformation Agenda identifies unemployment as one of the debit sides of economic growth. It observes that the “Nigerian economy is experiencing growth without employment as the rate of the growth of the labour

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force exceeds the employment opportunities that are being created. The unemployed population is at present dominated by the youth who are mostly school leavers with senior secondary school qualifications and graduates of tertiary institutions”. The composite unemployment data for January 2010 were estimated to be 21%. The situation is worse than this. One of the remedies proposed in the document is to target five million new jobs annually from 2011-2014. This has not happened. There is also a plan to review “University curricula to align with industry job requirements and promotion of apprenticeship/work experience programmes and joint ventures”. There is a loud declaration in the plan that human capital development “is strategic to socio-economic development of a nation and includes education, health, labour, and employment and women affairs” It is further emphasised that investing in “human capital development is therefore critical as it is targeted at ensuring that the nation's human resource endowment is knowledgeable, skilled, productive, and healthy to enable the optimal exploitation and utilization of other resources to engender growth and development”. Inspite of the pious hopes expressed in these paragraphs, there is no concrete programme indicating the number of educated personnel to be created during the plan period and how to achieve the target. Only two paragraphs are devoted to education at page 128 of the Mid- Term Report of the Transformation Agenda published in May, 2013. The review says that the “Transformation Agenda in the education sector aims to refocus the educational system in the areas of access and quality, infrastructure, teacher quality and development, curriculum relevance, funding and planning”. The identified initiatives to achieve these goals are “Early Childhood Care and Education; the Almajiri Education Programme; Back-to-School Programme South East; Promoting Girl Education; Construction of Model Nomadic Education Centres; and Revitalization of Adult and Youth Literacy”. These projections are not fundamental enough to achieve the goal of creating a knowledge society. My proposal is that Nigeria must return to the template of education for all developed in the 1950s by the government of Chief Awolowo in the former Western Region as updated by the 1976 Universal Basic Education scheme. The first priority programme is to aim at eradicating any form of illiteracy and obstacle of access to free primary and secondary education. The first constituency to target is the 10.5 million children of school age who are not enlisted in the system now. The Federal Government should lead the States and local councils to establish the census of the victims. This will enable government to determine the number of physical facilities to provide and teachers and other staff to be employed. The country-wide exercise of identifying the population of pupils and their geographical and gender distribution will generate thousands of jobs. The construction of structures and production of educational materials will expand employment. The engagement of new staff and training will offer additional job opportunities. It is already known that there is a shortage of 1.3 million teachers in the system. In the first few years of the programme of free primary and secondary education, the shortfall in the number of teachers will be met by engaging students of tertiary institutions and senior secondary schools

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during long vacations. There will continue to be public and private schools. However, as it is at the tertiary level, minimum standards of facilities and staffing must be established. Only proprietors who meet the benchmark will be allowed to own and run primary and secondary schools. There are socio-economic conditions that account for the out-of-school problem. One of them is the poverty of families and households. To remedy this and provide equality of opportunity, it is proposed that primary school pupils should be entitled to subsidised meals each day. This will be a major incentive for children and parents to want to be enrolled in school. The incentives should include uniforms and basic educational materials such as electronic gadgets and books. It is gratifying to note that some states such as Osun have started implementing this progressive policy with the launch of the Opon Imo electronic gadget for pupils. At the initial stage, the Federal Government will provide part of the funding for the programme. When it has taken off, the states and local councils will bear the bulk of the expenses, with Federal subsidies and supplements, particularly in areas of critical need. By 2015, the total enrolment figure at the primary school level should be about 35 million. With this envisaged expansion at the primary base of the educational pyramid, there is bound to be pressure for access at the secondary and tertiary levels. The Federal Government figures indicate that only about one-third of primary school pupils advance to the secondary level. This number has to be doubled within a few years to 15 million from the 8.5 million currently enrolled. By 2019, the products of the additional 10.5 million will be available to enter secondary school. Based on the conservative projection of 50% transition rate, the country should make provisions for an enrolment figure of about 21 million students at the secondary level in 2019. If we make allowance for population growth rate of three per cent, we should plan for about 25 million students in secondary schools. The data above should serve as guide to estimate the admission figure for the tertiary education level. Okebukola (2011) has proposed that Nigeria should aim at 20% transition rate from secondary to tertiary level by 2020. This will mean having five million students in higher institutions in the next six years or a four-fold increase from the present 1.2 million. The carrying capacity of the 130 Universities in the country cannot accommodate this increase. Inevitably, the existing facilities have to be expanded and new tertiary institutions established. Compared to countries with our population size, the number of higher institutions in Nigeria is acutely inadequate to provide admission to eligible candidates. To meet some of the ambitious aspirations envisioned in the Vision 20-20 document, Nigeria would need five times the current number of University. As has happened in other countries, most of the additional Universities and polytechnics will be set up by private proprietors. Their potential to run viable institutions has been proved since 1999 when the first three operators were licensed. In one and half decades, there are now 50 private Universities. It is the responsibility of the government to assist private investors in the capital-intensive business of Universities and technical institutions. This stimulus plan can be implemented by relaxing some of the forbidding conditions attached to the establishment of private Universities. For example, the pre-condition of acquiring 100 hectares of virgin land discourages many prospective proprietors. Besides the exorbitant cost of land acquisition, the

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condition drives private owners to site institutions in rural areas where basic facilities are non-existent. This compounds the problem of developing academic infrastructure. A multi-storey building in an urban centre can provide adequate space for a university. There are many Universities in the world that were started in such sites. If this approach is adopted many of our cities like Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Abuja, Maiduguri, Enugu, Onitsha, Aba, Port Harcourt, Benin, Warri-Effurun and others can host Universities and Polytechnics. The federal land grant policy employed by the United States of America in the 19th century has much value for us in Nigeria. Through the policy, the federal government donated public land to states to establish tertiary institutions. This was what created some of the state University systems such as those of California, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In the opinion of Alan Brinkley (2000), these Universities “played a vital role in the economic development of the United States of America. The land-grant institutions were specifically mandated to advance knowledge in Agriculture and Mechanics”. From the beginning they were committed “to making discoveries that would be of practical use to farmers and manufacturers. As they evolved into great state Universities, they retained this tradition and became the source of many of the great technological and scientific discoveries that helped American industry and commerce to advance”. Education, Industry, and Employment Experts in the field of Engineering think that about three-quarters of what humans design, build and produce is related to engineering skills. Academic courses in engineering were introduced at the Yaba Higher College in 1937. About 80 years after, what is Nigeria's standing in this strategic domain of technical capacity? Current estimates show that Nigeria does not have up to 50,000 engineers and allied professionals. Each of the populous states in the country such as Lagos or Kano or Oyo would need as many engineers and technicians to maintain municipal and public services. The low level of engineering knowledge in Nigeria contrasts sharply with that of, say, Japan where about one-fifth of the population of 120 million is made up of engineers and allied professionals. This high density of engineering energy is one of the factors that explain the pre-eminence of Japan in industry and the world economy. For the Nigerian society and economy to be truly modem, the country would need millions of engineering experts. It is instinctive to mention here the example of the former Soviet Union in respect of mathematical capacity. By 1989, when the socialist system collapsed in the Soviet Union, there were 33 million mathematicians. It is no surprise that that country, now Russia, was a pioneer in space technology and has remained dominant in that field for 50 years. If Nigeria does not have the critical mass of engineering and technical knowledge, how can she ever attain sovereignty in the construction industry? The country has been in existence for 100 years yet there is no major indigenous construction firm active in Nigeria and elsewhere. That is why foreign construction corporations handle all the big building contracts; roads and highways, bridges, airports, sea ports, refineries, power plants, and even the offices and residences of our presidents and governors. Every such mega project contracted to foreign organisations is a conduit for capital flight. The contracts create jobs and businesses for foreign countries and fatten the fortunes of their economies. As a consequence the Nigerian economy is under-developed.

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We can illustrate this economic tragedy further. In the early 1980s, Governor Lateef Jakande's government in Lagos State started the construction of the metroline. The reactionary military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari aborted the project. Three decades later, Lagos State is yet to recover from the destructive impact of this sadistic measure. One of the negative effects is that the reconstruction of the Nigerian railways system is being handled by experts from China, a country that takes education seriously. In July 2013 when President Goodluck Jonathan paid an official visit to China, the Nigerian media reported that there were about 17,000 Chinese technicians and professionals engaged in various projects in Nigeria. Nigeria's failure to invest in relevant education is the main reason why foreign corporations and personnel virtually monopolise the strategic areas of the oil and gas economy. After 60 years of the industry, the Nigerian content of it is not more than 10%. It is a fact that the real wealth in oil is in the refined products. Nigeria has operated an oil-dominated economy for six decades yet it is still a major importer of refined products. During the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, Nigerian scientists and engineers in Biafra designed and operated mobile oil refineries. Four decades after this feat was achieved, Nigeria is dependent on imported fuels and products; yet mini or modular refineries are affordable to build and run. The bulk of the crude oil produced in Nigeria is exported without value added. Consumer nations that buy the oil manufacture about 100 products from every barrel of crude oil. To free Nigeria from this suicidal dependency on imports, the country must invest in education and local enterprise in refineries and petrochemicals. Recall the point that local content in the oil industry is about 10% in Nigeria, and in Venezuela it is about 70%. The Natiwfel oil corporations in Venezuela and Mexico handle all phases of oil production; from exploration to production, refining and export. Venezuela also has many offshore refining facilities, Nigeria has none. Because of the corruption and ideological timidity of Nigerian governments, they have subordinated the vital interest of the country to the control and manipulation by multinational operators such as Shell, Chevron, Mobil, Total, and AGIP. The Petroleum Industry Bill aimed at reducing the exploitation of Nigeria has been stalled in the filibustering doldrums of the National Assembly for nearly ten years. Instead of wasting money in importing petroleum products, Nigeria should take a cue from Venezuela, China, and Norway by raising local content in the industry. The priority aspect of this is to support the establishment of small- and medium-scale refineries in every local government area of the country. With the abundance of oil and natural gas, the route to economic liberation lies in investing in the building of refineries and petrochemical plants for export to the world market. With education and appropriate financial stimulus, Agriculture can generate bounteous harvests in enterprises and employment. Nigeria's location in the heart of the tropics is an advantage, especially with over 84 million hectares of arable land. Owing to the neglect of the sector and failure to apply technical knowledge to develop Agriculture, Nigeria now spends more than one-quarter of its annual budget on importation of food and consumables. The Federal Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Adewunmi Adesina has promised to reduce this financial haemorrhage by saving Nigeria from rice slavery by 2015. Dr. Adesina's audacious advocacy for self-sufficiency has led to more reforms in the sector. The Ministry has registered about 15.5 million farmers for the purpose of developing a sustainable value chain structure for farming and agribusiness.

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These progressive ideas will depend on the number and quality of Agricultural technical knowledge in the country. Universities and Technical Institutions are the pivot of the envisaged transformation in Agriculture. Substantial research has been done in various aspects of Agriculture. The government should intensify the policies of linkages between researchers and industrial end users. By the 1980s, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, had conducted the research in animal husbandry to end the primitive method of herdsmen roaming the wild for fodder which can be grown in laboratories within a few days. The scientific scheme has not been implemented because of lack of seriousness on the part of government. Research breakthroughs have been recorded in the University of Ibadan in Agriculture and Forestry. The University's collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has introduced a revolution to the cultivation of cassava. Nigeria is the world's leading producer of cassava and yam. Each of these root crops can sustain a robust national economy if the government is serious about diversifying the sources of revenue and creating job opportunities. The Asian country of Thailand earns the bulk of its foreign exchange from export of cassava products; the amount is bigger than what Nigeria earns from the export of oil. Thailand is able to do this because it gives priority attention to technical education and research. Nigeria is the world's largest natural habitat of the oil palm. In the 1930s, the oil palm industry in Nigeria employed over four million people in direct and indirect engagement. Advanced research on the industrial uses of the oil palm has been undertaken at the Nigerian Institute of Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) near Benin. Investors from Malaysia benefited from some of this research. Nigeria neglected the oil palm business in the 1970s with the advent of crude oil; Malaysia intensified investment during the period and she is now the world's leader in the industry. Nigeria must return to the path of oil-palm prosperity through education, research and applied technology. Nigeria’s riches in solid minerals have not been exploited primarily because there is shortage of technical knowledge and government support. The 1000-km stretch of territory in the central region of the country contains precious solid minerals. The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has identified 34 of them. States like Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Enugu, Oyo, Kogi, and Kwara are richly endowed. These states now depend on monthly revenue from the Federation Account because their natural resources are not developed. The commercial exploitation of the solid minerals awaits adequate investment in education in mining and processing. Naijing University of China founded about 1,800 years ago is renowned for mining technology and research. Nigerian universities and polytechnics in the solid minerals zone should be mandated to specialise in these fields and aspire to be world leaders. The neglect of education has also prevented Nigeria from reaping the benefits of being a maritime nation. The country's water and maritime resources are in abundance. There are over 3,000 km of inland waterways, an 850-km Atlantic coastline, and Africa's largest wetlands in the Niger Delta. Most of the riches and hidden treasures in these water courses are yet to be classified and exploited.

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In 1960, the Netherlands Engineering Company (NEDECO) was commissioned by the Nigerian government to carry out a comprehensive inventory of the waterways and their economic potentials. This was done preparatory to the setting up of the Niger Delta Development Board which is now defunct. Hundreds of thousands of water engineers and maritime experts are needed to explore the wealth and opportunities in the riverine areas of the country. Dredging and reclamation of swamps require expertise in diverse fields of knowledge The Shipping and Maritime Industry in Nigeria requires no less than 150,000 experts to optimally operate it. Presently there only about 1,000 Nigerian personnel involved in the business, leaving a vacuum of 140,000 for foreign nationals and investors. The Nigerian Maritime Academy at Oron in Akwa Ibom State is too under-developed to meet the requirement of training for the industry. In contrast to Nigeria, there are 44 maritime Institutions in the Philippines, 26 in India, 16 in the United Kingdom, and 14 in Bangladesh. For Nigeria to achieve sovereign control over her maritime resources, she must establish more institutions and facilities for training mariners and navigators. The crisis of inadequate electricity power supply has frustrated Nigeria's economic development for decades. Many of the potential sources of generating electricity are dormant because of low investment and lack of a critical mass of technical capital. Owing to the shortfall in the number of engineers in the country, building more generating facilities will not be a guarantee of reliable power supply. The building of more power plants must be matched with an aggressive drive in the training of power engineers and technicians; thousands of these are needed to stabilise the energy system for industrial production and reliable social services. The nexus between education and the creation of jobs and wealth is well illustrated by the situation of housing. The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development estimates that there is a shortfall of 15 million housing units in the Country. This is an area that encompasses diverse skills and economic opportunities. Think of Planners, Surveyors, Architects, Designers, Builders, Plumbers, Painters, Insurance and Mortgage agencies, Suppliers, and sundry commercial enterprises involving in the sector. Housing is an area where education and research can be creatively applied to free Nigeria from dependency on foreign sources. Nigerian researchers have established the fact that affordable and environmentally appropriate houses can be provided on a mass scale by utilising local earth and clay bricks in place of cement blocks. The cement technology was developed for cold regions of the world; the cement absorbs heat in day time and discharges it to warm spaces at night. It is therefore not very suitable for constructing living quarters in the humid, tropical climate such as Nigeria's. By minimising the use of cement in favour of earth and clay bricks, Nigeria can save much on import bills and also create enterprises and employment. In 2005, I did a pilot study on this matter for the government of Delta State. The study revealed that building with clay and other local materials could employ about 250,000 in the mining of clay and sand, production, packaging, transportation, construction, insurance, etc. These data can be multiplied for many states in the country. Besides jobs and enterprises, the indigenous building technology will substantially reduce expenses incurred in providing energy and equipment to cool facilities built with heat- generating cement. Here, again, is a field where Nigeria can attain liberation through the diligent application of education, research, and

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nationalism. For an economy in recession, it is the duty of the government to implement measures to cushion the masses of the people from its ravaging effects. Employment of students and youth is one of such measures. Education and industrialisation should be organised to create opportunities for jobs for students and youth. Every major industrial and commercial enterprise in the country should be compelled by law to provide for vacation job engagement for students. For example, the telecommunications industry in Nigeria has been one of the fastest- growing in the world. During the decade of 2000-2010, over 100 million mobile telephone subscribers were registered in the country, but all the handsets and other accessories used in the country are imported; this should not be. In Singapore, Malaysia, India, China, and Japan, school children are engaged in assembling and packaging electronic products. Through this early exposure to the production process, the children develop interest and skills to become future investors, designers, and entrepreneurs in the electronic and technological industry. Nigeria being the largest market for these products should leverage on this advantage by insisting that telephone handsets and allied equipment and other consumer electronic items are assembled/manufactured in Nigeria to generate employment and incubate industrial investment. The development of industry and enterprise will encourage investment in education and research. An educated work force is the bastion of self-reliant economic development. The products of the educational institutions that empowered with knowledge will run the economy and public affairs to make Nigeria globally competitive and free from the yoke of dependency on import of ideas, goods, and services. The neglect to fund education and research in adequate measure, government in Nigeria has contributed to the stagnation of industrialisation of the economy. There are dedicated researchers and workers in all the institutions but their efforts are frustrated by obsolete equipment, poor motivation and remuneration. Professor Wole Soyinka, our University of Ibadan Alumnus, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, the first African to achieve the feat. All the other academic Nobel laureates in Africa are in literature - Mafouz Naguib of Egypt (1988), Nadine Gordimer (1991) and J.M. Coetzee (2008), both of South Africa. No African scholar has won the prize in science or medicine, not even in economics. This is probably a reflection of the state of scholarship in the continent. In 2001, I interviewed Professor David Okpako on the matter for The Guardian newspaper in Lagos. From his experience as a scientist and pharmacologist, Okpako explained that the laboratory that can produce a Nobel laureate in the sciences must be in active, uninterrupted use for twenty years or more. There is no laboratory of that status in Nigeria. Besides the chronic problem of poor equipment and funding, the frequency of staff union strikes and closure of Institutions have made sustained research impossible in Nigeria. Conclusion In this lecture, I have attempted a synoptic chronicle of the progress of education in Africa and Nigeria. The evidence shows that the image of Africa as a “dark continent” is nothing but the sinister propaganda of European imperialist nations to justify their exploitation and plunder of

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Africa. Africa is the birthplace of humanity because the first trace of human evolution is located at the Olduvai Gorge in Northern Tanzania about 3.5 million years ago. From here humanity sprouted and spread to all continents and corners of the world. Africa is also the cradle of all languages, philosophies, sciences, and technologies that have been copied, remodelled, adjusted, and reinvented to suit different climes and environments through the millennia. Africa is genesis. In the specific domain of education or organised transmission of knowledge, Africa is also the beginning of things with the temples were the educational and pedagogical institutes in ancient Black and pre-Islam Egypt. The priests of the temples were the first professors of knowledge. The religious milieu and context of the ancient educational system survive today in the form of the Yoruba Ifa and other divinatory institutions in West Africa and the African Diaspora communities. For an unbroken period of 4,000 years, our forebears of the Nile Valley civilizations taught the world, especially the Greeks who were later to influence the Romans and the rest of Western Europe that were barbarians at the time Egyptian science and engineering reached their zenith 3,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Against this background, I have argued that there is an imperative need for Africans to reclaim their stolen legacy by decolonising their mental outlook and institutions. There is no weapon more potent than education for accomplishing this task. The survey of Nigeria's education attempted in this lecture reveals fundamental ideological and structural defects. The external orientation of our educational institutions and scholars constitutes a major hindrance to the emancipation of Nigeria from neo-colonial bondage and subservience. Nigeria's population of 170 million is about a quarter of Africa's. For Africa to modernise through education and mass literacy, Nigeria must take the lead. Sixty years after Chief Obafemi Awolowo initiated the first mass education scheme in Africa, Nigeria has no justifiable excuse for harbouring one of the densest populations of illiterate people in the world. Being a holder of a Ph. D degree, President Goodluck Jonathan is one of the most educated leaders in the world today. He has a historic burden to discharge on education for all. Nigerians, Africans, and posterity will not pardon Jonathan if he fails to improve on the Awolowo success story. In this 100th year of Nigeria's existence, we urge President Jonathan to begin a revolutionary transformation of education that will liberate the country from the shackles of illiteracy and superstition by the year 2020. Let me close my submission by invoking, again, the 1952 immortal summons of Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu:

“Education is the foundation of freedom. Ignorance is the basis of slavery. If you would free a people, first and foremost, educate them”.

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Table 1: Universities in Nigeria and Some Countries

S/N COUNTRY POPULATION NO.OF UNIVERSITIES

1 Nigeria 170 Million 130

2 United 65 Million 400

3 United States of America 300 Million 5,758

4 . Japan 130 Million 1,223

5 Bangladesh 150 Million 1200

6 Indonesia 240 Million 1,236

7 Mexico 110 Million 1341

8 Brazil 200 Million 2,368

9 South Korea 50 Million 160

10 Russia 150 Million 493

11 India 1.2 Billion 572

12 Egypt 80 Million 59

13 South 50 Million 70

Table 2: Pioneer Nigerian University Graduates

S/NO NAME NATIONALITY YEAR OF GRADUATION

1 Prince Don Domingos Itsekiri Kingdom 1610

2 Herbert Jumbo Ijaw (Bonny) 1856

3 John Jumbo Ijaw (Bonny) 1878 4 Isaac Oluwole Yoruba 1878

5 Obidiah Johnson Yoruba 1878

6 ? Wanjei Igbo (Isele-Uku) 1917

7 Alvan Ikoku Igbo 1925

8 Nnamdi Azikiwe Igbo (Onitsha) 1930

Sources: G.G. Darah Files

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Table 3: University of Ibadan Vital Statistics Enrolment: Regular Students 21,636 Distance Leaving Students 13,428 Total Enrolment 35,064 Professors and Readers 422 Senior Lecturer 367 Others 747 Total Academic Staff 1,536 Technical Assistants 1,021 Senior Administrative Staff 1,207 Junior Administration Staff 1,963 Total Non-Academic Staff 4,191 Source: Alumni Association Office, 2014-03-18

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Table 4: Higher Degrees Awarded By Ui, 1997-2007

YEAR Ph.D M. phil 1997 191 20

1998 161 20

1999 70 12

2000 227 29

2001 155 3 2003 311 12

2004 226 6

2005 209 15

2006 182 12

2007 162 11

TOTAL 1,894 140 Source: His Light in My Life: Sunny All The Way: Nimbe Adepipe @70, 2010,p.393

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Nigeria, A Trajectory of Failed Expectations: Looking Into The Future With Hope

Chief John E. K Odigie – Oyegun,

Introduction I am pleased to be in your midst today not just as a lecturer but as someone who over 40 years ago passed through the gates of this lofty citadel of learning. I remember with great nostalgia my student days here. Here, we were particularly taught to be gentlemen and to uphold everything noble. We were few, we virtually knew all ourselves and in those days it was quite a shameful thing to be cartooned in our campus magazine for anything unwholesome. Coming to UI was a thing of pride and we humbly saw ourselves as the best any civilized society could produce. As students of UI, we carried ourselves with immense dignity, and were eager to excel. Life here was nice, we gave ourselves the noble task of helping our dear country grow, (if you remember) when I left the University, our country was barely three years old as an independent nation. Ours was a life of dreams; we were both patriotic and nationalistic in outlook. Such were the glorious days. Mr. Chairman, while I look back with fond memories of my time here in Ibadan, I must commend the present authorities of the University of Ibadan for being able to keep the noble and rich tradition of excellence for which UI has been known over the years.I dare say they have tried within very difficult and testy times to make sure that UI does not just remain the first and the best as a slogan, but truly in academic pursuit and in character formation. For me, UI remains the first and the best and it is one of the very few institutions in the country, who over the years have managed to keep its head high, this in spite of the avalanche of problems besetting our nation. For this, I wish to express my gratitude to the successive management teams of this University for sticking to the dream of her founding fathers. I wish to also pay tribute to our Alumni Association for initiating this noble tradition of getting alumnus deliver an occasional lecture. I therefore count myself fortunate to be given this rare opportunity, bearing in mind that our institution; the University of Ibadan has produced giants in fields of human endeavor. It then follows, that when one is called upon, it shouldn’t be seen as nothing, but a rare privilege. Or how can one truly describe this, looking back at the eminent alumni who have transversed this path before me? Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, fifty-four years ago, Nigeria, a nation gained independence from Britain with lofty aspirations and goals. Today, many query the true nature of this independence given the motley of problems confronting us, and how well we have managed our affairs as an independent nation. Our perceived stunted growth when compared to some other nations which gained independence around the same period with our dear country gives cause for concern. Therefore, for the purpose of this interaction, I have decided to share with you my thoughts Nigeria, a Trajectory of Failed Expectation: Looking into the Future with Hope.

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Discussing this topic, I neither claim to have the answers to all the questions nor do I claim infallibility, but it is my fervent hope that at the end of this interaction, we would be sufficiently inform and galvanized to work for the betterment of our dear country, only the deep can call onto the deep. Mr. Chairman, the notion of a trajectory signifies a path, a route ordinarily taken to arrive at a destination. It is the formal way which a process or event develops over a period of time. In this context, it will suggest the journey Nigeria has taken over the years given her rich human and material resources to bring about a much better and improved life for her people. The question that then dare stare us in the face is how well has this thoroughly beaten path been able to help solve our problems as a nation? The Crisis of Expectation Mr. Chairman Sir, the atmosphere that pervades us today as a nation is that of uncertainty and despair. Extreme pessimism is now the order of the day and this has effectively taken the place of the euphoria that greeted Nigeria at independence. The situation today in Nigeria is a country at war with herself, as violence, insecurity, religious intolerance, brigandage, looting, primitive accumulation of wealth and outright insincerity by those, who ordinarily ought to know better, daily stare us in the face. Apparently quite prophetic, Samir Amir (1990) had this in mind when he posited decades ago that:

If the 1960s were characterized by the great hope of seeing an irreversible process of development launched throughout what came to be called the Third World, and in Africa particularly, the present age is one of disillusionment. Development has broken down; its theory is in crisis, its ideology the subject of doubt.

Indeed, when Samir Amir (1990) predicted this, the living condition of the average Nigerian was still on the average better than what it is today. Today, the Hobbesian theory of life; being nasty, brutish and short finds meaning in the country. Though the above assertion by Samir Amir (1990) might appear discouraging, especially if contextualized within a narrow path, the truth is, our country is sick and the citizens are in dire straits and need urgent help. To fully understand our dilemma, one needs to gauge precarious socio-economic situation and the intense hardship that has become the lot of Nigeria and many Nigerians today. This is against every expectation before independence in 1960. Expectation captured by the great African historian and Alumnus ‘48, late Prof Ade Ajayi (1982) when he clearly asserted in article aptly titled, “Expectations of Independence" that:

"In so far as they appreciated the independence movement, their

basic expectation was to see an end to unpredictability and irrationality of the white man's world. Without dubious advantage of Western education, they rejected white man's culture, and for as long as possible, struck what they knew. Their notion of freedom was not an abstract ideal, but a catalogue of specific want: freedom from incomprehensible laws and directives; return

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of the lands; and freedom to be left alone to live their lives and as their own goal, especially in regard to land tenure and Iocal government groupings that affected historical relationships. These wants developed and became specific with each hope and each disastrous frustration. Soon, expectation came to include improved standards of living in housing and clothing, greater returns for their labor, bet transportation for exporting and marketing their surpluses education as a means to social mobility that would ensure better life for their children and an adequate water supply, electricity, health care facilities and other such amenities life''.

Such was the expectation at independence, but today 54 years after, it seems that the fortunes of the country have gone from bad to worse. Independence, we had thought would "usher” us in a new era of basic rights and freedom long denied under foreign or settler rule. In this state of despair, it would amount to stating the obvious that the condition in Nigeria today is not even akin to pre independence era, it has gone worse. Abiolalrele (1992) lamenting the state of affairs in majority of African states concluded that their future was bleak, Nigeria inclusive. At the time, many of the African states were still in the shackles of dictatorship, but today, many of them have embraced multi-party democracy and their fortunes considerably improved. Sadly, not for Nigeria, the largest black nation in the world. It is a truism, that our country; given the present multiple challenges confronting her as a nation seems to be permanently backsliding. Again, Uroh, (2005) though referring to the whole of Africa, seemed to have our beloved country in mind when, with his graphic description of the morbid state of affairs in the continent, stated rather tersely:

The evidence is everywhere boldly written in every street in African

cities, in the faces of fleeing refugees, in the faces of the wounded soldiers, in the stories of the orphans, in the barking' of the night marauders as they rampage freely even in the day times in Dakar, Nairobi, Lagos. Here lies the frustration of the peasant who has asked Nkrumah, to seek first political kingdom with a promise of economic and social development to be added almost immediately to him. Today, neither a political kingdom nor economic development for the poor appears feasible.

This fits accurately with the ugliness that pervades Nigeria today. It all began with the collapse of the First republic in 1966. Military Incursion in Politics Following the attainment of independence in October 1960, the country practiced full blown Parliamentary democracy for only years before the Military struck, but it does appear, looking development periods in the 54 years of Nigeria's existence, that period between 1960 and 1966

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seemed to have witness relatively rapid development despite being the period when economy was mainly agrarian based. This was a period of the groundnut pyramids in the North, Cocoa in the West and oil palm produce in the East. During this period, there seemed to be healthy rivalry amongst the constituent regions that led to wealth creation and generation and were therefore in hurry to develop. It was during this period that some notable Institutions were birth across the then three regions in the country. This period a witnessed the construction of thousands of housing units, and paved roads across the country. Many commentators have quickly attributed the success recorded during this period to the practice of true federalism. Mr. Chairman, if we are in agreement that the period between 1960 to 1966 Nigeria was a true Federation, and was the golden age of development, why has it become so difficult for the Country to go back to that practice of true federalism which our party advocated? If you will recall, Mr. Chairman that, then, the regions are financially viable, and even contributed a percentage of revenues to the federal government. Looking back, it was truly Nigeria's glorious years, and many feel as I do, that if the tempo of progress then had been sustained, the country would have been one of the fastest growing economies especially with subsequent discovery of oil, but alas, the armed forces struck, and it seemed that singular action turned the fortunes of Nigeria upside down. The reason for intervening in the body politics' was couched in "Patriotism". According to the coupists, "there was unmitigated corruption amongst the political class then'. They therefore sought to intervene to save the then young nation from misrule, arbitrariness and the politics of impunity. Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, the perceived leader of the plot had stated that the reason why they struck was "to establish a strong and prosperous nation free from corruption and internal strife”. Forty- eight years later, it is doubtful given the level of corruption in our national life, if the so called "ten per centers" in Nzeogwu's time will not be seen today as saints going by the monumental and sickening corruption that is now the hallmark of the PDP-controlled Federal Government. This unfortunate military incursion into the political life of the country resulted in the gradual but steady dislocation and dismemberment of the Nigerian Federation. Ladies and gentlemen, it was also the Military that aborted the second republic, again, citing increasing incidences of corruption and massive rigging of elections to justify the truncation of that republic. Despite its acknowledged imperfections, it is a known fact that the worst democratic regime is better than the most benevolent military dictatorship. Again, in the General Babaginda transition programme of which I was a key participant, that military regime annulled what has come to be regarded as the freest election in the annals of our Country. By this singular action, Babangida took the country's political development many years backwards. How do we describe the period between 1993 and 1999 in the history of our country? While many see that period as the darkest part of Nigeria’s history judging by the brutal practices of that regime, I took solace in the fact that Nigerians will outlive it, and we sure did. However, one admirable outcome of that period was the resilience of Nigerians and the victory of good over evil in the end. It is therefore, in this context that I salute men and women of goodwill who came together to confront the rampaging regime of the time, even at great personal risks.

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Again, despite the fact that the military had serially truncated the democratic and political journey of this country, they birthed the Fourth Republic. We must therefore appreciate General Abdulsalam Abubakar for the shortest transition programme for the return of multi-party democracy in 1999. However, many of us in NADECO did feel convinced that Nigeria would have benefitted immensely from a slightly delayed transition to enable progressive forces organize instead of power being handed over eventually to a regrouping of the infamous “five leprous fingers". Ladies and gentlemen, while we may feel outraged at the military for taking over the reins of governance, destroying our federalism and invariably arresting our development, it must be stressed that they never acted alone, for they always have their collaborators amongst the civil populace, who carefully and most often teach them on how to foist misrule on the people. Or is it not common knowledge that most coups in the country had been prompted and financed by members of the political class, who later on, go justify why they struck? In all these, what is the implication for development in the country? Uroh (1998) ventured an answer: "The implication of all this to the question of development in Africa lies in the way it has transformed, for the worse, the notion of politics in the continent: The moment it has become obvious that by holding a political office you can deep your hands into the public till and steal to your heart's desire, and what's more, unchallenged by the helpless and hapless populace, the vocabulary of politics in Africa changed, from ratiocination and constructive dialogue, Africa politics has since remained the struggle to control and exploit the fortunes of the state by virtually all available, but mostly dubious and violent means. In the prevailing circumstances, security of office rather than anything else, not the least development, becomes the main pre occupation of those in government". Now, because power has become central in our politics, remaining in office for those already there or getting there, for those outside the corridors of power, have come to lie with acquiring "more and more power". And because there are no restraints on the means of acquiring power and holding on to it, those who have by chance or design lost out of the power game have not only had to contend with humiliation and victimization, but have faced "a real prospect of losing life and liberty” (see Ake, 1989); The Political Economy of Crisis And Development. Does this not remind us of the 'do or die' posture of the PDP led Federal Government in their campaigns leading to the 2007 elections? Unfortunately, this has since become the PDP trademark. Or how else can one explain the total militarization of Ekiti and Osun States elections, which were principally primed to favour the party using the instruments of state coercion to manipulate elections. Invariably, because premium has been placed on coercion in theatre of African politics, the military which had the monopoly of the instrument of coercion, took over the misgovernance of their countries including Nigeria. Justifying why they seized power, the first ever military coup in Egypt in 1952, Abdel Gamal Naser said: "...It was not the army that determined the role it was to play in the course of events. The reverse was nearer to the truth. It was events and their development that determined the army's part in the supreme struggle for the liberation of the?

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Military incursion has led to worse politics and worse economic problems in Africa. It may seem that Nigeria's econonomy problems defies solution; while that might be intellectually absurd, I dare say that no nation develops without a well-articulated development plan. And that is the bane of a country, which believes almost fanatically in adhoc approach to governance and management rather than to careful, well ordered and coordinated economic programmes that are consistently implemented over a generation. Where are our development plans? Nigeria and Development Plans Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in order to achieve wholesome economic development, there must be a balance between present needs and future demands, all anchored, well-articulated economic blueprint. Nigeria has had several development plans. The first of such development plans was in 1946 with the introduction of a 10 year development and welfare plan for the country. However, what can be termed a truly national development plan was introducedin 1962 and lasted till 1968. One of the defining characteristics of that plan was its ambitious nature; it consisted of a total investment expenditure of N2.132 billion. This expenditure comprised the public sector investment meant to gulp about N1.352 billion, while the remaining N780 million expenditure was private sector driven. It must be pointed out that it was intended to achieve a broader base for the economy and reduce the risk of over dependence on foreign trade. It was also collaboration between the Federal and Regional governments with focus on Technical Education, Agriculture and Industry, with plans of achieving a mixed economic system. The plan also aimed that about 15 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be invested with a four per cent GDP growth rate target. This plan gave birth to many national institutions still existing today. Sadly, it was interrupted by both the military intervention in 1966 as well as the civil war. These interruptions notwithstanding, the period according to the Nigeria Wikipedia:

“Saw both the Federal and regional governments recording a

number of landmark achievements during the development plan period. During the crisis period, the Federal Government alone successfully executed projects like the oil refinery in Port Harcourt, the paper mill, the sugar mill and the Niger Dam (in Jebba and Bacita) respectively, the Niger bridge and ports extension, while it also constructed a number of trunk A roads”.

It was while the plan was being implemented, that the first generations of Universities were established by the Federal and Regional governments. The second National Development Plan was launched in 1972, and with the First Indigenization Decree, it aimed at having government control the commanding heights of the economy. It was put together by the Federal government in concert with the state governments. One of the essential features of that plan was perceived an ambitious Public Investment Programme fuelled the oil boom. It targeted an increase of per capita income; fail distribution of income, reduction in the level of unemployment, diversification of the economy, balanced development and indigenization of economic activities.

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Being a post-civil war development plan, 'it focused on the reconstruction of a war- battered economy and the promotion economic and social development in the new Nigeria. Some of the achievements of the plan were "the construction of many federal roads, the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps scheme; and the introduction of federal scholarship and loan schemes for Nigerian students. Following the military coup 1976, the development plan was reorganized by the new ruler, General Murtala Muhammed. In reviewing the plan, Murtala focused more on Agriculture, Water supply, Housing and Health. Again, with the return of democracy in 1979, the Third National Development Plan was formulated by the Shehu Shagari led Federal government in l981.The plan which was also prepared in conjunction with the then 19 states was meant to lay the foundation for long -term economic and social development of Nigeria, but it was alleged to be poorly implemented, due principally to military incursions in the body polity in 1983 and 1985.While the General Muhammadu Buhari administration was busy fighting the canker worm of corruption and indiscipline, so was yet to firmly develop its economic policy, it was overthrown in August 1985 by General Ibrahim Babangida whose administration introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Many commentators have today blamed the economic woes that befell Nigeria later on the introduction of SAP. It was argued that SAP did not help the development of African states, Nigeria inclusive. The renowned Economist Adebayo Adedeji (1994) certainly belongs to this school of thought. He said:

“Far from being about economic reform, these Structural Adjustment

Programmes have severely curtailed the development drive that has always been the best hope for stabilizing the precarious political structures that succeeded colonialism”.

While I may not want to get into the debate on the merits and demerits of SAP, one thing stood clear and that is, it is clear lack of human face made the plan very unpopular amongst the Nigerian people. Though subsequent National Rolling Plans were instituted between l990 and 1992 as well as Vision 2010. Development Plan initiated by General Sanni Abacha in 1995, real development planning never really took the centre stage in our body polity since then. The country never got it right and seems to have lost the focus of national planning but on the contrary cultivated the habit of running governments without laid down plans and objectives. Bemoaning this lack of planning, Okubor said and I totally agree with him that: ”the essence of planning by governments all over the world is to

ensure that it makes conscious choice regarding the rate direction of growth. For there is no gainsaying the fact that planning is fundamental to Industrial development, Agricultural improvement, Transport, Commerce, Housing and the like. Therefore, it need not be stressed that a national comprehensive plan, fosters rational decisions aimed at achieving "deliberate, consistent and well-balanced action towards socio-economic development and good governance”.

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It is imperative to reiterate that all the development plans enunciated in the annals of this country were brilliantly formulated, but always suffered from policy inconsistency, deficiency of scope, poor implementation, budgetary indiscipline and corruption. Mr. Chairman, it is important to remind us that a well informed articulated development plans formed the bedrock of most of laudable projects executed by Nigerian governments at the pre and post-independence periods. Similarly, what is also evident in our interactions so far, suggests that the quality of life for the average Nigerian even in terms of physical development has continued to progressively deteriorate as the years rolled by, principally due to poor planning and policy implementation. Nigeria fifteen years after the Return to Democratic Rule Ladies and Gentlemen, I still remember, with great nostalgia, our student days here and the nationalistic spirit then, and the expectations that followed. I cannot but try to ask the ultimate question how can we get it right? While a lot of theories had been propounded over the years on what went wrong, with many still laying the blame squarely on Military incursion in our political life, many have even argued that the way and manner we got our Independence seemingly on a platter has given room for the complacency we find in our leaders. I do not share this view, and find it almost tragic that many continue to blame the leadership failure in our country on the way and manner we got our Independence. Yes, the Military incursion in our political life seemed to have partially truncated our development, but must we continue on that line of thought, after fifteen years of uninterrupted attempt at democracy? Do we still have any moral right to continue to blame the Military for our woes, even when the political class who were active collaborators is now on the driver's seat? For me, fifteen years is more than enough for a political party to make a meaningful impact on the lives of the people. It seems to me that owing to the in-built adhoc approach to the implementation of plans, no administration seems to have continued from where the other left. The result is that real development has not been able to take firm root in the country. Due to this half hearted implementation of projects, poverty and other social indicators placed Nigeria below most Low Income Countries. Poverty level increased from 18% at independence to 35% in 1984, and 70% in 1999 and Nigeria has been stuck near the bottom of the Human Development Index (HDI) in the last decade. Even in this decade, the country has not fared any better high inflation rates make nonsense of the income of the average Nigerian, who most often live on below 2 dollars a day. World Bank statistics in year 2012, put the number of Nigerians living destitution at 113 million, while its report in April 2014, put Nigeria among the five poorest countries in the world. The high rate of unemployment and low per capita income in the country are just two of the indices used by the World Bank in arriving at the assessment (Pls see The Editorial of The Sun Newspaper for the of April 2014 titled: Nigeria’s Grim Unemployment Statistics. The Economy, especially government revenue, remains undiversified and largely linked to the price of oil, making it to shocks and fluctuations, while the real productive sector of the economy lay prostrate, it remains an obvious truth that Nigeria, 54 years after, is perceived and still behaves like a toddler, there is no doubt that the country has suffered stunted growth as a

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result of gross leadership failure. This is exemplified by our failure, as a people, to use our huge human and material resources to galvanize development in our country, this in-spite of being a leading oil producing country in the world. Despite the fact that Nigeria's economy (Gross Domestic Product) is the largest in Africa, yet, it has not translated into a better living standard for the citizens. The people of Nigeria, though amongst the world's most talented, are today suffering from brain drain, unemployment and poverty. In reality, the country is suffering from administrative and management neglect, high unemployment, social deprivation, abject poverty, squalor, insecurity and even increasingly endemic ethnic and religious conflict. As the country is burdened by under development and insecurity challenges, the Federal government being hamstrung in curtailing it, many are of the opinion that the country is sliding into chaos. The founder of the Oodua People's Congress, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun certainly shares that opinion. He said:

“Nigeria has failed to develop. There is no difference between

what the country was 100 years ago and what it is now. Nigeria has lost in everything, including culture. The country has not developed in education; it has not moved away from illiteracy and superstition, and the citizens are still suffering from hunger, so, Nigeria may fail totally if all the issues posing challenges to the country are not addressed. A country that failed to defend the security and lives of its citizenry of course is a failed state. Over 200 children were forcefully removed from Nigeria and for over 160 days now, the country has no will to find out whether they are dead or still alive; the country has failed to rescue the children from their abductors. Obviously, Nigerians fast becoming a failed state”.

Certainly, while it is accepted that security challenges are global phenomena, it is however worrisome to know that the child abductors carried out this evil minded operation within the confines of our territory unhindered. Not even during the Nigeria civil war was an 'enemy' so easily picked and human life so cheap. This is even more odious given that security of lives and property are the cardinal objective of government all over the world. Also worrisome is the fact that corruption has become rampant and has even become endemic, it is reigning supreme across almost all sectors of the Nigerian society and it seems perpetrators are above the law. Lamenting the situation, Vanguard stated thus: “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been the party power

since 1999 when civilians got reprieve from military and took over power. If things were bad at that time, they have gotten worse since 1999.The fraud being perpetrated in Nigeria oil sector has defied competent description. The whole structure has been eroded corruption thereby leaving the government at the mercy of

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CORRUPT MARKETERS, FRAUDULENT STAFF AND CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. The brain behind those shady moves is friends and members of the ruling class and many of these have received national honors. The Chief executives of some of the companies involved in the fuel subsidy scam are party men. They are the ones that obtain PF1 (Pro Forma Invoice) to import fuel into Nigeria”.

Continuing it said;

“As for the power sector, while lots of funds were appropriated for it by the Obasanjo and Jonathan administrations, there is very little to show. So much has been heard about the ongoing reforms in the power sector but Nigerians are still living in darkness. The education sector is on fire. The ruling party has completely failed in this regard. The primary and secondary schools have been known for poor performance in external examinations especially in Secondary Schools Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the General Certificate of Education. Education is everything. The all-pervading system failure across all sectors is based on the failure of the education system. The poorly trained engineer constructs bad roads just as the ill educated medical doctors are not doing well in the health sector (The Vanguard Newspaper"Nigeria @54:Many Broken Dreams, Wednesday, October 1st 2014)

All around the world, there has been progress in many areas of everyday living, life-saving medicines, the Internet, oil boom and, under-water exploration, the advent of mobile phone and so on. Yet, today in Nigeria, instead of coming up with better innovations and development strategies, government continues to make life miserable through egocentric and parochial decisions, abandoned projects, policy summersaults, and above all, massive corruption. They seem to resent progress and modernization and are quite unaware of the strong linkage between good governance and national development. This is proven through the following statistics from resource rich countries where Nigeria sadly belongs. For example, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia have the largest proven oil reserves, of 297.74 and 265.85 billion barrels respectively. Angola and Ecuador have the least proven oil reserves, of 9.06 and 8.24 billion barrels, respectively. Iran and Qatar have the largest proven gas reserves, of 33,780 and 25,069 billion cubic meters, respectively. Angola and Ecuador have the least proven gas reserves, of 275 and 6 million cubic meters, respectively. Nigeria has the eighth largest proven oil reserves and sixth largest proven gas reserves. In terms of development outcome among some OPEC countries, four of the countries are high income countries; seven are upper middle income, while only one is low. Among the high income countries are Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, while the only Low Income country is Nigeria. The remaining countries are Upper Middle Income countries. Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE have the largest economies, while Libya, Angola and Ecuador has the least economies. There is economic growth in all OPEC member countries. In 2012, the fastest growing economies were Iraq,

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Angola, Nigeria and Qatar, while the least growing economies were Iran, Libya and Algeria. However, in Nigeria, it is apparent that the growth is yet to translate into tangible development (World Bank Databank and OPEC Statistical Bulletin). Whereas, power generation capacity in Nigeria was about the same with Iran (about 2,000MW) in the 70's, today Iran has a generation capacity of over ten times that of Nigeria. In 2008, Nigeria’s Electricity power consumption at 126.5kW/h compared with Sub Sahara Africa (SSA) average of 530.9kW/h and 4,759kW/h South Africa showcased huge energy deficit for the second large economy in SSA. Today, Nigeria’s Per Capital Electric Consumption (kWh/Cap) is lowest among Low Income Countries, hence, Nigeria has the biggest gap in the World between electric demand and supply providing her population of over 150 million with roughly 3,800 megawatts in May, 2009, (probably moved up to 4000 megawatts this year). In contrast, South Africa generates total of 40,000 megawatts for her population of 47 million while Brazil generates 100,000 megawatts for a population of 201 million. Finally, a quick check between Nigeria and her age mates shows clearly that while some of those countries who had independence same time with Nigeria have earned global reputation for their improved economies through manufacturing and export of their products, Nigeria still seems to rely on other countries for her survival (Pls see Nigeria and her "age mates” The Punch, September, 27th, 2014). Conclusion Where, as the song goes, does our country go from here? While I do not find the question nagging or unanswerable, I see a very bright future for us all, but a lot depends on the Nigerian people, who continue to show docility and not being able to take their destinies in their own hands without any resort to violence, because that, to me, is defeatist, I do believe that we as a people can achieve so much through the ballot box by easing out that party who have held on to power for over a decade and a half and have not made any meaningful impact in our lives. This is no longer time for the blind to lead the blind, our nation should be rescued from those that I see as ALIBABA AND THE 40 THIEVES. Greatest Uites, one way of growing our economy is to check our reward system. While I am not adverse to giving National awards to deserving Nigerians, I however, think that the criteria should be reexamined and strengthened to truly honour the deserving and not as a patronage for friends and political associates. Merit ought not to be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency as is presently the case. I will not end this interaction without commenting on the $9.3 million and another over $5 million cash-for-arms deal seized in South Africa. The whole episode makes mockery of us as a nation, and the more the agents of the state try to explain it away, the messier it becomes. For instance why will the Federal Government resort to using private jets for such transactions with avalanche of official aircraft at its disposal? For me, it is a clear case of money laundering now being white-washed by agents of the state as money meant for arms purchase. How ridiculous? How can our nation grow and how can the international community take us seriously? Telling bare faced lies even when the facts speak for themselves makes it even more baffling and despicable. How absurd can the whole episode be? Where a government claims in one breadth

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that it is committed to fighting sleaze, yet is obvious neck deep in money laundering. I wish to however thank the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for denying knowledge of the transaction. She said "It is only the Ministry of Defense that can speak on that issue. We in the Ministry of Finance are not in the picture of such money or project, “we are not aware of arms project" (see The Guardian, Wednesday, October l, 2014). Okonjo- Iweala disowns $9.3m arms funds" Who released the money, if the person in whose custody it is and who ought to know, does not know? For us to be taken seriously as fighting corruption, the Federal Government should come out in clear terms and tell Nigerians the whole truth, for as the Holy Book says only the truth can set you free. We in Nigeria today must begin to put an end to sycophancy and political acts of irresponsibility as it is presently the case in Nigeria, and begin to think deeply on how to develop our nation, and this is what we do in All Progressives Congress. For us to have the nation of our dream, ladies and gentlemen, we must shun all acts symptomatic of political irresponsibility, dishonesty, moral turpitude and betrayal of public trust. These are troubled times in Nigeria. Words and statements are often misquoted or misunderstood in the heat of strife and passion. Honesty, positivism, sincerity and loyalties are often challenged or slandered as politics. Sometimes, the spirit of brotherhood and constructive criticisms is often distorted so as to appear as chauvinism or lack of patriotism. This is no time to lead the blind in our country. We are definitely leaving in difficult times beset with problems. These problems and difficulties are by and large man made and we must not, as Frantz Fanon had warned, continue to waste our time in sterile litanies and nauseating mimicry. We must avoid leadership that will not serve our collective interest. Finally, as we seek to make Nigeria a better place, let us join Josiah Gilbert Holland in praying:

‘God, give us men! A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands; Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor; men who will not lie; Men who can stand before a demagogue And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking! Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty, and in private thinking; For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, Their large professions and their little deeds, Mingle in selfish strife, Freedom weeps, Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps’.

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NOTES AND REFERENCES

Abiola Irele, (1992) "The Crisis of Legitimacy in Africa" Dissent (summer) p. 296.

Adebayo Adedeji, (1994) "An Alternative for Africa" journal of Democracy, vol. 5, No. 4 (October) 1994, p. 117.

Claude Ake, (1989The Political economy of Crisis and Underdevelopment in Africa: Selected Works of Claude Ake (ed.) Julius Ihonvbere, Lagos, JAD Publishers Ltd.

J.F. Ade Ajayi, (1982) "Expectations of Independence" Daedalus, Vol. Ill, No. 2, p.5.

Okubor F.G (2013) "The Limits of Adhoc Approach to National Development" Being a paper delivered at the 2013 UIAA Annual Distinguished Public Service Lecture, on the 5th of December, 2013 at Unity Hall Asaba.

Samir Amir, (1990) Mal development: Anatomy of Global Failure, Tokyo London, New Jersey Nations University Press and Zed Books Ltd. 1990,p.l.

The Guardian, Wednesday, October, 2014 "Okonjo lweala Disowns $ 9.3 Arms funds”.

The Punch "Nigeria and her Age-Mates” September 27, 2014.

The Punch "Nigeria's 54 years of Independence Wasteful- s' holders" September 27, 2014

The Vanguard "Nigeria: 54 year of Broken Dreams" Wednes October 1, 2014.

The World Bank (2013) Nigeria Economic Report.

The World Bank (2013) World and Governance Indicators.

Uroh C.O ed. (1998) Africa and the Challenge of Developnn Essays by Samir Amir (Ibadan: Hope Publication).

Wikipaedia "Nigeria".

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Facts about John Odigie Oyegun

Background John Odigie Oyegun was born on August 12, 1939, Nigeria to late Daniel Osagiede Odigie-Oyegun and Mrs. Shaka Odigie-Oyegun (nee Amurun). He hails from Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State. John Odigie Oyegun had his early education at Sacred Heart Catholic School, Warri, at a tender age. He later proceeded to Holy Cross Catholic School, Benin City. In 1952, he went to St. Patrick’s College, Asaba, Delta State for his Secondary education. Thereafter, he attended the University of Ibadan (UI), where he graduated in 1963 with a B.Sc. honours in Economics. in Warri, Delta State. He attended St. Patrick’s College, Asaba, and then went to the University of Ibadan where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics. He then served in various capacities as a federal civil servant working as a development planner. Political career Chief John Oyegun was elected as civilian governor of Edo State on the SDP platform, during the transition to democracy launched by General Ibrahim Babangida and served from January 1992 to November 1993. He was removed from office after General Sani Abacha seized power. Later, he became a leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). In 2009 he was chairman of the Technical Working Committee of CODER.

On 13 June 2014 Odigie-Oyegun was elected as national chairman of the APC. Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, the APC national leader, is thought to have played an important role in the decision. The choice of Oyegun, from the mostly Christian south of the country, is calculated to win both Christian and Moslem voters in the challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP).

After his University education, he worked as a federal Civil Servant and was a development planner. After putting 13years into service, he was appointed a Permanent Secretary. In 1985, he retired voluntarily from civil service and went into business. He however had a short sojourn in the business world, where after two years, he became the National Chairman of the Nigerian Trawler Owners Association. John Odigie Oyegun ran for the Gubernatorial election in Edo State and won. In 1991, He became the first executive Governor of Edo State under the platform of the Social Democratic Party(SDP), and during the transition to democracy launched by General Ibrahim Babagida and he served from January 1992 to November 1993. He was removed from office after General Sani Abacha seized power. He thereafter became a leader of the All Nigeria People’s rogressive Congress (APC) on June 13, 2014.

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The Nigerian Economy: Creating a Path to Sustainable Growth

Sola David-Borha (2016)

Introduction Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a great privilege and honour to speak at the Annual

Alumni lecture of this great Institution, and Nigeria’s foremost citadel of learning. As an

alumnus of the University of Ibadan, my experience during my studies helped to shape who I

have become today and I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the faculty and staff.

This event comes at a time when the Nigerian nation is going through a turbulent and

challenging phase. For the first time in 25 years, Nigeria’s economy is in a recession and the

prospect of getting out of it in the shortest possible time looks bleak. This paper attempts to

analyse the current situation of the country, highlighting fundamental issues from my perspective

and suggests possible solutions that will not only take us out of the recession but set us on a

sustainable growth path.

Current Situation of the Country It is apparent that the economy has taken a downturn; the impact is felt across every social sphere, region and industry. To refresh your memory, I will like to share a few statistics with you on the current economic climes. At the macro level, GDP growth rate for Q3 2016 was -2.24%, inflation at 18.3% while the

nation’s external reserves have steadily dropped from USD 28.9bn in January 2016 to USD

23.94b at the end of October 2016. The IFEM exchange rate (Naira/USD) in early November

was 305/1 while at the parallel market it was as high as 465/1 a differential of about 52%.

The negative sentiments have been felt in the equities market, with the NSE posting a negative

YTD performance of 10.84% as at 18 November 2016, with more investors taking a cautious

stance by switching to the fixed income market, where yields have been as high as 14% (

91day),17.5%(180days) and 18.50(364 days) for treasury bills.

Unemployment and underemployment has also been on the rise at 13.3% and 19.3% respectively

according to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for Q2 2016. This is largely

due to the decline in manufacturing output arising from the dearth of foreign exchange supply for

importation with the attendant increase in cost of doing business.

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The Stanbic IBTC Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report for October 2016, showed that the

private sector downturn moderated with the reading, reaching 47.5 from 46.8 in September.

However, contraction of new work eased, and employment returned to growth even though

below the required neutral level of 50. Output fell sharply again while price pressures remained

marked. That said, the slower pace of decline indicates that while headline inflation continues to

rise, it could do so at a much slower pace.

Key Structural Issues in the Nigerian Economy The Nigerian economy is faced with many challenges ranging from inadequate infrastructure, poor security, socio economic and political pressures. However, for the purpose of this lecture, I will focus on 3 key challenges that if addressed will put us on a firm footing and the right path to achieve long term sustainable growth. Infrastructure A critical ingredient for sustainable development and growth is fixing the country’s infrastructural deficit in excess of USD 300bn. We need to be able to move people and goods around easily via good roads and railway lines; creating an artery that connects manufacturing, commercial and production centres to their markets. Apart from roads and railway network, power is another key infrastructure that needs to be fixed. We need to be able to provide sustainable power at a market determined price. To bridge this infrastructure gap will involve both public and private sector participation and

bankable financing. We must create a sustainable financing model where users pay for services

consumed so that revenue is generated for maintenance and potential investors.

A look at the Ease of Doing Business report for 2016 prepared by the World Bank shows that we

are ranked 180th in the world when it comes to getting electricity for businesses. The World

Bank in its annual ease of doing business index ranks countries against each other based on how

the regulatory environment is conducive for business operation and stronger protection of

property rights. Economies with a high rank (1 to 20) have simpler and friendlier regulations for

businesses. Nigeria currently ranks 169 in 2016 up from 170 in 2015.

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Source: http://www.doingbusiness.org

For a nation that needs both Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investments

(FPI) we need to be definite on the actions to take, and speedily remedy these issues to be able to

move forward.

Market Driven Financial Markets For markets to function optimally, prices of goods and services must to a large extent, be set by the forces of demand and supply. From petrol, food prices, to foreign exchange, we have over the years had government controlled prices through the creation of subsidies with the intention of distributing resources in an egalitarian manner, which has led to huge shortages, scarcity of supply, high prices and a sizable black market. This inefficiency is further exposed when the nation is hit by external economic shocks. Nigeria

is currently in a recession as a result of the fall in crude oil prices which exposed the structural

inefficiencies in the economy, together with the insurgent attacks on pipelines which has

negatively impacted output. With crude oil almost the sole contributor to export revenues, this

has resulted to a shortfall in foreign exchange income, a drop in the reserves and the inevitable

adjustment in the nation’s currency. The ripple effect, like I earlier stated, has been felt in all

sectors of the economy. The shocks to the economy would have been more orderly if prices were

not artificially capped.

For markets to be efficient there must be Liquidity, Transparency, Optimal Pricing and

Consistency in Policies. This builds up confidence in the financial market and ultimately the

economy.

Markets should be allowed to run efficiently in a balanced and independent regulatory environment that ensures that rules and laws are adhered to.

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Security We must increase our ability to secure the life and property of citizens and foreigners residing in any part of the country from physical attacks. People must be able to go about their legitimate businesses without fear. We must be deliberate about security. The security organisations responsible must be supported and appropriately funded. The impact of recent pipe line destructions in the Niger Delta and militancy in the Northeast on our oil and agricultural sectors cannot be over emphasised. In addition to protection from physical attacks, residents in the country (foreign and local) must

be assured of respect for the law and basic human rights to give them the confidence to set up

and expand businesses.

So What Needs To Be Done? Globalisation Is the Sustainable Way Forward On the back of Brexit in the UK and the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential elections , the tendency for countries to think that protectionist and closed economies instead of globalisation is the way forward has been on the rise. History tells us the opposite, if we look at the GDP growth of countries like China (15.4%) and India (11.4%) at their peak. It is important to maintain a balance and not throw out the baby with the bath water, countries should ensure they have clear economic policies that focus on growing sectors of the economy were they have a competitive advantage. This encourages efficient industries, drives innovation and is in the best interest of the consumer in the long run. Increase Our Execution Capacity There has been a lot of talk on what needs to be done with regards to making it easy to do business and attract foreign direct investment. The next step to take is to execute and set SMART targets. We must remove bureaucratic bottlenecks that slowdown the registration of businesses, getting approvals, visas and other government requirements. This will involve a review of current processes and seeing how they fit into our objective. Also, getting the right people into the right positions irrespective of cultural or political affiliations is ideal. A sense of urgency must be created. Key Performance Indicators Finally for us to have better execution capacity, we must measure indicators with long term implications and indicators that are pointers to the general well-being of the country. Three metrics are important indicators of economic performance. - the real GDP (national and sectorial) - Unemployment - Inflation

Effective Financial Institutions “The primary role of financial institutions is to provide liquidity to the economy and permit a higher level of economic activity than would otherwise be possible. According to the Brookings Institute, banks accomplish this in three main ways: offering credit, managing markets and pooling risk among consumers.

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For financial institutions to play this role effectively and guide the country on a sustainable path to growth, they must do the following:

1. Protect customer’s deposits and savings. 2. Channel credit towards sectors that will drive growth under the right risk framework. 3. Increase financial inclusion. 4. Create assets that will deepen the financial markets.

Concluding Remarks Finally, the key to creating a path to sustainable growth is to have clear and consistent economic policies on the back of a credible economic development program founded on sound market principles. We have to execute these plans in a coordinated manner with both monetary and fiscal policies aligned. Nigeria has all the resources it needs to achieve double digit growth. Her most important resource is people; creative, educated and resilient people who must not be restrained by restrictive policies but be given the opportunities (not handouts) by which they can monetise their talents, create value and ultimately grow our economy.

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Facts about Sola David- Borha

..........................................................................................................................................................Prior to 2007, when it was acquired by Standard Bank Group, Sola worked as an Executive Director at IBTC Chartered Bank Plc.

She served as Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank (a product of the merger) from May 2011 to November 2012. She also served as Deputy Chief Executive of the Bank and Head of Investment Banking Coverage Africa (excluding South Africa).

Between 1984 – 1989, Sola worked in the Credit and Marketing department of NAL Merchant Bank Plc. With an extensive experience in the financial industry, she has proven that she can steer her organisation to even greater heights.

Sola holds a B.Sc. Economics degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and an MBA from Manchester Business School, United Kingdom. Her executive educational experience includes the Advanced Management Programme of the Harvard Business School. She is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and currently the Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).

She is also a member – Governing Council of the Redeemer’s University of Nigeria (RUN), and an associate Pastor at RCCG, City of David Parish.