For starters, that role has just been filled again via the recent re-election of Pastor Oritsejafor. We join others in sending him our congratulations. According to reports, Pastor Oritsejafor was overwhelmingly supported by his fellow men and women of God that formed the corpus of voting delegates, and he landed a whooping 80 votes, while his only opponent, Rev. Oyekunle, had only four votes. One hopes that the CAN electoral committee will be kind enough to publish the full list of all those delegates that voted during the election.

In 2010, the founder and Senior Pastor of Word of Life Bible Church, Warri, Delta State, was elected with 66 votes. So this is not just a re-election, it is a tangible proof that even more Nigerian church leaders than before endorsed the direction and activities of CAN under the leadership of Pastor Oritsejafor. Luckily, our own CAN is more democratic and more progressive than the Vatican, so we should be able to read a report on the spiritual, theological, moral and political factors that led those 80 men and women of God to reconfirm Pastor Oritsejafor leadership. They have all seen him perform in the last three years, so they clearly know what they voted for.

Even if the role had not just been filled, I doubt a man like Tutu has the kind of fatherly conciliatory government loving temperament our men and women wallow in. He has a lot to learn from Nigerian pastors, rather than merely praying for our leaders and sending messages that it is well with us as individuals, and hoping that somehow it will be well with us as a nation. Tutu actually believes in analysing and judging political parties and politicians by their utterances and performance in office. Without anyone forcing him to take a stand, and rather than just enjoying the privileges of being a friend of those that matter around the world, this old man called Desmond Tutu, for altruistic reasons, took pen and paper to write that he will not be voting ANC in the next elections.

It must be said at this point that very few people have supported the South African ruling party as much as the now Emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town. Yet, based on pure analysis of reality and his empathy with and concern for the suffering masses, Desmond Tutu has had to conclude that the ANC is at best a good freedom-fighting unit, but now incapable of leading a political transition capable of delivering development to South Africa. As a man that knows his country well and possesses a sense of history, Tutu has felt the need to warn his fellow citizens of the need to stop voting with their hearts and to start choosing a government based parties’ policies rather than emotional attachment to the liberation movement. His main areas of concern are the country’s growing inequality, the developing culture of corruption, unaccountability and weakness in the country’s constitution.

So similar are these issues that you might think you were reading about the problems facing Nigeria. It will, however, become clear that you are not reading about Nigeria, when you realise how incomplete the list of problem is. There is no mention of lack of basic infrastructure and essential services, such as education, health, security and electoral malpractices.

Little surprise though, Desmond Tutu is not new to such positions. He after all made his mark internationally not for owing a jet or performing miracles, but through his knowledge of theology, standing up for the oppressed and speaking the truth to power. Listen to him when in 1975 he became the Anglican Dean of Johannesburg: “I realise that I had been given a platform that was not readily available to many… Well, I’m going to use this to seek to try to articulate our aspirations and the anguishes of our people”.

Little surprise indeed, long after Tutu showed the world how the church can help people against tyranny and bad governance, Nigerians had to deal with brutal military regimes and corruption, and we are yet to discover the positions of many of our most prominent men and their women of God against those that oppress and abuse power.

Given such reality, a question arises: Should we just accept things the way they are and try to adapt? Some people say yes because they truly feel overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness and all they can do is hope for a miracle to change the system. Some people say yes because they are cunningly and ferociously waiting for their own turn to do the same (like senior boys do to junior ones in school) or to have some one from or friendly to their ethnic or political tribe in power to manoeuvre things in their favour. I say no. That will turn us into a S.T.A.D Nation (So They All Do); we must resist such trajectory.

When confronted with the mess in the country, many of those in a position of authority or responsibility seem not to know where to start. With his now notorious exuberant mode of operating and lately speaking, Governor Godswill Akpabio has done us all a favour by giving a possibility and a challenge to those who really understand what democracy and commonwealth mean and care about these ideals to stand up and act in their defence.

With his self-incriminating declaration and consequent clumsy attempt to deny that he personally overturned the results of party primary senatorial elections in his State, many now have the opportunity to explore the essence of our democracy, and fix some essential far from perfect components within the system.

For anyone that missed it, and just to be clear for all, we now have Governor Godswill Akpabio on record (audio and video) saying: “I used my own hand to strike out the name of the person who has won before, and I said it is important for me to give that [Ikono and Ini Local Government Areas] region a Senator in 2007, and I produced Senator Aloysius Etuk for you; that’s where he comes from.”

Thanks to Governor Godswill Akpabio, activists, analysts, public commentators and teachers if worthy of such designations now have the opportunity and duty to explain to Nigerians the importance of primary elections and how they should be conducted in the country. Contrary to the nonsense some are saying either out or sheer ignorance or with a conscious effort to deceive many into believing that primary elections are just mere internal party rituals, the whole of process of representative democracy actually starts from and depends a lot on primary elections and caucuses. These processes are in fact the essential condition without which we cannot have the emergence of a capable and committed political class that is not involved in or compromised by corruption disguised as generosity or servilisim misconstrued as loyalty.

It is not by accident that under the electoral acts that governs political parties and with which INEC functions, the regulator’s monitoring powers over political parties allows the commission to observe primaries and as it deems fit, either to accept or reject the outcomes.

The deafening silence of INEC on this issue is to say the least unbearable. In a normal country, the organisation officially charged with regulating electoral matters should by now be investigating an election about which someone in the position of the Akwa Ibom Governor has made such statements. Governor Godswill Akpabio has done us all favour by giving a possibility and a challenge to examine the role and function of INEC in our democracy and see how fit it is for purpose.

Where do the judiciary and our security forces stand on this matter? Don’t they read the papers? Where is the press? After Governor Akpabio reported himself, we should be now have feature stories on whose name he struck off that list, how did such candidate react, and what is he doing now and intends to do?
It must be said that in making these incriminating declaration, the Governor’s intent was to demonstrate his fairness and generosity to the people of Ikono and Ini Local Government Areas by righting a wrong and putting one of their own into power.

Now let us for a moment blindly and dangerously assume that Governor Akpabio is a completely righteous and exceptionally competent politician whose actions are solely dictated by the good of his state and that he genuinely meant well, even in such scenario, what he should have done is to openly canvass for and make a case for the candidate he deems best for the post.

Elected officials ought to remember that their tenure in office is only for a limited period of time. They ought to bear in mind that after them, a self-serving scoundrel or a lucky imbecile might just come into power and consequently, it is their duty, today, to create precedents and discontinue patterns that, for any reason in the world, might allow others to abuse power.

Governor Akpabio has done us all the favour of reminding us of the need to remind them of this duty.

There are times when one struggles to keep a straight face when confronted with the spectacle of fathers of families thumping the chests over their potbellies as someone else’s boys and proclaiming allegiance to their public father, in his presence of course. Amusing scenes apart, one of the dangerous consequences of this mode of conceiving power is that those that get into office are then easily tempted and allowed to exercise power in an arbitrary way up to the point of abusing their roles and positions.

It is in line with this dangerously absurd mode of conceiving power that I suggest we examine the bombshell recently dropped by Senator Ita Enang that 83 percent of oil blocs in the country are owned by northerners. We should, however, hasten to note that the main problem and the ultimate responsibility of such lopsided distribution are not of our northern brothers, but that of those that ruled the country.

Before then, we all, northerners in primis, however, have a duty to understand the deep sense of grievance that this kind of information can provoke in those that come from the oil producing areas and those from other parts of the country that feel shortchanged by this askew distribution. Understanding these grievances needs just a bit of common sense, goodwill or empathy. Those who readily discard these grievances are either in bad faith or lack these basic elements.

Still harmed with our common sense, goodwill and empathy, it is easy to understand that any Nigerian that knows what an oil bloc is will want one, understandably not every Nigerian can get one. The question then is: In a country of millions, who gets the limited oil blocs that all want? The answers to this question from those that have ruled the country are already in front of us.

If those in charge of public affairs in Nigeria were filled with enough republican ethos and devotion to merit the status of leaders or had enough care to deserve the title of fathers or godfathers, they would have before answering such question added more questions and factored in some considerations crucial to the wellbeing of the people and country on whose behalf they profess to rule and manage power. They would have asked themselves why do we need to allocate oil blocs? What do we, as a country, want from this oil? How do we do this allocation in a way that reflects its nature of being a commonwealth? The same people that fill their mouths with the importance of a united Nigeria and introduced the concept of federal character should have remembered and considered that this is a country of different cultures, nations and ethnic groups. They should have remembered that their main duties as rulers are to ensure security, justice and to aid development.

It is obvious our leaders have clearly neither asked themselves these questions nor considered these crucial elements. They have instead resorted to allocating what they should be managing for all to themselves and their friends. To compound matters, the country and the people they rule have little or nothing to show for it. Children are starving and their parents are obese.

The worst offenders in this case are those that had state power and then proceeded to help themselves with what they should be managing and regulating for the common good. Regardless of how common this malpractice is and how many people engage in it, we must say shame on them. Regardless of their performance in office or their method of gaining entry into office, once in power, every dullard, every lackey in Nigeria is guaranteed a place in history textbooks. They are given one of the highest salaries in the world and offered lifelong deference and opportunities in the country, but no, that is not enough. They want economic in addition to political power.

With their greedy and corrupt actions, these people are not only guilty of abusing power, they are also responsible for the desire of many to go into politics to loot rather than serve. They are killing diversity of ideas and aspirations, elements necessary for a dynamic and prosperous country. It is because of the way they manage power that we have a weak middle class have fewer professionals proud of their skills and confident that with their ability and hard work they can make it in Nigeria without connections or godfather.

We shall be deceiving and destroying ourselves if we limit this to a North vs. South matter. What have they done for the North in whose name they loot? Everywhere in the country people are feeling the same pains. It is a matter of leadership and accountability not geography or ethnicity. Today it is oil, tomorrow it may be contracts, electricity or nominations. These rulers called fathers are the ones cornering our meat.

By Anthony A. Kila | London, UK  | Oct. 31, 2012

Beyond and maybe, whilst mourning and showing solidarity with the family of the deceased, we as a people should however take time to reflect on some issues on the life and death of this great woman. Let us start with her death. According to reports, Sheila Solarin died at the age of 88 years old in a Nigerian hospital at Ogun State where she lived. For our own sake, we need to contrast that mode of passing away with where and how many other notable Nigerians have being getting treatment and dying lately. Yes you are right, they are doing it abroad.

Sheila Solarin, was a private citizen who could have thrown her personal funds into getting treatment abroad without having to respond to anyone; she was also by birth a British citizen and through her own commitment and will had served the country during the second world war and so fully entitled to the best health coverage in the UK and anywhere in the EU. Contrast that with some of our past and present rulers that shamelessly use the country’s fund entrusted with them, to go or send their friends and family abroad for often trivial and sometimes serious treatments in countries they have no ties to. We have seen many die abroad during these trips; when they don’t die there, they come back home and still do nothing tangible to improve the health sector they are paid to manage. No other way to put it, such inactions are clear signs that they lack dignity and sense of purpose, they are simply too petty compared to the office they have the privilege to hold.

Anyone interested in education in Nigeria will be aware of the importance and uniqueness of her Mayflower school in Ikenne, Ogun State. If for any reason you don’t know about that school, please take time to find out. Read about it; speak to students from the school. The essence of Sheila Solarin’s life can be fully appreciated in that institution she cofounded and nurtured to greatness with her late husband. It is worth nothing here that her school was probably the first secular school in Nigeria and that it was founded in 1956, because she and her husband could not stand the politics and discrimination being practiced in the former school they were working in.

Students and staff from Mayflower school will tell you of how Sheila Solarin, was able to give them an impressive mix of discipline, care and generosity. They will tell you of how hardworking she was and how committed to making sure things were done properly. Anywhere you go in the world, if you come across those that were taught and mentored by the late Sheila Solarin and her husband; you can tell they have been exposed to something great. Even when they laughed at the eccentricities of their mentors, they were always quick to recognise that there was something unique about their devotion to education and commitment to moral integrity and creativity of young people. We cannot overstate the importance of such elements for the building of a viable nation.

In a country where national awards are giving to a throng of interesting characters, not one government considered giving a national honour to Sheila Solarin for her services to the nation. Rather, our institutions denied her request for a Nigerian passport for over thirty years. One after the other, Nigerian governments and their advisers were too busy honouring those that loot and wreck the nation. Luckily for the rest us, someone else noticed what Sheila Solarin was doing and in 2007 the Queen of England awarded her an MBE for her contribution to education.

In her school, they all considered her a mother and teacher and fondly referred to her as “mama”, unsurprisingly her students even had a song for her. All these happened before the Babangida era, hence there was no first lady craze, if there was one, maybe she would have been called the first lady of Mayfair School.

We need to contrast her life with that of the first ladies we have and had in Nigeria, all of them, from spouses of national to state office holders. Earlier this year, at a social gathering, I had to caution an overzealous party supporter for addressing the wife of a local chairman councillor as first lady of the area. Let us ignore their levels of education, professional experience, passion for excellence and dedication to humanity and ask what these first ladies did and are doing with their position as privileged spouses for the country?

By Anthony A. Kila | London, UK | Oct. 18, 2012

History and political literature is full of such examples. Three of my favourites come from Niccolo Machiavelli, Jean- Jacques Rousseau and Thomas More. Whilst Machiavelli is known mostly for his short digest “The Prince”, most scholars agree that his most scientific and significant work is actually “Discourses on Livy” in which he used the ancient Rome as an example of what a republic should be. Rousseau in his classic, “The Social Contract”, used Geneva as a model city where men were free. Sir More invented his own Utopia to illustrate a perfect society.

As we look at the problems facing Nigeria and try to find best international practices and ideal types of solutions to offer to those in charge of affairs, one of the recurrent comments most touted is “this is Nigeria, that idea cannot work here!” Those who make such comments base it on two main elements: their knowledge of Nigeria because they live there (or their being on ground as they say in the Nigerian parlance) and the so-called peculiarity of Nigeria. It is a clear sense that people do not know where to start. Well, let us start from little things because little things matter and we can start from Osogbo.

A judgement recently passed in an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court by Mr. Olusola Aluko has earned him and those involved in that case a place in Nigerian legal history, and it should be used as a reference point for individuals in their daily dealings. The case, for those that missed it, saw as defendant Mr. SB, a tailor, brought to court for taking money and failing to sew a suit as agreed, that is, he breached a contract. Now, a lot of us would have seen that happen to us many times. The builder that does not show up, the plumber that delays, the house painter that spends more time than agreed and the clearing agent that disappears only to come up with reasons and explanations.

In all these cases, we just accept as a fact of life or as “the Nigerian factor” and we deal with such incidents with perseverance, patience but with no consequence. I have in many occasions argued against such behaviours. Luckily for us, Mr. Adebiyi Fasoro, the client from whom Mr. SB, the tailor took money does not think breaching a contract is just a Nigerian factor. After giving the tailor N7, 000 out of the agreed N13, 000 and not seeing his suit on the agreed day and place, he took up the matter, reported it to the police and went to court where the tailor was found guilty and sentenced to three months imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretence.

One might wonder and ask if this is not too harsh on a poor tailor, in a land wherein business tycoons in collusion with politicians, auditors and other inspectors are stealing and squandering billions of naira. No. It is a matter of principle and little things matter on principle. It may very well be true that we need a revolution in Nigeria to put the big things right, but before and beyond that we need to get these little things right.

Two of the essential elements of the modern state, with its development and progress, we terribly need are certainty and consequence. For us to see prosperity and peace we must be able to count on everyone respecting his/her promises and diligently doing his/her duties. Being certain that individuals, businesses and the government will play their part and being clear of what consequences that will follow if they don’t is not a political factor. It comes from private law and in particular contract law, but it goes beyond that; it is a philosophy and a way of life that makes it needless for us to seek a big lucky or charismatic lone hero.

All we need is merely a country where there is the certainty that everybody will do his/her little bits. As agreed, let teachers teach, cleaners clean, coaches coach, the press report, the police protect, auditors audit and hospitals treat the sick. All we need is merely a country where everyone knows there will be some consequences for his/her actions or inactions: You can’t beg, bribe or brag your way out of anything.

With the Osogbo case as a model of behavior, it is a matter of time for us all to fall in line. Today it is the tailor; tomorrow might be the turn of the politicians and their contractor friends.

By Anthony A. Kila | London, UK | Oct. 2, 2012 –

On my part, I will like to make it clear that I am firmly convinced that there is nothing wrong with Nigeria that cannot be cured; all we need is the personal courage to make eye contact with reality, regardless of what it looks like, and to have the collective ability to live with the consequences of our actions and inactions.

The three generations to be followed in the tale of Nigeria are the generation of dreamers and inspirers; the generations of squanderers and survivors, and the generations of redeemers. The latter generation is yet to come and with them lies all our hope as a people. Yes, civically speaking, the beautiful ones are yet to be born.

The first generation of dreamers and inspirers are those we refer to as our founding fathers. Conventional wisdom in Nigeria uses the names and images of the trio of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Namadi Azikiwe and Sir Ahmadu Bello plus that of Sir Tafawa Balewa to symbolise that generation. A better list, even if minimal, should always include the names of Herbert Macaulay, Eyo Ita, Alvan Ikoku, Udo Udoma, Aminu Kano, Anthony Enahoro and Michael Okpara.

A major trait of the generation of dreamers and inspirers is their visions for their country and African continent. They all had grand ideas and ideals for their country and people; they wanted both to be free and great. In their minds, they were not just in politics to administrate power, they saw themselves on a mission to rescue their race. They communicated their visions and aspirations with their speeches and writings. Their rhetoric was always grand and they never shied away from challenging injustice, rather they seemed to enjoy the confronting of power.

Once in power, this generation of Nigerians put the masses at the heart of the actions. They knew they had to build institutions and infrastructures and they went about it diligently. Awolowo led the way and others swiftly followed suit in a creative competitive way that became a winwin situation for all. From the free education programme, to the establishments of Ikeja Industrial Estate, Aba and Port Harcourt Industrial layouts and Kaduna and Kano Industrial areas. The fruits of their labour were real, clear and are still yet to be surpassed. International analysts saw them at work and predicted that Nigeria was destined for greatness. There is still a lot to be learnt from and about that generation.

The second generation, the generation of squanderers and survivors, came into office wearing uniforms and seized power with the use of boots and bullets. These were bullets and boots that we gave them to defend the country against external threats; keep an eye on your “maiguard” if you have one. They never bothered to inspire or convince, they simply scared, tortured and subdued their fellow citizens. With their decrees and dismissive orders they ruined the institutions they met and annihilated the middle class that could check them.

After they had wrecked all they could and utterly disgraced themselves, they eased their ilk into power to continue their misdeeds. While the squanderers were destroying the country, the other part of that generation, save for a very few, did not fight back. Most of them who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, or simply didn’t stand up to leaders, turned looters. They simply resorted to finding means of surviving. Many left the country to seek greener pastures; the ones that stayed became beggars and hustlers. Rather than being proud of their ideas, dedicated to their professions and be protective of their ideals, they, in the name of survival, became accommodating to rascals. Just to survive they lowered their standards, wasted their knowledge and allowed mediocrity to thrive.

Terms like dignity, duties and rights have been trashed by many in this generation; fathers of family are proud to identify themselves as someone else’s boy, professionals beg for appointment, contractors and suppliers beg and bribe to be paid. Rather than protect their schools, they look for private schools for their children; rather than campaign for good roads, they buy jeeps; rather than insist on stable electricity, they queue to buy generators.

The generation that will save the country from all these rot will be the generation of redeemers. They have a strong battle in their hands for they have few examples at hand to support them. Yet they have no choice but to find their voices and chart their own course. They will have to face reality, see where survival mode has gotten the country and they will need to realise that only dignity and dedication can lead to greatness.

By Anthony A. Kila | London, UK | Sept. 26, 2012 -

As I write these notes, I am also staring at the footages of the mob that went out in Kano to protest and burn flags and pictures over the weekend; please have a look at those pictures if you can. Without much analysis, two things immediately come to mind. One is that the crowd we see is an organised and coordinated team, not a spontaneous group of angry protesters. The second is that I doubt that those people in the images we saw in the streets of Kano have actually seen the video clip they claim to be protesting about. This ill famed stupid tasteless video is not available in public domain anymore. I had to make a special request and prove I needed it for my studies for me to see it.

Let us not fool ourselves, a clear and reasonable implication of such observations is that there is someone or some people with resources sustaining these actions and guiding these crowds. In the Nigeria of Boko Haram, a person or people with enough resources to inform, convince, mobilise and coordinate others to go to the streets to burn flags and picture in the name of religion and actually doing so should be identified and kept under close scrutiny by those charged with protecting our lives and properties. If any more reason was needed, this is a golden opportunity for our secret service and they should seize it in order to prevent future calamities.

With their actions, those orchestrating these uprisings and the devotees executing on their behest and influence are clearly showing that their understanding of how things work in countries like the USA is shockingly modest and dangerously wrong. In their ignorance, they are equating the action of a faceless individual to that of a government or even a whole country. From their shallow point of view, they seem incapable of understanding that from all available analyses and polls we have today, the people of America and their government have no desire to go to war with more countries or movements. These ignorant flag and picture arson orchestrators that claim to be causing mayhem in the name of a God in which they seem not have complete faith are clearly showing themselves as incapable of understanding that the crux of present American administration’s foreign policy is to put emphasis on negotiation and collaboration rather than confrontation and unilateralism.

If there was a bit more depth to their thoughts they would probably realise that with their actions they are giving validity to those foreign policy hawks who claim there is no point in trying to reason with non-Christians as they are just haters that needed to be isolated, dominated and quashed. If they could think just a little bit more, they might easily realise that if the American people reasoned like them then they would see the people in Kano burning the American flags and in retaliation consider Nigeria an enemy country. Could it be that these people actually want that? Could it be that they want war? Looking at the images of Kano and elsewhere with all those children and woman amongst that mob one cannot but wonder and ask what value do these people place on the lives of their dependents. What kind of injudicious and selfish cynicism are we dealing with here?

A lot is amiss; for the purpose of understanding these irritating and criminal acts, even if we were to grant just for the sake of argument that the orchestrators are mere reckless injurious cynics and that their devotees are fuelled by the belief that they are doing something godly, one must still ask a few questions on how these people conceive their God. Do they really see their God as omniscient, omnipotent and merciful? It is legitimate to doubt these arsonists and especially those supporting and guiding them really have enough faith to believe that their God that sees and knows all, has enough power to deal with someone that insults his commandments and Prophet.

They seem to believe that God and his Prophet need their help to protect themselves from an ugly video clip. They are the faithless ones. Their act is a display of ignorance of faithless believers who want to play God. They should beg for forgiveness of th

The plain answer to such question will be “because some schools, called international schools, follow the British curriculum and their students sit British international exams.” If you are unlucky enough, and your interlocutor goes on to ask, “Why do some schools and students in an independent Nigeria follow the British curriculum and their students sit British international exams?” At that point your answer will have to be a painful “because these international curriculums and exams have values and recognition than most Nigerian schools can barely dream of achieving.” Thank heaven, political correctness will save you, and no interlocutor will ask if there is Ministry of Education in Nigeria.

Let us be clear, all parents have the right, even the duty I daresay, of giving their children the best education they can possibly find and afford. It is a private affair, so let no government official dare dream of meddling with this sacrosanct right and duty. Publicly as a country, we must, however, ask ourselves how the government and we as a people feel about the current state of our education. If you think having schools and qualifications that cannot compete with those of the rest of the world is bad, you are wrong. It is a disaster. If you think having schools full of and producing students that cannot read and write properly and articulate their thoughts and aspirations clearly is sad, you are wrong. It is catastrophic.

If we want to proficiently address the state of education in Nigeria, we must first understand and accept that we have a serious crisis in our hands and consequently declare a state of emergency in the sector. I have not heard those in charge of the country’s affairs say so, but the fact is that nothing will work in Nigeria if education does not work; I wonder if they know that.

Luckily, but also sadly for us, the situation has not always been this way. There was a golden age in Nigerian education and it went beyond the 1960s when Sir Eric Ashby, a president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and a master in Cambridge University, chaired a commission which concluded that education in Nigeria was as good as the best in the world. There was a time not too long ago when Nigerian schools, from secondary to university, were still considered amongst the best in the world. Just in Lagos, students from schools like Igbobi College, Kings College, CMS Grammar School, Queens College, Methodist Boys High School, Holy Child College, and St. Gregory College, were known to stand tall amongst their peers from anywhere in the world. Today they are shadows of their past. Something went wrong somewhere.

What went wrong, when and where?

We don’t know where many of those governing us went to school and we don’t know what experiences, inspirations or aspirations they had in their school days, so we can’t boldly ask them to go back there to revisit it and relive them for some hours; we don’t know if they were part of the golden age. Those who went to those great schools and were part of that golden age need little remembering to understand that beyond the obvious mix of good dedicated teachers and a sound curriculum, what made their schools great was a shared ethos of greatness, a sense of belonging to something important and the continuous practice of taking responsibility for their houses, their classes, their schools, and their nation.

These combinations led them to actively participate in debates and quizzes, sporting competitions and civic engagements that were in turn good for the country as a whole. Those who went to those great schools need little remembering to understand that they stood on the shoulders of giants, they will remember the roles of their old boys and girls in keeping their schools great. It is now their own turn to look back and give back to their schools.

Dear old boys and girls, there is an emergency out there, your schools need you and you owe them. Those who can, should find ways of giving some of their ideas, money and time back to their schools to make it great again; today is the time to start.

As for those elected and paid to manage the education in the country, this is the time to revisit your roles and understand that you are dealing with one of the most important parts of the country’s life. It is time to renew your vows, and recommit yourself. As our children go back to school today, the minister of education and her team should decide what they want these students to achieve by the end of the year, identify what they need to achieve those goals, and put in place the necessary process to achieve them.

By Anthony A. Kila | London, UK | Sept. 13, 2012 -

Yet in the middle of all these uncertainties, Nigerian politicians, and public office holders in general, are in a world of their own. They, of course, have more information and even more power to influence things; sadly though, they do not use such information and power to stabilize the polity. Rather they tend to be the cause of most of the uncertainties and instability their people are forced to cope with. These politicians and public office holders make laws and issue directives and then reverse or modify them; roads are blocked because of them and rules bent to please them.

As usual, the people are in the dark and are hoping. They are hoping that the sitting president fulfills his promise to transform the country; in the meantime time, most people are frustrated and disappointed at the pace and mode of governance. More precisely, Nigerians are unhappy that to date there is little or nothing they can point to as the achievement of this administration. One cannot blame them. President Goodluck Jonathan has been at the helm of the affairs of the country for more than two and half years – I am counting from his term as acting president and then as president. Contrary to the nonsense pro Jonathan are trying to make us believe, two and half years is quite a long time in politics by any measure.

Even in Nigeria, there are examples and lessons to be learnt from our recent history. A comparative analysis of what the then Governor Lateef Jakande and his commissioners did in one year in Lagos State and what President Jonathan and his ministers have done in two and half years will be quite revealing about how long two and half years can be in politics. More precisely, Nigerians are unhappy because the few times they have felt the presence of this government it is to learn about the announcement of measures that cause them pain and embarrassment. One cannot blame them. They ended 2011 with questionable nominations and appointments and started the new year with the removal of oil subsidy, topped it with increase in electricity tariff, and along the way, they are treated to news and rumors of corruption and violence.

In the meantime, Mr. President is reported to have promised to surprise all by 2013 when the contents of his programme start to unfold. At least we now know that even Dr. Jonathan knows that all is not well in the country, to put it mildly. For our sakes we wish him well.

If nothing dramatic like a coup d’état, sudden death or a civil war happens, 2015 will be the year of reckoning for all those in power. That is when they will get a clear and resolute verdict of their stewardship from the people they have governed for four years. There are only two possible verdicts, but objectively, we don’t know what that verdict will be. Everything is possible. The President might still perform and in that case, he and his party will deserve another term; the president may fail and in that case he, his party and all those that work with him will have to make way for others.

For the people to reach a meaningful verdict, however, they need some certainties that can come only from the opposition and with the help of the press. And therein lies the rub; for whilst it is clear that the government of the day is considered by most to be underperforming, the opposition does not seem to be promising any certainty of a better future either.

What we know about 2015 today is that the opposition feels that this President should not be allowed to return to power. Whilst we know why commentators and analysts are not happy with the government, all we know about the opposition is that they want power in 2015. To this end, those outside the PDP are talking about alliance and those inside it are talking of forming a new party. Let us be clear: These are all legitimate maneuvers, but these politicians can and must do a lot more than just maneuvers if they really want to contribute to the progress of the country. They need to provide some certainty to the people of Nigeria; we need clear and measurable commitments.

They can and need to start by telling us in clear terms what they do not like about the current system and what they will do differently. Let them come out and tell us where they stand on federalism, on state police, on the role of the CBN, implementation of budgets etc.

By Anthony A. Kila | London, UK | Sept. 3, 2012 -

The signing of these contracts with cabinet ministers took place last week during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting; most members of the Nigerian press corps, probably following the script they were given by the presidency, termed and presented the event as a ceremony to their readers. That in itself is an original perception and expression, but let us leave such analysis for another day.

The President is reported to have remarked that “the performance contract system is aimed at upgrading contract performance by improving quality and accelerated delivery of services to the citizenry through enhanced productivity, accountability and effective service delivery”. Yes, that maybe so, in plain pure English. However, the essence of performance contracts are in the transparency, certainty and accountability they bring to any given project. For projects, transactions and operations to work efficiently, a good performance contract will enable all parties and eventual beneficiaries involved to know exactly what needs to be done, why it is required, how it will be done, what instruments and resources are required, how long it will take, who is in charge of each phase of a project, who is in charge of monitoring and what will happen if projects succeed or fail.

Consequences or accountability and transparency are as important as ideas and intentions in management, the President and his aides are therefore, wrong when during and after the signing of these performance contracts they seem to be going out of their way to reassure the signees that the contract is not to be perceived as a means to sack anybody. The President is reported to have immediately declared that “the exercise is not meant to witchhunt anyone”. By Gosh! Wrong move Mr. President; there is no reason at all to make such a statement. With such a declaration you are being a fox (or a tortoise in Nigerian parlance) rather than a lion. This is the time to be bold and clear, you need to be so in these circumstances not just to prove the point that you are tough but primarily for the country’s sake and even for the sake of your ministers.

All ministers working with you need to know that their sanction or reward depends on their performance rating. As President, hence their leader, it is your duty to make these things very clear to all. You need to spell out what you consider a good performance, how you will judge it and what people should expect from you when they underperform or over perform. The advantage of this approach is that there will be no surprise or drama for anyone; you will not need to soothe any incompetent minister’s pain. By being certain and transparent in terms of expectations, all your ministers will know what will happen to them if they a take a step or another. The only but very important act you owe all members of your team is to be objective in your evaluation and impartial in your judgment. You need to be seen as focused mainly on results and not on people or gossips. One of the possible consequences of such approach is that you might soon discover that the friendliest and conforming ministers are not necessarily the best performing ones. Therein lies your test as a leader, Mr. President. You have to decide if you want performers or conformists in your cabinet. We the citizens and history (your ultimate masters at the end of it all) are waiting and watching to see if you will pass these tests.

Rather than say “the exercise is not meant to witch-hunt anyone”, the President needs to let his team know that the stakes are high and that any witch caught will be burnt at stake. The certain and well articulated fear of being punished for underperformance and the joy of being rewarded for achieving are major parts of what will remind your ministers to sit up, implement and seriously monitor these performance contracts in their own departments.

Outside the palaces of government, the rest of the citizenry and other stakeholders have a huge interest and duty to emulate, shape, demand and monitor these performance contracts. For all those who use government offices, it means that one can now demand for and expect clear definite timelines from government officials rather than put up with “we are working on it” annoying answer we hear in many offices today. The performance contract is a seed, a good seed that needs to be nurtured with constant care. This simple, relatively cost free exercise is probably the most inspiring act this administration has proposed so far and if well managed it could be the best thing that has ever happened to Nigeria.