BREAKING: Shehu Shagari Dies at 93

The Nigeria's second civilian president, Chief Shehu Shagari, whose civilian tenure was sandwiched between two military rulers in an era rocked by coups, has passed on at the age of 93.

Nigeria's current President Muhammadu Buhari, who unseated Shagari 35 years ago, said on Saturday, 29th December 2018, he mourns "the departure of a patriot, who served Nigeria with humility, integrity and diligence."

Chief Shagari's grandson, Mr. Bello Shagari in a Twitter post said, he died on Friday, 28th December 2018 in Abuja, the Nigeria's capital city after a brief illness.

Chief Shagari had an ambivalent relationship with the military, which initially favored his ascension to power but held him in solitary confinement for three years after toppling his government.

After military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo lifted the ban on political activity in Africa's most populous nation in 1978, Shagari beat regional political veterans in a hotly contested election the next year. The polls followed 13 years of military rule by four different men.

At his swearing-in ceremony, Chief Shagari said the military had "succeeded in large measure in unifying us."

It had been less than 20 years since the West African powerhouse had earned its independence from British rule, and it struggled to forge national unity within the colonial borders which tied some 250 ethnic groups together.

Those years saw a civil war, a toppled civilian government and a series of military administrations including that of Gen. Yakubu "Jack" Gowon, in which Shagari served as a civilian finance minister.

Shagari is said to have been the first boy to go to school in his northern village of Shagari in the northeastern state of Sokoto. He started out as a science teacher before entering politics. From 1954-1966 he was a member of the House of Representatives and later held a variety of ministerial posts under both civilian and military governments.

Even though the military had voluntarily paved the way for democratic rule, the threat of its interference loomed over Shagari's time in office.

The oil-rich nation's economy suffered from a sharp drop in global crude oil prices, fueling discontent. On Dec. 29, 1983, Shagari announced austerity measures in a country already suffering from high unemployment rates and general disillusionment after the oil boom of the '70s.

Chief Shagari's administration also was marred by corruption scandals. Even though the public considered him to be honest, his inability to rein in his government's avarice was sharply criticized.

On New Year's Eve in 1983, a group of military plotters toppled his government, describing Shagari's administration as "inept and corrupt." Buhari, then a military officer, took over the nation.

Chief Shagari, who had been elected a few months earlier, seemed to have seen it coming.

"My greatest concern is that democracy survives in Nigeria," he told a biographer just before the coup.

It was not until Buhari returned to the presidency in 2015 that Nigeria saw the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another.

TECH I On INEC's Tracking Devices, Electronic Collation

By Fred Doc Nwaozor



The last time I checked, even a dummy could testify boldly that technology is at the moment gradually dominating the entire system, hence the compelling need for every institution cum economy to be tech-driven.

It could be this conspicuous fact that informed the recent avowal of the Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It has been in the news that the electoral umpire is looking forward to ensuring that virtually all the impending 2019 elections are tech-driven.

Recently, precisely on 12th July 2018, the commission led by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu graciously introduced a new innovation that would help to track the location and movement of any vehicle conveying sensitive electoral materials to its target location.

The INEC boss disclosed that aside ensuring tight security in the transportation of the materials, the commission would equally be tracking all the vehicles carrying them. He said “All we are doing is to maintain our stand on transparency and openness even as we also guard against infiltration.”

According to him, another cogent reason the authority was determined to keep its plans and programmes was that it did not want failure of any form, especially on issues bordering on delivering of voting materials. This implies that cases including late arrival of materials, among others, would soonest be a thing of the past.

The plan to implement vehicular tracking devices come next year was reiterated two weeks back – on December 12, 2018 – when the INEC elatedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding with some key vehicle cum traffic unions domiciled in the country, which included the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), among others.

Tracking devices are veritable tools that have, for years now, been in use. It was primarily invented for the purpose of fighting crimes and allied matters. For instance, if a certain programmed device is stolen by anyone, it can easily be traced, hence recovered, by the concerned authority such as the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).

I have before now severally hammered on the urgent need for the various law enforcement agencies like the NPF to fully inculcate the use of tracking devices into its day-to-day bid in tackling different forms of grievous social ills, especially at this era when several criminals have gone so digital in their numerous nefarious activities.

It, therefore, suffices to opine that the INEC under the watch of Prof. Yakubu has thus far done well by thinking it wise to come up with this laudable initiative. However, in its quest for thorough utilization of the said electronic device, it’s required to take into cognizance some inevitable factors.

First, it’s expected to set up a special unit at its various states’ jurisdictions that would tactically handle every matter concerning the technicalities of the awaited practice. Such a unit must boast of the required materials as well as experts to ensure its holistic functionality and sustenance throughout the elections.

Among all, on no account should an outsider be contracted or hired to be in charge of the proposed unit, thus the commission needs to ensure that some of its staff in the technical section are duly trained and imbued with the requisite skills. Additionally, well tested softwares must be made available for the exercise to permit adequate monitoring of the moving vehicles.

Similarly, sometime last year, 20th March 2017 to be precise, the INEC during a media parley chaired by Prof. Yakubu, the authority disclosed that the results of the general elections would be collated and transmitted electronically towards replacing the existing manual mode of collation.

The commission’s Chairman stated thus, “INEC decides to securely transmit results from all polling units to central database such that only viewing access is allowed at the ward and local government levels, which ultimately eliminates manual collation processes.”

The INEC Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Mr. Chidi Nwafor who’s reportedly a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), informed the gathering that the electronic system in question has a flexible dashboard with real-time user interface showing graphical presentation of status of the results collated per given time.

He equally went further to disclose that the e-collation system has four procedures as follows: the results from polling units would be entered into the e-collation application on the smart card reader; secondly, the results would be transmitted to a central server; thirdly, they would be auto-collated and can be viewed at the ward level and can also be scanned at that level; and lastly, the results’ audit and confirmation shall take place at collation centres at LGAs, state and national levels.

With the analysis and explanations above, it’s imperative for the electoral umpire alongside other concerned bodies to acknowledge wholly that this is not rocket science, hence the compelling need not to place frivolities ahead of priorities as we eagerly await the innovation.

The commission has apparently discovered as well as test-run the viability of the impending electronic collation system, but it’s more pertinent for it to painstakingly consider the possible technical challenges that await its full implementation and usage.

In a country like ours where we are continually being taken aback as regards factors like power supply, software management cum maintenance and what have you, the concerned authorities ought not to be reminded that the aforementioned plans are greatly in need of unequalled pragmatic approach with a view to ensure their apt and adequate implementation as expected by the electorate.

It’s on this premise I urge the INEC as led by Prof. Yakubu to look inwards toward ensuring that the best brains herein are consulted as well as deployed in its seeming frantic efforts to conduct elections whose outcome would stand the test of time. Hence, the cognoscenti must not be relegated to the background in this regard.
As the voters’ hopes are already raised by the electoral umpire, the latter shouldn’t hesitate to collaborate with all the needed entities so that the uplifted optimism of the former wouldn’t be dashed come February 2019. Think about it!

Comrade Nwaozor, tech expert, policy analyst & rights activist,
and National Coordinator, Right Thinkers Movement, writes via
frednwaozor@gmail.com; Twitter: @mediambassador

TECH I FG's Tour On Automobile Hub

By Fred Nwaozor




The last time I checked, Nigerians in their number were earnestly awaiting the era when the acclaimed giant of Africa would be spotted on the world map as regards automobile industry.

The aforementioned quest is not unconnected with the recent deal struck by the Nigeria’s government and its German counterpart. It isn’t equally unconnected with the candid body language that accompanied the pact.

It would be recalled that recently, on Monday, 3rd September 2018 to be precise, the Federal Government (FG) under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari graciously signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Volkswagen Group with a view to developing an automobile hub in the country.

The two are reportedly to come up with an enabling policy framework on the proposed project. The epochal move was an offshoot of the recent visit of the German Chancellor, Mrs. Angela Merkel to Nigeria, precisely in Abuja – the country’s capital city.

It’s noteworthy that under the bilateral arrangement, the automobile firm is expected to implement a phased approach in relation to the assembly of vehicles down to positioning the nation as an automobile hub in the entire West Africa region.

Lest I forget; in regard to vehicles’ assemblage as mentioned in the pact, the government must take into cognizance that there’s need to go extra mile towards reviving the country’s dying pride if we’re really ready to invest in this sector. As we might have forgotten in haste, it’s highly imperative to recall that some of these vehicles – particularly Peugeot products – were being assembled here but the activity has now regrettably gone into moribund.

This, therefore, implies that the FG is required to look inwards with a view to resuscitating and boosting the aforesaid practice, which is currently considered as a lost glory. In a bid for an automobile hub, we must make frantic effort to reawake the seeming dead foundation.

The pact equally includes raising a training academy in conjunction with the German government with the sole aim of equipping pioneer employees of the impending industry with requisite skills as well as imbuing them with the needed industrial qualities.

Definitely, establishing an academy to train the indigenous prospective workers that would kick start the hub is a welcome development. It’s thus needless to state that the MOU included the key recipe with regard to the awaited industry.

However, the bitter truth is that such an approach is liable to collapse on arrival if the stakeholders involved failed to consider the essential factors required for its functionality. Hence, the parties in charge of the initiative must leave no stone unturned towards doing the needful.

It’s similarly pertinent for the government to acknowledge that such an academy deserves to be sustained in the long run. In view of this idea, the institute shouldn’t be utilized only in the case of the ‘pioneer employees’. Thus, it ought to be retained with a view to training subsequent intakes as well as upgrading the skills of those already absorbed in the system.

Recalling other clauses contained in the pact, it’s worthy of note that the FG on its part is to ensure that the Nigerian Automotive Policy, which is currently under consideration, gets a speedy approval from the apt quarters. The policy, though still in the pipeline, includes the gradual transition from the importation of used cars to the manufacturing and distribution of new passenger vehicles.

It’s not anymore news that overtime issue regarding policies has bedevilled most of the activities taking place in the country. Acknowledgement of this recurring decimal indicates that the concerned stakeholders are required to go extra mile in their move to ensure that the lofty motive of the FG is duly actualized.

It’s on this premise that I suggest the authorities involved painstakingly consider all the needed parameters as they prepare the policy. Every required factor, ranging from setting up the hub, training academy, in-service workshop/training, to working incentives cum environment, must be holistically looked into so that nothing absolutely would be missing in the process.

In the same vein, the legislators need to be duly lobbied in a quest to witnessing a healthy deliberation. In his words, an Adviser in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Bisi Daniels disclosed that the government was committed to providing a conducive legislative environment for the production of automobiles in the country.

I deem it fit to advise that such a commitment must be fully put into action if the FG is truly determined to create an industry where Nigerians as a people could boast of production of automobile machines that can be presented as well as used anywhere in the world.

As regards the sealed deal, the Minister of the said ministry, Dr. Okechukwu Emelamah strongly affirmed that the MOU was a major step in the FG’s quest for a robust automotive industry in the country, hence assured that the government was damn prepared to achieve the tech-driven objective.

The gospel truth is that, everything centres on the political will that accompanies the quest. Against this backdrop, for the tour in question to arrive at the desired destination, the government must not claim ignorance of the fact that what’s primarily of importance at this point is to support the recently embarked journey with the required will.

Inter alia, for a thorough emergence and sustenance of the incoming industry, the country’s education sector must also be involved. Hence, our technically-inclined students need to be brought closer to realities. It’s appalling and pathetic to note that our teeming graduates in the field of Mechanical Engineering and allied disciplines cannot present the mechanism that constitute main parts of an automobile let alone manufacturing them.

It’s no longer news that in recent times, successive governments had made various lofty moves but en up not actualizing the object of the initiative, owing to their inability to accompany the approach with candid practical steps. It’s thus unnecessary to remind the government that it’s expected to make a difference by acting differently.

As the Buhari-led administration is ostensibly determined to create a technology-driven economy herein, it must do everything humanly possible to separate priorities from frivolities. Think about it!

Comrade Nwaozor, National Coordinator, of Right Thinkers
Movement writes via frednwaozor@gmail.com

A Tale Of Johnbull

By Godwin Babatunde



Nothing was attractive anymore about my dress code. I had just one old generation red tie, a pair of black shoes with a dead sole, a white short-sleeve shirt with worn-out neck because of too much washing, and a pair of black trousers I borrowed from a friend.
I left the home hurriedly, looking old fashioned like a primitive headmaster.

‘O God please, help me because I am tired of searching…’, I prayed as I reached Bimco PLC, a first class company in the Insurance industry.

My first appearance gave the Human Resources Manager (HRM) a wrong impression of me. I became a victim of my own profession. A popular maxim I used to know flew to my mind. It says, “Beauty is greater recommendation than any letter of introduction”. I was really ugly in appearance.

‘Bad dressing! Very bad appearance!! Don’t you think you are an anagram of confusion and a compendium of several misalignment of corporate procedure?’ the HRM remarked sharply, as I stood before him.

I just kept calm like the biblical Lazarus that returned from the spirits. Fear started raising false alarm in my mind. My conscience started accusing me. I developed cold feet while my head was hot.
Nevertheless, that was a battle I must win since I needed the job desperately.

‘A dying lion must fight to the last’, I encouraged myself.
I stared at the man, pot-bellied and mustached, sitting before me.
‘Isn’t this man a Nigerian?’ I asked musingly and rhetorically.

There, I stood before a man, an opportunist, I guessed, reading sluggishly the CV of a Sociologist.

It was clear that I had Second Class (upper division) far and better than Mr. Alagbor, who got a Third Class grade in Political Science, yet, he got the position of the Administrative Manager in Bimco PLC.

Such is the character of a society that negates the principles of merit and competence - the wise stood aloof and watched the fool rule.

I started accusing the society of playing the game of ‘man-know-man’.
But, whom did I know at Bimco except Alagbor, who made partial introduction at the gate, that I was his childhood friend. So what?

I began ruminating again within seconds, like a goat chewing the cud in the midst of greener pastures; I saw the state failed woefully. Mediocre developed wings to fly while merit was dragged to helpless quagmire.

I saw shadows that resembled hungry, angry, and jobless teeming youths reached alarming proportion. They roamed the streets aimlessly, like stray puppies, until they got the job of thuggery or prostitution, as the case may be. Whilst, others played the game of drug addiction in frustration.

The shadows bade me bye and left. Sooner or later, I realized I was in a trance.

Babatunde wrote in from Lagos via
pauldegreat@yahoo.com

TECH I N-Power And Osinbajo's Tech-Driven Assertion

By Fred Nwaozor




Many within the shores of Nigeria may still be ignorant, or perhaps claim ignorance, of the term ‘N-Power’. Hence, it’s a youth empowerment scheme sponsored by the Federal Government (FG) as the slogan goes ‘Empowering Nigerian youths for posterity’.

N-Power is targeted to address the challenge of youth unemployment while linking its core and outcomes to fixing inadequate public services and stimulating the larger economy. It aspires to provide a platform where most Nigerians can assess skills acquisition and development.

Its target beneficiaries are Nigerian citizens between the ages of 18 and 35. The modular programmes under the scheme ensure that each participant learns and practices most of what is necessary to find or create work. It’s broadly classified into two categories namely, N-Power Graduate Category and N-Power Non-Graduate Category.

Three weeks back at the 2018 Convocation and 70th Foundation Day Ceremonies of the revered University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, the Nigeria’s Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo boldly and proudly described the ongoing N-Power initiative as a veritable technology platform that’s boosting the education sector.

Prof. Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari as the Visitor to the institution, said “The N-Power employment and training scheme of the Federal Government provides a technology platform to boost education”. He categorically boasted that it offers a technology platform to train teachers quickly and efficiently, aside the existing traditional training institutes.

The number two citizen of the country disclosed thus “N-Power, our employment and skills training programme, now employs 500,000 young men and women who were hired using a technology platform developed by young Nigerians” as he went further to tender that under the initiative, the FG have had the collaboration of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Oracle Academy, Microsoft, Cisco Academy and International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation.

As we as a people have apparently come to realize that the modern-day education cannot be said to be whole if technology is missing or it fails to be tech-driven, it’s equally pertinent for us to acknowledge wholly that the best way to inculcate technology into a given system is to commence from the foundation.

In view of this, we mustn’t overlook the elementary study stage in the country known as the primary school coupled with the secondary. Time has really come for our young learners to be fully brought very close to technical knowledge to enable them squarely face the realities of life when they eventually encounter them in the near future. So, our various schools’ curricula need to be reviewed towards suiting this quest.

It’s noteworthy that China as a country is where she is today simply because the governments at all levels therein were able to engage the growing ones into technologically-oriented disciplines. Parents in such a nation are saddled with the responsibility of discovering the talents of their respective wards from day-one. By so doing, they would be duly encouraged by all means to develop the skills.

Talking about collaboration, it has also become imperative for the government, particularly the various coordinators of the N-Power, to start looking inwards with a view to ensuring that the country’s indigenous patents are given a sense of belonging. Time has gone when the universities among other tertiary citadels of learning were seen as places where only teaching takes place, forgetting that research works supposedly begin from such areas.

In the said speech, the law professor further hinted that in the next few years, both teachers’ training and teaching would be largely driven by technology with university education – especially scientific research – made easy by virtual reality and artificial intelligence tools.

It’s however worthy of note that such an anticipation can only be actualized by revisiting the extant policies that bind the system in question. The bitter truth remains that most of the policies guiding the country’s education sector are archaic and outdated, hence require urgent review towards overhauling them. This can be well achieved by wearing the required political will not unlike clothe.

I’m glad in his words, Prof. Osinbajo candidly acknowledged that there had been gap in the country’s educational attainment. He disclosed, therefore, that such lapse had made it clear that we have to change both the substance of education our children receive and the methods by which they are taught.

If this avowal actually came from a sincere mindset, then it’s needless to reiterate that there’s a compelling need to start taking our laboratories, libraries, workshops, learning curriculums, as well as other learning facilities very seriously as this is arguably the only way we could attain our dream society as regards education imbued with technology.

Regarding funding, Prof. Osinbajo equally noted that education could not be left to the government alone, opining none of the world’s leading universities depend solely or even substantially on government’s funding. He thus added that all have evolved innovative means of financing and investment to meet their funding needs and become financially sustainable.

If the above assertion holds water, then it’s unequivocally preposterous to include the said institutions in the ongoing Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy that forbids financial autonomy among the FG’s establishments. They ought to, henceforth, be liberated in this regard.

The public was equally notified by the vice-president in the said occasion that the government’s policy was to develop and introduce science, engineering, arts and mathematics education curriculum in primary and secondary schools. According to him, the curriculum covers training in skills in cross disciplinary, critical and creative thinking, problem solving and digital technologies, coding, digital arts, design thinking as well as robotics.

We must take into cognizance that no matter how much we make effort to inculcate technically-oriented teaching via introduction of viable policies, the rules and regulations can never be aptly adhered to if proper monitoring teams and mechanisms aren’t established in respect of such lofty motive.

Summarily, as the N-Power scheme ostensibly continues to gain momentum and reportedly gathers accolades, the government must comprehend that wholesome policies and enabling environments are the best factors that can make the acclaimed achievements of the initiative speak volumes. Think about it!

Comrade Nwaozor, tech expert, policy analyst &
rights activist, writes via frednwaozor@gmail.com