I was once asked: ''What is responsible for the decadence in the Nigerian society? Is it the government?''
My answer to that question was unequivocal: ''The decadence in the Nigerian society is caused not only by the government, but also by the people living in it. By my own ratio, the government and the people are equally responsible. No one can absolutely excuse him/herself. While the government has failed to provide leadership and good governance, the people themselves have continued to tolerate, enjoy and celebrate mediocrity to its highest level, thus, failing in their own responsibility to hold government accountable for actions and inactions. ''
And these are very challenging and sad times for Nigeria. This is not as a result of the global financial meltdown, but the result of the ineptitude, hypocrisy, bad decisions and lack of focus of the nation's political class.
I'm an incurable optimist in the fact that, in spite of the numerous setbacks, the Nigerian enterprise would eventually work effectively and efficiently. And that is why I pray daily that those who rule us would wake up to their common senses to begin a new era of value creation in the public service.
Nigeria has huge potentials to improve the lot of the majority of her people. Sadly though, Nigeria ranks high on major negative indices.
Potentials are nothing more than potentials if they are not well harnessed to better the lot of the majority. Potentials does not translate to greatness if nothing concrete is done responsibly to create value out of them. Potentials are not potent if they just remain as mere potentials..
Nigeria must harness the potentials endowed her.
My deep worry about this 'giant' of Africa is the rot in the public school system. Our public school system is in total disarray. Nothing seems to be working for now in that system. Industrial actions by academic and non-academic staff unions of tertiary institutions nationwide has become a regular menu Nigerians are served with. Little wonder the country is nowhere significant in the manpower development index. Do we therefore need a soothsayer to tell us what the future looks like for Nigeria if nothing is done to halt the declining standard in the nation's education sector?
A nation that ignores or is irresponsibly insensitive to its education sector will continue to trail behind its peers in the comity of nations.
Those Nigerians who could afford it have already 'exported' their wards to foreign lands to acquire qualitative and quantitative education, and shamefully for all of us, some of these foreign lands are neighboring countries in the West African coast. One begin to wonder if we are truly the 'giant' of Africa.
Currently, the Academic Staff Union of Universities [ ASUU ] and their Senior Staff counterparts are on strike to press home the need for the government to increase funding to the universities, and also for the government to honor agreements reached with the respective unions. This is one strike, too many.
Industrial action by primary and secondary school teachers under their own trade union umbrella, the NUT, took place a couple of months ago, which may resume at the slightest provocation if any tier of government fails to honor agreements reached with them.
Needless to say that poor teaching facilities and low morale among the teaching staff constitutes the bane of our public school system in Nigeria. And that is good news for the owners and operators of private schools in the country, whose fees are beyond the reach of majority of families. The private school phenomenon has gained so much momentum and significance nowadays due to the collapse of the public school system. And the soaring fees of these private schools mean that most Nigerian kids are sentenced to their fate in the dilapidated, inefficient and demoralizing public school system.
This is bad news.
This is why a social disaster looms on the country. How? The public school system turns out the highest number of graduates yearly, and if nothing is done to improve the standard of learning and the curriculum content, the young grads will have to face a more competitive global HR market ill-prepared. And that leads to frustration, restiveness and all kinds of organized and sophisticated crimes.
I must reinterate that no sensible nation or government can afford to ignore the mental, emotional and spiritual development of its citizens. Technological advancement has brought to the fore the urgency for governments everywhere to pay serious attention to the education sector in line with the developmental needs of their individual countries. Failure to do this means that the educationally failing nation has actually failed.
A solid education sector, epitomed by a sound public school system is the strength of a nation's competitiveness in a globalised marketplace.
The long years of neglect of this vital sector by both the military and civilian rulers since 1966 has brought us to where we are today. The consequences of strikes in our education sector are unquantifiable. I cannot begin to enumerate them. Those at the receiving end of all strikes in Nigeria are the poor masses, whose interest government exist to protect.
We can no longer afford to be indifferent to the plight of our children who are always at the mercy of teachers' industrial actions.
This is a solemn call to President Umaru Yar'Adua to muster the courage and decision to bring the ongoing ASUU and SSANU strike to an end. This cannot be achieved by mere promises and ministerial threats or propaganda. What the nation desperately needs now is leadership, laced with transparent honesty. Words must begin to match action, and action must be informed, focused and coordinated. Let the true facts and figures be brought to the table of collective bargaining, and I know that the striking workers are patriotic enough to shift ground when convinced to do so.
Introduction of school fees to public schools shouldn't be a matter for consideration now. At this stage of our development, it is government responsibility to shoulder the cost of basic education, primary health care and the creation of equal opportunities for every Nigerian child to dream and succeed, be it in a public school or private school.
And government must act now, and responsibly too.
My answer to that question was unequivocal: ''The decadence in the Nigerian society is caused not only by the government, but also by the people living in it. By my own ratio, the government and the people are equally responsible. No one can absolutely excuse him/herself. While the government has failed to provide leadership and good governance, the people themselves have continued to tolerate, enjoy and celebrate mediocrity to its highest level, thus, failing in their own responsibility to hold government accountable for actions and inactions. ''
And these are very challenging and sad times for Nigeria. This is not as a result of the global financial meltdown, but the result of the ineptitude, hypocrisy, bad decisions and lack of focus of the nation's political class.
I'm an incurable optimist in the fact that, in spite of the numerous setbacks, the Nigerian enterprise would eventually work effectively and efficiently. And that is why I pray daily that those who rule us would wake up to their common senses to begin a new era of value creation in the public service.
Nigeria has huge potentials to improve the lot of the majority of her people. Sadly though, Nigeria ranks high on major negative indices.
Potentials are nothing more than potentials if they are not well harnessed to better the lot of the majority. Potentials does not translate to greatness if nothing concrete is done responsibly to create value out of them. Potentials are not potent if they just remain as mere potentials..
Nigeria must harness the potentials endowed her.
My deep worry about this 'giant' of Africa is the rot in the public school system. Our public school system is in total disarray. Nothing seems to be working for now in that system. Industrial actions by academic and non-academic staff unions of tertiary institutions nationwide has become a regular menu Nigerians are served with. Little wonder the country is nowhere significant in the manpower development index. Do we therefore need a soothsayer to tell us what the future looks like for Nigeria if nothing is done to halt the declining standard in the nation's education sector?
A nation that ignores or is irresponsibly insensitive to its education sector will continue to trail behind its peers in the comity of nations.
Those Nigerians who could afford it have already 'exported' their wards to foreign lands to acquire qualitative and quantitative education, and shamefully for all of us, some of these foreign lands are neighboring countries in the West African coast. One begin to wonder if we are truly the 'giant' of Africa.
Currently, the Academic Staff Union of Universities [ ASUU ] and their Senior Staff counterparts are on strike to press home the need for the government to increase funding to the universities, and also for the government to honor agreements reached with the respective unions. This is one strike, too many.
Industrial action by primary and secondary school teachers under their own trade union umbrella, the NUT, took place a couple of months ago, which may resume at the slightest provocation if any tier of government fails to honor agreements reached with them.
Needless to say that poor teaching facilities and low morale among the teaching staff constitutes the bane of our public school system in Nigeria. And that is good news for the owners and operators of private schools in the country, whose fees are beyond the reach of majority of families. The private school phenomenon has gained so much momentum and significance nowadays due to the collapse of the public school system. And the soaring fees of these private schools mean that most Nigerian kids are sentenced to their fate in the dilapidated, inefficient and demoralizing public school system.
This is bad news.
This is why a social disaster looms on the country. How? The public school system turns out the highest number of graduates yearly, and if nothing is done to improve the standard of learning and the curriculum content, the young grads will have to face a more competitive global HR market ill-prepared. And that leads to frustration, restiveness and all kinds of organized and sophisticated crimes.
I must reinterate that no sensible nation or government can afford to ignore the mental, emotional and spiritual development of its citizens. Technological advancement has brought to the fore the urgency for governments everywhere to pay serious attention to the education sector in line with the developmental needs of their individual countries. Failure to do this means that the educationally failing nation has actually failed.
A solid education sector, epitomed by a sound public school system is the strength of a nation's competitiveness in a globalised marketplace.
The long years of neglect of this vital sector by both the military and civilian rulers since 1966 has brought us to where we are today. The consequences of strikes in our education sector are unquantifiable. I cannot begin to enumerate them. Those at the receiving end of all strikes in Nigeria are the poor masses, whose interest government exist to protect.
We can no longer afford to be indifferent to the plight of our children who are always at the mercy of teachers' industrial actions.
This is a solemn call to President Umaru Yar'Adua to muster the courage and decision to bring the ongoing ASUU and SSANU strike to an end. This cannot be achieved by mere promises and ministerial threats or propaganda. What the nation desperately needs now is leadership, laced with transparent honesty. Words must begin to match action, and action must be informed, focused and coordinated. Let the true facts and figures be brought to the table of collective bargaining, and I know that the striking workers are patriotic enough to shift ground when convinced to do so.
Introduction of school fees to public schools shouldn't be a matter for consideration now. At this stage of our development, it is government responsibility to shoulder the cost of basic education, primary health care and the creation of equal opportunities for every Nigerian child to dream and succeed, be it in a public school or private school.
And government must act now, and responsibly too.
Adedayo Adetoye
Tel: +2348051912385
e_MAIL: dayoadetoye@gmail.com
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