Good Bye 2007

What a year 2007 was. On a personal level, it was a very satisfying year. I was in good health, got promoted, bought a brand new car for the first time in my life and did extremely well in my investments. A good year all round. Thank God.

Nigeria did well politically. Obasanjo handed over to Yar’Adua peacefully. But that is where the success ends.

Unfortunately, Yar’Adua appears to be too slow in getting things done. We are not expecting miracles but as the Hausa people say “Jummah da za tai kyau tun daga Laraba ake ganin ta” meaning good things are noticed well in advance. From what we can see, Yar’Adua has a tough task. He is surrounded by a lot of incompetent people, who cant deliver on his seven point agenda.

No progress has been made in addressing the power crises. In fact, as I write, I have no electricity from PHCN. The last one week like most of the year was spent in darkness courtesy of PHCN. The security situation has not improved and most of the corrupt ex governors are still roaming the streets.

So what do I wish for in 2008? Here is my wish list:

1) Continued good health and Iman
2) A return of 25% for my portfolio
3) Electricity from 7pm to 7am daily
4) Better security for all Nigerians
5) Corrupt governors locked up
6) Increased accountability from elected officers

I pray my wish list will be answered.

Good bye 2007 and welcome 2008.

If I Were Yaradua

Nigerians elected Yaradua in April hoping that he would somehow deliver on the seven point agenda promised in his campaign. Seven months after assuming office, Nigerians are still hoping and praying that he would deliver. Will he?

Early signs are not encouraging. In the first place, the seven point agenda is too ambitious. Why not prioritize and choose two or three issues to focus on for four years? If I were Yaradua, I will only choose two issues to focus on in the next four years. These two are corruption and electric power.

Corruption is public enemy number one. We need to reduce or even eliminate corruption if we want to get anywhere. Obasanjo did well by creating EFCC even though he used it to fight his political battles. In my view, creating EFCC was the best thing Obasanjo did in his eight years in Aso Villa. He made the fight front page news and provided EFCC with all the support it needs to fight the menace of corruption.

Unfortunately, Yaradua through the Attorney General have slowed down EFCC. Considering the fact that so many ex governors have lost their immunity, one would have thought some will be behind bars by now. Alas, progress has been slow. With each passing day, I loose confidence in EFCC getting a guilty verdict against the very guilty ex governors.

If I were Yaradua, I will give Ribadu all the backing he needs to ensure some of these ex governors serve some jail time. This will serve as a deterrent to serving governors to keep their hands off public funds.

The second priority I will focus on if I were the president will be electric power. Nigerians have suffered for so long. Businesses of all sizes are groaning under the crushing weight of energy costs. Nigerian manufactured goods simply cannot compete with imported goods due to the high energy costs in Nigeria. The quality of life of Nigerians is compromised due to the poor electricity supply. It is not surprising therefore to find out that when two Nigerians meet, they more often that not spend time lamenting about the lack of electricity supply.

Although Yaradua claims that fixing the power sector is one of his priorities, I doubt if he really is the messiah Nigerians have been waiting for to deliver them from darkness. It is my view that when something is a priority, it should be properly funded. Alas, the power sector did not get what it needs in the 2008 budget. Yaradua made some noises about using alternative sources of funds. Consequently, the Independent Power Plants (IPP) being built by NNPC JV partners will be starved of funds yet again. Apart from Agip, none of the JV partners have been able to deliver on the power plants. This is due to no fault of theirs as NNPC to date has failed to provide its own share of the IPP costs. Without the required funding, these plants will not come on stream as planned. Thereby prolonging our stay in darkness.

Yaradua needs to wake up to the fact that if he wants to really solve the power crises, he needs to provide the required funds. In addition, the power sector is very complicated, it needs to be handled by experts who know the business inside out. Yaradua therefore needs to strengthen the sector with competent hands. Otherwise, he would spend the next four years without achieving much in the power sector just like his predecessor.

If Yaradua can concentrate on corruption and electric power and get results, Nigerians will forever be grateful.

I sincerely hope Yaradua will realize the enormity of the tasks facing him and begin to do what is required to change things. Otherwise his four years will pass swiftly without much being accomplished. That will be a shame indeed giving all the fanfare that greeted his swearing in as the first Nigerian president with a university degree.

Yaradua, we are waiting and expecting.

On Making a Contribution

I recently read a speech given in June 2007 by Bill gates on graduation day at Harvard University. It was a great and inspiring speech. It moved and inspired me.

For long I have always wanted to make positive contributions to my community but I have found the issues too daunting and complex. Gates awakened me to the fact that the significant inequities in our societies are usually too complex and as such people who care get intimidated and give up trying to make a difference. Gates went on to propose a three point strategy to cut through the complexities:

· Identify the problem
· Identify the solution
· Implement and measure the impact of the solution

According to Gates the most essential and probably the most difficult part is finding the solution to a problem. Most Nigerians will agree with this as we can list the myriad of problems facing us but we cannot seem to find solutions that work.

As a female from Northern part of Nigeria (Kano) I have always felt that the biggest inequity confronting my local community is the lack of quality public education. In this modern age, I believe that no society can move forward when a majority of the citizens have no access to quality basic education (primary and secondary school). It is only through making available quality education to all, that those brilliant minds that could solve our biggest problems can be discovered and nurtured.

Today, thousands are denied access to education while an even bigger number spend time in our public schools without learning much. Recently I visited a public secondary school in Kano metropolis. Most of the classes in the school have over 80 students. Over half the students have no chair or table. Majority of the students don’t have any textbook to speak off and the school library is a joke. No meaningful learning can take place under such conditions and in fact no meaningful learning is taking place in this particular school.

How can we change this? How do we enlighten and encourage parents to send their children to school and to take an active part in their education? How do we get the best out of the money set aside by government for education? How do we get the government to increase funding for education? These are some of the problems that come to mind.

Improving the quality of our public schools is a long, tough and continuous battle. However, it is a battle worth fighting.

A few months ago, the Federal Government called on Nigerians both individuals and corporate bodies to “adopt a school” in order to help the government in addressing the public education crises. While addressing the crises will require more commitment from government, the “adopt a school” approach could yield unexpected dividends.

On my part, I have decided to heed the call of the government and adopt a school. I have already identified a secondary school within Kano metropolis to adopt.

I encourage all readers of this piece out there to try to do something positive that will impact on their communities. For in Nigeria of today, anybody reading this piece is privileged and “to whom much is given, much is expected”.