Monday, 24 September 2012
The Caller You 'Re Trying To Reach Has No Phone... By Prince Charles Dickson
A ki gbele gba ofa lailo ogun--meaning, one does not sit at home, not go to war and yet be shot with an arrow.
As usual there's been little to cheer within the last week. I was sure that my admonition was going to be on the groundnut and popcorn called National awards, especially with the closure of parts of Abuja on that day of the awards to very few deserving and plenty dishonorables.
Meanwhile, a friend had reminded me of the deteriorating GSM services.
So I threw it to a beloved friend "which would make a good read and was a national issue, the National awards or GSM palavar?"
She answered initially "none of the them". Implying that really nothing is of interest in these climes. That actually was the nod I needed to go for the jugular of our 'heartless' network operators.
Week in and out, from just good and manageable, we have gravitated from bad to worse and titling to dangerously worse than usual.
Its the GSM palavar, the small magic toy that came to us in Nigeria eleven years ago. In fact, it was eleven years last August. With the terrible services, many would be forgiven for having forgotten.
The GSM phone, it is one gadget that has really changed our way of life. Some six years ago I was privileged to submit to the Dept. Of Psychology, University of Jos, a Thesis on the Psycho-Social Implication of GSM in Nigeria.
With data in the public domain stating we have over 81 Million GSM & CDMA mobile phone subscribers. At even one kobo per minute, it is a billion naira industry and bound to affect our way of life.
Whether it is a case of controversial Nigerians, arguing whether it was Abacha who laid the groundwork or it was Obj that moved the work from the ground, GSM's advent has also improved the quality of living of Nigerians. It has provided quality jobs and enhanced certain areas of business.
Quickly, kudos, GSM freed us from the bondage of 'David Mark and phone is not for the poor' cabal.
A visit to any NITEL office these days brings reality home, the once-upon-a-time powerful communication terrorist, in the yore days of your line has been tossed, now totally embarrassed, humiliated and redundant.
From little things like mobile TV, POS (electronic payment), affordable internet services, mobile tracking services, cheaper international calls, internet banking, and mobile banking.
Millions of Nigerians now access the internet via their GSM phones or a GSM enabled device. Our mails, Facebook, Twitter, news and more. Its the era of Ipad, Iphones, berries, androids, hand and heart-helds, right from the days of the almighty 'no-dey' break Nokia 3310.
Legitimate business is done online today, despite all the yahoo-yahoo boys, for these and more, we are so very much grateful to the mobile operators.
From the days of N22, 000 to N6, 000 and finally N1 per sim card or when one could not make a call for more than a minute 'cause it cost a fortune, to these days of free calls and era of maiguardi alee (night watchmen) all in the name of free night calls.
From being treated with technical terms like "overcapacity", "high operational cost", "high demand" and it has become dangerously worse, from the number is not on the MTN network or the number does not exist from glo, and some may tell you the subscriber has no phone.
Nigeria has one of the most expensive tariffs in the world and one which services are not commensurate with cost, one wonders, is the place of the Communications Commission, the Consumer Protection Council as Nigerians are milked non-stop for promises not delivered.
We are victims of jungle capitalism run by MTN, Glo, Etisalat, Visa and co.
We play these pools, Kaalu-Kaalu and chaacha, sending text to short codes to win aircraft, air-car, air-generator and what not, terrible services, our small change deducted and GSM networks smile to the bank and repatriate others home, with a hypocritical social responsibility dance. No commensurate improvement of any form.
...Dropped calls, cross connections, network congestion, network timeout, disappearing call credits, nightmares with customer care people, and all round poor quality of service has become the order of the day.
One appreciates the operating environment, getting alternate power, diesel, theft and destruction, and the latest, attacks on their installations by BH in parts of the country.
But still it doesn't co-relate with all the recent trash called GSM services, you dial a number, it rolls to another line. Subscribers to Blackberry and all berry services are treated to rotten berries.
No one offers a customer-friendly apology. Nigerians don't deserve apologies, especially when the act is on intent, our leaders do it, from public officer holders, traditional stools to religious leaders. The public be damned 'cause no one gives a damn.
No on cares how GSM customers are faring. The only difference is that we have a choice. We can choose lesser of the criminals called operators. So, we are forced to do the dual sim phones or carry phones like a phone seller or call operator.
While I dare say it remains an allegation, the rumoured fact that our legislators have their palms greased to look the other tells you the 'go to hell' situation in which subscribers find themselves.
Let me end this way. A young girl on her way to Lagos from Abuja, every other hour would call her numerous boyfriends to say she was on her way, to X, she was close to Benin, to Y, she was now in Lafia, to another they just passed Bauchi, to one she was lying down feeling feverish...an elderly woman unable to take it, had to ask the driver "pls my son shebi na Lagos we dey go, tell this girl to shut up before...?"
The bitter pill is the as with all things Nigeria and Nigerians, the current service we get is a metaphor for all that could be good in Nigeria and also, the very worst. As for Glo, Mtn, Etisalat, Airtel, Visa, Multilinks, Starcoms and co, time will tell.
Saharareporters
As usual there's been little to cheer within the last week. I was sure that my admonition was going to be on the groundnut and popcorn called National awards, especially with the closure of parts of Abuja on that day of the awards to very few deserving and plenty dishonorables.
Meanwhile, a friend had reminded me of the deteriorating GSM services.
So I threw it to a beloved friend "which would make a good read and was a national issue, the National awards or GSM palavar?"
She answered initially "none of the them". Implying that really nothing is of interest in these climes. That actually was the nod I needed to go for the jugular of our 'heartless' network operators.
Week in and out, from just good and manageable, we have gravitated from bad to worse and titling to dangerously worse than usual.
Its the GSM palavar, the small magic toy that came to us in Nigeria eleven years ago. In fact, it was eleven years last August. With the terrible services, many would be forgiven for having forgotten.
The GSM phone, it is one gadget that has really changed our way of life. Some six years ago I was privileged to submit to the Dept. Of Psychology, University of Jos, a Thesis on the Psycho-Social Implication of GSM in Nigeria.
With data in the public domain stating we have over 81 Million GSM & CDMA mobile phone subscribers. At even one kobo per minute, it is a billion naira industry and bound to affect our way of life.
Whether it is a case of controversial Nigerians, arguing whether it was Abacha who laid the groundwork or it was Obj that moved the work from the ground, GSM's advent has also improved the quality of living of Nigerians. It has provided quality jobs and enhanced certain areas of business.
Quickly, kudos, GSM freed us from the bondage of 'David Mark and phone is not for the poor' cabal.
A visit to any NITEL office these days brings reality home, the once-upon-a-time powerful communication terrorist, in the yore days of your line has been tossed, now totally embarrassed, humiliated and redundant.
From little things like mobile TV, POS (electronic payment), affordable internet services, mobile tracking services, cheaper international calls, internet banking, and mobile banking.
Millions of Nigerians now access the internet via their GSM phones or a GSM enabled device. Our mails, Facebook, Twitter, news and more. Its the era of Ipad, Iphones, berries, androids, hand and heart-helds, right from the days of the almighty 'no-dey' break Nokia 3310.
Legitimate business is done online today, despite all the yahoo-yahoo boys, for these and more, we are so very much grateful to the mobile operators.
From the days of N22, 000 to N6, 000 and finally N1 per sim card or when one could not make a call for more than a minute 'cause it cost a fortune, to these days of free calls and era of maiguardi alee (night watchmen) all in the name of free night calls.
From being treated with technical terms like "overcapacity", "high operational cost", "high demand" and it has become dangerously worse, from the number is not on the MTN network or the number does not exist from glo, and some may tell you the subscriber has no phone.
Nigeria has one of the most expensive tariffs in the world and one which services are not commensurate with cost, one wonders, is the place of the Communications Commission, the Consumer Protection Council as Nigerians are milked non-stop for promises not delivered.
We are victims of jungle capitalism run by MTN, Glo, Etisalat, Visa and co.
We play these pools, Kaalu-Kaalu and chaacha, sending text to short codes to win aircraft, air-car, air-generator and what not, terrible services, our small change deducted and GSM networks smile to the bank and repatriate others home, with a hypocritical social responsibility dance. No commensurate improvement of any form.
...Dropped calls, cross connections, network congestion, network timeout, disappearing call credits, nightmares with customer care people, and all round poor quality of service has become the order of the day.
One appreciates the operating environment, getting alternate power, diesel, theft and destruction, and the latest, attacks on their installations by BH in parts of the country.
But still it doesn't co-relate with all the recent trash called GSM services, you dial a number, it rolls to another line. Subscribers to Blackberry and all berry services are treated to rotten berries.
No one offers a customer-friendly apology. Nigerians don't deserve apologies, especially when the act is on intent, our leaders do it, from public officer holders, traditional stools to religious leaders. The public be damned 'cause no one gives a damn.
No on cares how GSM customers are faring. The only difference is that we have a choice. We can choose lesser of the criminals called operators. So, we are forced to do the dual sim phones or carry phones like a phone seller or call operator.
While I dare say it remains an allegation, the rumoured fact that our legislators have their palms greased to look the other tells you the 'go to hell' situation in which subscribers find themselves.
Let me end this way. A young girl on her way to Lagos from Abuja, every other hour would call her numerous boyfriends to say she was on her way, to X, she was close to Benin, to Y, she was now in Lafia, to another they just passed Bauchi, to one she was lying down feeling feverish...an elderly woman unable to take it, had to ask the driver "pls my son shebi na Lagos we dey go, tell this girl to shut up before...?"
The bitter pill is the as with all things Nigeria and Nigerians, the current service we get is a metaphor for all that could be good in Nigeria and also, the very worst. As for Glo, Mtn, Etisalat, Airtel, Visa, Multilinks, Starcoms and co, time will tell.
Saharareporters
The Ignorance of Faithless Believers
By Anthony A. Kila
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 the 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 pictures 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 to 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 need 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 their sins.
Saharareporters
Jonathan’s 80 Pages Of Nothingness By Chinedu Ekeke
He misses the presence of the past; when the world smiled at him and
men bought his deceit. Huddled up over a heap of dusty files and
abandoned sleaze reports, Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s president,
grieves over the metamorphosis of goodwill; the sharpest and shortest in
any recent political history. His friends, most of who, last year,
helped cook up the lies to spite his electoral opponents, had swiftly
become his critics, and even enemies. In his office, furnished to taste
with a rich touch of royalty, he pores through the invectives poured on
him daily by millions of angry citizens. In pains he let out a line of
grief, of a heart broken, like a baby grieving lack of love from his
parents; “I’m the most cursed president in the world.”
Cocooned by a retinue of aides trapped in the box of years of yore, when secrecy thrived in the seats of power and ignorance weakened the citizens of nations, he misreads the situation. Aides with mindsets more pedestrian than those of commoners, intent only on power, privilege and money, have sold him the commodity of perception. They said perception is the culprit. He bought it hook, line and sinker. He thinks very highly of them, as possessing more experience in the politics of public relations than himself – the taciturn shy man who never was ambitious, and never aspired to play at this tough stage where the rule entailed slicing up people to remain sailing.
So their opinions are weighty. He fancies being dressed in the garb of a “listening president” by these aides. It’s one of their ways of warming up to his heart, his royal heart. He would have been a great president if they were right. But they aren’t. He listens, as the only choice he has, because no alternative thoughts ever emanate from him, with which to balance their views and schemes. These views become policies and programmes, unleashed on the public domain, and are pushed to become laws. You remember the six year single term?
The perception challenge is their view, and he bought and paid. The work has been done, they told him, but the people have yet to know. Let us change their perception, they agreed. As though the whole world suddenly went blind in one fell swoop, they proposed that the work they’ve done, which no other living soul has seen, be scribbled down in fancy letters and glossy images. The images are more of the workers –the president, his Vice, his over-bloated cabinet, and his aides – and less of the works.
In the computing cloud hangs the book, an 80-page book of accomplishments. We are dared to read, to find present the projects that are absent on the streets and in our homes. We are persuaded to share, to forward to contacts, to carry family and friends along. As we read, they hope for open-mindedness in assessments and fairness in comments. Here, there was a slight departure from their 19th century mindsets. They acknowledge the change in ways information is shared. The internet, that’s the new village square. They came to the square, to ring the bell.
But that’s selective appreciation of the powers of the modern world. We can read and forward, just like we can upload and share damning evidence of lies said by public servants. It works in both ways, and works more against one when one chooses to reside on the side of injustice. On this same cloud we compare notes on how our friends and brothers and neighbours remain unemployed after graduation, and how those who oversaw the biggest scams in our history, as well as the scammers themselves, remain unpunished.
Before I began typing these lines, my friend in Abuja sent me a message. She was giving up on Nigeria. She couldn’t fathom why she couldn’t find fuel in filling stations in Abuja, but saw boys hawking them in gallons near the same stations, and with policemen looking on. Her friend, a close one with whom she had been at the forefront of the battle for the rescue of Nigeria from the gang of fuel subsidy thieves and their backers in government, just took a job with a wrong organization. She thinks she has lost the battle. She wept, and told me so.
A day or two ago, another friend on Twitter sent me a message. He got done with his Masters in the UK and returned home last year. Till date, he’s been unemployed. No jobs anywhere. But there’s a book, the book of accomplishments. The book says all is working, just that we’ve been blind to it.
Aha! Back to the book. I’d have loved to relish in the freshness of its smell were it physical with pages I could flip through. New books always smell fresh and predictably arouse the curiosity of the lover of reading. Sometimes, at the end of the book, you may discover that the only thing about it was actually the smell. In such a case, the book was a waste of one’s reading time. In Jonathan’s newly uploaded ebook, Sure And Steady Transformation, nothing was visible.
Conceptualized to serve a predetermined end, the book comes out vague and dry, unfortunately projecting us as a country that faces a million problems. It tries to cover everything and ends up covering nothing. It crawls from the shameful to the ridiculous, and then mocks us by its existence. That book shouldn’t have been published ab initio. It is another waste of our scarce resources.
Trust our brand of leadership. Perpetually mouthing a president’s campaign mantra is an unwritten law. That is why you will find “transformation” in almost every page of the book. It seems the president derives the power to become from the sound of that word; and the energy to live and act from its steady repetition.
“In support of Mr. President’s Transformation Agenda, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development developed and is aggressively implementing an Agricultural Transformation
Agenda.”
Transformation. Transformation agenda.
In search of what to point at, we read meetings that were attended. In almost all the ministries, meetings that were attended by Ministry personnel were included as achievements.
In the Ministry of Health, we read; “Conducted 55th National Council on Health Meeting in Abuja 16th-20th July, 2012”
Another one, still on the Health Ministry; “Submission of report of Presidential Committee on a harmonious working relationship in the Health Sector.”
For the Ministry of Information, we read: “Refocusing of the Vision and Mission of the Ministry.”
The wonder is that somebody in the presidency proofread these things and approved their inclusion in the final draft. Another wonder is that they do not hope to persuade people to consider if the “achievements” are worth being so named, the surprise is the aggression with which it is being forced down our throat; “I have delivered!”
Part of the delivery is the type you will read on Page 43 of the report.
• Purchase of 3 (No) Staff Buses.
• Procurement of 2 (No) of Hiace Buses.
• Purchase of various office furnishes and fittings.
When the Federal Government boasts of 2 Hiace buses, then a Local Government Councilor has no business providing anything for his constituents. And it is rather troubling that nobody in the presidency cringed when 3 Staff Buses were being included amongst the list of achievements made by the president of Nigeria.
But we must find the courage to ask the necessary questions: how many jobs have been created – either directly by the government or by the private-sector as a result of employment-inducing policies of the government – in the last two years? If jobs were created, how did they affect the gross unemployment rate?
Are we aware that the use of okada as a means of transportation is a sign of a state that is failing? Movement of humans and goods is one of the essential indicators of a functional society. Why are our roads still in bad shape? Olumide, my friend, recently spent 3 hours on a spot at the Lagos-Benin Expressway and witnessed 3 different auto accidents on the spot. That doesn’t sound like transformation. That is destruction. But we have a glossy picture of that same road looking well paved.
How many houses did the government build in the last two years? How many Nigerians now have access to decent and affordable housing? Where are these houses?
Have we upgraded the quality of our schools? We did expect that Almajiri school will litter the pages under the education ministry. We only wonder what state and local governments will showcase. I heard last night from the young Nigerian who has been moving our kids from the slums to schools that Nigeria has over ten million children of school age outside the school. What future does that leave for us?
If the image of improved healthcare published in the book is true, where is our First Lady? Why can’t she be treated here at the intensive healthcare units?
If someone says there’s no money, how many of the thieves who stole our billions have we prosecuted in the last two years? How many high profile corruption cases have we successfully pursued and brought to conclusion?
If there are achievements anywhere, Mr Jonathan will not need a book to show them to us. Our streets are where these achievements will resonate. All eyes will see them and lips will confess them. There was a relatively significant improvement in power generation for about two months, and everybody commented on that. Nobody needed a book to confirm that electricity supply in their houses had improved. The bulbs that were lit up for more hours were the books we needed. Our problems aren’t as vast as an ocean. Our challenges as a people are few, but fundamental. Once these few key ones are attended to, the rest naturally fade away.
Nobody enjoys a song without melody. Nobody enjoys a dance without motion. A book in which nothing was written isn’t different. Nobody enjoys an 80-page book that says nothing.
Saharareporters
Cocooned by a retinue of aides trapped in the box of years of yore, when secrecy thrived in the seats of power and ignorance weakened the citizens of nations, he misreads the situation. Aides with mindsets more pedestrian than those of commoners, intent only on power, privilege and money, have sold him the commodity of perception. They said perception is the culprit. He bought it hook, line and sinker. He thinks very highly of them, as possessing more experience in the politics of public relations than himself – the taciturn shy man who never was ambitious, and never aspired to play at this tough stage where the rule entailed slicing up people to remain sailing.
So their opinions are weighty. He fancies being dressed in the garb of a “listening president” by these aides. It’s one of their ways of warming up to his heart, his royal heart. He would have been a great president if they were right. But they aren’t. He listens, as the only choice he has, because no alternative thoughts ever emanate from him, with which to balance their views and schemes. These views become policies and programmes, unleashed on the public domain, and are pushed to become laws. You remember the six year single term?
The perception challenge is their view, and he bought and paid. The work has been done, they told him, but the people have yet to know. Let us change their perception, they agreed. As though the whole world suddenly went blind in one fell swoop, they proposed that the work they’ve done, which no other living soul has seen, be scribbled down in fancy letters and glossy images. The images are more of the workers –the president, his Vice, his over-bloated cabinet, and his aides – and less of the works.
In the computing cloud hangs the book, an 80-page book of accomplishments. We are dared to read, to find present the projects that are absent on the streets and in our homes. We are persuaded to share, to forward to contacts, to carry family and friends along. As we read, they hope for open-mindedness in assessments and fairness in comments. Here, there was a slight departure from their 19th century mindsets. They acknowledge the change in ways information is shared. The internet, that’s the new village square. They came to the square, to ring the bell.
But that’s selective appreciation of the powers of the modern world. We can read and forward, just like we can upload and share damning evidence of lies said by public servants. It works in both ways, and works more against one when one chooses to reside on the side of injustice. On this same cloud we compare notes on how our friends and brothers and neighbours remain unemployed after graduation, and how those who oversaw the biggest scams in our history, as well as the scammers themselves, remain unpunished.
Before I began typing these lines, my friend in Abuja sent me a message. She was giving up on Nigeria. She couldn’t fathom why she couldn’t find fuel in filling stations in Abuja, but saw boys hawking them in gallons near the same stations, and with policemen looking on. Her friend, a close one with whom she had been at the forefront of the battle for the rescue of Nigeria from the gang of fuel subsidy thieves and their backers in government, just took a job with a wrong organization. She thinks she has lost the battle. She wept, and told me so.
A day or two ago, another friend on Twitter sent me a message. He got done with his Masters in the UK and returned home last year. Till date, he’s been unemployed. No jobs anywhere. But there’s a book, the book of accomplishments. The book says all is working, just that we’ve been blind to it.
Aha! Back to the book. I’d have loved to relish in the freshness of its smell were it physical with pages I could flip through. New books always smell fresh and predictably arouse the curiosity of the lover of reading. Sometimes, at the end of the book, you may discover that the only thing about it was actually the smell. In such a case, the book was a waste of one’s reading time. In Jonathan’s newly uploaded ebook, Sure And Steady Transformation, nothing was visible.
Conceptualized to serve a predetermined end, the book comes out vague and dry, unfortunately projecting us as a country that faces a million problems. It tries to cover everything and ends up covering nothing. It crawls from the shameful to the ridiculous, and then mocks us by its existence. That book shouldn’t have been published ab initio. It is another waste of our scarce resources.
Trust our brand of leadership. Perpetually mouthing a president’s campaign mantra is an unwritten law. That is why you will find “transformation” in almost every page of the book. It seems the president derives the power to become from the sound of that word; and the energy to live and act from its steady repetition.
“In support of Mr. President’s Transformation Agenda, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development developed and is aggressively implementing an Agricultural Transformation
Agenda.”
Transformation. Transformation agenda.
In search of what to point at, we read meetings that were attended. In almost all the ministries, meetings that were attended by Ministry personnel were included as achievements.
In the Ministry of Health, we read; “Conducted 55th National Council on Health Meeting in Abuja 16th-20th July, 2012”
Another one, still on the Health Ministry; “Submission of report of Presidential Committee on a harmonious working relationship in the Health Sector.”
For the Ministry of Information, we read: “Refocusing of the Vision and Mission of the Ministry.”
The wonder is that somebody in the presidency proofread these things and approved their inclusion in the final draft. Another wonder is that they do not hope to persuade people to consider if the “achievements” are worth being so named, the surprise is the aggression with which it is being forced down our throat; “I have delivered!”
Part of the delivery is the type you will read on Page 43 of the report.
• Purchase of 3 (No) Staff Buses.
• Procurement of 2 (No) of Hiace Buses.
• Purchase of various office furnishes and fittings.
When the Federal Government boasts of 2 Hiace buses, then a Local Government Councilor has no business providing anything for his constituents. And it is rather troubling that nobody in the presidency cringed when 3 Staff Buses were being included amongst the list of achievements made by the president of Nigeria.
But we must find the courage to ask the necessary questions: how many jobs have been created – either directly by the government or by the private-sector as a result of employment-inducing policies of the government – in the last two years? If jobs were created, how did they affect the gross unemployment rate?
Are we aware that the use of okada as a means of transportation is a sign of a state that is failing? Movement of humans and goods is one of the essential indicators of a functional society. Why are our roads still in bad shape? Olumide, my friend, recently spent 3 hours on a spot at the Lagos-Benin Expressway and witnessed 3 different auto accidents on the spot. That doesn’t sound like transformation. That is destruction. But we have a glossy picture of that same road looking well paved.
How many houses did the government build in the last two years? How many Nigerians now have access to decent and affordable housing? Where are these houses?
Have we upgraded the quality of our schools? We did expect that Almajiri school will litter the pages under the education ministry. We only wonder what state and local governments will showcase. I heard last night from the young Nigerian who has been moving our kids from the slums to schools that Nigeria has over ten million children of school age outside the school. What future does that leave for us?
If the image of improved healthcare published in the book is true, where is our First Lady? Why can’t she be treated here at the intensive healthcare units?
If someone says there’s no money, how many of the thieves who stole our billions have we prosecuted in the last two years? How many high profile corruption cases have we successfully pursued and brought to conclusion?
If there are achievements anywhere, Mr Jonathan will not need a book to show them to us. Our streets are where these achievements will resonate. All eyes will see them and lips will confess them. There was a relatively significant improvement in power generation for about two months, and everybody commented on that. Nobody needed a book to confirm that electricity supply in their houses had improved. The bulbs that were lit up for more hours were the books we needed. Our problems aren’t as vast as an ocean. Our challenges as a people are few, but fundamental. Once these few key ones are attended to, the rest naturally fade away.
Nobody enjoys a song without melody. Nobody enjoys a dance without motion. A book in which nothing was written isn’t different. Nobody enjoys an 80-page book that says nothing.
Saharareporters
Total to Sell $20 Billion of Assets as It Raises Output Goal
Total HQ, France
Total said it would try to sell $15 billion to $20 billion of assets between 2012 and 2014 to cement “active portfolio management,” according to a statement. Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said the outlook for cash flow gave the company scope to increase dividends and invest in output.
Total has increased the pace of acquisitions and asset sales in recent years to shuffle its portfolio and raise production. The French explorer is following BP Plc which has a target to sell $38 billion of assets by the end of 2013 and has completed about $32 billion so far. Total completed $15 billion of asset sales in 2010 and 2011, including in European refining capacity and shares in drugs maker Sanofi.
The French explorer has also pledged to step up and make “bolder” the search for oil and gas. This strategy has seen Total move into so-called frontier nations including French Guiana and Kenya, while continuing to invest in large production projects in Kazakhstan, Canada andAustralia.
Output Target
Total said today it expects to increase output an average of 3 percent a year from 2011 to 2015, compared with an earlier goal of 2.5 percent a year, according to a statement. Paris- based Total gave a longer-term target for the first time, saying production will reach about 3 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2017. This compares with 2.35 million barrels of oil equivalent last year.“The production targets are a stretch,” said Stuart Joyner, an analyst at Investec Securities Ltd. in London. “It’s aggressive for a company with this portfolio and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them undershoot.”
Production fell 2 percent in the second quarter to 2.26 million barrels a day after a U.K. North Sea gas leak prompted the shutdown of the Elgin and Franklin platforms in March, while production in Nigeria and Yemen was also disrupted. Total said today it expects the field to start again by the end of the year.
“For the 3 million barrel a day target by 2017, you should note that 70 percent of the projects are either in production or in development,” said Patrick de la Chevardiere, Total’s chief financial officer, at an investor day in London. The company’s newer projects are more profitable than the rest of its portfolio, he said.
Bold Exploration
“Total’s bold exploration program is focused on high-risk, high-reward prospects, and new acreage has added to the potential for giant discoveries,” the company said. Total announced today it had acquired a 40 percent stake in the offshore Rovuma Basin in Mozambique from Petronas.Total’s exploration permits in Angola’s Kwanza basin, Ivory Coast, Uruguay’s Block 14 and French Guiana are at the heart of the “mirror concept” of the Atlantic Ocean where geologists speculate reserves on either side of the South American and African coasts mirror each other, Total said today.
The French company plans to drill wells or prepare seismic studies on these permits next year and in 2014, according to today’s presentation. Another promising area is the foothills of Iraq, it said.
Beefed Up
“They’ve really beefed up their exploration and are taking more risk than in the past,” said Iain Reid, an analyst at Jefferies Group Inc. in London. “The Mozambique acreage looks promising.”The company, which plans to accelerate free cash flow growth between 2015 and 2017, said the restructuring of its refining and chemicals division that’s under way will add $650 million a year to net results by 2015. Refining profits are about $60 a ton at present, de la Chevardiere said.
The Iraqi government hasn’t taken action against Total after the company agreed to take exploration acreage in the country’s Kurdistan region, de la Chevardiere said.
BusinessNews
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Leadership: Key factor to a better Nigeria
Orji Uzor Kalu
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to present this paper on Leadership: Key Factor to a Better Nigeria.
I am glad that Great Ife, as this university is popularly called, is contributing its own quota towards evolving a better country through this annual Professor D. A. Ijalaye Lecture Series. The Ivory Tower, apart from being the bulwark of imparting knowledge, should also be a veritable profiler and analyser of our national situation, so that workable solutions can be proffered towards the different malaise plaguing the country. I am glad OAU has not taken a back seat in this area.
At 52, there has been consensus of opinion over the years that the problem of our country is largely leadership. Professor Chinua Achebe put it succinctly in his seminal work. ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’, published in 1983: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water, or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example, which is the hallmark of true leadership.” Prof Achebe gave this lamentation almost 30 years ago. Before then, the same diagnosis had been made by many commentators about Nigeria, and till today, the same thing is being said. It means our country is in the grip of bad leadership, and until we extricate ourselves from that evil grip, we will not make much progress.
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, in his 5th independence speech to the nation in 1965, noted that, “The leaders of our various communities are servants of the people of Nigeria. They were selected to strengthen the bonds of national unity. Their main task is to promote understanding among the various tribes of Nigeria. So long as they faithfully do this, so long shall they have proved themselves capable of enduring the complicated problems of leadership in Nigeria.”
It grieves my heart when disparaging remarks are made about leadership in Nigeria. And what makes it more tragic is that, usually, the remarks are true. Dr. Dozie Ikedife, former president of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo had been asked his opinion on leadership in Nigeria by a newspaper a couple of years back. His response: “Please don’t make me cry. Nigeria has no leader.”
Don’t you feel like crying too at such comment? A country of about 160 million people, blessed with great natural and human resources, yet we have no leader. Sad. Quite sad.
Mr. Herman Cohen, one time United States Assistant Secretary’ of State for Africa, also had this to say about leadership in our country: “Nigerian leadership since 1999 has been disappointing.”
This kind of comment breaks one’s hearts. But the regrettable thing is that the comments are true.
But should we then stay in the valley of sorrow and despondency- bemoaning Nigeria’s fate forever? For 52 years, we have been lamenting. What then is the way forward? That is why I am glad that the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, is part of the search for solution, through a forum like this.
General Ibrahim Babangida in his 27th independence speech, in 1987, noted that his regime was in agreement with the principle that a leader who wishes to convert the people must commune with them. Such leaders, he noted, however, needs rebirth. They must themselves undergo a new mode of existence as well as share the same experience with the people.
Having established that leadership is a problem in our country, my approach in this presentation will be to look at the various definitions of leadership, and apply them to the Nigerian condition, and proffer solutions to the leadership problem.
DEFINITIONS OF LEADERSHIP
Robert K. Greendeaf in his book “The servant as a leader’ noted that “foresight is the ‘lead’ that the leader has, once he loses this lead and events start to force his hand, he is a leader in name only. He is not leading, he is reacting to immediate events and he probably will not remain for long as the leader.”
Also, James A. Autry, in his book. ‘The Servant Leader’, has this to say: “Leadership is not about controlling people. It is about caring for people and being a useful resource for people… Leadership is not about being boss, it is about being present for people and building a community at work… Leadership requires love. It is a calling, not just a job but a calling.”
Sometime in this country, we had a president who called himself a servant leader. Yes, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had a good vision, a good approach to leadership in Nigeria. He wanted to be a servant leader, somebody who will love Nigerians, and serve them with all his might. But there was a problem. His health. If my good friend, Umaru Yar’Adua had been healthier, he would have served Nigeria very creditably. But he died in office, and we are still where we are today, groping for direction, like the children of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years.
General John J. Pershing of the U.S Army, describes leadership this way: “A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary, an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.”
This shows that everything is about leadership. Even if the ‘followership’ has problems, is weak, reluctant or uncooperative, a good leader can marshal them out of stupor and lethargy. Sadly, we have not seen much of this in Nigeria.
Let me quote Professor Achebe again, in his treatise on leadership: “Leadership is a sacred trust like the priesthood in civilized humane religions. No one gets into it lightly or unadvisedly, because it demands qualities of mind and discipline of body. Anyone who offers himself or herself or is offered to society for leadership must be aware of the unusually high demands of the role, and should, if in any doubt whatsoever, firmly refuse the promptings.”
Now I consider this quite weighty and thought provoking. Leadership is a sacred trust, just like the priesthood. In other words, you hold leadership at the behest of the people. Without the people’s trust and support, you lose the moral right to be a leader. Why then do our leaders roll out cocktails of anti- people policies, particularly in a democracy? Leaders must listen to the people, engage with them, and formulate policies that will promote their wellbeing. Otherwise, such leaders betray the sacred trust of their offices and position.
Again, Prof Achebe says no one gets into leadership lightly or unadvisedly, because it demands qualities of mind and discipline of body. In other words, leadership is something you plan for, you get groomed for, and consciously go into. But in Nigeria, we see that such is not largely the case. Even when some of us tried to groom successors, we discovered that we were grooming monsters that were willing to kick us out of office before they learn the qualities of leadership. Let’s consider some of our past and present leaders, and how they ascended into office.
In 1966, the military struck through Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, and some other young military officers. At the end of it all, they could not seize the reins of power. It was Major-General J.T.U. Aguiyi-lronsi who became head of state. Did he prepare for power? No. It was just thrust on him by fate.
In 1976, the military struck again, through Lt. Col. Buka Sukar Dimka, and the head of state, the charismatic and inspiring Murtala Muhammed, was assassinated. The then Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, became head of state. Was he ready for the responsibility? No. In fact, according to Gen. T. Y. Danjuma, the then Chief of Army Staff, Obasanjo had to both be cajoled and threatened, before he accepted the responsibility of being head of state.
In 1979, Alhaji Shehu Shagari wanted to just be a senator. He ended as president, unprepared for the big task.
Chief Ernest Shonekan was a corporate chieftain al the UAC. Ruling Nigeria was the farthest thing from his mind. In 1993, he was drafted into office as leader of the Interim National Government (ING).
In 1999, Olusegun Obasanjo had just returned from prison, when he was drafted into leadership again. I remember he said: “how many ‘P’s do you want to make out of me? I have been President, I have been Prisoner, yet you want me to be President again.” Obasanjo ruled for 8 years, despite not being prepared to be president initially and even planned for a third term.
And, my friend, Umaru Yar’Adua? He had been governor in Katsina for 8 years, and according to him, he was preparing to go back to the classroom to teach Chemistry. Suddenly he was drafted to be president.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had become Bayelsa State governor when his former principal, D.S.P Alamieyeseigha was impeached. All he wanted in 2007 was to get a full term in office as governor. But he was drafted to be Vice President, and within three years, had become president. Why does Nigeria get reluctant leaders? Is this country cursed or jinxed? Why do those who scrupulously prepare for leadership never get it? We know of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, “the best president we never had.” We know of Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, the man who wanted us to bid farewell to poverty. We know of many others who had prepared and groomed themselves for leadership. They never got it. But the reluctant ones get shoved into office and power. What is the matter with Nigeria? Researchers in our academia, please help look into this, and tell us what the problem is.
The grand old African icon, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, says of leadership: “Lead from the front – but don’t leave your base behind.” Again, Mandela says, “Quitting is leading too.”
Quitting is leading. Sadly, many African leaders do not appreciate and understand this. One of Mandela’s greatest legacies today, is the fact that he left just after one term. It has positioned him as a globally respected icon. But what do we get in Africa, particularly in Nigeria? Attempt to subvert the constitution, and sit tight in office. At great cost, we fought the attempt by Obasanjo to extend his term in office beyond 2007, after he had fulfilled the constitutionally prescribed maximum of two terms, not minding the fact that he had told Nigerians in his first independence speech as a civilian president in 1999, that “Political leaders, from the President to the lowest local government councilor, are invested with immense power. That power can be, and is often abused. It is the quality of compassion that imposes limits on the powerful, and compels them to realize that leadership that is not selfless service is hollow and not of God.” Till today, some of us are still paying heavy price in terms of economic losses, for stopping him from getting a third term.
We have also had sit tight rulers in other African countries, like Togo (Gnassingbe Eyadema), in Cameroon (first Ahamdu Ahidjo, now Paul Biya), in Gabon (Omar Bongo), in Zaire (Mobutu Sese Seko), in Libya (Muamar Qaddafi), and in many other countries. Why do they never learn the Mandela lesson?
“Quitting is leading too.” If you find yourself incapable of discharging the duties and responsibilities of your office, then quit. If the entire country is complaining about your tenure in office, quit. Throw in the towel. If the country is about to break into pieces under you, bow out gracefully. We must learn to quit when we are unable to discharge the trust, which leadership is. Quitting is leading too, according to Mandela.
In this great citadel of learning, I want to talk my heart out, but I’m constrained by time. However, permit me to quote some other notable experts on leadership, so that we might draw inspiration from them for our country:
Peter Drucker, in the forward to the Drucker Foundation’s “The Leader of the Future” sums up leadership this way: “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers.” To gain followers requires influence.
John C Maxwell, in “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” sums up his definition of leadership this way: “Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” This moves beyond defining the leader, to looking at the ability of the leader to influence others.
Warren Bennis’ definition of leadership is focused much more on the individual capability of the leader: “Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential.”
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester: For the purposes of the Leadership Development Process of the Diocese of Rochester, their leadership definition is “the process of influencing the behavior of other people toward group goals in a way that fully respects their freedom.”
Final words
I must not conclude without quoting a former House of Representatives member, and former two-time governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, on leadership. In the book, “Orji Kalu: Leadership Lessons From A Master Strategist” yours truly is quoted this way: “In leadership, you can’t always run faster than the people you are leading… While a good leader should not be led by the people, he also must not ignore the people. There must always be a meeting point… I see leadership as both inborn and acquired through some form of tutelage or through experience. You can be born a leader. You can also be groomed as a leader.”
Again General Ibrahim Babangida in his 31st independence speech in 1991, noted that “We believe and do affirm that what the nation requires is a leadership that recognizes the problems at the roots of our national life; a leadership which decides to risk its will and reputation to solving these problems. We hold firmly to the belief that our Nigeria of tomorrow is precious enough for us to sacrifice our today.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, Moses groomed Joshua as a leader. Paul groomed Timothy. Jesus groomed the apostles. But sadly, many of our leaders in Nigeria are never groomed. They just suddenly find themselves in power, and begin to grope in the dark. That is the problem with Nigeria.
Leadership is making a difference. It is treating people right. It is recreating yourself, accepting responsibility, matching your words with action. Leadership involves having a clear direction, being a Chief Strategist, the ability to inspire hope, and being the Chief Servant.
Leadership is integrity, it is creating a positive image, it is having the right positive attitude. It is also about grooming people, and developing your successor. As it is said, there is no success without a successor. Nigeria currently has problem with many of these requirements on leadership. But we should not lose hope. Better days will come. We will get out of the wilderness; we will get to our Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. When we get leadership right, we will also get Nigeria right. The day will come. And we hope it will be soon.
We can have good leaders, if we so want. The truth about the life we live today is what Jimmy Cliff sang in one of his songs: “You can make it if you really want, but you must try, try and try, you will succeed at last.”
I thank you all for listening.
. Being a paper presented by Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, former Abia State Governor, at the Professor U. A. Ijalaye Annual Lecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University on September 20, 2012.
The Sun
Nigeria’s monthly phone calls to hit N106bn – Investigation
By BISI OLALEYE
Nigeria’s telecommunications subscribers monthly expenditure on mobile phone calls, according to checks, would soon hit a whopping N106.1 billion by the end of December, 2012. The call expenditure forecast is a conservative calculation based on the current industry Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and the projection by experts in the industry that stipulated that active telecoms subscribers would have grown higher than what the telecoms companies currently have on their respective networks.
Former Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe, has predicted during the Nigerian Telecoms Awards, organized by Logica Group recently, that active telephone subscriptions in the country would surpass 105 million in the next three months, including December 2012. However, according to the latest statistics for the month of July 2012, released by the NCC, there are about 103 million telecoms subscribers currently on all the telecoms networks in the country.
While the industry ARPU in Nigeria was estimated at around N1,011, according to the Business Monitor International Limited (BMI), and subscriber base of 103 million in the month of July, the outgoings by Nigerian subscribers in July was conservatively valued at N104 billion monthly. ARPU is the financial benchmark used globally by telecoms companies to measure the average monthly or yearly revenue generated from an average subscriber. The expenditure increased from N100 billion in January 2012 when active industry subscriber base was estimated at 99 million by the NCC, to reach N104 billion in seven months after into the month of July when subscriber base hit 103 million.
With the industry projection by Ndukwe on the industry records,telcos will have 105 million active telecoms subscribers by the end of December, 2012, and with industry ARPU of N1,011, Nigerians subscribers are billed to spend an average of N106 billion monthly. The projected expenditure is also equivalent to the average monthly revenue from phone calls, which will accrue to the telecoms firms, including the Global System for Mobile Communications networks such as MTN, Globacom, Airtel, Etisalat; the Code Division Multiple Access operators of Visafone, Capcom (MultiLinks , Starcoms), dormant Zoom Mobile, as well as the fixed line operators.
Elaborating on the boom in subscriber growth since 2011 telecoms deregulation that was undertaken by the Federal Government, Ndukwe said no one was in a position to predict in those early days of GSM licensing, the full potential of the market and the speed at which the Nigerian telecom network would grow. However, he stressed that, “Today, the figure for active subscribers in the mobile networks is around 100 million lines and is likely to surpass 105 million by end of December 2012. “Nigeria has transited from what I described as the telecommunications dark ages before 2000 to a telecommunication revolution age that has opened up new possibilities and frontiers across our political social and economic landscape."
The Sun
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