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Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, storms out on NANS

By
Stanley Alieke
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The highlight of this week has been the act of the honorable minister of Education Mr. Adamu Adamu angrily walking out on National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) delegates.

On Monday, Adamu Adamu, the honorable minister of education stormed out of a meeting with the students’ representatives under the auspices of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) led by the union president, Mr. Sunday Asefon, over the ongoing and never ending strikes by Association of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which has been distorting academic activities in universities and other higher institutions.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had, on February 14, this year again embarked on a one-month warning strike (after which they threatened that they may  take it to  longer time) if the government don’t meet their demands; the government had in so many instances failed to honor the contract they have entered with the university staff union.

Students have been protesting and blocking major roads in different states and different  parts of the country. On Monday, the students decided to take the protest to the federal capital territory and blocked major roads in the city and stormed the Ministry of Education and also the National Assembly to register their displeasures to the ministry and the  law makers

In continuation of the protest, the students summoned the Honorable Minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu to an impromptu press conference with the minister and other high ranking officers in the ministry of education.

The students delegate leader who is the president of NANS, Mr. Sunday Asefon, boldly spoke to the Honorable minister and made known the demands of the students union and called for immediate end of the ongoing strike of the university lecturers. The National president of the student body also accused the Minister of sending his son abroad to study while he let the Nigerian schools to fall out of shape.

These accusations by the National President that the Minster sends his children to foreign schools might have gotten the Honorable minister angry.

The minister while reacting to the statements of the National  president of NANS,  had chided the union that instead of coming protest at the ministry and the federal Capital Territory the students should have addressed their grievance with their lecturers in their respective institutions; The Minister said “instead of coming here to protest you should have address your grievances with your lecturers, Perhaps the only point that you made that is even worthy of attention is that you said students should be involved in this (discussion) and I think it’s probably a good thing, and that is only what I will take away from here”.

After making these comments, the honorable minister angrily stormed out of the meeting. It can only be assumed that the minister felt insulted over the tune the national president of NANS had used in addressing him and accusing him of sending his children abroad to study while he let Nigerian institutions of  learning to  collapse.

The minister feeling insulted that he was accused of sending his children to school abroad is quite funny because Nigerian leaders right from the president down to the least of them have their children schooling abroad, that is while it was widely celebrated when the governor of Kaduna state, Governor El-rufai  posted that he took his last son to enroll him in a public school in the state.

This act was deemed as just a publicity stunt by the Governor to score some cheap political goals as he quickly and secretly took the son out of the school after the publicity and claimed that kidnappers were targeting to abduct the son from the school.

Wishing Mr. President A Great State of the Union Address

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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Please join me to wish Mr. President a great State of the Union address tonight. When the world said “Bring In Dependable, Experienced Nation-Builder”, we got BIDEN.  I voted Biden-?Harris for one thing as I have noted here many times: advancing educational equity.

Largely, if you live in a very poor area in America, you will likely attend a poorly funded public school. Why is that so? Real estate taxes which are collected in districts are used to fund public schools. So, if you live in a place with many mansions, the schools will have more money. The implication is this: where you live determines many things about your education and potential success in life!

“ Dramatically unequal funding between school districts means some children learn in gleaming new classrooms, while students just down the road navigate unsafe and rundown facilities. Amid a nationwide teacher shortage, high-poverty school districts struggle to attract certified staff and experienced educators. And students of color and children with disabilities face disproportionately high rates of school discipline that removes them from the classroom, with lasting consequences.” Whitehouse publication 

Mr President went to work to fix this institutionalized paralysis, and is uplifting many minorities and for that, he is delivering as promised. Of course, there are challenges but we’re confident that he will fix all those issues.

As I wish Biden a great moment this evening, I also wish President Buhari as he travels to London for medicals a good trip: Buhari  will “proceed to London for routine medical checks that will last for a maximum of two weeks.”

Yet, the news that he is not transmuting power to his deputy, Prof Osinbajo, as he leaves the nation, is classless. We need to overgrow these demons in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, is set to travel out of the country for about two weeks, largely for personal health treatment, but has refused to transfer power to his deputy on an interim basis as constitutionally expected.

Mr Buhari’s office announced Tuesday that the president will depart Nigeria for Kenya on a three-day official visit after which he will “proceed to London for routine medical checks that will last for a maximum of two weeks.”

The Nigerian constitution provides that when the president is going on vacation or is unable to discharge the functions of his office, he will notify the National Assembly and temporarily transfer power to his deputy.

“WHENEVER the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he SHALL transmit a written declaration to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the house of representatives to that effect, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, the Vice-President shall perform the functions of the President as Acting President,” Section 145(1)(2) of the Nigerian Constitution states.

The Amazing Vision of InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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In 2019, in the beautiful city of Kampala, Uganda, Africa’s fintech pioneer and giant, Interswitch, honoured me with a special award during the Africa Fintech Network festival. It was a great experience: I saw a truly pan-African brand as I stepped out with the company’s flag flying high. Yes, Interswitch, birthed in Nigeria, was towering high in the Ugandan skyline.

But there is something more amazing which I want to commend Interswitch on today: the InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition which I just read about.

The company has been encouraging interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) through science competitions in our secondary schools. After a 13-week run on both terrestrial and domestic television stations, a winner is chosen, and is awarded N7.5 million in scholarships. More than 18,000 Nigerian students participated at the start of the 3rd edition which ended last week. According to the company, it awarded more than N12.5 million in scholarships and prizes. And that a Kenyan version – InterswitchSPAK  Kenya – received the same level of success in the just concluded second edition.

As governments struggle with budgets across Africa, I expect tech companies to see a higher purpose in their communities: seed and nurture the future by supporting our young people. Competitions like this would be catalytic to help kids dream. Interswitch noted that past winners remain in school even as they are more energized on the promises of technology.

Many years ago, the first time I ever travelled out of Ovim (Abia State, Nigeria), it was to represent my school at the state’s JETS (Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists) competition. Yes, it was science that took me to see a big city! These winners will never forget how science got them to the big stage, with scholarships to add.

This is the fact: the African tech ecosystem can only be sustainable if we support more young people into tech. The future of nations will be anchored on the technology and science of nations. So, if we can get students enticed early, we can predict the future better, because we will create the future. To the winners, congratulations. To Interswitch, well done on the initiative: SPAK the future indeed.

The Africa Fintech Network honored Ndubuisi Ekekwe in Kampala, Uganda.
Ndubuisi Ekekwe with Interswitch executive in Uganda

Federal Government Considers Mandatory Savings Scheme For Nigerians

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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Just recently, the federal government of Nigeria is considering making savings compulsory for Nigerians and introducing new inflation-resistant investment products that will incentivize savings. The scheme will be strictly for Nigerians between the age of 18 – 50 years, as the government seeks ways of mobilizing funds to boost the national economy. However, the working group, displeased with this initiative, presented a report to the Minister of finance, budget, and national planning advising the government to desist from making it mandatory for corporate bodies to save.

Dr. Ore Sofekun, CEO foothold advisors, who presented the report on behalf of the committee chairman, Mr. Fola Adeola, said implementing mandatory national savings was feasible but noted that it has to be driven by incentives, primarily tax. According to the Federal Government, they stated that the absence of inflation-resistant savings and investments products has been identified as one of the driving forces behind the continuous emergence of Ponzi schemes and other unsafe products with dubious claims to high returns.

The proposed national savings scheme is conceived as an open-ended scheme, applicable to various categories of Nigerians with various investment products that provide depth and variety for risk levels. As an open-ended scheme, the savings scheme is proposed to allow anyone to continuously invest through the scheme. According to the government, the proposed savings scheme has been structured in a way that loopholes and disincentives will be properly addressed, also providing reasonable rationales for the average Nigerian to embrace the scheme.

The actual goal of the scheme is to incentivize the population to save, have access to various savings-investment products, and provide a pool of funds to finance capital investments. According to the minister of Finance, budget, and national planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, she stated that savings is very important as it aids in capital formation and sustainable investment, which are critical success factors for harnessing the true growth potential of any economy.

Seeing reactions from Nigerians on Social media, I can deduce that this initiative is heavily frowned at, and doesn’t sit well with them. Considering the high cost of things in the country, the minimum wage alone does not even cover the cost of feeding for a lot of Nigerians. Pelting out such initiative seems out of place. The scheme is seen as ridiculous because a third of Nigerians are unemployed and therefore the government saying that the scheme will be a tool to boost the country’s economy seems like a misplaced priority.

Looking at these mandatory schemes mulled out by the government, I have got two questions that have been on my mind.

  1.  If the government can mismanage and borrow from its pension funds, how can we count on them to regulate private funds effectively?
  2. If the government regulates the scheme, won’t they eventually end up either controlling or bailing out these funds?

Considering the high level of corruption and lack of transparency the government has shown over the years, it will be very difficult for the citizens to entrust their savings to a government that has shown gross incompetence for the past years. Of course, some working-class Nigerians save, but I don’t think they would ever want to consider the government mandatory savings scheme as an option. Also looking at the meager pay a large majority of Nigerians earn, savings will be very impossible, as the funds are not even enough to cater for certain basic needs.

Amidst the high cost of living, without the increase of minimum wage, the savings scheme shouldn’t even be considered, but jettisoned. This is a case of the government putting the cart before the horse. The needs of the people have not properly been met, yet they expect the same people to save. It is not possible! Considering the fact that China has refused to give Nigeria loan, one can only imagine if this initiative is a strategy mapped out to extort helpless Nigerians in the guise of a mandatory savings scheme.

Entrusting one’s hard-earned money all in the name of savings to a country that constantly borrows is very unsafe.

Jettisoning All Forms Of Discrimination As The World Marks Zero Discrimination Day

By
Fred Nwaozor
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1st of March annually, the global community marks World Day of Zero Discrimination. This signifies that, today, the world is commemorating the 2022 edition of the laudable event.

The Zero Discrimination Day is an annual worldwide event that promotes diversity and recognizes that everyone counts. The first commemoration of the Day took place on March 1, 2014 by the effort as well as the mandate of the United Nations (UN).

The celebration came in consequence to the launch of Zero Discrimination Campaign on World AIDS Day in December 2013 by the UNAIDS – the UN arm on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Discrimination is simply the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things. It can also be referred to as the practice of treating one person/thing or group of persons/things less fairly or less well than other persons, things or groups, as the case may be.

This biased behaviour known as ‘discrimination’, which is an action that denies social participation or human rights, has in the recent times caused a severe harm or succeeded in placing millions of lives across the globe in a state of jeopardy or agony.

Indeed, it has made several mindsets to be preoccupied with skepticism when it calls for one seeking for what he/she deserves, especially when the bearer of the said mindset considers him/herself as a less-privileged.

Discrimination, which is widely recognized by the civil society as an inhuman behaviour/act, could be as a result of such various reasons or factors as gender, language, ethnicity, race, deformity, health condition, age, marital status, religion, retaliation/revenge, educational background, and social status, among others.

For instance, in a political terrain especially in a less-civilized country like Nigeria, someone might be discriminated against by others simply because the person is a woman or belongs to the womenfolk. On the other hand, someone may be denied a job or employment opportunity because he/she is too young or old for the job, or due to his/her ethnic or religious affiliation.

In the same vein, a person or group stands the chances of missing a certain opportunity as a result of their marital status, class or racial heritage.

More so, discrimination might be experienced by someone or a group of persons owing to their educational background even if they are mentally and intellectually qualified to fit in the cycle, or simply in order to punish them for what their predecessors or parents as the case may be, did to the potential benefactor sometime ago. This aspect, which is known as retaliation, is not just unreasonable but childish.

Recently, the most devastating form of discrimination experienced by people or some members of the public is in the case where the applicant or seeker is physically challenged or suffering from a certain illness such as HIV/AIDS, hypertension, diabetes, or even tuberculosis that is curable. This aspect of discrimination, which is globally addressed as ‘stigmatization’, has called for the concern of various international societies including the UN.

It’s no longer news that several prospective students, particularly of private-owned institutions, had been deprived of admission spaces because they are sufferers of any of the aforementioned diseases, or are suffering from one form of deformity or the other.

Most times, it doesn’t even have to do with when the carrier or the affected person is seeking for a favour, contract or job as the case may be; in some quarters, he may not be allowed to enroll for membership in any social group he is meant to belong to.

Such an intimidating or humiliating act, as outlined above, is liable to cause the death of the affected person, or it could even make him/her become violent or a monster in the society he/she belongs to.

To be realistic, the only reasonable or acceptable way someone could be discriminated or denied of his or her right, privilege or opportunity in any society, is in a situation where the person is affiliated to a certain vice or illicit social activity, to include robbery, cultism, rape, drug/human trafficking, prostitution, admission racketeering, examination malpractices, and what have you.

Other than these or any other related act, anyone in any given society or country has the right or privilege to be treated equally like others, since he/she is a bona-fide citizen of the said country or society.

In view of this obvious fact, there is a compelling need for every right thinking individual across the globe to ensure that his or her quota as regards fighting this scourge is immensely contributed. On this note, I call on all concerned bodies or authorities to intensify their awareness crusade regarding total elimination of this societal menace that has eaten deep in our bone marrow.

As the global community marks the annual World Day of Zero Discrimination, I enjoin the entire members of the Nigeria’s legislative arm to enact a strict and stiff law that would bring a holistic end to any form of discrimination taking place in the country at large.

The teeming members of the public are also expected to assist in the proper implementation of the proposed law by ensuring that anyone around them that indulges in the uncalled and nauseous act is brought to book without much ado.  

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