The Insider(13): My Best Man of The Year (2016)

By

Salim I. Hassan

To me, being me a man of full freedom of choice and expression, without a slight intent to appease or annoy anyone, ain’t comprising anyone’s view, my Best Man Award of the 2016 year is not as you pick it. It cannot be, and never be, the way you thought it. Though I have lovers and loved ones, haters and hated ones, followers and followed ones, parents, wives and sons……I have intellectuals, writers, ideologues, leaders and scholars who deserve my award for one reason or the other, I can humbly ask them to take their eyes from it, bypassing them and taking it to the person in the right place and in the right time.

If I so wish I can give it to some of my critics who are able to change any of my worldview with the power of proof and logic (a hard thing to get), for whimsical, frivolous, wishful and baseless points can never work in me. All previous attempts to siphon one have failed.

May Allah bless my parent for bringing me up and safeguarding my person from childhood to adulthood despite stress, anxiety and ups and downs of life. They lead my person in life and all of my successes are by-product of their relentless effort. Thank you Mum and Dad, for you placed me in the right way of life, Islam the best ever choice of religion you can make. Oh My Parents! Permit me to eschew this award from you only for this time alone.  

 To my wife, thank you and may Allah bless as you keep on showering me with your unlimited truly sincere love, care, obedience and compassion. May Allah bless you again for she married me when I was in abject destitute and in spite of many of her proposing tycoons. Oh My Wife! Permit me to eschew this Award from you only for this time alone, though you deserve it more than 100%. 

To all my friends, those that have offered and still offering goodness to me, many of which I cannot forget. Let me take it away from you. I am still with you, appreciating your kindness and extra care in my relation with you, taking none of you a pariah.  

My this year Award, I need to take it to someone that I can put my credence in him, to save me, to save my people, religion, nation, country, from the precipice of perish, destruction and annihilation, noting God is the first and final Saviour.  Who that man is and what his existence meant to Nigerians?

He is him of his own word whose action is always consistent with his policy and ideology……….the one that we should put our credence in him as Buharism fails.  Although he must go by his destiny, in the parlance of empirical life discourse we can assume he wrongfully fall into the unwanted position of administration when we need one of his caliber in the nation politics and to lead the nation.

He is a vibrant ‘Mutafanni’ intellectual, a Banker, an administrator, a leader and a scholar indeed. Bilingual Speaker and writer, versatile in knowledge, an authority in Shari’ah, economy and finance.

 The one who knows how to influence, motivate and create action point among those under him and whosoever follows him. The defender and saviour of Shariah in the 1999 debate who had challenged and defeated the enemies throughout the media. He is the formidable defender of Safiya Hussein who saved her from the erratic decision of death penalty of the shari’ah court. He is that the only one whom the southerners are hitherto, vying the northerners over him…how they wish he is one of them and not of Hausa/Fulanis.

He is the only Hausa personality from the North that became the C.E.O (Chief Executive Officer) of First Bank since its establishment in 1894. He is indeed the greatest Reformer and Saviour of Banking industry in Nigeria.  He is the only Hat-trick Winner of the Best Africa Central Bank Governor of the Year” (2013 being the last).

He should be in politics, and from politics to presidency, but his destiny inscribed Kingship in his abstract life and now a visible reality in him.

The current His Royal Highness , the Emir of Kano Alh. Mal. Sunusi Lamido Sunusi, is the man, the man of his own word, and always remain unshakeable no matter the hatred, animosity and disparages. The revealer of truth is he even before the most oppressive regime. His time of emirship recalls me the era of the esteemed companions and their successors, the time when the leader was the Imam in the Muslim mosque, the one who offers sermon and preaches.  We now have someone of their caliber amidst us. He can lead and save the nation from its annihilation. His only advice if acted upon by the current regime can save the economy of the nation. How I wish him to become our President! Now if Buharism fails (and I don’t want) who next………………..My   Man is far away from you. You should better look for alternative…… Atiku, Bola tinubu, Sule Lamido, Kwankwaso or who else………

The Insider(12)- "CHINA: THE BEST COUNTRY OF THE YEAR (2016)"

By: Salim I. Hassan

CHINA! Rich People Strong Nation. Perhaps it is the only country that has no official National Motto or Slogan.

“China, one of the poorest countries in the world three decades ago, with a GDP per capita of only US$165 (381 RMB or Chinese Yuan) in 1978, is now the world’s second largest economy, with annual growth rates averaging 9% over the past 30 years, and GDP per capita of US$6,807 (41,908 RMB) in 2013. Rapid economic growth is projected to continue, though at a lower rate, but disparities among regions and population groups are large and widening”.

China, the “World’s Factory, is the only nation that has lifted more than 500 million people out of poverty since 1978, creating one of the largest economic miracles in the later 20th century. A nation where people with 25% personal saving rate, rarely suffer from personal bankruptcies or foreclosures.  The huge saving by Chinese people have created financial security for many Chinese families.

Imagine how successful they are within 3 decades only considering the fact they are the poorest in the world before these decades. That is not magic, though beyond the capacity of all nations. This is China and this is how the analysts described it. I am not exaggerating please. Am I alone in extolling this nation? No! Experts have already done it and are still doing it. Think of Dr. Dambisa Moyo, a global economist and author, who analyzes the macroeconomy and international affairs, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, regards China as “new idol for emerging economies.” Thomas Friedman, an American journalist, author, and three time Pulitzer Prize winner who has written extensively on foreign affairs, global trade, the Middle East, and globalization and  currently a weekly columnist for The New York Times had once stated in intoxicant admiration of China for its ability to get things done quickly by saying “what if we could just be China for one day?”, just to mention few. Let me also play this tune how I wish Nigeria can just be a China for 4yrs alone? There will be a great success and achievement indeed!

This nation has managed a difficult transition from a lonely communist nation, to a largely open, economic driven nation, all without a bit falling into crisis and turmoil.  Manzur Alam writes that “Within a few years China embarked on a path of economic growth that resulted in raising the standard of living of the average Chinese by more than 20 times within three decades. This exceptionally high and sustained economic growth catapulted the size of China’s economy to the second position after it overtook Japan in 2010. If the current trend continues, China will overtake the US as the largest economy in the year 2028”.

So what are the secrets or drivers behind CHINA’s extraordinary success? Trust me if I say Knowledge! Knowledge is the primary driver while other factors are secondary.   

“SEEK KNOWLEDGE EVEN IF IT TAKES YOU CHINA”. This is a well-known Hadith of the Rasul (s.a.w) in which emphasis was exerted in seeking knowledge by the Muslims no matter far away the place is. A great civilization like China, an ancient repository of knowledge had been and remains a great one with a rich economy and superior technology. When I read its history of civilization, its useful cultures, and its modern development policies from introduction of market mechanism to modern technology and management from the west I really became captivated by its beautiful strategy of developmental goals and management. Modern civilization cannot be realized or even be imagined without books written on paper, which is a Chinese invention.

It is beyond any doubt that China is a land of not only knowledge but knowledge and act. It has been consecutively ranked the 1^st in 2009 and 2012 PISA international student assessment. It educates 7 million university graduates annually, 40% with engineering and science degrees. And it is suggested that Chinese scientists and engineers are behind the rapid move in China’s technological advancements and economic growth as written in a New York Times article titled: “Next made-in-China boom: college graduates.” It is also recorded that in America itself Chinese educated immigrants are the major driving forces in high technological and engineering industries. Thanks to Chinese people who proved wrong the Western only formula for development as dictated to world nations.

Next to education, Chinese people are also major drivers of China’s success. Chinese people, argues Yukong Zhao (the author of the book "The Chinese Secrets for Success: Five Inspiring Confucian Values.), are the true creator of China’s economic success and the great culture that shapes their characteristics: ambitious, hardworking, thrifty, caring for their families and relentlessly pursuing good education and success, emphasizing that  there are more than 40 Chinese slogans or phrases, to encourage children and adults to have big dream for their future. These motivate Chinese people to study diligently and work hard.

African, Asian and Middle East (Muslim) nation must appreciate the fact that national development and progress is by no means only possible with the imitation of the Western Capitalist policy.  Manzur Alam Tipu also postulates that “The spectacular success of such a large country like China surprised the pundits, because the Chinese experience of economic development ran counter to conventional wisdom. Development experts used to believe that economic development could only occur through a process summarized by the so-called “Washington Consensus.” The IMF, the World Bank, and the US Treasury Department used to prescribe a single formula to crisis-wrecked countries. They used to demand of countries needing assistance that if they wished to come out of poverty and crisis they would have to deregulate, privatize, and limit the government’s role in the economy. The Chinese experience shows that a strong, efficient and dedicated government may be more effective than the free market alone for achieving economic development with more equitable distribution”.  We should know that It is not by means of ideas imported or imposed that a nation can develop; self-preservation and safeguarding national interest shall be the final yardstick for measuring your society’s destiny.

China, after throwing communism to the dustbin of history, it adopt the three Ps policy to attain absolute independence and development, namely preservation, prosperity, and power. By Preservation they mean protecting of their territorial integrity and maintaining internal stability. By  ‘Prosperity’ they mean getting to a level of Rich People and Strong Nation. Finally, Power means the capacity to achieve the first two goals i.e Preservation and Prosperity. All with this philosophy China aims to have a strong military or soft power to create or maintain a world that is suitable for a stable and prosperous China. And now before we can know it this is a reality of today’s China, Rich People and Strong Nation. A nation where people with 25% personal saving rate, rarely suffer from personal bankruptcies or foreclosures.  The huge saving by Chinese people have created financial security for many Chinese families.

Yukong Zhao wrote in his article that: “In 1979, Herman Kahn, the world-famous futurist, predicted, ‘the Confucian ethic—the creation of dedicated, motivated, responsible, and educated individuals and the enhanced sense of commitment, organizational identity, and loyalty to various institutions—will result in all the neo-Confucian societies having at least potentially higher growth rates than other cultures.’   In 1980, Roderick MacFarquhar, the world-renowned China expert and Harvard Professor declared: ‘That ideology [Confucianism] is as important to the rise of the east Asian hyper-growth economies as the conjunction of Protestantism and the rise of capitalism in the West.’

In conclusion, China has no replica in its type of development and do not copy any of Western system of administration, and yet it is ranked 2^nd among best world economy which is able to attain within 30yrs of struggle. It sprang up from poorest to richest nation.  In his book, writes Alam Tipu, The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel Huntington suggested that the US should continue to prop up the military industrial complex to prepare for a violent “civilizational” clash against a Confucian-Islamic alliance. How did he come to such an astonishing conclusion about a belligerent anti-west alliance taking shape when there is no ideological, religious, or cultural affinity between communist-cum-free market China and Muslim countries? He argued that both China and Muslim countries share grievances against the West’s colonial past and Western dominance of the present world order. Further, Muslim countries such as Pakistan and Iran have engaged in extensive cooperation with China.

We should all learn from China experience of development so that we can be lifted up……… 

                                                                   

The Insider(11)- Nigeria: A Sceptical Democracy!

 By

Salim I. Hassan (2011)

“….Note: Written in 2011 but still relevant; however with little improvement in Nigerian situation analysis especially via harnessing the power of the masses to impose their popular votes in last National Election. …….”

Nigeria is on the top list countries that are skeptically democratic – a pseudo-democracy nation. Generally, democracy, wherever one finds it is bad, but a little good in exceptional cases. The degree of its goodness or badness is based on the level of leaders’ justice, patriotism and humanitarianism. Basing our argument on this logic, and by looking at western developed countries, we can see that democracy is thriving and auguring well for the people. However, this does not mean that people’s rights, freedoms, and wills are not curtailed or violated by Western governments.

But, democracy in Nigeria has become a mean of peaceful clampdown upon the peoples’ right, will, and freedom. Although democracy claims itself as a government representing the will of all, or a majority of the people, yet it fails to make this a reality in Nigeria. It is a true reality that people’s rights, freedom, and interests are not safeguarded by the elected leaders, but only the interests and wills of the elites. Thus, the notion: “Democracy is a freedom for people to choose their ‘tyrants’” has become a typical reality in Nigeria.

What is the reality of democracy in practice in Nigeria? Our political system is tightly controlled by the elites: that those with money manipulate the system to their advantages. The masses are simply used as nonsensical voters which serve as legitimate ‘ticket’ by those elites to access Nigerian ‘sweet’ crude oil. Even if when the leader is elected from among the ‘lower class citizens’ (poor) the elites will brainwash and compel him into serving their interests in which he may also has a huge share. Now multinational aspirants (among the elites) at various levels, manipulate the system so that their interests are protected and advanced. People are asked to choose between the same set of elites that represent elite interests, not those of the masses. This can be compared to group of rats being asked to choose between different colors of cats to rule them: black, white, red, brown or other, all of which (despite of disparities in colour) are predators, says a political analyst.

To me, I can personally  elect neither ‘A²’ nor ‘IB²’ even if they were to come out to contest; for they would just come out ravenously ‘hungry’ for power so as to add up to their already illegal wealth from Nigerian ‘sweet’ crude. IB² for instance, is very vocal in expressing his zeal to contest; nevertheless he cannot do a damn thing for the nation, supposed he was elected.  A leader that had unnecessarily failed before to transform the nation can never do it now. Perhaps he is being backed by international power. The fact that a person that had run away immediately after their tenure (only back recently to get more from ‘sweet’ crude) to live abroad while the nation is in political malaises indicates that he has no positive attitude towards the nation and its citizens. A sensible citizen will never have a confidence in such kind of man let alone of supporting him or his party into power.

 

Democracy again, claims that people are free to choose and elect their leaders, but only tiny minority of people do so in reality. The masses are made to believe that they are free to elect their leaders whereas in reality this has already been chosen for them by the corporate elites that control the system. From the onset of primary election, only those willing to advance the interest of the elites are being ensured victory to general election. Theoretically, political parties are open to everyone but since their operations depend on money, they must be confined and their doors restricted to the wishes and interests of the rich elites. Thus, the bad leaders are always on top; the rich continues to get richer; the poor still gets poorer; and the masses must remain as they are with their imposed illusionary belief of freedom and right which are not real in practical sense. Thus, we end up in pseudo-democracy.

Likewise, political parties are controlled in such a way as to make it impossible for just, fair and moderate people among the ordinary citizens to enter to truly represent the will and interest of the people. Even if the ruler comes from among the poor masses he will soon turn subservient to the corporate elites. This is a great challenge and has become a hard nut to crack. Moreover, such a principle is unjust and must be averted to facilitate effective political revolution by the masses. Therefore, there is need for typical party of the “lower class citizens” controlled by the masses, not by the elites. As late Aminu Kano struggled to champion the cause of the majority poor masses, there is every need to have a new ‘modern Aminu Kano’ to champion the cause of the masses, for the elites are always representing their needs and interests although their pass ‘ticket’ to power comes from the masses.

In a skeptical Democracy like this, our nation can never survive economic prosperity and political development. The ‘politics of elites’ dominates political system of Nigeria, and these elites are the causatives of Nigerian plights and predicaments. The masses can be blamed only for their failure to organize by one heart to fight for their rights. If independent party is to become constitutionally approved it will be of great opportunity to the masses in defeating ‘politics of the elites’. It is true to say some majority of people gives their heart to Gen. Buhari and regard him as the only savior of the nation, yet the national wolves among the elites would never allow this giant just man (or someone of his calibre) to get into power.

 

(edit: Now Buhari has got the power and in doing his best to fix the nation. But the 3^rd paragraph above explained why he will continue to fail. The reality is that if a just leader is elected and refuses to serve the elites interest, they become torn in the flesh for him – those are commonly called Saboteurs by this government).

 
As they are simultaneously wielding this power they will never let any recognized just and rectitude giant leader to assume power for they are aware that once it happens they will perish. They will continue to wield this power illegitimately; and they will continue preserving and distributing it exclusively among their families and friends until the majority oppressed people strive energetically to fight for their right and depose the wolves from power with all strategic means.

 

A skeptical Democracy in Nigeria can be averted only if the interests and will of the masses are truly represented and protected. Thus, we can usher in politics of the masses’.

 

                                       Salimullah #Happy Independence Anniversary#

The Insider(10): LUXURIOUS DAY - I’i Duka Mubarak

 

 

By Salimullah I. Hassan 
.

(Written in 2009)

 

 

 

 

 

The happiest day and the happiest night,

We remained idyllic and carefree,

We feel so wild and so good, 

Just like one day we live this world,

Let us enjoy the goodness of this life. 

 

On the day of id we wear on our fancies,

White, green, blues and attend to the mosques,

We pray there to one God and our Lord,

Every face shines and no one is sad,

The climax of joy all we feel.

 

The good says “Good Day” is every where,

Cleaving the lips with smiling and laughs,

All feel so good, joyful and pleased,

Smiling is the message of the day,

Reaching the faces of the kins and friends.

 

The day before that day,

The night is so breezy,

Its quietness turns to noisy day,

No one could sleep for overjoy,

Chatting and chanting is the speak overnight.

 

The next day to Id we all clad in fancies,

Some go to play some go to visit,

Enjoying the day, no fracas no fight,

Victuals are coming to you wherever you go,

We take in the foods, meats and drinks.

 

The luxurious is our happiest day,

We sing and dance we laugh all the nights,

Say thanks to God say thanks to God,

Say thanks to God the worthy to serve,

The bless of Whom we long to reach.

 

 

 

The Insider(9) - The enduring utility of labels

Written in  January 2010 by one intellectual, but still relevant......

Concepts are useful tools that aid our understanding. Children learn new concepts through association with things familiar; adults learn through experiment and experience. Just as children learn not to put their hand in the fire because it burns, adults learn what is beneficial and what is detrimental to their interests. These are routine experiences of life.

 

Political life is more complicated. Not only are certain concepts used to advance a preset agenda, many concepts and ideas are deliberately distorted to achieve specific policy objectives that would otherwise not be possible.

 

In the contemporary age, the war on terror has become a useful tool to justify the West’s aggression against other people. It is enough to brand an individual or group as terrorist and use that as a license for every conceivable crime against them. While there is no agreed upon definition of terrorism, its vagueness itself is useful because it lends itself to different interpretations, all facilitating the same objective. Under the label of fighting terrorism, the West led by the US has launched wars in distant lands killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, - Syria-  and now Yemen and Iran readily come to mind as actual or potential theatres of war. Somalia, too, is on the list and if the US achieves military success in any, more countries will be targeted in the West’s inexorable drive to grab their resources.

 

Let us stay with terrorism a little longer. The dictionary defines terrorism as the “practice of using terror-inspiring methods of governing or securing political or other ends.” Based on this definition, the US and Zionist Israel qualify as leading practitioners of terrorism. The US uses extreme force and the threat of the use of force to secure compliance. In Afghanistan and Iraq, for instance, the US has used indiscriminate and disproportionate violence against civilians and bombed remote villages (in Afghanistan) under the label of fighting the Taliban. What is glossed over is that the Taliban are not in America; US forces occupy an Afghanistan that belongs to the Afghans of whom the Taliban are a part and indigenous to the land. The Taliban are resisting the foreign occupiers of their land so how can they be described as terrorists? True, their methods are primitive but that is none of America’s business. The Taliban may find — and many people in the world do — the American way of life, replete with nudity and extreme violence against women (98,000 were raped in 2008), completely unacceptable but they have not invaded America to change it. What right does the US have to invade Afghanistan thousands of miles away to impose its way of life?

Against Iran, the US is not deterred from using the same lies that were peddled to invade Iraq. Tehran is accused of being a “sponsor of terror” and of “pursuing nuclear weapons” without providing proof. None is deemed necessary. It is the label that is important. Since Zionist Israel is one of the greatest practitioners of state terrorism and its economy is underwritten by Washington, the US itself is the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world. Both the US and Israel are guilty not only of possessing nuclear weapons but also of using them. The US used nuclear weapons against Japan and depleted uranium shells in Iraq and Afghanistan. Israel possesses more than 200 nuclear weapons and has dumped nuclear waste on Palestinian lands. Israel is also guilty of war crimes during its attack on Gaza a year ago. Yet Iran is accused of sponsoring terrorism. Iran has not invaded any country in 250 years; the US has attacked other countries since 1942; Israel since 1948. So who are the terrorists?

 

When one considers the spate of Zionist-sponsored anti-Iran conferences in the US and Europe, it becomes clear that the Islamic Republic is being set up for an attack. Anti-Iran propaganda has been going on since the victory of the Islamic revolution; recently, it has become more strident. The label of terrorism and the allegation of acquiring nuclear weapons are useful tools in advancing this agenda. In the past, similar labels were used against the Soviets (the Red menace) and against resistance movements fighting US imperialism in Vietnam, Cuba and Nicaragua. The locales may have changed but the labels have remained and continue to endure, devoid of any link with reality.

 

Manipulating the public perception of reality is an integral part of the so-called war on terror.

                                                                                 by Zafar Bangash

                                                                                              (Crescent International - 2010)

The Insider (8) - HOW NIGERIA REMAINED UNDERDEVELOPED: ECONOMIC ANALYSIS IN COMPARISON WITH SOME AMERICAN CITY-STATES

California is the 6th largest economy in the world. It's economy is larger than that of France or Brazil. The little problem is that California is not a country. It is a State in the United States of America. It has little offshore oil, yet its economy is larger than States in the US that are famous for their oil reserves, like Texas. California generates much of its revenue from non-oil products. It found a way to absorb and domesticate much of the intellectual output from its premier university, Stanford University, into saleable products within its economy.

As a matter of fact, much of California's economy is built around Stanford University. So with this, Silicon valley developed. I'm sure you've heard of Silicon Valley at least once in your life. Now with Silicon Valley came companies like Apple, eBay, Cisco, Lockheed, Hewlett Packard (HP), Google, Netflix, Facebook, Oracle, Tesla...and the list goes on and on ad infinitum.These are multibillion-dollar companies. The yearly budget of any one of these companies might be larger than the entire yearly budget of, say for example, Akwa Ibom State. I'm taking about companies that are richer than countries. They are all in California. But that is just in the technology industry where the technologies and inventions spewing out of Stanford are caught midair and converted to money spinning enterprises.

But there is also the entertainment industry in California. Yes, Hollywood is in California. The US movies industry contributes about $504Billion to USA's GDP. Hollywood, as you know, contributes over 70% of that figure. Most iconic movie studios are in Hollywood. As a matter of fact, the "Big Eight" consisting of 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, United Artists, Universal Studios and Warner Bros are, or were, all in Hollywood. These again, are multi-billion dollar companies generating revenue for California.

Despite the above, California also thrives on agriculture. As at 2014, California had nothing less than 77,000 farms and ranches raking in about $55Billion in revenue yearly. It produces over 400 agricultural commodities, a large chunk of which it exports. It is the leader in producing exotic fruits in America. Its wine industry is unique. California wine is drunk with relish the world over. I used to drink some too.

This is just one State in America. You see, California actually had a choice of sitting back and striving to get a piece of the revenue generated from Texas' oil. It could have depended solely on Federal allocation to survive so that every month end, it will send its Commissioner of Finance to Washington DC to receive monthly allocation so that it can barely pay salaries of its workers and nothing more. Then San Francisco would resemble Ajegunle in Lagos. And there certainly would not be those beautiful sights and sounds that make California what it is today. But No, not California. Not America. California gives to the center and, because of its wealth, despises the idea of depending on it for survival. The Federal Government actually needs California to survive, not the other way round.

You see, America is structured in such a way that States must look inwards to exploit their wealth for the good of its citizens. There is no free lunch for the lazy States. There certainly is no commonwealth. But there is your wealth, if you can create it. Under American Federalism, you are the captain of your ship. But again, you are also the waves upon which the ship will sail. That is America. The local government, the government closest to the grassroot, is deliberately made the strongest level of government. Items like Variances (adaptation of state law to local conditions,) Public works (yes, public works!!), Contracts for public works, Licensing of public accommodations, Assessable improvements, Basic public services are all left for local county governments to handle. The State handles weightier matters like Property law, Education,Commerce laws of ownership and exchange, Banking and credit laws, Labour law and professional licensure, Insurance laws, and Electoral laws, including parties and Civil service laws. Items that the Federal Government, the center, handles affecting the States, are actually very negligible.

Nigeria on the contrary will never do well unless we restructure. We pretend to have a Federal system but we are actually operating a unique form of unitary government, and it is weighing the polity down. Can you imagine a country where the school curriculum is regulated by a national central body and states have no powers to vary or amend their curriculum? So, if the rest of the developed world is light years ahead in what they teach their children from primary schools, and our Minister of Education has absolutely no clue, the States must be burdened with antiquated school curriculum until such a time (if we are lucky, before rapture perhaps!!) that we have an Education Minister who would realise how far behind we are and bring the curriculum up to date. Just take a look at the science curriculum for grade students in advanced countries and you would cry for Nigeria. I recently read of a high school in Japan which has amended its curriculum to include robotics and drones technology. IN HIGH SCHOOL!! But our Professors here don't have a hang on Robotics even! Students are still taught the very prehistoric rudiments of physics and chemistry in our schools. And this is even in the few schools that teachers and students still meet in the classrooms! For the few public schools that are lucky to have labs, all you see are miserable nameless creatures trapped in formalin, to which nobody ever pays attention. These creatures suffer a double jeopardy having suffered the first misfortune of being caught and preserved in formalin in Nigeria, and then thereafter completely ignored, even in death! And because the control of our curriculum is central, there is nothing potentially proactive or progressive-minded States can do about this.

You would think this is not a problem until you understand that Nigerians spend over ONE TRILLION NAIRA every year to study abroad, despite there being over 100 tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Not one is deemed good enough. You see, the reason why you have Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Oxford, etc is not only for academic excellence of the citizens of the countries which have these schools. No. They invest in their institutions so that they can earn revenue from foreign students from countries like Nigeria which has destroyed its educational system. Abroad, schools are so important to society that the economy, business and lifestyle of whole cities and even States completely depend on or revolve around schools. What would the city of cambridge be without Cambridge University. Or Cambridge, Massachusett without Harvard University. These cities depend on these universities to survive. And imagine that Nigeria had invested in its universities and was earning $1billion dollars a year from foreign students seeking to study here, who would be fighting over oil in the Niger Delta? How many car manufacturing companies would we have in Owerri near FUTO where students are constantly doing and selling their research products to burgeoning engineering and manufacturing companies? Recently, three students in Sweden conducted research and came up with a product that could improve wear and tear on tyres. The product became so successful that Volvo had to partner with these students to patent the product. Now when this product hit world stage, can you imagine how much revenue sweden would earn from these product? Do your research, most of the world-class products we buy today off the shelf, at great cost, were invented by university students. As you are reading this, do not forget that without Harvard University, there would not have been facebook, and this our interface would have been impossible.

But our students In Nigeria are not entirely without inventions. We invented the Pyrates Confraternity, the Black Axe, the Eiye, the Vikings and what not!! Students resume school with guns and bullets, rather than books and scholastic ideas, as though academic institutions were a war college. Lecturers fly colors as do students. And when the turf war begins, people die in droves. But States can do nothing about this because some of these institutions are controlled by the Federal Government. Even for the ones controlled by States, you still can't do much because the security apparatus is controlled by the Federal Government. The Federal Government will provide or withdraw security from the State, depending on whether it is happy with the sitting Governor. So every year, all sorts of characters are vomited from Nigerian Universities to take their place in Nigerian society. So you have Judges, Lawyers, Engineers, Doctors and so forth whose first and primary allegiance is to their cult group, before the Country. The multiplier effect of this, is a treatise for another day.

But suffice to say that as long as this problem persist, let's forget about Silicon Valley in Nigeria, because there will never be a Stanford University here to provide an infinite supply of ideas and prodigies to feed the invention value-chain!

Nigeria cannot wake up from its slumber today because it cannot lift its head. The entire weight of its existence is concentrated in its head. From the viewpoint of government, the weight is In Abuja. From the viewpoint of revenue source, the weight is in the Niger-Delta. We need to urgently restructure and evenly distribute this pressure points and weights to diffuse tension in Nigeria.

We need to revisit the exclusive legislative list in the constitution and systematically reduce the responsibilities of the Federal Government vis-a-vis the States. Resources have to be handed back to the States that generated them but place an obligation on each States to contribute an agreed percentage to the common federal purse to service obligations of the Federal Government. There is no reason Education, Policing, Prisons (only people convicted of federal offenses should go to federal prisons!!), Ports, Inland waterways, natural minerals, even marriage (yes, english form of marriage!!) and so many other items should be the concern of the Federal Government.We will never develop with such weight that weigh us down at the center. Nigeria can never raise its head in the comity of nations because of the sheer weight of the head.

There is more to say, but scarcely any time. But to emphasis the point i've been laboring to make, shall i say again that there is absolutely no reason or need to fight for oil in the Niger-Delta. There are so many things that can bring more revenue to States in Nigeria than oil. South Africa has no oil, but it has Gold, and is richer than Nigeria. Let us fight for a system that will promote both equality and equity. Let us restructure Nigeria.

My Name is Fidel Albert and #IStandForARestructuredNigeria!

                                                                                                  Contribution FIDEL ALBERT