My Nigeria, My dreams

The euphoria that engulfs me whenever I watch the green-white-green contingents in international sports competitions is ineffable. I don’t pray for any other favour than to see my country’s side emerge top of the challenge. I feel very much on top of the world whenever they successfully make it to the medal ceremony causing our beautiful national anthem to be played to the hearing of people from all parts of the world. Viewing this, I become vehemently willing to proudly tell anybody that cares to listen that I am a Nigerian. I craved for such moments to endure a least for a longer time. But along the line the feeling is intercepted by the realities that my Nigeria is saddled with.

My Nigeria means a lot to me. It has a lot of connection with my happiness, my fulfillment, and in short, my life. I have grown to believe the fact that even if run to another land, and may be eventually obtains their citizenship; I will forever be interrupted with the thought that ‘I am a Nigerian.’ Of course, no place like home.

My Nigeria means the whole world to me that I can’t stop dreaming for an ideal society and a better future for her. I dream of a Nigeria where every citizen would be seen as one and not discriminated by their ethnicity or state of origin; where university admissions and job opportunities would not be based on quota system and nepotism but on meritocracy. It is not an anathema if my Nigeria conducts a free and fair election even at the party levels. I long for a day that our academic institution would be equipped to be capable of breeding our future leaders; when strike and demonstration would be regarded outdated and dialogue made the main approach to resolving disagreements.

I will continue to be optimistic for a better Nigeria; a country where the police will actually be a friend of the people and not corperate robbers extorting the motorist on the highways, and not victimizing the common man with impunity. I am hopeful for the day the police will stop victimizing a suspect even before he is charged to the law court.

I know the day will come for my Nigeria, when universities and other tertiary institutions accreditations would no longer be a mumbo jumbo used to deceive ourselves; when political offices would not be seen as an opportunity to amass wealth, but as a call for service; when the court would stop passing judgments based on the pocket size of the accused: the richer the accused, the lighter the sentence terms; and vice versa.

Yes, my hope is still alive for my Nigeria. And I know that someday, the citizens would stop chanting praises for corruption and corrupt people; and be bold enough to shun corruption and ill-gotten wealth. Then, embezzlers of public funds would have no hiding place, as it won’t be business as usual. And the tradition of collecting a token from the lootings of our public office holders as fine or bail by our judges and giving them a pat on the back will be no more.  Then the peace, order and neatness of our society would be taken as the collective responsibility of every individual. 

Regrettably, anomalous and dishonorable situations have been regarded synonymous with the name Nigeria. Whenever anything unbecoming for a responsible society happens, people are quick to utter, “This is Nigeria for you.” Rhetorical questions such as, “Are we not in Nigeria?” or “no be Nigeria again?” are used always to portray Nigeria as a state of failure, and it demoralizes even the spirit of the patriotic. I believe that my Nigeria can overcome whatever societal decays that might have befallen her. And I see this change to begin with you and me

Therefore, to realize a Nigeria of my dream, a nation that I will forever treasure so much and be proud to identify myself with in the gathering of citizens of other nations, I have been trying to contributing my own quota as a practical attestation to how much my beloved Nigeria means to me. For example, I have decided to always discard my waste only at the designated places, or keep them in my bag till I reach a waste bin. I have decided to always join the queue and try as much as possible not to jump it till is my turn, even if the person attending to the queue is my friend or brother. I have also decided to reject every unmerited positions, prizes and rewards; to return every overpayment made to me and take only what I dutifully and genuinely worked for.

I have  discovered that sincerity and honesty are the best weapon to tackle corruption, so I have decided not to write 7:58am when I report to work by 8:10am at the place of my industrial attachment. I also resolved not to cheat in my examinations and to continue to shun bribing the lecturers for better grades. 

If I can keep to my resolutions without going back, my Nigeria would assume the state I crave for. It is my responsibility to salvage her of all her inadequacies. Yes. It is my responsibility first and foremost, if I insist she matters to me.

I can’t express with mere words my attachment with my Nigeria. That’s why I would always be lost in thought dreaming for her future. I vehemently believe that someday, the thought of being a Nigerian would not only bring me a euphoric feeling, but will cause a lasting unfathomable joy to run in my veins.

By Amatanweze Kingsley Offorbuike T.

The Devil Abolished in My Mind (Original)

Since 1959, all the people in my country have experienced the impact of the genocide ideology which affected different minds of the people, and this led to the severe and a deadly slaughtering of more than 1,000,000 innocent Tutsi in 1994 genocide, leaving the country politically, socially and economically unstable and disorderly. In 1962, when my mother was only one year old, she fled with her mother who was wounded everywhere on her body by the genocide perpetrators, to the north of my country in Uganda and they settled there for a long period of time. My mother met my father in a hard life as a refugee. They both decided to make a new life and at least to have a new family since they had both lost a very big number of family members on either side, and thus I was born in 1989 in this country. As a young man, I grew up knowing that the country I’m living in wasn’t mine. I started to learn true stories about what happened and why I wasn’t born in my country, and if that was the case, why I could not go back to my country. The answer from my parents was that we can’t go back because so many people in our country hate us and they don’t wish to see anyone from the so called Tutsi tribe, that we were called snakes and sometimes cockroaches, and also that the country was like a glass full of water where you can’t add on any more. All this made me grow up knowing that there is a group of people searching for me, not to give me prizes but to kill me. This made me develop a bad intention of waiting for a favorable climate for me to make a good revenge. But between 1994 and 2000, when we went back to our country after Rwanda Patriotic Front had overthrown the Hutu government, more than 120,000 genocide perpetrators were imprisoned and were not yet tried in court. It was costly to the government and there was a need to build more prisons instead of rebuilding commercial houses. In 2001, the government developed gacaca courts, where well-respected elders known as Inyangamugayo were elected based on their honesty by the people of the community. Gacaca originates from our national language Kinyarwanda meaning short, clean cut grass or umucaca. It symbolizes a gathering place for elders to sit on and judge the trial, a system of community justice inspired by tradition and culture, focusing on criminal prosecutions, putting justice partially into the hands of the victims with a mission of achieving truth, justice and reconciliation. Even though gacaca was mainly focusing on unity and reconciliation of Rwandans, it was still very hard for me to change my mind to forgive, not until 2004, in one of the gacaca courts, where a best friend of mine forgave a man who slaughtered both of his parents, two brothers and three sisters while he was watching them die. I changed my mind to develop myself and my country instead of focusing on revenging in 2005 when I was 16. I also forgave all those that killed my family. Since then, my life became more successful. Focused on being an entrepreneur, I now grow watermelons and I offer jobs to five young men on a daily basis to earn a living. Through people like me who changed because of gacaca, now more than 98% want their children to think of themselves as Rwandans rather than Hutu, Tutsi or Twa, based on Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer. Rwanda’s development is second in Africa and first in East Africa. Even though it is a country that lost the biggest number of people in the shortest period of time, united we stand to develop our country and the world. If it wasn’t for the culture of gacaca courts, the devil of genocide ideology wouldn’t have been abolished from my mind. I now call upon all the young men and women in the whole world not to look at their culture as a burden, but as an initiator of their development economic wise. Rogers Kimuli (Age 24, Rwanda) Higher Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry  Youth Category – 1st Prize 2013 International Essay Contest for Young People  So pathetic and creative! What do you think? Tell us in the Comment box below.

Beyond The Average Life

History was made in America on November 4, 2008 when 47 year old
Barrack Obama was elected as president of the most powerful nation on
earth. The election of Obama, a black America of Africa descent from
Kagore in Kenya will for long be discussed in all nooks and crannies
of the world. No one ever expected that a black man could reach such
prominence. It was the belief of everyone that it would be a herculean
task (if not an impossible one) for a black man to be elected
president of America.

The Obama victory has no doubt broken all the myths that have
surrounded the inferiority of the black race. Nelson Mandela recalled
how the blacks have been marginalized, treated as second class
citizens, denied of their rights and never given fair justice. He said
"A law was also formulated to teach African children that they are
inferior to their white counterparts". When on the night of November 4
2008, the election of Obama was announced to the world, television
camera caught Rev. Jesse Jackson and other people having tears dropped
from their eyes. Jesse Jackson cried because he remember quite well
the history of how the blacks had been treated in America which has
made the entire black race in other countries of the world look down
on themselves and believe there is no inherent good in them to display
to the world.

The Obama re-election was no doubt given us the
assurance that the journey to perpetual freedom and the dignity of the
black race was over. However, it is not enough for us to learn
historical dates and events, it is imperative that we learn from
history.

One subtle thing an average African wasn't taught is Perseverance. We
were not taught to dig deep and wide. We were not taught to believe in
ourselves and our potentials. We grew up with a deep sense of
inferiority complex and pseudo-confidence. That is why we are
satisfied with the average life. However, History has proved to us
that we can equally achieve outstanding feats as done by the
Europeans. We dont have to continually depend on them for survival,
instead we can maximise our potentials and surpassed what they've
done. We can unleash the treasures in us to design amazing inventions
and show the world that though our skin is black, our brain isn't
black.

Perhaps this average mentality is the force that has kept African
countries in the junkyard of perpetual mediocrity. Though we were born
in the land flowing with milk and honey, yet we are living as slaves.
We have everything in abundance, yet we are living as scavengers in
foreign countries. We are so average in own thinking, in our pursuits
and in our way of life that we set little dreams and dwarf goals. Even
when we try to dream big and aim high, there is a 'committee' in our
head that tells us that we can't achieve it because we are black.
Thus, we shift out thinking pattern to 'Survival mode' The mode that
has paralyzed our creativity and weakened the potency of our
imagination.

While I agree that the political landscapes of African countries have
played a major role in incapacitating our dreams. I strongly belief
every  developed country got to an era in history where they
sacrificed convenience for commitment. African countries are in that
era. And African youths should start taking responsibilities for their
greatness because if a black man can be the number one citizen of
America, then we can attain any height we set out to reach, if only we
would persevere.

We cannot continually place blame on what some people
did or did not do. Rather we've got to take up the challenge like
Obama did and create the future we desire. Though we might have been
brain washed to think we are inferior but the Obama victory has proved
otherwise. Obama could have dwelt in the grave of self pity and
inferiority complex and conclude "I am not good in anything because my
brain is black and no black man has ever been allowed near the white
house seat of power in Washington!" and that would have been a
self-fulfilling prophecy. But he took up his seeming disadvantage and
carved a niche for himself in History.
Nelson Mandela gave this speech on 21st September, 1953 well before
his imprisonment "Teach the Children that Africans are not an iota
inferior to Europeans"
We may be black but our mind isn't black!
YES WE CAN!

Isola Taiwo, wrote African Prospects from  College of Medical Sciences,
University of Maiduguri.

Do you agree with Isola? Share your views in the comment box below:

CAN CASHLESS ECONOMY THRIVE IN THE PRESENT DAY NIGERIA?

By EDE KENECHUKWU KENNETH 

Cashless economy is an economy where transaction can be done without necessarily carrying physical cash as a means of exchange of transaction but rather with the use of credit or debit card payment for goods and services. The cashless economy policy initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is a move to improve the financial terrain; but in the long run sustainability of the policy will be a function of endorsement and compliance by end-users. Cashless economy is defined as one in which there are assumed to be no transactions frictions that can be reduced through the use of money balances, and that accordingly provide a reason for holding such balances even when they earn rate of return. 

However, in a cashless economy, “how much cash in your wallet” is practically irrelevant. You can pay for your purchases by any one of a plethora of credit cards or bank transfer. Increased usage of cashless banking instruments strengthens monetary policy effectiveness and that the current level of e-money usage does not pose a threat to the stability of the financial system. However, it does conclude that central banks can lose control over monetary policy if the government does not run a responsible fiscal policy. A recent survey in Nigeria show that about 34.0% of the respondents cited problem of internet fraud, 15.5% cited problem of limited POS/ATM, 19.6% cited problem of illiteracy and 30.9% remained neutral—the respondents not been sure of problem been expected or experienced. While in some quarters there was fear of unemployment, some believe it will create more jobs especially when companies manufacturing POS machine are cited in Nigeria.

In the Nigerian monetary system, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is pursuing the cashless banking system that would see the co-existence of cash and electronic money and the policy document on cashless economy detailed out the following implications:

1.      Reduction in cash transactions to both the banks and their customers;

2.      Expansion in vault cash;

3.      Expansion in the credit creation process;

4.      Expansion in the involvement of the informal sector in the banking process.

These implications follow directly from the surface of the policy but there is the need for a deeper and economic analysis of the introduction of the cashless banking or cashless economic paradigm and its attendant implications as far as the attainment of advanced economic objectives are concerned. The policy has been affected by many factors including ineffective sensitization campaign exercise; inadequate protection of the interest of merchants and people in the informal sector; non functional Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals as well as other technological and literacy challenges. These challenges have as well seriously affected the policies; it is therefore the believe of some pessimists that the move is too idealistic in a country like Nigeria where a larger percentage of its population resides in the rural areas. And as at the last count only about 10,000 ATMs and 14,000 POS are functional across the states. 

Momentarily, governments should revisit the overall development project in the country to ascertain the extent of development. Cashless economy can only thrive in an economy where people are cultured or able to raise their homes up to average US student standard of living. Many problems surround the implementation of cashless economy in Nigeria; an average Nigerian would like to hold much cash and make transaction at his wish. Think of cash to be exchange through political dealings ‘such funds are usually colossal.’ In another dimension, major market dealings involve the exchange of cash. Looking at all these, you would see with me that things must be well fixed before cashless policy will thrive in Nigerian economy. For instance, the financial infrastructure in Nigeria is inadequate to carry the load of a cashless-society. ATMs, POS systems and other mediums have to be expanded to touch at least 60% of the whole economy before any meaningful effect can be achieved; again, erratic power supply has been a major challenge facing every industry in Nigeria, with banking industry not an exception. Power supply must be improved drastically to stimulate smooth operations of financial activities; Prevalence of e-fraud should be minimized to zero level. 

High level of fraudulent activities through e-banking is a challenge, which the entire banking industry must resolve before cashless policy can be effective; also, literacy rate in the country is very low in some part of the country. Business men in some regions prefer to keep their money in their private slipup rather than patronizing the bank; there is presently a psychological war going on in Nigeria over the proposed Islamic banking by CBN, as Muslims believe that conventional banks often sin against Allah by their interest charges. This undoubtedly, greatly affects the achievement of the cashless Nigerian society; Proper and accurate identification of account holders must be maintained and shared when necessary by all financial institutions; also CBN must collaborate with all other government or private agencies responsible for collection of identification of individuals in Nigeria for reconciliation of any identification. CBN and other banks must be ready to invest heavily in e-banking infrastructure to make this transition possible. 

Technology is not cheap and is ever changing at a very fast pace. Investment in billions of dollars, made in infrastructure, training, marketing, security and maintenance will be on routine bases and should be a collaboration of efforts by all parties concerned, if the policy is to be effective; also CBN must collaborate with National Assembly to enact proper legislation that would make the policy effective. Enforcement of the proposed legislation should be carried out by CBN and all other executive arms so empowered by the government such as EFCC, ICPC, Nigeria Police etc and they must commit to the training of personnel and the judiciary must be prudent and up to the task. 

Unavailability of network is a major problem facing ATM and internet usage in Nigeria. This no doubt, affects the policy; users have problem carrying out their transactions at their convenient time; trust is lacking in Nigerian business environment. Businesses are done on cash basis as cheques bounce at will, hence people place less trust on the use of cheque but prefer cash instead; therefore, the risks involved in rushing the programme without having all the infrastructures in place could be devastating as any failure recorded would make people to lose confidence in the systems and never rely on it any longer.

Power failure negatively affect e-banking, infrastructure like ATM. Network failure of communication links also affects the policy; also non existence of computer back-up is another factor; there bounds to be total loss of data on customers’ account if there is no back up and the entire file is damaged. This may lead to misappropriation of customers’ account, hence bank should maintain back up of all its information outside the bank’s premises. Generally, most banks find it difficult to fund procurement of modern equipments needed for optimal e-banking. 

Nevertheless, there has been tremendous improvement in automation of bank operation in the country in the last 5 years but there are still rooms for further expansion so as to catch up with hi-tech, which is in vogue in developed countries; electronic banking has somehow reduced the number of employees needed to handle most transactions in the bank as most work done by workers are now being handled by machines thereby translating to increase in the rate of unemployment in the country. ATM transactions, as an example, involves high cost (such as e-fraud, security and cost of ATM literacy), thereby discouraging customers from using it. CBN is working out a modality to stop forthwith charges for usage of ATM. This will be a sort of relief and stimulates the effectiveness of the policy in Nigeria, if fully implemented as promised. Low public acceptance by many people have burnt their fingers as a result of fraudulent withdrawals from their accounts through the use of ATM by unscrupulous individuals who believe in using master cards to withdraw money from unsuspecting individuals. 

Not to mention, situations whereby customers are debited by the ATM with withdrawals not supported by cash that fail to drop down from the machine as expected. Customers are discouraged to use the machine as it takes longer time before the wrong debit is reversed if it does not end up unsolved; thus most ATM locations are not secured thereby making it easier for fraudulent persons to carry out their fraudulent activities without any arrest. Computer hackers also use the porous security system to steal data by breaking the codes or passwords.

Therefore, it yields to the question again “can cashless economy thrive in the present day Nigeria?” Actually, as you are already getting a sense of my rather negative economic assessment of the fitting of cashless policy in the Nigerian economy, you would see with me that neither Nigerians nor the institutions can fully absorb cashless policy; thus, unless Nigerian government and her monetary authorities (CBN and other banks) prudently implement all it takes to achieve a cashless economy, then Nigeria will degenerate into cashless society. 

EDE KENECHUKWU KENNETH (ede_kenneth@ymail.com or 08101710583) wrote African Prospects  from The Department of Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

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Promoting Youth Development

How do we liberate the energy of the human race and recruit everyone
into the critical army of nation builders? How do we convert the
teeming population of consumers to producers? It is by way of Youth
development.

Youth development will create in the youths minds ready and willing to
add value and create wealth. As a nation, it will change us from a
dependent nation to a developed nation. It will chart an alternative
route for us to national development and we will no longer depend
solely on crude oil for survival. That is why the future of any nation
depends on her investment in the youths. As a nation that anticipates
transformation, the development of the youth is an issue that must be
tackled urgently as it is the only gate way to democracy building and
national transformation.

To start the process of promoting youth development, my government
should begin with a total renewal of the minds of the youth by
instilling in them a sense of morality and discipline. Any effort of
the government to promote youth development without instilling in them
a sense of morality will be tantamount to building a good structure on
a faulty foundation. When the youths are morally sound, the inordinate
ambition to amass wealth which often results in violence will not be
paramount in their heart. This can be achieved by the introduction of
civic education based on ethics and integrity in the curriculum of our
institutions of learning. I must note here that the minds of Nigerian
youth have been so corrupted that honesty is no longer the best policy
but an act of foolishness. This may be due to the fact that we had few
leaders who have mirrored to us real integrity. That is why a
re-orientation of the youths become important.

In addition, government should create employment opportunities for the
teeming youths so as to stem the high level of insecurity, armed
robbery and kidnapping. Unemployment is actually the root of all
societal ills. It sets idleness in motion. And idleness is not a
disease of the hand, it is a disease of the heart. It triggers immoral
imaginations. That's why employment breeds every other vices. To curb
these excesses, Government should establish many small and medium
scale industries where youths can be gainfully employed. I must note
here that Nigeria has millions of youths who are exceedingly creative
and talented but has no place to explore their potentials. These
employments doesn’t have to be white collar jobs but an enabling
environment where educated youths can use their educational knowledge
and skills to produce new goods and make new inventions that will
improve the standard of living of this country. These will save the
country billions of Naira we spend annually on importation.
Moreover, government should provide skill acquisition centres in every
state of Nigeria. These centres will serve as an arena where youths
can learn skills in areas of their interests. The skills acquired will
make them self-reliant and responsible members of the society. After
this process, government should grant them loans to start a small
scale enterprise. Procedures should also be made for them to refund
the loan on installment basis. This will help to curtail the
increasing rate of poverty.

Also, the government of this country should provide sound education
for the youths. The focus of this education should not be to produce
graduates with head knowledge but to produce youths who have their
minds transformed to provide solutions to challenges they will
encounter on their journey to adulthood and the ones this nation is
experiencing. A system of education that encourages people to cram,
pass exams, get certificate after which they forget everything is
going to be detrimental to the overall development of this nation.
This is why the educational system of this country requires a total
over-hauling.

In conclusion, government should involve the youth in her
decision-making process. It should be noted that we are the leaders of
tomorrow and today’s decisions affect tomorrow’s opportunities. Hence,
our involvement in the decision making process of the country will
birth in us a sense of responsibility and commitment. The
consciousness that it is our future that is being decided upon will
compel us to make decisions and policies that will secure our future.
In essence, any form of development that excludes the participation of
the youths is going to have a short life span. And this is evident in
the Nigerian society. This further buttresses the indispensable role of the youths in
national development.

Isola Taiwo wrote African prospects  from College of Medical Sciences,
University of Maiduguri. 

What other things do you think should be done to encourage youth development? Tell us in the comment box below: