Promoting Nationalism Through The Youth, Their Roles And The Needed Strategies.

          “Mr. President, sir, I rise to move the motion standing in my name, “that this House accepts as a primary political objective the attainment of self-government for Nigeria in 1956… Sir, the Action Group, the N.C.N.C., the Northern Elements Progressive Union, and indeed all true nationalist who interviewed the Labour Party delegation left them in no doubt that 1956 is their irrevocable choice”¹. And 1960 became the date. Pa Anthony Enahoro has been described by some as Nigeria’s foremost nationalist clamouring for a perceptual change in the authoritative rulership in Nigeria. Here we can say that nationalism goes beyond patriotism, country’s loyalty and respect, it can accentuate a political dictum imploring a journey to put a nation in developmental decorum. Nationalism is idea oriented behaviour; it can, as it has, be a flagman-ship of one’s influence, background, culture, religion. The igniting factor is unity, in one common cause nationalists fight, they defend, uphold and together conquer.

          What thrusts a nation to nationalism? What impedes it? It is a monumental fact that people diversified in all corners would champion the monumental cord of nationalism. That intuition relies on the testimony of individualized goals achieved afterwards. It is sacrificial, yet common and driven for the good of all. That a certain suffering, a perceived bedeviling called for the rise of nationalists is true and very correct but what keeps it afloat as well as the nationalists’ consistent nature if paramount. The Nigerian youths have so many roles to play in promoting nationalism and being nationalists themselves, championing a cause many believed is a no go area for them.

          As a onetime R.N.V (Religious and National Values) teacher, I captioned a scene from one of the numerous community clashes in Nigeria – with the karate, heavy punches, shooting, in wanting to know those physically participating in such brutality. And of course, it was/is the youth. The place of the Nigerian youth calls for urgent retorting, it has been a carryover specimen hindering needed nurture at the early stage. If today, Pope Francis shares a Christian message, it is majorly targeted to the youths; when Ayatollah Khomeini retorted government changes, it was the youth that reinforced the world acclaimed Iranian Revolution; Buddha admonished nirvana in youthful exuberance. The youths are the spinal cord of a nation; it connects the motor nerve cells, the back and the leg. The youth replenishes or decreases any certain stride they deem fit either because they were taught or because they failed to learn.

          The motor nerve cells is the country, the back is the stride of development, intuition, culture, precepts of the country, while the leg is the people united in nationalism. “I pledge to Nigeria my country to be faithful, loyal and honest, to serve Nigeria with all my strength…”² seem only a recital for our young children. Alas, we all made it too, a call to be committed to our country, a call for nationalism, fostered in strength and goodwill. But then, it goes farther than this, for anyone can result a country’s anthem and pledge without true loyalty to it. So, the background of the problems facing the Nigeria youths must be addressed. Unemployment is not a reason to steal and engage in one form of social vices or the other. Criticism makes little or no impact on the average Nigerian. Apart from prayers, self-change for goodwill work wonders. Negativity should not be mainly blamed on the country’s outlook – it starts from the home – the first social contact of a child and that means everyone is a partaker in this quest. A nationalist is not a sole fighter. He must mingle in order not to fumble. There are many problems that hinder a youth’s success, aside karma’s presence but that does not call for delinquencies.

          First things first, I have listed six ‘first things’ that must be promoted first before nationalism be promoted. Love is number one. Self love, love of countrymen, love of country. The type that is genuine, where every hurt touches and collectively we bear the brunt of it. Patriotism liquidates lukewarm-ness to a country’s revival in terms of intellectual support. All nationalists were/are patriotic is indeed a valid conclusion. Honesty and transparency is a foremost ethical behaviour upheld by almost all religions in the world. The Baha’i faith clamours for it as well as Islam and Christianity. Form the kindergarten pupil behind my house to the leader of a country, even to the manager in an organization, honesty and transparency instill confidence and goodwill on the nation.

What is more? We must all promote a crime free society. A society were stealing is corruption, bribing should be punishable, election malpractice is disgusting and leadership neglect is a crime itself. Cultural and religious development and tolerance must be upheld. As a people our diverse culture is a hefty plus like a hippy lady in the mist of young bachelors. We must nurture it, be proud of it: education should NEVER outshine it, we must distinct it and tolerate one another because what we have is a blessing.

The role of the Nigerian youth in promoting nationalism I have distinguished as follows:

(1)     Learning from History: learning the precepts and dictates that once upheld a country and being inspired by them. This correlates the country’s diverse makeup, colonization process, religious inculcation and so on. So that, by virtue of the vase knowledge top-up the youth can learn from a realized mistake as well as salvage solution.

(2)     Taking Charge of Their Political Future Through Communal Participation: The youths must start form the basics, they must not be insightful added to the fact that they are devoid of basic intellectual broad-spectrum to affiliate themselves politically and defend their country’s political edifice. This is not tout practice or mugger neither is it societal notoriousness. Conventional programmes to enlighten the youth should be organized in association with the state and national ministries of youth. Crime-free association organized by youth at the local level is also advisable.

(3)     Hardwork: In promoting that spirit of behavioural attachment to one’s habitat, the youths must be hard working in order to be taken seriously. Hardwork will take their minds of social vices and all what will lead them astray. It will impact on them exposure needed to curtail stagnancy and all it brings if it be in attaining education, learning a trade or engaging in trades.

(4)     Discipline and Self-Motivation: The youth must be discipline so as to inculcate that into younger ones. Maturity and respect for elders which is listening and obeying words from their well of wisdom. They must be composed in the mist of other national and not be fragile and inferior. They must also show brilliancy. Motivation is primarily a personal acquaintance, in fostering that they empower their country and not wait for the reverse.

(5)     Outspoken to Government Policies:          The youths can take charge of their political future through airing their vital views on developmental projects across the country. Rather than spend honours watching Telemundo and crime combating fairytales of other countries, they should use their time to reinvest their contribution to the policy making and rulership strategy of their country.

(6)     Promoting Cultures and Values: In promoting nationalism, the youth must promote their way of life, their etiquette, including the way they eat and greet. This should be a culminating effect leading to real nationalism.

(7)     Make Nigeria and not Mar Her: The youths, me included must hold strong that there is no place like home. The future is now to maintain and monitor the progress of the country. It was youth like General Yakubu Gowon that spearheaded a country like Nigeria, today he is celebrated even at old age. He made his own impact, appreciated by all and there is still more impacts to be made by others. Because when we mar Nigeria we mar the life-hold of our future.

(8)     Foster Peaceful Co-existence: The youths must make sure that Nigeria remain one and united entity, cheating, exploitation, jealousy, inhumanity must be discarded from them.

What are the ways in which all these can be achieved, for, my essay will be rendered incomplete without elucidating on the attainable strategy of it all. First, true democracy must be what it really is, that the people has the highest power and they exercise it freely using credible electoral processes. Youth empowerment in trade, education and agriculture comes next. The youth must have a form of empowerment to boost their flare in nation building this will in turn curb laziness and un-devotedness to one’s country. Moving on, change starts now – from every single individual, change in the general negative orientation and psychological makeup to a change for progress. Then, the youths must look beyond tribe, ethnicity and religion. Nigeria has more than 500 ethnic groups with more than 170,000,000, a blessing glaring and enticing. It is on this solid rock that our uniqueness stands. On this note, we must promote one Nigeria, one spirit, one sacrifice and one hope.

Endnotes

1.       www.anthonyenahoro.org

2.       The Nigerian National Pledge.

For Yakubu Gowon Foundation Essay Contest (submitted 02/05/2015)

How Should We Select, Educate, Train and Professionally Develop The Intelligence Officers and Analyst of the Future?

The concept of secret intelligence is largely unheard of in Africa especially in sub-Sahara Africa. The nearest synonym to it is features and styles in super-physical characters of an action movie like Jack Bauer in 24 series and Robocop in Robocop. These characters perform ambiguous stunt sometimes extraordinary so that every other ‘intelligent officer’ without reciprocated physical prowess is untrue. Since of course intelligence officers primarily works for the government/organization in the UK, USA, etc, the structure of this paper will not only include the patterns these officers are to selected, educated trained and professionally developed in these countries but how Africa can utilize their services so as to gather relevant information that will positively affect its all-round economy.

In Nigeria, there are selected anti-corruption and anti-crime officers more like advance police who organize themselves to tackle criminality, whether it is a stink operation or not they are/have been selected, educated, trained and developed. They can as well be in the civil service; working under sensitive ministries though they may be unheard of their collective success has proved their competence to stay. How should they be selected? First, you must catch them young especially in schools. More dedicated school mainly for such ventures may be set up. Also, there should be no gender segregation in selecting them as this will hamper on the genuine process.

How should they be trained? First, they should be nurtured as knowledge workers. As people who should be sustainable, who can make it in any field and on own with their intuition for any circumstance. Also, such training should be all-round and extensive dealing with modern problems using modern methods and technologies.

 For IAFIE Essay 2016

Can Prison Work?

Thunder strike is a typical precedent of rain or coming storm. In the Igbo community and indeed the African traditional setting, it is not ordinary at all. Some thunders are believed to be sent by the Spirits to its offenders as well as evil doers who get instantly struck by its very loud cry. The average Nigerian Christian calls ‘Jesus’ when he/she senses an incoming thunder after all we were told we are sinners even to the infant in the womb. Then probably by now everyone must have been in prison, got punished, became renewed, and living sinless?

‘The most common use of prisons is as a part of a criminal justice system, in which individuals officially charged with or convicted of crime are confined to a jail or prison until they are either brought to trial to determine their guilt or complete their incarceration period that they were sentenced’¹. Prisons went from being a place of confinement where known criminals regret their actions and retrace their steps, to a place of retribution, torture and hard labour. Now, based on this (I believe) I am asked: CAN PRISON WORK? Systems, the systems matter a lot. High profile prison breaks in America may show that it’s not working, mediocre prison breaks in developing countries as a result of mediocre administrative ineptitude rebuff prison tendency, but, prison can work.

Thumbs up to the uniform guys for at times they put their lives and the lives of their family members at risk, even ordinary citizens who report criminals are constantly being threatened. Then it is majorly about the prisoners, about their propensity, about their sheer wickedness even inside the prison. Even though prison works in its best formalities, individual fate counter-poses it afterwards. But, prison have changed notorious criminals to good daddies and mummies, to presidents, to preachers, to life changers, prisons have saved people from death, further crimes, fear, bestiality. It has served correctional measures and positive behavioural control.

In reality, no man is innocent and no man is free; parental care, couple check, communal dispositions, spiritual inclination and even ancestral monitoring are parcels of moral consideration for societal wellbeing. The greatest freedom is being free from harm that bedeviled men dish out and they being locked up is rather okay, fair. The uniform guys need to be encouraged mentally and financially, they need to be discipline before and after joining the service, there should be proper regulation, checking and maintenance of prison. What is more? Fair justice system remove doubts of an effective handling of criminology.

References

1. Wikipedia: Retrieved 20^th June 2015


Written 22 June, 2015

Entrepreneurs are the Creative Force in the Economy. Is Your Government Helping or Hindering them?

         About three year ago, I sat in my lecture room with other students, paying attention to the entrepreneurial development talk being delivered by a Business Administration lecturer. The very core of that discussion was centered on how Asian countries have since overtaken world economy. Asian tiger was his abrupt description- china, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc. Now, if Japan’s total area is 145,913 sq mi and its land area is 140,728 sq mi what does that say? That the land occupied by people is very high, that even as a densely populated country, the amount of land arable is insufficient and deficient to accommodate needed food for the people, so it timely catapulted technology, balancing it with a favourable income distribution and labour index, internal investment and a preserved cultural heritage.

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises is the only hope for catapulting Africa’s business light. The large scale enterprises prefer to trade outside the shores of Nigeria even allow the same price on goods not minding the rates of currency exchange at home. Now, there is a global indefinite price tag to imports especially unrefined petroleum. The huge import price to Nigeria has made the government take sole import obligation though there may be ‘big wigs’ importers and smugglers. This product goes through refined stage overseen by government. In this way entrepreneurs do not come into the picture at all. In fact entrepreneurs are like ordinary retail buyers in the street. There is too much of government interference in entrepreneurial catapulting strategies.

Is the Nigerian government helping them? This work is critical as it accentuate both the good and the bad. So yes, to some extent the government is helping. The Nigerian government is battling the issue of high import over export especially home made goods. Each successive government has continued to find measures to boycott Nigeria’s import of locally made goods especially food stuffs and clothing – even refined petroleum and automobile. The market is open for all anyway even though the elite still order from overseas. Also, the government have seen, though not fully, the advantage of agricultural practices and the positive benefit it will bring to the country, so loans, free fertilizers, roads networks, large market are been provide by them. Lastly is Tariff which has gone a long way in aiding the average man especially on drug purchase.

What are the natural causes helping entrepreneurs? Population should be first. It is more like the foundational success for any business to strife. The market is there if the right marketing and genuine publicity is at place. Lastly is tax evasion. Many Nigerian businesses do not pay their taxes. This is bad for the economy but it is good to them. They believe that since the government can not make decisive and tangible projects with it, they should invest the money back into the business.

How is the government hindering entrepreneurs? Lack of recognition is first. The government chose not to recognize these hardworking men and women. They don’t even do business with them they rather prefer it being done my political friends. There is also a high rate of import over export. Furthermore, the rate at which the average Nigerian youth consume technological devices e.g. gadgets is alarming. The country does not have responding competent personnel and institutions to manufacture these things which should be a top priority for the government. Also, there is unnecessary cash flow in the country. This money, circulating illegally do not allow for legal circulation. High profile government officials are largely guilty of this. Lastly, lack of social amenities especially electricity is a huge problem. Even after privatization, electricity is still not constant which is daily hampering on the sales and workability of business places. Roads need to be fixed, clean water, peaceful environment and skill acquisition centers.

Intelligible Combat For African Businesses

It appears we fight for almost everything. From Independence to societal wellness, political reforms, legislative amendments; the fight, it’s all round. In Africa, rays of hope have indeed shone on individual endavours making collective economic boost a requisite for better change.

            How have the different parts of Africa muddle through in the strife to better business plans for its citizens? North Africa has been grouped alongside the Middle East because of religious and cultural similarities but its economic and political inclinations lately have left them economically pale with regressive foreign investment and high employment rate index. Countries like Egypt, Tunisia Morocco are battling refugee crisis and insecurity. Though they seem the most collectively developed part of Africa which is an advantage in international business stride.

            In Eastern and Southern Africa non-market players and tourism are key characters in direct foreign investment. Though, apolitical models in business are causing more harm than good. Western Africa has experienced swings in business reforms. More people are now engaged in their personal business activities thereby reducing the work load of government in employment spending and of course causing high rise unemployment. The smallest wood cubicle can now pass for a business office.

            For one to address a challenge it must have been known and the various negative experiences learnt in order to fully patch the loopholes. What are the challenges facing African businesses from a leader’s perspective. There are too much disunity among African countries, the problem of electricity, bad roads, limited market, lack of creativity and originality, infrastructural decay, corruption, greediness, laziness among the youths, and government regulation for business without the reciprocated market.

How best can these challenges be faced from my leadership perspective? First is funds and direct government investment in production e.g. agriculture. Small and Medium Scale Enterprises is the only hope for catapulting Africa businesses. If possible I will get hold of all SMEs in the country and encourage them with capital. There is need for African leaders in partnership with the African Union to have an all round table talk on uniting Africa through trade barrier restriction, migration, cultural respect and political morality rather than holding conferences on tackling terrorism which to some extent will be solved through economic boost and employment.

 FOR UONGOZI INSTITUTE LEADERSHIP ESSAY CONTEST (Submitted 31/05/2016)