Former Education/Petroleum Minister, Professor Jubril Aminu
Professor Jubril Aminu, Nigeria’s former Education/Petroleum Minister, on loving and being patriotic about Nigeria:
Love for this country is just not there. People love their religion more than their country. I am from the North; people from the North are mad about the North but our leaders did not advise us to be as mad about our country. It is the same thing with the West and the East; their leaders did not advise them to be mad about Nigeria too. The people from the West love the West, but they were not thought to love their country, Nigeria. They were told to antagonise the federal government, because of the opposition stance. In my view, everything necessary should be done to get the people to love their country, Nigeria. Not in the fashion of what we see on the television every day, ‘We are Nigeria, we are one’….etc. Even children laugh at it. Invent real ways of making the people love Nigeria.
I remember this quote on patriotism from Mark Twain: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” Continue reading…
The problems in the Nigerian health sector are in most part driven by the combination of limited funding, poor oversight and lack of innovation. In my opinion, the limitations and barriers seen in the health sector can be tackled by innovative leadership much more than increase in funding.
For instance, there are creative ways access to clean water can be improved beyond just drilling boreholes. Would it help if village health centers, market squares also provide people with clean water? Continue reading…
Growing up in Nigeria, we are made to memorize the multiplication tables and state capitals and governors, and as I grew into my adolescent years, I could recall phone numbers, birthdays, heads of states and other mundane information as car registration numbers (plate numbers), etc. Then I moved to the US, got wired to the computer, now it appears my memory is failing. And I’m not alone. Continue reading…
I once read somewhere that “development is the gradual emergence of a problem-solving system”.
Nigeria is fraught with problems, the tooth-achy type that seem to last for ever. Power failure, crumbling infrastructure, failing institutions, etc.
Half a century down the road, can one say Nigeria has developed over the year?
Has any problem-solving system emerged since 1960 when the Brits passed on the baton? Food for thought!
A Lagos slum
“Welcome to Lagos,” is a BBC documentary showcasing the experiences of three Lagos slum dwellers:
Olusosun rubbish dump, where thousands of people live on, and rake a living from, scraps and garbage;
Makoko, the “Venice of Lagos”, the extraordinary floating slum on the Lagoon, where everyone travels round in boats; and the
1000+ beach squatters living adjacent to the Atlantic.
It is a pity that the government and some Nigerians would rather not have the documentary shown; there are reports of protests from the government and pockets of Nigerians living in UK and USA.
The government states the documentary is “an attempt to bring Nigeria and its hardworking people to international odium and scorn”, saying, It’s a “deliberate distortion of life in Lagos, and totally unwarranted.” Very strong words to describe an excellent piece of work, I think. Continue reading…
Alhaji Abubakar Rimi
Abubarkar Rimi, aged 70, a prominent and colorful politician from northern Nigeria died abruptly over the weekend.
The events pre-death were hazy and inconclusive.
Media reports relayed how Alhaji Rimi while on a journey back home from a neighboring state, was attacked by armed bandits. Rimi was not alone; his brother, a security aide and chauffer were there and all manhandled.
In fact, we were told, Rimi was not physically harmed; he was just disposed of some personal items. Somehow after the encounter, he became breathless and was taken to a hospital. Whether he died enroute, or at the hospital remains unclear.
The president asked the police to investigate the death Continue reading…
This is my homage to the youth at the home country for up stepping up to the plate yesterday…’Gongo Aso’ (for real!), courtesy of 9ice.
