In the Grandiose Parlor…

Looking through the pictures below, I wonder what governance (the activity of governing) is if indicators such as simple and vital infrastructure like motorable roads are not available. Continue reading…

I have always been a fan of the American Army Corps of Engineers; it’s mission shows why I do: “Provide vital public engineering services in peace and war to strengthen our Nation’s security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters.”

What’s the mission of their Nigerian counterpart, in peace time? 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!

The gap between Lagos state and its peers keeps widening every month as the state embarks on digital mapping project:

Governor Fashola who said the road to the adoption of the digital mapping and GIS started many years ago, opined that it represents a total life change about the way the people live and confront challenges of an increasingly changing planet.

He said the possibilities are endless as people can now search for titles on lands electronically without physically coming to Alausa and thus impacting on the number of vehicles that may not have to be physically on the road for similar reasons.

Governor Fashola also said this would ultimately decide whether the government needs to build more roads as it is generally being clamoured for or to make a choice of providing drinkable water and hospitals to the people.

He said it means that architects would not have to go into the bush anymore in order to have a clear view of some sites.

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Constant “light” – the Nigerian euphemism for electric supply, is the most valuable upgrade (or re-brand) Nigeria needs at this time for obvious reasons.

Dr. Bukola Saraki, Kwara State Governor.

Given the several somersaults from the presidency and the House of Rep over the implementation and investigation of the national power projects, respectively, it is uplifting to read how kwara State went about taking care of business, locally.

Daily Trust reported back in February, excerpts:

What the Kwara State government built was not a power generating plant.. but it simply built a transmission station on a 2.5 hectares of land at Ganmo that could better utilize and maximise the available power that is been generated by the existing generating stations but wasted because of inadequate power infrastructures. Now, the state capital and the towns and villages in the state heave a sigh of relief for this simple foresight…

Residents in Ilorin city centre say they enjoy electricity for days at a stretch without power cut…
But nowhere is the impact more significant than in small scale industries…

There are others who had noticed the differences and are quietly staging a comeback to the businesses they abandoned and took to commercial motorcycling because of the quick money to be made.

Among his peers, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the state Governor, demonstrates an uncommon out-of-the-box mentality to governance.

For instance, about 2-3 years ago when Zimbabwe sent its white farmers packing following a wide scale land recovery exercise, Saraki was quick to see how and where the sacked farmers could fit into his state’s agricultural blueprint. He invited scores over and offered them sweet deals — free land, soft loans, and government support. Many stayed, and have been able to turn their losses in Zimbabwe into gains in Nigeria.

The same mindset was at play when the state took over this federal power project when it was about to be abandoned:

“When the state government came in it (power project) was about to be abandoned,” according to one of the governor’s advisor. ‘The Obasanjo administration funded the project and paid the entire off-shore component, remaining the onshore component which cost about N800 million. It was at this point that the Yar’adua administration came in and suspended all the national power projects in order to carry out proper investigations on them. The Kwara State government felt it cannot wait to get the benefit of the project so it started funding the project’.”

Kwara power project is the first and the only one to be completed. It’s been in operation since January 2009. And it wouldn’t have happened if Dr. Saraki and his government had not been forward thinking.

The Niger Delta crisis just keeps getting worse by the day. Punch newspaper online reports:

Shell Petroleum Development Company, shut down six oil flow stations producing 120,000 barrels of crude oil per day in Delta State.

Findings by our correspondent in SPDC on Wednesday, showed that the company took the action in the aftermath of Saturday’s blowing up of its Trans-Escravos Pipeline by unknown persons in the coastal Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.

There shouldn’t be any doubt who has gained the upper hand in this conflict.

It’s been months since the Yar’Adua administration revealed a plan to fix the Niger Delta conflict, nothing is yet to unfold.

As crude prices drop internationally and widespread depreciation continue in the stock market, Nigeria is being squeezed further between a rock and a hard place.

Earlier this year I blogged on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, musing on the need to rebrand and overhaul the scheme. The Guardian has a feature story on the scheme, highlighting how it has metamorphosed into nightmares for Nigerian youths. Excerpts:

Thirty years after, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC ) scheme has joined some of the other lofty programmes that have . Not only are the monthly allowances not realistically indexed to the realities of today’s living, securing a slot for primary assignments has equally become a tall dream.

The Guardian investigations around the country showed that no fewer than 40 per cent of those currently deployed for the programme are roaming the streets without placements due to their rejections by employers, under a gale of excuses that has upturned the main objectives of the program.

What indicators do the authorities need before doing what needs to be done?