Nigeria needs its own Obama

I have come to the conclusion that Nigeria needs its own Obama. A leader who can inspire his people to take personal responsibility for their actions and move the country to greatness. A leader who has a passion in his heart for his country and willing to take on the powers that be to bring about just and right process that is fair to all, no matter their class, colour, creed or religious beliefs.

"Yes we can!"

Yes We Can!

As Barack Obama becomes America's first African American president, what lessons do we as Nigerians take away from this momentuous occasion? Should it be self-believe, in that if you believe you can do something good and set your mind to it, all things are possible?

If Nigerians both collectively and independently say "we will make our nation, a great nation", we can do it and "Yes we can". There is still hope for Nigeria, and we have been so blessed in where our country is located. We never have to cope with natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes or Tornadoes, most of the disasters that happen to us are man made.

Let us change the fortunes of our nation by every Nigerian doing his or her little bit to make this nation great again. Let what Barack Obama has achieved inspire us as a black people, that the sky is the limit and with God all things are possible.

And in the words of the man himself "YES WE CAN"

Judged by the content of your character?

Martin Luther King Jr said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Around the world today many Nigerians around the world are judged first by the content of their character, and not by the colour of their skin. What positive impact are you having for your country today?

Nigeria's reputation around the world

I have done a fair bit of travelling around the world, and I am amazed how far Nigerians travel on their green passport. This in itself has a downside, as every where I have been Nigerians are always treated as third class citizens. Our reputation around the world has been deeply tarnished through drug charges, money laundering, being insolent, loud and abusive. Many organisations have created rules to contain our bad behaviour. I'll give you an example.

I was told that a particular airline that flies to Nigeria has told its cabin crew to stand in the aisles to prevent passengers from rushing to the door as soon as the plane lands. This is just to contain us, and to get us to do the right thing we are now treated like 7 year olds. Its a similar picture everywhere around the world, we are truly a shameless people.

We need to begin to change our attitude in the spirit of patriotism, true ambassadors of our motherland. Lets get back to those times when General Idi Agbon brought some sense of decency and pride to be called a Nigerian. Self-discipline and self-restraint will make the international community take note, and we will become a people that are respected the world over once again.

The letters behind your name mean nothing to me!

I was reading a blog of a fellow Nigerian alluding to the fact that our current president is the first Nigerian to have attended University, and although I am a product of the university myself I think such thinking is seriously flawed. The fact that you went to university does not make you a better candidate to run an organisation or country than a non graduate, neither does it make you an effective leader.

For many years we have given adulation to people with many letters before and after their names. We tend to think that they have the ability to bring better and higher standards to the environment in which they operate. Its only in Nigeria that we prefix a person's name with Eng orEngr, if they have an engineering qualification, which is a load of tosh!

I have learnt that having many letters after your name or a title before your name does not necessarily make you an effective person. In fact it tends to make you a less effective person because you begin to think of yourself more highly than you should. I have worked with many highly effective leaders that have never set foot in a university, and have contributed immensely to the growth of the organisations they have worked in.

So let us ditch the titles and letters and become more effective leaders by walking the walk, and not just talking the talk, because talking achieves very little.

Nigeria's maintenance culture

I remember when I was a kid I loved to visit Ikoyi and Victoria Islands, the houses were grand and a beauty to behold. Over the years a lot of the houses are looking rather older than they actually are. Reason? A lack of proper maintenance. Now everyone is talking about Lekki, and I can assure you in 10 years time, it will no longer be the talk of town. Many of the houses will have been defaced by dust, if not worse.

Nigerians lack a maintenence culture. We drive our cars until they break down, we live in houses until they become a hazard to live in, and we use our roads till they break up. Even in factories, I have heard of parts used till they cease up, causing an entire production line to come to a grinding halt.

We need to change our perspective about our maintenance culture. The more regularly we maintain what we have, the longer we will be able to get some long life usage out of it. I believe there are big opportunities for maintenence companies to spring up and sell their services, especially property maintenence companies. Let us take care of what we have been blessed with and adopt a proper maintenence culture.

Food for thought - Cocoa Production

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s Nigeria use to be the top producer of Cocoa. Have a look and see where Nigeria is now and our annual production, then compare with that of Ivory Coast.

Country	Amount produced	% of world production
Côte d’Ivoire	1.3 million tonnes	37.4%
Ghana	720 thousand tonnes	20.7%
Indonesia	440 thousand tonnes	12.7%
Cameroon	175 thousand tonnes	5.0%
Nigeria	160 thousand tonnes	4.6%
Brazil	155 thousand tonnes	4.5%
Ecuador	118 thousand tonnes	3.4%
Dominican Republic	47 thousand tonnes	1.4%
Malaysia	30 thousand tonnes	0.9%

Data source: International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) - 2006

Is Black Gold Nigeria's biggest curse?

Crude oil also know as black gold was first drilled in 1956 at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta. That is now over 53 years ago, it was after this that Nigeria experienced a mass urban migration that resulted in hundreds of thousands leaving their farms. As a result 20 years later the Groundnut pyramids in Kano disappeared, Nigeria slipped from being the top Cocoa producer in the world. Nigeria also lost its influence as a top Palm oil and rubber producer in the world.

Black gold is now Nigeria's main source of income, earning it 95% of total foreign exchange. Since oil had been discovered at Oloibiri, many have lost their lives through illegal bunkering, others through uprisings against oil firms who have not done much for the communities they operate in. I was watching Newsnight on the BBC, and was amazed at the level of pollution in the Niger delta, everything is contaminated cutting off the livelihood of thousands of people who live off the delta.

Black gold been a real curse to Nigeria, we have not been able to use it to improve the quality of lives of the majority, and by it many have been killed or come to poverty. Maybe we need to return to the soil and try to recover our world rankings as lead producers of Cocoa, Palm oil, Rubber and Ground nut. As soon as we begin to lower our dependence on that black stuff, the better our lives could be. Let us follow in the steps of India and China and become the great nation we are destined to be.

Becoming a compassionate people again.

Nigeria is probably the most religious country in the whole of Africa. During my visit to Nigeria recently I noticed that in Lagos there was at least one church on every street, but all the church and mosque going is not reflected in the lives of the people.

Given the opportunity many will take bribes, and shop their neighbours for a fast buck. Even within churches a great deal of adulation is heaped on the rich and famous, who flash their money around and hardly do anything for the communities they live in. In fact given the opportunity they will exploit and take undue advantage of the less privileged in the community.

Nigerians are a beautiful people, but because of hardship and poverty we seem to care less and always chasing after the fast buck. Even within the local communities, the household that is able to dig a water borehole will use it as tool to oppress their neighbours who do not have access to water.

We need to become a compassionate and loving people, in so doing we can begin to improve our communities, making sure that our neighbours have access to water and other utilities we can use to improve their lives. Our faith should be truly reflected in our lives practically everyday in what we say and what we do.

Brief illness, the biggest killer disease in Nigeria

Ever since I was a kid, brief illness has been the single biggest killer of Nigeria. The reason for this is that there are many diseases and illnesses that have been mis-diagnosed. I lost my aunt over a year ago to Kidney disease, but what surprised me the most was that there are only 2 dialysis machines in the whole of Ogun State where I come from. You could imagine the demands on those machines.

A dialysis machine is a is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function (renal replacement therapy) due to renal failure. As of 2007 over 2,000 people in the USA were dialysing at home more frequently for various treatment lengths. So when there is a hospital without a dialysis machine you could see the extent to which our healthcare system is in dire need of a major revamp.

It is simple treatments that have been around for many years that are lacking, and are the greatest cause of deaths when this should never be the case. It does not take a load of letters behind ones name to know that many Nigerians are dying unnessarily, and the solutions to prevent these deaths can be easily acquired. Its time to stop brief illness dead in its tracks by doing the right thing.

Nigeria's need for investment in solar farms.

It has been proven that Nigeria cannot in the nearest future supply its own electricity. I remember growing as a kid, there has never been a time where there was no power failure. The national power grid is a complete mess, from individuals who tap into the grid illegally with no intention of paying, to power generator dealers and distributors who continue to undermine the country's economy in order that they continue to sell their power units.

Maybe, and only maybe solar farms could be the way forward for our cities and towns, but this will have to be implemented at a cost. Solar farms tend to work well where there has been proper urban planning. This means a city like Lagos may not benefit unless radical decisions are taken.

Solar farms lend themselves to high cost of implementation and low maintenance costs, therefore with the proper backing of government, private investors can benefit for a very long time by ensuring that 24 eletric supply is no longer a dream, but a reality.

Who are our leaders that are visionaries?

I have been out of the country for over 20 years, prior to that I remember as a child that Nigeria had great visionaries like Obafemi Awolowo who introduced free quality education. Other leaders included Tai Solarin, Nnamdi Azikwe, General Idi Agbon, General Murtala Muhammed just to name a few.

My question is do we really have any leaders who are visionaries today? Do we call the leaders we currently have leaders because they are in a position of authority or because they want to see Nigeria rise to greatness again? What are these leaders doing right now for them to qualify as leaders and visionaries?

It will be interesting to hear from you.

Nigeria's need for specialist hospitals

My cousin had a serious car accident last year with some serious spinal injuries. The doctors in Nigeria confirmed that he will spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair. When the accident happened instead of leaving him till the car till the emergency services arrived, he was dragged out of the car causing further damage.

However, my cousin was one of the very lucky ones who had the opportunity to be flown out of the country to India where he received medical attention. He should be able to move around normally in a few months time. Not everyone will be lucky to be flown out of the country for specialist treatment.

This is my proposal, the government should build 6 specialist hospitals dotted around the country. The government's involvement will be only to build the infrastructure and hand them over to a foundation with an international reputation. The hospitals will be funded by Nigerians, charitable organisations and foundations. An example of raising funds will be appealing to every Nigerian living overseas to give at least $10 per month, by doing this funding for these specialist hospitals can be obtained.

So how will the funds be collected and managed? Maybe we may need to engage the services of a reputable organisation like PriceWaterhouseCoopers or a similar organisation, or maybe a foundation like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. By doing so we can ensure that the funds are solely for the purpose of healthcare only.

The potential for these specialist hospitals could be immense attracting the best practitioners from around the global, as well as making them centres of excellence. We definately need a neurological specialist hospital, other specialist hospitals could be in the area of oncology, cardiovascular, Ophthalmology, Pain and inflammation, Diabetes, Immunology and Paediatrics. This will be good example of Nigerians doing something to improve the quality of life for millions who cannot afford the luxury of overseas treament.

Building Our Communities.

Yesterday my blog mentioned the prevalent use of bulletproof cars in Nigeria. I have since had further time to reflect on this topic and my conclusion is this. For those of you who are rich enough to order bulletproof cars, you may be able to protect your family from becoming victims of crime, but somehow you still have to interact with the average Joe Blog on the street, and so is your family.

I believe that the more you do for your community, the more these people will fight to keep you safe, crime will drop because people become gainfully employed. Invest in the people in your community, fight hard to get them water, electricity and good roads. Fight hard to help your community access a quality healthcare system as well.

We can no longer depend on the government to provide all the facilities and the infrastructure our communities require, we are a resourceful people and when we pull resources together we can make things happen. Let use our resources to create wealth.

Compassionate leadership

Over the last 50 years Nigeria has had leadership from men who have travelled the world. They have seen how good roads have been maintained and kept up to standard. They have seen how electricity can be supplied for 24 hours without any interruption, the same goes for water supply. They have also seen how a good education system can enable the poorest in the society have a chance of improving their quality of life.

I met with a friend last night who said what our leadership has lacked over the years is a sense of compassion. They have become insular to the society at large that they live in, and have enjoyed the adulation and respect heaped on them on a daily basis. However, this insular society continues to become prevalent because the children of these leaders study in best schools and live overseas.

I heard that bulletproof cars are the latest craze in Nigeria, the height of paranoia has seized many with wealth and power. The simple solution is provide for the basic needs of the common man on the street, give him water, electricity, good roads and a good education for his children. It is only when these fundamental basic needs are met that crime will be reduced and reliance on bulletproof cars will no longer be required.

When will Nigeria will have a compassionate leader who would consider the plight of the common man? Is our current leadership a compassionate one? Only time will tell.

Your qualifications mean nothing unless......

I have come to a conclusion that having many letters after ones name is meaningless if the person with the qualification does not adhere to the code of ethics that guides the person's profession. The fact that you qualified as a medical doctor does not qualify you to practice as one.

My aunt and uncle who live in the USA just recently returned from a visit to Nigeria. During their stay my aunt sustained an injury that required a stitch to the upper part of her eyelid. The first challenge she faced was finding a recommended private hospital where she could be treated, when they did find a recommended hospital, the doctor who attended to her was so poorly dressed that his personal hygiene was questionable.

When the stitches were taken out at a different hospital due to their travelling schedule my aunt was attended by a doctor whose license needed to be withdrawn for the fact that as he removed the stitches he dropped them on the ground. I am not a medical doctor and neither do I have a medical background but I know that those stitches constitute a biological waste and must be disposed off in a controlled manner.

These medical doctors may have the knowledge to work as doctors, but practically the general code of ethics that a doctor should abide by are flaunted. Going to University to get a degree does not make you a qualified doctor, a qualified medical doctor is one that does his or her best to be a shinning beacon in his or her profession despite the challenging environment he or she operates in, and I hope that there are still many Nigerian medical doctors who are shinning beacons.

Have you ever wondered?

Have you ever wondered why Nigeria's infrastructure is crumbling? Ever wondered why after almost 50 years of independence our roads are in a state of disrepair, or a 24 hour uninterupted power supply is all but a distant dream? Ever wondered why most Nigerians who have lived overseas are more likely to be corrupt than those who have never left the country? Ever wondered why most of our leaders who studied overseas and seen how things work in the western world, are unable implement these best practices when they get back to their fatherland?

Ever wondered why most of us talk the talk but do not walk the walk? Ever wondered why Nigeria despite its wealth of human and natural resources is overall still a very poor nation? Ever wondered?

Welcome to my blog, welcome to my Nigerian perspective!