Browsing: Abiodun Komolafe

But of course, it wasn’t strange to the world for a period of that nature to occur in public administration. 

On consultations with the deities before choosing a king, Oba Agunsoye said: “at times, traditionalists lie when choosing a king because money has exchanged hands. A rich man can be made a king once he pays the Ifa and the Ifa would speak in his favour, unlike those years when the truth is sacred and must be told at all times.”

While in office, little was actually known about Kyari in the public realm. Unfortunately too, his name actually symbolized an uncanny error of namesake. The Borno State-born lawyer and banker shared a name with somebody who once had a favourable public perception, until Satan smiled; and the _‘super cop’_ lost it!

 The belief in some quarters is that the Bola Tinubu presidency is being confronted by two enemies: the cabals and the masses. Well, while Nigeria’s real enemies are the impenitent and chauvinistic cabals, fact remains that the masses have consistently been at the receiving end of successive governments’ bad policies and programmes.

All through history, finding and keeping round and square pegs in their respective holes has never been a Sugarcandy Mountain party. It’s a tough job for experts and committed people! Therefore, President Bola Tinubu must keep working round the clock, looking for leaks and blocking same.

That said, we have always had this prevalent, seemingly pervasive problem which is the major growth challenge for the developing world. Due to the fact that our people can read – and have always read – about London,

If the society is gullible enough to “collectivise, objectify, even sacralise” it, then it becomes the norm.

Unfortunately, societal norms tend to grow organic; and continue to evolve that, very soon, people may not even remember its origin.

Lest we forget, the evolution of democracy has its rich history in a rebellion against dictatorship, against monarchical institutions, against bigotry, and anything that prevents mass participation. Be that as it may, democratic governments function only to the extent of the understanding of the society and the political gladiators practising it. So, for the society to have a functional democratic system, it must have a robust understanding of the tenets as well as the intrinsic attributes of democracy so that it won’t appear alien to its practitioners and/or those over whom it is being practised. Since everybody will have to be part of it, it also has to be a general, not restricted, knowledge.

In other words, it wouldn’t have been in the best interest of the political leadership at the time to dig its own grave!

The responses he has been getting have been fantastic. Indeed, these are good signs of a man who actually plans to win.

In a bureaucracy, the Mafia paradigm that often emerges in a political system suggests a variation or an adulterated variant of bureaucracy, though a powerful one.

To put it mildly, things that were hitherto not so clearly observable, even by the political gladiators, were thereafter obvious to the public, especially, the educated Nigerians.

It is sociological in that the electorate would remember that he came with campaign promises to bid for the Office of the Governor.

As the saying goes, the wrong we see are oftentimes symptoms of a deeper ailment! Well, it is common knowledge that no country can develop without a predetermined solid structure. Unfortunately, Nigeria has none! Year in, year out, governments come up with pretty and fantastic policy names. But that’s where it ends, simply because those with zero understanding of what a particular policy entails are the ones in government, directing its affairs. While ‘elected’ leaders lack the coherent vision of development needed to implement the change our country needs, those who have what it takes to move it forward cannot get elected into public office because they do not have the means. Again, how did we get here?

When the late Obafemi Awolowo started ‘Free Education’ in the First Republic, that eventually became the tonic needed by the then Western Region of Nigeria to access freedom! As fate would have it, that advantage subsists, till date! Although the region is hated for it, ‘Free Education’ has become a ritual of a sort for parents and guardians in the Southwest geopolitical zone not to let their children and wards end up as almajirai! Impliedly, the culture of ‘Boko Haram’ is strange to the zone because somebody introduced a policy that defined education-friendly future, which is today. Since the past is what we carry along with us into the future, we should rather be circumspect, and think through our issues for informed decisions. For example, it’s true that Awolowo was denied a seat at the helm of Nigeria’s political Administration; but then, who is now bearing the brunt of the wahala that was created as a result of that ignoble decision by the political elite? Of course, it is the poor man on the street!

When the late Obafemi Awolowo started ‘Free Education’ in the First Republic, that eventually became the tonic needed by the then Western Region of Nigeria to access freedom! As fate would have it, that advantage subsists, till date! Although the region is hated for it, ‘Free Education’ has become a ritual of a sort for parents and guardians in the Southwest geopolitical zone not to let their children and wards end up as almajirai! Impliedly, the culture of ‘Boko Haram’ is strange to the zone because somebody introduced a policy that defined education-friendly future, which is today. Since the past is what we carry along with us into the future, we should rather be circumspect, and think through our issues for informed decisions. For example, it’s true that Awolowo was denied a seat at the helm of Nigeria’s political Administration; but then, who is now bearing the brunt of the wahala that was created as a result of that ignoble decision by the political elite? Of course, it is the poor man on the street!

In a society struggling to define and defend the flavour of its moral values, Oyetola comes as a man who understands Nigeria well enough

In a world where development has become a refuge of scoundrels, it is an endless tale of people just converging to give awards, without appreciating their complexity, philosophical or crucial sociological imports. If an award is given by a non-credible organisation, whatever the name ascribed to that award is equally unworthy.

Without being immodest, the South West as a bloc is in need of programmes and policies that can help it recalibrate its socioeconomic consciousness.