Fwd: ||NaijaObserver|| ON PROFESSOR BOLAJI ALUKO

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ozodi Osuji ozodi...@yahoo.ca [NaijaObserver] <NaijaO...@yahoogroups.com>
Date: 29 June 2015 at 18:04
Subject: ||NaijaObserver|| ON PROFESSOR BOLAJI ALUKO
To: "naijao...@yahoogroups.com" <naijao...@yahoogroups.com>

 

 

ON PROFESSOR BOLAJI ALUKO

 

I believe that I am a good judge of human character; judges have had me come to evaluate persons before they are sent to jails/prisons and give them feedback as to whether they would reoffend or not (if yes they would be given stiffer time in prisons and if not they would be given less time in the Big House).

     While in the Washington DC area, I took my time to visit with Professor Bolaji Aluko at his office at Howard University. I engaged in small talk with him. I had a hidden agenda. My goal was to assess his character.

       He had a good job at Howard but he burned with the desire to go contribute to Nigeria’s higher education. His goal is to serve his country.

       I concluded that the man has noble intentions and supported him when he obtained his present job. I can swear on all that I hold dear that Bolaji is not capable of corruption.

      Professor Aluko came from a middle class family. From what Abraham Maslow taught us in his theory of hierarchy of needs, those whose basic needs were met by their families of origin tend to focus on self-actualization and not give in to petty crimes; it is largely those whose lower order needs, such as food, safety, social acceptance were not met that seek ways to meet them and engage in criminal activities. Bolaji’s family met his lower order needs; thus, his mind focuses on higher order needs, how to serve his country.

      The present accusation that he engaged in financial impropriety is probably motivated by those with unholy intentions.  Be that as it may, their allegations must be investigated.

      Professor Aluko has my vote of confidence. He is my kind of Nigerian; he is above board. Trust me; I do not hesitate in saying it as I see it.

 

Ozodi Osuji, PhD (University of California)

University of Alaska

June 29, 2015

ozodi...@gmail.com

 

c152...@aol.com [talkhard] <talk...@yahoogroups.com>

Bolaji Aluko is double dipping in Nigeria.

That he wanted to serve his country is ruse because his acts and deeds showed the opposite.

A patriotic citizen with good intentions would first resign from his job in the U.S., before heading home to serve and never to return to the foreign country.  

But Mr. Aluko was given a government job that was never advertised for competition.  He took the job with all the benefits that did not include paying for his pension and healthcare in the U.S.  Once on the job in Otueke he quickly started paying himself about 80% of his contract pay, to be funneled to his healthcare and pension in the U.S.

We want Bolaji Aluko to post the appointment letter from Nigerian government that gave him V.C job that included payment to his retirement and healthcare account in the U.S.  Aluko's job as V.C has Nigerian pension and healthcare benefit according to government sources.

No government anywhere in the world would agree to waste public money on pension and healthcare of employee in foreign country.

That Bolaji Aluko has the effrontery to tell the world that Nigerian government was paying for his retirement and healthcare plans in the U.S. is bizarre.  As at today many Nigerians working for the governments are not getting their salaries.  But this guy did not feel the shame in defrauding his own country.  Otueke students should organize mass protest to force Bolaji Aluko out, to be prosecuted for corruption and possible theft.

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Posted by: Ozodi Osuji <ozodi...@yahoo.ca>

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[Chidi Anthony Opara]

I disagree with Ozodi Osuji, not on his opinion about Professor Aluko, but on his postulation about poverty and corruption. The major driving force for corruption is greed and greed can be found in all classes of people.

CAO.

[Okechukwu Ukaga]

“From what Abraham Maslow taught us in his theory of hierarchy of needs, those whose basic needs were met by their families of origin tend to focus on self-actualization and not give in to petty crimes; it is largely those whose lower order needs, such as food, safety, social acceptance were not met that seek ways to meet them and engage in criminal activities.” -Ozodi Osuji

The above is a total misinterpretation of Maslow’s theory (hierarchy of needs) introduced initially in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation and elaborated later in his book Motivation and Personality.   

First of all, Maslow focused on individuals and what motivates their behavior – not on relationship between family background and propensity to engage or not engage in criminal activities. Maslow opined that every person (regardless of family or socioeconomic, background) has an inherent desire and tendency to ultimately achieve self-actualization (i.e.  be all s/he can be); but one has to first meet more basic needs such as the need for food and shelter before attending to needs of a higher hierarchy and the ultimate goal of self-actualization.  Again the theory does NOT suggest (and real life experience/evidence does NOT support) the notion that folks from belter off families are more honest or less criminally inclined than others -- all things being equal.  

Second, self-actualization is not only illusive conceptually, but it is also in reality not so much a final destination as it is an ever shifting horizon. Hence, it is not unusual for people to be simultaneously engaged in fulfilling some relatively lower level needs while also seeking to meet higher needs.  In other words, while needs can be divided into five general levels (Physiological, Security, Social, Esteem, Actualization) according to Maslow’s hierarchy, movement across these levels are in real life neither strictly linear nor irreversible. Therefore, arrival at even the final stage which is pursuit of self-actualization (level 5) does not mean that one might never again worry about any lower level need such as security (level 2) which includes pension benefits and health insurance.   

Now, the above is NOT to suggest that any allegation is true (or false).  Rather it is simply to note the misapplication of Maslow’s theory in this case. 

OU

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Okechukwu Ukaga, MBA, PhD
Executive Director, Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership

Extension Professor, University of Minnesota Extension 

Adjunct Professor, Geography Department, University of Minnesota - Duluth

114 Chester Park, 31 W. College Street, Duluth, MN 55812

Website: www.rsdp.umn.edu  Phone: 218-341-6029  

Book Review Editor, Environment, Development and Sustainability (www.springer.com/10668),

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." - Richard Buckminster Fuller

[Salimonu Kadiri]

On June 28, 2015, Oluwatoyin Adepoju, reposted to this forum, through his Naija-dream- team-intellectuals, a Punch article titled : Presidency orders VC, Registrar to refund salaries' overpayment. Thereafter, OA asked Mobolaji Aluko whose name was mentioned in the article if the story was true. Without waiting for Aluko's reply, OA insinuated that it would appear that the enemies of Aluko were at work. A prayer in YÓRÙBÁ says, KÍ OLÚWA GBÀ WÁ LÓWO AMONÍ SÉNI ATI ASÉNI BÁNI DÁRÒ which means, May God deliver us from those who are very close us and plan to harm us as well as those who will harm us and turn around to be our sympathisers. OA posted the Punch article to taint the image of Aluko and later volte-faced to be his sympathizer. A careful follower of this forum would have observed that Jonathan is the greatest hero of OA whom he openly declared the best President Nigeria has ever had and the greatest thing that had ever happened to Nigeria. Aluko has been very blunt and factual by pointing whatever he considered wrong within our country. If he had not been on contract at Otueke University, he would have been sacked a long time ago. After March 28, 2015, when it became obvious that Jonathan was to vacate the Presidency, he promoted and absorbed his cronies into the civil service while sacking those he considered unfriendly to his regime. For Mobolaji Aluko, Jonathan dispatched the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to the Federal University, Otuoke where Aluko is the VC, on 12 May 2015, under the pretence of finding out if FUO's remuneration practices are in tandem with government's pay policy. The aim was to rubbish the image of Aluko who is approaching the end of his five years contract agreement with the Federal government.

 

Mobolaji Aluko was the target of Jonathan and his NSIWC. The inclusion of the Registrar, David Suowari, was just to make it look nice. In a letter signed by NSIWC's Director of Compensation, Chike Ogbechie, it was stated, "The Vice-Chancellor was being paid total emoluments of N1,970,476.76 monthly, whereas he should not earn more than N922,810.28 if he were paid furniture allowance en bloc earlier, or N1,043,176.79, if he were being paid furniture allowance." From this NSIWC's report, it is not certain if VC Aluko was paid furniture allowance en bloc or if he were being paid monthly. NSIWC could not specify how much VC Aluko had been overpaid. In the case of the Registrar, Punch wrote, "the Commission said the Registrar was being paid N130,692.72 in excess of his due salary of N502,580.25," and the Commission concluded, "We hereby direct the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar to refund the cumulative overpayments made to them." Punch noted, "Much of the difference was attributed to certain allowances which were not approved by the government." Yet, the budget of Federal University, Otuoke, like all Federal institutions in Nigeria, is prepared annually by the Federal Ministry of Education, therefore, emoluments and allowances paid to VC Aluko and Registrar Suowari must have been appropriated for in each annual budget, otherwise, the said emoluments and allowances could not have been paid out. If the government did not approve the allowances why were they appropriated for in the budgets? The Punch balanced the information on allowances when he quoted Vice-Chancellor Aluko as having said, "Rather, pension and health insurance allowances were due to THREE OF US, DIASPORA VICE-CHANCELLORS, WHO WERE ON SABBATICAL FROM OUR FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES AND CO-PAID MONTHLY IN NAIRA TO US FOR PAYMENT TO THOSE FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES. WITHOUT THAT CONCESSION OCCURRING, OUR OWN LOCAL SALARIES WOULD HAVE BEEN WIPED OUT COMPLETELY, AND WE COULD NOT HAVE ACCEPTED THE JOB." In spite of this self-explanatory information from VC Aluko, the Punch newspaper sensationally embellished the story to incite public anger thus, "THE PRESIDENCY, THROUGH THE NATIONAL SALARIES, INCOMES AND WAGES COMMISSIONS (NSIWC), HAS DIRECTED THE VICE-CHANCELLOR OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY, OTUEKE, BAYELSA STATE, PROF MOBOLAJI ALUKO, TO REFUND OVERPAYMENT OF SALARIES RUNNING INTO MILLIONS OF NAIRA. THE REGISTRAR OF THE UNIVERSITY, DAVID SUOWARI, WAS ALSO DIRECTED TO REFUND CUMULATIVELY THE SUM OF N130,672.71 PER MONTH IN EXCESS OF HIS DUE SALARY." The Presidency as referred to above is intended to mislead readers into believing that it is the current President who is at work whereas it was President Jonathan who for vindictive reasons had instigated FUO,s report by NSIWC just to get at VC Aluko. Beside VC Aluko, two other Diaspora Vice-Chancellors were paid agreed allowances without which none of them could have accepted the job of VC in Nigeria. Why then was NSIWC report only about FUO where VC Aluko is stationed and not the other two Federal Universities where VC Aluko,s fellow Diaspora VCs are stationed and paid the same allowances. If the remuneration practices of Federal University, Otuoke, had not followed government's existing pay policy, NSIWC should have informed VC Aluko about which sections of government's General & Financial Orders he had violated upon which he would be ordered, and not directed, to refund wrong payments received. Failure to do that is an indication that NSIWC and whoever might have sent them were only out to smear VC Aluko's reputation.

 

Soothsayer Oluwatoyin Adepoju wrote in response to Dr Ozodi Osuji's eccentric outburst on VC Aluko thus, "I believe that I am a good judge of human character; judges have had me come to evaluate persons before they are sent to jails/prisons and give them feedback as to whether they would reoffend or not (if yes, they would be given stiffer time in prisons and if not they would be given less time in the Big House)." If Oluwatoyin Adepoju wrote the above as a professional psychologist or a psychiatrist I will conclude that he has brought his profession into ridicule before the entire world. Only Nigeria's BABALÁWO or EZEMUO can claim the ability to trace the genes of crime in humans. Based on his self-proclaimed ability to detect a lie before it is told, OA wrote that Prof Aluko has his vote of confidence. His confidence in VC Aluko, OA wrote, arose out of a visit he once paid to Aluko at Howard University with a hidden agenda and a goal to assess his character. The funny character, OA, did not tell readers why he appointed self to assess the character of VC Aluko and why it was a hidden agenda. Did he ever tell VC Aluko, until now, why he visited him at Howard? In his bid to sound sophisticated intellectually, OA then dabbled into Abraham Maslow Theory of Hierarchy of Needs and then concluded that VC Aluko could not be corrupt. OA wrote, "The present accusation that he (VC Aluko) engaged in financial impropriety is probably motivated by those with unholy intentions. Be that as it may their allegations must be investigated." This is a product of a quasi-intellectual ranting about financial impropriety, corruption and allegations to be investigated on VC Aluko when the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commissions (NSIWC) has never accused him of any crime, financial or otherwise.

 

Dr Ozodi Osuji wrote, "A patriotic citizen with good intentions would first resign from his job in the US before heading home to serve and never to return to the foreign country." So you Dr Ozodi Osuji is unpatriotic! That is why you refuse to return to Nigeria to serve your fatherland even when you risk being shut down by white Americans who consider you as an inferior human being because of the colour of your skin. Lead by example Dr Osuji by returning to Nigeria immediately and when you have done that you will have the gut to ask others to return home to serve their fatherland patriotically. Take note that nobody will ever address you as a Nigger in Nigeria!!

 

Aluko's job as VC has Nigerian pension and healthcare benefit, according to government sources, Dr Osuji wrote. Aluko's job as VC in Nigeria is on 5 years contract base and before he accepted the contract he took Sabbatical leave whereby the pension and healthcare insurances he had in the US were not terminated or transferred to Nigeria. Moreover, to get Nigerian pension: (i) a person must have served for 30years or (ii) must have attained the age of 60. I don't know if Bolaji Aluko would attain the age of 60 at the expiration of his five years contract in Nigeria as VC, but five years service in Nigeria would certainly not earn him any pension from the Nigerian government. Thus Dr Osuji's government's sources on Nigerian pension and healthcare benefit were only being mischievous.

 

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Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2015 04:47:32 -0700,
From: chidi...@gmail.com
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: ||NaijaObserver|| ON PROFESSOR BOLAJI ALUKO

[Dhikru Yagboyaju]

Those who underrated the ex-President's capability to fight dirty did so at their own risk

[Salimonu Kadiri]

Please Dhikru Yagboyaju, Ex-President Jonathan's capability to fight dirty should not be the focus of our attention here but rather on his foot-soldier, Oluwatoyin Adepoju. Any fair minded person that read the Punch's article posted on this forum by OA, would have observed that it was not grounded on concrete evidence that VC Aluko had been overpaid by FUO. OA did not only post the Punch article on this forum, he followed it up with a question to the VC: Professor Aluko, is this true? And believing from his narrow sense of reasoning that the article is damaging to the integrity of VC Aluko, OA joyously stated: It appears your enemies are at work. When intellectual crocodiles, with big jaws and small brains, seized the opportunity to pour water on the back of the duck hoping it would stay, Oluwatoyin Adepoju authored a testimonial captioned: ON PROFESSOR MOBOLAJI ALUKO.
 
In his testimonial, OA disclosed that he once voluntarily visited VC Aluko at Howard disguised as a green serpent under the green grass to tempt and assess the character of Prof Aluko. Based on that serpentine visit to Aluko, Oluwatoyin Adepoju wrote in his testimonial that he has confidence in Aluko that he is not corrupt even though neither Punch nor National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission ever accused Prof Aluko of being corrupt. Did Oluwatoyin Adepoju forget that he had assessed the character of Prof Aluko some years back and found him honest when he openly queried him if the publication in the Punch was true? If OA was in doubt about the truthfulness of the Punch publication, OA should have asked Prof Aluko about his opinion before posting it on this forum. Alternatively, OA could have posted it without asking question and speculating about Aluko's enemies being at work.
 
When Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was on Sabbatical from the World Bank to serve as Minister of Finance, under Obasanjo's presidency, she received her salaries in US dollars and not in naira as other Ministers in that government. Gani Fawehinmi, filed a Constitutional case in court to challenge the payment of Finance Minister's salaries in dollars when the official currency in Nigeria is naira. Fawehinmi won as the court declared payment of Iweala's salaries in dollars unconstitutional. However, the salary of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was adjusted so that she was paid in naira equivalent of dollars that she should be earning at the World Bank. Similarly, nobody with gumption should demand or expect Professor Aluko to have accepted a five year contract as FUO's VC to the detriment of losing his pension and health insurance schemes because of disparity in salary in Nigeria and the US. Common sense should tell anyone, who has it, that FUO would never have been able to pay the said allowances if they were not appropriated for in the budget. The question then is why were the allowances being appropriated for annually in the budget, for the past five years, if they had never been agreed to by the partners? Therefore, blatant falsification of the Punch article by Oluwatoyin Adepoju to imply that VC Aluko had engaged in financial impropriety that should be investigated is, to me, the most dirty covert fight. 
 

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Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2015 20:01:12 -0700
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: ||NaijaObserver|| ON PROFESSOR BOLAJI ALUKO
From: dayag...@gmail.com
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com