Fw: Prof Olukotun's Column

[ayo_ol...@yahoo.com]

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From: Ibini Olaide <ibini_...@yahoo.com>

Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2016 12:06:22 +0000 (UTC)

To: ayo_ol...@yahoo.com<ayo_ol...@yahoo.com>

ReplyTo: "ibini_...@yahoo.com" <ibini_...@yahoo.com>

Subject: Prof Olukotun's Column

                                                                   ABANDONED PROJECTS AND STATE DECAY

                                                                                   AYO OLUKOTUN

         If Nigeria were not a country with a pronounced abandoned project syndrome, the inauguration, on Tuesday, of a 23 member Electoral Reform Committee headed by Ken Nnamani, a former Senate President, would have been totally unnecessary and prodigal, for there exists in the archives of government a seminal and non-partisan electoral reform report which is the respected output of a Committee, chaired by Justice Muhammadu Uwais. The 2008 Uwais Report has only been half heartedly implemented by successive governments, and all that is needed is a technical committee to advice the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, on how best to implement its recommendations; but in a country of abandoned projects, a syndrome that derives partly from every government trying to,as it were, re-invent the wheel, about just anything can happen. 

     To elaborate on that point, a fortnight ago, this columnist listened to a consultant on Channels Television, who revealed that a decade or so ago, a committee he headed had the assignment to do an inventory of solid minerals in the country. The committee submitted a report that exists in governmental archives,and according to him, in the embassies of several countries that do bussiness in Nigeria. Apparently oblivious of this report,which must have cost the country a pretty amount, the Buhari administration has also committed quite some funding to do an inventory all over of solid minerals in the country. In the same connection, it will be interesting to see whether Buhari, if he agrees to restructure the country will be willing to simply dust up the Report of what is derisively referred to in government as the Jonathan Conference or will he start all over?

   Shift your gaze to construction projects, and see the litany of abandoned projects that fill up the country. According to a former Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, there are 19,000 such projects in various stages of abandonment. That figure, presumably does not include projects begun and abandoned by State Governments. One often cited tragic example is a large scale water supply project started by a former governor of Kwara State, Late Muhammed Lawal. Virtually completed, the edifice was designed to solve the chronic water supply problem in Ilorin and neighbouring towns. When however, Lawal failed to win a second term, his successor , Dr. Bukola Saraki will not touch the project with a long pole, and it remains today an epitaph to a governmental culture of waste, hyper patisanship and dereliction.

        It will be interesting if a doctoral student in Political Science, in one of our universities researches our abandoned project syndrome,for what insight it throws into a perverse governance culture, leadership atrophy, programmed dysfunction, a thriving spoils system, and the lack of monitoring mechanisms. Let us recall the famous definition of politics as a study of who gets what, when and how? This immediately opens a line of investigaton as to those who get awarded the juiciest contracts, some of which are never implemented, most of them half implemented with only a tiny proportion completed. Star novelist and academic, Professor Kole Omotosho gave an interesting example at a Convocation Lecture he delivered few years back, at the Federal University of Technology, Akure. Quoting the Niger-Delta professionals, a civil society monitoring group, Omotosho disclosed that a project to construct and equip a Federal Medical Centre at Ohanbile community, which contract was awarded to former Senate President, Adolphous Nwanbara, never saw the light of day.                                                                    

      Obviously, many examples of such projects exist in the chronicles of successive governments, especially, but not confined to the 16 year rule of The People's Democratic Party. I do not mean to suggest that Nigeria is the only country where governmental projects are begun and abandoned. This happens too in the United States, where for example, in the last or so decade, the Pentagon spent over 50billion dollars on 15 major programmes, according to Business Insider "without any fielded systems to show for it". In case you thought that this is another version of Dasukigate, this is not the case at all as the explanation is funding problem, attributed to the Budget Control Act.

      In the United Kingdom, much was heard a decade and a half ago about abandoned Internet Technology projects, the most conspicous example being an elaborate National Health Service Patient Record System,whose abandonment cost the tax payers 10 Billion pounds. As a conservative Member of Parliament, Richard Bacon described it at the time "This saga is one of the worst and most expensive contracting fiascos in the history of the public sector". Obviously, no public sector in the world is immune to the waste , poor judgement, indiscretion and even corruption which in many cases produce abandoned projects, resulting in significant loss of public revenue. Successive reforms and so called public management paradigm shifts, have not been able to solve this problem. What we have in Nigeria however, are spectacular and tragically repetitive occurences of abandoned projects, with the result that many contracts, such as that of the Ore-Benin road, are awarded several times with little to show for the many awards.

     The ongoing anti-corruption programme, whatever its limitations, seeks to return the conscience of a nation that is self destructing, because the state has been hijacked by successive waves of monumentally corrupt political elites, for whom government contracts have become the major avenue for siphoning public wealth into private accounts. Unfortunately, however, the programme has only scratched the surface of a deep and complex problem of endemic status. It was not so many years ago that Professor Pat Utomi revealed that no construction project undertaken by the federal government since 1999 had been fully completed. Worse still, nobody,as far as we know, has been brought to book over these costly abandonments, mainly because, it is the high profile politicians and their cronies who get the big projects anyway.

     Sometimes, to be fair, the projects are abandoned because they are not fully funded by government or beacause a cash crunch has descended on a system that is vulnerable to downswings in commodity prices. But even at that, it is doubtful whether citizens ever got value for money paid out to contractors, before the onset of reccession. At any rate, it speaks volumes for our capacity to plan that adequate provision was not made for funding for the execution of projects, which have direct bearing on the welfare of the citizens. It is not enough to do an audit of abandoned projects or simply lament their high number. Sanctions should be meted out to those guilty of colluding to cheat the public in one way or another. In addition, the machinery of government should be streamlined, especially in hard times like these, to reduce duplication of projects by different arms of government, often embarking on them in an overlapping manner. 

       Perhaps it is time to re-visit the suggestion made recently by Eze that the offices of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, The Bureau of Public Procurements, as well as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission,should be merged for better over sight and monitoring of projects. At any rate, it is time to frontally apprehend and arrest the mania of project abandonment.

[ayo_ol...@yahoo.com]

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From: Yomi Layinka <you...@yahoo.co.uk>

Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2016 00:02:42 +0100

To: <ayo_ol...@yahoo.com>

Cc: Margaret Ayansola<mdaya...@gmail.com>; <anu...@yahoo.com>; antonia simbine<tsom...@yahoo.com>; Taiwo Owoeye<siste...@hotmail.com>; takehinde<take...@yahoo.com>; Tiwa<tiwaol...@yahoo.com>; Tayo Balogun<tbalo...@yahoo.com>; Tolulope Sajobi<ttsa...@ucalgary.ca>; Tunde Oseni<tunde...@gmail.com>; Bridget Teboh<bte...@umassd.edu>; Paul T. Zeleza<pze...@usiu.ac.ke>; BISHOP CROWN<bishopis...@gmail.com>; bode fasakin<bodef...@yahoo.co.uk>; Boladale Abiola<dalea...@yahoo.com>; Bolaji Ogunseye<eri...@yahoo.com>; charles akinola<akindij...@gmail.com>; <cynthi...@gmail.com>; Dewale Yagboyaju<aswa...@yahoo.com>; Emevwo Biakolo<ebia...@smc.edu.ng>; Ephraim Aor<rainbo...@gmail.com>; Faith Adebiyi<faithad...@gmail.com>; Festus Adedayo<fesad...@yahoo.com>; Nduka Otiono<Nduka....@carleton.ca>; Ngozi<mediawo...@yahoo.com>; Nimi Wariboko<nimi...@msn.com>; <nkec...@yahoo.com>; Niyi Osundare<oosu...@uno.edu>; Noel Ihebuzor<noel.i...@gmail.com>; <madeye...@yahoo.com>; Mamora<senato...@yahoo.com>; Mayortk<may...@yahoo.com>; Meda<med...@yahoo.com>; michaelfaborode<michael...@gmail.com>; Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome<moju...@gmail.com>; Moshood Omotosho<mashom...@yahoo.com>; <lola...@yahoo.com>; peju oti<pejuo...@yahoo.com>; Pius Adesanmi<piusad...@gmail.com>; Prof Dipo Kolawole<profko...@yahoo.com>; Jibo<jib...@yahoo.com>; Jinmi Adisa<jinmi...@gmail.com>; alade rotimi-john<rotimijohn...@gmail.com>; Alaba Ogunsanwo<alabaog...@gmail.com>; Alex Gboyega<alexg...@yahoo.com>; Prof Alli<all...@yahoo.co.uk>; Vincent Adugbe<vad...@yahoo.com>; Olufemi Vaughan<ovau...@bowdoin.edu>; muzaffar hussain<mha_261...@yahoo.com>; Olatundun Janet Adelegan<olatu...@yahoo.com>; david atte<david...@yahoo.com>; Attehsun<atte...@yahoo.com>; Grace Omoshaba<gmso...@yahoo.com>; Ugbabe, Padma<P.Ug...@fordfoundation.org>; <sany...@yahoo.co.uk>; sat obiyan<sato...@yahoo.com>; <shirle...@yahoo.com>; simon Emeje<simon...@yahoo.com>; <simonk...@yahoo.com>; Sola Akinrinade<sol...@msn.com>; <solomon_...@yahoo.com>; lanre oluwaniyi<lanr...@hotmail.com>; Lanre Idowu<lanre...@gmail.com>; Wasiu Odufisan<wasiuo...@yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: Prof Olukotun's Column

Hi Ayo,

My initial and reflex response to this week's provocative column is to shrug it off with the usually cynical attitude of 'why worry?'. But knowing the extent of waste of public resources and the sheer enervation of citizen optimism this "abandoned projects and state decay" has cost us a country, I couldn't resist the urge to put in a sentence or two.

First is that we simply cannot afford to look on as if nothing can be done to stem this unrelenting culture of waste and our daily worsening penchant for prodigal investment of scarce public resources in an expansive bottomless pit (apologies to Prof Wole Soyinka). 

Secondly, and more critically; beyond your recommended need for urgent mergers and streamlining of relevant agencies into a  composite whole, I propose the immediate design, implementation and operation of a public procurement framework that not only emphasises the fidelity of extant ordinances but one that seeks to PUNISH in perpetuity any wilful transgressions of such laws and grund norms of public expenditures.

In effect, I have long held the view that until public officers (be they civil, elected or appointed public servants) know and realise that their activities in public office will 'eternally' be interrogated and the results visited  upon them long after their terms of office - until death do them part - our people will continue to operate with the impunity that encourages the award of contracts that are more than likely to be abandoned either  because they were cynically conceived, inadequately funded  or poorly managed. 

Once they realise that their actions will ALWAYS be open to public scrutiny and that they will no longer be able to hide behind the pretensions of old age, ethnicity, religion and social class, public officials will begin to act with a healthier dose of enlightened self-interest, and with greater respect for the public interest. More than ever before, they will begin to act in sync with their individual consciences, with the fear of God and the respect to the wrath of Law.

Until that day...abandoned projects and state decay will continue to flourish, no matter the pious proclamations of a thousand Buharis. 

Sincerely yours,

YOMI

[ayo_ol...@yahoo.com]

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

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From: Ibini Olaide <ibini_...@yahoo.com>

Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2016 13:51:14 +0000 (UTC)

To: ayo_ol...@yahoo.com<ayo_ol...@yahoo.com>

ReplyTo: "ibini_...@yahoo.com" <ibini_...@yahoo.com>

Subject: Prof Olukotun's Column

                                                                     JUDICIAL CORRUPTION AND ELITE DISSENSUS

                                                                                             AYO OLUKOTUN

    Opinion is sharply divided, even among senior lawyers, about the legitimacy, propriety, legality and decorum of last week's raid by the Department of State Services on the official quarters of judges around the country, and the subsequent arrest of the judges. Monitoring the controversy, it is helpful to narrow the heated debate down to disagreement over the method, Gestapo-Style, some have called it, of apprehending the judges, not the least because the "operation" in Port-Harcourt, for instance took place around 1am on saturday morning.

       The DSS maintains that, what it erroneously called a "sting operation" - a sting operation involves the use of decoys or fake identities to obtain evidence-is justified by the recovery of huge amounts in foreign and local currencies from the home of the judges. In other words, the end "evidence" with which to prosecute the judges, who were subsequently released on bail, justifies the unorthodox and somewhat alarming means used to procure "evidence". One one side of the divide are those like Professor Itse Sagay SAN and Femi Falana SAN who insist that the travails of the judges and by extension, the judiciary, were brought on by their failure to carry out internal cleansing of corrupt judges. 

    In collusion with blue chip senior lawyers, the judiciary or at least a growing number of judges have waxed fat on bribes offered by those who will like to procure election verdicts in their favour. This apart, it is argued that the National Judicial Commission, which ought to discipline judges,would appear to have been less than vigilant. As Falana expressed it: "Having failed to take advantage of the relevant statutory disciplinary bodies to purge the bar and the bench of corrupt elements, the members of the legal profession have themselves to blame for the harrassment of judges by security forces". Sagay insists that the Nigerian Bar Association, which is currently on the offensive against government action, should bury its head in shame, having colluded with corrupt judges to prevent cleansing of the bench. Sagay went on to say that the NJC can only deal with "normal situations" ; what we have on our hands however, is a case of entrenched corruption, not amenable to the powers and purview of the NJC.

      Well said sir, but if pushed to its logical conclusion, we might well be calling for dictatorship in one form or another. Indeed, most dictatorships, including the several cycles of military rule in Nigeria, have legitimated themselves by counterposing to the prevaling rottenness, an advertised higher moral order. In the end, as we know, the promised moral order never materialises, as state and society descend into a cesspit of corruption, worse than the one that was overthrown. Critics of the raid, support the anti corruption agenda of the Buhari government, in respect of the corrupt judges, but insist that decent methods must be employed, to avoid what this columnist once described as the "corruption of anti-corruption". On this side of the divide, is Emeritus Professor of Journalism, Olatunji Dare, who on Tuesday, wrote that "A comprehensive purge of the judiciary was surely indicated. But not with the tactics the DSS employed lately". Dare went on to liken the raid, to "working a slippery slope along which only a dangerous descent is guaranteed". The point of view of this columnist, is closer to the critics of the raid, at the same time, as I would uphold the urgency of cleansing the Judiciary. 

     Let us bear in mind, that the Nigerian state, does not, to borrow a term popularised by the late Greek Academic, Nicos Poulantzas, "relative autonomy" from factions of the political class. That is another way of saying that State Institutions are highly politicised and immature, and can be sent on missions, even of vengeance by political warlords. Recall for example, that under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, the DSS carried out infamous acts, as the raid on one of the Lagos offices of the All Progressive Congress. That wanton act, was justified on grounds of National security. Under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, controversy has trailed such actions as the invasion by the DSS of the Presidential Lodge of the Akwa-Ibom State House. That implies that political partisanship and arbitrariness can easily be passed off,as part of the fight against corruption, in a polity where the rule of strong men rather than the rule of law prevails. The confrontation in Port-Harcourt between the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and state security, in the course of the recent raid, opens a line of enquiry, if we take into account, the long running conflict between the Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Wike. As known, the most partisan actions can be clothed in a garb of high purpose. 

     But let us go on to weightier matters, by asking the question: Who corrupted the judges? Can the judiciary,lightening raids apart, be cleansed outside of a thorough going anti-corruption program that addresses the bribe giver and the bribe taker?. That .is to say that, short of an even handed and non-partisan anti-corruption war, trying to sanitize the judiciary may simply be a waste of time as it will yield little result. Furthermore, can we explain judicial corruption in relation to election matters especially, without taking into account, the condition of service of judges and distressing work environment, which pre-dispose them to moral perfidy?. Another way of looking at the issue is to ask why there is such an obscene gap between political office holders and the professional class. For the avoidance of doubt, and asThe Punch editoral affirmed on October 12, corrupt judges should be brought to book speedily, as it is the practise around the globe. Judges are not immune from obeying the law, or for that matter from prosecution. They should however, in institutional terms, be protected from the vulgarity of demeaning treatment, that exposes the institution to public ridicule and contempt. All the more so, as such actions evoke tragic chapters in our national history when institutions of state and civil society were brutalised, repressed and hounded.

        If we are serious about tackling judicial corruption, as indeed all forms of political corruption, what are required, include, moral purpose of a leadership, that is not weakened by partisanship; and National ownership of the reform agenda. These are not enough, there must be constant dialogue among stake holders in the justice sector,in order to reassure those concerned that the reforms are not threats but quality assurance and capacity building initiatives. Such dialogues, will necessarily include ways of strengthening and giving more teeth to the NJC, so that it can bite and be more effctive. That apart, within the context of building a National Integrity System, benchma rks should be set, using an incremental approach that monitors compliance and progress. 

    As Transparency International has repeatedly advocated, digitization, as well as automation, in which judgements can be electronically recorded and reviewed, can help to minimize judicial abuses. Finally, civil society should be mobilized for buy-in support into efforts to minimize and sanction corruption among our judges. That is a different ball game from the recent dodgy methods, whose negative reverberations may outweigh their limited gains.

         

[ayo_ol...@yahoo.com]

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From: Ibini Olaide <ibini_...@yahoo.com>

Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2016 11:42:34 +0000 (UTC)

To: ayo_ol...@yahoo.com<ayo_ol...@yahoo.com>

ReplyTo: "ibini_...@yahoo.com" <ibini_...@yahoo.com>

Subject: Prof Olukotun's Column

              COMATOSE LIBRARIES AND A DISAPPEARING NATION

                             AYO OLUKOTUN

     Astonishing contrasts and rude paradoxes define the Nigerian identity. It has, if the International Monetary fund is to be believed, recently re-emerged as Africa's largest economy, but what does this translate to, for citizens, many of whom resemble, in their suffering, survivors of a holocoust?. Nigeria aspires to the world stage, but its institutions are drastically enfeebled, while its component nationalities are in varying stages of revolt against a centre that is both imperious and ineffective. 

    It is against this backdrop of great potentials nestling with sensational setbacks, that one seeks to understand the shocking disrepair, that has overtaken the nation's pre-eminent cultural institution, the National Library. A national newspaper reported on Wednesday, that the library is owing arrears of staff claims stretching to six years, while it is in danger of being evicted from its headquarters in Abuja, for failure to pay up its rent for three consecutive years. The report provides insight into the decrepit nature of the space currently occupied by the library, describing it as "in a deplorable state, with leaking roof, cracked walls, malfunctioning toilets and broken water pipes". One always had an idea, as a cursory visit reveals, of the run down nature of our libraries; what is galling and scandalous is that the nation's premier archive and cultural storehouse is about to join Nigeria's lengthening list of abandoned institutions and projects. 

     As known, great nations make it their duties and solemn assignments to preserve their heritage, histories and distinctive places,by building and sustaining great libraries. It was the American Founding Fathers, bookworms and great scholars in their own rights, who founded the Library of Congress, the nation's defacto National Library, in the early years of the Federation. Successive leaders carried forward the vision, by rebuilding and relocating it, after infernos and wars, until it became the world's largest library, acquiring well over 2 million items per year. 

         Do I need to mention the British Library, which is the National library of the United Kingdom, and boasts of material in its possession dating back to 2000 B.C? In its latest incarnation, it enjoys the prestige of being one of the most significanct public buildings in the UK in the contemporary period. We can go on and on, but the point has been made, I hope, that no nation worthy of its role definition in human affairs or mindful of its national heritage, will leave its national library in the kind of desolation that has overtaken our own.  

     How did we come to this sorry pass? Part of the narrative will necessarily point up the tragic divorce in our national life, between power and intellect. The many years of military rule, featuring an officer class that could hardly be called intellectual, spawned all kinds of philistine excesses, symptomized by the tragic meltdown in a once globally acclaimed educational sector. When the Generals went back to the barracks, retired Generals, some of them, among the richest in the world, took over from where they left off and either ruled in person or from behind the stage, producing a political elite in their own image. In an earlier piece entitled "What does President Jonathan read" ? (The Punch 19 January 2013), I drew attention to the bankruptcy in reading culture of most Nigerian leaders, outside of the well known intellectual giants of the first two decades of independence. I have no reason to believe that the situation has improved, since the article was written, especially if we go by the embarrassing, off the cuff remarks of our top politicians.

     In the same vein, legislators routinely collect allowances for researchers, but there is no evidence that they do any research. Why is this important? Because our politicians will rather fritter money on white elephant projects, than to properly furnish a national library that will be of use to generations to come. It was nice that former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, had the presence of mind to build a Presidential Library in his home; it would have been nicer if he had poured the same energy into the legacy building enterprise of extensively rekitting the nation's apex Cultural and Educational Resource Centre.  

     To be sure, libraries have undergone changes in the information age, because of the availability of internet services in homes. Interestingly however, in their current hybridized form, in which they take advantage of electronic resources, they are enjoying a revival. For example, town planners in many parts of the globe are conceiving of magnificient libraries or the reconstruction of old ones, located in the busiest areas of cities, where they can reap economic dividends, by offering a cafeteria of cultural services which appeal to a wide strata of the population. These are not libraries, housing books yellowing with age, that nobody ever reads; but innovatively located cultural institutions, featuring library halls, internet galleries, video and audio services, cafes, musuems and a range of related economic and social services. 

     Part of the distress of libraries in the Nigerian setting is that they are almost totally separated in terms of their content, from the neighbourhoods in which they are located. This lacuna sells them short, because the very communities with which they should reciprocally interact and empower through knowledge sharing, do not see any stake in these institutions. Properly conceived, the new Nigerian library, which should take its cue, from a re-invented National Library, should be an alternative university, that ware houses, tons of information about the communities in which they are located- their histories, ecology, folklores and customs. In that way, the communities will see themselves as vital parts of such institutions; while the libraries on their own parts, will provide information and resources for civic engagement and participation. Libraries starved of funds, with conspicously under-utilized computers sitting as decorating items, cannot showcase Nigerian culture or the culture its people.

        There is of course, as previously noted, a connect between reading culture and the flourishing of libraries. The phenomenon of certificated illiterates, and university as degree awarding mills, have deepened the problem because of the presence among the so called educated elite of citizens who do not read newspapers, much less books. The time-worn saying, that the best way to hide anything from the black man is to put it in a book, applies seminally to Nigerians, leaders and followers alike. Our successive Presidents continue to read public speeches in the detached manner which suggests that they probably are seeing them for the first time.

      Consequently, a re-invention of the culture of library use must go hand in hand with the revival of a reading culture, and of course, a qualitative system of education that transcends the recieving of degrees and diplomas.

      At a minimum, the National Library must be saved from extinction by redeeming it from its current prostrate circumstances. All it requires is a reset of priorities in such a way that money spent on projects of doubtful value be redirected to saving the institution. Finally, as argued, there is the urgent need to re-institute a culture of library use, by revitalizing the reading culture, while the libraries themselves should be recrafted by inserting them in social and economic activites, that can replenish them.

      

        .

[signlan...@yahoo.com]

In addittion to suggestions raised by eminent Professor Ayo Olukotun on how to revive our (dying) reading culture in Nigeria and the restoration of the National Library as pride of Nigerians; the following are as important too:

For the dying reading culture revival to be succesful and all encompassing, it must begin at kindergarten or nursery education level through primary to secondary and tertiary education levels. Books projects in every subjects must be sponsored by government and well-meaning organisations, corporate bodies and philantropists. The current high costs of books is way beyond many poor parents whose purchasing power have been curtailed drastically by economic recession especially where some of them have many children in different schools. Book donations must be made to schools, public libraries, institutions periodically while some intellectually precocious and brilliant students also receive donation of books as scholars.

Schools should revive the Current Affairs Society, the Debating Society, the Press Club and all such extra curricular activities which encourages reading.

Since the era of free education is over, free books is however possible if public and private partnership is involved. This will mean poor parents who can hardly afford buying books for their wards can locate such support.

Frankly speaking, our Libraries should start stockpiling tons of brands of musical journals and established sports archives to attract some youths interests. This is because many youths are passionate about becoming a musician or sportsmen and women because their belief is that after spending many years in the college/university, locating a job is always elusive for a sizeable percentage of graduates; instead of wasting their time pounding street of our cities and towns in search of elusive job, some of them may start investing their energy and resources engaging in their best hobbies. They need therefore, to start making a discovery of that potential and talents inherent in their persons as early as possible through reading at the libraries.

Having seen many people becoming stars and celebrities with little education or through self-taught efforts, many youths have their role model among musicians, sportsmen and women, artistes, business mogul etc.

Conversely, some youths love to play lottery games because while it help some of them earn an extra income, thereby reducing poverty and needs, others are able to exercise their brain power. Although, playing lotteries may have its disadvantages, the youths are solely tapping this landmine as an opportunity to make a discovery of themselves and solve problems.

The current trends is for some idle youths to engage in cybercrimes -the notorious Yahoo boys are well-know in the society for their fraudulent activities. The libraries must not only be fully equipped with books and internet, it must be a place where people can learn how to make legitimate money from internet. If this knowledge is offered with experts and resource persons, our libraries will start to witness high numbers of interested readers and visitors.

Adewale Adeyanju
President/Executive Director
National Handicap Carers Asso. of Nigeria(NAHCAN) & Sign Language Communications &Technology(SIGNLANGCOMTECH).
International Press Centre,
#11, Dideolu Estate, off Ijaiye Road, 2nd Gate Bus Stop, Ogba-Lagos P.O.Box 17303 Ikeja-Lagos. Mobile: 08082678415(SMS)
Twitter: @walead_c15prof

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

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From: ayo_olukotun via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2016 19:15:28 +0000

To: Toyin Falola<toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>; Ayo Olukotun<ayo_ol...@yahoo.com>; Usa dialogue<usaafric...@googlegroups.com>; Richard Joseph<r-jo...@northwestern.edu>; Tade Aina<tadeak...@yahoo.com>; TaleOmole<tale...@yahoo.com>; Tiwa<tiwaol...@yahoo.com>; Tunji Olaopa<tolao...@gmail.com>; Bolaji Akinyemi<rot...@gmail.com>; bukky dada<bukk...@hotmail.com>; Bunmi Makinwa<bunmim...@hotmail.com>; Banji Oyeyinka<boye...@hotmail.com>; bankole omotoso<aji...@outlook.com>; Boladale Abiola<dalea...@yahoo.com>; Bolaji Ogunseye<eri...@yahoo.com>; Caleb Ayoade Aborisade<cabor...@yahoo.com>; chibuzo nwoke<chibuz...@yahoo.com>; Christian Ogbondah<chris.o...@uni.edu>; Chukwuma, Innocent<innocent...@fordfoundation.org>; Dr. Awolowo Dosunmu<to...@yahoo.com>; Damilola Taiye<lola...@yahoo.com>; Dele Layiwola<delela...@yahoo.com>; Deji Olaolu Haastrup<DejiHa...@chevron.com>; Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju<aswa...@yahoo.com>; Ebunoluwa Oduwole<ebunodu...@yahoo.com>; Egbokhare Francis<foegb...@yahoo.com>; Femi Osofisan<okinba...@yahoo.com>; Femi Falana<falana...@gmail.com>; FemiMimiko<femi....@gmail.com>; Michael Vickers<mvic...@mvickers.plus.com>; Nimi Wariboko<nimi...@msn.com>; <babai...@gmail.com>; Gabriel Ogunmola<gbogu...@yahoo.com>; Gbenga Dr. Owojaiye<gben...@hotmail.com>; Glory Ukwenga<gloryu...@gmail.com>; Hafsat Abiola<hafsat...@hotmail.com>; Hassan Saliu<hassans...@gmail.com>; I.O.Albert<ioalbe...@yahoo.com>; IHRIA ENAKIMIO<ihr...@gmail.com>; <jade...@yahoo.co.uk>; Jibo<jib...@yahoo.com>; Jide Owoeye<babso...@gmail.com>; Adebayo<adeb...@hotmail.com>; Adebayo Olukoshi<oluk...@gmail.com>; adele jinadu<laji...@yahoo.com>; Adigun Agbaje<adigun...@yahoo.com>; Kayode Soremekun<paddyk...@yahoo.com>; <kennyba...@gmail.com>; Lanre Idowu<lanre...@gmail.com>; lanre oluwaniyi<lanr...@hotmail.com>; Mamora<senato...@yahoo.com>; Niyi Osundare<oosu...@uno.edu>; Noel Ihebuzor<noel.i...@gmail.com>; Obadiah Mailafia<obmai...@gmail.com>; Odia Ofeimun<odi...@yahoo.com>; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso<jum...@yahoo.co.uk>; OLAYEMI FOLINE<offlin...@gmail.com>; olatoye_ojo<olato...@yahoo.com>; Pa Uoma<pau...@gmail.com>; Pius Adesanmi<piusad...@gmail.com>; Prof. Lere Amusan<lerea...@gmail.com>; Prof Bayo Adekanye<profbayo...@yahoo.com>; Prof Alli<all...@yahoo.co.uk>; Prof Dipo Kolawole<profko...@yahoo.com>; Remi Sonaiya<remis...@yahoo.com>; <rsu...@bennington.edu>; SEGUN GBADEGESIN<gbade...@yahoo.com>; segunawo<segu...@yahoo.com>; Sola Akinrinade<sol...@msn.com>; Solomon Uwaifo<so_u...@yahoo.co.uk>; William Fawole<faw...@yahoo.com>

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Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fw: Prof Olukotun's Column

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From: Francis Irele <abiol...@gmail.com>

Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2016 23:16:49 -0400

To: Ayo Olukotun<ayo_ol...@yahoo.com>

Cc: Ayobami Salami<ayoba...@yahoo.com>; olatoye_ojo<olato...@yahoo.com>; OLAYEMI FOLINE<offlin...@gmail.com>; <olu_o...@yahoo.co.uk>; Ogunfolakan Adisa<baba...@yahoo.com>; Okey Ibeanu<oib...@yahoo.co.uk>; Olatunde Babawale<tunde_b...@yahoo.com>; olufemi onabajo<olufemi...@yahoo.com>; Olufemi Vaughan<ovau...@bowdoin.edu>; olukotun bob-kunle<bobk...@yahoo.com>; Alaba Ogunsanwo<alabaog...@gmail.com>; alade rotimi-john<rotimijohn...@gmail.com>; adesaid<ade...@yahoo.com>; <anu...@yahoo.com>; <aoy...@aol.com>; Prof. Lere Amusan<lerea...@gmail.com>; Tolulope Sajobi<ttsa...@ucalgary.ca>; Yomi Layinka<you...@yahoo.co.uk>; tony afejuku<tonya...@yahoo.com>; <kenn...@yahoo.com>; Kikelomo Omonojo<kikelom...@gmail.com>; Koyinsola Owoeye<stik...@hotmail.com>; Kunle Ajibade<kaji...@gmail.com>; Kwame Karikari<afumka...@gmail.com>; Ibrahim Gambari<Ibrahim...@gmail.com>; <idis...@gmail.com>; <irenep...@yahoo.com>; T. Ajayi<palacep...@yahoo.co.uk>; Tunde Oseni<tunde...@gmail.com>; Aladeniji Theo<itsblack...@yahoo.com>; Bose<bo...@pindfoundation.org>; charles akinola<akindij...@gmail.com>; <akin...@yahoo.com>; diekoye oyeyinka<die...@gmail.com>; eojo12000<eojo...@yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: Fw: Prof Olukotun's Column

Thank you Professor Olukotun for this excellent commentary. But who is reading it? Who is listening to the lament you've raised? How can any reform take place when those in power, as you have shown, are themselves at the the root of the problem? 

A parallel situation exists at the National Museum in Onikan, Lagos. Teju Cole in his book, Everyday is for the Thief, describes the dilapidated state of the museum which is supposed to house our national heritage. The absence of cultural awareness of our leadership is exemplified in his book by the proposal by one of our erstwhile dictators to donate to the Queen of England one of our finest, priceless Benin pieces, to thank her for making an official visit to Nigeria. That visit never took place. But there remains a question: what happened to the millions committed by the Ford Foundation to the rehabilitation of the museum, which, ironically enough, has itself become a museum piece, in the worst sense of the term.

What kind of country and society are we building when the question can be asked of a Head of State who was a university teacher what he reads?

Abiola Irele

  

 

     

On Thu, Oct 20, 2016 at 9:14 PM, <ayo_ol...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

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From: Ibini Olaide <ibini_...@yahoo.com>

Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2016 11:42:34 +0000 (UTC)

To: ayo_ol...@yahoo.com<ayo_oluk...@yahoo.com>