By Olowogboyega Oyebade
Do you know that Mr Adegboyega Oyetola was ushered into the Government Secretariat triumphantly on Monday 8th July, 2019 by unprecedented crowd of workers? Do you know that occasion was the first time since the creation of the State since 1991 that crowd of only workers would troop out to celebrate a Governor? Do you know that the Governor was on foot , dancing to the hilarious songs of the crowd in the long procession to the venue of the reception, (a distance of about 800 metres)? Do you know that a new industrial relation has been born as a launch-pad of a new satellite of industrial peace to give the State one giant leap to space of development through consolidation? Are you aware that the Governor was so happy to the extent that without any table-banging by workers, without any stressful negotiation and without any industrial strike, the Governor willingly promised the entire workforce, serving and retired, the payment of all outstanding arrears of salaries as the economy of the State improves? Guess what followed? A time-out, please.
The roaring thunder of joy nearly blew the roof off. The entire crowd jumped into ‘ MichaelJackson’s electric dance’ and heard by people several kilometres away? Do you know that the entire camaraderie showed one thing that victory is sweet and infectious? Do you know that with industrial peace and cooperation of the people, the Governor is set to take giant leaps to launch the State into stardom and development? Do you know that Osun is now a rocket with single-minded astronaut, likeArmstrong, ready to reach the moon? Do you know Neil Armstrong? You care to know him? Come along, please.
Have you heard of a bearded Russian science fiction writer called Konstantin Tsiolkovsky? Do you know that his thought threw the world into confusion when he declared that humanity’s destiny lay among the stars? Do you know that by the early 1900s, he had worked out the equation for humans to slip beyond Earth’s gravitational pull? Do you know that he also imagined how moon-bound rockets would work: using a mix of liquid propellants and igniting multiple stages? Are you aware that Hermann Oberth and Robert Goddard in their similar but independent studies reached similar conclusions? Do you know that by 1926, Goddard, an American, built and launched the first liquid-fueled rocket? Do you know that about the same time, Oberth in Germany asserted that multiple stages were crucial for long journeys? Do you know that forty years after, these ideas like crystals came to life again through the construction of Saturn V rockets that thrust Apollo crews into space? The statement of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo cuts in: “ Only the deep can call to the deep”.
Hurray! Do you know that on 20th July, 2019, Kennedy Space Centre will celebrate 50-year anniversary of the unprecedented moment when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon? Are you aware that Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong who were the first wave of space travelerswere military trained astronauts thought to have the “right stuff” for risky missions? Are you aware that early space-flight was never the exclusive province of humans? Do you know that out of fear of the unknown, the fruit flies, monkeys, mice, dogs, rabbits and rats used as guinea-pigs, flew into space before humans? Do you know that the Soviets sent up a stray dog, Laika, as the first animal to orbit Earth but died during her flight? Do you know that the United States launched a chimpanzee named Ham into space and happily, he survived? Are you aware that landing humans on the moon and returning them home safely generated the rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union in the 1960s? Can you still remember that Yuri Gagarin of Russia was the first human in space as he made debut journey around Earth in April, 1961?
Do you know that despite gender discrimination in the United States, women were also pioneers of space travels? Have you heard of mathematician Katherine Johnson? Do you know that this genius hand-calculated the details of the trajectory of the flight that would make Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962? Do you know that Valentina Tereshkova, an early cosmonaut, became the first woman in orbit in 1963? On July 20, 1969, NASA successfully completed their Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, with Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to step foot on the lunar surface. Do you know that the event brought the world to a standstill as millions watched anxiously on live TV, before Armstrong delivered his legendary “one small step” speech that marked the end of the Space Race with the Soviet Union in the United States? Do you know that on 20th July, 2019, the world will celebrate 50-year anniversary of this event in the United States? The statement of Neil Armstrong, while stepping on the moon, cuts in: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Do you know that the State of Osun is having some satellites in space, metaphorically speaking? Do you know that they are having good landing in the moon? Do you know that Osogbo Government High School celebrated its 2nd Valedictory Service last Thursday 11th July, 2019? Do you know that a rare vision of that bearded Russian science fiction writer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky which came through Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and consolidated by Adegboyega Oyetola that Osun’s destiny lay among the stars, is coming to pass little by little? Do you know that as predicted by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the students of the State public schools are reaching for the stars in the signature infrastructure built for them by the administration in power? Do you know that the environment created for the students of Osogbo High School can be compared to the best environment for education in any country of the world where education has any meaning? Do you know that Jean Jaques Rousseau will be happy in his grave to behold that scenery as environment for students in public school? Do you know that Froebel, Pestalozzi and even Montessorri will chuckle with glee as they peep from the cenotaphs to see Osun students enjoying Fifa-rated sports facilities, music facilities and signature academic infrastructure and teachers to stimulate students reach for the stars?
Yes! On Thursday 11th July, 2019, the Valedictory Service of Osogbo High School was marked with pomp and pageantry. One hundred and twenty nine students, dressed in well-sewn academic gowns filed in a long procession into the State- of- the -art hall of the school with all the parents, teachers and guests standing up as they filed past. Do you know what? The chairman of the occasion, Mr Femi Fasure, (the Special Adviser to the immediate past Governor), the Principal of the School, Pastor (Mrs) Ayodele accompanied by her husband, Pastor Ayodele, the Permanent Secretary Education, some Directors of Education and a versatile Guest Lecturer were on the raised dais to admit the students into graduation. Do you know that on the band-stand were the students of that school, playing like professionals to the delight of the joyful parents, students and guests. There could not have been better joy. Aregbe must be infectiously happy today. Oyetola must be celebrating. A revolution is on. On that occasion, there were no cultists. In that premises, no student smoked. No student consumed alcohol. No student misbehaved. In fact, there was no police presence and the occasion went well. The Head of Service was in that occasion too and he thrilled the students with songs interjected with three stories. You care to know about the stories? No. They are patented.
But two groups were conspicuously absent. Do you know that the members of the ruling party were not maintaining ant presence at the occasion to celebrate the revolution as their baby? Do you know that the pressmen were not there as restless voyeurs and conscience of our collective morality, probity and accountability? At least, the infrastructure built with debt is now yielding serious dividends? At least, the public deserves to know as a feed-back? Do you know that our OSBC was conspicuously absent, too? The entire school is enough good news as students from affluent and poor homes interact and share knowledge and love in the most conducive environment without recourse to demagoguery. Do you know that the pressmen could have assisted us to see one or two of these students who might have been from broken homes, now performing well in school? Do you know the press might have assisted us to finger out children from challenged homes now adjusting well in school, or children that were adopted due to the circumstances of their birth? That is news! Not necessarily road accidents, kidnapping and banditry.
Do you know that with the right environment created and the quality-denominated teachers provided, the school is the only industry that can manufacture the entire society? Do you know that when students are given equal educational opportunity without sex, poverty, background or any socio-cultural factor forming any point of reference, the students are likely to excel ? Do you know that we must encourage every child and no child is essentially useless? Do you know that the richest man now on earth, Jef Benzos, owning the richest company, Amazon, was an adopted child? Do you know that education played a part in his life to smoothen the rough edges of his life? Do you know that Benzos was not his original name? Come on!.
Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen was born on 12thJanuary, 1964 in New Mexico, United States as theson of Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen and Chicago, Illinois, native Ted Jorgensen. Do you know that at the time of his birth, his mother was a 17-year-old high school student, and his father was a bike shop owner? Do you know that his mother was seriously humiliated by his dad to the extent that they had to divorce? Do you know that his father abandoned him and never cared whether he would survive and amount to something? Do you know that after Jacklyn divorced Ted, she married Cuban immigrant Miguel Bezos in April 1968? Are you aware that shortly after the wedding, Bezos adopted four-year-old Jorgensen, whose surname was then changed to Bezos? Are you aware that the he attended River Oaks Elementary School in Houston, Texas, from fourth to sixth grade and Miami Palmetto High School, Florida? Are you aware that when he was in high school, he worked at McDonald’s as a short-order line cook during the breakfast shift to keep body and soul together?
Do you know that he graduated from Princeton University in 1986 with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science? Do you know that he founded Amazon in late 1994 as an online bookstore and has expanded to a wide variety of other e-commerce products and services, including video and audio streaming, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence? Do you know that it is currently the world’s largest online sales company, the largest internet company by revenue, as well as the world’s largest provider of Amazon Web Services? Do you know that he added to his business interests when he founded the aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company named Blue Origin in 2000?
Are you aware that his Blue Origin test flight successfully first reached space in 2015, and the company has plans to begin commercial suborbital human spaceflight in 2019? Are you aware that this man that could have been an outcast by circumstances, if he were to be born in other in some other climes, on 27th July, 2017, became the world’s wealthiest person when his estimated net worth increased to just over $90 billion? Do you know that his wealth surpassed $100 billion for the first time on 24th November, 2017, and he was formally designated the wealthiest person in the world by Forbes on March 6, 2018, with a net worth of $112 billion? Do you know that he is the first centi-billionaire on the Forbes wealth index and he was named the “richest man in modern history” after his net worth increased to $150 billion in July 2018? Do you know that in September 2018, when Amazon’s market cap briefly reached $1 trillion, Forbesdescribed Bezos as “far richer than anyone else on the planet” Earth? Can you see what equal educational opportunity for all children can build? Do you know that popular Reverend Jesse Jackson was an adopted son, too? You care to know him? Come along.
Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. (born on 8th October 8, 1941) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. Senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. Do you know that he was born in Greenville, South Carolina, to Helen Burns , his mother, (1924–2015)? Do you know that his mother was a 16-year-old high school student who married a 33-year-old married neighbour, Noah Louis Robinson (1908–1997)? His real father’s name was Robinson. Do you know that one year after Jesse’s birth, his mother married Charles Henry Jackson, a post office maintenance worker who later adopted the boy. Jesse was given his step-father’s name in the adoption. Do you know that as a young child, Jackson was taunted by other children about his out-of-wedlock birth, and has said these experiences helped motivate him to succeed? Do you know that by 1984 and 1988, Jackson was a candidate seeking for nomination for the Presidential ticket of the Democratic Party ? His 1988 Democratic National Convention Address delivered on 19 July, 1988, in Atlanta GA, cuts in:
“Tonight, we pause and give praise and honor to God for being good enough to allow us to be at this place at this time. When I look out at this convention, I see the face of America: Red, Yellow, Brown, Black and White. We’re all precious in God’s sight — the real rainbow coalition. All of us — All of us who are here think that we are seated. But we’re really standing on someone’s shoulders. Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. Rosa Parks — the mother of the civil rights movement. [Mrs. Rosa Parks is brought to the podium.] ….. My right and my privilege to stand here before you has been won, won in my lifetime, by the blood and the sweat of the innocent. Twenty-four years ago, the late Fannie Lou Hamer and Aaron Henry — who sits here tonight from Mississippi — were locked out onto the streets in Atlantic City; the head of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. But tonight, a Black and White delegation from Mississippi is headed by Ed Cole, a Black man from Mississippi; twenty-four years later.
Many were lost in the struggle for the right to vote: Jimmy Lee Jackson, a young student, gave his life; Viola Liuzzo, a White mother from Detroit, called “nigger lover,” and brains blown out at point blank range; [Michael] Schwerner, [Andrew] Goodman and [James] Chaney — two Jews and a Black — found in a common grave, bodies riddled with bullets in Mississippi; the four darling little girls in a church in Birmingham, Alabama. They died that we might have a right to live. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lies only a few miles from us tonight. Tonight he must feel good as he looks down upon us. We sit here together, a rainbow, a coalition — the sons and daughters of slave-masters and the sons and daughters of slaves, sitting together around a common table, to decide the direction of our party and our country. His heart would be full tonight.
As a testament to the struggles of those who have gone before; as a legacy for those who will come after; as a tribute to the endurance, the patience, the courage of our forefathers and mothers; as an assurance that their prayers are being answered, that their work has not been in vain, and, that hope is eternal, tomorrow night my name will go into nomination for the Presidency of the United States of America. We meet tonight at the crossroads, a point of decision….. but at the critical mass of mutual survival. It takes two wings to fly. Whether you’re a hawk or a dove, you’re just a bird living in the same environment, in the same world. …When we divide, we cannot win. We must find common ground as the basis for survival and development and change and growth….Tonight, I salute Governor Michael Dukakis. He has run — He has run a well-managed and a dignified campaign. No matter how tired or how tried, he always resisted the temptation to stoop to demagoguery.
I’ve watched a good mind fast at work, with steel nerves, guiding his campaign out of the crowded field without appeal to the worst in us. I’ve watched his perspective grow as his environment has expanded. I’ve seen his toughness and tenacity close up. I know his commitment to public service. Mike Dukakis’ parents were a doctor and a teacher; my parents a maid, a beautician, and a janitor. There’s a great gap between Brookline, Massachusetts and Haney Street in the Fieldcrest Village housing projects in Greenville, South Carolina. He studied law; I studied theology. There are differences of religion, region, and race; differences in experiences and perspectives. But the genius of America is that out of the many we become one.
Providence has enabled our paths to intersect. His foreparents came to America on immigrant ships; my foreparents came to America on slave ships. But whatever the original ships, we’re in the same boat tonight. Our ships could pass in the night — if we have a false sense of independence — or they could collide and crash. We would lose our passengers. We can seek a high reality and a greater good….. At our highest, we can call upon noble instincts and navigate this vessel to safety. The greater good is the common good…. America is not a blanket woven from one thread, one color, one cloth. When I was a child growing up in Greenville, South Carolina and grand-mamma could not afford a blanket, she didn’t complain and we did not freeze. Instead she took pieces of old cloth — patches, wool, silk, gabardine, crockersack — only patches, barely good enough to wipe off your shoes with. But they didn’t stay that way very long. With sturdy hands and a strong cord, she sewed them together into a quilt, a thing of beauty and power and culture. Now, Democrats, we must build such a quilt. …We, the people, can win…
We stand at the end of a long dark night of reaction. We stand tonight united in the commitment to a new direction. For almost eight years we’ve been led by those who view social good coming from private interest, who view public life as a means to increase private wealth. They have been prepared to sacrifice the common good of the many to satisfy the private interests and the wealth of a few. …We must now emerge into a new day with a new direction. …”Why does Jesse run?” because they see me running for the White House. They don’t see the house I’m running from. I have a story. I wasn’t always on television. Writers were not always outside my door.
When I was born, late one afternoon, October 8th, in Greenville, South Carolina, no writers asked my mother her name. Nobody chose to write down our address. My mama was not supposed to make it, and I was not supposed to make it. You see, I was born of a teen-age mother, who was born of a teen-age mother. I understand. I know abandonment, and people being mean to you, and saying you’re nothing and nobody and can never be anything. I understand. Jesse Jackson is my third name. I’m adopted. When I had no name, my grandmother gave me her name. My name was Jesse Burns ’til I was 12. So I wouldn’t have a blank space, she gave me a name to hold me over. I understand when nobody knows your name. I understand when you have no name. I understand. I wasn’t born in the hospital. Mama didn’t have insurance. …I understand. I’m a working person’s person. … I understand work. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had a shovel programmed for my hand. My mother, a working woman. So many of the days she went to work early, with runs in her stockings. She knew better, but she wore runs in her stockings so that my brother and I could have matching socks and not be laughed at at school. I understand.
At 3 o’clock on Thanksgiving Day, we couldn’t eat turkey because momma was preparing somebody else’s turkey at 3 o’clock. We had to play football to entertain ourselves. And then around 6 o’clock she would get off the Alta Vista bus and we would bring up the leftovers and eat our turkey — leftovers, the carcass, the cranberries — around 8 o’clock at night. I really do understand… I was born in the slum, but the slum was not born in me. And it wasn’t born in you, and you can make it. Wherever you are tonight, you can make it. Hold your head high; stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but the morning comes. Don’t you surrender! Suffering breeds character, character breeds faith. In the end faith will not disappoint. You must not surrender! You may or may not get there but just know that you’re qualified! And you hold on, and hold out! We must never surrender!! America will get better and better. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive! Keep hope alive! On tomorrow night and beyond, keep hope alive!”
Hurray! Are you aware that as part of the ways to promote education in the State of Osun and Nigeria, the Governor of the State of Osun, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola is playing host to the Joint Consultative Committee on Education (JCCE) for a four-day meeting in the State? Do you know what Joint Consultative Committee on Education (JCCE) is? Come along please. The National Education Council (NEC) is the highest decision making body in the education sector in Nigeria. This body is comprised of the Minister of Education and the State Commissioners of Education. They gather to discuss way forward in the sector every year. The NEC is serviced by the Joint Consultative Committee on Education (JCCE) which is made up of professional officers of the Federal and State Ministries of Education and their parastatals including the National Open University, JAMB, WAEC, NECO, NBTE, to mention but a few. The meeting is to find more ways in achieving the goals of education under Sustainable Goals 2030 Agenda. Do you know that the burden on education has become overwhelming on the three tiers of government, creating challenges in ensuring quality education in the country?
Do you know that the meeting is to design ways to increase funding of education? Do you know that the Federal Government has consistently been committing an average of 6 per cent of its budget to education, which is far below the UN benchmark? Do you , efforts must be made to sensitise States, Local Governments, parents, and multinational companies in Nigeria to rise up to bridge the gap and provide the education sector a much needed lease of life? Do you know that the JCCE meeting needs to design tracking mechanisms that must be put in place to guarantee judicious and affective use of the funds made available for education? Do you know that the meeting has to discuss the progress made on the establishment of Education Bank and Students’ Loan Boards by States at concessionary interest rates to allow students easy access to loans?
Do you know that the meeting has to look into the development in the re-establishment of State Education Development Fund (SED-Fund) and other funds to create additional but sustainable funding sources to improve education service delivery in post-basic schools for the achievement of 2030 Agenda? Do you know that the meeting needs to look into the already approved draft of National Policy on Open Educational Resources (OER) for higher education in Nigeria which was recommended by NEC for immediate Implementation in the last meeting as a follow-up? Do you know that the meeting needs to see the issue of Inclusive Education for all which was discussed at the Ministerial session of the 62nd NCE meeting? Do you know that the meeting should seek for new ways to assist governments at all level to make adequate funding for literacy projects, including mobilization and sensitization to enhance enrollment, recruitment of adult education facilitators and qualified teachers and sign language interest interpreters in schools?
Do you know that the meeting has to consider the review of the progress made so far in making governments to acquire the Braille-Note Apex or other similar devices for their institutions to train teachers and candidates with visual impairment, bring about scholarship to learners with special needs and the establishment of at least one Gifted and Talented students’ Academy for students, probably in each State of the Federation? Do you know that the meeting has to discuss the latest data from UNICEF that revealed that Nigeria has over 10.5 million out-of school children, translating to 291,667 out of school children in each State of Nigeria?
Do you know that the data further showed that 60 per cent of this number comes from the northern part of the country, where education is continuously being threatened by insecurity and poverty? Are you aware that the statistics further revealed that 50 per cent of girls in some northern States who attended primary schools are unable to transit to secondary schools? Do you know that the meeting has to look at the Religion and National Values Curriculum as stand-alone subjects at the basic education level and advocate for special dedication to this curriculum to bail us out of insecurity, banditry and high debt profiles plaguing our country? With the tall order of the imperatives of the meeting, do you think that much would have been achieved in the last one year when these goals were set, a year during which national and State elections were held with maximum acrimony? Do you know that we have to fix these problems as education holds the key to solve all problems including the present huge debt profiles? Do you know that our debt profile is huge and that only education can solve the problems? You care to know more about that? Come along, please.
Alas! Do you know that Patience Oniha, Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), has announced that Nigeria’s debt profile is now N24.4 trillion? Are you aware that the country’s external debt rose from $10.32bn in June 30, 2015 to $22.08bn as of June 30 this year, thus making the country’s external debt commitment to grow by 114.05 per cent in the last three years? Do you know that multilateral debt is now $10.88bn or 49.28 per cent of the country’s external debt profile? According to the DMO, do you know that commercial foreign loans which stood at $1.5bn as of June 30, 2015, had risen to $8.8bn as of 30 June, 2018, an increase of 486.67 per cent? Do you know that with a commitment of $8.47bn, the World Bank is responsible for 38.36 per cent of the country’s foreign debt portfolio? Do you know that apart from the World Bank Group, Nigeria is also exposed to some other multilateral organisations such as the African Development Bank with a portfolio of $1.32bn and the African Development Fund with a portfolio of $843.47m? Are you aware that other creditors to Nigeria are the International Fund for Agricultural Development with a portfolio of $159.44m; the Arab Bank for Economic Development with a portfolio of $5.88m; the EDFEnergy (France) with a portfolio of $64.96m and the Islamic Development Bank with a portfolio of $16.92m?
Do you know that bilateral debts make up $2.39bn or 10.87 per cent of the country’s external debt exposure? Are you aware that these bilateralagencies to which the country is indebted are the Export-Import Bank of China with a portfolio of $1.91bn; the Agence Francaise de Development with a portfolio of $274.98m; the Japan International Cooperation Agency with a portfolio of $74.69m; the EXIM Bank of India with a portfolio of $4.76m; and Germany (KFW) with a portfolio of $132.24m? Do you know that unlike the foreign debt, the domestic component of the country’s total public debt decreased marginally recently as a result of moves to re-balance the local/foreign debt ratio as a result of the redemption of N198bn Nigerian Treasury Bills in December 2017 and another N639bn between January and June 2018? Do you know that a total of $3bn was raised through Eurobonds to refinance maturing domestic debt as part of the implementation of the debt management strategy for the purpose of substituting high cost domestic debt with lower cost external debt to reduce debt service costs for the government to give Nigeria a breathing space?
Do you know that the International Monetary Fund has declared that Nigeria is servicing debt with more than 50 per cent of its revenue? Do you know that the Debt Management Office has explained that the implementation of the Public Debt Management Strategy, whose overall objective was to ensure that Nigeria’s debt is sustainable is already yielding positive results? Do you know that she hinted that borrowing for 2019 would be split 50-50 between domestic and external in line with the Debt Management Strategy 2013-2019? Do you know that the frustration of the last National Assembly that led to the late passage of the Appropriation Bills in 2016 and 2017 budgets and revenue shortfalls were contributory factors to the sub-optimal performance of the budgets and the seeming mess of debt we are now experiencing? Do you know that the present National Assembly needs to be responsive and refrain from playing the old game of the out-gone ‘Pyrates’? Can you now see that we live on debt and that all of us have to be productive to rescue our country from mess? The statement of Patience Oniha, Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), cuts in:
“ Relatively low-interest rates mean the government can issue longer-dated bonds to continue to fund infrastructure projects. Revenue generating initiatives are expected to improve revenues and reduce the debt service to revenue ratio. The Federal Executive Council approved the establishment of a Promissory Note Programme. The purpose is to use it to settle inherited local debts and contractual obligations of the Federal Government. The programme is estimated at N3.4tn. It will provide stimulus to the economy and unlock investment across a number of sectors currently having liquidity issues.”
Do you know that there are good ways to get out of the woods? Do you know that all our political, religious and political leaders have to meet now to stop the spate of insecurity plaguing the nation? Do you know that we need to build a new tax culture and a new tax regime to bail us out? Do you know that insecurity may worsen the situation? Do you know that industrial strike of any form may worsen the situation? Do you know that we have to borrow more? Are you aware that borrowing in itself is not an economic evil? Do you know that the only challenge of borrowing is the utilization of the funds? Do you know that borrowing to finance recurrent expenditure is not an optimal use of the borrowed funds and leaves a huge debt burden for the future generation? Do you know that we need massive investments in agriculture now? Do you know that we need RUGA but in another name and for another target population? Do you know that the in-built mechanism of land reform in RUGA can be amended to be not for the Fulani herdsmen but for the unemployed youths, the disadvantaged women in the country and the mass of the people practising rural subsistence agriculture?
Do you know that we need to embark on expansionary fiscal policy during this unofficial recessions by borrowing more significantly from both the domestic debt market and the international capital market to invest in infrastructure such as mass housing, mass transport, roads, railway transport system, airports, hospitals, construction of new ports, agro-based factories, power plants, modern refineries, solid mineral processing factories for enhanced value-chains, power, tourism, education and research? Do you know that we need heavy investments in innovations, technology, solar and other green energy sources, textiles and pharmaceuticals? Do you know that taxing religious centres at this crucial time for corporate social responsibility is not a bad idea at all? Do you know that further investments in these sectors will create jobs? Do you know that this is not the time government will say that it has no business in business’? Do you know that this is the time to use Bangladesh Model by enforcing and encouraging individual family to own local poultry sheds to guarantee protein sufficiency for our growing population? Do you know that this is the time to ban wandering of livestocks to promote health and peace?
Do you know that this is the time for government to invest heavily in social protection so as to minimize crime wave? Do you know that all States should have National Industrial Court and all appeals from such courts should be given the urgency they deserve? Do you know that the war on corruption should be sustained to attract more foreign direct investment? Do you know that we need a special conference of Nigerians in diaspora to engage their commitment to salvage Nigeria technologically and financially as once done by the State of Israel, Japan and the United States? Do you know that no country can be original again? Do you know that we can only copy faithfully? Do you know that as individuals, we have to shun conspicuous consumption of foreign goods? Do you know that our values have to change? Do you know that we must all learn that the more we buy products manufactured in Nigeria, the more we are keeping Nigerians in employment and the more we are saving our hard-earned foreign exchange?
Do you know that our school curriculum has to change by adopting Contingency Theory to address these issues tipping us to the edge of the precipice? Do you know that relying only on the Central Bank through its policy instrument in the introduction of the Investors’ and Exporters’ Foreign Exchange (IEFX) window cannot take us far if there is no new orientation for the products of our Schools? Do you know that the new tragedy of our time as the graduates of our tertiary institutions still believe strongly in money-rituals and not scientific innovations? How do we defend the thesis of using the pants of a lady to conjure millions of Naira magically, a defence that may not be tenable before the international community and our future generation? Do you know that the agricultural sector initiatives of the Central Bank should not just be for rice but for other crops and machinery and should be at the close reach of the poorest man at the remotest village?
Do you know that during the recently concluded article IV consultation, the IMF stress- tested Nigeria’s debt ratios and observed that public and external debt are vulnerable to oil price shocks and currency volatility? Do you know that the body reported that Nigeria’s rising external debt to export ratio suggests that total debt is growing faster than the economy’s major sources of external income, indicating that the country may have problems meeting its debt obligations in the future? Do you know that it is dangerous economically speaking, to deplete our foreign reserve unnecessarily? Do you know that to avoid this ugly development, all of us, including the education sector must act now? While thanking Mr Adegboyega Oyetola for sponsoring the meeting and working assiduously to guarantee security in the State, we urge all delegates to enjoy the hospitality of the State to the fullest. Do you know that the coincidence of your meeting with the celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the landing on the moon by Neil Armstrong is not just a common happenstance? It can be translated to a deeper meaning. Through your fruitful deliberations, you may elevate the sponsorship of this meeting by Mr Adegboyega Oyetola to be like the landing of Neil Armstrong on the moon, chorusing: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The statement Joseph Addison cuts in: ”Education is a companion which no misfortune can depress, no crime can destroy, no enemy can alienate, no despotism can enslave. At home, a friend, abroad, an introduction, in solitude a solace and in society an ornament. It chastens vice, it guides virtue, it gives at once grace and government to genius. Without it, what is man? A splendid slave, a reasoning savage.” You are welcome.
