Nigerian leaders have no value for education- Durotoye

Presidential aspirant Fela Durotoye has said recently that Nigerian leaders do not have value for education.

He stated this at an entrepreneurs conference organised by the department of Economics at the Obafemi Awolowo University.

He insinuated that Nigerian leaders have no value for education because  they do not have it, hence the comatose state of our education sector.
“Since most of them have no idea of what education actually means, they are always finding it very difficult to actually define the space of education in a nation’s development. If you do not have something it is possible for you not to value it” he said.

Also, he faulted the curricular of the country’s tertiary institutions, saying “there’s need to have practicing individuals in the disciplines design it.”

“We can specialise our institutions, and once we specialise our institutions, we specialise the people. Our generation must build a nation where everybody gets equal values without necessarily have to know anybody, where you want and receive equally those opportunities the rich get easily.”

 

 This is all shades of right. there has been a recent clamour over the certificate saga in which the president of the country has been imbroiled, forcing him to generate a certificate which has a lot to be desired. Add that to the current strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over underfunding of Nigerian universities, and see how relatable this statement is. We need leaders that value education.

We cannot pay 30,000 minimmum wage-Umahi

The governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, has come out point blank to say that not only can his state not pay the proposed N30,000minimmum wage, but so does up to 95 percent of state in Nigeria.

He said this while commissioning a fact-finding committee to ascertain the mode of payment of promotion arrears in the states in the states in the South East, in his capacity as the Chairman of the South East Governor's forum.
Hear him:
“The federal government collects 52 per cent of the revenue from the federation account and when I tried to put the N30,000 figure to Local Government Areas (LGA) it means they will borrow N1billion to add to their allocation, in paying salaries.

“I will definitely not be a governor to govern such a state and will never preside over a state that will allocate 100 per cent of its earnings to pay salaries,” he said.

 He maintained that the minimum wage issue was not sustainable, likening it to "putting water in a basket and praying to God to hold the water'.


There are a lot of angles to this. Yes, it may be true that at the going rate it may not be sustainable going by the allocations accruing to the states from the federation account. but at he same time, there is a lot you can do as the governor. There is something you can do about cutting down the retinue of aides and assistants that are more or less redundant. the state could save a lot of money from that alone.

Again, Ebonyi state is blessed with limestone and lead, among other resources. It can be harnessed to increase the internal revenue for the state to solve most of the problems you cry to the centre for. Never mind the derivation clause which vests authority of mining to the government; it has been so because the voices which clamour to change that status are few and far flung.
Something can be done, sir. If you and other governors get down to this religiously, a lot would change.

Uzodinma calls Okorocha's bluff

The Governorship aspirant of the All Peoples Congress in Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, has taken Governor Rochas Okorocha to the cleaners in his latest submission.

He claimed that he has been greatly underestimated in the politics of the state.

He went down memory lane to imply that all the victories that the sitting governor had recorded at the polls were just figments of manipulation and not he will of the people, as against his stance bearing the love and the wishes of the Imo people at his fingertips.
According to him:
“Okorocha has run for many elections including the governorship of Imo State, before 2011, and even the presidency, and lost all.
But, in 2011, in particular, Imo people voted more against former governor Ikedi Ohakim than for Okorocha, so, he merely benefited from the anger of the people against Ohakim.

“Even at that, the election went into a bi-election, where Ohakim was finally manipulated out of the race and Okorocha became governor.

Also, in 2015, Okorocha, as incumbent governor, could not win outright on first ballot.

“The election was concluded on a second ballot, where some aggrieved PDP members helped, again, to manipulate him into the governorship.”

Mr Uzodima further said he defeat£d Okorocha’s political party in Imo West Senatorial District in 2011 and 2015, even as governorship candidate and incumbent governor, respectively.

“I think this is more than enough evidence that in terms of popularity, Senator Uzodinma is far more popular than Okorocha in Imo West (the biggest senatorial district in Nigeria) where both come from.

“The truth of the matter is that all strata of Imo society are celebrating Uzodinma victory as the APC governorship candidate and this has brought them back on track to vote massively for APC in 2019.

“Uzodinma’s popularity in Imo State is infectious and it will not only guarantee victory for APC, but will rake in far more than five million votes for the APC from the South East in 2019.



Well.. we shall see...2019 isn't that far anymore!

Job seeker denied job for possessing 200k worth of smartphone

A job seeker was recently denied a ob he applied for because he was having two phones wortk over 200k on his person.

According to a Twitter user who reported the incident, the interviewer was quoted as sayng that if he couldn't add value to himself with what he was carrying, there could have been no way he would add value to the company.

 

Well, there are a number of ways of looking at this. Phones are in grades and have different functionalities. As such, it would not be fair to judge him based on the worth of his phone, because there may some specialized function or something that necessitated buying the phone. It could also be a gift. on the other hand, there could be the thing of misplaced priority on the part of the job seeker; it happens. Either way, assessment should have been based on his qualification and not what he possesses. 

My take.

Whats yours? 

Naeto C is a father again

Owerri-born rapper, Naetochukwu Chikwe aka Naeto C, is a father again.

The 'Ten Over Ten' wordsmith recently welcomed his third child, a baby girl, with his wife, Nicole some days back.

They shared lovely picture on their respective social media pages to celebrate the arrival of the bundle of joy.

It may interest you to know that the rapper is the son of former Minister of Aviation, Mrs Kema Chikwe.

Congratulations to the couple!

Those artifacts are not yours- Oba of Benin

Following the recent visit of the Welsh monarch, Prince Charles to Nigeria, the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, has implored the Prince to add his voice towards returning the artifacts that were stolen from his empire.

He made statement when Prince Charles paid him a courtesy visit in his Benin palace. According to him:

“Suffice to say that Nigerians in general and Benin people in particular will be most delighted to have your royal highness throw his royal weight behind our efforts to have some of our ancient artifacts that were taken in 1897 from the Royal Court of Benin returned to Benin to establish Oba Palace Museum for the promotion of tourism in Benin City, Edo State.”

Well said, Your Highness!

Uber Driver floors Duncan Mighty

An Uber driver in Lagos  has called out singer Duncan Mighty.

He alleges that the 'Port Harcourt First son' used his services along Admiralty Way, Lekki to the airport and refused to pay him, claiming he was in a hurry.

He asked for the account details of the driver, but till date has neither credited the account of the driver nor responded to his calls and texts.

This calls to question the entitlement mentality of most of our celebrities who feel that their name automatically pay bills for them, a very unfortunate one at that.