Dr. Gbenga Adeoye
There is no doubt that the World has become a Global Village and no country should be left out. In fact most of the entities I was part of has an element of Globe in them by name but then, the reality on ground now is that Nigeria need to resolve key issues at home.
In fact, the best metaphorical way to describe Nigeria & the World is to say the world is in Final Year in the University and Nigeria is currently in Primary School by most objective Standards of measurements.Nigerians are doing well abroad but Nigeria as a Country is not doing well at home at all.
My Mentor, Dr.OnaOlapo Soleye, the Former Minister of Finance called my attention to the Publication in Guardian Newspaper on 1st August, 2020.( Page 2 & 3 ) while we were discussing Nigeria Political System and Inconsistency in the words and Conducts of Politicians in Nigeria as seen on TV regularly.
As usual, he made notes on the said Interview granted by Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi a RESPECTED Professor of Political Science & Former Minister of Foreign Affairs who was also a former DG of Nigerian Institute of
International Affairs.
Prof Akinyemi as an elder Statesman and well exposed to International Affairs Could only wish Nigeria well based on his experience and expectation.Wonderful Desire therein in his interview.....But To be Honest...We are far from his desires.
From my Conversation with Dr.Onaolapp Soleye and a few elders on Sunday 2nd August; 2020; We concluded as follows:
1. We need a domestic leader now, more than ever.
A leader who can end corruption and impunity.Who can end all sorts of deception both at the Federal & State Level.
2. A leader whose priority will be the security of lives and Properties before thinking about going to the moon.
" By the way, we may become blind in the moon if we go without sorting our domestics issues."
3.China was like us before, United Arab Emirate was worst than us but they first attended to their Internal Development.
4.At a time, China Closed their borders.They ensure that every citizen joined hands to develop that country.
Today, while some so called big Countries are going down, China is going up.
Singapore, despite pulling out of the union with Malaysia ended up as a wonderful place to be today.Lee Quan Yew was a great leader.
Our case in Nigeria is like the story of a man who was very nice to people around and considered as one of the best Philanthropist around.
After his death, the entire Street was closed for his burial and people said a lot of positive things about him.
They then asked the wife about her late husband and her response shocked everyone in Yoruba ( Adara nita ma dara nile loko mi)
Meaning, my husband was a good man outside but a bad man at home.
Therefore, LEADERS must address these domestic issues before we start aiming at Global Relevance and as a matter of fact, our global relevance will be based on our status domestically. HENCE LEADERS, MUST DO THE FOLLOWING :
1. Give us water in every house running 24 hours. Make it a priority. Are we asking too much.?
2. Give us Public Hospital that is functioning optimally and well equipped. Do we have that now? NO.
3.Revive our Public Schools. Let the Teachers be well trained and retrained so as to have quality graduates.
4. State Governors and Federal Government must ensure that Serving & Retired Civil Servants that are owed Salaries, Gratuity, Leave Bonus and Pension are PAID, UP TO DATE latest by end of March, 2021 .
We must not wait till another Pre- Election Year of 2022 when someone will use it as campaign promise again.
People want happiness.
If someone worked for 35 years and did not get Gratuity and Pension as at when due..He cannot be happy. Can he?. We must ensure that workers are not owed at all.
5.Nigerians must drive on good roads first before we talk about global relevance.
6. Our Airport must be overhauled .The ones we have today is shameful. Who will respect us?.
The Taxi system at our Airport is appalling. Disorganized system is an understament.
7.Develop Agriculture to a level we can grow what we eat not just on paper and fake videos and propaganda.
He that planted 100 yam stand and claimed to have planted 200; after eating 100 tubers of yam, he will eat 100 lies.
That's is why smuggling is yet to end on rice...It is a well known fact that we do not have enough to eat.
8. Refine our crude oil here to take care of our daily consumption requirements.Thank God for Dangote Refinery that will become operational soon.
Give us Power. Electricity is a must for us before we can be talking about the moon.
How can you live in darkness and you want to go to the Space.?
9. Stop conflicts between people who are supposed to be friends and family but are clashing and fighting because they belong to different Profession.
Farmers and Herdsmen clash daily. Killings in Southern Kaduna must end. Insulgency & Bandit's attacks in the North must end now.
10. In conclusion; we must take Treasure from home when going out.Our home must be a good reference point for the World before we attempt to go global
( Ile lati nkeso rode)
We must not pretend that we are okay to join the Global Player or League when our home front is decaying everyday.
To become a Global Player will be easy and meaningful when we have sorted our domestic issues of development and provision of basic amenities.
Dr. Gbenga Adeoye holds a PhD in Management Accounting .He also holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law ( LL.B)
He is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria,
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.
An Arbitrator of UK and Nigeria with a Diploma in Criminology & Security Studies.
He is Passionate about World Peace, Good Governance, Tax Justice and Economic Development of Africa in General and Nigeria in Particular.
He can be reached on gbengaglobal@gmail.com
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