LEST DEVELOPMENT BECOMES A TABOO IN OUR COUNTRY

I was born with hope like many of you fellow Nigerians. I remembered now with nostalgia singing the National Anthem and Pledge with enthusiasm on the Assembly Grounds from my elementary classes to Secondary Schools; yes, I went to two secondary schools - one in Ekiti State, another one in Lagos State. Well, this is another story for another day.

In our classes, especially history and social studies classes, we were taught about the exploits of great leaders like the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Herbert Macaulay, Anthony Enahoro, Dr Namid Azikwe, Tafawa Balewa, Ahmodu Bello, King Jaja of Opobo, the Aba Women Riots, the Ransome Kutis, just to mention a few.

Their stories were inviting, their exploits were invigorating, their deeds were rooted in selfsacrifice; and one cannot but hope to emulate them. Then came the 'coups and the counter coups' and the Civil War as my sitting President would like to put it. It seems our development stride nosedived from then on; because, all efforts made to get us back on track proved abortive since then.

I've been selling hope to myself and people who are closed to me, but it seems, hope is finishing from the home of a 'Hope Man', because with every new government comes a higher degree of pains, suffering and despairs in this country. Perhaps, it's time to concentrate on ourselves more.

Nigerians have been waiting for the Messiah in the past six decades, but the Messiah has refused to surface. In the past, the key to making it in Nigeria was for you to become a graduate, then you are catapult to 'Eldoraldo' community and lifestyle; no longer the case these days. Even Master certificate doesn't guarantee you a job these days.

I've friends who have never worked with their certificates since graduation over a decade, not because they aren't brilliant, or they don't want to work, but because the jobs are not coming despite finishing with good grades. So they have to eke out a living from nothing. I bet it, there is hardly any home in Nigeria today except the few cabals who doesn't have one unemployed graduate or the other. To get job in Nigeria today, even for 50k job, you have to know someone who knows someone, what a mess!

Can we continue like this? No! So what is the way forward? It's time to rethink. Here lies my simple solutions:

1. Mandatory skills acquisition for all students. Let every student of primary and secondary schools know at least one technical or trade from carpentry to bricklaying, phone repairs to software development, art painting to art drawings, hairdressing to makeover, and so on and so forth.

While our school curriculum should reflect this, please parents, endeavours to send your children to learn such apprenticeship. It's the way forward.

2. Entrepreneural Skills is also a must. To move Nigeria forward, all Nigerians must be business minded. There is a way a business man thinks that is different from the way an average person thinks.

People who have business sense, takes their jobs and business serious, they do it because their survival and success hang on it.

Our schools curriculum should reflect this too, but more importantly, let your kids learn from that woman selling yams or the Igbo boys selling foodstuffs; he will be better for it in future.

3. Financial Literacy Skills: the greatest undoings of my generation is that we were taught Mathematics, Economics, Commerce and Accounting in particular, but not how to manage our monies.

There was no linkage between what we were taught and our personal lives. So people go about squandering their hard ends resources.

4. Relationship Skills: people are the most difficult people to manage, they are also the easiest people to manage with right skills. Sometimes, I winked at people who called themselves managers these days without the requisite skills for managing people. Many still see men as 'adjunct of machine' as Fedrick Taylor would see men in the 19th century. 

5. Communication Skills: my people would say: Pele lako, o labo'; that is, there is a way you will say sorry and someone will appreciate it, and there is another way, you will say sorry, and someone will take an offence.

Communication skills therefore becomes important in our quest for growth and development  as individuals, organizations and country.

6. Active citizenry / Political Skills: let no one say anymore that there is nothing concerned him or her about Government. This is because whatsoever we want to do as individuals or juridical persons depends on sanctioning of the State.

Yes, the price you will buy tomatoes in the market. Your choice of schools for yourself and children, where you work and what pay you received (have you heard about minimum wage).

It's time to group and regroup into formidable groups that will be able to hold the leaders accountable.

All of us must know our leaders from councilors to the President, and seek opportunity to ask them about what they are doing or not doing in office as sitting down aloof will not solve the problems.

Don't just get your voter's card, cast your votes, it counts, and even join political parties. You must be involved.

Happy New Month of June.