Back to my ‘old skool’ way of penning Tekedia articles. I make an article heading, and then start it off talking about something completely unrelated… well yeah.. but not all is as it seems!
The feature image… ‘WRONG SEQUENCE’ from Port Harcourt is central to the thesis, although this post is nothing about Music!
This is the end of an era in Nigeria. One Muhammadu Buhari ruled Nigeria from 29 May 2015 – 29 May 2023.
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Much reflection and introspection has happened in the media, much of it scathing, some few have been supportive.
In an intro to his post on LinkedIn, Samuel Nwite said Buhari’s manifesto pledged – ‘Make Nigeria one of the fastest-growing, emerging economies in the world with a real GDP growth averaging 10% annually; eradicate state of origin, replacing that with state of residence to ensure Nigerians are Nigerians first, before anything else; creation of 720,000 jobs by the 36 states (20,000 per state) in the federation per annum; generate, transmit and distribute at least 20,000 MW of electricity within four years and increasing to 50,000 MW with a view to achieving 24-7 uninterrupted power supply within 10 years’.
Different people have different perceptions of to what extent these promises were realized, with some feeling it fell somewhat short, while many think it never really began.
My own recollection is of a reactive rather than a proactive regime, with individual reactions or decisions often exhibiting policy conflicts.
The one that baffled me the most, was a restriction placed on Forex to import about 50 products. This effectively bans those products without officially doing so. The Nigerian Naira is a restricted currency, so lack of access to ‘hard currency’ at official rates of exchange just renders a business based on importing those currency-restricted commodities ‘not viable’. This was intended to create market for local suppliers.
The problem was that separately, the administration brought out a grazing rights law. This gave nomadic herders priority over settled farmers on land. Nomads cattle grazed on crops. Countless agrarian families livelihoods were decimated. FMCG manufacturers with no feedstock from imports on the one side, or local farmers on the other side, were incapacitated.
This is one of many cases in point, but lets move on…
The next area of disjoint I would like to mention is Education. Far too often in Nigeria we have under-trained teachers.. teachers barely finished their NYSC… teachers being teachers because it is the only thing they can find.. or those using it as a stepping stone to what they see as greater things.
How can a nations children build intellect if they are being trained by the rejects or future novices of other professions?
In a utopian education for Nigeria, after a dazzling corporate career, Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Mike Adenuga and Austin Okere would only after all that, be deemed adequately prepared to serve the educational needs of Nigeria’s children. – But where on earth can you find utopian conditions?
“Teachers are sinequanon to educational growth and development and in any field, even in vocational studies, you need teachers. Teachers these days are technically disoriented, poorly motivated … In those days, teachers were the kings of the village, but today teachers are seen as the hoi polloi…Everybody wants education, but without a proper teaching capacity development, the growth of education will be in danger and it has been in danger anyway…. – Alhaji Laid Tella.
Do we see a trend here?
And finally, on to writing about Web 3 in Nigeria – When practiced for online platforms (such as LinkedIn) this is, in itself, a form of education. One common thread of Political Leadership, Classroom Education, and Online Platform Authoring is that they all have mass reach and mass impact.
Getting the details wrong, evading the core technical issues, or creating content unprepared, has the potential for mass misinformation.
Simply put, it is mis-educating.
We all have to start somewhere, but growing in a space must be practiced with efforts to limit consequences.
There’s no room here for ‘fake it till you make it’. We need to create content from the perspective of being technically well informed, because the stakes for not doing that, are just far too high.
‘ …when it comes down to basic knowledge of a task or responsibility, feigning expertise isn’t going to help you. In fact, it will likely hurt.’ – Avery Augustine – ‘When You Should Fake it ‘Til You Make It (and When You Really Shouldn’t)’
Or as the article heading reads:
Greatness needs to lead to writing, rather than a hope that writing will lead to greatness.
9ja Cosmos is here…
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All reference sites accessed 02-04/06/2023
thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2018/04/25/national-assembly-wrong-on-reordering-of-elections-sequence-court-rules/
facebook.com/wrongsequencetotheworld/
guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/newsfeature/how-to-make-teaching-profession-attractive-by-tella/
premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/426204-nigerian-govt-considers-career-path-policy-for-teachers.html?tztc=1
superprof.ng/blog/teaching-certifications-in-nigeria/
themuse.com/advice/when-you-should-fake-it-til-you-make-it-and-when-you-really-shouldnt
tekedia.com/buharis-failed-promises-policies-and-nigerians-memories-of-his-dark-foot-prints/