WIT & WISDOM “The highest

form of success... comes... to the man who does not shrink from danger,
from hardship or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the”

Electoral Fraud: NASRDA To The Rescue

By Christopher Adedeji Correspondent, Abuja
 
 
National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) is planning to develop a
technology capable of curbing electoral malpractices.
The development, which emanated from a communiqué issued at the end of a media
conference organised by the agency, revealed that introduction of the technology was an
indication that the agency is living up to its mandate of deploying space science and
technology for national development.
According to the communiqué, the technology will involve the use of electronic voting
machine with Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor voting procedure.
“In line with our collective aspiration for credible electoral system, the agency has
developed an electronic voting machine with an embedded GPS, which will greatly reduce
the incidence of electoral malpractices when adopted,” it said.
The communiqué, which also raised the hope of producing a Nigerian astronaut by 2015
and by 2018 to achieve the goal of a made-in-Nigeria satellite, recommend that media
organisations should endeavour to take the issue of science reporting very seriously as the
agency will not relent its effort in giving the required training to science reporters to
enhance their skills.
This, he said, brought to the fore the responsibility of the media in championing and
promoting the strategic interest of Nigeria, urging media outfits in the country to consider
space science and technology as strategic national interest, which is the driving force of the
21st century civilisation.
Participants at the conference agreed that Nigeria’s venture into space should not be
considered a product of luxury; rather it is part of comprehensive strategic efforts to track
the numerous problems that hamper socio-economic development of the nation and achieve
the Vision 20-2020.
Stating that the industrial revolution was principally driven by coal, while the 21st
century ICT revolution is driven by space, the conference noted that in view of this,
Nigeria’s venture into space was part of overall strategic plan to foster national
development.
It stated that the launch of NigeriaSat-1 effectively re-enkindled the confidence of
Nigerians in Science and Technology, adding that for Nigeria to develop rapidly, it has to
stop contracting the building and launching of its satellites, but rather enhance its capacity
to design, fabricate and launch its own satellites.
The conference advised the media against resorting to mere common sense reportage of
science and technology, particularly when there is a seeming failure, adding that
engineering failure, which fosters further research, was inevitable.

Why corruption persists in Nigeria, by security expert

From NWABUEZE OKONKWO, Onitsha
Wednesday, December 30, 2009 DAILY SUN.

For Hon. Ikechukkwu Oligbo, Director, Foxtons Security Limited and Silver Spring Security
Ltd, London, United Kingdom, Nigeria still has a long way to go in terms of democracy, security
and industrial developments.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, Oligbo who is also the the founder of Eastern
Integrated Services, as well as founder of Trustee of Life and Hope Charity International with
offices in London, Los Angeles, lagos/Aba in Nigeria, expressed concern over series of problems
ravaging the speedy growth of the Nigerian nation since 49 years of its independence.

He therefore outlined possible causes as well as suggestions needed for improvement. Excerpt:

Generally, what is your view about Nigeria’s 10 years

of Democracy?
We have to be realistic here, there is nothing like
Democracy in Nigeria. What we have is a corrupt selection
process based on who are your chums and pals, the
proceeds and benefits of corruption while in office has
made it impossible to have any kind of democracy in
Nigeria. I am really sad that it is like that in the country
that I love.

On-going re-branding project of the Nigerian nation

1 have read quite some bits on the re-branding project. It
sounds like a good idea, but the fact of the matter is that re-
branding a product will not change its quality, the basic •Oligbo
and paramount need for Nigeria is to get tough on Photo: Sun News Publishing
corruption, scammers and all forms of indiscipline. Nigeria More Stories on this Section
has a terrible image across the globe. The rest of the world believes that Nigeria is the world
capital of all that is wrong with a society.
I have fought to defend Nigeria’s image. I have been involved in debates on Africa’s image
around the world and has argued that the way western countries talk about “impoverished
Africa” is not only insulting but demeaning to Africans.

But it is high time they started talking about Africa in a respectful manner and as equal partners
not as dogs to be fed and helped. The international response is that Africa does not help itself.
However, talking about Nigeria which is classified as one of the wealthiest in Africa in terms of
mineral resources and yet one of the most impoverished and poorest in terms of quality of life of
its inhabitants, one would understand the point of the international community that assert that
Nigeria is in the top league of corrupt nations in the world and is considered a dangerous place
for investors and businesses with sky rocketing crime statistics, horrendous and rampant cases of
kidnapping, scores of advance fee fraud cases(419) which is being cynically described as the
main occupation of Nigerians, internet fraud cases, Corruption and backhanders, cases of
perverting the cause of honesty and justice. In summary, a rotten and decayed society that needs
overhauling from the beginning and getting tough with law breakers.

Re-branding, I doubt will do any good, like an old adage says “wash a pig and cloth a pig it still
remains a pig”. What Nigeria requires is a tough Czar who will not be influenced or corrupted
possibly working from both inside and outside Nigeria to put the fright into scammers, official
looters, corrupt officials, bankers and civil servants. Why our oil refineries not working is
because some prefer to import petrol into the country and make millions of profit out of it.

I believe that president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has good intentions and perhaps some form of
morals but being a politician, there is a limit on what he can influence and do without upsetting
some of his cronies. That is the problem with Nigeria.

There is no effective rule of Law in the country, no conscience from officials at the suffering of
the masses, the society is totally dysfunctional and chaotic. So, re-branding would only be, if it
works at all, be a short term solution. So, what Nigeria actually needs is a transparent sanitization
of the core flaws of Nigerian society which is crime, corruption, and mismanagement.
And this must begin from the top for it to have any chance of succeeding. Re-branding is only
like treating the symptoms of a disease but not the illness itself.

President Yar’Adua
The current administration of Yar’Adua came in with people expecting quite a lot in respect of
improvement in living standards in Nigeria but I do not think much has changed in the country. I
have to admit Nigeria is a difficult country to govern because it is so divided and polarized that
you need a combination of skills and firmness to be able to control.

Yar Adua, I believe, has honest intentions and looks like a good man but I have not seen much of
an improvement in respect of infrastructure and other areas of life in Nigeria. However, I believe
with the right people and decent and honest people in charge to follow the president’s orders
much can still be done before he leaves office.

Anambra polls
My expectations in the Anambra poll would be described as cautiously optimistic. Anambra
State has gone through hell because of ‘criminals’ who loot the states resources under the
disguise of answering politicians. I would expect whoever that “wins” the polls to realise that
Anambra citizens are also human.
Before Dr. Chris Ngige came to help out, Anambra state was in a state of decay as it was being
run like a family business, an enterprise and that must not be allowed to happen again. Whoever
gets into power must have a conscience and help the state.

Whoever is “elected” should start with making sure that school teachers are paid their salaries so
that kids can go back to school. Roads must be built to ensure that life is made easier for
the driving population of the state and finally security is of top priority. Medical equipments
must be provided and maintained for hospitals in the state. These four points are the crucial
points I would like to see the elected governor act on. Anambra politics has always been very
precarious and sometimes wild. It seems like Anambra politics is suffering from a curse and we
the indigenes of Anambra state must say enough is enough.

We need good governance, accountability and responsibility. Some people in Anambra state
tends to believe that the state will always live with the status quo which is mismanagement and
corruption. The only governor that impressed me when he touched the realms of power was
Ngige. His actions and performances can be felt across the whole state.

He made an impact on the people of the state. However, having said that, I will still give my
support and throw my weight behind any governor that I see that is working to make life easier
for the people of the state.

Why I left Nigeria

I left Nigeria in 1990. After my studies in Nigeria, I felt I had more to learn from the outside
world than I had learnt in Nigeria, and so I left for London. While leaving, I was keen to study
the English law.
The reasons a lot of expatriate Nigerians are not coming back to live in Nigeria are in many
folds. First, the state of the Nigerian Economy. It is unfortunate that despite our oil wealth, there
are no jobs, no security for individuals and corporations, kidnapping and other violent crimes are
rife in the country, and the state of the country is unbelievably bad There are more beggars than
employed ones.

Security situation in Nigeria

This question of insecurity plays into my territory, this is where I have my expertise even though
I am a lawyer by profession but I have branched into areas of business.
Security is one of my main businesses. In other to tackle this issue of insecurity like armed
Robbery, kidnapping and other violent criminal activities, both the state and federal governments
must be pro active, be efficient and make use of lots of intelligence and informants.

In the western world everybody sees himself or herself as being involved in ensuring good
security. In some cases people are given some incentives for reporting crime to security agents
and not a situation where a genuine informant loses his information to the culprit and perhaps at
the end of the day becomes the accused.
Such does not in any way build confidence of the informant.

There should be adequate cover for informants by the security operatives because without
their support and positive contributions, it may be difficult to achieve reasonable result because
the hoodlums leave amongst them. There should also be a high level of patriotism on the side of
the populace in checking crime For instance, if a resident takes issues of reporting
crime unseriously, some day, that person may be affected by the situation.

It’s unfortunate that the situation has gone this bad but generally it is a collective responsibility.
This is an area I can make positive contributions having worked alongside London metropolitan
police and other security agencies in the United Kingdom.

There is also a great and urgent need to properly equip the security agents with the needed
facilities to work. There should also be high level of discipline within the security system such
that bad eggs should be flushed out of the system so that they don’t corrupt others. Nigeria
factors should also be played down if sincere result must be achieved, beside these, creating job
opportunities for the teaming youths should be paramount.