What has essentially been termed as a failure of leadership by the country’s so-called power brokers has been a lack of will to recruit and groom an elite corps of leaders with the sound knowledge, commitment, passion and patriotism to function in various key sectors of the economy in such a manner as to deliver to Nigerians good governance and the concomitant benefits derivable therefrom.
“Square pegs in round holes”, is a hackneyed expression generally used to describe persons who lack the requisite competence and experience to operate in certain high profile roles, but end up being foisted on the polity for reasons more self-serving than altruistic.
This has gone on for like forever. Long years of a skewed pattern — which elevates political party affiliation, loyalty and patronage far above ability and cognate experience — has conspired to ruin the chances of a nation seeking to maximise all of it’s God-given endowments in human, material and natural resources.
The result, to a large extent, is what we see now as the country continues to wallow in the miry clay of underdevelopment with millions of it’s citizens living under the poverty line.
However, a country blessed with individuals with high intelligent quotient spread across various fields of human endeavour can not be expected to grope in the dark tunnels of indirection for too long once there is a deliberate effort to reverse the trend.
It has been argued that de-emphasising on the practise of ‘compensation’, which only gifts party loyalists juicy political offices or appointments will open up the space for a more virile selection process that will, in turn, be beneficial to the country’s overall development in the long run.
Proponents of this idea believe that looking beyond the confines of a ruling party to choose candidates for certain positions will not only enhance service delivery that would rub off on the quality of lives, it will advance the country’s democracy.
Also, broadening the scope of picking political appoIntees has the potential to unite the country faster and quench the current inferno of agitations for self determination and actualisation by the various ethnic nationalities calling for a breakup of the country.
For instance, an APGA member who gets nominated into the cabinet of an elected APC or PDP government either at state or federal level sends the message that merit, more than party reward is the uppermost consideration. It needs not be emphasised the huge difference it will make in rekindling hope in the minds of a people divided along tribal and religious lines, and denied good governance for too long.
THE CASE FOR CHRIS IMUMOLEN AS EDUCATION MINISTER
The inauguration of a new President in Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023 is an opportunity to revisit the issue of picking a cabinet made up of men and women with the vibrancy and cerebral capacity to deliver on the job for the benefit of the people.
Tinubu is coming at a time the country desperately needs healing from a myriad of mostly self-inflicted problems from insecurity to incessant power outages; from a plummeting Naira to a hemorrhaging economy; from a compromised public service to key sectors of the economy suffering from insufficient funding and general decay, and soon on.
There is no time that a man like Tinubu needs to succeed more than now. And he needs capable hands, not necessarily from his political party, to achieve this success. A man like Professor Christopher Imumolen, for instance, is one square peg in a square hole that adequately fits the description of who a worthy member of his cabinet in the garb of an education minister should be. When the matter is about education, Imumolen is tried and tested. He thrives in imparting knowledge.
He has distinguished himself in the area of providing the enabling environment for knowledge acquisition, just as he keeps equipping Nigerians with the tools and financial wherewithal to excel in their educational pursuits.
Through years of being an active participant in the industry, Imumolen understands the inner workings of the country’s educational system.
He can bring his vast knowledge of the sector to bear in reforming and transforming it to the level it ought to be, by vigorously driving policies that would enhance quality in the delivery of primary, post-primary and tertiary education to Nigerians.
A Chris Imumolen as minister is an endorsement for a drastic revolution in the country’s educational system which needs a re-invigoration and a new direction.
While he campaigned as the Accord party’s presidential candidate in last February’s general elections, Imumolen provided a rare glimpse into his policy direction in the event he became president.
His points about opening up investment in the sector to stimulate competition and drive down the cost of higher education, break the stranglehold of lecturers on the country’s university system, vigorously pursue the enactment of legislations that encouraged the setting up of more digital universities that de-emphasised classroom leaning in favour of distance learning, increase the current budget on education, launch a training and re-training mechanism for teachers and lecturers to bring them up to date with the changing global trends in the business, as well as overhaul the now obsolete school curriculum were not only convincing, but showcased him as a man who knew the challenges of the industry.
What better man then than Christopher Imumolen to bring on? A professor and distinguished academic with two Ph.d degrees in two separate disciplines, with an indepth knowledge of the complexities of university education, being an owner of three universities himself?
What better man than Imumolen to oversee the country’s migration from the current ‘analogue’ system of education to the digital where the curriculum, environment and learning tools are configured to suit the latest trends of leaning globally?
What better man than Imumolen to use his experience as a consummate entrepreneur to drive investments into the sector to make it more value driven and result-oriented?
What better man than Imumolen to help the incoming government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu accomplish his vision for education that he set out in his manifesto from the beginning? Professor Christopher Imumolen is young, qualified, technologically savvy, patriotic and passionate enough to get the job done if he he is called upon to do so.
Ultimately, Nigeria will be the winner!
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