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| Mock Conference in Ota: Re-discovering Nigeria by Destroying Dangerous Myths |
 PRINTABLE VERSION |
I am perhaps one of the very few Nigerians that can claim to have a very good insight, into what on-going deliberations at the recently constituted National Political Reform Conference in Abuja will look like. This contention is informed by what I will describe as my involvement in a mock delegate conference that took place in the industrial town of Ota.
My recent participation as a Fellow at the Democratic Leadership Training Workshop (DLTW) which was held at Ota between 13th to 19th February, 2005 under the auspices of the African Leadership Forum (ALF) has beyond doubt helped me to re-discover Nigeria and better appreciate the challenges confronting it as a nation-state.
Being a professional in the financial sector I went to the workshop with mixed feelings, wondering how I will fit in, in an environment where politics was going to be the order of the day. The workshop in order to give it, the fast becoming standardised Nigerian definition of full representation of all views, drew representation from youths in the public and private sectors from all the six geo-political zones of the country.
The workshop which is part of an outlined series according to the organisers was necessitated by the outcome of an empirical research, which concluded that the most grave problem facing most African countries, is the absence of a frame work for grooming, nurturing and empowering the next generation of leaders intellectually with knowledge about emerging paradigms and global practices in Leadership, Democracy and the Rule of Law
Unlike the on-going dialogue in Abuja, the mock confab at Ota had no go areas. Participants were given the liberty to discuss anything under the sun from the unity of Nigeria, Resource Control, Federal Character, Self Determination etc. In discussing sundry issues that bordered on Federal character, corruption, rule of law, values, ethnics, justice and fairness, good leadership, globalisation etc, most of the participants being youths exhibited exuberance, zero tolerance for poor performance and expectation for a swift change in leadership and societal values.
It is instructive to emphasise that despite the sometimes heated nature of debates, which were often moderated by experienced resource persons from the academia and the civil society, it became apparent that the unity and indivisibility of Nigeria is not in anyway threatened by our discussing it. Rather the wealth of intellectual resources that facilitators at the workshop availed participants proved beyond dispute that the problem with the Nigerian State is not its diversity or plural complexities.
Challenges are Identified
The consensus at the end of the workshop among participants and resource persons was that the average Nigerian, irrespective of his or her faith, ethnic group, social stratification or immediate milieu, face similar challenges of poor infrastructure, poverty, unemployment, bad leadership, corruption, bureaucracy, ineptitude etc. Deliberations and passionate views expressed by participants at the workshop was recurrent in concluding that the ethnic and cultural plurality of Nigeria, though real is often exaggerated by the political elite as a burden, as against being an untapped strength .
In the video clip of an interview with Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali, which was played at one of the sessions of the workshop, the retired diplomat averred that the current shift in the world politically and economically is towards consolidation, as against isolation. This according to him is what recommends multi-literalism, as against unilateralism as the best protection for all macro and micro political and economic interests all over the globe.
The postulations of Boutros Ghali and references on how dominant countries in the world such as the USA, China, India, Brazil, Malaysia, and Indonesia have transformed their diversities to prosperity continue to disprove the notion that the problem of Nigeria is ethnicity, resource control, quest for self-determination, federal character etc. The real problem of Nigeria as most participants later reached an agreement on, is the regrettable absence of a leadership that is credible enough to command informed followers. The absence of credible leaders has concurrently created scarcity of informed citizenry that are capable of showing resolute commitment to the development and competitiveness of Nigeria in the global world.
Most leaders that have had the privilege of holding public office at various levels of government have shown greater commitment to protecting the micro interest of the social or political groups(s) that produced them. The allegiance of most public office holders to the interest of the exploitative critical mass in the society, is the greatest obstacle to the development and sincere implementation of people and development - driven policies that are in the interest of the common good. This is to a very great extent accounts for why the spirit of accountability is low among most people in positions of leadership in Nigeria and most African countries.
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Iganmode
I work presently as Head,Strategy and Clients Service with Bluebird Communications Limited, a leading integrated marketing communications consultancy based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Before Bluebird I worked as a Product Manager in the Consumer and Retail Banking Department of Afribank Nigeria Plc. I joined the Bank on the 15th of November 1999 after garnering rich experience in journalism, advertising, public relations and marketing. I have in the last five years had the opportunity of Heading Units such as Media/Investors Relations, Internal Communications and Publications and Advertising and Corporate Promotions in the Corporate Affairs Department of the Bank. I edited Afribank News, the Bank’s quarterly house journal between January 2002 and June 2003 and was also responsible for launching content of the magazine on the Bank’s website.
I started my career in Journalism with the Vanguard Newspapers as a Reporter on the Literary Desk of the national newspaper in 1990 and joined the services of Rosabel Advertising Limited in October 1991 as a Trainee Executive in the Media Department. During my stint in the Media Department of this highbrow agency I undertook schedules such as media planning, buying, monitoring and comparative rating of media audience.
I returned to the print media in 1995 by taking employment with the Guardian Newspapers as Editorial Supplement Executive. I, in this capacity combined successfully the onerous schedule of writing news and features regularly on various business sectors and marketing newspapers in The Guardian stable for profitability and acceptance. The Vanguard Newspaper again beckoned on me in 1997 to join the pioneering team of professionals that established the newspaper's editorial supplement Desk as a Senior Supplement’s Reporter. After a very brief stint with Vanguard Newspapers I took up employment with Tanus Communications Limited, a full-fledged marketing communications company, as a Senior Media Relations Officer.
While in the Media Relations Department of Tanus Communications, I consulted for several companies in the areas of media and public relations, press a gentry, events and issues management, publishing, monitoring and evaluation of media/public perception of issues, advertising campaign planning and monitoring etc. Prominent among the companies I consulted for were Union Bank Plc, Chartered Bank Plc, NAL Merchant Bank, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Mobil, NICON Insurance, and Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), Petroleum Special Trust Fund (PTF) etc. I was promoted as the Head of the dynamic department, before I left the firm to join Afribank Nigeria Plc in November 1999.
I am a 1994 graduate of Mass Communications from the Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta and also bagged a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree in the Upper Class category from the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in 2001. I am a qualified Associate Member of industry relevant professional associations such as the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Federation of African Public Relations Associations (FAPRA) and the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).
I love reading, writing, surfing the web, watching films and discussing issues with contemporary and global relevance. I have been writing poems with different themes for over a decade and plan to publish my collection in the no distant future . I am married to an Industrial Chemist and we are blessed with two kids aged 4 and 2 respectively. I am the current President of Vision Club, an investment and leadership development-driven association of young and upwardly mobile professionals in the public and private sector.
Omo'ba Olumide Olalekan Idowu
Bluebird Communications Limited, Lagos, Nigeria
( Mobile) : 08023236493 ,
Website:www.freewebs.com/olumideidowu
E–Mail: o.idowu@afribank.com or mideidowu@yahoo.com
Web Resume Page: http://olumide.resume.4t.com
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