If Abdul Karim Bangura is also invited by his country or any African or Caribbean country, or any country anywhere, including South America, to share his formidable interdisciplinary knowledge in various capacities,I expect he will respond in a way that shows he appreciates the offer.His globe trotting lectures demonstrates that he is ready to be relevant practically anywhere.
On account of the underdeveloped infrastructure of a significant number of African countries and attitudinal problems demonstrating a slow response to the commitments required to build modern institutions, it would be quite challenging to an established scholar in the West to move to Africa without the kind of economic, social, infrastructural and institutional enablement that facilitates such relocatuion. At least thats how I see it. On this subject, see Ola Kassim's analysis of the implications of the appointment for Aluko, which I think I posted here earlier.
Thanks
Toyin
On 15 February 2011 04:50, Cornelius Hamelberg <corneliushamelberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Whilst also congratulating Professor Aluko mightily and wishing him
the best of success and we all know that his is up to the challenges
facing him and that with a little help from the one and only Almighty
he will succeed beyond our imaginations - could we also take the
opportunity of beseeching Abdul Karim Bangura (who I have never met)
to turn some of his attention to his beloved homeland where the
educational system is beset my myriads of problems?
Even in Bison country I'm sure that they say charity or charitableness
is supposed to begin at home, abi ah lie ?
On Feb 14, 4:33 pm, "Abdul Bangura" <th...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Good Greetings Mwalimu Mobolaji Aluko:
>
> I pray that you and your family are doing very well. And a hearty congratulation to you on your appointment to lead a very promising university!
>
> You have done the wisest thing by inviting Mwalimu Salihu Mustafa to lend you his hand and wisdom. My greatest concern was not so much about the challenges that have beseeched existing universities in Nigeria, as in other Afrikan countries, that will also beseech the new ones that are being launched because the initiative provides an opportunity for the existing and new universities to join hands and fight for what is best for the students of the great nation that is Nigeria. My biggest worry was about the challenges you would encounter from the few but very vocal and troublesome folks on the Motherland who have become quite anti-Diaspora. A number of excellent Diaspora Afrikans who have returned to the Motherland to serve as Vice Chancellors and in other positions at universities have had very bad experiences.
>
> Then after thinking about the number of years you have spent at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), I took comfort from the fact that you are by now well seasoned on university politics. We will miss you at Howard University/The Mecca/Bison Country/The Hilltop. We look forward to developing collaborative programs with your new university to be funded by the American government and other organizations.
>
> As We Say In Da Washington Dee Cee Hood, Stay Strong, Afrikan Strong!!!
>
> In Peace Always,
> Your Fellow Bison Abdul Karim Bangura/.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Mobolaji ALUKO
> To: USAAfrica Dialogue
> Sent: 2/14/2011 10:08:06 AM
> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Prof. Aluko,my condolences!
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Mobolaji ALUKO <aluk...@gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, Feb 14, 2011 at 9:46 AM
> Subject: Re: ||NaijaObserver|| [Naijanet] Fwd: Prof. Aluko,my condolences!
> To: Salihu Mustafa <salihumust...@gmail.com>
>
> Cc: NaijaObser...@yahoogroups.com, NaijaPolitics e-Group <NaijaPolit...@yahoogroups.com>, "nigeria...@yahoogroups.com" <nigeria...@yahoogroups.com>, naijaintellects <naijaintellects@googlegroups.com>, OmoOdua <OmoO...@yahoogroups.com>
>
> Prof. Salihu Mustafa:
>
> Top of the day to you!
>
> Although I meant to write to you PRIVATELY, since you have now intervened in this matter PUBLICLY, I hereby PUBLICLY inform you that I INTEND to invite you to serve on my Implementation Team for the planning of the federal university of Otueke, in order for me to tap into your experience as both as a fellow Engineering Professor and a former Vice-Chancellor of another federal university in Nigeria. This is another small but worthy opportunity for you to serve Nigeria - but in Bayelsa State.
>
> We have never met, but we have spoken on the phone once or twice before now, and have exchanged a lot of emails over a number of issues over the years.
>
> So do save me the problem of writing to you privately, and accept or reject my offer publicly.
>
> I look to read from you shortly.
>
> Bolaji Aluko
>
> Announced VC of FUO or OFU
>
> On Mon, Feb 14, 2011 at 9:26 AM, Salihu Mustafa <salihumust...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Toyin.
> Though I do not like the situation described, that is, everyone for himself, however, I sympathise with the emotion that it evokes.
> On the issue of inbreeding, I got convinced that it is not a good practice after listening to a public lecture delivered by an eminent medical doctor, a professor of medicine and former Vice-Chancellor.
> In the lecture, he pointed out that any society, nation or institution that practices inbreeding will not progress. He drew instances of some diseases inherited which are propagated through inbreeding. In the lecture, he very well defended his policy of opening the doors of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria while he was the VC to all Nigerians and foreigners, both during admission and appointments. He also drew our attention to the fact that, America, convinced of this, and in order to avoid the menace of inbreeding, encourages immigration to the country and allocates quotas through lotteries to every region and ethnic group in the world.
> And recently, keeping animals in the zoo was found to be detrimental to wild animals resulting in their gradual extinction hence, recourse to allocation of game reserves.
> Toyin, it is indeed sad that these practices are partly responsible for the decline of Nigerian universities over the years, most of them prefer to cling to their primordal sentiments and unknowingly,sliding into oblivion, with none of them among the 1,000 universities rated in the world.
> Malam Wane
>
> On Mon, Feb 14, 2011 at 2:06 PM, toyin adepoju <toyin.adep...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> Mallam Wane,
>
> What is the level of commitment of the government to government funded universities in those places you compare with Nigeria?
>
> How helpful to the creation of quality education is what you describe here " moreso, that, where federal universities are located citizens of the state tend to cling to them as their God given manna for which, they dictate both staff appointment and student admission into them, at the exclusion of other states".
>
> I get the impression that you need to examine your argument more carefully.
>
> On a less critical note, you seem to be demonstrating sensitivity to the culture of resource allocation in a place like Nigeria, where entities like local governments, states and universities might be created, not on the aspiration to maximum efficiency, but as a focus of access to resources.
>
> Moving on from my challenge to you. I am asking the following question beceause I would like to learn from your opinion even though I agree with you. Why do think this is wrong:
>
> "Indeed, I had occasion to point out to one of the older universities during a visit the folly of inbreeding there wherein, all the faculty of one department had obtained their first, second and terminal degrees from the same university in which they were working".
>
> thanks
> toyin
>
> On 14 February 2011 12:52, Salihu Mustafa <salihumust...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Folks,
> As always is the case, when others are looking at problems on the side
> of a coin, others see opportunities on the other side of the coin.
> indeed, creating additional universities- others will see as too many;
> for us it is not. Reason. Uncle Sam's territory with population only
> twice that of Nigeria, yet it has over two thousand degree awarding
> institutions. Japan with population similar to Nigeria, has about 600
> universities. Similarly, Russia has about 600 universities.
> If Nigeria is to aspire to these developed nations, there is every
> justification for us to build more degree awarding institutions.
> The case of nine new universities, much as one will regard them as
> political universities albeit, they are meant to bring balance and
> parity in the location of tertiary education in every state; moreso,
> that, where federal universities are located citizens of the state
> tend to cling to them as their God given manna for which, they dictate
> both staff appointment and student admission into them, at the
> exclusion of other states. This is happening even in the older
> institutions. Indeed, I had occasion to point out to one of the older
> universities during a visit the folly of inbreeding there wherein, all
> the faculty of one department had obtained their first, second and
> terminal degrees from the same university in which they were working.
> Coming back to Bolaji's new appointment, I believe he should take it
> as a challenge, to bring his wealth of experienec from Uncle Sam's
> territory and give a good start to the federal University at Otueke.
> Consequent to embarking on this assignment, he may consider it
> necessary, to extract few concessions from those he can extract, for
> him to implement some policies similar to the way they are being
> implemented in Uncle Sam's territory, for at at least the period he
> will be in Otueke. If however he overlooks this, and goes along the
> Nigerian path of doing things, I am afraid, I will have no option but
> to withdraw my congratulatory message, sent him ealier, and
> substitute it with the growing condolonce messages.
> Malam Wane
>
> On 2/14/11, bunmi fatoye-matory <bunm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Rahmon O. Momoh <rmo...@gmail.com>
> > Date: Mon, Feb 14, 2011 at 1:10 AM
> > Subject: Re: [Naijanet] Fwd: Prof. Aluko,my condolences!
> > To: Ndubisi Obiorah <nobio...@gmail.com>> > failed like a tailor in a nudist�s colony. Our problems have actually
> > Cc: naijanet <naijanet@googlegroups.com>
>
> > Anyone with commonsense will agree that creating new universities would not
> > solve our educational problems. It's basically kicking cans down the road.
> > Instead, the money would be best spent rehabilitating our schools. Maybe
> > they should fire all the current VCs and appoint new ones, but the answer is
> > not building new universities.
>
> > Our universities started going downhill when general Obasanjo took over in
> > 1976. Somehow baba Iyabo hates teachers. Maybe he was badly beaten by
> > teachers when he was in modern school, but his hatred of teachers
> > contributed to the demise of our educational system. Even when he came
> > back, he continued his hatred by firing lecturers without due process, and
> > refused to release funds to schools.
>
> > If new universities are the solutions to our economy paralysis, that should
> > have been achieved with the creations of new states. One of the main reasons
> > for new states (like new universities) is to encourage economic growth by
> > bring the government closer to the people. Obviously that experience has
> > worsened with the creation of new states. The federal government spread
> > itself too thin to be effective. I expect the same outcome with the new
> > universities.
>
> > The Bolaji I knew 15 years ago would have rejected this Greek gift. It is
> > obviously an attempt to silent a progressive voice on the internet
> > forum. Eight
> > years ago, Bolaji literally saved Bola Tinubu when the INEC had different
> > results on its web site while the public results showed that Tinubu had won.
> > He also analyzed several elections that contributed to the success of the
> > eventual winners. This appointment will deprive us of that opportunity.
>
> > This forthcoming election will be like the last one, massively rigged. PDP
> > knew that they have done nothing to deserve reelection, so they will do
> > everything (do-or-die politics) to rig this election. Taking Bolaji out of
> > the equation is a good first start.
>
> > God bless Nigeria!
>
> > Rahmon Momoh
>
> > On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 6:28 PM, Ndubisi Obiorah <nobio...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> >> From: Toyin Falola <toyin.fal...@mail.utexas.edu>
> >> Date: Mon, Feb 14, 2011 at 5:11 AM
> >> Subject: Fwd: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Government appoints vice
> >> chancellors for new federal universities, Prof. Aluko,my condolences!
> >> To: USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
>
> > Please send PRIVATE emails to rmo...@yahoo.com> >> From: a.dasy...@ibadanculturalstudiesgroup.org
> >> Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:36:44 +0000
>
> >> Dear Prof. Aluko,
>
> >> I am genuinely worried at your recent appointment as one of the VCs for
> >> the
> >> newly created federal universities, and disturbed by the avalanche of
> >> congratulatory messages from colleagues,friends and well wishers. No
> >> doubt,you eminently qualify but that is not the issue. I see a deliberate
> >> distraction by political schemers of the ruling party playing on the
> >> naivity
> >> of the citizenry.
>
> >> Have you sat down to weigh the implications of such political abracadabra
> >> the power of pronouncing 9 universities into existence as if they were 9
> >> bottles of beer? I wonder where colleagues kept their memory and simply
> >> jumped at celebrating a cleverly orchestrated Trojan horse or Greek gift.
> >> On
> >> Federal appointments: Tai Solarin of the blessed memory and the People's
> >> Bank, Wole Soyinka and the Federal Road Safety Commission, Prof Sam Aluko
> >> and the National Economic Intelligence Committee,etc., and most recently,
> >> Prof. Jega and INEC. The story has been the same, frustration for lack of
> >> tools to work with, for lack of the right people to work, undue
> >> interference
> >> from Government, etc. The first three were deliberately nearly disgraced
> >> out
> >> of office. It was their pedigree and good reputation they had built for
> >> themselves over the years,their dedication and passion for their beloved
> >> nation that bailed them out!
>
> >> Jega's is still a question of time, and that is almost predictable, except
> >> there is a divine intervention. The case of stolen DCMs, registration
> >> manipulations and other desperate moves by the do-or-die politicians are
> >> mere tip of the iceberg. Sufficient to remind Jega that being an academic
> >> or
> >> a former President of ASUU does not make him a magician that is capable of
> >> running an efficient INEC given the existing structure he met on ground.
>
> >> Prof Aluko, you are more or less a moving encyclopedia of information on
> >> Nigeria and as such possesses an impressive knowledge on how Nigeria has
> >> continued to be misruled by the current ruling Party,so I actually thought
> >> that you would turn down the offer on the grounds that
>
> >> (1) creating a Federal university in every State of Nigeria is the least
> >> of
> >> options to cater for many of our youth seeking university admission,
>
> >> (2) existing Federal universities could be better funded, expanded, and
> >> equipped to accommodate more students,
>
> >> (3)the so called money given to establish each new university is
> >> inadequate
> >> to develop a world class Faculty of Science. Besides, don't be deceived as
> >> contractors appointed by the same government agents are already laying
> >> ambush to pounce on the money so that less than a third of the money will
> >> finally end up doing the work on the site. If the project finally
> >> fails,guess who will carry the blame? You of course. That is the tradition
> >> here. I think well meaning Nigerians should insist that Federal govt
> >> should
> >> be concerned more with making all our redundant refineries work, repair
> >> our
> >> road network, make the trains move on our railways again, and find
> >> permanent
> >> solution to electricity generation and distribution
>
> >> (4) FG should create employment opportunities for our youth. Alas, a
> >> nation
> >> without visionary leadership perishes. The well wishers,no doubt,may have
> >> had good intentions,but it also puts a question mark on the fragile
> >> principle of followership. How come suddenly we all forgot to remind
> >> ourselves that most Nigerian universities have severally been described as
> >> 'glorified secondary schools'!
>
> >> The same proprietor-government of the Federal Universities no sooner than
> >> it announced the creation of additional 9, that President Jonathan
> >> suddenly
> >> turned a super hero, Ikole people were at war in the course of which lives
> >> were,as usual,wasted!
>
> >> A country where every house is its own local government- must produce its
> >> own water by bore hole or buy 'pure water', must generate its own
> >> electricity, construct its own road,provide its own security "vigilantes",
> >> will find it very hard to convince discerning minds that creating
> >> additional
> >> 9 Federal universities is capable of solving all the problems highlighted
> >> above or remove the pathological greed in most if not all the serving
> >> politicians in Nigeria.
>
> >> My fear with your kind of appointment has always been that when good
> >> people
> >> like you accept FG's Greek gift, you not only end up being messed up, your
> >> credibility is all they need to legitimize the many crimes they are
> >> committing on daily basis against all Nigerians who do not belong to the
> >> ruling class.
>
> >> So my dear brother Bolaji, I love you so much,but as things are right
> >> now,my condolences.
>
> >> Demola Dasylva
>
> >> Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
>
> >> --
> >> Toyin Falola
> >> Department of History
> >> The University of Texas at Austin
> >> 1 University Station
> >> Austin, TX 78712-0220
> >> USA
> >> 512 475 7224
> >> 512 475 7222 (fax)
> >>http://www.toyinfalola.com/
> >>www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
> >>http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
> >>http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
>
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