---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Obori Adaka oboriadaka@yahoo.com [NigerianID] <NigerianID-noreply@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 11:58 AM
Subject: NigerianID | Academic Qualification for presidents: Lessons from West Africa
To: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com
The world over, sufficiently educated rulers/leaders are the rule rather than the exception, as details of the academic qualifications of President of West African countries show. Abiodun Awolaja writes.
Also speaking with Sunday Tribune, Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, insisted that the National Conference took the right decision in specifying a minimum of first degree or its equivalent for persons seeking election into the presidency, governorship as well as stated and National Assembly. He said: ''I believe that 54 years after independence, we cannot downplay the role of education for leadership positions. I believe that as a journalist, you have a degree. There are so many jobs that you can't get without a university degree; they would simply tell you that if you don't have a degree, you need not apply. We are in a modern world and a leader needs a level of education, a measure of exposure to be functional in this world. So, I think the Conference took an informed position.''
From: Obori Adaka oboriadaka@yahoo.com [NigerianID] <NigerianID-noreply@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 11:58 AM
Subject: NigerianID | Academic Qualification for presidents: Lessons from West Africa
To: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com
Academic Qualification for presidents: Lessons from West Africa
Rate this item
(0 votes)
The world over, sufficiently educated rulers/leaders are the rule rather than the exception, as details of the academic qualifications of President of West African countries show. Abiodun Awolaja writes.Anew dimension was introduced into the presidential election campaign penultimate week. The South-West zonal coordinator of the Goodluck Campaign Organisation, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, last Monday, declared while speaking at the official flag-off of the presidential campaign for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), could not be president of the country because he lacked a university degree.
Mimiko, a potent force in the politics of the South-West geopolitical zone and widely acknowledged disciple of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, declared that the people of the South-West had concluded plans to rally support for the PDP candidate, adding that anyone desiring to become the president should be a university graduate. He said: "I stand on firm ground to state, categorically, that hardly is there any home in Lagos and, indeed, the South-West that cannot boast of a 10th generation school certificate holder. This is why, among others, we will not settle for a president with less than a university degree," he declared.
Mimiko was not done yet. Addressing supporters of the PDP at the party's presidential campaign rally in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the governor noted that Nigerians were looking for a well-educated president who would drive development in the country, not one who lacked computer literacy. In a veiled reference to the opposition APC, he said: "They don't belong to this generation. Some of them cannot even click a computer yet they want to be president in Nigeria in 21st century. We say no. We say no, I don't have much to say. We want a 21st century compliant president."
Dr Tunji Abayomi (SAN), a member of the APC screening committee had stirred the hornet's nest when he asserted that General Buhari was eminently qualified for the presidency even without the production of the certificates. He had asserted inter alia: "As a member of the APC Screening Committee, I can affirm unequivocally that Gen. Buhari met the education qualification prescribed by the constitution. To begin with, the constitution does not prescribe the presentation or show of any certificate to qualify for election to the office of President. Under section 131(d) of our constitution, a person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if 'he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.' While a certificate may unequivocally show that a contestant has been educated up to at least School Certificate level, his education without a certificate may show, again unequivocally that he has been educated up to the equivalent of School Certificate level.''
Abayomi was countered by many analysts who wondered why the committee would award Buhari a certificate after screening, if certificates were inconsequential. Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olisa Agbakob,a stated that Buhari's refusal to properly fill his form domiciled with the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) was a case of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, which could disqualify him from contesting the 2015 general election.
"As lawyers, we go for evidence. The truth is that he did not complete the form; he put in an affidavit that his certificates are with the army, that is non-compliance, so generally speaking General Buhari has not completed the form correctly," he said.
Indeed, against the backdrop of Sections 65 (2) (a), 106 (c) 131 (d), 177 (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which specify a minimum of secondary school certificate or its equivalent for candidates aspiring for the offices of president, vice-presidents, governors, deputy governors, national and state Houses of Assembly, delegates at the 2014 National Conference were unanimous in their view that, in order to respond adequately to the challenges of a rapidly globalizing world, a candidate vying for these offices and that of chairman of local governments should have a minimum of first degree, while councillors should have at least school certificate qualification, against the current lacuna in the 1999 Constitution which does not state any academic qualification for the offices of the local government chairmen and councillors.
As observed by a delegate: "This improvement will go a long way in increasing the quality of persons that could be elected into those important offices. This thinking, which is in line with global best practice, will also help to increase the quality of representation of the people, and service delivery, at different strata of government. It is not in doubt that many political office holders perform well below expectations probably as a result of their poor education and its attendant poverty of ideas. Such persons lack the intellect to fashion out a pragmatic vision and mission for their offices, as some do not even know the essence of politics and governance in the first place and are only propelled by the urge to acquire power and wealth."
Speaking with Sunday Tribune on the National Conference recommendation, Dr Kunle Olajide, a member of the Committee on Social Sector at the Conference, said that the conference took the right decision by upgrading the requisite academic qualification for the nation's higher offices. In his words: "University degree or equivalent should be the minimum qualification for anybody aspiring to lead Nigeria or legislate for good governance in this digital age. Same should apply to the states as well, We are in the knowledge age and Nigeria cannot be different.''
Also speaking with Sunday Tribune, Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, insisted that the National Conference took the right decision in specifying a minimum of first degree or its equivalent for persons seeking election into the presidency, governorship as well as stated and National Assembly. He said: ''I believe that 54 years after independence, we cannot downplay the role of education for leadership positions. I believe that as a journalist, you have a degree. There are so many jobs that you can't get without a university degree; they would simply tell you that if you don't have a degree, you need not apply. We are in a modern world and a leader needs a level of education, a measure of exposure to be functional in this world. So, I think the Conference took an informed position.''A former member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Tunde Suara, however added a caveat: the norm should be post-secondary qualification rather than a first degree, which could, for instance, disqualify the holder of a Higher National Diploma. He averred that "The issue of first degree as a prerequisite for any elective position is a misnomer. Rather, the person seeking elective office must at least obtain post-secondary school education. He or she must be exposed, versed, ready to serve, not corrupt and, most importantly, God-fearing.''
The West African experience
The world over, sufficiently educated rulers/leaders, it appears, are taking over the administration and control of their countries. A quick glance at Nigeria's neighbouring West African countries proves illuminating. The President of Ghana, John Mahama, studied at the University of Ghana, Legon, receiving a bachelor's degree in history in 1981 and a postgraduate diploma in communication studies in 1986. He also studied at the Institute of Social Sciences, Moscow in the then Soviet Union, specialising in social psychology, obtaining a postgraduate degree in 1988. His predecessor, John Atta Mills, studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and received a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Mills was a visiting professor at Leiden University (Holland) from 1985 to 1988 and earned a PhD in Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London after completing his doctoral thesis in the area of taxation and economic development, while Alassane Ouattara, Ivorien president has a PhD in Economics from the University of Pensylvania. His predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, the man at the centre of the recent political dispute in Cote'd Ivoire, is also a professor of history.
Republic of Benin president, Boni Yayi, studied economics at the National University of Benin. He later studied banking at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and economics and politics at the University of Orléans in France and at Paris Dauphine University, where he obtained a doctorate in economics in 1976. Senegalese president, Macky Sall, studied geological engineering and geophysics at University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar (graduated 1988) and the French Institute of Petroleum outside Paris. His predecessor, Abdoulaye Wade, studied and taught law at the Lycée Condorcet in France. He holds two doctorates in law and economics and was also Dean, Faculty of Law and Economics at the University of Dakar in Senegal.
The only exception, The Gambia president, Yahya Jammeh, received his early education at Kanilai Primary School, Saint Edwards Primary School in Bwiam, and Gambia High School in Banjul. In 1983 he passed the General Certificate of Education (GCE 0' Level) with Credits in Geography, English, French, Biology and Physics, Chemistry and Oral English. He then attended the Military Police Officers Basic Course (MPOBC) at For McClellan, Alabama, in the United States of America and in 1994 obtained a Diploma in Military science.
On the other hand, President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, an insurance executive by profession, is a 1976 graduate from Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa. Lieutenant Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida, Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, obtained a Master's degree in International Management from the University of Lyon. The country's transitional leader, Michel Kafando, who replaced Zida as transitional head of state and then appointed him Prime Minister on 19 November 2014, obtained a bachelor's degree in Public law from the University of Bordeaux in 1969, a diploma in political studies in 1972 in Paris and another diploma from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva also in 1972. He later gained a PhD in political science at the Sorbonne in 1990. For his part, President Jorge Carlos de Almeida of Cape Verde is a lawyer and university professor. He has been president of Cape Verde since 2011.
However, with the raging controversy over Buhari's qualifications, Nigerians are eagerly awaiting the final verdict on the issue. And this final verdict, as many political commentators observed, can only be pronounced by Buhari himself when he produces the requisite documents that will constitutionally qualify him to contest election. Anything else will only add volume to the claim of PDP members that the APC candidate and his party have subverted one of the key provisions of the nation's constitution.
Read 49 times
__._,_.___
| Reply via web post | • | Reply to sender | • | Reply to group | • | Start a New Topic | • | Messages in this topic (1) |
******************
UPCOMING EVENTS & PUBLIC NOTICE:
*****************===============
UPCOMING EVENTS & PUBLIC NOTICE:
*****************===============
Mark your calendar, Leadership and Governance Canada Leadership Forum is September 20, 2014 @ Toronto Sheraton Hotel .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
September 20, 2014 | Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) Canada and the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
PRESENT: "Yorùbá: Between Values and Modernity" Lecture
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================
Enjoy Nigerian and Caribbean music 24-7 on HTTP://www.Radio613fm.com. Log on now.
===============
The Who s Who of Nigerian decent in Canada Hardcover Book.
-------------------------------
Please submit your 250 word biography and photo to whoswho@npbn.org to be included in the first edition of the book. Share this notice with your family and friends!
==============================
============================== -------------------------------
==============================
"No part of any discussion on NigerianID may be used, quoted, or referred to, without the express permission of the individual author, or the Chief moderator All discussions on NigerianID are the express property of the author and NigerianID." Copyright 2006-2013. NigerianID. All Rights Reserved.
Nigerian Professionals and Business Network. Our mission is to promote the spirit of patriotism, networking, and cooperation among Nigerians in Diaspora.... http://www.nidoa.org
Donate your used Glasses to the "Seeing Changes the View" Nigeria Project at http://www.proudNigerians.org and help someone today. ProudNigerians.Org is an informal movement of like-minded people who wants to see incremental changes in Nigeria and who are leading by taking simple actions and paying it forward.
UPCOMING EVENTS & PUBLIC NOTICE:
*****************===============
UPCOMING EVENTS & PUBLIC NOTICE:
*****************===============
Mark your calendar, Leadership and Governance Canada Leadership Forum is September 20, 2014 @ Toronto Sheraton Hotel .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
September 20, 2014 | Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) Canada and the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
PRESENT: "Yorùbá: Between Values and Modernity" Lecture
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================
Enjoy Nigerian and Caribbean music 24-7 on HTTP://www.Radio613fm.com. Log on now.
===============
The Who s Who of Nigerian decent in Canada Hardcover Book.
-------------------------------
Please submit your 250 word biography and photo to whoswho@npbn.org to be included in the first edition of the book. Share this notice with your family and friends!
==============================
============================== -------------------------------
==============================
"No part of any discussion on NigerianID may be used, quoted, or referred to, without the express permission of the individual author, or the Chief moderator All discussions on NigerianID are the express property of the author and NigerianID." Copyright 2006-2013. NigerianID. All Rights Reserved.
Nigerian Professionals and Business Network. Our mission is to promote the spirit of patriotism, networking, and cooperation among Nigerians in Diaspora.... http://www.nidoa.org
Donate your used Glasses to the "Seeing Changes the View" Nigeria Project at http://www.proudNigerians.org and help someone today. ProudNigerians.Org is an informal movement of like-minded people who wants to see incremental changes in Nigeria and who are leading by taking simple actions and paying it forward.
.
__,_._,___
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment