Public Affairs Analyst

On Monday, April 16, 2012, the long awaited report of the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Agencies, Commissions and Parastatals headed by Mr. Stephen Oronsaye was submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan.  The committee which was inaugurated on August 18, 2011 was mandated to: study and review all previous reports on similar exercise; examine the enabling Acts of all MDAs and classify them into various sectors; examine critically their mandates and make appropriate recommendations to either restructure, merge or scrap; and, advise on any other matters, which may be relevant to the desire of government to prune the cost of governance. While summarizing his 800 page report, the committee noted that: “It is a fundamental breach of acceptable practice of good public sector governance to create a new agency or institution as a response to the seeming failure or poor performance of an existing agency in order to suit political or individu...

The formal announcement on Monday, March 19, 2012 by Central Bank of Nigeria suspending its much touted cashless policy is a welcome development and shows the apex bank as respecting public opinion on the volatile issue. It is not only the suspension of the take off of the policy till January 1, 2013 in other parts of the country that is heart-warming, the fact that the withdrawal and deposit limit was also increased from N150, 000 to N500, 000 for individuals and N1 million to N3 million for corporate entities also portray the CBN as a responsive and responsible institution. Other measure announced by CBN was the reduction in the processing fees to be paid by customers who may wish to deposit or withdraw more than the approved amount. The CBN’s plan to push Nigeria into a cashless society is aimed at reducing incidences of money laundering, terrorist financing and other economic and financial crimes. It is also aimed at lessening dependence on cash transactions while exposing bank cus...

We have not completely fulfilled our responsibility as parents until we bequeath to our children a love of books, a thirst for knowledge, a hunger for righteousness, an awareness of beauty, a memory of kindness, an understanding of loyalty, a vision of greatness and a good name. - William Arthur Ward Parenting is a very challenging obligation, no doubt. Child rearing is energy and purse sapping. Children’s needs are endless; they want comfort, attention and the best of everything money can buy. Modern civilizations have exposed them to a world of fantasies which many parents can ill-afford. William Arthur Ward in the opening quote imposed eight duties on parents: First is love of books. How have we fared as parents on this count? Statistics showed that there are over 10 million out of school children in Nigeria. Even those who are enrolled in schools, what manner of education are they exposed to? What is the quality of education imparted on our children? In Nigeria, public schools are...

" On this day, the 25th of March 2012, at 9:27 p.m., President Abdoulaye Wade, a candidate in the presidential election, called President Macky Sall to congratulate him for having won the election and to wish him good luck in his mission at the head of Senegal in the hopes that he will render the Senegalese happy. In this way, Senegal, through a transparent election, has once again proven that she remains a great democracy, a great country." – Spokesman to outgoing President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, Serigne Mbacke Ndiaye. Following the precedent established by his predecessor in office, President Abdoulaye Wade last Sunday, March 25, after a bitter but peaceful run-off presidential election, conceded defeat to his protégé and former Prime Minister Macky Sall who had defeated him by a margin of 65.80 percent to 34.20 percent. This rare gesture was first exhibited by former Senegalese President, Abdou Diouf on March 19, 2000 after the presidential runoff between him and the...