A Lift To Our System of Governance.

The United Kingdom has a parliament and government that is the envy of the world. In the face of deep seated differences, there is an objective to reach a conclusion that politically acceptable to the majority.

 I am talking about Brexit, a phenomenon that has sucked all the air out of the political discourse in the land.

In many ways Nigeria and the United Kingdom share a lot of similarities. Essentially the U.K. is made up of four nations, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. During the Brexit debate, Theresa May said "no Prime Minister will ever preside over the breakup of the United Kingdom."

As in Nigeria there are grumblings as to how resources are shared to different areas of the UK, but what sets us apart is the level of leadership and accountability that exists in the UK.

This brings to full focus the Brexit debate over the past few days. On Wednesday the 27th of March 2019, the British parliament, wrested power from the Prime Minister to steer Brexit forward and provide an alternative to her moribund EU withdrawal agreement.

The parliamentarians voted on eight amendments and were unable to come up with a viable alternative, bringing to the fore the deep seated differences that exist in the parliament, and in the country.

The relevance of this is to show the maturity of the UK parliament and government. In the UK, citizens comment on the radio, lamenting that the UK has become a laughing stock the world over for their inability to come up with an acceptable Brexit plan.

I have grown up learning that the root of all our problems in Nigeria stem from colonialisation.

However as a people we should learn from the British the decorum, respect, and maturity shown when different sections of the same nation have fundamentally different views on a national issue.

Although political leadership demonstrate those views amongst themselves and are vehemently opposed to each other's views, they can still sit together and work at it to reach a conclusive finale that will be acceptable to the majority of British people.

We can be said to be operating different systems of government, however the demand for selflessness, vision and persistence to a cause for the benefit of all remains the same.

Concern for our environment

There is a lot of news in the media about what single use plastic is doing to our oceans.

In my view discarding what is no more useful to us needs to considered carefully, ensuring that the impact of our waste has minimum effect on the environment. Many of us enjoy the great outdoors and do not want to be cooped indoors for any reason whatsoever. However when we are out and about, we crave for water, coffee, and snacks of all types, forcing us to purchase these products in easily disposable containers.

How we dispose of these containers is what is important. Placing them in bona-fide waste-bins is essential so that they can be effectively disposed of by the local authority is one option. Another option is taking your litter home with you.

Our concern for the environment must come from the understanding that we live in a global ecosystem and the destruction or fragmentation of any part of the ecosystem creates an imbalance that serves to affect man on the long run.

In an attempt to encourage everyone to dispose of their litter thoughtfully we have launched a range of tee-shirts to relay the message.

Many years ago I carried out some research and investigation on brackish water ecosystems in the Niger Delta.

I returned to the area after twenty years and observed the devastation and destruction oil spill pollution has reeked on the area, permanently destroying the fragile ecosystem and the human life that has depended on it for centuries.

Our hope is that some of the profit from the sale of these tee-shirts will contribute campaigns to bring the damage single use plastic is doing the environment to the attention of a global audience.

Sustainability, an ingredient for growth.

It pains me when people take the environment for granted. We live in times when as humans that we consume more in energy, resources, food etc. than at any time in the history of mankind. Albeit the global population is growing exponentially

While natural resources are diminishing, we in the developing world need to take responsibility of both our resources and our environment. Slavery, colonialism and imperialism are ills perpetuated upon our peoples however developments and trends in the western developed world should not be an issue of; “them and not us.” We still suffer from the effects of capitalism, corruption, global corporate insensitivity and political duplicity.

The world is now a global village and the effects of events in one part of the world, politically economically and environmentally, tends to affect another part of the world. Pandemics occur due to the prevalence of air travel and marine pollution is crippling coastal areas the world over. In essence as a developing country the areas we need to develop in are areas of relevance today and not technologies that are being phased out. Why should we develop copper line based land telephones where mobile telephone and high-speed fibre optics is sweeping the world?

It is agreed that the bar to entry to the club of developed countries has been raised higher, irrespective, that is the standard we must achieve to be a member of developed flourishing participating country of the 21^st century.

Expert who has interviewed billionaires reveal their secret to their success and they're very simple

Vikas Shah, a Professor of Entrepreneurship has interviewed the likes of Sir Richard Branson, Sir James Dyson, and Steve Ballmer and here he reveals their simple secrets. Their secret formula is captured in these ten points and unsurprisingly, passion is a vital ingredient. These people set out to pursue something they love doing and make a change without intending to make crazy money in the first place.

1. Find your passion: The vast majority of people who have made their billions didn’t intend to make that money; they found something they were unbelievably passionate about, and made it their life. It just so happened their timing was perfect, and it became a huge wealth generator – but that passion was the starting point.

2. Be resilient: The overwhelming majority of billionaires I’ve met advise me that you have be resilient. You have to be able to get back up after the knocks, you have to be prepared to fail and to embrace that, and you have to be prepared to operate outside the comfort zone of your normal life.

3. Don’t chase wealth: Without exception, every single billionaire I’ve met has told me that starting a business for them was never about the money – it was about making a big change in the world, whether that’s revolutionising technology, solving a problem, improving lives, or creating something. That was the driver.

4. Look after your health: It’s a common mistake to think that these individuals are working 23.5 hours a day. The overwhelming majority of billionaires I know are extremely committed to their health - they sleep well, eat well, take breaks, and make sure they are in peak-performance (otherwise they can’t lead). 

This isn’t just a ‘nice perk of being rich,’ but rather something that’s been an important part of their lives from the start.

5. Think about how you can help people: One inspiring characteristic of all the billionaires I’ve met has been a deep sense of philanthropy (which has often been with them from the start of their journeys). 

Most have been committed to changing lives in a positive way, and have applied their contacts and skills to helping charities at a community level initially, and then as they grow, in a wider sense through their foundations. More than a few have told me that they feel this is a ‘moral imperative’

6. Think about the long-term: Very few (if any) billionaires think about the short-term; most are constantly thinking about how they can make their business sustainable, often long after they’re gone. It’s about the generation-length time frame, not a quick buck - and that’s a powerful part of how they’ve been successful.

7. It’s about execution: Ideas are important, but just because you’re an ideas person- doesn’t mean you’ll make it. As one billionaire told me, ‘having a great idea is great, but you have to execute it!’

8. Be a people person: Without exception, every single billionaire I’ve met has significantly credited their success to their team. To make this kind of money you need to have a brilliant team, who are motivated and led by your vision, and that you can take on the journey. This means you have to be a people person; you have to have a high emotional intelligence.

9. Be open and find a mentor: Every single billionaire I know has a mentor, a coach or a close friend they can confide in. Nobody knows all the answers and having a space to challenge and be challenged is important.

10. Be yourself: Don’t try and be someone else, don’t try and be some pantomime villain of a boss: be who you are, and leverage that. As Richard Branson told me when I asked him ‘who’ he is: 'I am the tie-loathing adventurer, philanthropist and troublemaker, who believes in turning ideas into reality.'

Can the railways in Nigeria trigger an economic resurgence?

Railway management incorporating mass transit including multi-faceted logistics and infrastructural support is a very tricky business. Anybody who works or has worked in that sector can comfortably explain the complexity of the challenge required to make things work effectively.

Many people wonder and express dismay that Nigeria does not have an effective and viable rail service. However, what has been forgotten is that over the past four decades the rail infrastructure has been wound down and systematically dismantled.

The infrastructure (rails, rolling stock, stations, etc.) needs to be replaced, the business required to make the network work needs to be put in place and the technology that enables the whole setup to run seamlessly needs to be learned.

Even in the United Kingdom where rail travel is a matter of course, the challenges are immense and the system is in constant change. In India that boasts an expansive network recent events have shown that constant updates to the entire system cannot be overlooked.

Nigeria is ripe for a state-of-the-art cutting edge rail system, however what is needed more is commitment from the Federal Government to demonstrate an unflinching will to pump huge sums of money into the rail program. A major part of this will is capacity development that is driven by the unique needs of Nigerians as opposed to a short cut of importing foreign knowledge.

It not insinuated that foreign experts that have experience of running railways in other parts of the world do not have anything to offer, Nigerians need to be very involved building a railway system that suitable for Nigerians, conceived and built by Nigerians. To build an effective and viable railway system a program set up to assess the needs of all stakeholders.

This includes identifying and valuing interwoven services essentially those that can generate revenue for the service. Daniel Thomas and Gill Plimmer writing for the Financial Times on March 25, 2016 (https://www.ft.com/content/173b6c06-f1da-11e5-aff5-19b4e253664a) wrote that UK’s Network Rail’s infrastructure includes a vast fibre network that runs alongside railway lines up and down the country. This currently delivers voice, data, video and broadband services for maintenance teams and communication between trains.

There is a "deluge of interest” from potential investors worldwide such as Vodafone, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, companies interested in expanding their national telecoms networks using the UK rail infrastructure, which would provide connectivity between towns and cities and into remote and rural areas.

This is important because railways are expensive and additional and innovative sources of revenue are crucial to the maintenance of the infrastructure and profitability of the service. Using the national fibre network that can be built alongside the rail network could also be used to help connect masts to improve mobile coverage, which can be used to aid developing rural parts of the country.

Another area where railways worldwide generate revenue is in the property arena. Rail companies own vast swathes of property and land in a large array of areas, which are candidates for leasing and rental possibilities. There is also opportunity provided for advertising on rolling stock on railway buildings, and in open fields.

The misfortune of the Nigerian railway story is the inability to put an efficient and effective rail program in place, all due to the culture that exists towards the whole spectre of governance, business, banking and managing projects.

The purpose of this medium is not to list Nigeria's shortcomings as a nation. However for a railway program to proceed and succeed, there needs to be trust, governance and transparency. Government bonds need to be issued and mind boggling amounts of money will be raised. Accountability, an exceptional management program and project management practices need to be put in place as well as seeking the support and education of the populace.

It is believed that there is the wherewithal to carry out a rail program, however there is a need to dig in deep and execute a massive culture change to make it work. We need a strong visionary leader to move things forward. Railway development in Nigeria can take a big bite into the current unemployment situation. All manner of skills can be absorbed and trained over a wide age range.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served as President longer than anyone (from 1933 to 1945), liked highways. He signed a law in 1944 that called for selecting an Interstate System, making a program ready for construction after World War II so there would be lots of jobs for soldiers when they came home from the war. A similar program in Nigeria targeting the railways will have a similar result on the unemployment situation creating jobs, training and wealth for participants and stakeholders.