Deep Thought

 UTAS Vs IPPIS: Integrity Test and Deception in Salary Payments By Prof. M. K. Othman Resourcefulness is the most God-given talent endowed to Nigerians at all times. The talent is majorly untapped and remains potential within the capabilities of individuals until challenged by circumstances to manifest. When such talent manifests, the nation does not recognize and accord support to optimize the talent for national advancement. This lack of recognition and support causes brain-drain of talents to other receptive climes where they excel. For instance, in 2016, Nigerians distinguished themselves during Howard University 2016 graduation ceremony by capturing the majority of the prizes. Out of the 96 graduates with Ph.D. in Pharmacy, 43 of them were Nigerians. The total number of graduates represented 46 states of America and 35 countries across the globe.  Yet, Nigerians collected 16 awards and left only 11 awards to graduates from 46 states in the USA and 34 other countries. Amon...

 Russia-Ukraine Conflicts: War of Supremacy and Accentuated Lessons II By Prof. M. K. Othman   The war started on 24th February 2022 making it to be in the fourth week with carnage multiplying by the day. Although, there was a serious threat to Russian interest and national security but cannot justify the kind of destruction being inflicted on Ukraine. Truly, Ukraine is a mere pawn in the global chessboard of America and Russian supremacy of power tussles. The carnage, human waste, infrastructural collateral damage, and the deadly blow on the world economy are too costly for the human race to bear and ignore. The world may be brought to its knees if something is not instantly done to halt the hostility. Ideally, the United Nation should urgently stop the calamitous and fatal destructions in this war.  However, the inequitable structure of the UN cannot assert itself to police the world in an issue involving, Russia, one of the five permanent members of the Security Counci...

 Russia-Ukraine Conflicts: War of Supremacy and Accentuated Lessons By Prof. M. K. Othman I came across an analogy of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in a Facebook explanatory message between husband and wife when they were preparing to retire to their bed. The wife said, “Russia is an aggressor for attacking Ukraine, a smaller country without “provocation”. The husband kept quiet and decided to pick a kitchen knife, which he placed on the bed in-between them. The wife commented, “is it not risky to keep the knife on bed between us when we are about to sleep”. The husband said that is precisely the answer to your accusation of Russia being an aggressor. Ukraine is about joining NATO and NATO has members who are archenemies of Russia and they will have the freedom to keep their armaments in Ukraine, a border to Russia. Can this be a justification for a military invasion of a sovereign country, Ukraine?    What led to the invasion? Was the war instigated and by who? Can the wor...

 Book Review: Why Not our Ways? A Critical Analysis of Socio-Economic Value System in Nigeria By Prof. M. K. Othman Professor Bako Ezra Amans is the immediate past Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. I first met Prof Amans in 1987 when he brisk-walked to our class to lecture “Elements of Agronomy” as a service course. Then, we, the undergraduate students of Engineering had a superiority mentality of not being serious with non-engineering courses because of “their simplicity” and considered such courses as a “bonus” for boosting our overall grades. It was at that moment, Amans breezed into our class, spoke with light Tangalle intonation that produced a kind of melody as golden voice, we could not but admire and wowed him.  His calmness, rhythmic eloquence, articulation, the versatility of the subject made the course interesting, especially to many of us who were children of farmers. Amans became one of our favorite lecturers and mentors.  S...

 Re: The Craze for Easy Money in Nigeria and The Hanifa Story By Prof M. K. Othman   Again, it is time to allow the esteemed readers of this Column to air their views. There were verities of views on almost every topic I presented in this Column. Today, I am presenting some edited views on the topic “The Craze for Easy Money in Nigeria and The Hanifa Story”. The Hanifa saga continues to hunt our psyche until justice is done and preventive measures taken against repeat and replication of the saga in our society. Happy reading:   Prof, your article speaks volumes of the moral decay in our society. The safe school initiative of the Government has a lot to contribute in controlling the excesses of these criminals masquerading as Proprietors. Government must continue to seek means of revamping our educational institutions to make these private schools dysfunctional, as they have become avenues and catalysts for crimes. While these may be isolated cases, the regulatory institut...