Deep Thought

 Israel-Palestine Conflict: Two-State Resolution or Unending War By Professor M. K. Othman   In 1994, representatives of two sworn foes stood before the world to accept the Nobel Peace Prize for their leadership in promoting a truce and peace in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine, the two arch-opposing camps. The Nobel Peace Committee recognized Yasser Arafat (1929–2004), the leader of the Palestinian people, and Israeli politicians Shimon Peres (1923–1923) and Yitzhak Rabin (1922–1995) for their efforts to bring peace to the unstable Middle East. The reference depicted Israel's prime minister and Yasser Arafat, the PLO's chairman, as sworn adversaries who diligently detest one another and were acutely conscious of their different positions. Yet, they were assembled at a solemn ceremony to be recognized and honored as peacemakers. These three Nobel Peace Prize honorees were not entirely supported by some of their people, as well as the insincerity of international me...

Carter@99: Hearty Cheers to the Champion of Downtrodden - Nigeria, Nay Africa By Prof. MK Othman   The 39th President of the United States of America, Mr. Jimmy Carter, turned 99 on October 1st, 2023. He is a reputable champion of lower-income earners, minorities, and colored Americans. We, fervent admirers of Carter, have every reason to celebrate this global icon, a Nobel Peace Prize Laurel, an ardent lover of Africa, and a dependable friend of farmers in Nigeria, nay Africa. In Nigeria, Jimmy Carter will forever be remembered for his glorious role in ushering the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) into the country 31 years ago. SAA was the conception of three eminent personalities from Asia crossing over the Pacific Ocean to the US. The trio, President Jimmy Carter, Mr. Ryoichi Sasakawa, and Dr. Norman Borlaug, foremost goodwill ambassadors, philanthropists, and pillars of support to downtrodden, have left indelible marks in the hearts of African farmers. The trio had the same mi...

 FGN-ASUU Face-off: IPPIS Suffocating the University System II By MK Othman   I am resuming this piece with a quote from Hajia Naja'atu Mohammed who addressed the students of great ABU Zaria recently. She said, "The easiest way to destroy a nation is to withdraw education." I must add withdrawing or denying university education to the citizenry is tantamount to catastrophic and systematic annihilation of society. Conversely, revitalization of the university education is methodological treatment of societal ailments, just like the emphasis of university education in the song of Aminu Alan waka "idan ta gyaru, al'uma ta gyaru". Education is not only a fundamental human right but a moral obligation to the leaders – democratically elected or autocratically anointed; otherwise, the consequences of ignorance would consume both the leaders and the led. As mentioned previously in this column, the nation's economic, political, and developmental vibrancy depends o...

 FGN-ASUU Face-off: IPPIS Suffocating the University System By Prof. MK Othman   The popular view among stakeholders that IPPIS is killing the Nigerian University System is fait accompli. IPPIS stands for Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). It is a payment platform of personnel emolument, which the Federal Government of Nigeria adopted over ten years ago to flush out ghost workers, enhance efficiency, and address the corrupt practices related to salary payments in the public sector. Have these three objectives been achieved – ghost workers removal from payrolls, efficiency enhancement, and blocking leakages? It has indeed achieved the opposite. The truth is those who were immensely corrupt are the same people at the center of IPPIS operation, a case of a thief hired to guard a property. From inception to date, IPPIS has been paying workers' salaries haphazardly, denying some people their salaries while short-paying others. For example, in 2015, NECO cl...

  Re: Akinwunmi Adesina- Steadily and Steely Feeding Africa By Prof MK Othman Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina is a man of so many outstanding parts – an academic, banker, investment and development expert, diplomat, visionary leader, technocrat, mentor, team player/builder/leader, boardroom guru, political economist par excellence, agricultural expert, farmers' minister, an icon of corporate world, a private sector mover, the African development icon, the African development czar, a sage tearing away from the crowd and a potential Novel Peace Prize Winner.  No single word can project the true personality of Dr. Adesina, and the words to correctly describe him are inexhaustible. The global accolades granted to Adesina attest to his superb performance as a technocrat and 'African optimist in chief.' For instance, from 2011 to 2019, world-class universities awarded Adesina ten Honorary Doctorate degrees. Three universities in the USA – Franklin and Marshall College, Michigan State Unive...

 Akinwunmi Adesina: Steadily and Steely Feeding Africa  By Prof MK Othman  Tenaciously in leadership style with a head high, Adesina is a replica of Indian Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi used a non-violent strategy to achieve free independence for his native country, India; Adesina was mobilizing human, financial, and other resources to feed Africa. Indefatigability in human salvation, Adesina is a replica of his mentor, Dr. Norman Borlaug, of blessed memory, a prestigious American scientist who covered a distance of 9,859 km to Asia and fathered the Asian Green Revolution, thereby saving millions of souls from ravaging and liquidating hunger in the late 1960s. Adesina has been tenaciously using his talent, position, and connection to empower smallholder farmers to multiply their food production for Africa and beyond.  Dr. Borlaug was awash with several awards, including the most prestigious Novel Peace Prize of 1970 and the 1977 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the 2002 Publi...

 FGN-ASUU Imbroglio: Deceitful Silence and Rapid Brewing of Avoidable Crisis By MK Othman With head high, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) continues to celebrate its judicial but false victory over the FGN-ASUU case, which the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) judged in September 2022 and May 2023. Part of the Court's overall judgment is "Call off the strike; the government is legally right to implement the no-work-no-pay policy." This phrase has made FGN celebrate the clipping of the ASUU’s wing, the bunch of "trouble makers" who have become "clogs" in the wheel of university progress as they always demanded more funding for university education in Nigeria. They were defeated, their ego was shattered, and some of them paid supreme price, and the rest are leaking and still nursing their wounds. They dare not go on industrial action again and are coerced to "teach" their students for the peanuts they get as salary. Any strikin...