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Opinion

 Nigerian University Dons and the “Small Boys” of the University

Published

3 years ago

on

Abubakar Adamu Rasheed

 

 

When I picked up the interest in the academic profession in the year 2000 during my National Youth Service in Kano, my beautiful picture of academia was that it is a place where knowledge rules irrespective of your age and where you came from. The likes of Bala Usman were the names I hear and the only place I want to be was in academia. That made me enrolled for MSc Physics in 2001.

 

When I got in by 2005, the picture appeared different and I started wondering if I was really sure that academia is the place I still want to be. Things started to unfold and I traveled to Trieste, Italy for a 2-week workshop in 2007, thanks to the guidance of my academic supervisor, and I returned with a resolution to battle all the obstacles around me to make a difference. One thing that got me worried as things were unfolding was the breakdown of mentorship and the no respect for younger academics. Most of the young academics were on their own. For example, I lost my Ph.D. supervisor in 2008 and for several months, nobody cared to ask about the progress of my research.

 

I have heard some senior colleagues addressing younger colleagues as “small boys” across Nigerian universities. Such words like “imagine that small boy fa” always come up when you have a reason to disagree.

 

During a certain meeting in 2018 or so (I was already due to be Associate Professor), a senior colleague addressed me as ” Small Boy”. I objected to the disrespectful statement but unfortunately, other senior colleagues present did not see any reason to caution him. They possibly also believed in the “Small Boy” concept in the university.

Northerners Swept PDP From Power Over Boko Haram Allegation-Lamido

I was thinking the small boy thing only existed within my immediate environment till I met a highly placed senior colleague in 2018 who addressed me and two other colleagues as “the under-13 in physics department” with all my grey hairs at 44. He possibly thought I was born with grey hair.

 

We were discussing one day and my friend (age mate) in another Federal University also narrated his “Small Boy” encounter with senior colleagues in his university.

 

I have been wondering about the origin of the “small boys” concept in Nigerian universities and up till this moment, I have not been able to figure it out. It could not have being from the colonial masters because from my experience in the UK from 2009 to 2012, the younger academics/researchers in that country are treated with a high level of respect. They are aware that they are the future and guiding them to create a better future for the university and the rest of the world. I had a similar experience during my postdoctoral research fellowship in Norway between 2013 and 2015.

 

Senior academics in these countries expect you to be better than them. They are glad to identify skills in you and they help you develop them and dare you to take steps to stardom. They carry you along in every step. They trust your views and don’t consider you too small to contribute. They nurture you to be a team player and a great leader. They don’t see you as a threat or a competitor, but a partner in progress to develop a better system. I remember my supervisors for both Ph.D. and postdoc telling me that I was not working under them but working with them. They do not impose ideas on you but offer suggestions and expect you to argue with them. They take intellectual argument with their students as a positive development. They are willing to acknowledge and welcome your views and ideas if they find them more superior.

 

The culture is different among some senior colleagues in Nigerian universities. We have imbibed this culture in the ministries where you are expected to wait for your time or turn. You work under them and not with them. An attempt to differ in an opinion is considered insubordination. Loyalty to the system and not to an individual is considered a threat. An independent mind is a threat. If you dare to be different and do things differently against all odds, you are considered trying to build an empire.

They constituted themselves as kingmakers and you dare not contest for a position they considered their birthright. Zero mentorship and low academic/research output, while the bulk of the time is spent on secondary activities.

 

In the recent few years, some early-career academics in ABU decided to look up to themselves and created a group called the “ABU Young Academics” in order to interact with themselves. Although, I was considered not eligible to be in the group because I was already due for the rank of Reader and was considered not young. Meanwhile, some senior colleagues still merged my class with them and address all of us as “small boys”. So where do I belong? Maybe we should create a group of “university small boys in their 40s”…LOL!

 

I was losing hope till recently when an amazing leader in the university gave me the opportunity to work with great minds and silent achievers from different departments. Late Prof Jonathan Andrew Nok was one academic/researcher that I look up to. But within the last year, I have discovered more excellent researchers within my university to look up to. Experimental researchers with quality research output. This group of academics in ABU have inspired me a lot and I pray I can be like them.

 

We need to sit back and reflect on our activities as Academics in Nigerian universities and our relationship with the younger academics, the future of academia. From the nature of our training, we are meant to ask why and how and find answers to it. We are trained to challenge the status quo. So, why don’t you bring closer your younger colleague with an independent mind and the potential to challenge the status quo, instead of tagging him as an enemy?

 

Dear Senior colleague, don’t give your younger colleagues a reason to make you their postdoctoral research question. By their age and recent training, they are more likely smarter than you. By the time they are done with their research on you, you may lose that platform you are using to suppress them, their ideology, and the interest they represent. Bring them closer as partners in progress and you will benefit from them. They are more beneficial to you than those “yes sir puppets” around you.

 

Create opportunities and interactions that will make them look up to you. We need to create a real mentorship program to help growth and development. That is all that we’ll leave behind whether we leave the university at young or old age.

 

If we do not change our ways, time is ticking and the supposed “small boys” will surely grow as strong academics if they refused to be frustrated out of the system. The story may end like that of the lion, the king of the animal kingdom. No matter how long it lives, the greatest lion will eventually die miserably. They may die young from injuries defending their pride and ego. They may die old enfeebled by age.

 

You will recall that lions at their peak rule and chase other animals. They catch devour and gulp them and leave their crumbs for Hyenas. The Lion definitely gets old and the old lion becomes very vulnerable, feeding becomes difficult and the strength to chase, intimidate and kill other animals is gone. If luck ran out of the old and very weak lion, it is cornered by Hyenas and eaten alive without any resistance.

 

We have seen that everyone who lives long enough will become very vulnerable and weak. So, if you are in a privileged position, always remember the story of the lion and that you will leave the stage one day. You have the wisdom and these supposed “Small Boys” are smart and have the ideas. Irrespective of the age difference, let’s work together in the interest of the system to create a system we can be proud of.

 

We are Academics and nation builders. Let that reflect on our actions and activities within and outside the University community.

 

Eid Mubarak!

 

Abdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

aaabdelmalik@abu.edu.ng

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Opinion

Tinubu’s big bets on gas-Abdulaziz Abdulaziz

Published

2 days ago

on

May 20, 2024

By

 

 

By Abdulaziz Abdulaziz

 

Three distinct events in the course of last week all point to the unmistakable direction of the Tinubu administration in putting Nigeria on a firm and sustainable energy path.

 

First was the order that government ministries and agencies must prioritise vehicles powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in their procurement. The second was the commissioning by the President of three important gas projects through a virtual ceremony on Wednesday. The third in chronology was the announcement of the mass deployment of 530 CNG-powered buses nationwide followed by a heartwarming inspection tour by a Federal Government team to a company taking the lead in provision of CNG vehicles in Nigeria. We take them one at time.

 

At the Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday a bold decision of the government to cease purchase of petrol-powered vehicles was announced. It was a move championed by no other person than President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself. In considering a council memo for the proposed purchase of 200 Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles for use by the Nigerian Customs Service, the President made a deft move by drafting in his vision for Nigeria’s energy future into the prey. At the end the council agreed that it should be a policy that henceforth government money should not be used to purchase petrol-only vehicles.

 

The policy has far-reaching implications. With 209.5 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserve, Nigeria ranks 9th in the world among gas-rich countries. Yet, the country is still far away from full utilization of this abundant natural resource for both domestic use and export. Since his coming, President Tinubu has shown his eagerness to change the Nigeria’s energy story using the potentials of our gas deposits.

 

In driving the point to members of his cabinet, the President noted that Nigeria “will not progress if we continue to dance on the same spot. We have the will to drive the implementation of CNG adoption across the country, and we must set the example as public officials leading the way to that prosperous future that we are working to achieve for our people. It starts with us, and seeing that we are serious Nigerians will follow our lead.”

 

As if it were a planned sequel to that powerful statement, two days later, the President launched three salient gas projects with collective capacity to generate $500 million for Nigeria in the next 10 years.

 

The three milestone projects were the expanded AHL Gas Processing Plant; the ANOH Gas Processing Plant, and the 23.3km ANOH to Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Custody Transfer Metering Station Gas Pipeline.

 

Speaking during the virtual inauguration of the projects at the State House, President Tinubu assured citizens that his administration is stepping up its coordination of other landmark projects and initiatives that will ensure the earliest realization of gas-fueled prosperity for Nigeria.

 

The President noted that the projects are fully in line with the Decade of Gas Initiative and his government’s vision to grow value from the nation’s abundant gas assets while concurrently eliminating gas flaring and accelerating industrialization.

 

“This event is highly significant to our country as it demonstrates the administration’s concerted efforts to accelerate the development of critical gas infrastructure geared at significantly enhancing the supply of energy to boost industrial growth and create employment opportunities.

 

“It is pleasing that when these projects become fully operational, approximately 500MMscf of gas in aggregate

will be supplied to the domestic market from these two gas processing plants, which represents over 25% incremental growth in gas supply,” the President said in his remarks.

 

The new projects are purposed to bolster more gas to the power-generating sector, gas-based industries, and other critical segments of the economy which would build into the government’s bid to leverage the nation’s vast gas capacity to drive economic growth.

 

The president was, expectedly full of praises for the NNPC Ltd under the workaholic GCEO, Malam Mele Kyari, and its partners for heeding to the clarion call to ramp up efforts to accelerate investment and developments of projects in the gas sector on a win-win basis.

 

For President Tinubu the goals are clear: The government is ready to partner private sector in deepening domestic gas utilization, increase national power generation capacity, revitalize industries, and create multiple job opportunities for economic growth.

 

At another part of the country on the same day, excited transport sector stakeholders were taken through the governments agenda for CNG vehicles and the torrents of incentives targeted at investors in the new energy vista.

 

The event was a stakeholders engagement for the South West region organized by the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi). It was a follow up to the major event held with stakeholders in Abuja to secure their buy in for the government’s vision for the cheaper and cleaner transport sector.

 

Launched last year, the P-NGi aims to midwife transition into gas-powered transportation in Nigeria. Aside working with private sector players to widen gas infrastructure nationwide, the programme has facilitated opening conversion centres and placed order for hundreds of buses for mass transport on campuses and cities to pilot this new energy source. Michael Oluwagbemi, P-CNGi project director said 530 of those buses would soon be rolled out on our roads.

 

Encouraged by the government’s desire to develop the CNG ecosystem a number of businesses such as NIPCO, Matrix, BOVAS, Mikano, JET and Innoson are making huge investments in making available the CNG infrastructure and flooding the market with CNG-powered vehicles. On the trip to Lagos, the Federal Government delegation had tour of Mikano plant along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where the company is assembling assortment of vehicles with a new focus on CNG compatibility. From what we saw at the Mikano plant and the explanation by its chairman, Mr Mofid Karameh, as well as comments from stakeholders at the Wednesday gathering in Lagos, the bright future for the CNG in Nigeria is clear.

 

As a bon mort, it is important to stress that President Tinubu’s vision of utilisation of Nigerian immense gas resources is not new. As someone familiar with the energy market, the President has been a front line advocate for exploring our gas resources for cheaper and cleaner energy. His goal is to hasten domestic utilisation and quicken its export to fertile Europe gas market. He had said it as a candidate and has reiterated it again and again since coming to office. Thankfully, the President is not one given to lip service to issues he feels strongly about. These latest steps, among others, have given unambiguous expression of his political will to save Nigeria and Nigerians from perpetual energy crisis and boost prosperity.

 

Abdulaziz is a senior special assistant to President Tinubu.

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Opinion

Forte GCC Sets New Standards in Engineering, Construction, and Real Estate-Adnan

Published

1 week ago

on

May 14, 2024

By

Forte GCC raises the bar in engineering, construction, and real estate with groundbreaking standards, by Adnan Mukhtar

In a move that is set to revolutionize the engineering, construction, and real estate sectors, Forte GCC Innovative Solutions Limited has announced its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and excellence.

Since its inception in 2019, the company has established itself as a trailblazer in the industry, with a team of dedicated professionals and a vision to harness the power of technology to craft a smarter, more efficient world.

The company’s mission and vision is to elevate services through continuous research and innovation and to become a frontrunner in engineering consultancy, construction, and real estate sectors.

Led by Engr. Khalil Sagir Koki, a seasoned engineer and project manager with a proven track record of delivering complex projects, the company’s management team boasts a diverse range of expertise and experience. Engr Khalil has a Masters of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Surrey and a Master’s of Science in Engineering Construction Management from the University of East London. Engr. Koki is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Institute of Civil Engineers UK, the Institute of Highways Engineers UK, and the Association for Project Management UK, and has attained the APM Project Fundamental Qualification from the Association for Project Management. He also holds a Construction Project Management certification from the Colombian University of New York.

Other members of the management team include Engr. Emmanuel Adetokumbo, a COREN-registered engineer with over a decade of experience in building and infrastructure projects; Muhammad Gazzali Ado, a seasoned finance professional with experience in accounting, taxation, and financial management; and Mrs Misriyya Imam Hassan, a management expert with a degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Sharjah and an MSc from the University of Leicester.

The company’s recent achievements include the successful completion of Laurat Terraces, its inaugural real estate development project in Katampe District, and the commencement of two new estates, Misriyya Terraces and Guildford Terraces, in Katampe District.

With its commitment to safety, ownership, integrity, passion, and teamwork, Forte GCC Innovative Solutions Limited is set to deliver unparalleled results and shape the future of Engineering, Construction, and Real Estate in Nigeria and beyond.

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Opinion

Ahmad Abdulkadir Firdaus :A Successful Business Man And Philanthropist

Published

2 weeks ago

on

May 8, 2024

By

Abdulkadir Ahmad Firadusi

 

By AbdurRaheem Sa’ad Dembo

The fascinating story of Ilorin born businessman but resident in Kano, Ahmad Abdulkadir Firdaus is the one filled with a rare commitment and tenacious disposition. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Aquarich Integrated Services, Hydro Blue Water and Habidaus Global Concept in Kano. Indeed, no businessman or an entrepreneur would ever tell you it is easy to be in business or self employed but he has been making remarkable progress against all odds.

It interests me to write about him because I have been in the know of how he has positively metamorphosed from being an employee to become an employer of labour in the commercial city of Kano. Firdaus story is not a fairy tale as those who know him can attest to his growth in the Kano business community.

Sincerely, it is through observation of him I got to know practically that you don’t invest in a business if you don’t have time to monitor it, otherwise you would be feeding the greedy and glutton among your workers inadvertently, and before you know it, the business has collapsed. They don’t want to know how you come about the capital for the business but they would be ready to drain the resources to comatose, since no one would be around to have critical monitoring of their activities.

Successful businessmen do have challenges and that of Firdaus is no exception, especially given the current stifling inflation in the country. You must have the courage and sagacity to pull through in business with sincerity and promptness.

There was a time I visited Kano, precisely February, 2022 to attend the 40th Anniversary of Mass Communication Department in Bayero University, Kano, my alma mater. I observed him in the office and I discovered that he has full grasp of what it entails to run a business. He is an economist, so one shouldn’t expect less from him.

He is very strict but pragmatic. His strictness cannot be likened to nefariousness but proper way of doing things. He doesn’t cut corners. He will never bargain for substandard products.

As an entrepreneur you have a goal, but it should be predicated on your customers satisfaction. Without them your business will face retardation and sluggishness. That is why when you agree on a day and date for the supply of goods, do not renege. Customers develop confidence in someone based on their experience over time. If their experience is positive you are in for a good time with them.

Discipline as a core value in any setting, be it political, social or economic, will help anyone to grow; especially in business, financial discipline is key. To the best of my knowledge, Firdaus has it and his prudence is a great deal of idea.

*My relationship with Firdaus*

We are both from Ilorin but we didn’t know each other until we met in Bayero University, Kano. Although we gained admission the same time, he was a year ahead of me because his was a direct entry. Since graduation, the relationship has been sustained till today; alhamdulillahi! He is a thorough person, he neither receives ideas and/or opinions nor treat issues dogmatically. It takes a sound and convincing explanation of a subject matter to get him on the same page with one.

Our good friends, they say, are our lives. At one’s lowest hour, one must have that one person in whom to confide. This is reminiscent of Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter in which it is said “confiding in others always pain”.

Our relationship has transformed beyond friendship, it is now a familial bond. I can remember when I attended his wedding in Kaduna in the year
2009 and he reciprocated by attending my wedding in Ilorin together with his wife, an epitome of a good wife.

He is based in Kano but his door is always open to visitors. You can’t visit his family without giving a good account of their hospitality and humility. Great men are synonymous with humility and that has been my conviction over the years.

*His Philanthropic Activities*

He is a finest gentleman with a kind heart and generous disposition.He does not have a Foundation through which he reaches out to the less privileged because he believes giving to people is a personal thing and does not require publicity. His argument has been that he is doing it for the sake of Allah, not for people to praise him, and that getting a reward for doing good is preregative of Almighty Allah.

This is unlike politicians; there is no way they can keep in secrecy if they render assistance. If they don’t say it out, oppositions would use that against them, that they have neglected the people after gaining their mandates. So it is easy for him to do it in his own way, because he is not a politician.

There are cases of where he has helped and those people would be the one to tell me much later. If he helps you the third person would not hear about it. Emphatically, he has been kind to me as well.

Ahmad Abdulkadir Firdaus does not allow his busy schedules to deprive him of the opportunity to reach out to people through associations. He is currently the Vice President II of Bayero University Kano Alumni Association, the national body. He is also the Vice Chairman of Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), Kano Branch. He is a Patron of Ilorin Emirate Students Union, BUK Chapter.

He is a detribalized Nigerian; his hand of fellowship spreads beyond his tribes and associates.

*His business sojourn*

Firdaus joined Royal United Nigeria Limited in Lagos State in 2007. He was later transferred to Kano office where he rose from the position of Accounts Assistant to become Regional Manager, North. In his words “I joined Royal United Nigeria Limited in 2007 through my Guardian, Dr. Abdullahi Jibril Oyekan”

Ahmed Abdulkadir Firdaus was born to the family of Alfa Ahmad and Hajia Halima of Ile Machine, Oju Ekun Oke, Adangba, Ilorin and grew up at Sebutu compound, Ilorin. He had his primary and part of secondary school education in Ilorin before proceeding to Lagos where he completed it. He is happily married with kids.

Below are his Educational background, Awards, and excerpts of the interview with him.

*Academic Qualification

In 2005 he bagged B.Sc. Economics from Bayero University, Kano with second class upper. He also obtained Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2011 from the same institution. In 2006 he obtained Proficiency Certificate in Management and graduate member from the Nigerian institute of Management.
He became an Associate member , Institute of Chartered Economists in Nigeria (2006).

*Awards

Award of Excellence by Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union, IEDPU Northern Zone, 2023

Award of Excellence by BUK Alumni, Ilorin Emirate chapter, 2023

Award of Excellence by An-nur Islamic Organization, BUK, 2021

Award of Excellence by Ilorin -Ifelodun Social Group, Kano, 2021

Markazul Ulum Wal Maharif Islamic School Dei Dei, Abuja, 2020

Award of Excellence by National Association of Kwara State Students, BUK Chapter, 2019

Award of Excellence by Ilorin Emirate Youth Development Association, Kano, 2019

Award of Excellence by Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2016

Certificate of Merit by National Youth Service Corps, Corps Welfare Association, Giginya Barracks, Sokoto, 2007

Merit Award (Chairman Fundraising) by Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2005

Merit Award (Financial Secretary) by Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2005

Merit Award (Member Fundraising) by Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2004

Merit Award by Markaz Agege Alumni Association, BUK, 2003/2004

Al-Adabiyya Alumni Association, BUK, 2003/2004

Merit Award (Active member) Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2002

*Interview Session*

What do you sell?

I sell different types/brands/sizes of Tyres and TableWater (HYDRO BLUE)

What could be the catalyst for your success in the business world?

Determination, patience, and passion can drive a business growth.

Nigerian economic challenges are enormous, but I always tell myself that if Dangote can do it, I can equally do with determination.

What advice do you have for upcoming entrepreneurs?

Business requires pragmatism, goal-oriented, and target. Including the culture of discipline

At the early stage of business, they must be available (full participation), adopt austere approach, have some level of accounting knowledge, and financial discipline.

They should understand that there is no shortcut to success; Rome was not built in a day.

Is it always rosy for your kind of business?

Not at all, like the Yoruba would say, a person that knows the day he would make plenty of sales might know the day of his death. Is just a saying nobody knows when he or she will die. No one can determine the day he or she will make enormous sales. However, business is unpredictable, most especially in the face of the current inflation that has influenced price instability.

It is obvious that even in the business world there are challenges but your ability to cope with its complexity and dynamism will determine how far you would go. This doesn’t rule out the significance of prayers as you weather the storm gradually. Our young men and women should cultivate the habit of sincerity and patience. Nothing good, they say, comes so easy. Get-rich-quick syndrome can’t be a way out of poverty but the road to doom. Patience is key to every facets of our lives just as Hausa saying “Hakuri maganin zaman duniyan”. Meaning patience is the key to successful life.

Firdaus, as a businessman is an example of those who would do their businesses diligently and would not surcharge the people.

He is in Kano, doing his business with utmost standard and excellent customer relations. Please patronise him for a life changing experience.

abdurraheemsaaddembo@gmail.com

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