Making the Nigerian Health System Work Part 2

I was moved to write this update by a story posted recently on one of the social media by a very young colleague who is currently undergoing his Residency training in one of the Centers of Excellence in the country. I beg to use an except from that post quoted below:

"Today is a great day...I was on the round with the Consultant Plastic,Aesthetics and Burn Surgeon.He requested that an N.O.II should please help him open the wound for inspection.

She,the N.O.II nurse asked him to either ask me (incubating Senior Register) to open the wound for him or if he wants to see the wound he should open it himself.LOL.Nonplussed,he asked the N.O.II nurse to ask the Chief Nursing Officer whether what she did was wrong.The Chief Nursing Officer(CNO) retorted that if the Consultant wants to see the wound he should open it himself.
We need to remind some people that their degree is not the equivalent of OND. I am doing a postgraduate training for Christ's sake!
This is where the Nigerian health system stands........."

This story represents a typical picture of the relationship dilemma that exists within the healthcare environment in Nigeria. Day by day, the relationship between the various cadre of healthcare professionals continues to deteriorate. The struggle within the health system has become so unhealthy for the various professional groups to be able to work together for common goals. The struggle for leadership positions in our health institutions, between the doctors ( who believe it is their natural right to lead) and other healthcare professionals (especially, Pharmacists, Nurses, Medical Laboratory Scientist) has become a major drag in the wheel of progress in these institutions. Aside from the doctors, the other cadres are laying claim to leadership positions in these institutions insisting (rightly or wrongly) that leadership positions should be by merit and seniority, and not merely reserved for doctors alone. These group probably are making valid argument, especially when you consider the situation where in a general hospital, a recently qualified medical doctor, with little or no work experience, could be trusted with the management of the institution ahead of other more experienced  health professionals in the institution, just for the mere fact that he is a doctor. I once benefited from this faulty arrangement, when I was made to serve as the Medical Director and Chief Executive in charge of a rural hospital in a northern Nigerian state, where there were equally Nurses, Pharmacies and Medical laboratory scientist of many years work experience, from who I basically learnt the principles of healthcare management relevant at that level during this period. Now, I have often wondered what qualified me to become a Medical Director with barely few years work experience, ahead of these more qualified personnel. I could not see any aspect of my training in the medical school that contained the requisite component of management principles required for such position. 

My recent exposures in public health management have made me realize that to manage a health institution, one do not necessarily have to be a medical doctor. All that is needed in my view, is requisite knowledge of healthcare management principles that is now a major curriculum in healthcare administration and management training courses. Many nations have addressed these issues by establishing specialized trainings for management cadre in health institutions. Trainings in healthcare management and administration is being emphasized as a criteria for attaining leadership positions in healthcare institutions irrespective of the professional backgrounds of the personnel. What that means is that, any medical doctor who aspires to head a medical institution, should endeavor to acquire an advanced qualification in healthcare administration and management. This also applies to other health professionals. In this way,these nations and organizations have been able to minimize the practice of mediocre in healthcare management in their environment. Little wonder, health care development in these nations have continued to grow.

Addressing the issues of continued struggle within the professional bodies in Nigeria, it is my opinion that the medical institution on its own is not doing enough in addressing these issues. It is said that charity begins at home, hence the medical profession should as a matter of necessity, clean up its system. You cannot give what you do not have. I am obliged to argue that, the system that allows a medical doctor in training to be so abused and disrespected by his seniors in the course of the training can only produce more hatred down the line. As a medical doctor in training, I was always appalled by the condescending attitudes of our senior doctors towards those of us under going trainings. Some of my colleagues were made to repeat classes, not necessarily due to the fact that they were not academically sound, but due to blatant dislike by these senior colleagues. The training system as currently being operated is essentially demeaning and has continued to create a gap for abuse and derision by other health professions. 

It is a known fact, that doctors are enemies to themselves. It is on record that when a doctor is a commissioner in a state ministry of health, more industrial action by medical doctors tends to occur. It is the same doctors that would work against their colleagues enjoying the requisite privileges that they truly deserves. For many years doctor have been at the helm of affair as ministers in the ministry of health in the country, yet the health sector has remained the same. Not long ago a serving minister of health in Nigeria was disgraced in office for corruption allegations. It is a common knowledge also, that one of the most corrupt departments and agencies in Nigeria, are in the health sector. Severally, Global Funds and other donor agencies had discontinued funding of healthcare programs in Nigeria, due to incessant corruption allegations linked to the sector. During an international conference in one US city in 2009, I queried one of the presenters of one of the donor agencies on their criteria for choosing a smaller country in West Africa for a major malaria intervention program, when it was evident from their presentation that the malaria burden in Nigeria, out ways all of West African countries combined. The answer I got was, that accountability and corruption in the Nigerian health system was the issue. I was then made to understand that donor countries would prefer to go to areas where they would be able to obtain credible evidence of success or otherwise of their program commitments.

The question now would be, what is Nigeria doing to clean up the system and once again make the health system work?

Watch out for solutions in my upcoming posts!

God bless Nigeria!

...Osita

Making Donor funded Programs Count.

In this discuss, we would be beaming searchlight on the role of donor funded programs in the institutional capacity development of the health system in developing countries. In recent times, several development programs have found their ways into the health system of many developing countries, all in the bid to support this ailing sector. This in itself has led to different programs taking place within the sector, and in most cases, in an uncoordinated and bizarre pattern. While these may all tend to support the health system, there is a great danger in having several programs running on parallel basis, often in a competitive atmosphere that add little impact to development. The question then is how to ensure that these activities are harmonized and focused in addressing issues and challenges geared towards ensuring sustainable health systems. Then, one compelling question that remains is; do the developing countries have the leverage to refuse development aid, where the country feels that it does not serve its interest? With so much money poured into aid in developing countries in recent times, yet poverty, disease, socioeconomic woes still exist. Could it be that these programs are not intended to support the systems or are there other unseen circumstances that persist?

In addressing these issues, one would have to look at the origin of these development programs. Whose interest do they represent? Are there more to these supports than meet the eyes? Agreed, these are difficult questions to answer, especially for a struggling economy such as seen in developing countries, where every donor monies counts. However, that does not shy away from the fact that these issues do exist. It is  instructive to note that the key stakeholder in the program implementation, which is the population, deserves to be involved in decision making at the level of program design. Experience has shown that many of these programs often come with systemic design that paid no attention to the contextual issues of the health system in the country. Arguably, for a program to succeed in delivering on its mandate, contextual issues relating to the prevailing social, economic and political settings within which the program would operate would ultimately influence how the causal chains plays out. It therefore means that it is imperative that most programs operating in developing countries should consider this very important factor in view of the fact that the contextual issues may be diverse within the different ethno-cultural diversity of each country. The idea of one size fit all approach to program design and implementation in countries seems not to take this into consideration and often results in poor program implementation. Evidence has also shown that a program design that worked in one country may not necessarily work in another due to different inherent contextual issues.

Not forgetting the role of accountability and good governance. When the government owes accountability to the populace, it would ensure that programs initiated by donor agencies would be such that would have positive impact on the people. Such government would put in place machinery to monitor implementation of donor programs in the state, so as to ensure that the people benefits from such programs. I haven’t seen that yet in most countries, as the system seems to be helpless, and unable to hold program managers accountable for programs being implemented in their domain. This attitude in a way also has the tendency to breed corrupt practices in the system. This becomes more worrisome as the funding agencies are only interested in figures and statistic, and often pays no attention as to the perception of the population on the overall program impact.

My idea of a good program implementation is that in which the state plays a key role in program design and implementation, and where accountability is to the people. Involvement of the state in this way would ensure that there is proper transfer of skills and ownership of the process to the state. It is essential that every donor funded intervention should ultimately aim at incorporating a sustainable exit strategy that would ensure that the state develops the capacity to continue with the intervention even after the exit of the program. With such strategies, the capacity development would be sustained, and developing nations would gradual edge forward in the development index.

Mega blessings .

Osita

Making the Nigerian Health System Work Part 1

I have been pondering over this topic for a very long time. Given my background as a medical doctor trained in my country, and haven spent significant part of my professional career working among the impoverished and vulnerable population in my country, I probably have a firsthand knowledge of the problems with the Nigerian health system. Nigeria has the potential to be ranked among the most advanced countries in areas of health care delivery in Africa. Aside from the huge natural resources, Nigeria is privileged to have doctors and other health professionals who have excelled in their endeavors and who would favorably compete with their peers anywhere in the world. We have had men and women who have shown unwavering dedication to their motherland that they had left lucrative job opportunities in other developed countries and had come home to make their contributions to health care development in Nigeria. This group of people serves as mentors to some of us, and had encouraged us to go into the field of medicine, not necessarily for the financial benefits that comes with it, but for the joy of serving humanity. They were never celebrated. Their contributions were often not acknowledged. Many of them could not stand the infrastructural decay of the health system that tend to get worse year after year, and had to abandoned their most cherished dreams and have now returned to plough their trade in other climes, as many more continually join their fold. Yet many endured these frustrations of a system that does not encourage excellence in service, and soldiered on. These are the unsung heroes.

The problem with the health care development in Nigeria cannot be far from poor institutional development. Successive government in Nigeria, time after time, comes up with all varieties of programs. Most of these programs may seem world class and of good intentions of providing healthcare to the undeserved population. While these programs may have worked in other countries, the Nigerian story remains the same...poor program implementation. Its seems to me though, that the government agencies pays no attention to the fact that things seems not to work, so long as they believe in the fictitious figures manufactured by the program managers who could do anything to cover their failures. These practices have in a way encouraged corruption and embezzlement within the health care system. Much as the government and international donors are pushing funds into the system in the name of various kinds of programs, these corrupt managers have continued to siphon the funds in various guises. Little wonder why the health system in Nigeria does not have a well developed monitoring and evaluation guideline for tracking project implementation. Where such guidelines exist in the name of project monitoring units in various states departments, you would notice that most of the people employed to manage the affairs of these departments do not have adequate training on monitoring and evaluation of public health projects. These appointments are often made based on political leaning, ethnic or religious affiliations. These officers therefore see their appointments as an easy access to wealth. I have once had the misfortune of having to be supervised in a project by someone who had no idea what the project was all about. All that the officer wanted was to be paid a certain some each time he came for project inspection. These situations tend to happens every day within in our health system, where round pegs are put in square holes.

Then come the issue of infrastructural decay. While many government officials compete for juicy allocations for provision of health care infrastructures, as it has turned out to be a lucrative business and means of siphoning the states funds, little efforts are being made as to the maintenance of these infrastructures. It has become a common place to see high tech machines purchased at a highly inflated cost, wasting in many health care facilities because no provision were made to ensure their maintenance. In some cases, these equipments are allocated to facilities where there are no manpower to operate them or where their use is essentially not intended, but simply on political grounds. The various federal, state, and local government most times go about commissioning health projects in their domain simply to score cheap political gains, and would do nothing to ensure that these projects actually are implemented to the benefit of the people. 

In Nigerian health system, again, infection and disease control is a big issue, yet neglected. It is not surprising that the bulk of the health care burden in the country is communicable diseases. While the government of Nigeria has a well documented hospital waste management policy, most health care providers in the country are still unaware of its existence. Secondly, most training schools in the country have yet to incorporate such in their curricula. Not long ago, a notable international agency, that conducted an expensive capacity building training program in the country that was meant to train health care providers on infection control, conducted an assessment survey in a facility where these trainings were being carried out in the state, only to discover that their program has had little impact on the knowledge and practice of the providers in that facility, yet this organization produce year end report that tends to say otherwise.

Addressing the issue of infection prevention goes beyond the health facility. The public need to be aware of their role in safeguarding their health through proper personal hygiene practices. This can be reinforced by introducing such courses in our primary schools through to colleges. We need to begin to be thinking of raising generation of a healthy population, who knows their role in safeguarding their health. Many countries have employed various means to reach these populations. Here in the United States, most cities were able to curtail the spread of H1N1 Virus in their communities through the use of volunteer corps educators in schools, of which I was privilege to participate in. The success of this approach is enduring and cost effective.

Our government should look beyond frivolous and wanton projects that has little bearing on addressing the needs of the people and begin to consider institutional development as a vital means of strengthening the health system.

To be continued........

God bless Nigeria.


Dr Osita Okonkwo

The best things in life are free......

Its time to pause and take a look at where we are and where we are coming from.
God's abundant blessings are in the realms of the spiritual. God has given us His grace, His mercy and His favor, and poured out on us numerous spiritual blessings. But as our lives speed by, we find we often fail to thank Him for these. 
Sometimes those blessings come in the form of people, families, our circle of friends, co-workers, and the community around us. All of these people are a part of who we are. Our lives would be far poorer without them. But frequently in our "fast forward" lives, we neglect to tell them how much they mean to us. 
Sometimes those blessings are material or financial needs. Proverbs 10:22 says, "It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it." God is the source of all of our material and financial blessings. But, sadly, in the midst of our busy lives, we sometimes forget where they ultimately came from.

I am grateful for God's provision unto me. I am thankful for my wonderful family. I am thankful for all of the people God has surrounded me with. And I am most grateful to Him for my calling. Most of all, I thank God for the assurance of an abundant life in Jesus Christ, and the promise of an eternity in heaven. 

Glory to God.

Osita

Corruption and Bad Governance as the Bane of the Health System Development in Africa.

The continent of Africa, to the eyes of the uninformed in the western world, is a beehive of poverty, diseases, and conflicts. I speak with the mindset of someone who has spent substantial time in the United States talking to groups and individuals to provide education about the deplorable situation of the health care system in Nigeria, my country. I have discussed  ways in which people in the United States can contribute in helping Nigerians to develop our infrastructures. I find amazing the huge number of persons in United States who are willing to come to our aid, even in small measures. Many are even willing to relocate to Africa to provide help as well as to experience the amazing beauty of nature in its entirety, and our rich culture and heritage - the pride of Africa
Many Americans have asked  me recurring questions that burden my heart.  Those questions include,"What is the problem with African Leaders?" "Why can't African Leaders learn to stop stealing from their people and to work to develop their countries?" and "Why is there no dignity in governance in Africa?"  When posed such questions, one can easily imagine the uncomfortable position I have to deal with.
Come to think of it, why is corruption prevalent in Africa and  endemic in Nigeria? I agree that even the developed countries have their measure of corruption, at least those found to be corrupt in these countries always pay the price. In Nigeria, institutional corruption has become the norm. Each day we are inundated with news of the fragrant stealing of our collective resources by our leaders. They tend to do this shamelessly and use the same communities that they have impoverished to serve as a shield for them against prosecution. People in these communities are being tricked into believing that those leaders are victims of  political victimization and marginalization. These corrupt politicians often times use tribal sentiments to their favor, in causing disaffection and communal crises. They use the same loot so acquired to pollute the judicial system. It has come to a point where fighting corruption in Nigeria has become extremely difficult as almost every past and present public office holder is culpable.
I would not have been bordered with this shameful situation if the health care system in Nigeria, with all the oil money of over five decade, was world class. Or if our educational system competes favorably with that of advanced countries. Or if the par capita income and wage profile in Nigeria was such that encourages our best brains to remain back home and continue to contribute towards national development.
I am bordered because the disease burden in Nigeria is essentially preventable for the most part. It is hard to believe that in 2010, one of the leading cause of deaths in Nigerians is preventable illnesses such as Typhoid fever.  Nigerian children still dies from measles, diarrhea, malnutrition and other preventable illnesses. Pregnant women still dies in large numbers during child birth because of lack of access to quality health care services. In 2010, access to clean water is still a major issue in Nigeria. In 2010, one of the major issues in the health care system in Nigeria is still wages disputes. While the elected officials had the temerity to ascribe to themselves millions of dollars in annual wages for doing next to nothing other than mere petty politicking, without any serious interest at pushing for reforms in the polity. Health care workers are still begging for at least an opportunity to get meaningful wage for their labors.
It is shameful to see our late president being held captive in a far away land, just because we do not have a good health care system that would have saved his life as well as reduce the financial burden to the nation. Some one said that the evil that men do, lives with them. My take to this is that by the time the evil men realize their evils, they may have been far gone.
There is a need for intellectuals, professionals of African decent to come together, and say No to bad governance in our nations. We have been here for so long. We need to rise up and speak out. The hope of the African continent dwells on this generation. We cannot afford to disappoint. I have been privileged to meet lots of intelligent and forthright emerging African Leaders in the course of my travels. Among these are also Nigerians who have excelled in their professional endeavors but are unwilling to go back to Africa to contribute in the development of our nations due to these inherent problems.
I have to say this, its is only Africans that can develop Africa. Little by little we can all make that difference.


 Dr Osita Okonkwo

RE: Constitution - Senators, Reps agree on changes (Vanguard Newspapers 06-03-2010)

This version of "their constitution" (not our constitution yet) is a clear reflection of the mind set of the members of the National Assembly, who have been conniving against the good people of Nigeria for so long. They could not even hide their shame, and now want to legalize corruption in our nation, to protect their questionable wealth. It is one thing for them to steal our money, but now, they want to use it to oppress us! In as much as Nigerians do not expect much from these Assembly of dishonest men, they should not be allowed to rub it on our face. If this amendment is allowed to pass, it would give a constitutional  backing to fraud and embezzlement in our nation.
Nigerians must rise up and resist this Amendment. That amendment in no way reflects the wishes and desires of the people of Nigeria.
It is a rape on our democracy!!!
God bless Nigeria.

Re: Poor Turn-out at IBB's Book Launch (The Nation Newspapers 05-22-2010)

IBB is beginning to see the shape of things to come. The flop of the book launch is just but a tip of the iceberg. The 2011 presidential election will be the nailing of the coffin of his political career. His purported supporters are all out for his money. Nigerians are waiting to show their collective rejection of IBB and whatever he stands for in the ballot box, come 2011. 
God bless Nigeria

Dr. Uma Ukpai please pray for our President! (Vanguard Newspapers 05-22-2010)

Could someone please tell Dr Uma Ukpai to pray for our dear President. Here is one man in whom I believe knows his God and his God knows him. We need men like him to begin to participate in public discuss in changing our perception of our nation. This is the time for the true men of God to come out and support our president as we undertake this journey for the healing of our nation.
God bless Nigeria.

Re: President Goodluck Jonathan Speech (Pointblank News 05-07-2010)

God bless you too, our dear President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for setting this unprecedented example in leadership enshrined in humility and self-less service. For bringing hope back to our dear country battered by neglect and greed. Nigerians home and abroad believe in you. We hope and pray that you would continue to lead with the fear of God and to seek His face in all that you do. We pray that the wisdom of God will guide you to the path of righteousness even as you walk in the valley of PDP. His divine grace shall protect you even as you dine on the same table with the enemy of this nation, who might come as wolves in sheep's clothing.
God bless Nigeria.

IBB and Younger Generation Nigerians (This Day Newspapers 04-19-2010)

I have been following the reports, comments and media jamborees of former military president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. I have noted a familiar pattern in all the news and reports about his intention to rule Nigeria again. In spite of all the opposition to his emergence, IBB is poised at forcing his way through to the ballot box.
We have gone this path before, IBB and his ambition is not new to most of us. When Olusegun Obasanjo became President in 1999, close watchers of IBB knew that he would one day want to try his luck as well. We are all aware of the attrocities of Obasanjo's government between 1977-1979, and how it was possible for him to still come back to rule because of the desperate nature of the political situation in 1999. The similarity of that time and what we have now is so compelling that an IBB would want to cash on it to the detriment of the peace and unity of this nation.
It would be recalled IBB ruled Nigeria between 1985 to 1993 following a military coup. He went ahead to kill his childhood friend and a very fine soldier Gen Mammna Vatsa in a fanthom coup in 1987, killed foremost journalist Dele Giwa in 1989, and in 1990 killed major Gideon Orkar in an attempted coup. In 1992, IBB eliminated our brightest set of young military officers in a planned and executed plane crash in Ojibo Lagos. Need I say more for Nigerians to understand the monster that wants to rule us again. As a young undergraduate in June 12, 1993, I was among the over 50 million Nigerians who filled out to cast our votes, too eager to end IBB misrule, in an election that was declared as the freest and fairest in the history of our nation. Yet the result of that election was canceled by IBB in his plot to prolong his misrule. This caused untold hardship to most Nigerians and invariably robbed Nigeria of her best opportunity of moving forward as a nation. The death of MKO Abiola, (the undeclared winner of that election) in Prison, the death of Gen Shehu Musa yar'Adua, and Mrs Kudirat Abiola, can all be traced to IBB. What about the countless innocent civilians who died during June 12 struggles of 1993. All these deaths are traceable to IBB misrule.
At 70 years of age, IBB should be retiring from politics and business, and be nursing his shame. He is merely capitalizing on Obasanjo's failed government to try to make Nigerians believe he too need a second chance. The answer to that is: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Period!
Now, come to think of it, we seem to be recycling the old order in Nigeria which is one of the bane of our progress as a nation. Nigeria is a country that can boost of the brightest minds in the world, yet we keep getting the worst kinds of leaders. The reason for this is not far-fetched. Our young people have sold their right to good governance to these old fools. So long as the young keep quiet these evil will persist. Its high time Nigerian youth rose up to oppose these evil men. We need to mobilize to say NO to another IBB in our national terrain. This country belong to us, and we wont let them destroy it for us. IBB is busy now trying to rule so that he would position his children to be our lords after him. See also the likes of Iyabo Obasanjo, Sarakis, Anenihs etc. We have had enough of these men, and we sure need a change now.
Nigeria still have great young mind like Rotimi Amaechi, Sullivan Chime, Fashola etc.  Nigerian youth need to rise up and encourage the likes of Prof Pat Utomi, an accomplished young Nigerian who have excelled in politics, academics and business; Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, a world class anti-corruption agent etc, to run for election in 2011.
The future of this nation lies in our hands. We need to act together to Stop IBB Now!
Sign up to Save Nigeria Group and Stop IBB Now Project.

God bless Nigeria

Sports Minister misfires on first day on the job (Vanguard Newspapers 04-11-2010)

I wouldn't be surprised if the current Sports Minister leaves us with tales of woes after his tenure. We seem to be threading on old paths yet again.. It is puzzling that successive governments in this country hardly take sports as of any significance. If there is any event that tends to unite Nigerians of all works of lives, beyond the primordial sentiments of tribes and religion, it is our strong bonding that is rooted to sports.  It is intriguing how quickly Nigerians tends to forgo these sentiments and become united during any international sporting event. The late Gen Abacha’s government realized this and was very effective in using sport for national unity during his time. That was why most of the greatest sporting moments in our history occurred during his time 1994-1996.

Given the present situation of the country and the fragility of our union as a nation, one would have thought that Acting President Jonathan, would have realized the usefulness of sports as a unifying factor for national unity, and taken the necessary steps in appointing of a credible sports minister who would be able to deliver the dividends to Nigerians. A good outing in forthcoming international sporting events would be a healing balm to the wounds of the nation.

Nigerians can forgive their leaders if they fail to articulate and implement good economic policies to grow the national economy, provide jobs, fight crime, build roads, hospitals and schools, but curiously would not forgive a government that made us not to excel in a soccer world cup, especially with world cup being played in African continent.

The current minister of sport doesn't seem to me as one who would deliver and that would definitely hurt  the strong image Acting President Jonathan is striving to build.

I hope someone is listening.

God bless Nigeria.

Anambra to recruit more medical personnel (Vanguard 04-09-2010)

While applauding this gesture which I see as a good way forward and a departure from the norm, the critical question is; what efforts are the government at all levels doing to retain these health workforce? The various government both at the federal, state and local level routinely dramatize this recruitment of health workforce exercise to get the approval of the people, yet do little to retain same.

Now you would ask, what does it take to retain healthcare personnel to deliver quality service?

It absolutely cost little in the real economic sense to retain a well motivated health workforce over time than to have continual attrition of health personnel due to poor management and strategic planning.

Over the years, health care personnel in Nigeria have complained of poor wage packages and unhealthy work environments as a major factor in the poor performance of the health system. Instead for the government to address these vital issues, the government would routinely embark on endless recruitment of personnel who will over time still leave the service to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Coupled with this is the fact that most government health workforce employment package does not come with clear opportunity for routine training of the health worker.

In line with the current trends of rapidly developing technology in healthcare, it is imperative that government should see in house training of health care personnel as necessary strategic approach to health workforce retention. Motivation of health workforce is also very important measure that can be accomplished through recognition and reward for excellence and quality service.

These measures would go a long way in checkmating health workforce attrition especially at the rural areas and improve the quality of service and patients outcome.

God bless Nigeria.                                                                                                              

Jonathan locks out new ministers (Vanguard 04-09-2010)

What better ways to send a message to the nation and the world that Mr Acting President means business. It is a well documented fact that the average Nigeria is never time conscious and that account to the fact that time management is a big challenge in the country.

Lets start from the situation in our tertiary institutions. A student gets admitted into the higher institution for a four year degree program, but ends up spending whooping eight years for no good reason at all. The managers of the ivory towers seems to have lost their sense of time management. How do you expect that same student after graduation to be mindful of time. As if that is not enough, he was made to waits another year or more for the national service call-up, because the managers of the NYSC program do not recognize that time is precious.

I think that time is ripe for people in governance in our nation to begin to do things right. If our dear Acting President would start the ball rolling, it behooves on the National Assembly to enact a law that would strengthen time management in Nigeria. Such laws would make it a criminal offense punishable by law for any public official to come late to any public function. With such laws, we could also tame the recklessness of our contractors who do not keep to time in handling publicly funded projects leading to wastefulness of our resources; make it mandatory for Universities/Colleges to graduate students on time, and stop wasting the time and energy of our youth.

Finally, I would say kudos to our dear Acting President for taking this bold step to make a difference. I hereby urge the Minister for Information, Prof Dora Akunyili, to rise up to the occasion and sharpen her re-brand Nigeria project to include effective time management programs in our schools and national consciousness.

We need world to know that Nigeria means business...NOW!!!!

God bless Nigeria.

Giving thanks to the Lord

Dear friends,

I am sending this greetings to you on this special occasion as we give thanks unto the Lord for His many blessing towards us and our dear Nation.

Thanksgiving day is a time of peace and love, of sharing in humanity. It is a time when we reflect on the goodness of God and say thank you Lord for being our help in ages past, for being our strengtht when we were weak, and ever present help in times of need.

We should also spare time to reach out to the less fortunate amongst us and share this love so amazing with them, knowing that as we freely receive so freely shall we give.

Stay blessed,

Osita

Welcome to my blog page

Dear friend,

Welcome to my blog page. I want you to relax as you navigate with me in the journey of my life. We all have a story to tell in this life's journey, and I am of the view that every ones story has got something in it for all of us.

I shall be telling my little story to you, believing that it would add value to your own life as it has helped shape my life and that of those whom I have had to come across in this journey.

I welcome your comments and views as they are the spring board upon which this journey first started.

Mega blessings,


Osita