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The
Ideal Nigerian President
By Uche Nworah
As
a result of the failure of previous and current systems and models
such as parliamentarianism, militarianism and the presidential
systems and models, and the need to re-position Nigeria and
effectively harness her human and material resources for
sustainable growth and for the benefits of her citizens. The
opportunity has arisen in this oil rich West African country for
the pioneering role and position of a President/CEO (chief
executive officer).
Nigeria
PLC
Reporting
directly to the legislative houses of the Senate, the House of
Representatives and the Nigerian people, the successful candidate
must be of Nigerian parenthood although applications from
Nigerians in the Diaspora with dual nationalities and citizenships
will also be considered.
This
position is a high pressure one and not a high pleasure one; the
ideal candidate must possess the ability to think on his or her
feet, in addition to possessing local knowledge of Nigeria’s
many ethnic regions and their peculiar problems. Knowledge of one
or more of Nigeria’s many languages will be an added advantage.
The candidate must also be a good team player, communicator and
strategic planner, capable of influencing international opinion
through a well orchestrated programme of economic diplomacy. He or
she must have a sound knowledge of the workings of the oil sector,
and must be committed to a programme of opening up and creating
other revenue streams for the country, especially from the
agricultural, steel, and other neglected sectors.
The
successful candidate must have on top of his or her agenda the
provision of basic social amenities for Nigerians, the rebuilding
of dilapidated infrastructure, reduction of poverty as well as the
improvement of the quality of life of Nigerians. He or she must
make it possible for Nigerians to experience the true dividends of
democracy.
The
minimum educational requirement for this position is a university
degree, obtained from a top flight university, although a Masters
degree or any other higher qualifications will be an advantage.
The degree could be from any discipline but candidates with
backgrounds in political science, government, economics,
development studies, finance, poverty reduction and globalisation
will be preferred.
The
personal attributes required of the successful candidate are that
he or she must be a friend of the poor and the less privileged,
and must also have a passion for humanity irrespective of age,
race, gender, religion or political ideology. The ideal candidate
should be able to carry all Nigerians along in the formulation and
implementation of government policies.
Candidates
with previous cases or allegations of corruption against them
should not bother applying, likewise candidates who have in one
way or the other served as military politicians in the past, this
is as a result of the clients’ (Nigerian citizens) desire to
break away completely from past oligarchs, whom they believe ran
the country’s economy down, and plundered her treasury.
This
position is tenable in the first instance for an initial period of
5 years, after which a contract and term extension may be
considered at the polls by the electorates based on performance
and achievements.
Candidates
should be willing to demonstrate a track record of selfless
service, either from years of working in the private or public
sectors. Candidates with backgrounds in profligacy and dalliance
need not apply, as this position requires a morally and ethically
upright personality who should also function as a role model to
Nigerians.
There
are endless opportunities for the ideal candidate in this
position; there is the possibility of writing his or her name in
the history books as a true statesman or woman, and as someone who
rescued an ailing nation in a time of need. The ideal candidate
will also have the opportunities and potentials of claiming his or
her rightful position amongst the world’s top leaders, thereby
enhancing the attractiveness of Nigeria to foreign investors and
tourists. The ideal candidate should exhibit leadership potentials
and qualities in the mould of Nelson Mandela, exhibiting great
courage in difficulties.
The
physical location of the job will be in Aso Rock Villa in Abuja,
Nigeria, although there are limitless opportunities for travel
around Nigeria and also around the world in government jets,
during such visits the candidate will be well taken care of and
will be allowed a reasonable retinue of aides. Family members and
girlfriends or mistresses will not be sponsored during such trips
as is the current practice.
The
compensation package for this position is very generous, we are
currently in the process of reviewing the package upwards to bring
it in line with the scale in other similar positions in well
resourced developing countries. Gradually we will move into the
stage of reviewing the package to reflect that of a CEO of a
Fortune 500 company, this review is being considered so as to
discourage any inclinations towards looting government treasury.
There will be other benefits linked to performance as well as the
achievement of agreed targets; these targets will be agreed with
the successful candidate at the start of his or her tenure.
The
compensation package will also include the use of a fleet of
government cars and limousines, a generous wardrobe allowance,
high quality medical care for the successful candidate and members
of his immediate family in the Aso rock clinic and other well –
equipped hospitals in Nigeria. There will also be opportunity for
sponsored overseas medical treatments under strict resident
surgeon’s referrals.
As
a result of the generous compensation package, this position will
therefore demand a high level of commitment, responsibility and
accountability from the successful candidate; he or she must be
willing to submit to a regime of periodic audits, while also
subscribing to a strict code of ethics and charter, of which any
breach will lead to a summary dismissal and impeachment by the
legislators and the electorates.
Also,
the successful candidate will be expected to effectively initiate
a process that will lead to the recovery and repatriation of
stolen public funds, currently stashed away in local and foreign
bank accounts. He or she is also expected to mount a serious
campaign for the cancellation of Nigeria’s remaining odious
debts, with the active collaboration of major international
sympathisers, while also leveraging on the 60% debt forgiveness
totalling over $18 Billion recently announced by the Paris Club.
While
we would not normally expect the successful candidate to be
anti-big businesses, he or she in addition to creating the right
enabling environment for competition and free enterprise to
thrive, should also stand up to big businesses and influence them
to commit to sound business ethics while maintaining a strict
corporate governance culture. The candidate must also be willing
to carry on with the corruption fight already initiated by the
government of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
This
position is open to males and females, female candidates are
particularly encouraged to apply. Nigeria is moving towards being
an equal opportunities employer and so candidates from minority
ethnic regions are particularly encouraged to apply. Please note
that for this position, you will not be expected to have a
godfather who will be pushing your case, any attempt at
influencing the process or the electorates by any individual or
group will lead to the exclusion of the candidate being lobbied
for from the consideration list.
Candidates
from the age of 30 years and above can apply, while there is no
maximum age limit, we would however discourage candidates above 65
years of age from applying, the reason being that we want to give
the younger generation of Nigerians a chance, as is obtainable in
the developed economies, by this we also hope to discourage the
current trend of ‘recycling’ old politicians and also to
dismantle the gerontocratic structures currently in place.
Please
send your completed application forms in the form of an electoral
manifesto to all Nigerians to reach them before the scheduled 2007
elections. Late applications will not be considered.
Short
listed candidates will be informed during the period leading to
the elections. The final decision on the selection and appointment
of the successful candidate rests with the Nigerian electorates
who are expected to let their votes count for real this time
around. The successful candidate will be sworn in immediately
after the elections around May 2007.
Uche
Nworah is a freelance writer and lives in London. He can be
reached at uchenworah@yahoo.com
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Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All
By Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons knows firsthand that
wealth is rooted in much more than the
stock
market. True wealth has more to do with
what's in your heart than what's in your
wallet. Using this knowledge, Simmons
became one of America's shrewdest
entrepreneurs, achieving a level of
success that most investors only dream
about. No matter how much material gain
he accumulated, he never stopped lending
a hand to those less fortunate. In
Super Rich, Simmons uses his rare
blend of spiritual savvy and
street-smart wisdom to offer a new
definition of wealth-and share timeless
principles for developing an unshakable
sense of self that can weather any
financial storm. As Simmons says, "Happy
can make you money, but money can't make
you happy." |
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Civilization: The West and the Rest
By Niall Ferguson
The rise to global predominance of Western civilization is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five hundred years. All over the world, an astonishing proportion of people now work for Western-style companies, study at Western-style universities, vote for Western-style governments, take Western medicines, wear Western clothes, and even work Western hours. Yet six hundred years ago the petty kingdoms of Western Europe seemed unlikely to achieve much more than perpetual internecine warfare. It was Ming China or Ottoman Turkey that had the look of world civilizations. How did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed? In Civilization: The West and the Rest, bestselling author Niall Ferguson argues that, beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts that the Rest lacked: competition, science, the rule of law, consumerism, modern medicine, and the work ethic. These were the "killer applications" that allowed the West to leap ahead of the Rest, opening global trade routes, exploiting newly discovered scientific laws, evolving a system of representative government, more than doubling life expectancy, unleashing the Industrial Revolution, and embracing a dynamic work ethic.
Civilization shows just how fewer than a dozen Western empires came to control more than half of humanity and four fifths of the world economy.
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update 15 December 2011
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