Open Letter To Supposedly Educated Nigerians: There Is A Thin Line Between Commendation And Sycophancy. By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

Dear Supposedly Educated Nigerians,

Permit me to talk to you on this subject matter that has been on my mind for a very long time, I strongly believe that no society can grow beyond the mentality of its supposedly educated class. I believe that if the educated class is liberated from the shackles and bondage of sycophancy and praise singing of its leadership, the supposedly uneducated class will consequently find its liberation.

As much as education grants the attainment of various academic degrees and accolades for various research works, it is, more importantly, a tool for freedom and liberation.  It is the key that opens and empowers the human mind with the ability to demand ones right and stay demanding until such demands are achieved. Education empowers individuals to know their responsibilities as members of a society and what is/are needed from them. It also helps to make citizens know the roles of the government in a society and what is needed from them.

However, governments are put in place to serve the people. They are set up to improve the standard of living of the people- to provide security of lives and properties and to make attainable with ease the basic essentials of life – food, clothing, and shelter. These are the responsibilities of the government which are enshrined in the laws that govern every society.

Election 2019: Failure Does Not Deserve Continuity By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

“This is not a time for continuity. Failure does not deserve continuity. Incompetence does not deserve continuity.”- General Muhammadu Buhari

On the buildup of the 2015 election, I and few friends gathered those- about 30 of us, in the administrative block of my office together, and conducted a mini-poll, on whether they would vote for the then president- Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, popularly known as GEJ, or against him. The outcome of the poll was absolutely against GEJ. I was not surprised about the outcome of the 2015 presidential election afterwards. Now, as the polity of the 2019 election heats up, Just last week again, we repeated the same thing- this time for President Muhammadu Buhari, and even extended the participants to those outside the administrative block, the outcome was against President Buhari`s re-election. If President Buhari`s name appears on the ballot paper come 2019, I won't be surprised about the outcome of the election.

The logic behind this is simple: the perception of people within your immediate environment on a particular issue within a given period- especially when the sample of people involved is reasonably diverse, tells you about the perception of the larger society on the same issue within that period.

Everywhere I go I sample people's perception of this government and their intention to either retain it or boot it outcome 2019. I must say that to a larger extent that the perception has largely been on the negative.