November 2011 Timeless by Timeless Courage Publishing Limited

TIMELESS Published Since April 2003

Vol. 9 No. 11

NOVEMBER 2011

300 NAIRA

Nigeria at 51: National Development & the Challenge of Leadership Informed Commentary By George Ashiru

Health

The Last Mosquito

-A Malaria Vaccine at Last? Parenting

Lessons from Steve Jobsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

2005 Stanford Commencement Address Personality

Mai Nasara Wins 2011 Nigeria Prize for Literature

www.timelessnewspaper.com timelesscourage.blogspot.com

From the Editor-in-Chief (Isn’t that something?) But that however, God wants man to repent and come back to Him and he will be provided with every comfort. That today has been the essence of man’s life, the basis of his creation and reason for his existence. A permanent struggle to return back to God. I believe this is the bedrock of the principles of being born again. The devil however, continues to play a prominent part in man’s self destruction and distancing himself from God. I see the devil at work in various parts of the world and most especially Nigeria, where there is really no peace. The devil’s intent is to destroy God’s creation, ruin it and put it to waste. Man’s reason for existence is to preserve it and lead himself back to God.

f one works at the ecosystem and the background of creation, one cannot but wonder in amazement at the perfection created by God. As far as I am concerned, the only imperfection in the world today is ironically the creation put in place to rule the earth – man under the full influence of the devil – perhaps God’s only mistake. If you look at the animals, the birds and the bees, you will see how they survive, purely on the land wanting for and lacking nothing, regardless of what part of the world they are in, they adapt quite easily to nature, and survive. The main fear or difficulty was being prey to others, but in nature, one thing is food for the other. If you look at the act of child birth, you will realize that all other animals give birth effortlessly in multiples without any pre or post natal care or even pain. It is only woman that obeys the biblical injunction of suffering pain at child birth. Similarly, it is only man, that goes through the effort of toiling for his survival, (what we now call work) also in line with this same biblical injunction. A result of man’s first sin. His disobedience of God, arising again ironically out of the benefit of the greatest gift giving to him by God – His free will. Isn’t it painful, that it is these same gifts given to man for his comfort superiority that have led him to his greatest adversities? Isn’t it ironic? The good book teaches us that for his own part in the first sin, the devil represented by the serpent, has continued to crawl on its belly,

I am irrevocably convinced that the source of most of Man’s suffering in the world today is man himself and his Godlessness. This inability to care about anything but himself alone. It is very painful for anyone to suffer in a world of such outstanding resources, freely provided. There is nothing that man needs that is not provided, his main struggle is to tap these resources. In Nigeria, we as a nation, have to move closer to God. We have to pray to God for forgiveness, protection and direction for the devil is really at work here. Otherwise, how do we explain these things? If we could find only one man, with Nigeria’s genuine interest at heart it would have made a most refreshing change. If Nigeria could move closer to God and pray for a solution to our leadership choices, perhaps we would be able to move forward.

masses through economic mismanagement. In Nigeria today, the reason why our Naira is 155 to 1 dollar is simply because we as a nation are paying the interest on the waste and consumption of people who had the cheque book, who we put or who put themselves into the charge of our affairs. We all must pray very hard in Nigeria that the “DEVIL” must stop his work amongst us, curb our spirit of personal greed and self aggrandizement to the destruction of 140 millions others and provide us with the right leadership. We must not only pray hard, we must work hard towards it. May the Good Lord hear our prayer, forgive us and shower His blessings on us – Amen. May HE help in the fight against evil.

Ituah Ighodalo

If we trace the history of our Nation, especially from 1979, when corruption became very bold, you will see that the reason why Nigeria is in such dire straits today has been due to corruption and waste on a very massive scale. You will also find that it is in nations like England, the USA, Japan, Germany, South Africa, where the rulers are not wealthier than the nations they rule, that there is some iota of sanity and progress. I am not saying that these nations do not have their own problems, also created by the devil in various ways but it is certainly not one of national poverty and a destruction of the

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

Contents

Style

Business

Society Advert Hotlines 08026861642, 08039410443, 01-4358330 Circulation Hotline 08023851601 TIMELESS NEWSPAPER is published by TIMELESS COURAGE PUBLISHING LTD. 2, Fawole Lane, Off 272 Ikorodu Road, By Savoil Bus Stop, Mobil Filling Station Obanikoro, Lagos.

E-mail: timelesscourage@yahoo.co.uk Blog: timelesscourage.blogspot.com Website: www.timelessnewspaper.com Office Telephones 01-8163350, 01-4358330

TIMELESS TIMELESS Success OUTLETS Habits Published Since April 2003

Vol. 9 No. 1

JANUARY 2011

EDITORIAL

300 NAIRA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CEO

Ituah Ighodalo EDITOR

Ayodeji Jeremiah

...for the New Year As Selected by You - Our Readers

1. UNILAG Bookshop, Akoka 2. Edysyl Bookshops, Jibowu Str, Yaba & Kodesho Str, Ikeja 3. Royal Dividends Store 4. Iman Cosmetics, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi 5. Total Filling Station, Awolowo Rd, Ikoyi 6. Media Store RCCG Christ Church, Gbagada 7. MM1 & MM2 Local Airport 8. CCD Stores, Ogudu 9. Pharm Affairs, Ogudu 10. Cheeses Stores, Ogudu 11. Terra Kulture, Tiamuyi Savage, V.I 12. Prince Stores, Diya Street, Gbagada Culture A Dissection of Chimamanda’s “The Thing Around your Neck at Farafina Book Review Style The Coolest Watches Money can Buy Society “My Vagina is Embarrasing...”

SENIOR WRITER

Adeleke Adeyemi SENIOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Tola Majolagbe EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Titilope Oyelade

www.timelessnewspaper.com timelesscourage.blogspot.com

R E TT

rds 0 wo 0 3 an . re th gift item o m t a of no receive s r e t let will nd in y month e s can ver You letter e r A sta

o.uk

rage

u ssco e l e im

o.c yaho

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Matthew Osarenren CORRESPONDENTS

Godwin Thomas Taiwo Tunkarimu Tolu Ifekoya Kunle Michael GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION EDITOR

Agbele Olusola BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL SERVICES DIRECTORS

Victoria Tandoh Nneka Nwobi Bayo Rotimi HEAD, SALES, MARKETING & CIRCULATION

Steve Atannoye MISSION STATEMENT To establish a well Structured, Educative and Informative Newsmagazine based on Sound Moral Values; providing Honest, Unbiased Reportage in Fairness to all.

to t

SEPTEMBER 2010 TIMELESS

Editorial

Post-Gaddafi Libya: The Road Ahead

It was a death foretold, even by the strongman himself. He had a death-wish that quite simply wouldn’t be cured. The events of the last few weeks have been epoch-making, to say the least. The death of the Libyan strongman once described with characteristic candour by US President Ronald Reagan, as “the mad dog of the Middle East” came as an anti-climax. It is now a past that isn’t quite past.

In the wake of the nationwide civil intolerance by the populace, both armed and otherwise, starting in February and culminating in the collapse of the Gaddafi regime which had been in power for some 42 years, Libya is currently administrated by a caretaker government, known as the National Transitional Council. A country in the Maghreb region of North Africa, Libya is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres, Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa by area. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya’s 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.

Reports from the country suggest that there are other political forces on the ground, including city-based groupings come from Benghazi, Misrata, Zentan and Tripoli. There are also a number of minor militias. Pro-Gaddafi elements still exist, especially within the cluster of clans around his hometown of Sirte, where he was killed in action, or probably executed. These are likely to demand a place in any future government. There are also the traditional tensions between Arabs and Berbers and between Islamists and secularists to factor into these equations. It is not for nothing that the United Nations said it wanted a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Colonel Gaddafi’s death before his burial. Even his tucking-away, in a secret location deep in the Sahara Desert, something reminiscent of the treatment meted out to the remains of Osama bin Laden, is not enough guarantee that the ghost of Gaddafi will be kept at bay. However, in the overall interest of nationbuilding and fence-mending, the UN would

also have to call attention to the fate of Black African members of Libyan society for it to maintain its credibility as a force for good for resolving the lingering logjam on Libya’s path to a rebirth as a nation and a democratic and peaceful society. All the ingredients are there for a protracted insurgency along the lines of what has been witnessed in Iraq. One can only hope that commentators who argue that Libya’s terrain is not suited to guerrilla struggles, and insist that the country’s ethnic and ideological fissures are not sufficient to spark conflagration turn out to be right. It is slippery and it is unprecedented. The road ahead for Libya is as tough as nails as it is nebulous and uncharted. As one commentator has said: “There is no political heritage, no political culture, no political institutions. In theory they existed under Gaddafi but in practice they didn’t, so the biggest challenge is building a political culture. No one has been able to vote on anything for 40 years.”

In the wake of the death of its ‘Brother Leader’, as Gaddafi fancied himself, outpourings of predictions about the future of Libya have been torrential. While degrees of expertise vary, the simple reality is that nobody knows what happens next. The most obvious question to ask is who will now control the Libyan state. The National Transitional Council, with Mustafa Abdel Jalil as chairman, enjoys unstinted recognition from Western governments and pockets of allied nations around the world. Yet, that is not the same thing as recognition on the streets of Libya. 6

TIMELESS

Muammar Gaddafi

NOVEMBER 2011

Cover Feature George Ashiru

Nigeria at 51: National Development & the Challenge of Leadership

History of opportunities not activated: In 1960, Nigeria joins several other African nations in breaking the yoke of colonial rule, to full fledge independence…others being, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mail, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Somalia and Togo. In a proper assessment of the development of these nations, and their counterparts in other regions of the world, shows a continual failure of successive leadership to use the political independence to create viable nations, for the benefits of their peoples. A chronological assessment of some of Nigeria’s historical development show a chequered history of opportunities and failures, which, in comparison to similar placed nations from Asia and other parts of the world would indicate, a failure in successive leadership, both politically and culturally. Great Potential, faulty Foundations The parliamentary system of government inherited

Nnamdi Azikiwe

from the British was meant to reflect, not just British influence on Nigeria’s style of governance, but a reflection of the British geographic, cultural regionalism of England, Scotland and Wales…3 nations living in cordial harmony. The military incursion of 1966 never gave the opportunity for the development of this parliamentary system into maturity. Instead, without appropriate study or consent of the constituent parts of Nigeria, an American-style presidential system was imposed in 1979. Though the military administrations of Yakubu Gowon and Murtala Muhammad introduced nationalist policies and well conceived national developmental plans, the instability within the military establishment, leading to coups or fear of coups meant more emphasis was spent in building security apparatus, than economic potential. The National Youth Service Corp. (NYSC), the National Institute in Kuru, and other leadership and nation building institutions were born in the 1970s, after the Civil War, as well as the Unity schools and many of the Federal

Obafemi Awolowo

Ahmadu Bello

tertiary institutions, though started by the civilian leadership since 1960. These institutions though laudable, could not overcome the loss in social etiquette, moral development, inconsistent social re-engineering and lack of proper integration of the civilian class into governance that comes with military ruler-ship at a time the world’s paradigm shifts favoured democratic leadership. The military, though, were singled out for their aggressive support for independence of several southern African nations, and contributions to peace keeping duties in Eastern Africa. Nigeria lead the 22-member Monrovia Group of African countries to merge with the Casablanca Group of five to form the OAU. In the 1975 Nigeria was pivotal in the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The military leadership is noted for bringing security to the West Africa sub-region by creating ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria’s role in initiating

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

cover feature the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD), African Development Bank (ADB), and others, were also majorly made possible during the Military’s ruler-ship of Nigeria. A Militarised National Conscience However, according to the information listed above that the military, since their adventurous foray into governance since 1966, have had 30 years of direct colonisation of Nigeria, impressing upon our national psyche, an intolerance for democratic practices, a disdain for education and human freedoms, impositions of many undebated, and subsequently faulty policies and entrenchment of blatant corruption. It was indicative that the military was neither taught, nor prepared for governance of a civil populace. The continued ruler-ship of the military since the founding years of Nigeria affected the confidence and reduced the efficiency of the political class, and broke the back of the emerging democratic practices initially experimented upon by the regional parliamentarians of independent Nigeria. The military, in attempting to impose democracy, under duress, would only create structures with faulty foundations, imposed upon the populace, and designed to be weak. By extension, the democratic systems that ensued produced a political class that was militaristic in their thinking, practices and procedures. Imposing candidates, demanding utter loyalty, rigging elections, denying the people from directly electing their choice candidates. It is not surprising therefore, that the political organisations created after the incursion of the military into governance were sponsored, ruled or controlled by the military class. The effect of all these is that governance wasn’t people oriented, and the Human Development Indices produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) attests to this. A History of Majoring in Mediocrity The UNDP has for decades, kept indices of human development, set standards for national development and created frameworks for the achievement of set goals agreed by members of the United Nations. These indices help us to see at a glance if there is true development in a

Aguiyi Ironsi 8

TIMELESS

nation of continental sub-region. It also helps leaders of nations in determining policies and leadership styles that will help bring forth stated developmental needs and goals. Let’s look at the indices of Nigeria’s development since 1960. Yima Sen (Challenges and Prospects of Nigeria’s Development at 50), in a paper delivered last year in the United States paints the picture properly. “Nigeria’s development has been negated by poor leadership, corruption and attendant poverty incidence ( that is number of those spending less than one United States dollar a day) which has risen from 27 percent in 1980 to 65 percent in 1996. This has become the subject of contention between international data sources (70 percent) and local Nigerian estimates (56 percent) more recently. Poverty incidence is also assessed on the basis of educational performance and literacy, general health indicators and services, food security and safety as well as safe drinking water, and life expectancy. Viewed as a whole, therefore on the basis of those indicators that determine whether states succeed or fail, Nigeria has fared badly (Northern Union, 2007). According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its Human Development Report for 2009, Human Development Index (HDI) scores have increased in all regions in the world progressively. HDI provides a more complete picture of a country’s development than other indicators like GDP, according to UNDP. HDI looks mainly at human development from life expectancy, adult literacy, purchasing power parity (PPP) and mainly human development indicators. And these have been Nigeria’s scores in recent years, according to the report: Life expectancy – 47.7 percent; adult literacy rate (percentage of age 15 and above) - 72 percent; and GDP per capital, that is PPP US$ 1, 969, all for the year 2007. Additional worrisome data include the possible loss of about US$ 500 billion from Nigeria’s wealth due to corruption, from 1960 to date, based on analysis and estimates by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Other data are that out of 100 universities in Africa, only seven Nigerian universities are included as among the best 100 in

Yakubu Gowon

NOVEMBER 2011

Africa, with the best, University of Ilorin, ranked at 55. The same seven universities make the global list at the ranking of University of Ilorin -5484; Obafemi Awolowo University – 5,756; University of Jos; 5,882; University of Lagos- 5,936; University of Benin- 6,324; University of Ibadan – 6,425; and University of Nigeria – 7,170 (Eze, 2010). Also Nigeria’s HDI rating of 157 out of 177 countries for 2007/2008 and its position on the failed state index of 15 out of 177 states likely to fail by the Fund for Peace in 2009 are not encouraging of its progress towards a successful state that can guarantee the well being of its citizens. Then most recently, out of 100 “best” countries in the world, as determined by Newsweek magazine, in its August 23 and 30, 2010 edition and based on certain criteria, Nigeria is placed 99th just before Burkina Faso at 100. This is a poor showing for the “Giant of Africa”, which is beaten by the following African countries in a descending order: Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Botswana, South Africa, Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia and Cameroon.” An analysis of the HDI indices noted above, and comparisons of Nigeria’s rank with selected developing nations, gives cause for ponder. Many nations with better ranking than Nigeria are already regarded as “Failed States”. The tragedy of the 142nd ranking of Nigeria, below Mauritania, Congo, Cameroon, Togo, Kenya, Ghana, and obviously, South Africa and all of the North African Countries…is that, we generate a far greater income than many of these countries combines, but all of $500billion plus in oil revenues was mostly mismanaged or stolen. And this falls squarely on the failure of leadership. But this leadership failure is on four fronts: • The Political Class • The Civil Service • •

The Religious & Cultural Leadership The Corporate Class

The Failure of Political Leadership The political class, which is directly involved in formulating policies and managing the economy,

Murtala Mohammed

Olusegun Obasanjo

cover feature and providing security and building and maintain infrastructure has consistently underperformed, though this is expedited by the weakness and collusion of the Civil Service. The political class has tended in Nigeria, to promote classism and elitism, and maintenance of feudal systems of societal engagement. The abundance of western education hasn’t fundamentally changed the attitude of the class of elites that recycle leadership of the nation’s central and communal governments. It’s been a system of class networking to maintain the status quo, in which the citizenry are permanently expected to receive the crumbs of the national “cake”. This class has never engaged the citizens in the governance of the nation, and has shown a lack of ideological tenacity in protecting the commonwealth of the nation. Instead, they seek position, whatever the platform, and therefore have little or no passion to defend or uphold any principles or economics or sustainable development for the common good. The uncertainty of the systems of governance and permanence of policies also mean those who gravitate towards power often feel insecure and tend to be corruptible, in an effort to exploit the system within the time frame available. They have shown lack of vision or foresight and a profound lack of commitment to take the nation to a better level than the met it. They are adept at playing the politics of leadership rather than actually leading for common good. The Failure of The Civil Service Let me quote Wikipedia extensively on the path through which the Nigerian Civil Service became a partner in following the political class in gradually eroding the development of Nigeria; ” The civil service in 1990 consisted of the federal civil service, the twenty-one autonomous state civil services, the unified local government service, and several federal and state government agencies, including parastatals and corporations. The federal and state civil services were organized around government departments, or ministries, and extra ministerial departments headed by ministers (federal) and commissioners (state), who were appointed by the president and governors, respectively. These political heads were responsible for policy matters. The

Shehu Shagari

administrative heads of the ministry were the directors general, formerly called permanent secretaries. The “chief” director general was the secretary to the government and until the Second Republic also doubled as head of the civil service. As chief adviser to the government, the secretary conducted liaison between the government and the civil service. The major function of the director general, as of all senior civil servants, was to advise the minister or the commissioner directly. In doing so, the director general was expected to be neutral. In the initial periods of military rule, these administrative heads wielded enormous powers. For some time, the military rulers refused to appoint civilian political heads. Even after political heads were appointed, it was years before the era of “super permanent secretaries” to end. That happened in 1975 when, after Gowon’s fall, the civil service was purged to increase its efficiency. Many of the super permanent secretaries lost their jobs, and the subordinate status of permanent secretaries to their political bosses was reiterated. Another consequence of the purge, reinforced subsequently, was the destruction of the civil service tradition of security of tenure. The destruction was achieved by the retirement or dismissal of many who had not attained retirement age. Until the 1988 reforms, the civil service was organized strictly according to British traditions: it was apolitical, civil servants were expected to serve every government in a nonpartisan way, and the norms of impersonality and hierarchical authority were well entrenched. As the needs of the society became more complex and the public sector expanded rapidly, there was a corresponding need to reform the civil service. The Adebo Commission (1970) and the Udoji Commission (1972) reviewed the structure and orientations of the civil service to make it more efficient. Although these commissions recommended ways of rationalizing the civil service, the greatest problems of the service remained inefficiency and red tape. Again in 1985, a study group headed by Dotun Phillips looked into the problems. It was believed that the 1988

Muhammed Buhari

reforms, the most current measures aimed at dealing with the problems of the service as of 1990, were based on this report. Compared with the 1960s and 1970s, the civil service by 1990 had changed dramatically. It had been politicized to the extent that most top officials openly supported the government of the day. The introduction of the quota system of recruitment and promotion, adherence to the federal-character principle, and the constant interference of the government in the day-to-day operation of the civil service--especially through frequent changes in top officials and massive purges--meant that political factors rather than merit alone played a major role in the civil service.” The last paragraph has aptly summarized my thinking in this regards. Religious & Cultural Leadership Failures As we can see from the terrorism, religious extremism, and the militancy in some regions of Nigeria, it is clear that the kind of leadership provided by these categories of leaders tend towards anarchy, rather than cohesion. They tend towards separatism rather than federalism. Community leaders are forever inspiring crisis rather than building bridges, and developing their communities. They are tend to self-centredness in their leadership style, and prefer to build or extend their empires rather than preserve the unity of the nation state Nigeria. Religious and sectional leaders show a picture to their followers of Nigeria being a mere geographic expression rather than a nation. Therefore, a large number of Nigerians have not been inclined to patriotic service, or lending their skills and potentials to resolve community or national issues. Instead, many of these become security costs to the government of Nigeria, and the subsequent loss of foreign investments and tourism potentials of the nation. The Failure of Corporate Leadership Looking at the balance sheets of some of Nigeria’s largest corporations, we will find some entities with asset base larger than many state governments…yet they operate within these states. There are profound opportunities for

Ibrahim Babangida

NOVEMBER 2011

Sanni Abacha

TIMELESS

cover feature corporate social responsibility to transform Nigerian communities, yet these corporate leaders would rather exploit the weakness of the public service by providing at a premium, services and products at prohibitive prices. They then tend towards false accounting to reduce taxable income, pay themselves huge salaries, and give next to nothing back to the society. The scandals involving two once respected banking CEOs, and a multinational CEO, where the quest for personal gain was raised to prodigious proportions, are cases in point. The American spirit of charity, seen in the Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, Bill Gates, etc foundations, showed how it was indeed the private sector that built the United States. It was the private sector that sponsored aggressively economic policies which made America the largest economy in world history. It is the private sector that should be in the vanguard of innovation. It is the private sector that creates, helps, funds, the small businesses that employ the largest number of citizens. It is the private sector that compliments government in subsidizing education, healthcare and activities that help youth development. The failure of leadership of the organized private sector, other than spending money and time in exclusive, unprofitable ventures meant for the benefit of less than 1% of 1% of 150million citizens…that must be the greatest failure. Laying Another Foundation

TIMELESS

I will borrow from my previous writing again, and state the following analogy, for how to rebuild our nation for a firmer foundation over the next 50 years. With all respect to our members with Architectural or Building Engineering degrees, and seeking their input if my summation is in error in those lines, I will attempt to use the building of a house as an analogy of our nation in development. A house is a structure that consists of four primary dimensions: • The Foundation •

The Pillars

•

The Walls

•

The Roof.

Each is critical to the full development of the house and they are built in subsequence. That is, the foundation comes first, then the pillars, then the walls and finally the roof. Furthermore some necessary sub-structures come together for the aesthetics of the house to become manifest. Like: Windows, Plumbing, Electricity, Furniture In between all these is an instrument called the “Scaffolding”. Now the following indicate the usefulness of these dimensions to our house of Nigeria. • Our Vision and Values are our

NOVEMBER 2011

Foundations • Our Laws are our Pillars • •

Our Citizenship is our Walls Our Faith is our Roof

The windows, plumbing, electricity, furniture are all the social services and amenities (Programmes) that we require to enjoy the beauty of the building but they do not define the building. The scaffolding is a tool that helps whitewash (brand) the building, but its absence will not affect the integrity of the structure. What has gone wrong in Nigeria is that the four foundational dimensions stated above were never developed in proper order. They were not developed by the competent and certainly were never developed with an eye for the destiny of this nation. We need to move towards finding a new ideology for Nigeria, which encompassed prepared leadership, a commons sense of vision and direction, and a common commitment to make a great nation out of our peoples. This may not happen left solely in the hands of the political class, or the civil service, or the religious or sectional leaders, or the business leaders…it’s a job that required us all coming together, from Town Hall Meetings, to a National Conference. It’s the reasonable thing to begin to contemplate. George H. Ashiru is the Convener, Nigeria: Town Hall Meetings Project

events

Samaritan’s Feet Nigeria launches Shoes of Hope Initiative

amaritan’s Feet Nigeria was founded in January 2010 for the purpose of improving the lives and future of the vulnerable children of Nigeria by providing them with protective footwear, empowering them to succeed and promoting peace throughout all peoples. Samaritan’s Feet Nigeria is a recognized corporate division of Samaritan’s Feet International (SFI), a U.S. Based non-profit organization founded by Nigerian born Emmanuel Ohonme and his wife Tracie. SFI was founded for the purpose of sharing hope with the underprivileged and hurting peoples of the world by washing their feet, giving them a new pair of shoes, and empowering them to believe that their biggest dreams can come true. Samaritan’s Feet has facilitated shoe distributions and foot washing programs in more than 40 countries throughout the world. These distributions have ensured that more than 3,000,000 million people would have the footwear they need for protection, work, and school.

The people of Samaritan’s Feet believe that shoes are so much more than status symbols and fashion accessories. A new pair of shoes can be a real and tangible symbol of hope to a person in need. Their Shoes of Hope distributions are designed to both meet physical needs and inspire young people to believe in the value of opportunity and service of others. SFI passionate about equipping those in need and believe in the great value of all souls, and equal treatment of all peoples no matter their background or economic status. Amongst their objectives in Nigeria is to increase the number of children in Nigeria protected from foot borne and soil-transmitted diseases by distributing proper footwear to 100,000 Nigerians and to empower and train Nigerians to implement the Samaritan’s Feet foot washing methodology and shoe distributions as a means of promoting peace and reconciliation for all peoples. They will also enlist the volunteer services of U.S. based professionals and humanitarian aid workers to facilitate Samaritan’s Feet Nigeria programs, provide specialized training, and promote cross-cultural learning and goodwill among nations.

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

events

Honour NIGERIA Awards

s part of its activities to commemorate Nigeria’s 51st independence celebrations, Trinity House, a non-denominational, free flow Christian worship centre established in 2010 and powered with a vision to build leaders, professionals and leaders to be, held the first in its series of Honours Awards, a day set aside to honour outstanding Nigerians of high integrity who have exemplified themselves in different areas of Nigeria’s national life. The objective of the Honours Awards is to recognize those who have contributed to Nigeria’s national development and acknowledge them as role models for this present and future generation. The awards were given in the areas of leadership, professionalism, industry, and philanthropy and was awarded this year to General T.Y. Danjuma for Philanthropy; Chief Chris Ogunbanjo for Industry; Mr. Akintola Williams for Professionalism; Chief Emeka Anyaoku for Leadership, and Mr. Kenneth Kaunda for the Africa Prize. The award ceremony took place during the church’s special Independence celebration service on Sunday 2nd October 2011.

TIMELESS

NOVEMBER 2011

events Africa Centre for Theological Studies and Guiding Light Assembly hold lecture

lecture titled “Political Islam in a Globalized World: What’s at Stake for Christians” held recently at Guiding Light Assembly in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, in collaboration with the Africa Centre for Theological Studies (ACTS), a school of the International Leadership University, Nairobi, Kenya. It was delivered by Ziya Meral, a London-based Turkish analyst, writer and PhD candidate in Politics at the University of Cambridge. Mr. Meral is a Research Associate at the Foreign Policy Centre and the Chairman of the Advisory Council of Lapido Media. He has delivered talks and lectures in academic institutions and conferences and also spoken at briefings and consultancies at the UK House of Commons and House of Lords and before the US Congress. He is regularly called upon to brief UK, US, EU and UN officials. He has commented widely on the Middle East and Islamic issues in the international media. The seminar was held against the backdrop of the introduction of Shariah law in most Northern states of Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency, and the recent CBN’s plan for Islamic banking in Nigeria. Ziya Meral presented an overview of the emergence and development of political Islam, its evolution and current status with the changes in the Middle East and Africa.

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

Life & Society FAmily

relationships

Health

education

Yemi Sanusi

The Last Mosquito

science

TRAVELS

Life & Society

ikki looked away from the window. She had been awake most of the night and now she couldn’t keep from yawning. The cause of her staying up late the previous night kept coming back to mind. Her little niece, Sunky, had been unable to sleep because of the mosquitoes in her room. She had come over to Kikki’s room following the late hour spray of insecticide. It had taken a while to get Sunky to settle down in Kikki’s room. Even when she finally did, it was obvious she was in no mood to sleep. Kikki yawned again; so much for the mosquitoes that had kicked Sunky out of her room and subsequently prevented Sunky from sleeping. A quote by Betty Reese came to mind: “If you think you’re too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” Kikki smiled. It appeared Sunky had been waiting for just the right moment to upturn her hat of questions.

TIMELESS

She asked so many questions, the little bother! understood Sunky’s inquisitiveness and decided The latest: ‘Why do mosquitoes bite humans to make ample allowance for it. and why couldn’t they be killed all at once?’ She recalled coming across the Chinese “As small as mosquitoes are, they really do make Chairman Mao’s quote of a single death being a huge impact on society,” Kikki contemplated a tragedy but a million deaths— well, just a aloud. “It’s strange how they consume all that statistic. Yes, a despot would know. She pulled out pen and paper. As she pondered what just we have: funds, time, and emotions.” one mosquito could do she began to write, Her lame answers still embarrassed her-- starting with a sketch. She was impressed but especially the one she had for Sunky’s loaded knew the diagram was far from conclusive. But poser about what to do with “the world’s last it made clearer the picture of the humongous mosquito”. She had started to say that would havoc being wreaked by the little, pesky pest. have to be the last malarous mosquito. “Not all mosquitoes are bad guys – or girls, you ‘A child dies from malaria every 45 seconds’* know” she had added and Sunky had joined her was the latest statistic she had come to know. laughter at the joke. But now she wondered if She pulled out a calculator. That’s 691,200 that wasn’t really possible—or even desirable. children in one year! She shook her head in disbelief. That’s some small country’s entire The last mosquito on earth: kill it or leave it? population being wiped out! She had really only been trying to be patient with the 12 year-old until she talked about the On her laptop she Googled search terms and, boy in her school who, she had finally blurted with a few clicks of the mouse, saw what she out, died from malaria. It was then that she was looking for: L. Patricia Kite’s Insect Facts

NOVEMBER 2011

Life & Society recovered from the last case of smallpox on the Asian continent. And how she wished the boy in Sunky’s school who died from malaria had turned out like the young man in Somalia who, in 1977, became the last smallpox survivor in the world. The World Health Organisation, WHO, would two years after claim worldwide victory over that scourge. But one question had remained, and for many years: To keep or not to keep the last smallpox virus in the world?

and Folklore. “One scientist tried to figure out how many mosquitoes would be produced from one female with a month-long life span. If this female lays about ten egg batches with two hundred eggs in each batch, and each of the young begins producing its own egg batches at two weeks, in five generations, if all the mosquitoes survived, there would be 20 million mosquitoes that originated from just the one original female.” Her calculations would have to be based on a number of assumptions. Assuming the 20 million mosquitoes produced for the month by the one original female were 50% female and 50% male, there would be 10 million female Anopheles mosquitoes in need of human blood to reproduce. Further, assuming there are 1 billion Africans on the continent during the month, the following could hold:

1,000,000,000 Africans/57,600 children dead = 17,361 Africans: 1 child So, out of 17, 361 Africans, one child dies from malaria in one month. Now she knew there was nothing negligible about killing one mosquito. Even if it means making it my business to kill one a day, for the next 50 years! Quickly, she calculated what that half-century effort would yield: 1 x 365 x 50 = 18,250 mosquitoes. Not bad. But she knew she could do better. And so can others… If each person actually made it his duty to kill a mosquito a day; or better, fumigate entire areas, say once in 3 months; or mobilise his community to locate mosquito hideouts...

1,000,000,000 Africans/10,000,000 mosquitoes = 100 Africans: 1 mosquito

It was time for her to act, one mosquito at a time. Hopefully, the eradication trend that started with smallpox and was now onto almost complete success with poliomyelitis would eventually take on malaria.

So, kill one mosquito and 100 Africans are probable to be safe in one month.

She had been reminded of Sunky when she read about the Bangladeshi girl who, in 1975,

She wasn’t sure which way she would have voted were she to be on the executive board of WHO which, in 2002, finally voted against the motion, “so that scientists can continue research on the virus”. Well, there goes another problem. But right now all she wanted was to ask someone: When will it be the turn of malaria? And mosquitoes! OK, malarous mosquitoes only. Suddenly, she blurted out, “No—all of them! When they don’t give you malaria, they take sleep away from you!” Wasn’t the latter why she was yawning far into the night hour, contemplating their – actually, her – fate? She would try to do her bit, really try to fight the malaria war. And she knew that her best ally in the fight would be none other than Sunky. Yemi Sanusi is a medical doctor with an MBA from Lagos Business School. She is the author of Heads and Tales, a medical fiction. *Current figures from WHO show that in Africa a child dies every 45 seconds of malaria, a disease which accounts for 20% of all childhood deaths. http://www.who.int/ mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

Life & Society

Malaria Vaccine in Sight? Scientist celebrates success after 24 years As he looks back at the vaccine’s long, slow development, the bearded 68-year-old molecular biologist laughs at how naive he was when he first agreed to take on the task. It was April 1, 1987 when his boss at the drug company, then called Smith, Kline & French, asked him to be head of the malaria vaccine research program, just after an early-stage experimental vaccine and failed a test. “Unfortunately, it was not a great success. Only one volunteer out of the several that were vaccinated was actually protected. So, after quite a bit of optimism, there was then quite a bit of soul searching,” Cohen said.

or Joe Cohen, a GlaxoSmithKline research scientist who has spent 24 years trying to create the world’s first malaria vaccine, Tuesday, October 18, 2011 goes down as a fabulous day. “There were many ups and downs, and moments over the years when we thought ‘Can we do it? Should we continue? Or is it really just too tough?,” he told Reuters, as data showing the success of his RTS,S vaccine were unveiled at an international conference on malaria. “But today I feel fabulous. This is a dream of any scientist -- to see your life’s work actually translated into a medicine ... that can have this great impact on peoples’ lives. How lucky am I?” Final stage clinical trial data on RTS,S, also known as Mosquirix, showed it halved the risk of African children getting malaria, making it likely to become the world’s first successful vaccine against the deadly disease. While scientists say it is no “silver bullet” and will not end the mosquito-borne infection on its own, it is being hailed as a crucial weapon in the fight against malaria and one that could speed the path to eventual worldwide eradication. 18

TIMELESS

Malaria is caused by a parasite carried in the saliva of mosquitoes. It kills more than 780,000 people per year, most of them babies or very young children in Africa. Cohen’s vaccine goes to work at the point when the parasite enters the human bloodstream after a mosquito bite. By stimulating an immune response, it can prevent the parasite from maturing and multiplying in the liver. Without that immune response, the parasite re-enters the bloodstream and infects red blood cells, leading to fever, body aches and, in some cases, death. Although Cohen’s scientific work has been largely in Belgium, where he runs a GSK laboratory, the final-stage trials of RTS,S were conducted in Africa, where malaria hits hardest. With GSK working in partnership with the nonprofit PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), the trials became Africa’s largest-ever medical experiment as the vaccine was tested in around 16,000 children across seven countries. Cohen said that if all goes to plan, RTS,S could be licensed and rolled out by 2015.

NOVEMBER 2011

“I did not actually know much about malaria, apart from about the enormous medical burden it represented. But I felt I was taking on an enormous scientific challenge, and that was exciting for a relatively young scientist.” Having come from academia and postdoctorate studies into what he said were “sometimes esoteric questions” of molecular biology, he was also attracted by the prospect of doing something “very meaningful” in terms of global health. Getting on for a quarter of a century later, Cohen said he had “never dreamed it would take this long.” He was also careful to underline that this was a first step, as well as a world first. GSK, MVI and several other research groups and drug firms are already working on next generation vaccines and on other ways of making malaria shots they hope will better the roughly 50 percent success rate of RTS,S. “The work is not over, that is for sure,” Cohen said. By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent Reuters

Living & St yle FASHION

BEAUTY

FOOD

HOMECARE

GADGETS

Adeola Adegboyega

Growing Your Hair

CARS

LEISURE

Living & Style

am not ashamed of my hair, I am not particularly proud of it either. It has gone through a lot, its being pressed, flat-ironed, chemically enhanced then damaged. I watched in horror as it began to frizz and thin out. Combing through and watching strands fall out broke my heart every time. I realize that when I take out my weave, my scalp is dirty and my hair is dry. The truth is that black hair goes through the same growth cycles as any other human hair. The unique internal structure of black hair makes it more fragile than Caucasian hair. Because black hair is often extremely curly, scalp oils and hair follicles are unable to move readily down the hair shaft, which may make it dry. If you suffer from excessive dryness like me, you may want to explore the conditioning possibility. Once a month, I deep conditioned my hair using a protein conditioner and a moisturizing conditioner. A protein condition or an egg should be applied first and allowed to remain in your hair for the recommended time. After the protein conditioner is rinsed from hair, a moisturizing conditioner should be applied and allowed to stay in for between five and ten minutes. The protein conditioner helps strengthen hair and the moisturizing conditioner seals in moisture, keeping hair soft and pliable, preventing breakage or split-ends, and allowing for healthy hair growth. Consider applying a light oil moisturizer after a waterbased moisturizer to seal in moisture in the hair shaft and keep your hair healthy and strong throughout the day, allowing it to grow faster and longer, naturally. When it comes to relaxing your hair, remember that the harsh chemicals used in most hair relaxers can dry out hair and leave it damaged and brittle. Hair relaxers should never be used more often than once a month. It is important not to try to get totally straight hair; hair should be left with some wave. This is because completely straightened hair has no natural elasticity and is easily damaged, leading to breakage, split-ends and hair that is essentially dead. Flat irons or other heat strengtheners may be used instead of chemical relaxers, but it is important not to scorch hair, which leaves it brittle. For fine/delicate hair like mine, you may want to relax less often. (I do mine four times a year!)

TIMELESS

Personally, I think braids, weaves and extension help grow your hair if they are done right. The glue used to attach certain types of braids and extensions can also cause damage, depending on the stress it puts on the hair strands as well as the chemicals used in the glue. Additionally, many women neglect their scalp and natural hair while wearing a weave or braids. If you want to grow your hair whilst wearing an extension/weave, you could try plaits braids (which are also called individual braids) twists, knots and cornrows. Cornrows that are extensions should only remain in your hair for 2 weeks at a time because these braids become severely matted if left in longer. The size of the braid also matters. To grow your hair with less difficulty, create braids no smaller than a pencil. This medium sized braid would be easier to take out. Those with finer/delicate hair should wear cornrows or use the wig regimen. Parts for braid extensions should be a half inch to an inch. People with finer delicate hair should make parts around the hair line smaller so that their will be no tension. The extended hair should be attached securely to the scalp; not tightly pulled up from the scalp. Avoid excessive products near the base of the scalp; it could get dirty and itchy. Spray braid spray on your scalp once a week, however, spray the braid spray on your braids as often as necessary. Black hair can be grown long with proper, natural care and maintenance. Keratin hair treatments may provide a better alternative than chemical relaxers and certain hair treatments and vitamins can help strengthen hair when used properly. Plenty of conditioning and limited use of hair brushes and heated

NOVEMBER 2011

strengtheners will help to avoid breakage and split-ends and keep your hair healthy and beautiful. I have found that these technique(s) however tiresome are totally worth it. Nothing trumps the feel of lengthy, silky, healthy hair. In conclusion, remember that a healthy, balanced diet, regular exercise, and plenty of the best vitamins for hair growth will also help you grow black hair long and fast. So the next time you pass by the apple stalls, buy some!

Adeola, a former Editorial Assistant with TIMELESS is a freelance writer and blogger who writes about beauty, food recipes, fashion, leisure, home care, relationships, health and well being for various publications. She earned a Bachelors degree of Science from the University of Lagos and is presently undergoing a Postgraduate Course in Journalism. She is a fashionista at heart, huge Broadway and Bollywood fan, enthused about the fun things in life and a sucker for shoes! She loves singing and acting but her love for writing trumps all other hobbies.

Living & Style

Tecno

– another disruptor in the mobile phone industry? Since its introduction to Nigeria four years ago, Tecno products have suddenly become a household name in Nigeria. With the seeming propensity for Nigerian phone users to have more than one mobile line, the company’s phones with their double SIM capacities, which span a wide range from functional to TV to camera and smart phones come in handy especially for the middle range market. In order to provide a large quantity of high quality mobile phones to different consumer groups at reasonable prices, Tecno Telecom has invested a lot in deeply understanding the consumer behaviours as well as user habits in Nigeria. With its six series of handsets, Tecno is able to cover the market with all levels of spending capabilities. Tecno products are not only well-accepted in Nigeria but also in many countries of Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia and Latin America. With their strong presence in Lagos, most of Tecno’s phones come with a year long warranty. Tecno phones come with numerous great features at unbelievable prices. The phones’ batteries like a consumer described are on steroids – battery life is incredible and unbeatable. Below are features of some of its more popular products:

HD51 High Definition screen with IPS Technology Dual SIM Dual Standby Social Media Capability Internet Modem Supports Web Camera

T20 Dual SIM Dual Standby E-Book Reader 3GP, MP4 1.3MP

Trinity Tri-SIM Standby E-Book Reader Qwerty Keypad Social Media Browser Support

T2 Touch Screen Dual Sim Dual Standby 3.0MP Camera with Flash Social Media Capability Internet Modem PC Camera

T280 Dual SIM Dual Standby Bluetooth Video Recorder Voice Recorder Connectivity Bluetooth2.0

TV50 Dual SIM Dual Standby WAP2.0/GPRS Class 12 Social Media Qwerty Keypad Internet Modem Supports Web Camera

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

Business FINANCE

MANAGEMENT

TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

TRADE

MARKETING

“Remembering that I will be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death leaving only what is truly important” - Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs His Life and the Lessons He Taught Us

Business Described as lacking direction in his youthful days, Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah “John” Jandali, two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave their unnamed son up for adoption. It was not until Jobs was 27 that he was able to uncover information on his biological parents. Steve was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs and named Steven Paul Jobs. Steven P. Jobs, shown in this 1993 photo, became a billionaire Wednesday, Nov. 29, 1995, when a small digital studio he bought nine years ago went public to a storm of investor demand.

Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation’s new Macintosh February 6, 1984 in California. Jobs is a businessman and entrepreneur, who designed, built and introduced the Apple computer, a user-friendly alternative to IBM’s personal computer with Steve Wozniak in 1976.

U2’s Bono, right, and The Edge, left, hugging Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Inc., center, during an event in San Jose, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004.

After enrolling in high school, Jobs spent his free time at Hewlett-Packard where he met and befriended computer club guru Steve Wozniak with whom he will later found Apple. After high school, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. He dropped out of college after six months and spent the next 18 months dropping in on creative classes. In 1974, Jobs took a position as a video game designer with Atari leaving several months later and travelling to India on what he called a spiritual exercise. In 1976, when Jobs was just 21, he and Wozniak started Apple Computers. The duo started in the Jobs family garage, and funded their entrepreneurial venture after Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak sold his beloved scientific calculator, both realising a sum of $1,300. Jobs and Wozniak are credited with revolutionizing the computer industry by democratizing the technology and making the machines smaller, cheaper, intuitive, and accessible to everyday consumers. The two conceived a series of userfriendly personal computers. In 1980, Apple Computer became a publically traded company with a market value of $1.2 billion on the very first day of trading. Jobs looked to marketing expert John Scully of Pepsi-Cola to help fill the role of Apple’s President in 1983. Two years later, Jobs was ousted in a boardroom coup by Scully. Jobs then founded NeXT, a new hardware and software company, which floundered and never made a profit for several years.

Apple co-founder and interm CEO Steve Jobs holds the new apple I-Mac, May 18, 1998 in California.

TIMELESS

NOVEMBER 2011

In 1986, Jobs purchased an animation

company from filmmaker George Lucas, which later became Pixar Animation Studios. Believing in Pixar’s potential, Jobs initially invested $50 million of his own money into the company. Pixar Studios went on to produce wildly popular animation films such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Pixar’s films have netted $4 billion since inception. The studio merged with Walt Disney in 2006, making Steve Jobs Disney’s largest shareholder. Apple eventually bought NeXT in 1997 and Jobs returned to his post as Apple’s CEO. With a new management team, altered stock options, and a self-imposed annual salary of $1 a year, Jobs put Apple back on track. His ingenious products such as the iMac, effective branding campaigns, and stylish designs caught the attention of consumers once again. Jobs discovered he had pancreatic cancer in 2003 and had a successful surgery in 2004. Early in 2009, reports circulated that his health issues had returned after pictures showed him at events looking gaunt. He went out of the spotlight for almost a year and announced he was going on medical leave in early 2011. On October 5, 2011, Apple Inc. announced that co-founder Steve Jobs had died. He was 56 years old at the time of his death. Apple introduced such revolutionary products as the Macbook Air, iPod, iPhone, and iPad all of which have dictated the evolution of modern technology. Almost immediately after Apple releases a new product, competitors scramble to produce comparable technologies. Today, Apple is rated No. 1 in America’s Most Admired Companies, and No. 1 amongst Fortune 500 companies for returns to shareholders and No. 35 on the 2011 Fortune 500 list.

Business

Ten Things Steve Jobs Taught Us In the wake of his death last month, several people and media came up with print articles and online posts about business lessons from Steve Jobs. Below are ten of our favourites.

be seen in the industrial design of Apple’s products and services, simplicity of the user interface and its approachability to consumers that have never used an Apple device.

1. Be innovative. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”, he said. The former Apple CEO worked at marrying art and science to bring about technological innovation.

7. Do one thing extraordinarily well, and don’t apologize for it. Jobs understood that Apple can’t be all things to all people. His goal was to lead a team that merges cutting-edge technology and exquisite design to create products that delight. He knew that Apple will never attain the market share of other computer companies, but that didn’t phase him. He’d rather influence the industry.

2. Have both foresight and confidence. He did not get “too caught up” in corporate bureaucracy when making decisions. It was always an intuitive decision - Jobs knew what consumers wanted even if “data told him otherwise”. 3. Get involved with your organization. Jobs believed in getting involved in every facet of his organization, a unique personality different from many other CEOs. This enabled him to have a highly hands-on knowledge of what exactly was happening in the company. 4. Don’t fear failure, define success yourself. Jobs did not allow success or failure to be determined by others’ yardsticks. People used to view Apple as a failed company because it never beat Microsoft at market share in the PC market, but Apple has beaten all other PC manufacturers on profits. Jobs had been “forced out” of Apple in the mid-1980s but instead of retiring, he opted to found another computer company NeXT. 5. Passion takes you far. Jobs was passionate about Apple and the products it delivered to the market. This passion drove a work ethic that made everyone at Apple labour “extremely hard” to get their products and services “as close to perfect” as they could. 6. Pay attention to details. Jobs was known to have an incredible eye for detail and that is evident in how the Apple marketing is defined. The CEO attention to detail can

8. Aesthetics matter. From its earliest days, Apple was noted for its design. Back in the 1980s, that was not recognized as the competitive advantage it is today. Detail matters, and a design style communicates a powerful silent message about everything you do. 9. Ride the wave. It was clear that Jobs understood generational consumer patterns. After years of trying to sell Macs to various audiences, it was the iPod and its appeal to younger customers that drove the sale of Macs. Once teenagers had experienced the design and engineering of an Apple music device, they migrated to more complex and expensive laptops. And once they became customers (and grew older, with more discretionary income), they were more likely to continue buying other Apple products. 10. Leverage the unexpected. Four years ago, the Apple store for iPhone apps didn’t exist. Last year Jobs announced that the company had written the equivalent of a $1 billion check to developers for their share of app sales. Jobs understood that devices -- whether the iPhone, the iPad, or others to come -- hold potential that no one can see from today’s vantage point. What’s required is a nimbleness to respond to market changes and to maximize unexpected opportunities.

April 24, 1984, Steve Jobs, chairman of Apple Computers, John Sculley, president and CEO, and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, unveil the new Apple IIc computer in San Francisco.

A young Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (right) looks out onto the crowd while sitting next to Steve Jobs, his counterpart at Apple, answers a question during an interview, New York, 1984.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs stands in front of a photo of himself, right, and Steve Wozniak, left, during an Apple event in San Francisco.

Apple Steve Jobs introduces the new iPhone at Apple’s MacWorld in San Francisco.

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

Business

Peter Drucker’s Thoughts on Leadership What needs to be done? Successful leaders don’t start out asking, “What do I want to do?” They ask, “What needs to be done?” Then they ask, “Of those things that would make a difference, which are right for me?” They don’t tackle things they aren’t good at. They make sure other necessities get done, but not by them. Successful leaders make sure that they succeed! They are not afraid of strength in others. Check Your Performance Effective leaders check their performance. They write down, “What do I hope to achieve if I take on this assignment?” They put away their goals for six months and then come back and check their performance against goals. This way, they find out what they do well and what they do poorly. They also find out whether they picked the truly important things to do. I’ve seen a great many people who are exceedingly good at execution, but exceedingly poor at picking the important things. They are magnificent at getting the unimportant things done. They have an impressive record of achievement on trivial matters. Mission Driven Leaders communicate in the sense that people around them know what they are trying to do. They are purpose driven--yes, mission driven. They also know how to say no. The pressure on leaders to do 984 different things is unbearable, so the effective ones learn how to say no and stick with it. They don’t suffocate themselves as a result. Too many leaders try to do a little bit of 25 things and get nothing done. They are very popular because they always say yes. But they get nothing done. Creative Abandonment A critical question for leaders is, “When do you stop pouring resources into things that have achieved their purpose?” The most dangerous traps for a leader are those near-successes where everybody says that if you just give it another big push it will go over the top. One tries it once. One tries it twice. One tries it a third time. But, by then it should be obvious this will be very hard to do. How To Lead a 21st Century Organisation

TIMELESS

Don’t travel so much. Organise your travel. It is important that you see people and that you are seen by people maybe once or twice a year. Otherwise, don’t travel. Make them come to see you. Use technology-it is cheaper than travelling. I don’t know anybody who can work while travelling. Do you? The second thing to say is make sure that your subsidiaries and foreign offices take up the responsibility to keep you informed. So, ask them twice a year, “What activities do you need to report to me?” Also ask them, “What about my activity and my plans do you need to know from me?” The second question is just as important. Prisoner of Your Own Organisation When you are the chief executive, you’re the prisoner of your organisation. The moment you’re in the office, everybody comes to you and wants something, and it is useless to lock the door. They’ll break in. So, you have to get outside the office. But still, that isn’t travelling. That’s being at home or having a secret office elsewhere. When you’re alone, in your secret office, ask the question, “What needs to be done?” Develop your priorities and don’t have more than two. I don’t know anybody who can do three things at the same time and do them well. Do one task at a time or two tasks at a time. That’s it. OK, two works better for most. Most people need the change of pace. But, when you are finished with two jobs or reach the point where it’s futile, make the list again. Don’t go back to priority three. At that point, it’s obsolete. How Organisations Fall Down Make sure the people with whom you work understand your priorities. Where organisations fall down is when they have to guess at what the boss is working at, and they invariably guess wrong. So the CEO needs to say, “This is what I am focusing on.” Then the CEO needs to ask of his associates, “What are you focusing on?” Ask your associates, “You put this on top of your priority list--why?” So, make sure that you understand your associates’ priorities and make sure that after you have that conversation, you sit down and drop them a two-page note--”This is what I think we discussed. This is what I think

NOVEMBER 2011

we decided. This is what I think you committed yourself to within what time frame.” Finally, ask them, “What do you expect from me as you seek to achieve your goals?” The Transition from Entrepreneur to Large Company CEO Again, let’s start out discussing what not to do. Don’t try to be somebody else. By now you have your style. This is how you get things done. Don’t take on things you don’t believe in and that you yourself are not good at. Learn to say no. Effective leaders match the objective needs of their company with the subjective competencies. As a result, they get an enormous amount of things done fast. The Danger of Charisma There is too much talk, too much emphasis on leadership today and not enough on effectiveness. The only thing you can say about a leader is that a leader is somebody who has followers. The most charismatic leaders of the last century were called Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Mussolini. Charismatic leadership by itself certainly is greatly overstated. Look, one of the most effective American presidents of the last 100 years was Harry Truman. He didn’t have an ounce of charisma. Truman was as bland as a dead mackerel. Everybody who worked for him worshiped him because he was absolutely trustworthy. If Truman said no, it was no, and if he said yes, it was yes. The other effective president of the last 100 years was Ronald Reagan. His great strength was not charisma, as is commonly thought, but that he knew exactly what he could do and what he could not do. Character Development Character is not developed by developing people’s strength and giving them experiences. Character is developed inside and not outside.

Course/Workshop Titles 1. Active Participatory Teaching and Learning 2. Effective Classroom Management 3. Reading & Phonics Workshop 4. Intentional Teaching: Choosing the Best Strategies for promoting Young Children’s Learning 5. Teacher Effectiveness 6. Conflict Resolution: Understanding, Prevention, and Conflict Resolution with Students. 7. Coaches, Crusaders, Mother Hens, Innovators, Movers, and Shakers – Building Teams That Work Effectively. 8. Open Communication and Levelling: Interaction strategies that encourage Active learning. 9. Leading &Managing a Learning Organisation 10. Poise & Etiquette Skills

11. Monitoring, Evaluation and Review: Are we doing what we say we are doing? 12. Curriculum Development and Practice 13. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle: Introduction to the High/Scope Infant -Toddler Program: 14. Supporting Quality Early Years Education - Introduction to the High/Scope Approach 15. Numbers Plus: A Comprehensive Preschool Mathematics Curriculum Workshop 16. Supporting Early Literacy With the Message Board. 17. Real Science in Preschool 18. Effective Use of Time 19. Interpersonal & Communication Skills 20. Scaffolding Children’s Learning at Small Group Time

Mrs. Oyindamola Sonola, the CEO of SOAMS is an experienced and qualified education consultant trainer with 25 years of teaching, consulting and administrative experience. She has featured prominently at various training workshops organized by worldwide renowned organisations such as UNICEF and OMEP. She has also associated with high profile Nigerian seminars like the World Bank sponsored Lagos State Eko Project and training workshops organised by Alpha Learning. She is the first qualified and endorsed High/Scope trainer in Nigeria. She has a Master of Education degree in Guidance and Counselling.

Parents and Jobs - Five Lessons from His 2005 Stanford Commencement Address The commencement address Steve Jobs (the former CEO of Apple and Pixar animation) gave on the 12th of June 2005 at Stanford University remains particularly poignant given his recent death and rings especially true at this time. Going through the speech there are different lessons in it for parents. Below are excerpts and lessons. Sometimes we have what we want for our children but they are people and at later stages, adults. The best we can do is guide them in the direction they need to go afterwards it is all up to them Steve: “My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college. And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms Parents are sacrificial. Typically parents want the best for their children. Parenting almost always involves sacrifice

be it time or money or something else. It will involve giving up something for your child to have something else. Steve: “.....And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition....... And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life....”

fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them...”

Let your child do what he loves… Don’t make your child settle. Not even to please you. Steve: “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.

Let your children know how much you love them. One day you will have run out of time Steve: “...When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumour on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes”

No knowledge is wasted keep your child busy. Let your child learn different skills. You never know what will come useful or when it will. Steve: “...And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it

The full speech is available at http://news.stanford.edu/ news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

Tayo Olarewaju is the Director of Delightsome Land School, a nursery and primary school in Victoria Island Lagos. She studied Accounting, Educational Leadership and Management. She is passionate about children, enjoys reading and writing and is learning to stay away from chocolate biscuits. She is married with 3 stars and a dog named scratch. If you would like to be a part of the all stars team send your name, date of birth and phone number to 08033527272 or email it to allstars@delightsomeland.org

TIMELESS

NOVEMBER 2011

PreSchooler activities for Preschool Children from Age 2-5 1

Name Draw a line to match the crowns that are the same.

VICTORIA TANDOH

Name

Count and circle the number of pictures in each box.

0 1 2

6 7 8

4 5 6

3 4 5

8 9 10

PreschoolPalace.org

Growing Things

Cut and Stick

Even if you only have a small space there are lots of things you can grow, indoors or outside. For example: (1) sprinkle some bean seeds onto a dump kitchen paper in clean plastic. Keep damp and in a few days the seed should sprout

Cutting and sticking can keep your preschooler busy for some time. They need paper, scissors (plastic or round edged ones), a glue stick, a brush and some magazines, catalogues or gift wraps for cutting or tearing up.

Encourage your child to tear or cut out any pictures or (2) put cut-off carrot tops with their flat edge down in shapes they want to use and stick them down on paper. a saucer of water. After a few days they will start to grow Let them do as much as they can themselves as this shoots and leaves. Remember to keep the saucer topped activity is good for developing their fine motor skills. up with water. You could suggest a theme such as animals at the zoo, Children at this stage are usually keen to learn how to or toys in a toyshop, but they may prefer just to have free rein. care for plants. Cut and stick can combine well with painting. Your child could paint a green grassy background for example, and stick flowers and animals on it when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dry. NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

Is Your Child Having Reading Difficulties? Helping a child learn to read, is a gift that will last a lifetime. We provide phonics, reading, writing, speaking and vocabulary related programmes and activities for children ages 4-8. We also organise seminars and workshops for parents and teachers.

Soft Skills Training Solutions, HR & School Consultancy (A Service Brand of Verdure Consults Limited)

Please call (234) 7070210116, (234) 8034559663, (234) 8023194296 for a free consultation

Life’s Lessons – Children A Book by Tayo Olarewaju

“You want a better world? How do you eat an elephant? A bite at a time. How do you change the world? A child at a time."

N1, 500

Children’s minds are almost like blank sheets waiting to be written on. They come to us incredibly unique. Each one of them smart in their different ways. Waiting to learn from the adults and the world around them. This book helps you to search for, find and ignite the light within the children you are surrounded by, yours and others.

Available at The Hub, The Palms and other major leading bookstores in Lagos Please call 08191774810-6 for further details/enquiries

Dabar

Insights for Christian Living

Rahab

– From Rejection into Rejoicing By George H. Ashiru

he oily tan on her withering façade had seen many a harsh solar storm. Deep olive green eyes freckled with hints of cataract penetrated into the oblivion ahead. Her small aquiline nose hooded over her small sculptured lips – ruptured by the dry weather of Abib. Long gossamer black tresses, even to her waistline, caped around her delicate shoulders, with strips of gray forming crinkles at the frayed ends. She was once ornamentally beautiful. The woolen robes embroidered with scarlet silk barely kept the cold away as she sat atop the bales of flax on her rooftop. The snow on the mountains had melted into the Jordan and she could smell the waft of the petals as they sprung forth in Nisan. Jericho, the beautiful fragranced abode of the heritage of Canaan, in the shadow of palm groves, beset by the Fountain of Elisha. A fortress, walled with intricate patterns of Asphalt and the mud of the banks of the River Jordan. She looked forlornly, beyond the walls, beyond the sleeping sentry, beyond the massive gates, to a vision of salvation... To her dreams, of the march of the army of Shem’s God. She saw a king, a lion, a throne, a crown, and one who even like the son of man. But she had known no other God, but Baal and Tamuze, and Asherah…but this Son of Man…is perhaps truly a god? The streaking winds and the dimming sunset soon penetrated her bones. She gathered her robes again and stood atop the produce of the barley harvests, the stalks of flax and the silken ropes she had spun, dipped in scarlet oils. She would sell them to strangers from the Nile, even from Gaza and the Chaldees. Perhaps there was one already in her chambers. She closed her eyes and prayed…”Oh God of creation and of all mankind, whose mercies endure forever. I beseech thee; let my hour of salvation draw nigh”. As mists gathered in her eyes again, frozen tears, delicate pain, heaving bosoms…the painful

memories wracked her body. She, the Queen’s Chambermaid, and the Prince’s love interests. The delight of the royal household, on account of her ethereal beauty. Sought after by the mighty, princes, rulers, and men of valour…the King’s generals. But to the chief of the princes she did give her heart. Until one night, when the drunken brother of the chief prince besought her…and violated her. And the King…banished her to the soldier’s quarters at the Inn of Rejection, where strangers and travelers dwelt until the morn. There they banished her, and named her Rahab, rejected, forsaken, proud and insolent. She opened her eyes, and looked down. The line of merchants and had thinned out. Many would drink to a stupour and pass out on the earthen floor. Some would make for her private quarters, with shekels and Dinaris, with silver and gold. But in the silhouette of the night she beheld two men of a different countenance. Their hair was curly dark brown. Their hands as men of great labour, their robes from Goshen and the sandals from Egypt…these were Shem’s seed… Hebrews. She hurried down to the Inn, pulling her robes together…by a silken scarlet rope. The Inn was boisterous. Down the steps she could see the Hebrews. She beckoned to them, to come to her upper chambers, to her quarters. They made towards her. “Hey, where are you going?” A drunken merchant made to block the Hebrews approach. “I was here before you. Been waiting for Rahab” Rahab went further down, and kicked the

amorous merchant out of the way, and pulled the two men into her room. All the men laughed. “It’s two men tonight eh? Rahab? One said. And there was more laughter. The humiliated merchant made out of the Inn, and told the Chief Sentry of the Hebrews. And they went to see the King, for no one had right over her, being a former chambermaid in the palace. Rahab inspected the two men.

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

Dabar “You are Hebrews?” They nodded “How is it you have ventured here at peril to your lives? “Jehovah Nissi is able to protect us” “Aah. Is that the name of Abraham’s God, by whom the wicked are terrified?” And she besought them to tell her a about the God of Shem. The King was beside himself in fury. “That prideful and insolent woman. Are not all the soldiers of Jericho and the strangers of the nations enough for her? Has she now become confederate with the Hebrews of whom we have no armour against their God?” And he sent them to her with authority to bring the strangers to the palace, but not Rahab, for she was banished from his sight.

Rahab retreated indoors and barricaded her doors and sneaked onto the roof of her house, where the Hebrews were hid beneath the stalks of flax. She brought them to her room and motioned to her open windows. She untied the silken scarlet rope around her waist and tied one end to the bedpost near the window. Then she said, “By vision, I know that God has given you Jericho and we are sore afraid of you and everyone in this land trembles because of you. We have heard of the might miracles wrought on your behalf and how your God did dry up waters for your escape and how two kingdoms were utterly destroyed by your soldiers. As soon as we heard these, our courage failed us and we have known these things.”

At the Inn, Rahab opened her windows, which were made out of the walls, that the cool air may begin to oscillate and her incense may wear out. The Hebrew men and slept on her earthen floor, till daybreak. But she could not sleep. The words she had heard were life itself. Her visions had come to visit her. The God of Shem did hear her prayers after all. The Son of Man did not merely live in the heavens, but He had servants on earth to do His will. Did not these men bring words of hope and of mercy and of grace to all who will believe? She could not remain in Jericho. The sound of thundering feet startled her… the King’s royal guard. She quickly awoken the Hebrews and took them to the rooftop where she had sat. She motioned for them to lie beneath the stalks of flax lest the sentries on the walls would observe them, even in the night. She hurried to her chambers and put on her robes, tied together with the silken scarlet rope. A heavy object hit the door of the Inn. “Rahab, come down at once, in the name of the king” The Chief Sentry shouted All the merchants and strangers were fully awake. But the palace guards did not make to enter into the Inn for it was their custom. Rahab went forth to speak to the guards. “Rahab, hear the words of the King. Bring forth the men that came to you, that entered into your house, for they are spies” Rahab responded. “Yes they did come to me, but I don’t know where they are now.” She continued. “When it was dark, at the time for the shutting of the gate the men went out. Where they went I do not know. Why don’t you pursue them quickly? You might even overtake them. So, the royal guards had the gates open and ran into the night, and the gates were shut after them.

TIMELESS

She continued “For out of the mouth confession is made unto salvation. I confess this that my heart declares, that the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now, therefore I pray, swear unto me by God, since I have showed you kindness, that you will repay me with kindness, even my father’s household, and when your set time for victory over Jericho comes, you will save my entire household” And the Hebrews said, “So let it be written, so let it be done” Then they scrambled down the scarlet rope to the earth below outside of the walls. Rahab shouted after them.” Go towards the mountains and remain there three days so that the royal guards which seek you may return empty handed and you can go you way.” Then the Hebrews replied. “On that day of deliverance, keep this scarlet rope on the lintel and doorpost of your house and ascertain that all your household remain indoors because of the destruction that comes forth, otherwise we will not be guilty by this oath you have made us swear to you”

NOVEMBER 2011

And she said. ”According to your words, so be it”. As the Hebrews marched in Jericho, there were drumbeats of war. All the men gathered the women and children and took them to the city centre…but Rahab they left alone, with her family, by the city walls. She took the silken scarlet rope that had brought salvation to the Hebrews and hung it around the doorpost of her house, so that from afar it looked like a trip of blood, painted across the lintel and the doorpost. The she went back and begun to sing the song of the Passover, which the Hebrews had taught her. The same song that they had sung on the march out of Egypt. All, and about them, the days passed. She could see the Hebrews, Priests, soldiers and men and women surround the city and march in a solemn procession for many days. There was silence in Jericho. Even as the men ran around the walls with their weapons, she could hear the Hebrews again as they taught her, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, for pulling down all kinds of strongholds…from Jericho to Ashdod”. She began to teach again the words of the Hebrew men…and of the visions she had seen…of how God chose her out of harlotry and said “You have found favour in my sight”. She taught about the visions of women like herself, whom the LORD will also raise up with a new song. She spoke of the sure mercy of God that would speak to a Moabite woman and a woman in Samaria. She spoke of how she would come to bear a new name, “Rachab”. And of a son… Suddenly, there was a powerful shout, like that of many rivers, and the thunderous falling away of all the fortresses of Jericho, of yokes, of burdens of strongholds. Screams and shouts of men, women and children, under the debris of stones and rocks, and she saw the robes from Goshen running into the city with swords of victory. They huddled together in the fortified wall that was her home, which did not fall. Then the doors bust open…the soldier that came in said to them… …”Come quickly…my name is Salmon.” And Salmon, a Prince of Judah of the Hebrews, took Rahab to his tribe, and loved her and married her…and they begat Boaz, who married the Moabitess, Ruth, who begat Obed, who begat Jesse, who begat David…and the rest? Are they not written in the Holy Books? George Honey Ashiru is President of the Ultimate Love Foundation

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

ARTs

& Culture

books movies music theatre photography exhibitions architecture

Mai Nasara wins Nigeria Prize for Literature On Monday, October 10, 2011 at a world press conference held at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria, Mai Nasara, was declared the winner of the 2011 Nigerian Prize for Literature. According to the judges, “After an exhaustive discussion of each of the three finalists, Eno’s Story by Ayodele Olofintuade, Chinyere Obi-Obasi’s The Great Fall and The Missing Clock by Mai Nasara, we decided that The Missing Clock by Mai Nasara is the winner.” Earlier on September 6, the Advisory Board for the prize, headed by Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo, had approved and announced to the literary community a final shortlist of three books out of the initial shortlist of six. The six works made the final cut from the 126 books submitted for the 2011 edition awarded for children’s literature. Mai Nasara is the pen name of Adeleke Adeyemi, a journalist and science communicator with interests as varied as girl-child education, television/ film, tennis, poetry, biking, bird-watching, languages, and leadership studies. Based on his belief that “the stories people tell have a way of taking care of them” (Barry L. Lopez), he is at work to set up a network of children’s libraries across Africa, starting from his native Nigeria.

aid of the fight against malaria, like “One Little Mosquito” and “To Keep Malaria On the Run, Keep Our Gutters Running”. He was one of a select crop of young journalists from Africa sponsored by the department for International development (DfID) of the British Government to Kenya, in 2009, for “Better Science Reporting” Workshop, after an earlier one at the International Institute of Agricultural Research (IITA) Ibadan. He came back from Kenya to set up Science Café Nigeria, which organised the 2010 AMMREN World Malaria Day Forum in Lagos. For his 40th birthday (October 31, 2011), he plans to plant 40 trees in every town, from his childhood Katsina, to Akure, Ife, Owo, Kano, Kaduna, Zaria, Jos and Lagos, every place he has lived in up to 40 days, over the course of his life till date – as a way of offsetting (i.e. erasing) his carbon footprint! Mai Nasara has been a staff and editorial writer with Timeless since 2006 and a copy editor with Next Newspaper since early 2011. He was educated at Government College, Katsina, the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he earned his first degree in Geology. He is married to Wosilat Abolore. They have a daughter, Semiloré.

Set to come after his critically acclaimed first children’s book, “The Missing Clock”, winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature 2011, is another Reversal-Of-Fortune (ROF) story titled “Danfo Boy”. On his inclination to writing children’s books, he says “It boils down to a desire to draw attention to the difference children can make. And thus make a difference for the child. Children have an astounding problem-solving slant in their thinking that adults have been taking for granted and thus untapped. I’ve been involved in their lives in various capacities: Sunday school, summer school literary/environmental awareness campaigns, etc.” Maddened by the toll it takes on children, ‘Leke, as he is also fondly known, is active in the anti-malaria media campaign in Africa; from Nigeria to Ghana and Tanzania, with articles in specialised journals like “Eyes on Malaria” (Ghana); he has also written and produced songs in Adeleke Adeyemi

Arts & Culture

‘How We Found “The Missing Clock” Worthy of The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2011’ “The Missing Clock” tells an unusual story of a four-year-old boy, Banji, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tobe. The simple or naïve act of Banji who plants a bunny clock in the garden at his home triggers a flurry of activities that propels his parents to embark on an agricultural project that brings the family enormous wealth. The story celebrates ingenuity, hardwork, faith, creativity and self-reliance. The narrative sparkles in a correct and efficient language that reveals the individuality of characters and brings out their mannerisms and peculiarities. It celebrates environmental health and conservation. Written in a simple narrative style using the omniscient technique, “The Missing Clock” dramatises the importance of growing food and returning to the earth, the sustainer of human life. A gifted storyteller, Mai Nasara explores the consciousness, emotions and actions of a child in a fascinating narrative distinguished by the simplicity of its themes, ideas, language and style. Indeed, this is a loveable and credible novel that endorses family cohesion and responsible parenting that would guide children to become imaginative, well-motivated and balanced individuals. Banji is shown to be truly fortunate to have parents who tolerate his naivety and allow him to grow up a normal child. “The Missing Clock” meets basic requirements of art for excellence in children’s literature: for example, wellrealised characterisation, well-developed plot, accurate use of language and useful lessons to be learnt by readers. It is a well-told story. From Report of Panel of Judges, The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2011, delivered by Chairperson, Prof. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

Podium

The Beautiful Ones are Born before Their Time: A Tribute to Wangari Maathai Tee Ngugi

obel Peace Prize winner and world renowned environmentalist Wangari Maathai died of ovarian cancer at The Nairobi Hospital on Sunday September 25, 2011. She was the first black African woman to receive the Nobel Prize. They cremated her body on Saturday October 8 in Nairobi and interred her ashes at a research institute named after her.

women by the nexus of patriarchy and dictatorship. Her divorcee status would be used as a term of abuse, and she was depicted, like other divorced or unmarried women fighting patriarchy and dictatorship were, as wild and dangerous, lacking in moral character. It is a familiar characterisation that speaks volumes of the parochial and irrational vision of patriarchy.

And with that final act, just as with other acts in her lifetime, she demonstrated that she was a woman born ahead of her time.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that women who have changed and continue to change our views about the possibilities of life and society have had to break out of patriarchal – as opposed to equal, mutually inspirational - partnerships.

In life, she challenged patriarchy, dictatorship and tribalism when it was not only customary to accept their miniature visions of ourselves and our society, but also when it was life threatening to do so.

There is another image of Wangari confronting guards armed with bows and arrows and other crude weapons at Karura Forest.

Nothing could have been easier than for Wangari to choose the uncomplicated life and concentrate on her primary professional interest, pretending - like most of us did - that our vocation existed in splendid isolation from other spheres of life. So doctors would treat wounds inflicted by police torture without asking a question; NGOs ran projects in slums and impoverished rural areas and ignored the political causes of poverty; counsellors treated women abuse victims pretending not see that the underlying cause of abuse was a patriarchy sanctified by culture; economists peddled esoteric arguments , refusing to factor governance in their analysis of underdevelopment; legal scholars spoke of the rule of law in abstraction, blind to the daily practical violations of the concept; and political science lecturers miraculously taught their discipline without reference to the political decay around them. But Wangari Maathai refused to not see the intersecting relationships among conservation, democracy and human rights, patriarchy and tribalism. She saw that conservation was contrary to the interests of a kleptocracy. She saw that patriarchy was an injustice rooted in culture and protected by a male dominated polity. She realised that tribal identity was manipulated by the political class for its own political and class interests which were accumulation of power and wealth. She was convinced that democracy and human rights would allow people to realise their full potential, thereby expanding the meaning of their vocations.

TIMELESS

It reminds us of her struggle, and ours, against a regime so arrogant and heartless that school fields, road reserves, hospital land and public spaces were fair game for appropriation for private benefit. This struggle is epitomised by the epic battle for Uhuru Park, where the regime had resolved to build a concrete testament to its own avariciousness.

Her battles and triumphs are captured in iconic imagery and narratives that postmark our progress as individuals and as a nation. There is an image of Wangari – waving and beaming her high voltage smile - being led to court to answer charges of contempt of court after she criticised the judge who presided over her divorce case. The image is a symbol of Kenyan women’s struggle against patriarchy. For Wangari, patriarchy - whose elemental purpose is to confine the woman to the kitchen and bedroom - presented a vexing challenge. In her book, Unbowed, she remembers the pain of one day coming home to find her husband gone. One can infer that, in her view, marriage was not meant to limit her potential, to subject her to an inferior status and treat her– as Micere Mugo writes in a paper on culture – “as subservient minors, relegated to the periphery of historical actions”. It was a place to find sustenance and inspiration after the punishing rigours of- to borrow another phrase from Micere – ‘exploding the silence’ imposed on

NOVEMBER 2011

Then there are pictures of her being beaten unconscious at Uhuru Park, and in hospital, for choosing to demand democracy and the release of political prisoners. By then, the regime had realised its Orwellian ambitions, and its menace was present in every sphere of our lives, dictating how we should dress (remember the man forced to shave at a public gathering), how to spend our money (the forced Harambee contributions), how to elect our MPs (queue voting), what to read, write, speak or news to listen to. Like George Orwell’s Big Brother, the regime demanded conformity of thought. If propaganda, in the manner of an ex-Kanu functionary’s eloquent sycophancy (behold the Prince of Peace; a Daniel has come to judgement ), failed to bring about conformity, the regime had recourse to an array of ‘legal’ and extralegal methods, whose brutality is gruesomely represented by the purpose-built Nyayo House torture chambers. Wangari and those who shared her democratic ideas would gradually open up – step by painful step

Podium – the democratic space, a process that culminated in the coming to power of the NARC government in 2003. But the new regime was a mix of Kanu types and elements of the pro-democracy movement, the latter who, after tasting power, began to act in Kanuesque ways, recalling another of George Orwell’s satire of revolutionary change. In the allegorical novel, Animal Farm, the animals look through the window at Napolean entertaining humans and notice that they could no longer tell the difference between the faces of the pigs and their human guests. So Wangari became once again a threat to the cynicism, larceny and power machinations of the new regime. Of course the new power elites refrained from the barbaric tactics Kanu used to try and silence her; their method was to ignore her, and to exclude her – using tribal arguments – from the political debate. But the world refused to follow the lead of the new elites. In 2004, another image would be beamed across the world – Wangari receiving the Nobel Peace prize, a fitting recognition of her life’s struggles to bring positive change to Kenya and the world. The picture is of Wangari at the award ceremony in Stockholm. She stands in an orange African dress with a matching headscarf, beaming that smile with which she brightened up rooms and lives. Since her death, many have written and spoken about her academic, professional and political achievements, and this is all as it should be. Yet we must not forget that another of her accomplishments was her challenge to us to take personal responsibility for changing our society. When other academicians were eager to put the blame for the state of our society on colonialism and foreigners, Wangari insisted that we own up to our mistakes and take personal and collective responsibility. When some complained that foreigners were infringing on our sovereignty, she challenged us individually and collectively to act in ways worthy of that sovereignty. She taught us to take personal responsibility for our environment, for the cleanliness and orderliness of our cities and towns, for fighting social ills. She challenged us first individually and then collectively to be like the hummingbird – to do the best we can. In a very real sense, therefore, The Green Belt movement was also a paradigm for personal renewal. In one of her last interviews, Wangari laments that

she should have spent more time with her children and less time building her career. But it seems to me she was not building a career; she was quite simply living an honest life, and not the lie most us live of keeping quiet in the face of an injustice, of looking the other way when we see bribery, of saying ‘this is our culture’ even if we know that what it sanctions is wrong. And this – living the truth - is an enduring lesson she has left for her children and for us. Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya (Africa) in 1940. The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964). She subsequently earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966). Professor Maathai pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi where she also taught veterinary anatomy. She became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region. Professor Maathai was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman from 1981-87. In 1976, while she was serving the National Council of Women, Professor Maathai introduced the idea of community-based tree planting. She continued to develop this idea into a broad-based grassroots organization whose main focus is poverty reduction and environmental conservation through tree planting. With the organization which became known as the Green Belt Movement Professor Maathai assisted women in planting more than 40 million trees on community lands including farms, schools and church compounds. In September 1998, Professor Maathai became cochair of the Jubilee 2000 Africa Campaign, which seeks debt cancellation for African countries. Her campaign against land grabbing and rapacious allocation of forest lands gained international attention in recent years. She was internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation and had addressed the UN on several occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly. Professor Maathai was listed 6th in the Environment Agency (UK) peer review of the world’s Top 100 Eco-Heroes. She was also included in UNEP’s Global 500 Hall of Fame and named one of the 100 heroines of the world. In June 1997, Professor Maathai was elected by Earth Times as one of 100 persons in the World who have made a difference in the environmental arena. In 2005, Professor Maathai was honoured by Time Magazine as one

of 100 most influential people in the world, and by Forbes Magazine as one of 100 most powerful women in the world. She also received honorary doctoral degrees from several institutions around the world: Williams College (1990), Hobart & William Smith Colleges (1994), University of Norway (1997), Yale University (2004), Willamette College (2005), University of California at Irvine (2006), and Morehouse University (2006). She wrote two books of her own: an autobiography, Unbowed, and an explanation of her organizational method, The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience. Until her death, she served on the boards of several organisations including the Women and Environment Development Organization (WEDO), World Learning for International Development, Green Cross International, the Global Crop Diversity Trust, Prince Albert II of Monaco Environmental Foundation, and the National Council of Women of Kenya. In December 2002, Professor Maathai was elected to Kenya’s parliament with an overwhelming 98 percent of the vote. Until 2007, she represented the Tetu constituency, Nyeri district in central Kenya (her home region). From 2003- 2007 she served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in Kenya’s ninth parliament. In 2005 Professor Maathai was elected the Presiding Officer of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ECOSOCC was formed to advise the African Union on issues related to the African civil society. Dr. Maathai was also honored with an appointment as Goodwill Ambassador to the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem, where she serves in an advocacy role for the region’s conservation and protection. In April 2006, the President of France, Mr. Jacques Chirac honoured Professor Maathai with France’s highest honour, Legion d’Honneur. Also in 2006, Professor Maathai founded the Nobel Women’s Initiative with her sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan. In 2007 Professor Maathai was invited to be co-chair of the Congo Basin Fund initiated by the UK government to help protect the Congo Forests. Tee Ngugi originally from Kenya, now lives and works in Namibia. She teaches Language and Media at the Polytechnic of Namibia. Writing for her clarifies, however fleetingly, any confusion about herself and her situation in life. Article Courtesy of The East African Magazine and biography courtesy of the Green Belt Movement.

NOVEMBER 2011

TIMELESS

NOVEMBER 2011