Competence and certificate: acquisition and obtainment

Competence: more than just a certificate

Certificate is to be obtained as evidence of competence… One major challenge with Nigeria and Nigerians is the craze to acquire certificates. The problem is that we do not want to accept that it is competence that should be acquired, while certificates should be obtained. In Nigeria, we strive to acquire certificates, which is why even senior academics tell you that a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, in its true sense a research degree is reduced to Politics, Humility and Diplomacy (PHD). Educational value has deteriorated so much that graduates from competent foreign universities who spend 12 months on a Master degree are better than many of us in Nigeria who spend 18 months to 3 years on the same degree. It baffles me when we try to equate extended duration to quality. Sometimes, you hear university administrators and senior academics pride their schools as having quality, based on the length of period students use on campus as they argue that “our degrees are not cheap, you cannot just come here and go like that”. Many times, I am mouth agape at their level of mediocrity that all I see in them is folly. After all, there is no dedication to quality but an engagement with bureaucracy that delays students unnecessarily without any value-added. It is a pitiable condition that we find ourselves and I count lucky those who can afford foreign degree; I also crave a foreign degree. It is of no use trying to stay here and become an inferior quality graduate. That is all that is available in Nigeria, except for some few universities that strive for excellence or some few departments with dedicated staff. In some schools abroad, I see that the duration of completing a degree is a performance index and I can boldly assert that if that is used in many Nigerian universities, only 1% may pass. Assuming the extended duration significantly contributes to advancements in knowledge and competence, then I can say, it is a fair deal, but no, it has no value at all than a culmination into frustration of the student. No wonder our graduates find it hard to develop innovative systems, since all we know and learn is how to be frustrated, demand false humility and extortion. Another frustrating issue is the manner at which examination malpractices have eaten deep into students’ fabric and mentality. It is hard for students to think for themselves in examinations. They always tend to believe they cannot make it alone and on their own, so they seek help even in the examination hall, while confident ones take in chips and some even go on to offer bribes in cash and kind to lecturers to acquire certificate; this cannot translate to acquiring competence. If we must make progress in this country, we must re-orientate our minds to know the difference between certificate and competence and acquiring and obtaining. Competence is to be acquired, while certificate is to be obtained as evidence of competence.

...and for our sakes, that we may live well...

Life is not A, B, C…, but A, AB, B, BC, C… Many times we confront life as though it is “simple as A, B, C…” in popular parlance, but at the end we realize that we have been wrong about many things. Life is as rare and complex as the grading system of few tertiary institutions with grades that almost make your head spin. In addition, just like the saying that “…all is fair in love and war” life confronts us with issues that make us question living, reality and focus, but also in the end we sigh, “…all is well that ends well…” How do we now measure a “well ending” or more preferably a “happy ending”? It has crossed my mind many times when old folks die that people say, what a long life, but when a young person dies, we are quick to say, “…oh too young” and I am guilty of that too without pausing to consider if the life was meaningful. There are many old fools who have died at their very old ages who if they had died earlier would be better for the nation, but we have come to accept age as the perfect measure of a life well spent. This regretful incident has helped me and my family to rethink and probably redefine the meaning of a good life and we conclude that it is a life spent with JESUS in focus. Our young lady died at a relatively young age, but as her dear husband mused just by the grave side, we are consoled that she knew the Lord, through life-she lived a good life. To the departed, we are constrained, but for the living, we continue to strive to achieve the good life. May the GOD of all comfort keep the hearts of her husband and child in peace and to the families of the departed (Oladele and Olurinde), we have a hope that all is well… Till we meet to part no more Mrs. Olufunke Oladele

...and what if we are wrong...

…and what if we are wrong…

dissenting view (uncensored)

The land where elders ain’t liars (uncensored)
As much as Nigeria desires progress and sustainable development, I think there is a need to reappraise our values. Particularly in southwest Nigeria, elders don’t lie even when it is glaringly obvious (permit the use). This ideology translates to more parochial thinking about the leadership (rulership) of the nation, as we assume that our political leaders are gods (mystic) beings who cannot make mistakes, so whatever they do is right, absolutely. This is evident when we insist that oba ba lo ri gbo gbo nkan, literally translating to “the king controls all things”. Even our thoughts?
Dissenting views have come to stay as drivers of innovation, improvement and adjustments for development. As we continue to enjoy satisficing, we cannot grow. However, when we see things differently and know that we can change, improve on something, then we are moving forward. Now that a young man has a dissenting view, but the elders see it as being rude, proud, disrespectful etc, it is a malaise we have to challenge especially in our developing age in Nigeria.
Maturity comes with age, but not sensibility. There are old fools, or what do we make of news in popular media about septuagenarians and octogenarians raping barely teenage girls, looting our economic fortune as though prebend without recourse for the future even at that old age.
My idea is that at some points in mature existence, it is time to take a back seat, and speak only when it is necessary and not always insist on being in the front wheel. This malady is evident in academics and family, even all spheres of society. An old man once challenged me if I had up to the material possession he had and I was mouth agape. Apart from the fact that physical possessions are based on choice, how can you compare a young man with yourself? I almost told him to compare himself with the CEO of FCMB, a prominent deposit money bank in Nigeria or other young dudes who are raking in millions by the day, while he sits in his chair of comfort to confront me about his possession.
A nation where elders never lie, can never grow. I do not support being rude to elders, but having a dissenting view is for Christ’s sakes not a crime nor a sign of disrespect.

Demanding the Uneven

Demanding the Uneven
‘Sad is the day for any man when he becomes absolutely satisfied with the life that he is living and the deeds he is doing; until there  ceases to be forever beating at the door of his soul a desire to do something larger which he seeks and knows he was meant and intended to do.’’ – Phillip Brooks.
Man was created for a purpose infinitely greater and wider than the scope of his imagination. Specially designed and crafted by the master-potter himself, in his very likeness, every human is fully capable of living an extraordinary life. If God declares us gods, who are we to desire to be ordinary men? Who are we to doubt Him?
‘I said: ‘you are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High.’’ – Ps 82:6
A god is one who possesses divine characteristics. God has deposited his attributes within us. In essence, we have no excuse to be less than extraordinary.
‘The only person who can stop you from becoming what you intend to become is you’’.
Dr John Maxwell.
You do not want to wake up on your 70th birthday with regrets wishing you could start over. It begins now.
The artist, who composed the popular song, ‘Coat of many colors’, Dolly Parton once said:
‘Find out who you are and do it on purpose’’.
We really cannot afford to live by chance, to rest on our oars and allow circumstances dictate the course of our lives. We’ve got to live more deliberately, more intentionally. Every thought, word and deed carefully crafted purposefully to create a beautiful and relevant tapestry.
The problems around us are crying out to be solved. The economic situation of the world, the seemingly endless wars and terrorist  strikes, the moral depravity of the society, the hopelessness invading the lives of several people all need to be dealt with.
The world needs you to rise up to your life’s mission. We honestly cannot do that by doing the same things we’ve been doing.
Many people have decided it is too much to exert themselves in order to succeed. A lot of us have given up on Nigeria. Regardless of that, now more than ever, we are direly needed to shine forth the light of God, to put our brains to work and act promptly. I think our problem is rooted in the fact that a lot of us are scared and believe it’s useless to sacrifice anything anymore for this nation. However, no genuine sacrifice goes to waste.
You cannot be committed to comfort and at the same time be committed to Christ. You cannot be committed to making a difference, to being extraordinary if you’re not ready to lose some skin.
‘The desire to survive keeps us at a mediocre level of living. It eats away at our conviction until we find it too easy to compromise and next to impossible to confront.’’ (John Maxwell. ‘Be all you can be. Chapter 12: I don’t have to survive).
To make a difference, we have to constantly confront, constantly demand, constantly challenge. You don’t get to a place of advantage by being lackadaisical. It does not come delivered on a platter of gold.
You need inspiration; passion, discipline, humility, assertiveness, motivation and sacrifice. Confront your fears and seeming inadequacies. Believe and dare to achieve. Demand the Unusual. Demand the Extraordinary. Demand the Uneven.
FAWOLE, Tolulope

Mechanism for waste management

I sat to discuss this issue with a senior colleague and I feel I can share my view here as well.
Most people pump their water into tanks from wells or borehole. Why do we switch off the pump only when the tank is overflowing? I think this presents a semblance of resources management in our dear country Nigeria.
We only take caution when the issue has gone out of hand.
We should consider it too, about anything we do, we should be able to nip it in the bud when due, not when overflowing.
Enjoy.... #DESIRE #weinspire

NOW IT SEEMS FAIR

NOW IT SEEMS FAIR

I won’t continue to tell myself I can’t do something I have already done….OLADELE, Femi

Sheer deceit is one’s ability to continue to expect people to believe that you are safe from what has you in its grips.

If I continue to demonstrate a level of sanity, which I have already crossed, then it is safe to just assume that I am not ready to be the kind of person I really expect to be. My ability to stand up for who I am and understand that triumph over any trait I find inconvenient is just hidden in my ability to accept the real me and move on. I do not promote an easy life, but what makes life hard is not my ability to conceal the truth. But my demonstration of a true life. If I find it more convenient to hide the truth from myself, then I must know that I find myself tilting towards self-destruct in no long time.

It is fair enough to not want to make myself feel touched and injured; accept it as the truth, then move on to achieve better.

This NEW YEAR does not make us entirely new, we might still go into it with scars and memoirs of a very weak personality, but I charge you to accept your weakness as part of your humanity and see beyond it.

The New Year however provides an avenue for a renewed mindset only. Imagine yourself in a dungeon without account of time and dates. Would you consider making a resolution? Time and dates are useful to the extent that we create them. If you did not know today is your birthday, would you do anything different?

Let the renewing mindset enhance your behavior this year.

Best wishes…DESIRE

REPORT TO THE FATHER OF FLEAS

REPORT TO THE FATHER OF FLEAS
My last post for 2014
Some days ago as I trekked to Church, some fleas greeted my face and they did not want to let go easily, and I asked myself (as I remembered when I was still very much younger that when we are disturbed, we always retort to report to our parents or the parents of the disturbing party,) whom do I report this persistent behavior to? Their parents? Fleas have parents, but how do I find them? And even if I find them how do I communicate with them?
This is the basis for my lesson today as we move on to a new year.
Deal with every man as a man without parents…Oladele Femi
If I have to report every bad behavior to parents of the offending party, then I will probably have no other job than to spend my resources traveling everywhere and looking for an interpreter.
Deal with every situation as it is and do not try to spend your time reporting to the parents of fleas, because you probably won’t find them, nor be able to communicate in the language they understand.
I refer to humans as fleas, not as a derogatory term but to make your persistent offenders too insignificant to deserve your time.
Enjoy a prosperous new year
Best wishes from DESIRE/PURPOSE

GRAND MA!!! BUT THAT’S NOT HER NAME

GRAND MA!!! BUT THAT’S NOT HER NAME
Title oriented people mix respect with regard…Oladele Femi
 In an atmosphere of the weekend just before the Xmas celebration, I found myself thinking of a post. I am aware that most people will be talking yuletide so I decided to do something that might provoke our thoughts a little bit. This piece is not borne out of my sheer desire to be an out-of-the-box kinda guy, but to say the least, I find it really true and interesting.
I realized that there is a wide difference between respect and regard. If my dad becomes a Governor of a State, he sure wont expect me to call him “His Excellency Sir” that would be awkward. But does it mean I don’t have respect for him? I suppose we need to understand that there is a difference between title and personality.
A scenario that might help us understand this concept better is responsibility sharing in academics. A Department with many Professors can have a Head of Department (HOD) that is a Reader. The title confers on the office a sense of responsibility for leadership. On the level ground the Reader is lower to Professors though they are considered to be on the same Professorial cadre.
My point now is this.
The title of Grandma is a result that she is the mother of my parents, not because of other reasons. So if she didn’t give birth, there will apparently be no need to call her grandma. Nowadays, we have grandparents that are forty (40) years of age, even less. And there are parents that are even sixty (60) years of age, but are not practically grandparents. Wouldn’t it be preposterous to refer to the older woman a little less than the younger just because she isn’t a grandparent?
In our drive to show respect, we should take cognizance that titles blur our right to right judgment and action. Show respect to personality; regard for titles. This reminds me of the saying that resistance to power is lawful, but resistance to authority is unlawful.
Best wishes, this Christmas period; celebrate and enjoy
DESIRE/PURPOSE

TAXONOMY OF ‘DEAR’ AND ‘DEAD’

TAXONOMY OF ‘DEAR’ AND ‘DEAD’

The only visible difference of these words are the alphabets ‘r’ and ‘d’ making the words so similar. ‘Dear’ is not always far from LOVE; as it is quite usual for friends and lovers to use the word more frequently. ‘Dead’ on the other hand is a more fearsome word except used in laboratory for what we sometimes consider quite insignificant living organisms.

When these words come together in our daily life affair and affect human beings, then it becomes something to worry about. Recently, I have had to endure the loss of many dear friends, relatives, friends’ friends and friends’ relatives. It is quite awful to lose someone very close especially when you are in the process of building a dear relationship with the deceased.

As I travelled to a part of the North-Central region of Nigeria in the past week, shocking stories of loss of dear friends came as news. To the memories of our dear dead (dead dear) which we cannot bring back and to our GOD who created us…though all we can do is mourn for our loss, we move on to continue to make life worth it for others who we can assist.

Stop sorrowing; move further to enrich the lives around you. May the strength of GOD comfort, uphold, uplift and encourage you.

Best wishes…DESIRE