By Victor Ogiemwonyi
In the first two pillars examined in the series “Government Should Do What The Private Sector Can Not Do” – what Governments must compulsorily do, i looked at healthcare and concluded that Governments must take the lead, and must make it, available and affordable.
In the follow-up to the above, I also examined security, as the next most important pillar, Governments must prioritize and compulsorily focus on, because only a secure environment , can give peace of mind and overall welfare for the populace . I advocated that, Government needs to restructure and decentralize, the entire security system in Nigeria, and internal security, must take on, a layered approach.
Now The Conclusion: The Education And The Judiciary Pillars.
Education and the Judiciary, systems, are the other two pillars, that Governments must ensure, are in place and working well.
Some might argue that Education can be provided by the private sector, efficiently and effectively, yes. Government supervision,
is still required, and Government’s commitment and responsibility for educating its people, is fundamental. This is because education, is a public good, that cuts across everything else.
Education As Development:
Education represents the most important aspect of development, with multiplier effects in every area of human development. Governments’ focus on education must be wholistic and viewed from the broadest perspective as possible. This means educating people to think, and to broaden minds, to help themselves. Education in this view, means every type of education that includes Basic, technical, vocational and tertiary education, that must give skills to people.
Government ensuring access to basic education for all its people, is the minimum. Basic education must be a right of every child, and must be compulsory for all children up to year 12. Every effort must be made to get people to further their education at every level they want. An educated populace, is easy to Governor. Once they can be educationally, empowered, you have provided a way out of poverty.
That is why education is the most effective poverty alleviation mechanism, any Government can provide its people. Financing education is not as expensive as people think, because illiteracy is far more expensive.
Getting The Right Skills.
After basic education that teaches people to think, the next level of education is skills development. This is essential for making people productive. An educated mind, can quickly absorb skills. Skills keep people employed, whether in self employment or working in an establishment.
READ ALSO:Government Should Do What The Private Sector Can Not Do- 2
Today, acquiring skills has become the biggest challenge. We have many educated people who lack skills. This is because our educational system of late, has made little room for skills acquisition . We need to change this, luckily we can do this rapidly, because of the plentiful youth population, who are educated enough, to quickly acquire skills, that can be provided through short targeted courses. With this, we can easily put a large number of our youths, through quick skills acquition, short training courses of 18/24 months and it will make a huge difference.
Increasing our teacher manpower for instance, will create opportunities for the
numerous graduates who are currently, unemployed to register for National Certificates of Education NCE and become teachers in our primary, secondary and vocational schools. Nursing is already, one of the quick wins, in this area, because of the prospects they have for employment locally and abroad, which is enormous . There are many viable areas that can be accelerated, we need to make it a national priority to hasten, this part of our education, to create jobs, and prepare for our coming economic revolution.
My first job as a graduate, was working with the industrial Training Fund. (ITF) It is one of the best ideas, that is yet to fully realize its potential. The ITF scheme, was started in 1973 and was well structured, to encourage employers, to keep training their staff for skills and make claims from the funds pooled from all registered companies, who compulsorily contribute 1% of their payroll to the Fund. They get refunded, when they show evidence of the training in the previous year. It was a win win idea for industry and country. These are the type of programs that must be initiated and accelerated.
Technical and vocational schools should be free for students and entrepreneurs that want to establish these institutions, and should be encouraged and incentivized with grants against results of their products.
Financing Students Education, The Benefits Of The Student Loan Program:
The recently, commenced Government Student loan program, in the country, which provides loans to university students for their tuition, with an allowance for upkeep, is one of the most consequential achievements of the current Administration. Its impact, will be massive when fully operational. The thinking and the competent people put in place, to run it, is credit to our educational development. This will provide access to higher education, that has been absent for a while.
A retrospective view of the Nigeria of the 60s and 70s, highlights the difference education made in the lives of those who got free education at the Basic and secondary levels, and in some cases, Government loans and scholarships for university education in those years .
The progress we see today, in those areas, where education was free, particularly, in the Southwest, clearly shows that the cost of free education, was no cost, at all, when compared to the benefits.
The benefits, represent a large population of educated people with employment, many self employed and free from poverty.
Needed Reforms In Our Education Today:
Education in Nigeria requires reforms in many areas, only a few can be reviewed here.
Budgets for education needs to seriously go up, and must be just as big as healthcare budgets. It must provide access for all children.
It must provide for teachers, at all levels, make the teaching profession attractive again, and let those who teach, find satisfaction in what they do. Teachers, are not asking to be paid like Bankers, they teach, because they love what they do. All they want, is a little above average remuneration, that give them the satisfaction , that they are appreciated. It will inspire them to give their best.
As, has been done in the past, with university teachers, getting accommodation within their universities and enabled with grants and freedom, to research and teach. This can be done differently today, even when providing such accommodation, maybe out dated in the current environment, this can be done by augmenting with a proper yearly grant, of Housing allowance that does not form part of their normal remuneration . They can also be given Car loans, that are easily repayable, from their monthly pay.
The inadequacies in basic renumeration, for this very important group of people, tasked with nurturing of our children, has resulted in having many in our teaching professions, those who really don’t want to teach, but only looking for a source of income, they subsidise with selling diesel, selling handout notes, and other non Academic endeavours, which take their minds away from doing their best for our children.
We need only people who want to be teachers. The recent requirement, that anyone who wants to teach in our universities, must possess a PHD and must be ready to be published, is one of the best things that have driven out the causal teachers in our universities.
The prescriptions here for university teachers, to provide Housing grants and Vehicle loans, can also be given to all other teachers.
Our commitment for education must be total.
———————————————
Why Governments Should Ensure A Good Working Judicial System :
Almost all countries have a constitution as a guide, to how the Country is governed, the fundamental principles and rules that govern a country, which outlines how power is structured, distributed and exercised. This is the basic definition, any where you check. But what makes a constitution what it is, as the supreme law of the land, on which everything else is based, is how it is operated by those who interpret its provisions.
It is also the protector, of the fundamental rights of all citizens.
It is the recognition, that the constitution, is the regulatory supreme law, which is given effect by the courts, as Regulators, that makes it, what it is, the Regulator for everything in Government.
The judiciary, regulates, what the Executive and Legislators do. It also ensures our individual rights as citizens are protected.
If the Executive over steps it’s bound, the courts steps in, to regulate their action, if the legislators, make a bad law, the courts steps in to regulate their excesses. This is why, the Judiciary is called the third arm of Government.
It is by far, the most important part of Government. Its independence, is crucial to the society. It must ensure fairness in its judgements, and must be firm, in its protection of citizens rights. This is the only way, the judicial system can work for the country and its citizens.
The quality of Judges, in a judicial system, is the most important aspect, of the system. This is because of the responsibility placed on a judge, who adjudicates in matters and makes orders.
A good judge must not only be brilliant in law, a judge must be self respecting and must know the responsibility placed on his / her shoulders. A judge has the power of life and death, power to incarcerate and to grant freedom and ensure that no injustice is done. This is power, that can only be exercised, by a person who understands this responsibility and someone of integrity, who is self respecting . A self respecting judge will know that a bad judgement, has far reaching implications. A bad judgement, that an average person will read, and have questions, will remain a questionable judgement, no matter the technicalities it is wrapped in.
A bad judgement will be less sighted, in judicial precedence, because its context, will not be understood by lawyers who will come across it, many years later.
A bad and corrupt judge, corrupts society with bad and corrupt judgements and deserves to be perceived in criminal light. That Judge, is a murderer, rapist, thief and all names you can call a criminal. That judge who corrupts, society, with their bad and corrupt judgements deserves to be called those names, because those are the criminals, he or she, lets loose on the society.
A self respecting Judge, who knows, that judgements, stay for ever, and has implications, will always strive to do the right thing.
A good judge, has a big role to play in a just society.
It is the absence of Justice in a society, that degrades values, promotes corruption, unfairness… and injustice that eventually, result in the conflicts, that sometimes destroy everything, in that society. A workable Justice system is an essential part of every society.
An Attempt, At Judicial Reforms -The Lagos State Example.
Sometime in 2006, I met a friendly acquaintance, who was the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. This was purely an accidental meeting. We were both traveling on Virgin Atlantic and met at their lounge, in London, Heaththrow Airport. He was on his way to South Africa and I was going to the US. We had two hours to kill. In that time, we started to talk. He gave me a brief overview of what they were doing in Lagos state, to reform their judiciary. He said, his becoming a commissioner, happened fortuitously, he said the Governor at the time, did not know him personally. Someone suggested his name and was put on the judiciary transition committee of the Governor, who has just won an election as Governor, of Lagos state.
By virtue of the fact that, he was a law professor and has recently had experience at the world court in The Hague, at their first meeting, he was made the chairman of the committee.
As chairman of the committee, he made the presentation of their committee report, to the Governor, like all the other Transition Committees. After the presentation, the Governor thanked him, and remarked that … “you know you are going to come and implement, all you have recommended here. …”
he was a little amused, because he was from Ogun state, and not likely to be appointed a commissioner in Lagos State. Several weeks later, his friend who put his name on the committee in the first place, came to see him, to tell him the Governor wanted to see him. They went to see the Governor and the Governor, offered him the job, of Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General. When he told him, he was not from Lagos state and was not also a member of his political party, which he understood, was a requirement, the Governor waved it aside, and told him, since you live and work in Lagos State, and pay your Taxes here, you are a lagosian, as for the Party issue, it will be taken care of.
At his confirmation, he was presented with a party card and everything when smoothly.
The first thing he did, when he next saw, the Governor, was to invite him to come with him and take a tour of the courts, to give him appreciation, of the magnitude of the work at hand. The Governor, told him to forget that, he asked, to just let him know what he needs, and he will give him all the support. He was however, able to drag him to visit one of the state courts in Ikeja. The Governor, was taken aback at the visit, and asked him many questions. He then, reassured him, of his full support.
He thereafter started the work, by first, setting up a committee to make recommendation, with Chief Justice of the State as chairman, he was surprised, that the recommendation the committee came back with, in respect of renumeration for Judges, was far from what was needed. The Chief Justice cautioned, that, they wanted modest increases, the State can pay . It was at that point he realized that even the justices, cannot help themselves.
He brought in Private sector consultants to make recommendation and structure a renumeration package, that will not upset the entire civil service renumeration structure. The consultants, came up with something that made sense, allowing for many capital outlays, like vehicles, Houses , Laptops as upfront, grants, while allowing for appropriate salary improvements but attractive overall, to make the position of a judge, decently remunerated and capable of bringing in, young new judges, that was badly needed at the time.
After putting issues about renumeration in place, he took on the next most important task, of getting decent judges, who were disciplined and ready to deliver fair justice to all. He reviewed all the files of existing Judges and isolated, those with bad records and a mountain of complaints against them. They were quietly approached, and encouraged to retire and leave with generous retirement packages.
He then, called a conference of judges, letting them know, that to whom, much is given, much is desired. He warmed that, any complaint of wrong behaviour, against any judge, will be investigated, and when a case is established, will not only result in dismissal, but would also be prosecuted.
The message was clear, and well received , and assimilated.
The Lagos State judiciary, is easily one of the best in Nigeria today, because of these reforms, and has also expanded its population of young judges. Some States, have since copied these reforms and adopted them.
The Lagos state approach, will be needed in all other states in Nigeria and in the Federal court system, even more so.
There has been complaints lately, of several incompetent judges appointed, that has greatly reduced the quality of judges available there. Reforms are definitely needed to ensure a working judicial system every where.
What Is Needed At The National Judiciary Council.
( The NJC )
Lately, there has been complaints about the Regulator of the Judiciary system, the National Judiciary Council, of being too slow and ineffective, in removing bad judges. The NJC is saddled, with the responsibility of appointing and disciplining Judges.
There are possible reasons for this claim, of ineffectiveness. Members of the NJC are judges themselves , and making them, umpires in their own society, where they are the ones who appoint judges, and also be the ones, to discipline them, makes it a burden, and difficult for them, to be objective.
What is needed, for the NJC to be effective and efficient, is to completely restructure it and let its members, be made up, of retired judges, senior lawyers and representatives, from civil society groups. They should have tenors and must make recommendations quarterly, of their work, with recommendations to the Supreme Court, where the final approval, is given to their recommendations.
There should also be created, a “judicial ombudsman commission,” that will be given the job of receiving complaints from the public, about judges with bad behavior and suspected corrupt judgements. This ombudsman commission, will have the responsibility of investigating, weaving out, frivolous petitions and recommending valid cases to the NJC every quarter. It will be only those cases, that will receive the attention , of the NJC, who will further investigate the cases referred, and make their recommendations to the Supreme Court, where the final decision is made.
Separating the disciplinary function of the NJC from all the other duties and streamlining what cases they receive, and act on, makes them more focused, and will, be an efficient way to reduce the work load and ensure effectiveness.
The Supreme Court, still plays its role, having the final say, on all judicial matters but doing it, in a refined way, that shields them from bias and gives them the required independence.
This will make the final vote, a decision, of all the Supreme Court justices, which also makes, the final decisions, more inclusive and robust.
These last comments on the 4 pillars, that Governments must compulsorily, focus on, ends this series.
Victor Ogiemwonyi is a retired Investment Banker, and writes from Ikoyi, Lagos.
Marketconversations.sub-stack. com
