12 Jun 2006 |
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by Bode Eluyera It will be no exaggeration to say that Nigerian specialists or professionals are one of the best in the world. Nigerians have not only studied in all major or leading higher institutions in the world, but their academic performances are outstanding as well. Nigerians in diaspora have distinguished themselves practically in all spheres of human endeavours: academics, medicine, banking, finance, arts, music, law, business, consulting, journalism, literature, engineering e.t.c Just name the field and you'll definitely find some Nigerians who rank among the best in the world. Nigerian specialists are considered among the best in the
In spite of this, ironically, I'm perturbed by one question. Why do we allow half-backed British, American or other foreign nationals or workers come to
These self-proclaimed 'American experts or gurus' come to
Why can't the federal government or our major industries use the professional services of Nigerians at home or in diaspora? Why don't we understand that practise makes perfect? Why is it difficult for us to understand that by patronising the services of Nigerian specialists, we are not only giving them the opportunity to earn money; which they will definitely spend in
lots of practical experience even for the best western specialists to attain their professional levels? And if they were not patronised, they won't have the practical and rich experience today
I was disgusted to read on one of the Nigerian web sites that Roger Dawson will be visiting
During his stay in
Speaking on his itinerary while in
On June 20, 2006 at
I appreciate and commend the efforts of Mr Kayode Falowo and the management of i-Skill Limited in their quest to improve the negotiation skills of Nigerian professionals and government officials. Undoubtedly, It is a worth while effort. Strong negotiation skills is one of the most important skills for managers, business-men bureaucrats and anybody engaged in any transactions. Unfortunately, you have invited the wrong person.
Believe it or not Mr Falowo, I have read more than 25 books on business negotiations; including Mr Dawson's book, and I have about 20 books on this topic in my personal library. I can tell you with full confidence that Roger Dawson is a mediocre and his book on negotiation is a trash compared to other books in negotiations that I've read or that I have in my personal library. Dawson and many other mediocre and self-proclaimed western experts are just using us to learn, experiment, boost their professional ego and resume, and making a hell lot of money out of us.
Roger's book is a big flop. Infact, the quality is so low that I can't even recommend it to anybody interested in business negotiations to read. I don't know the criteria that i-Skill uses in selecting or inviting western experts, but I can tell you that your audience won't get much from Dawson compared to the enormous fee they've paid for Mr. Dawson's service. Believe me I can't even pay a kobo to attend
For God's sake Mr Falowo, is
Negotiation is got what we call national peculiarities.
The manners of negotiating in
We need to understand that Americans are very good in marketing themselves and every American consultant or trainer says that he's the best not just in America but in the world .It's not all that glitters that is gold. You need to learn to separate the wheat from the chaff. If it's not too late, I will advise Mr. Falowo and the management of i-Skill to find a good excuse to cancel Mr. Dawson's engagements or seminars to avoid paying fine. If your organization is interested in inviting only western specialists, I can recommend some very good trainers in business negotiations.
I remember that not quiet long ago, you invited Covey too to
It seems to me that i-Skill has a lot of money to throw around. I never knew that
My only fear is that in the long run, it is the end consumer or the common man on the street that foots the bill of these consultants. Haba, we should have conscience. On a serious note, if you are really patriotic, I want to advise you to give Nigerian specialists a chance. It's high time we had our own experts and gurus that we can import to
Moreover, the government should formulate policies that will help in promoting Nigerian specialists. An integral part of this policy should be the establishment of a department whose responsibility should be identifying and creating a data base of outstanding Nigerians who rank among the best in their chosen fields. The data base can be compiled with the help of Nigerian In Diaspora Organization (NIDO) and other professional associations.
This data base should be available to Nigerian companies for a certain fee. These Nigerians in the data base can always be contacted from time to time to carry out various assignments or consultation projects.
Every country has its uniqueness socially, politically, culturally, economically and in the way business is conducted. The Nigerian background and the knowledge of its society give our specialists a big edge over their foreign counterparts. Another advantage Nigerian specialists have over their foreign counterpart is the commitment and the genuine desire to contribute their quota in the development of the country.
In addition, in situations where a consultation projects or advisory service are not only of strategic importance involving classified information, undoubtedly, our specialists are the best choice. Giving foreign specialists free and uncontrolled access to our ministers, law makers, bankers, senior government officials, CEOs of our major co-operation could constitute a security threat to the economy. It is a known fact that many westerners pose as business men, trainers, consultants when in actual fact they are agents of the secret services of their countries. We live in the age of information technology. The ability to collect, analyse and disseminate information is of strategic importance today. And, many companies in the west are ready to pay substantially for it. At dinner parties where our government may easily loose their guard during conversation with foreign business men or consultants, information of vital importance concerning how to win contracts, tenders or how government key decisions and policies could be easily divulged unknowingly. Such information may cost the country or economy billions of dollars in lost revenues.
Western countries and consulting companies have mastered the system of siphoning money from many developing countries by rendering services that are either of very little value or in many cases, could even have negative consequences. One of the bases for this assertion is John Perkin's book titled: ‘The confession of an economic hit man.' Below is a full excerpt of the book from amazon.com web site.
John Perkins started and stopped writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man four times over 20 years. He says he was threatened and bribed in an effort to kill the project, but after 9/11 he finally decided to go through with this expose of his former professional life. Perkins, a former chief economist at
intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving
Think John Le Carré, except it's a true story.
Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to
foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the
World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led. --Alex Roslin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Perkins spent the 1970s working as an economic planner for an international consulting firm, a job that took him to exotic locales like
The story as presented is implausible to say the least, offering so few details that Perkins often seems paranoid, and the simplistic political analysis doesn't enhance his credibility. Despite the claim that his work left him wracked with guilt, the artless prose is emotionally flat and generally comes across as a personal crisis of conscience blown up to monstrous proportions, casting Perkins as a victim not only of his own neuroses over class and money but of dark forces beyond his control. His claim to have assisted the House of Saud in strengthening its ties to American power brokers may be timely enough to attract some attention, but the yarn he spins is ultimately unconvincing, except perhaps to conspiracy buffs. John Perkins's book is highly recommended for those who want to know more on this issue It was reported in the news that the finance ministry employed the service of a foreign consulting firm to negotiate our debts, and paid $100,000 a month for more than 12 months. In my opinion, these consulting companies including the one used by the federal government are parts of the networks; mentioned in Perkin's book, set up by foreign companies to exploit developing countries. Debt reduction negotiations is the prerogative of the finance ministry to carry out on its own. The ministry should have searched for Nigerians well versed in this field to carry out the assignment. By so doing, these Nigerian specialists will not only be given the opportunity to upgrade or add to their professional experience but, sensitive information concerning the nation's economy will be protected, and most especially, negotiation tactics and strategies to achieve a desired result will be intact. I have no doubts that in my mind that if the finance ministry had taken its time to search well, she would definitely have found some Nigerians who are well qualified enough to carry out this job. And needless to say that, the job would have been done at a much cheaper rate; and this would have saved enormous amount of the tax payers' money.
There is always the need to carry-out a cost/benefit analysis and security implication for the country before taking any decision. Senior government officials and top managers of our companies need to be trained on how to communicate with foreign companies and specialists in
Finally, there's the need to formulate and implement policies that will ensure that as many jobs as possible go to Nigerians. Multinationals should be prohibited from employing foreign nationals in Nigeria, unless it can be proved beyond any reasonable doubts that there are no Nigerians inside or outside the country that are capable of doing the job.
We should learn to appreciate, value, promote and reward very well Nigerian specialists. Afterall, charity begins at home!
Bode Eluyera writes from
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