15 Feb 2009 |
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Two Nigerian Heroes By Reuben Abati Louis Obyo Obyo Nelson and Sanya Ojikutu: these are two Nigerians who in the midst of spreading despair and a culture of failure and inefficiency have brought Nigeria cause for cheer. Their stories which made the news pages in the last week have done much more that is positive for Nigeria's image than all the resources that have been spent on the laundering of Nigeria's image since Emeka Chikelu initiated "the Heart of Africa Project" and which may still be spent by Dora Akunyili as she seeks to re-brand Nigeria afresh by throwing money at the subject (N3. 4trn?). Louis Nelson and Sanya Ojikutu belong to the group of Nigerians whose remarkable achievements ought to recommend them as sure candidates for the National Honours List ahead of the traditional rulers, failed civil servants, politicians and contractors, and the committee of girlfriends and sweethearts who tend to stand a better chance under Nigeria's peculiar way of honouring its own. Louis Nelson has been credited with finding the cure for Diabetes, considered the sixth largest killer disease in Nigeria and a medical condition that reportedly afflicts about 123 million people worldwide. Diabetes, simply the failure of the pancreas to break down sugar, resulting in all forms of complications, is treated with the external injection of insulin and diet management, Nelson's original contribution is a herb-based drug that can be administered orally as capsule, tablet or syrup. Clinical trials have shown that the drug indeed cures diabetes. This must be a great relief to all persons living with diabetes who go through a rigorous health management routine. Nelson obtained a patent for his discovery from the United States Patent Office in 2003, and on February 3, 2009, he signed an agreement with GDPAU, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company for the commercialization of the drug known as Antidiabetic Phaytopharmaceutical. In its February 4 report, the ThisDay newspaper gushed: "History, As Nigerian Finds Cure for Diabetes". We are told: "The drug which was said to have been administered on many diabetic victims (sic), has been found to be very safe and highly effective. It was also said to have corrected erective (sic) dysfunctions noticed in those victims (sic). Both the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research had tried to share out of Louis Nelson's glory claiming him as a national property. Nelson's achievement is the product of hardwork and dedication. A University of Ibadan doctorate degree holder in Molecular and Computational Chemistry, Nelson, 61, had served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Technology and had also worked with the Raw Materials Research and Development Council. This is more about him and the Nigerian system. If Nelson had not been accepted internationally, he would have been conveniently ignored at home: a country where research and honest work is hardly ever taken seriously. Sanya Ojikutu's story is just as impressive. A First Class Honours graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ojikutu worked as a cartoonist in the early 90s, with the now defunct Fame magazine, and other publications, making a mark with his cryptic and witty lines delivered with Spartan economy. In the heat of the June 12 struggle, he relocated to the United States, his then fianc�e joined him, he took employment with a number of art agencies, began to raise a family, and has lived in the Maryland area since then. But Ojikutu is one of those restless, questing spirits, the few among us for whom the world is an endless land of possibilities. This week, it was reported that Sanya Ojikutu has invented an electronic, music hearing device: ShareBuds Ms 2-in1 Stereo Earphones which "makes it possible for two people to listen to music simultaneously." Ojikutu has received a Patent for the invention and Apple has taken it up and added it to its product list. Hollywood celebrities are said to be excited about the device. Current cost price: $39. 95. Ojikutu says his invention will transform the way we listen to music, share and relate to each other. Obviously. It is stories of this nature that imbue us with a sense of national pride and identity. We are after all the country of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Nollywood, Chimamanda Adichie, Philip Emeagwali, Barth Nnaji, Louis Nelson, Samuel Peter, Sanya Ojikutu...and so many of our men and women who in spite of the adversity at home continue to make great strides in literature, medicine, scholarship, art, sports, engineering, and so on, placing us among the ranks of nations that are making a contribution to human progress and the growth of knowledge. There are Nigerians in some of the most important centres of the world; there are young Nigerians who are excelling and making a difference: inventing ring tones for cell phones, managing multi-billion dollar assets and portfolios, fighting in wars across the world in pursuit of peace, gaining a foothold for themselves, for nation and for family in the computer age...Their achievements reduce the pain of the epileptic power supply at home, the chaotic urban transportation, the sloppiness of the political elite. They imbue us with hope that we are after all not entirely a nation of traders, not entirely a nation of Area Boys and internet scammers, not entirely a nation of okada riders and merchants, not entirely a nation of frustrated loudmouths and cynics, not entirely a nation of looters. They give us cause to celebrate, and to shout one after another: "yes, we can, we are Nigerians." Alas, each man or woman who touches the sky among us invariably does so because there has been some support or a ladder from the West. Like Ireland trapped in an existential crisis at the turn of the 19th Century, we are a provider of human talents for the use and benefit of other nations. We lack the capacity to nurture and grow national human resources. This is why an Emeagwali cannot function in this environment. This is why our National Manpower Development Board is comatose and National Development Plans have been reduced to mere slogans. There was a brief season of glory when Nigerian universities and research development centres bristled with activity. When an invention bears a Nigerian name these days, we are overjoyed because it is so unusual, whereas in the 70s, genius was common fare among Nigerians with phenomenal breakthroughs by the likes of Sanya Onabamiro, Kayode Osuntokun, Ayodele Awojobi, Chike Obi... Today, our universities are locked in an endless struggle for attention. We have since reduced all theoretical physicists that Nigeria produced in the 70s to teachers of physics as an alternative to practicals. All research centres of old are underfunded and almost nearly completely abandoned. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), once a strong complement to the University of Ibadan, is downsizing its operations in Nigeria. The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, the National Cereals Research Institute, FIIRO, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council and the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research have all been reduced to mere bureaucracies, whose major activity is the salaries of their under-worked staff that they still manage to pay at the end of every month. There is even no functional Museum in the country anymore and all the zoos that used to provide opportunities for tourism and research are empty, the animals therein having been stolen, sold, eaten or starved to death. The problem with Nigeria has never been one of talent. A Nigerian invented the wooden xylophone, and the talking drum, and now a two-way ear-phone, and the cure for diabetes. We are a nation of very smart people who can thrive under any circumstances. But as a nation we are bad managers. In an increasingly competitive world, the best way for Nigeria to rebrand itself is to put its best hands to work, to provide an enabling environment for the flowering of talent and genius, and to make it possible for every man or woman who is willing to dare, to do so. There is something in our character which compels us to seek to discourage the few among us who excel. We are constantly pushing and pulling at each other, energy that should be used constructively is devoted to needless politics over anything and everything. When one man called Dr Abalaka claimed a few years ago that he had found a cure for HIV/AIDS, we shouted him down, we didn't as much as give him a chance to submit his claim to scientific verification. Who is he? Who does he think he is? What does he know? These are standard Nigerian responses. But by recording their breakthroughs abroad, or with foreign support, Louis Nelson and Sanya Ojikutu do not need us. But we, the rest of the people, need them to remind the world that good things also come out of Nigeria. The Agony Of ATM Card Users THE directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria that Nigerian banks should change the current magnetic stripe Automated Teller Machine cards (ATMs), being used by bank customers, to a more advanced chip and pin technology is helpful but late in coming. There is no denying the fact that the ATM card is a wonderful feature of modern banking: it provides convenience, makes payment easier, reduces the queues in the banking halls. It is estimated that there are currently about 28 million e-cards in circulation in Nigeria, including Visa cards. But it has so far caused so much agony for the Nigerian customer of banking services. One, the banks were not prepared for the technology. Setting up an ATM machine became the fashion and so all the banks jumped on the bandwagon, without training staff and without making enough effort to understand the technology. They have therefore, had serious difficulties maintaining the machines and making them efficient, and unfortunately, it is hapless customers that pay the price. Two, there have been complaints about illegal deductions and charges, and outright theft of depositors' funds. One lady was at home, her ATM card was in her purse when she suddenly received e-alerts indicating that money had just been withdrawn from her account in five tranches of N20, 000 each. "They are deducting my money. Somebody is removing my money", she screamed. She had her ATM card with her. Who could be taking her money? She rushed to the bank immediately but the only response she got from the arrogant bank officials was that she must have compromised her card. She lost N100, 000 and nobody in the bank was willing to listen to her. She was asked to go and write a letter. So many letters have been written about ATM fraud by customers who narrate how they have been tossed from branch to headquarters and back to branch. In more honest circumstances, the bankers themselves complain that they do not know how to operate their new machine. It is either there is no money in it or there is no power supply to run it, or the camera that is supposed to record every transaction is faulty. How is e-banking possible in a country without electricity? Worse: fraudsters have since compromised the existing ATM system. Many Nigerians have also been attacked at ATM points by armed robbers. Not enough security is provided, indeed, no security at all. The directive from the CBN should cover not only changing the type of cards that is used, but ensuring that the bank customer is protected, and that where there are complaints, the banks treat the customer with respect. One fellow lost about N300, 000 withdrawn from his account over a period, and all that the bank could tell him was that if he didn't withdraw the money himself, no one else could have! The banks may boast about how they have invested in technology in the last few years, the flashy cars that their managers ride, the new face of their banking halls, the absurd profits that they announce every year despite their reduced intermediation capacity and function, but they are investing little in human relations both internally and externally. This is a major CSR failing that should interest the regulator.
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