Daily Law Tips (Tip 414) By Onyekachi Umah, Esq., LLM. ACIArb(UK)
Personal Income Tax is a direct tax charged on income, salary, allowance, wage, fee, bonuses, dividends or any benefit of an adult individual, communities, families, executors and trustees being resident in Nigeria or outside Nigeria or that of any person resident outside Nigeria but deriving income or profit from Nigeria. Government can charge and collect personal income tax on a village or indigenous community, where the government tax agency is of the opinion that it cannot practicably assess individuals in a particular village or that general income of a village cannot be practicably shared with certainty among members of the village. Above all, such can only be done in line with the state law governing the state where the village is located and the tax may be charged on the estimated total income of all members of the village.
My authorities are sections 1, 2, 3, 108 and 109 of the Personal Income Tax Act 1993.
#DailyLawTips #SabiLaw #LearnNigerianLaws
Feel free to reach the author, ask questions or make inquiries on this topic or any other via [email protected] or [email protected] or +2348037665878.
NOTE: Sharing or modifying or publishing this publication without giving credit to Onyekachi Umah, Esq. and “LearnNigerianLaws.com” is a criminal breach of copyright and will be prosecuted. Please share this publication till it gets to those that need it most. Save a Nigerian today!
To receive our Daily Law Tips for free follow our Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube via “@LearnNigerianLaws”. This publication is the writer’s view not a legal advice and does not create any form of relationship. You may reach the writer for more information.
Solanke Vs Benson : A Lifetime Story Of Tradition, Love, And Hatred
It was probably the first celebrated case where a daughter will defy her father in the choice of marriage. It was in the days when a woman, educated or not, really had no say on the choice of who she marries. But this 18 year old daughter of a very affluent Yoruba chief defied her father’s choice of husband. The father had chosen a prominent politician of those days, Chief TOS Benson, a dashing and flamboyant politician, to marry his stunningly beautiful daughter, Folake Odulate. But she would have none of that. Rather, she would go on to marry her heartthrob, Toriola Solanke, a medical doctor whom she fondly called a “gentleman”.
But suitor Benson would not give up, a decision which led to a case of arrest and a charge of robbery against the prominent politician at the Old Bailey, in London. It was a trial on which eminent Nigerian jurist and Justice of the Supreme Court, the late Justice Kayode Eso , wrote: “The legal drama, as it was, at the awe inspiring Old Bailey, is so vividly presented that it should not be missed by any lawyer, law student or, indeed, any reader at all.”
Thus began one of the greatest stories of marriage scandal in the pre, and post independent Nigeria. It was the story of a love affair, a story of clash of culture between modernity and tradition in terms of marriage rites. It poses the question, do women have the right to choose whom to marry, or should they abide with whoever the parents choose? It is the story of a young woman who stood stoically and chose who to love, and equally stood by that love to the very end. It is the story of Chief Mrs. Folake Solanke, the first woman to defy tradition, and the first woman Senior Advocate of Nigeria. It is also the story of passion, of lifetime hatred only love can bring.
Perhaps, if the chance meeting had not occurred at the lowest ebb of her life, the story may have been different. Her family had just lost a brother, the first born of the family who had sojourned in England for several years. Dr. Albert Olukoya Odulate had died within two weeks of his coming back to Nigeria after qualifying as a Medical Doctor in England. She was in the vehicle that claimed his life and so, she was still very distraught. The accident that would change the course of her family happened on January 30, 1948.
Amongst the sympathizers who came to console her father was TOS Benson, who cited this very beautiful and fair lady, and decided to add her to his harem. Thus began the discussion with Pa Jacob Odulate(Blessed Jacob of the Alabunkun fame) on how Chief Benson can marry the young Folake Odulate.
The young lady years after will later write: “In our collective state of trauma and vulnerability, Benson, became known to the family as a sympathizer, willing to comfort my distraught father in his anguish. The great Roman poet, Virgil had warned, “Timeo Graecos dona ferentes”.
And so by 1950, talks were rife between the Bensons and the Odulates about the arranged marriage. By 1951, the two families met, and did engagement but the young woman refused to see the meeting which was supposed to give her hand in marriage as what it was- her marriage ceremony. That same year as fate would have it, she travelled to England, which provided a means of escape for her.
Immediately she got to London, she wrote to Benson to the effect that he should count her out of the arranged marriage. She said: “I thought very deeply about my future. I came to a firm decision that the talk between Papa and Benson about an arranged marriage could never be for me. Benson was much older and already married with children. My preference was for a monogamous marriage”. About a year after, Folake met the love of her life, Toriola Feisitan Solanke, and by October 6, 1956, they were married.
But Benson would have none of that. Unfortunately for him however, the pretty bird had flown far away to where his hand and influence cannot reach. Six years after however, an opportunity presented itself for Benson, who at that time had become the Chief Whip of the Nigerian Parliament and was a member of delegation to London to discuss the Independence of Nigeria,
In the midst of this serous assignment, Benson arranged with a cousin of Folake (now Mrs Solanke) to lure her to his (cousin’s) house where he hoped to talk sense into her. So on May 25, 1957, Folake paid a visit to her cousin in a house on Flander’s Road, Chiswich, London, where to the shock of her life, Benson; her old suitor came in just after she arrived. Benson tried to convince her that she should marry him but she told him “no”.
She said: “I told him quite categorically, in the presence of Afolabi (cousin), what I had been telling him, my father, and others for six years, that I could never marry him. As he still refuse to take no for an answer, I told him that I was already married. Benson said he did not care about my marital status and that he would do everything to destroy my husband and I in Nigeria”.
The Parliamentarian did not stop at that. He took his luck farther. She further narrated on the incident: “As soon as Afolabi left the room, I got up from my chair to leave the room, but suddenly, Benson grabbed my left hand and started trying to remove my engagement ring by force. I struggled as hard as I could, but he overpowered me and violently forced my engagement ring off my finger. In the course of the assault, my open-ended gold bracelet wristwatch also came off my wrist;
My gold engagement ring had two had two diamonds set on either side of a blue sapphire. I pleaded with him to return my ring and wristwatch to me, but he flatly refused. He then put the two items in one of the pockets in his flowing Agbada. Benson locked the door and kept the key in one of his numerous pockets”.
Desperate to escape the assault, Folake did the unthinkable. “There was no way I was going to remain in that apartment, which for me had suddenly become a place of violence and unlawful detention. After all my pleas had failed to recover my precious possessions from him, and with the door locked against me, I reached for the telephone to dial 999. Benson promptly disabled the telephone. Instinctively, I made for the window to jump out”.
It was at this point Benson knew the lady meant business. He called her cousin who promptly came into the room and both persuaded her to come back. This was the opportunity she had to escape from the apartment and further assault. But Benson held on to her ring and wristwatch.
Mrs Solanke, after this experience reported the case to the police. On June 1, 1957, the London Metropolitan police arrested Benson and arraigned him before Acton Magistrate Court, London, for stealing a ring and a watch valued at Forty one pounds from a woman. In the warrant of arrest, he was alleged to have forcibly robbed Mrs. Solanke of her watch and ring on May 25. He was however granted bail with two sureties. However, the court ordered a remand for two weeks, which meant he could not leave London in that period.
On Saturday June 15, 1957, the case went on trial at the Magistrate Court to determine whether Benson had a case to answer. The Prosecutor was Victor Duran QC and he called two witnesses, the police investigating officer, and Mrs. Solanke. At the end of the pre-trial, the court decided that the defendant had a case to answer and thereafter transferred the case to the London Central Criminal Court, popularly known as “Old Bailey”.
The two day trial commenced on June 27, 1957, before Sir Gerald Dodson, who also doubled as the Recorder of London. There was a jury of 12 persons to determine the case. When his charges were read to him, he pleaded not guilty. The Prosecution lawyer, Mr. Durand thereafter presented the investigating police officer, Mr. Philips, to the witness box. Philips tendered the written statement of the plaintiff to the court, together with plaintiff’s engagement ring as exhibits.
Next in line to enter the witness box was the plaintiff herself. She was led in evidence by Mr Durand. She narrated how the assault took place and how the defendant forcefully removed her engagement ring and wristwatch. She also told the court how she got married secretly to her husband, Toriola, on October 6, 1956. She further told the court that she had told the defendant and her father the she could not marry the defendant as far back as in 1951 and that she was never interested in the proposed arranged marriage. The plaintiff’s husband, Dr Solanke also gave evidence, corroborating his wife’s evidence.
The defendant then gave his own evidence. He denied that he forcefully removed the plaintiff’s engagement ring and wristwatch. He told the court that it was the plaintiff who gave him the ring to return to her father. He also told the court how he gave the plaintiff a cheque containing money for her education.
The defendant through his lawyer, Mr. Foot called 12 witnesses that represented the crème de la crème of Nigerian politics. They include; the late Chief H.O Davies, the late Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya, and the then Nigerian High Commissioner to Britain, Chief M.T Mbu. The greatest shock however, was bringing the plaintiff’s father, Chief Jacob Odulate to the court. The father testified against his daughter!
The courtroom was packed full with Nigerians as the story also hit the headlines of newspapers both in London and Lagos. The plaintiff gave the account thus: “There were also others who came simply to hurl abuses and curses and threats at me. The unprintable taunting and vituperation did not elicit one single response from me. I held my head high and the police gave me every protection”.
After the trial, the judge adjourned the case to July 1, 1957, the date the court eventually discharged and acquitted the defendant.
But the battle did not end there. Chief Benson never forgave Folake Solanke for not marrying him. He taunted her at every opportunity. He made every move to stifle her career in the legal profession, all to no avail. Even when she lost her husband, he hired a band to taunt her, saying that he, an old man had outlived her husband. Until his own death, Chief Benson never forgot, and never forgave the bride he lost to someone else.
Culled from the book: “Reaching for the stars” the autobiography of Folake Solanke, SAN
Podcasting from the General Counsel Conference in New York, we pulled aside a few in-house lawyers and asked them three basic questions focused on outside counsel relationships, their use of technology and career development.
In this episode, we’re podcasting from the General Counsel Conference in Midtown New York. The event is where hundreds of in-house lawyers and other legal pros gathered to focus on trends in the profession.
In the midst of the conference, hosted by Law.com affiliate Corporate Counsel, we pulled aside a few in-house lawyers and asked them three basic questions focused on outside counsel relationships, their use of technology, and career development. You’ll hear from Deborah Pierce, senior vice president and general counsel at Integrity Staffing Solutions; Marc Bonora, chief litigation counsel at Envision Healthcare; and Ksenia Sussman, general counsel and chief compliance officer at BitOoda.
Awele Ideal is the Principal in Chambers of Ideal Chambers, a thriving legal practice in Asaba, She is a graduate of both Delta State University and University of Benin where she obtained her LLB and LLM respectively. A brilliant and reputable legal practitioner, Awele’s journey to success is that of pain, resilience, determination and grace.
Awele decided to share her story in response to the justification of the unruly attitude of one of the disqualified participants in the ongoing Big Brother Nigeria reality show. Awele in the story captioned “YOUR LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT….” said nothing, not even the absence of a mother can justify an unruly and mannerless behavior.
Read her story:
Anytime I hear them say Tacha has no mother. I ask myself if that’s enough excuse to become unruly and mannerless?. Don’t get it twisted I’m not being judgmental. I just want to share a bit of my childhood story with you.
My Childhood… I was abandoned by my mother at the age of seven months (7 months) with my father and stepmother. My stepmother was mean and not so nice to me, but I still called her “Mother” till tomorrow, cos she’s the only mother I knew, although she’s late (may God rest her soul). I endured all manner of maltreatment she meted at me. Sometimes I went hungry for days. She would so starve me that I would be seeing death.
On one occasion, I was very hungry that I had to eat our dog’s leftover food. Our neighbor’s son caught me eating the dog’s leftover food (eba and egusi) and he told his mother who later that evening invited me to her house and asked me if what her son said was true. I was so terrified that I begged her not to tell my step mother, because she will kill me if she knew that I ate the dog’s leftover instead of throwing it away. The woman wept and promised to give me food everyday without my stepmother’s knowledge, a promise she kept till we left the compound.
As if starving me was not enough punishment, my Stepmother flogged me mercilessly until I would faint at times. She would also apply pepper in my vagina, eyes, armpit and neck, tie me up and abandon me in one of the toilets for days without food. In fact, no week passed without pepper being applied on me for minor offenses a child could commit like failure not to wash clothes or dishes well, It wasn’t as if I stole or told a lie or fornicated.
During these dark days of my life, I often prayed for death, but it never came. Despite all these experiences, I was very bright academically and was loved and favored by God and people. I knew that the only way to escape was to achieve educational success, so I never joked with schooling.
So you see, I have every right to be hateful, bitter, jealous, arrogant, sad, negative and toxic but I chose not to. Rather I embraced positivity, kindness, peace and love. My life is beautiful. I am a happy person. I’m at peace with God. I am hardworking, beautiful and smart despite all I’ve been through and I have only Almighty God to thank for it. If I was able to subdue my demons then I believe everyone has the power to conquer his/her demons also. MY LIFE IS WHAT I MAKE OF IT #AweleChukwukaumemma
I have often tried to ask myself very critically if the present All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Muhammadu Buhari has indeed achieved any tangible mileage in its educational agenda for the country. I was just wondering over what has changed or what is set to change. I took cognisance of the school feeding programme in a decayed infrastructural environment. I took cognisance of the promise of the APC to transform the education sector and effect a holistic curriculum that can contend with the needs of 21st Century world, with changing dynamics and sophistication in a new world order driven by technology. I noticed that ASUU strike punctured academic calendar in time past, and its recent threat of another strike is yet again an opportunity to put the country on the reverse gear. I kept asking myself what are the creativity, innovations and inventions within the academia that have impacted on the growth of the country. What exactly are our academics doing to further the narrative of a new Nigeria driven by technology and knowledge?
What do we produce from the Ivory Towers as response to problems confronting us in the country? Beyond the public commentaries from our experts, what have they invented in the different aspects of our lives to provide ready made solutions to our nagging problems? What exactly are our professors professing? What do they do with all the researches from undergraduate to postgraduate levels in the universities? They gather dust on the shelves or become handy disposable wraps for “akara” sellers. Almost every item is imported in our laboratories. Almost every equipment is imported in our hospitals, yet we have seasoned professors who excel so proudly and profoundly outside the country through consultancy services they render to those who pay heavily for them. When you take a sample population of Nigerians in diaspora, you will find a collection of some of the best brains in the world, inventing solutions to global problems and offering other perspectives to developmental problems across the globe. Rather than invent, create and innovate, the news from our higher institutions talks about sexual harassment, sex-for-marks tales, lecturers “being set up”, and other categories of inanities that easily pre-occupy idle minds.
It’s already a year since the
death of Elizabeth Ochanya Ogbanje and the perpetrators are yet to be brought
to book. Raped to death by an uncle and his son, her story reawakened the many
fears women are afraid to speak about for many have been brutally raped by
close family members; others by trusted neighbours and more.
But somehow, a woman in most
situations gets blamed for this grave injury while the offender smirks and struts
about.
Last Monday activists in Nigeria reaffirmed the fact that the
country is yet to scratch the surface in fight against sexual abuse.
The workshop was organised by the
Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE)
Nigeria to commemorate one year since Ochanya Ogbanje, a 13-year-old girl died
due to sexual abuse.
A book titled ‘Reflections on the
Child Abuse Crisis in Nigeria’ was also publicly presented to mark the
anniversary. The book is a documentary of the events around the death of Miss
Ogbanje, thoughts of Nigerians on the issue and the general child sexual abuse
problem in the country.
Princess Olufemi-Kayode, one of
the speakers at the workshop, said a circle of abuse exists in Nigeria because
when some children are abused, they also eventually become abusers regardless
of their sex.
She recommended a massive
awareness campaign on sexual abuse by religious leaders, schools and parents.
She said people should also be made to understand damages associated with child
sexual abuse.
The organiser of the workshop,
Betty Abah, said Nigerian children have become endangered because agencies that
are meant to enforce their wellbeing and deal with the people that threaten
their futures are not in place.
“When the government talks about
the Child’s Right Act, most of the time, they just pay lip service. They want
to impress international donors, they want to impress the rest of the world
because that is the direction of the world.
“A country is deemed to be
serious and progressive when they have child-friendly policies and look out for
the well-being of the children, including the poorest and richest and the
most-vulnerable.”
Miss Ogbanje was a 13-year-old
girl who was allegedly raped by her guardian, Andrew Ogbuja, and his son,
Victor, for five years.
Mr Ogbuja was a lecturer at Benue
State Polytechnic, while his son who has been on the run since the incident was
a student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Markurdi.
Miss Ogbanje died on October 17,
from complications of five years of anal and vaginal rape which led to
Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) and other health complications.
As a result of her death,
nationwide protests were held across Nigeria seeking justice for the child.
Aside from Nigeria-based advocacy groups and NGOs, her case also attracted
international attention all calling for justice to be meted on the
perpetrators.
Mrs Abah, while making comment on
Miss Ogbanje’s case, said the protection of children has not been prioritised
which is why people who violate the rights of children, including fathers who
rape their children and toddlers, go scot-free without severe punishment.
“That is why the Ochanya’s case
is still dragging. If we are a serious society, with all the mobilisation and
the international outcry, by now, that case should have been settled. By now,
we should have known the fate of the accused. One of the accused is on the run
and the police are yet to declare him wanted.”
Ameh Ejekwonyilo, brother of Miss
Ogbanje, was present at the event.
He said that people who hold
positions in the government do not see child sexual abuse as a problem because
it hardly affects them. In his sister’s case, Mr Ejekwonyilo said, the alleged
perpetrators are those who have political connections and are powerful.
He said Victor Ogbuja has been on
the run since the incident and no one was talking about it. He said the police
were yet to give reasons on why he is yet to be apprehended.
He stated that the hope of the
family is that the authorities in charge of the case will act to ensure that
justice is served. He further expressed hope that children would find safe
spaces to learn and pursue whatever they want to in life.
“I’m optimistic that the
judiciary will do what is required of it by law and those who have been called
to account for their roles in what has happened to Ochanya would be made to
face the wrath of the law.”
He said Mr Ogbuja’s case comes up
on October 9 at the state high court in Makurdi, while the case of the wife,
Felicia, comes up on October 8 at the Federal High Court, Makurdi. Mrs Ogbuja
was arraigned for allowing the persistent rape of the late victim to continue
despite that it was brought to her notice.
Ejekwonyilo advised children undergoing sexual molestation to speak out and let the world know about their challenges. He said parents must also educate their children and ensure their children are confident in speaking up.
Dues are too expensive. The events aren’t cool. Everyone in the room is twice my age. No one listens to me. I don’t feel like I’m part of the clique. These are the complaints of millennial lawyers who are much less likely to show up at bar association events than lawyers in their 50s or older.
Leona Krasner, a 32-year-old matrimonial lawyer in New York City, said attending a bar association function is a lot like visiting the doctor. You dread going, but you know it’s good for you.
After hearing that analogy, you’re probably thinking that Krasner is one of the millennial lawyers who doesn’t belong to a bar association or isn’t very active. But you’d be wrong! She chairs the communications committee for the New York State Bar Association’s women in law section and she joined the City Bar in September.
Krasner said she came up with innovative ideas for her state bar section but her suggestions were rejected. She thinks bar associations should tackle topics that touch millennials’ personal lives such as how to negotiate raises, how to advance in your firm and how to balance work and family. Her ideal bar association event? One she attended several years ago that mixed sushi, drinks and a conversation on ethics.
“All the millennials went to that,” she recalls. “People would rather go to a fun event than one that sounds boring.”
Dues are too expensive. The events aren’t cool. Everyone in the room is twice my age. No one listens to me. I don’t feel like I’m part of the clique. These are the complaints of millennial lawyers who are much less likely to show up at bar association events than lawyers in their 50s or older.
“The conversation that I have had most often with my peers has been about money. It always boils down to ‘my student loan is due next week and you want me to shell out another $100 for a bar association event. Are you mad?’ said Sarah Filcher, 33, staff attorney for the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project and vice president of LeGaL, the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York.
According to Wikipedia, Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. It is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.
According to the findings fully supported by Pro-Papers, an education writing firm in USA, the education sector should be paid lots of attention because it gives room for the country’s development. Unfortunately, the quality and standard of education in Nigeria is poor because it has not been paid adequate attention.
Nigeria runs a federation system, so the Nigerian education system is overseen by the Ministry of Education. The education system at the federal level is managed by the Ministry of Education. This includes management of federal universities and schools. State public schools and tertiary institutions are controlled regionally by the Ministry at the state level.
We’ll try to highlight the leading causes for poor state and quality of education in our country and possible ways out.
1. Poor Funding
The first and possibly one of the greatest challenges facing education in Nigeria is inadequate funding by the federal, state and local government. In the year 2017, Nigeria’s education sector was again allocated much lower than the 26 percent of national budget recommended by the United Nations.
The global organization recommended the budgetary benchmark to enable nations adequately cater for rising education demands. But, in the proposal presented to the National Assembly, President Muhammadu Buhari allocated only 7.04% of the 8.6 trillion 2018 budget to the education.
The total sum allocated to the sector is N605.8 billion, with N435.1 billion for recurrent expenditure, N61.73 billion for capital expenditure and N109.06 billion for the Universal Basic Education Commission.
As Nigeria’s rich continue sending their kids overseas to obtain quality education, the educational system in country continues to flounder.
Ironically, it is the investments the host countries of these foreign schools made in their educational system that made them attractive. Today government office holders who could transform Nigeria’s educational fortunes choose instead to send their wards abroad to obtain that, which the country cannot offer.
Meanwhile, China which celebrates its national day on October 1st like Nigeria has bounded years ahead of the 59 year old. Its educational system is in a different realm. Nigeria does not even come close.
The Blueprint Newspaper on March 2, 2019 wrote on: The worsening state of Nigeria’s education. Eleojo Idachaba in that article posited as follows:
Earlier, in 2017, President Buhari while declaring open the presidential retreat for members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Old Banquet Hall, Abuja, bemoaned the state of education in the country. According to the president, “The state of education in Nigeria calls for a serious concern and that is why we are all gathered here today. The problem is no longer a secret that the quality of education in Nigeria requires greater attention and improvement.”
“That our country is facing numerous challenges in
education and all other sectors as a result of historical abuses, mindless
impunity and corruption is not news to anyone. With an estimated 13.2 million
children out of school, high illiteracy level, infrastructural deficit and
decay, unqualified teachers, and inadequate instructional materials, to mention
some of the challenges, we can clearly see the effect of decades of neglect
that the education sector has suffered. We are determined to turnaround the
sector for the better. We are already making appreciable progress in this
respect. This summit must, therefore, among other things, sharpen our
strategies for addressing the challenges of basic and secondary education,
teacher training and professional development, technical and vocational education,”
he said.
An
analyst’s view
Writing on the deplorable state of education, an
education analyst, Yaz Abubakar, said Nigeria urgently needs to improve school
standards to reverse years of decay in education and prevent the sector from
falling further.
He said: “The Nigerian education system has undoubtedly
failed millions of children and we need systematic change across the country to
redress the problem. Successive governments have introduced policies to improve
access to education in the country. Obasanjo introduced the free Universal
Basic Education (UBE) scheme in 2004, Jonathan worked on nomadic education and
the Buhari administration just launched a free school meals programme, however,
more student enrolment in schools has not translated to improved quality of
education. Instead, the attainment gap between students attending state schools
and those at fee-paying schools (private schools) has widened. It is not
unusual to find students sitting in under-furnished or over-populated
classrooms.”
He said the private sector can definitely do better than
the current state of under-funded and forsaken state schools.
According to him, “At the very least, the government
should defer to private sector management as they tend to value choice and
innovation in a market setting.”
While offering solution to the lull in public school
system as against the private ones, Abubakar said, “Tax private schools and
local businesses and ring-fence this pot for PPP schools. Local businesses
would benefit in the long run, as they can employ better educated young people
with the skill-sets to improve the local economy. If properly implemented, PPP
schools engender competition between private schools and state schools,
encouraging both groups to invest the resources needed to improve the learning
outcomes of students. The Nigerian government alone can no longer fix
education; it needs private sector help in improving education for all.”
Budgetary
allocation
Investigations by Blueprint Weekend show that as at the moment, only seven per cent, for instance, out of the 2018 budget was allocated to education whose implementation, according to analysts is below three percent. “No education sector can develop like that especially as the monetary allocation to the sector is far below the United Nations approved minimum standards,” Alechenu Benjamin, a school proprietor, said.
Speaking further, he said: “The Nigerian education
system is not beyond redemption. The only time you can say something is beyond
redemption is when such a thing is dead. You can liken what is happening to our
education system to a child suffering from Kwashiorkor and you know what that
means. However, a child suffering from Kwashiorkor, if given proper diet and
treatment, can recover and develop like every other normal child.
“In the same vein, what our education system needs now is a revitalisation of policies to align them with modern trends. There are willing and committed hands to implement these policies to nurse the system back to health. We had people from sister African countries coming here to study in our schools in the 60s and 70s, but today, Nigerians are the ones sending their children to Ghana and Togo to get education. We still have what it takes to reverse this trend with proper policy formation, implementation, adequate funding and supervision; Nigeria can compete favourably, not only in Africa, but also across the world.”
Northern
states
Nigeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of
population and has approximately 20% of the total out-of-school children
population in the world. Adding to this challenge is the demographic pressure
with about 11,000 new born every day that overburdens the system’s capacity to
deliver quality education.
In the northern part of Nigeria, almost two-thirds
of students are functionally illiterate. The states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina,
Kano, and Sokoto, for instance, have shown commitment to improving their
education systems, but they face severe challenges including high poverty
levels, low enrolment figure brought about by cultural factors, gender
disparities, poor quality and relevance, poor infrastructure and learning
conditions. Another challenge is the direct threat to schooling, especially for
girls, emanating from the political insecurity through insurgent activities and
attacks on schools. As a result of this, each state created an education sector
plan to outline its priorities and objectives.
Jigawa
Blueprint Weekend’s investigation on Jigawa state
indicates that its education sector policy highlights four major areas to
include improving access and expanding opportunities, ensure quality and
relevance of education provision, improve educational planning and management,
ensure sustainable funding and improved financial management. The sector plan
also establishes 17 clear initiatives to support these policy objectives,
including establishing free education for girls at all levels and free
education for all people with special needs, however, the constraint is
funding.
Kaduna
Kaduna on its part plans to focus on providing access to
good quality schooling to all children of school age, attaining gender parity,
and a student-teacher ratio of 40:1 per class. It also intends to raise the
quality of education to ensure that students acquire permanent literacy,
numeracy, life skills, and cognitive capacity. Part of it involves improving
performance in both school and public examinations by ensuring better
progression rates and higher completion rates for all students, as well as
improving planning and management of educational services and institutions to
ensure effective delivery of education. Finally, it is working towards ensuring
accountability to all stakeholders including communities, civil society
organisations and the private sector.
Kano
In Kano, for instance, the details of the education plan
revolves around five main areas: Ensuring equitable access to basic education
through addressing both supply and demand factors, improving educational
quality through reducing class sizes, increasing the availability of instructional
materials, and improving teacher quality, expanding technical and vocational
opportunities relevant to the needs of industry and local communities,
gradually increasing education financing and introducing school grants to
support school development, ensuring that all schools have school development
plans, school-based committees, and boards of governors to improve school
governance.
Katsina
In the case of Katsina, emphasis is on strategic policy
objectives and interventions that address five major challenges in its
education system. This includes poor quality and relevance, infrastructural
insufficiency and decay, inefficient management and system inefficiency,
non-sustainable funding and adequate resourcing. The strategic interventions
include increasing community participation, increasing advocacy and
sensitisation, improving teachers’ welfare packages and providing teachers with
re-training.
Sokoto
Sokoto is set to prioritise four policy goals to include
the improvement of the learning performance of pre-school children in 23 local
government areas, contributing to improvement in net primary school, enrolment,
retention, and educational attainment, providing basic education, vocational,
and life skills for out of school children and women through non-formal
education, increasing enrolment and retention of children. The sector plan also
specifies four key areas of intervention including constructing schools,
purchasing essential learning materials, providing equipment and machineries
and capacity building.
Educationist
speaks
“For these states, policy document is not a problem; what is lacking is the political will to allocate enough resources to finance those policy documents,” says Madam Olori Aiyedun, a retired educationist.
The
FCT example
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for instance,
investigation by our correspondent shows that while the TETFund-assisted
buildings adorn most schools, a lot still needs to be done in terms of
equipping those schools with basic infrastructure like water, light, library
services, sporting facility and laboratory.
For instance, the Jabi Primary School which is said to
be the largest in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has an over-bloated
population of students in each classroom which makes conducive learning
difficult. According to Samson Etodo, a teacher in one of the centres operating
under the aegis of FCT Agency for Mass Education in the school, the population
explosion is so much that even the teachers are worried but said there is
nothing they can do about it.
“I have been here for over three years now. If you come
to this school during the day, the noise of students during break and game
period is disturbing. There is no control from the teachers because the ratio
of teacher/students is in the range of 7:3,” he said.
In a chat with a teacher who simply wanted to be known
as Miss Rebecca, she said: “The population explosion here has overstretched the
only facility here, (pointing to an old abandoned play ground). The government
doesn’t seem to know that something is wrong with the educational system. We
have a special school for special children with autism here, the facilities
there are better than what we have in this public school because that one is
privately managed. Even the children themselves know that they deserve better
facilities than what is available here.”
This development is not only peculiar to Jabi, but
investigation shows that all the primary schools in the territory suffer the
fame fate of population explosion which does not guarantee conducive learning
environment.
Efforts to get the officials of Universal Basic
Education Commission (UBEC) for comment on what the commission calls counterpart
funding from states were not successful as this reporter was informed that
“those who are in a position to talk are out of town on account of the
elections.”
Considering the importance of education, it is expected that governments at all levels would make conscious efforts to increase budgetary allocation to the sector.
Ikenna Emewu in the article: China’s education leap in 70 years gives an insight into how that country transformed its educational sector.
As Nigeria celebrates 59 with its own peculiar education development history, China seems to have gone through a more tasking but fruitful education development that had few years of interruption when between 1966 and 1970 the university system seemed abrogated during the Cultural Revolution and rejuvenated in 1970 with full revival in 1977 after Deng Xiaoping had come to power. The entrance examinations for higher school admissions for three straight years had a backlog of over 18m people whose education had been interrupted or denied. That gave back hope of higher education to over 848,000 new scholars who returned the country to university education. In the past 40 years China has had a very rapid and consistent education development as fast as the unprecedented pace of its economy. From 227 higher institutions in 1949 to a rapid growth to 841 in 1958 and to 1,289 in 1960 and an eventual crash to 407 in 1965 and to zero between 1966 and 1970 when the Cultural Revolution forced a closure of all – that was the odd history before it re-incepted.
Nigeria and China coincidentally have the same National Day – October 1. When China’s Communist Party struggles with the ruling Kuomingtan Party ended in 1949, a new People’s Republic of China was adopted on October 1 of the year. From this datum point, the China People’s Republic on October 1, 2019 was 70. There have been 70 years of moving from the valley to the spur through thorns and spikes. Evaluating China’s history through education is as interesting as its general odyssey.
As the new era for education reforms came, school enrolment also increased. For instance, middle school graduates that went to high school increased from 40.6% in 1990 to 90% in 2011. China school age population today is 28% of the population or 392m, a growth of 20% from 1.4% in 1978 when reforms started. The percentage of primary school graduates that enrolled in secondary likewise, rose from 32% in 1962 to 86% in 1978 and 98.3% in 2011.
Chief Razaq Akanni Okoya. CON, who built his multi-million dollar Eleganza Business Empire from 20 Pounds, was born in Lagos, South-West Nigeria on January 12, 1940 to the family of Tiamiyu Ayinde and Alhaja Idiatu Okoya.
The only formal education he had was at Ansar-Ud-Deen Primary School, Oke-Popo, Lagos.
According to him:
“while in school, I could see my teacher in worn out and often shabby clothes and at the same time, I could see well-dressed businessmen at Dosunmu Street, the then heart of business in Lagos. So it was easy for me to choose business life.”
So, he made up his mind to become an entrepreneur at a very young age.
As he grew up, he worked for his father who was a very good tailor. They weren’t just sewing on-demand clothing for people, but were also making clothes for sale. They also made bicycle seat cover and sold tailoring accessories.
As a tailor, his father was fairly comfortable as he owned a Chrysler, and regularly used it to commute to see his clients. One of his clients was Chief Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, the father of Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
While working for his father, he engaged in his own side tailoring services like mending shirts and trousers for a fee and saved up every penny he made until he had £20, which was the equivalent of 40 Nigerian Naira in those days.
With that money, he decided to startup his own small scale trading.
At the time he started his business, a lot of people weren’t ordering items directly from the manufacturers, but somehow, he had stumbled upon a product catalogue of a manufacturer based in Japan; he studied their products and realised they could sell out, and so he decided to place an order. But he got stuck when he realised the value of the order was £70, meaning he was short of £50.
To make up his capital, he approached his mother for a loan, but being a respectful and submissive wife to her husband, she requested he should first ask for permission from his father for her to give him the loan, which he did.
After making up his capital, he placed the order for the items. Upon the arrival of the shipment, he realised that the quality of the products were far better than what was in the market already and also far cheaper. This helped him sell out quickly and place more orders within a very short space of time.
The quick turnovers helped his business to expand rapidly, and gave him the finance he needed to launch into other areas.
Having travelled to many countries around the world to see how things are done, he decided it was about time he started manufacturing his own goods.
Around this period, his first wife, Kuburat Okoya had an obsession with expensive jewellery. She was importing them at ridiculously expensive prices. He got fed up with the cost of the jewelleries, because of the abundance of raw materials in Nigeria.
Since the local demand for these jewelleries were high, he travelled abroad, bought some jewellery manufacturing machines, brought in some experts, and started manufacturing the jewellery at ridiculously low costs.
Shortly after the commencement of the Jewellery Manufacturing Arm of Eleganza Group, his success was overwhelming. They couldn’t keep up with the local demand since their prices and quality were really attractive. This led to a remarkable major breakthrough.
While he was manufacturing jewellery and buttons, he decided to venture into shoe manufacturing. What he did then, was to pay factories in Italy to manufacture the shoes for him and then export them to Nigeria. While this was going smoothly, his order suddenly stopped at some point, so he immediately flew to Italy to find out why they didn’t send in his goods and to his dismay, he realised they had used his money to settle their factory bills.
This angered him, and drove him to import machines and experts to train his workers on shoe manufacturing.
When asked about what motivated him, he said:,
“My father was a very good tailor and we were selling tailoring materials. We didn’t wait for people to bring materials; we were making clothes and sewing everything to sell. From shirts to trousers to bicycle seats.
My father was very industrious and enterprising. That gave me some inspiration.
I am from Cow Lane in Lagos. I looked forward, then, to becoming somebody in life. By the standards of those days, my father was comfortable. He owned a car, a Chrysler for that matter. Then, I used to ride with him in his car to his clients who were living in Ikoyi and its environs, people like Chief Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, the father of Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
I used to tell myself that one day I was going to live in one of those mansions. My main motivation was that I wanted to be rich and I knew I had to work very hard to get there.”
The Eleganza Group of Companies today employs over thousands of people and has multiple manufacturing subsidiaries in several places like Oregun-Ikeja, Isolo, Alaba, and Iganmu; producing items like seats, shoes, jewelleries, plastics, coolers, cutlery, ice chests, electric fans, cosmetics, pens, and a lot more.
His Group of Companies also includes a multi-million dollar properties investment arm called RAO Property Investment Company, and is generally one of the largest conglomerates in Nigeria today.
Razaq Okoya has an advice for young entrepreneurs,
“There is a huge market. You just need to be focused and know what you want. And more importantly, you have to work really hard to realise your dream.”
The life of this great industrialist is proof once again, that with hard work and dedication, any youth in Nigeria can turn his/her life around. Despite the difficulties and challenges in our environment, such as capital, infrastructures, etc. We also have many opportunities, which youths today can take advantage of.
If men like Razaq Okoya can achieve this much, in an era without mobile phones, powerful laptops, and no internet, Social. How much more can we achieve?
Today, Razaq Akanni Okoya lives in his magnificent and outlandish estate, known as: Oluwa Ni Shola Estate (The Lord Creates Wealth) at Lekki-Ajah Expressway. The Oluwa Ni Shola Estate, which is also described as an expatriates Estate because of the high number of expatriates living there.
The estate is well equipped with uninterrupted power and water supply, marble floors, central air-conditioning, sauna, lush gardens, billiard room, tennis court, swimming pools, expensive sculptures and lots more.
Success rightfully earned, is sweet.
If you are not too young to run, you are not too young to be wealthy.
Name: Razak Akanni Okoya
Born: 12 January 1940 (age 79)
Net Worth: $650 Million (December 2015)
Citizenship: Nigerian
Awards and Honours
Despite not having a formal education, Chief Rasaq Akanni Okoya has been a recipient of so many honorary awards from different higher institutions, some of which are listed below:
Aare of Lagos.
Lifetime Achievement Award of Business Entrepreneur by ThisDay Newspapers. The award was presented to Okoya by Bill Clinton, Former President of United States of America.
Lifetime Achievement Award by The Sun Newspaper
Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration by the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers
Golden Award for Quality by the Nigerian Institute of Standards
Award of Honour by the Nigerian Institute of Estate Valuers
Certificate of Recognition by the Nigerian Real Estate (NREA).
DSc (Honoris Causa) by Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
DSc (Honoris Causa) by Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria
DSc (Honoris Causa) in Business Administration by Crescent University, Abeokuta.
Commander of the Order of Niger (CON) the Federal Government of Nigeria
Additional Information
He is the Chairman of the Eleganza Group, and RAO Property Investment Company
Rasaq Akanni Okoya is an affable socialite, he is a staunch member of a number of social clubs in Lagos, including the high-profile Metropolitan Club, Yoruba Tennis Club and The Island Club. As a matter of fact, he has made tremendous contributions to the development and uplift of these clubs, all of which have erected appropriate plaques of recognition within their premises for him.
Eleganza Industries today boasts of thousands of employees spread across the country. He also has multiple manufacturing companies in different parts of Lagos, which produce other items such as plastics, jewelry, coolers, cutlery, electric fans, etc. Eleganza group of companies, through RAO property Investment, has also invested in properties around Lagos. One of such is the magnificent Oluwa Ni Shola Estate, located in Lekki in Lagos State.
His Quotes
“I keep to myself. I do not look at other people. I am content with myself. I do not look for cheap money. I am not interested in contracts and I do not expose myself to intrigues and politics.”
“You do not do business for the ego value. You go for what the people can afford. In business, you have to ensure that the masses are able to afford the cost of your products. That is one of my secrets.”
“My main motivation was that I wanted to be rich and I knew I had to work very hard to get there.”
“I have nothing against education. But at times, education gives people false confidence. It makes people relax, trusting in the power of their certificates rather than in working hard.”
The story of Chief Razaq Akanni Okoya, teaches us that…
There are opportunities for those who are willing to be diligent and faithful in what they can do with their minds and hands.
Our site uses cookies. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you direct Law and Society Magazine to store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Statement: cookie policyACCEPTREJECT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
