Read on Twitter
Sunday Read - “Power, Politics & Death: A Front Row Account of Nigeria under Late President Yar’Adua” by Olusegun Adeniyi
Good read. Of all books I've read this year, perhaps only @elnathan_john “Becoming Nigerian” is a more interesting read.
A short thread of my favorite part.
Good read. Of all books I've read this year, perhaps only @elnathan_john “Becoming Nigerian” is a more interesting read.
A short thread of my favorite part.
“President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua spent ample time in his first eight weeks in office receiving briefings from agencies and departments of the federal government. One such session with the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) concluded with an anecdote that created some
discomfiture for those present. It spoke of an imaginary rowing competition between a Nigerian team and its Malaysian counterpart.
According to the story by Mr Shina Agboluaje, NEPZA Managing Director, each team featured eight team members who had to compete against each other after months of training. The competition was held, and the Malaysian rowing team defeated the Nigerian rowing team by
margin of 10 kilometers. Following the dismal performance, managers of the Nigerian rowing team contracted some experts to analyze the problem and recommend appropriate solutions.
The analysis revealed that whereas the Malaysian rowing team had one captain and seven rowers, the Nigerian rowing team had one rower and seven captains. Ordinarily, the solution should have been obvious, but the managers of the Nigerian rowing team hired a consulting firm
to restructure the team. Their recommendation was just as bizarre as the outcome of their finding: eight-man Nigerian team should comprise four captains, two supervisors, one manager and one rower.
Of course, the result at the next competition was predictable: the Malaysian rowing team defeated the Nigerian rowing team, this time by a margin of 20 kilometers!
There were some uncomfortable glances across the room, but the president got the message of this anecdote about why things hardly work in Nigeria...”
Reality check. Most things aren't working simply because our political leaders aren't ready to make them work. We complicate simple issues!
