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60 years after Nigeria's independence, Nigerians have expressed divergent views on how the country has fared in all the spheres of life. In this interview, the Founder Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke says that the only reason why Nigerian have to celebrate is for been alive. Excerpts :

Do you think there is any good reason for  Nigerians to celebrate the country's 60 years independence anniversary ?

Nigerians, no matter the grievances we may have against successive  governments' performances, for reasons of been alive we need to celebrate. The form of celebration will, however, determine the level of our seriousness and soberness. If at 60, Nigeria is know to be bedeviled with  various problems of poverty and insecurity, there will be the need to compare notes, bot with our past and with other nations, on the issues of growth, progress and development for the present situation the areas of wastefulness in the management of government business must be analyzed critically and objectively for us to know the very weak areas that need correction.

For example, Nigeria was used to various constitutional  process of law that supported federalism with concentrated wealth with the federating units with weal center.

The Parliamentary system of government upheld this for Nigeria to realize at the regional level, accelerated development that promoted healthy competition among the three regions then. Human development index was very high when you assumed that your socio-economic status was poor, but today, we are operating on the 1999 constitution that sourced its strength from the 1979 constitution, all of which were based  on the concept of governance by the military.

The 1922 and 1946 constitutions supported a weak center and upon this, the 1954 constitution was drawn to promote and facilitate development.

This led to the strong 1963 constitution which was, however, truncated in January, 1966 by the first military coup in Nigeria and hence put an end to the strong regional government with a weak center that allowed rapid development that were directly felt with high impact even on the grassroots people.

Presently, the Federal and state Governments operate at 52 per cent federal hold and 48 per cent for the states and Local Governments to manage with. Under the present arrangement state Governors would have to go cap in  hand  to collect money from the Federal Government to be shared among the 36 states and 774 Local Governments to pursue the goal of development.

Worse still,  under this arrangement, leakages in financial transactions, allow very many to be corrupt, this gives room for the abuse of public offices, which is now the order of the day.

Government in the process became a luxurious tantalizing mirage to the very large population that directly need selfless service or visionary leadership which has continued to be elusive.

1 Peter  4 : 8

8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

The home is the bedrock of community formation which extends to nation-building.

However, the role of the parents in running the home in order to give it a strong foundation is highly crucial as this is expected to manifest in the way we rear children.

From the physiological point of view, the custody of the child for safety and without abuse is paramount, while the growth and the development of the child equally depend on the following three parameters, namely-nutrition for a balanced diet and their regular intake for appropriate supply of adequate calories needed for upkeep.

The second factor of importance is a function of nutrition to supply good health for enough body immunity that will not allow infiltration of disease attacks into avoidable ailments which can impair the body ailments which can impair the body from properly functioning.

Good health condition leads to the wellness of the person that will constitute physical fitness, emotional balancing, psychological  fitness and career/financial upkeep. 

When the home fails to provide for all these,  the Maslow's hierarchy of needs become disrupted for the product of the home to be emotionally challenged and socially disturbed. 

Maslow opines that parents need to  rear their children through the following-physiological, social, self-esteem and self-responsibility. 

The Holy Quran  11 : 6,  made this submission, '' There is no moving creature on earth, but its sustenance depended on Allah :  He knoweth its temporary place and its temporary deposit : All is in a clear record.''

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

The Kenyan Government  is considering reviewing the January 2021 resumption date of schools in the country.

The Education Cabinet Secretary, George Magoha, made this known  after a crisis meeting at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), attributed the development to decreasing cases of Covid-19 that suggest the curve may be flattening.

“I called this meeting today to engage the taskforce and various education stakeholders on the process of drafting a new proposal to be presented before the larger national education stakeholder’s conference that will be held on September 25.”

 “It is time to relook at earlier proposals regarding reopening of schools. We are looking at all aspects, but have not come to a consensus on when schools can reopen, or set any date,” said Prof Magoha.  “Between now and next week, the taskforce committee will work on finer details that will be interrogated by the larger stakeholders meeting,” Prof Magoha stated.