WELCOME SPEECH DELIVERED BY SODIQ OYELEKE,
PRESIDENT,MUSLIM STUDENTS SOCIETY, NIGERIAN NISTITUTE OF JOURNALISM IN THE 2ND
ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM HELD ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 16TH, 2012.
Protocols,
It is my pleasure and honor to welcome you all to our Annual
Symposium which is held annually to enlighten students and communication professionals
on the way forward to Nigerians development.
I recognize the past Muslim
students present and give them a pride of place in the forums of this nature.
May your shadows never grow less; I know that your hearts rejoice to watch the
little fig tree which you planted, years ago, blossoming into a giant tree
which provides cool shadow to all and sundry.
In the same spirit after deep reflection, Executive approved the
theme of the Annual Symposium Lecture for the Year 2012 as “JOURNALISM, LAW AND
ACCOUNTABILITY; WAY FORWARD FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA.” because National
development is an issue that is uppermost in the heart of every Nigerian; the
country is blessed with an abundance of every resource that should make this
country very great if purposefully harnessed and managed. But it is common
knowledge that the resources have not been put to good use for the benefit of
the larger society, hence the state of penury in which we are as a nation.
Why is our national development effort since independence unable,
till date, to support a decent life and a promising future? Why are all the symbols of promised economic
growth suddenly stunted and even in reverse gear? Have we truly given thought and sufficient
reflection to the meaning and scope of development and management?
The truth must be told here. Development is certainly much more
than crunching GDP figures, drilling oil, erecting skyscrapers or even blindly
accepting the western economic theories of privatization, stabilization and
liberalization.
Ladies and gentlemen, development is strictly about the
transformation of society. And when we talk about the transformation of
society, it is not just about slogans, they have to be coded in the values of
direction. Transformation must be about what kind of society we seek to build,
and for what goals and purposes. This is the only way that transformation
acquires its true meaning, and that is why development experts insist that
transformation is also a process mechanism that affects not only what we do,
but how we do it.
At the end of the day therefore, an accurate conception about
Nigerian development is essentially about quality of life issues; issues such
as poverty eradication; peace and security, true and broad health care, and
education beyond basic literacy. Yet it is also about economic security, the
creation of safety nets, a democratic, equitable, and sustainable development.
I understand the frustrations that many Nigerians feel about the
failure of development on our shores. What many have failed to ask however is
how they understand the concept and the values that give development its
meaning.
This is not a topic for hot debate. Fellow compatriots, just look
around yourselves, recall your last visit to a true factory, take a broad view
of many of our national monuments, even colleges, health centres, car assembly
plants, steel mills, agricultural projects, and the endless lists of failed
national institutions. Undoubtedly there
is a major management deficit in the land, and the result is that our country
is far away from where it ought to be.
Though, Law is an effective tool to Nigeria’s development, I am
not one of those who believe that Nigeria’s problem is only with its laws. We
talk of amendment to the Constitution and our other laws as if that alone would
take us to our destination. I differ. My take is that our problem is largely
that of management. Bad managers cannot operate the best of laws, the best of
businesses and the best of countries.
After considering this an important theme which demands that we
look for a forthright persons who will tell it as it is, to the faces of those
who will manage the affairs of business and governance; the lot fell on the
tested and trusted HONORABLE, BARRISTER ABDUL LATEEF ABDUL HAKKEM, who is the
GUEST SPEAKER at this lecture and awards winning journalist, producer,
presenter, MR SULAIMON ALEDEH. They are
men of fire-brand courage and forthrightness especially on national issues
bordering on corruption, avarice and mismanagement. Many of us have watched
discussions on the television stations about his current engagement; Many see
them as shy men, completely gentle men who ordinarily will not hurt a fly; but
mark you, they sting when necessary to make Nigeria great. If we have to write
on all that our speakers have spoken publicly and privately on corruption in
this society, even the biggest book cannot contain it.
It is therefore my pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the
Muslim Students of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism. We express our most
sincere gratitude to you for accepting our invitation to be our Speaker at this
Lecture. We have no doubt that you will do good justice to the topic fearlessly
as you are known to do. You have
demonstrated at several fora that the socio-economic,
political and technological development of Nigeria is a concern; we share this
concern with you.
As I close this speech, I want to thank the school management, the
HOD, Mr. Jide Johnson, SAO, Mrs Patricia Kalensanwo, Lecturers, Students, and
others who accepted the invitation even in spite of their tight schedule. It is
a demonstration of love for the Institute Muslim Students which has been nurture
to this level.
Thank you all for coming.
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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