If the
reason we do not apply quota system in sports is because we want to be
successful, then what is the reason why we apply it to politics? Nigeria knows
that she cannot win in sports if she chooses her sportsmen and women on the
basis of tribe and religion, so if we want to win as a country, why are we
choosing our leaders on the basis of tribe and religion?
No nation
on earth can make progress if she sacrifices merit on the altar of tribe and
religion whether you call it quota system or any other name. That is why
Nigeria is not winning on the economy and in international trade.
When you are sick, you do not want the best doctor from your tribe to treat
you. You want the best doctor period. Nigeria is sick and needs the best
doctor! The civil service is sick. It is full of corruption. And why? Because
it is not founded on merit. You cannot build excellent without merit! Quota
system in our schools and the civil service is preventing the type of
competition that would have resulted in excellence.
Recently,
I was looking at the cut off marks for students from the different states in
Nigeria and what I saw is nothing short of legalised discrimination. How can
one state have a cut off mark of 4 while another has a cut off of 136 in the
same country. Can we have progress with such brazen injustice? If after over 40
years of practising quota system one state still has a cut off mark of 4 is
that not proof that it is not working?
We want
unity in Nigeria and as long as we retain quota system, there will be resentments
amongst Nigeria which will fuel disunity. The state with a cut off mark of 4
has absolutely no incentive to improve on education. And that is why our people
are not as patriotic as they could be. How can we use tribe and religion as
standards for entry into educational institutions and the civil service, yet
expect the same people not to be loyal to their tribe and religion? That is
what got you where you are so that is where your loyalty would lie! How can
PHCN work when their engineers were selected on the basis of quota rather than
on merit?
How could Nigeria Airways have succeeded if her officials were employed on the basis of quota rather than on merit?
How could Nigeria Airways have succeeded if her officials were employed on the basis of quota rather than on merit?
Are we
surprised Nigeria National Shipping Line collapsed when staff were chosen on
the basis of quota rather than on merit? How can our ministries thrive when
civil servants are employed on the basis of quota rather than on merit? We need
a new Nigeria. One founded on merit and excellence not on quota system and
mediocrity. Any leader that thinks his or her ethnic group cannot compete
intellectually with others in the project called Nigeria is insulting his
people!
We must
introduce meritocracy instead of nepotism. Just like we do when we want to win
in sports, we must select our best 11 to man our critical national
institutions. That is the only way Nigeria can win in education, the economy,
international trade and in sports. But if we continue to apply quota system,
there will be discontent in Nigeria, our people will not be as patriotic as
they could be and because of the low morale in the civil service, corruption
will thrive.
Corruption
is not really the problem. It is the symptom. The problem is lack of unity
caused by policies such as quota system which breeds the type of discontent
that leads to corruption and other acts of economic sabotage. Any leader who is
promoting quota system in today’s Nigeria should prove he believes in it by
allowing a quota system doctor operate on him the next time he needs surgery.
But no! They will never try that. They want the best doctors to treat them
because they want to be healthy, yet they expect the products of quotas to
staff vital national institutions and infrastructure and expect Nigeria to be
healthy.
Before we had quota, Saudi Arabia’s royal family came to the University College Hospital, Ibadan for treatment in the 60s. After we implemented quota systems, our own leaders began to go to Saudi Arabia for treatment. The facts speak for themselves.
Before we had quota, Saudi Arabia’s royal family came to the University College Hospital, Ibadan for treatment in the 60s. After we implemented quota systems, our own leaders began to go to Saudi Arabia for treatment. The facts speak for themselves.
Albert
Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and
expecting a different result. You see, it does not matter who we have as
president. It could be Dr. Goodluck Jonathan or it could be President Muhammadu
Buhari. It could even be you reading this. But as long as the system does not
change, the society will not change no matter who is president. If we want
progress in our society, we must remove every social injustice and ensure a
level playing field for all Nigerians. Look at our private sector. The reason
private enterprise is doing so well is because of merit not quota.
It is an
insult to call people educationally backward. I have 1,017 staff from all over
Nigeria. They are all equally brilliant. No ethnic group is intellectually
superior or inferior to another. That is my argument against quota system.
Instead of quota system, what we should push for is a system of quota budgeting
which simply means that all our states should by law implement the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
recommendation of allocating 26 per cent of their annual budget to education.
This will
have a greater impact on improving education in Nigeria than the current quota
system which does not force the so called ‘educationally backward’ states to
take pragmatic steps to improve capacity and quality of education in their
states. This is my solution to balancing the education sector without the
injustice of having unequal playing fields.
My name is Ben Murray-Bruce and I just want to make Commonsense!
My name is Ben Murray-Bruce and I just want to make Commonsense!
Sources: +Ben Murray-Bruce @THISDAYLIVE
