TALKING ABOUT ACADEMICS MERIT FOR POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA.

Akande, Akin Sanyaolu

Before anyone starts abusing me about certificate matter,let me quickly tell you that professionalism too has an attachment in certificate. This is why an electrical electronic graduate in shell or chevron would be a sight manager and an illiterate or school cert elect elect would be field engineer.

On my own profession, the certificate matters a lot because an agricultural consultant can't be a school cert holder talk less an applied economist.

The argument now is that,not everyone of us will end up searching for job with our certificate but we need experience from professionals. On this note, you need to graduate with good grade and stop hiding under the cover that "who certificate epp?" Working under a company as a fresh graduate sometimes matters a lot even if someone would end up recommending you.

For example: immediately I convocated,I was recommended to castle properties Lagos and I had a short period experience in marketing and distribution.

On my POP, I was recommended to kainos edge consulting, Lagos,did every entrant interview , test and medicals and was above average but with a sound CV and personal profile test, I was employed as a trainee consultant. In 7months, I rose to becoming the P.A to the Managing Director along side other administrative duties. Aside from what I learned in the University concerning leadership,there in management consulting, I learned exceptional leadership and team building. My usage of the ms office was also improved upon especially PowerPoint. Within that year before my resignation, Boldan Agro was formed and now my dream of being an entrepreneur has become a reality since 5years now. This has a lot to do with nation building and leadership because politics is not business! Your certificate must be worthwhile.

Let us also learn from another situation: Friday Osho, a first class material from fishery department of the University of Ibadan, a colleague and a friend once told me when I was applying for masters in the University of Ibadan that I should not underestimate the enterant examination. He said I should prepare for it because many people that failed the exam end up saying they don't have interest in the program again instead of admitting that they failed the entrant examination. In the end, I scored 53 marks and was admitted to study for M.sc. That was merit.

In Nigeria, we have allowed rhetorics and sentiment erode our value system in all strata of our society: Education, Government, Religion and society talking about private establishment. In fact, some people would publicly say that God told them to be a pastor and not God told them to go to school and be educated. It takes hard work and dilligency to achieve academic excellence. If you say who certificate help,mentioning mark zuckerberg and dangote, endeavour to mention akinwunmi bode, adeshina akinwunmi, okonjo iweala etc, who had first class and Wole Soyinka, gani fawehinmi etc who didn't have first class but made mark outside politics. No one is saying you can't make it if you had a pass but the societal benchmark for merit shouldn't be pass or third class. Presently , its not even 2.2. The fact is that there should be a benchmark for merit and it shouldn't be school certificate. Therefore, our constitution must be revisited and review.

Its high time we stopped deceiving ourselves and stopped being led by people who ordinarily can't lead a room talkless leading a nation.

We might have made mistake in the past but now its glaring that academics excellence/merit is sacrosanct to nation building.

God bless Nigeria!!

Akande Akin Sanyaolu.

CEO/Principal Consultant

Boldan Agro Ventures.