Success Damian:
Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU),
Professor Olanrewaju Adigun Fagbohun, has reiterated the essence of inclusive
governance as strategy for achieving success and peace.
Olanrewaju
made the disclosure in an interview at a book presentation in his honour by
the Faculty of Law of the institution on Thursday.
“I am able to achieve good relationship with all the
unions simply because I don’t do things alone. Everything I do is inclusive.
Look, it is not rocket science, when you involve people in what you want to do,
they will not go back when it is time for implementation of that thing, and why
do people do things alone? People do things alone because they have another
agenda, they want to cut corners, they feel that I can manage this to myself,”
Fagbohun stated.
Speaking on the process of realizing inclusiveness,
he disclosed ”We have something we want to do and I invited everybody, Directors,
Deans, HODs, Students, and I say this is what we want to achieve, how best do
we go about it? And while we are discussing it, I am even so free that I can
work out and go and do some other things, which means I have not conceived of
how they should arrive at that thing”
Fagbohun reveals what happens when a leader decided
to run a non-inclusive governance “You
are tele-guiding, we have our own agenda, you now want to play games, you say
this is where it should go. People are no fools, they see through it. Because
they know where you are going, they will just be watching you, oga when you get
there let us know. If I want to do something that concerns media, why should I be
the one to be calling the media? Tell
the man in charge of media; just give me full briefing of what you want to do so
that when he is giving me the briefing, I can tell him, there is a gap here, I think
there is a dislocation here.”
Fagbohun also maintained that in as much as Nigeria
is undergoing numerous challenges politically, legally and economically, the country
is not doomed as claimed by some people.
“People talk about Nigeria; some
people go to the extent of saying that Nigeria is doomed. But I don’t see
Nigeria as doomed in anyway. As a matter of fact when people say, will Nigeria
change in our own lifetime, I tell them yes. Let me tell you what is going to
happen, Nigeria is part of the global system, rules and regulations of
international laws are going on, that is also going to be applicable to
Nigeria. For instance, is it possible for Nigeria to say I am not going to
operate an email account? Is it possible for Nigeria to say I am not going to
operate internet transaction? You cannot, because the global system will catch
up with you. Any one of us that is not able to use email, or internet service
gonna have a challenge in life, there would be a limitation as to what you can
do.
“”In the same way it will happen in the country, you
find out that it is going to get to a point where some countries
that we need to have critical relationships will tell us, if you do not amend
your law to reflect this we will not deal with you. Those are the things that
will compel Nigeria to sit down and do what is right, because you cannot operate
in isolation,” Fagbohun explained.
The Vice Chancellor also spoke on technological
innovations that would make Nigeria do things right especially in the face of
globalization.
“What is happening in technology, you see what it did
to Nigeria, that is what is going to happen in Nigeria beyond whatever the
leader may say, otherwise, the way it is happening, you will not be able to do
international money transaction, why do you think Nigeria is saying now that they
want to lay emphasis on internet banking? It is because the international
community is putting pressure on them. The only thing that I am interested in;
I am always concern that when we now want to key into this global relationship,
we should key to them on terms that will work for us in the context of our own
country.”
Fagbohun also spoke on issue of transferred technology.
He maintained that rather than a technological transfer for the country, there
should be a system of co-creation of technology in Nigeria in such a way that
it will benefit the nation, “Look at transfer of technology, I don’t believe in
transfer of technology. Look at the history of transfer of technology, what has
it given to anyone of us, zero, but I believe in co-creation of technology.
“Let us work together, have Hakaton, have technology
hub, come and work with our students there, you find out that all our children,
all of us, the way they operate this gadgets, is amazing, we use this gadgets,
just may be 5%, our children use this
gadgets 50-60%. By the time they work with somebody who understands the nuances
of this gadgets better, they would use this gadgets 110%. So those are the kind
of things we gonna see.
Prof Fagbohun also advised Nigerians not to lose hope
in the nation. “None of us should lose hope about Nigeria at all. All of us
should be confident about Nigeria and continue to push the frontiers of what we
are doing, complaining about irregularities, complaining about malfeasance, and
we will get there.”
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