Alausa, Tijani, principles and principalities

Regardless of how skilled or experienced we might be, and irrespective how determined one might be in pursuing their goals, certain things will just not work if some of the required principles are not obeyed, or in place. That is why the squirrel theory comes to mind. We know that the squirrel is one animal quite adroit at climbing. Yet, without obeying certain principles, the squirrel will not climb so well. That is why the Igbo say that the squirrel that wishes to climb the banana tree must possess very sharp nails. This is not about the skill or nimbleness of the squirrel in this task, it is about the principles which support its natural skills.

There might not be the need to tell where the thought came from, but it is important to reveal early on here that this reflection was birthed by a recent report of what has been decided upon by the very powerful and thoughtful people running the government of Nigeria. In other words, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through its stakeholder ministries and relevant partners, wants to embark on the show-off of their ideas and skills without obeying the relevant underlying and requisite principles.

On Wednesday, the government announced with a considerable amount of glee that it is going to commence what it referred to as a ‘nationwide school connectivity programme’. The elation in the announcement of this initiative got a very wide coverage. It was well celebrated in the Nigerian media; the nationwide school connectivity programme rang so loud like the usual “WE DID IT!!!” posturing of our governments. Do not be surprised when the programme joins the fat list of the laudable achievements of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

Two federal ministries are involved jointly in this wondrous and insightful initiative. They are the all-important and colossal Federal Ministry of Education, and the only-beautifully-named Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. The two ministries are working hand in glove to give us the nationwide school connectivity programme. On Wednesday, in a statement by Mrs. Folasade Boriowo, the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education, the promoters of the nationwide school connectivity programme said it was in response to a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The President, according to the widely-reported statement, had directed “the expansion of nationwide digital infrastructure and ensuring that critical sectors such as education benefit directly from ongoing broadband and telecommunications investments.”

One of the reports of the initiative said: “To advance the plan, the Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr. Bosun Tijani, held a high-level meeting in Abuja with key stakeholders to strengthen coordination between both ministries on the nationwide school connectivity programme.” Mrs. Boriowo further stated via the statement that the meeting by the two ministers focused on developing a coordinated framework that will ensure internet connectivity reaches institutions at all levels of the education system from foundational and secondary schools to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Alausa, was reported to have also spoken after the meeting. Alausa explained that the initiative “builds on earlier connectivity efforts through the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), which previously supported broadband connectivity for tertiary institutions under a World Bank-funded project.

He noted that although the programme recorded significant progress in connecting universities and other tertiary institutions, the momentum slowed after the initial funding cycle ended, making it necessary to adopt a renewed and expanded strategy.”

That was when the questions began to ‘run around my brain’. Well, this isn’t like that substance which Dillinger said was “running around his brain” in that 1976 hit song of his, which is in his album “The Anthology.” Jamaican Dillinger, whose real name is Lester Randal Bullock, can tell what was running round his own brain, but what was running around my brain was the question of principle of what we planned to do. How could it be that our government was planning such a beautiful initiative without bothering about a few yawning gaps, especially the gap of wholesale poor infrastructure, frightening security and disgracefully poor electricity supply? So, I was curious when the Minister of Education said schools would be connected to reliable internet along with the other beautiful things about the programme.

The question that detonated in my mind was: “WITH WHICH ELECTRICITY ARE THEY GOING TO POWER IT?”

Dr. Alausa and the other minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr. Bosun Tijani, understandably held a high level meeting where the major plan which had been hatched was announced. They said they were at the meeting with other key stakeholders expectedly. However, they announced their plans but didn’t tell how the internet infrastructure would be powered. Does that not sound like the squirrel who wants to climb the banana tree without nails at all let alone the requisite sharp nails? Without prejudice to the enormous work which must have gone into planning by the ministries, and the expected boisterous roll-out, this looks like it would end up as another white elephant in our hands and in our schools.

The beautiful and mellifluous statement by the ministries which told of the equally beautiful plan, but chose to ignore everything which has been happening in the power sector in Nigeria is underserving. The fact that our schools, especially secondary schools across the country are littered with decayed, decaying and uncompleted structures, is a pointer to our deficiency in the application of principles.

It would have been one of the most beautiful sights if the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, was at the meeting to tell how electricity, one of the most important commodities needed for the sustainable execution of the school connectivity programme, would be made available and at what cost. We were not told if the planning included powering the projects with electricity generating sets, since public power supply is now an alternative source of power.

The sad reality that many schools too are in the rural and underserved areas are even out of the question. Let us pretend that all the schools in the urban areas, but those in the hinterland are currently out of the equation and may wait for a long time to receive the infrastructure. We also know that some of these schools have been shut and nearly all their pupils and students are in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, some of which are flung far away from their localities. Yet the programme is meant to be nationwide, and it should involve all our children.

It is a notorious fact that without a radical shift in the public power supply structure of our country, we will continue in the motion without movement we are currently into. Initiatives as beautiful as this one brought by Bosun Tijani and Dr. Alausa would always end up as unrealistic ideas which still litter our schools and public spaces today.

Disagreeable as this opinion may appear, the principles required for such an initiative to thrive are not followed, and they are obeyed. The school connectivity programme might be a beautiful idea, but it is just another waste of resources, time and space.