MINDSCOPE: Rejuvenate the Value System to Reclaim Nigeria's Greatness

RECLAIMING THE JEWEL OF AFRICA UNVEILED IN ABUJA

The ground unveiling of the Amazon best-seller book of Segun Aganga today in Abuja on July 24, 2023 was yet another testimony of the fact that the political class, the leading lights in the private sector and other stakeholders appreciate the initiative of the author for writing such as a timely and auspicious book. For two past presidents of Nigeria and the the incumbent president to publicly associate with the Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa, then the book and the author are of immense treasure.

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Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who encouraged him to leave Goldman Sachs and work for the Nigerian government, left his Abeokuta home 3am today to join a flight in Lagos to Abuja. He didn't let the cancelled flight stopped him. He travelled back by road to Abeokuta to join the event via zoom. In his speech, he commended the book and reiterated that Nigeria has history of good policies, the bane of progress is implementation. President Ebele Goodluck Jonathan who called Aganga the Chief Marketing Officer of the Nigerian federation, acknowledged his excellent value added contribution to his administration as a federal minister in his cabinet.

The president in the saddle now, Bola Ahmed Tinubu commended the seminal work. He said that the book would serve as a beacon of hope and a guide for a brighter and prosperous tomorrow. He charged the stakeholders to a derive a collective insight from the book for the benefit of all. President Tinubu was represented by Wale Edun, his Special Adviser on monetary policy who was a long standing friend and professional associate of the author. He recalled their early days as budding professionals and that there was something unique about Aganga which made him to see him as being destined for glittering prizes as it has manifested today. Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo acknowledged the fact that the standard Aganga set in office and the structure in place made his own job easier as a federal minister in the Ministry of Trade and Investment.

In all, it was a collective resolve that enough is enough of talking of potentials in Nigeria. It was high time to go for the real thing, prosperity. The book is not about the past but about what the future holds for Nigeria and Nigerians. The stakeholders as a matter of deliberate policy must embark on a cooperative productive engagement and inclusive growth that will attract resourceful youthful energy, predominantly, for things to get better in Nigeria as a going concern.

Lest I forget, the glory of Christ's School, Ado-Ekiti resonated and shone during the memorable occasion. The heritage from which the author and fellow alumni benefited remains, and it stood out like the magnificent cathedral in the midst of regular buildings. Up School!!!

The present stock of the book was outsold at the venue and the author is set to get more copies published by a Nigerian publisher. Congratulations to the distinguished technocrat of repute and the resourceful author.

THE IMPERATIVES OF HAVING VALUES DRIVEN TECHNOCRATS IN GOVERNMENT

An Integrated review of "Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa" written by Segun Aganga and the Public Presentation of the Book

Seye Adetunmbi, 13/7/2023

It is not surprising that the book of Segun Aganga has turned out to be a functional and pragmatic guide for the renaissance of Nigeria, the African Jewel. I have been looking forward to the formal presentation of the book to the public after he first gave me an insight to the book in February 2022. It is indeed a rich informed thoughts of an accomplished international technocrat of repute on leadership, public service, economy, human capital development and plausible roadmap for the integrated Nigerian assets to actualize the zenith potential. As Dr Christopher Kolade put it in the foreword of the book, documentation of experiences from which subsequent/succeeding civilizations can learn and thus improve their living standards and accomplishments, is one of the best things to happen to any human civilization. This is why I join others to congratulate oga Segun for a job well done by heeding to his innate desire to put his thoughts down for posterity. He is an undisputable values driven technocrat and not like any of the typical politicians in government. Consequently, his book has no political undertone or any partisan coloration, it is about what is the best for Nigeria with the strong conviction of a patriot that the desired greatness is achievable. It is not a litany of woes on Nigeria but a special focus on the way forward for the turnaround to be a reality. It has become imperative for Nigeria to occupy her rightful position in the contemporary world. The statement credited to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in 2007 keeps resonating - “The world will not respect Africa until Nigeria earns that respect. The black people of the world need Nigeria to be great as a source of pride and confidence.”

Nick Kochan in conversation with Segun Aganga on 12/7/2023 during the book launch at the SOAS in University of London

When the duty called for him to serve as the Federal Minister for Finance and Chairman of the Economic Management Team, he considered it a privilege and honour to serve his beloved country and fellow citizens. With the benefit of hindsight, such a high-ranking position enabled him to see and experience many things, which most people are not privileged to see and know. He saw some of the gaps and had been able to articulate how those gaps can be filled. In the actual sense of it, he had at several occasions made a case for Nigeria and commented on integrated socio-economic and political issues as a technocrat, as a professional and as a senior government official who was directly involved in policy development and the implementation process. Along the line, some of his associates who saw substance in his informed and shared measured-perspectives and integrated thoughts from time to time, kept on calling on him to put his thoughts down in a book for the benefit of the succeeding government officials and posterity sake.

The Nigeria High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola (in 3 piece native wear) and a section of the gathering at the book lunch on the 12th of July, 2023

The book is therefore his humble response to the inspiring call for his public service memoir. He tried to capture in the book, what he saw, did and why as a federal minister in Nigeria. Also, what still needs to be done in the sense that much remains to be done. This is not a book that seeks to cast any aspersions on anyone or to make public the occasional private disagreements in the course of duty. No, it is indeed about unveiling the Jewel of Africa. He subscribes to the views of the African leaders who look up to Nigeria to take the lead in the scheme of things by getting its acts together to occupy her rightful position in economic development as the true giant of Africa. As a matter of fact, Nelson Mandela is on point when he said that the western developed world would not respect Africa until Nigeria manifests her full potential.

Unequivocally, Nigeria is that Jewel in Africa. His life-long goal for Nigeria, is to achieve her true potential to become one of the greatest and most prosperous countries in the world. He has no doubts whatsoever that Nigeria has the potential to be really great. The book is his modest contribution towards achieving the goal while hoping that the policy makers and all those who aspire to lead our nations and indeed Nigerians, will find it useful.

The book has ten chapters and the titles are: Leadership - Political and Governance Structure, The Fundamentals - Political, Economic and Social Institutions, The Backbone of Government - Civil Service, Investment - Making Nigeria the Top Destination Again, Managing Our Resources Better - Eliminating Leakages and Waste, Our Biggest and Most Important Asset - Our People, The Triple Threat - Poverty, Unemployment and Insecurity, Leading and Working with Multilateral Organisations and the last chapter is The Road to Reclamation - Africa Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga is a technocrat par excellence, having worked for two leading institutions in accounting and investment banking for three decades, in the United Kingdom. He was born in 1955 in Lagos. He is a product of Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti, University of Ibadan and University of Oxford. In 2006, he founded the Nigerian Leadership Initiative. From Goldman Sachs, London where he was the Managing Director, he joined the public service on the 6th of April in 2010 as the federal Minister for Finance and Chairman of the Economic Management Team. He became the Federal Minister of Trade and Investment in June 2011 and served his country till 2015. He was conferred the National Honour of the Commander of the Order of Niger (CON) in 2011. As the chair of the WTO MC8 ministerial conference, he laid the foundation for the first WTO trade agreement and also played a pivotal role in finalising the agreement in Bali, Indonesia, in 2013. Segun Aganga is happily married and the holy matrimony is blessed with fruitful children. He acknowledged in the book the good upbringing he had, and Christ's School which he attended between 1968 and 1972 as contributory to the success he achieved in life.

According to him, learning from the Singapore experience; it is important to have a disciplined and efficient work force. It is a statement of fact that a strong and economically productive nation and an efficient governing system is a function of a strong and highly proficient civil service. By nature, Segun Aganga is a private person. He considers himself as unimportant in the larger scheme of things. Consequently, his advice to those who read his book is to focus on the message and not the messenger. However, feedbacks on the book would be appreciated to enable him consider any value-added commentaries in the subsequent editions of the book.

Mr & Mrs Segun Aganga with Seye Adetunmbi

Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa was formally presented to the public on July 12, 2023 at SOAS in the University of London. Lord Hastings was the chairman of the event and he gave an incisive opening remarks. He brought up a vintage over a century old cartoon that visionary projected Africa, China and India as the places to watch in the sheme of things in the future. It is only Africa that is yet to actualize its full potential among the three. The Nigeria High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola gave the closing remarks. He spoke eloquently and intelligently on the need for a paradigm shift by all ranks of stakeholders in Nigeria and commended Mr Aganga on the book.

I must also mention the instructive commentary of the author on leadership and its different styles in perspective, in response to one of the posers raised during the questionns and answers session at the public book presentation. He gave Madiba (Mandela) as an example of a president who led from the rear, President Jonathan led from the middle while President Obasanjo led from the front.

In all, it was a well attended event by diverse dignitaries. This is an attestation to the credibility of the author and the value attached to the substance in the book that was formally presented to the public. The endorsement of the book by Thabo Mbeki, the President of South Africa in 1999 to 2008 underscores the fact that all eyes are on Nigeria to make the greatness happen through a systemic paradigm shift. Hopefully, those in government now would read and digest the contents of the book. The Nigerian end of the event would hold in the last week of July 2023. It was indeed a quality summer evening well spent in the center of London. Congratulations once more to the author.