THE HOOD AND THE MONK

Who will remind our politicians that the Hood does not make the Monk? Time after time many a politician falls from his Olympian height due to one malfeasance or the other not unrelated to perjury. All because they fail to realize that the Hood does not alone make a Monk.

I recall a party, a classmate of mine told me he attended when we were in the University. The Party was organized by Federal Government Colleges Old Boys Association. At the Party, attendees were required to identify themselves, stating their school and the years they were there. My friend was not an old boy but he just wanted to be there. He said, he mentioned the name of a Federal Government College and a very short period of stay so as to avoid detection.

The other party related story that comes to mind is a friend of mine who is a University Lecturer. He told me of how he found his way to a tertiary Institution because of a party. This party was not a party in the University but in the village. It was for students in tertiary Institutions of learning. My friend struggled and gained admission to fulfill his dream.

One lied his way through and the other worked hard to fulfill his dream. Over time, I have come to realize that it is not your qualification alone that determines your performance on the job but your attitude. One of the best lawyers to come out of Nigeria, Gani Fawehinmi did not make a First Class, a second Class nor a third Class. He had a Pass Degree.

Gani Fawehinmi

To get clients, he did not lie about his qualifications nor did the clients care. They knew him for his performance and went for him.

In Nigeria, to contest for Political Office, the minimum educational qualification is School Certificate or its equivalent. You do not have to be a genius. It is not even required that you pass but to have been educated to secondary School level or its equivalent.

You do not have to have attended any particular school. What is most needed for political office is your track record and your attitude. But not so here. People will claim schools they never attended. Why they do so beats my imagination.

In the History of Governance in Lagos State, two Governors have really stood out in my estimation. One a Lawyer and the other a journalist. These are Babatunde Raji Fashola and Lateef Kayode Jakande. 

 Lateef Kayode Jakande. 

Interestingly, Jakande who stood head and shoulders above the other Governors was not a University Graduate but his legacies speak for him. At the National  level, Zik and Awo stood out among their peers.

Zik had a chain of degrees and was very grandiloquent. Awo who was a lawyer was not as gifted an orator as Zik. 

All over the South West, the records of Awo speak for themselves. He was not a man highly decorated with chains of degrees.

Obafemi Awolowo

Why there is so much hue and cry over false claims on Academics beggars belief.

Someone once said, that ladies who rely too much on makeup must have something to hide. I do not know if it is true or not. But definitely, those who lie about their qualifications must have something to hide about their genuine qualifications or something close to that. In any case, it takes a lie to cover a lie.