GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT
Recently, I read an article titled, “Governor Yari and his billionaire boys’ club”, written by Niran Adedokun. This article is specifically authored to address the cursory observations, unfair assessments, subjective expressions, misleading accounts, ignorant remarks and the preposterous conclusion that have been noted therein. It is matter of public records that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum was sharply divided into two factions before the emergence of Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara State as the Chairman of NGF. The inauguration of new chairman did not automatically translate to a united NGF. What happened was that Governor Yari engineered and coordinated a reconciliatory process that has cemented the bond of unity among the 36 governors, beyond the barriers of political affiliations, religious beliefs and ethnic differences. It was that intervention that saved Nigerians from the tension that used to stem out weekly from the activities of NGF. Under the leadership of Governor Yari, the forum has played remarkable roles in ensuring the sustainability of democracy as its unity has in turn led to stability in the polity and unity of the Nation.
Under the leadership of Governor Yari, the idea of the NGF Leadership Academy, with the responsibility of building capacity of governors and other public office holders, has received a boost. In the drive aimed at diversification and job creation, the NGF has made agriculture a priority. The gains of its efforts on agricultural machinery development with the China-Africa Machinery Company clearly confirmed the NGF has taken agriculture seriously. Nothing showed clearer that Niran Adedokun has paltry insight about the activities of the NGF than the fact that he tried to suggest the actual priorities of the NGF for the NGF.
Does it not betray common sense for anyone to say the chairmanship of a man who is steadily navigating NGF on the path of progress is one of the most unfortunate contradictions of our current political experience? Niran Adedokun can choose to be ignorant by choice but, he cannot write away the achievements of Governor Yari, both as governor and chairman of NGF.
Whereas, it is okay to compare the National Governors Association (NGA) in United States of America to the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). Such comparison should be fair enough to reflect that while the NGA is 109 years old, the NGF is just 18 years old. As a forum of just 18 years old, the NGF is doing pretty well.
Due to his own interpretation of what Governor Yari said during the outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis in Nigeria, coupled with the governor’s statement that he will recruit more qualified doctors and nurses because Zamfara State needed their services, the writer concluded that the governor’s concept of development is pedestrian.
Perhaps, the writer is unaware that one of the reasons why the governor has embarked on recruitment of doctors and nurses is because the governor has built more hospitals in the past few years. Even if the governor will not be commended for recruiting staff for newly-built hospitals, there is no justifiable cause to label him as pedestrian governor.
On the issue of meningitis outbreak, Governor Yari did not say God was punishing Nigerians with the virus. Though, he alluded to God’s power to inflict afflictions on sinners. It should be noted that the governor made his comment in Hausa which gave room for divergent and wide interpretations. Bayo Adekunle, bayoadekunle04@gmail.com
The term “garbage in, garbage out” originated in the computer science and information technology fields to illustrate the fact that the quality of the output received from a computer programme depends on the quality of input. Simply put, what you put in is what you get out.
All children are a gift, an amazing blessing from God. However, in Africa, a high premium is placed on having male children. Amongst a few reasons, the major one is that only a male child can maintain a family name and inheritance, as a female child will eventually drop her family name for that of her husband when she marries.
Oftentimes in this quest to maintain the family name, the woman is under pressure to produce a male child. In cases where she keeps giving birth to girls and not boys, she is blamed for it. Pressure from in-laws most times leads to divorce, and the husband will continue to marry or sexually engage other women until a male child is born. This scenario is not only limited to illiterates as we see it happening even amongst well-schooled and educated individuals.
However, suffice to make abundantly clear that a woman has little or nothing to do with determining the sex of the baby she will produce, rather it is the man who determines the sex of the child.
A baby is produced when a man’s sperm cell fertilises the woman’s egg. Both carry sex chromosomes; sperm cells carrying either X or Y chromosomes while the egg always carries an X chromosome.
If an egg is fertilised by an X-bearing sperm cell, it will result into a baby girl and if it is fertilised by a Y-bearing sperm cell, the resulting baby will be a boy. Therefore, the man’s sperm cell holds the key to a baby’s gender, not the woman’s egg.
By this, let’s give our women breathing space and cut them some slack when it concerns this issue. If you particularly want a male or female child so badly, give it to your wife and she’ll produce it for both of you. It’s garbage in, garbage out! Usha Anenga, Makurdi, Benue State