Chief Asiodu

Nigeria’s former Petroleum Secretary under the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Philip Asiodu, has recommended the 4-way test of the Rotary Club for Nigeria’s civil service in the country’s search for sustainable solutions to her multifaceted socio-political and economic problems,

The Rotary Four Way Test on which all human activities and actions should be guided says; Is it the Truth, Is it Fair to all concerned, Will it build goodwill and better Friendship, and (4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned,

Chief Asiodu, who was the Special Guest at the investiture of Rotarian Isichei Osamgbi as the 33rd President of Rotary Club of Ikoyi, which held in Lagos at the weekend, said that Nigeria would overcome most of her socio-economic challenges if the public servants adhere to 50 per cent of the 4-way test of the Rotary Club.

According to him, the country would be better by 50 years if her public servants would adhere to the principles of the 4-way test of the Rotary Club in their day-day activities in the country.

He argued that with the abundance of human and natural resources, most of which are yet untapped, Nigeria should have done better than she is doing currently.

“Nigeria has a unique geographical location, scores of untapped natural resources and 3, 000 miles away from the Europe market compared to her Asian counterparts, who are 11, 000 miles from the European market and yet she has not been able to utilise the advantage of this geographical location to the advantage of her citizens”, he said regrettably.

Asiodu, who was also an astute civil servant, argued that the adoption of 50 per cent of the these four tests will largely address the issues of incompetence, lack of dedication and quality service delivery which adversely affect the public service in the country.

He made a strong case for qualitative education which, which he argued would improve on the present poor quality in the nation’s educational system.

He also advocated the teaching of what he called a national language, which aside English Language, will be spoken by children in schools across the country, adding that if every Nigerian child learns at least one national language, it would promote unity, oneness and cohesion in a multi-ethnic nation like Nigeria, as everyone will be united by one language.

Meanwhile, former Minister of Education Professor Viola Onwuliri  who was the Guest Lecturer at the event decried the high level of the vulnerability of the girl child in Nigeria, saying that proper education and training would go a long way in addressing this national problem.

Speaking in the light of the Rotary Four Way Test, Onwuliri, who was also a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, argued that if adhered to in various spheres of life will help mankind,

While speaking on a topic entitled: “Empowering the Girl Child for Sustainable Development”,  she called for collective collaboration between Rotary Club and other relevant bodies to give the child her rightful place in society, adding that providing quality education for girl-child was a gateway towards ensuring a more prosperous and sustainable future for Nigeria.

Professor Onwuliri also lamented that presently in the country, the girl child was seen as mere cannon fodder whose role in society was to produce babies and be used and abused at will.

“No nation makes any meaningful progress when it relegates its female folk to the background. There is therefore need for immediate action to arrest the sad trend of out of school girl child which numbers are staggering”, she lamented.

Also corroborating the need for the 4-way test, chairman of the occasion, Ogbueshi Alban Ofili-Okonkwo, who is Chairman of Autobahn Technique Ltd, noted that applying the Rotary Four Way Test in picking leaders in the country the way Rotary does, will go a long in helping build a healthy nation of quality leaders, for which he noted that the new Rotary President, Isichei Osamgbi is.

On his part, Professor Chris Ogbogbo, President Historical Society of Nigeria and Head of Department of History at the University of Ibadan noted that justice and fairness will help address several issues of inequality and agitations in the country, of which the Rotary Club’s principles have taken care of, whether it is the girl child education or other social economic matters.

Meanwhile, the newly inaugurated President, who took over from Rotarian Oladele Ojogbede had in his acceptance speech, said that the Rotary Club Ikoyi has been in the business of doing good in the last three decades, which he said has been necessitated by the fact that people need care and love.

He pledged that in the current Rotary year under his watch, such acts of doing good would be taken even to higher standards, insisting that the government cannot do everything.

“Our focus is to impact on more lives. Someone near you needs cataract surgery; we will undertake at least 100 of such surgeries in this Rotary year. We will build a blood bank and are partnering with the Police Hospital in Falomo, Lagos, where we carried out some renovations recently, among several other projects the Club plan to undertake in this Rotary year”, he had said.