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Opinion

The Oracle: Nigeria in Search of Enduring Political Structure: Imperative of Structural Reform (Pt. 8)

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2 years ago

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By Mike Ozekhome

INTRODUCTION

In the past 7 weeks we have been on this treatise. Last week, we discussed our past experiments with constitutional democracy, contrasting our colomiatera Constitutions with those of the period since independence. We then suggested two options for the way forward: a sovereign national conference and a brand-new Constitution and concluded it with a comparative review of some foreign countries, such as Iraq, Kenya and South Africa.

In today’s episode, we shall continue the dissection of the foreign dimension by considering the experiences of Iraq, Bangladesh, Morocco, Egypt, Eritrea and Tunisia, before rounding off with the American example of people’s Constitution. Please enjoy the last part of our treatise.

A NEW CONSTITUTION: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES (continues)

IRAN

THE DECEMBER 1979 IRANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM
A proposed new Constitution which would make Iran an Islamic Republic, introduce direct elections for the presidency, create a unicameral parliament and require any constitutional changes to go a referendum was proposed by the Iranian Government. To bring this about, a constitutional referendum was held in Iran on 2ndand 3rd December, 1979. The new Islamic constitution was approved by 99.5% of voters at the Referendum.

BANGLADESH

THE 1991 BANGLADESHI CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM
A constitutional referendum was held in Bangladesh on 15th September, 1991. Voters were asked “Should or not the President assent to the Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Bill, 1991 of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh?” The amendments altered the existing Constitution and reintroduced of Parliamentary system of government. It also abolished the position of Vice-President and provided that the President be elected by Parliament. 83.6% of Bangladeshis voted in the referendum, with a turnout of 35.2%.

MOROCCO

THE 2011 MOROCCAN CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM
A referendum on constitutional reforms was held in Morocco on 1st July, 2011. It was called in response to a series of protests that spread across Morocco which had begun on 20th February, 2011, when over ten thousand Moroccans took to the streets in massive demonstrations demanding democratic reforms. A Commission was set up to draft proposals by June, 2011. A draft was released on 17th June, 2011, which brought about fundamental changes upon people’s referendum.

EGYPT

EGYPT’S NEW CONSTITUTION AND REFERENDUM

In October, 2012, the Egyptian Constituent Assembly announced that its first draft of a new Constitution and launched a public awareness campaign called “Know your Constitution”, to educate the public. On November 29, 2012, the Egyptian Constituent Assembly of finalized the drafting process of a new Egyptian Constitution. One week later, on December 8, 2012, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi issued a new constitutional declaration announcing that the constitutional draft would be voted on in a national referendum.

In accordance with article 60 of the Transitional Constitutional Declaration of March 2011, a special Judicial Commission was formed to supervise the referendum process and monitor vote counting. The referendum took place in two rounds on two different dates: December 15 and 22, 2012. The majority of Egyptians thus voted in favour of the newly drafted Constitution in a popular National Referendum, a Constitution that brought about profound reforms.

ERITREA

CONSTITUTION MAKING IN ERITREA
The Eritrea’s Proclamation 55/1994 established a Constitutional Commission which organized popular participation in the process of a new Constitution.
The Commission members and more than four hundred specially trained teachers instructed the public on constitutional issues and related political and social questions using local vernaculars. The process took three years to solicit the views of a broad cross section of Eritreans. The participation of a majority of Eritreans gave the people a “sense of ownership of the Constitution.”

TUNISIA

CONSTITUTION OF TUNISIA
Tunisia’s first modern Constitution was the fundamental pact of 1857. This was followed by the Constitution of 1861, which was replaced in 1956, after the departure of French administrators in 1956. It was adopted on 1st June, 1959 and amended in 1999 and 2002, after the Tunisian Constitutional Referendum of 2002. Following the revolution and months of protests, a Constituent Assembly drafted a new Constitution in 2014, adopted on 26th January, 2014 after a referendum.

THE AMERICAN EXAMPLE OF A PEOPLE’S CONSTITUTION
As a great contrast to the 1999 Nigerian experience, when America became independent from Britain in 1776, it held a Constitutional Convention under the leadership of George Washington, between May 14 and September 17, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 55 delegates represented the autonomous Confederates, with a view to creating a “more perfect union”. Broad outlines of a new union were proposed and hotly debated. This was how the American people achieved a federal system of Government, separation of powers among three branches of Government (Legislative, Executive and Judicial); bicameral, legislature; an Executive presidency; and Judicial Review. The Constitutional draft was signed by 39 of the 55 delegates on September 17, 1787; and thereafter released to the States and the American people to debate and ratify. It was this people’s Constitution that threw up great founders, such as George Washington (first president); Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay (the Federalists), Thomas Jefferson, etc.

The 1999 Constitutions lacks these. It is not autochthonous or indigenous Being imposed, it worsened the unitary nature of government, and concentrated enormous powers at the centre. While the 1979 Constitution had 67 items on the exclusive legislative list, and 12 items on the concurrent list, the 1999 Constitution increase this to 68 on the exclusive list, but retained only 12 items on the concurrent list. This indicates an unacceptable unbearably strong centre and very weak federating units.

OUR CONCLUSION
The unity, development and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria as a country are currently imperial. Our diversities in area of culture language, tribe, and religion, must be seen by all as a Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colours, blessing and not a curse, because variety they say, is the spice of life. Concerted effort must be put in place by formulation of policies and reforms that would help promote national integration and peaceful co-existence. However, one of the strategies that must be pursued to ensure a far-reaching national integration and peaceful co-existence are to create a meeting point that would ensure and enhance integration between one ethnic nationality or tribe and another. One of the ways by which this noble idea can be
achieved is by putting up a strong advocacy and support for intertribal and interreligious marriage.

Philosophers, many say, have understood the world, but the problem is to change it. Albert Einsten’s dictum is apposite here: “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” Hippocrates the father of medicine once told us that desperate diseases requires desperate remedies. An economy based on oil and other depleting natural resources is fast becoming obsolete. The global economy is already in the 4th Industrial Revolution or digital age, dominated by Robotics, Artificial intelligence, Machine learning, Virtual reality, Augmented Reality and others. At the moment, Nigeria is largely bypassed and still grappling with the most basic aspects of the old economy. But given its geographic- demographic conundrum, Nigeria has to leapfrog the industrialization value chain or stagnate. Yet its institutions are those woven around the distribution and consumption of oil rents and the old economy. A system designed for consumption cannot be expected to become efficient for competition and production in the 21st century. Sadly, many people miss this point. As Professor Claude Ake once put it, Nigeria operates a disarticulate economy, where we produce what we don’t consume and consume what we don’t produce.

For a change since the military incursion into our body politics, let us sit down and craft a new Constitution that not only provides for a stable, equitable and just polity but even more so focuses on the incentive structure to usher a competitive and productive economy of the future.
Reforms at the meta-level would entail either embracing our discarded Prime Minister system of government or dismantling and re-coupling several of the institutions that help or hinder us, including a serious re-examination of the 36 state structure as federating units vis-à-vis their fiscal/economic viability or their consolidation into six or more regions with economies of scale and higher investment rates; multiple vice-presidency representing respective regions other than the region of the president, each with supervising powers over certain ministries to ensure equitable representation at the federal cabinet (the Central Bank has four Deputy Governors for instance); principle of equality of regions; multivariate judicial systems with state/regional appellate courts up to regional supreme courts while the federal supreme court becomes the constitutional court— and this is to decongest the centralized system and guarantee speedy dispensation of justice; introduction of commercial courts for speedy resolution of commercial disputes; institution of merit and equal opportunity principle; etc. This will carry the majority along.

Devolution of functions between the central and federating states/regions should be guided by the principle of subsidiary. According to the European Charter, subsidiary means that: “Public responsibilities shall generally be exercised, in preference, by those authorities which are closest to the citizen. Allocation of the responsibility to another authority should weigh up the extent and nature of the task and requirements of efficiency and economy.”

This principle is not observed in the 1999 Constitution. For a Constitution that proclaims a federal structure, the exclusive and concurrent lists constitute an atypical concentration of powers at the centre. Currently, the federal government is burdened with hundreds of parastatals and agencies trying to inefficiently micro manage the entire Nigeria, with the recurrent expenditure of the federal government exceeding total federal revenue. Every penny of capital spending by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) is borrowed, and its fiscal position is precarious. Put starkly, not one kobo of oil money is invested in infrastructure by the FGN: it is all consumed by the obtuse federal bureaucracy. The federal government should loosen its hold on policing, electricity (power), railways, ports, aviation, business incorporation, taxation powers, regulatory functions, etc. This will generate the economy.

The greatest challenge is how to get some of the elite whose privileges are provided by the existing system to support its dismantling into a system that is potentially beneficial to ‘society’ but perhaps disproportionately harmful to their interests in the short term. In other words, we are faced with the same kind of conundrum as some western countries with their welfare system. Having designed and implemented it for generations, it has grown into an unsustainable octopus of inefficiency but reforming it is not easy. In the US, millions of voters are hooked to the feeding bottle and its government keeps postponing the day of reckoning by borrowing to keep the system alive (the US, with the global reserve currency can afford to borrow for a while from the rest of the world but Nigeria cannot). Everywhere, such a distributional system has acquired a huge and powerful constituency, and the political cost of dismantling and re-coupling is not trivial. There is also an intergenerational issue involved. The present beneficiaries don’t care if the same benefits do not extend to the future generations: they just want to have their share and go, and let the future generations take care of themselves. Nigeria cannot continue to share the national cake without caring how it is baked.

The end

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Opinion

Rebuilding the Pillars: A Comprehensive Blueprint for Overcoming Nigeria’s Leadership Deficit

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4 days ago

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December 13, 2025

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By Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD

Systemic governance reform as the critical foundation for unlocking sustainable development and restoring national promise. “Nations are not built on resources, but on systems. Nigeria’s future rests not on changing leaders, but on transforming the very structures that create them” – Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD

Introduction: The Leadership Imperative

Nigeria, often described as the “Giant of Africa,” stands at a pivotal moment in its historical trajectory. Possessing unparalleled human capital, vast natural resources, and a dynamic, youthful population, the nation’s potential remains paradoxically constrained by deeply embedded structural deficiencies within its leadership architecture. These systemic flaws—evident across political, corporate, and civic institutions—have created profound cracks that undermine public trust, stifle economic innovation, and impede the delivery of fundamental social goods. This leadership deficit is not merely a political inconvenience; it is the central bottleneck to national progress.

Addressing this challenge requires moving beyond cyclical criticism of individuals and towards a deliberate, strategic reconstruction of the systems that produce, empower, and hold leaders accountable. This blog post presents a holistic, actionable blueprint designed to seal these cracks permanently. It offers a pathway to cultivate a leadership ecosystem that is transparent, accountable, performance-driven, and ethically grounded, thereby delivering tangible possibilities for Nigeria’s people, empowering its corporate sector, and restoring its stature on the global stage.

Section 1: Diagnosing the Structural Cracks—A Multilayered Analysis

A precise diagnosis is essential for effective treatment. Nigeria’s leadership challenges are multifaceted and mutually reinforcing, stemming from three core structural failures.

1. The Governance Architecture Failure

The current system suffers from a fundamental contradiction: a hyper-centralized federal model that stifles local innovation and accountability. Critical institutions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the judiciary, and the civil service, frequently operate with compromised autonomy, inadequate technical capacity, and vulnerability to political interference. Furthermore, the intended checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches have weakened, creating avenues for impunity and concentrated power that deviate from democratic principles.

2. The Leadership Pipeline Collapse

The mechanisms for recruiting and developing leaders are fundamentally broken. Political party structures too often prioritize patronage, loyalty, and financial muscle over competence, vision, and ethical fortitude. There exists no systematic, nationwide program for identifying, nurturing, and mentoring successive generations of public servants. This results in a recurring leadership vacuum and a deficiency of cognitive diversity at decision-making tables, limiting the range of solutions for national challenges.

3. The Integrity Infrastructure Erosion

Perhaps the most damaging crack is the erosion of public trust, fueled by opacity and impunity. Decision-making processes and public resource allocations are frequently shrouded in secrecy, while accountability mechanisms are rendered ineffective. The consistent weakness in enforcing ethical codes across sectors has allowed a culture of corruption to persist, which acts as a regressive tax on development, scuttles investor confidence, and demoralizes the citizenry.

Section 2: A Tripartite Framework for Sustainable Transformation

Lasting reform necessitates concurrent, mutually reinforcing interventions across three interconnected pillars.

Pillar I: Constitutional and Institutional Reformation

Implementing True Cooperative Federalism: It is imperative to undertake a constitutional review that clearly delineates responsibilities and revenue-generating authorities among federal, state, and local governments. This empowers subnational entities to become laboratories of development, tailored to local contexts, while fostering healthy competition in providing public services. Fiscal autonomy must be matched with enhanced capacity-building initiatives at the state and local government levels.

Fortifying Independent Institutions: Key democratic institutions require constitutional protection from executive and legislative overreach. This includes guaranteeing transparent, first-line funding from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and establishing rigorous, meritocratic panels for appointing their leadership. Strengthening bodies like the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Public Complaints Commission is equally vital.

Professionalizing the Political Space: Electoral reform must introduce systems like ranked-choice voting to encourage more issue-based, inclusive campaigning. Legislation should mandate demonstrable internal democracy within political parties, including transparent primaries and audited financial disclosures, to reduce the capture of parties by narrow interests.

Pillar II: Cultivating a Leadership Development Ecosystem

Establishing a Premier National School of Governance (NSG): Modeled on institutions like the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, a Nigerian NSG would serve as the apex institution for executive leadership training. Attendance for all senior civil servants, political appointees, and legislators should be mandatory, with curricula focused on strategic public administration, ethical leadership, complex project management, and national policy analysis.

Catalyzing a Corporate Governance Revolution: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) must enforce stricter codes requiring diverse, independent, and technically competent boards. The private sector should be incentivized—through tax credits or preferential procurement status—to establish leadership fellowship programs that place high-potential private-sector executives into public sector roles for fixed terms, fostering cross-pollination of skills and perspectives.

Instituting a Presidential Leadership Fellowship (PLF): This highly selective, merit-based program would identify Nigeria’s most promising young talents (aged 25-35) from all fields—technology, agriculture, law, the arts—and place them in intensive two-year rotations across critical government agencies, private sector giants, and civil society organizations. This creates a nurtured cohort of future leaders with a national network and a deep understanding of systemic interconnections.

Pillar III: Architecting Robust Accountability & Performance Systems

Deploying a Digital Transparency Platform: A mandatory, open-access National Integrated Governance Portal (NIGP) should display in real-time the status, budget, and contractor details of every major public project. Strategic use of blockchain technology can create immutable records for procurement contracts and resource distribution, significantly reducing opportunities for diversion.

Empowering Oversight and Consequence: Anti-corruption agencies require not only independence but also enhanced forensic capacity and international collaboration. Performance tracking must extend to the judiciary and legislature; publishing annual scorecards on case clearance rates, legislative productivity, and constituency impact can drive public accountability.

Embedding a Culture of Results: All government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) must operate under a National Key Results Framework (NKRF). This performance contract system would define clear, measurable quarterly deliverables tied to national development plans. Autonomy and discretionary funding should be increased for MDAs that consistently meet targets, while underperformance triggers mandatory restructuring and leadership review.

Section 3: The Indispensable Cultural Reorientation

Technocratic fixes will fail without a parallel cultural shift that venerates service and integrity.

Embedding Ethics from Foundation: A redesigned national curriculum, from primary through tertiary education, must integrate civic ethics, critical thinking, and Nigeria’s constitutional history to build an informed citizenry that values good governance.

Launching a “Service Nation” Campaign: A sustained, multi-platform national campaign, developed in partnership with respected cultural, religious, and traditional institutions, should celebrate role models of ethical leadership and reframe public service as the nation’s highest calling.

Enacting Ironclad Whistleblower Protections: Comprehensive legislation must be passed to protect whistleblowers from all forms of retaliation, including provisions for anonymous reporting, physical protection, and financial rewards, aligning with global best practices to encourage exposure of malfeasance.

 

Section 4: A Practical, Phased Implementation Roadmap (2025-2035)

Phase 1: The Foundation Phase (Years 1-3)

Convene a National Constitutional Dialogue involving all tiers of government, civil society, and professional bodies.

·      Establish the Nigerian School of Governance (NSG) and inaugurate the first cohort of the Presidential Leadership Fellowship (PLF).

·      Pilot the National Integrated Governance Portal (NIGP) in the Ministries of Health, Education, and Works.

Phase 2: The Integration & Scaling Phase (Years 4-7)

·      Enact and begin implementation of the new constitutional framework on fiscal federalism.

·      Graduate the first NSG cohorts and embed training as a prerequisite for promotions.

·      Roll out the NKRF performance contracts across all federal MDAs and willing pilot states.

Phase 3: The Consolidation & Maturation Phase (Years 8-12)

·      Conduct a comprehensive national review, assessing improvements in governance indices, citizen trust metrics, and economic competitiveness.

·      Establish Nigeria as a regional hub for leadership training, offering NSG programmes to other African nations.

·      Institutionalize a self-sustaining cycle where performance culture and ethical leadership are the unquestioned norms.

Conclusion: Forging a New Path of Leadership

The task of sealing the cracks in Nigeria’s leadership foundation is undeniably monumental, yet it is the most critical work of this generation. It demands a departure from transactional politics and short-term thinking toward a covenant of nation-building. The integrated blueprint outlined here—combining institutional redesign, leadership cultivation, technological accountability, and cultural renewal—provides a viable pathway.

This is not a call for perfection, but for systematic progress. By committing to this journey, Nigeria can transform its governance from its greatest liability into its most powerful asset. The outcome will be a nation where trust is restored, innovation flourishes, and every citizen has a fair opportunity to thrive. The resources, the intellect, and the spirit exist within Nigeria; it is now a matter of courageously building the structures to set them free.

Dr. Tolulope Adeseye Adegoke is a distinguished scholar-practitioner specializing in the intersection of African security, governance, and strategic leadership. His expertise is built on a robust academic foundation—with a PhD, MA, and BA in History and International Studies focused on West African conflicts, terrorism, and regional diplomacy—complemented by high-level professional credentials as a Distinguished Fellow Certified Management Consultant and a Fellow Certified Human Resource Management Professional.

A recognized thought leader, he is a Distinguished Ambassador for World Peace (AMBP-UN) and has been honoured with the African Leadership Par Excellence Award (2024) and the Nigerian Role Models Award (2024), alongside inclusion in the prestigious national compendium “Nigeria @65: Leaders of Distinction.”

Dr. Adegoke’s unique value lies in synthesizing deep historical analysis with practical management frameworks to diagnose systemic institutional failures and design actionable reforms. His work is dedicated to advancing ethical governance, strategic human capital development, and sustainable nation-building in Africa and the globe. He can be reached via: tolulopeadegoke01@gmail.com  & globalstageimpacts@gmail.com

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Opinion

How Dr. Fatima Ibrahim Hamza (PT, mNSP) Became Kano’s Healthcare Star and a Model for African Women in Leadership

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2 weeks ago

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December 6, 2025

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By Dr. Sani Sa’idu Baba

My dear country men and women, over the years, I have been opportune to watch numerous speeches delivered by outstanding women shaping the global health sector especially those within Africa. Back home, I have also listened to towering figures like Dr. Hadiza Galadanci, the renowned O&G consultant whose passion for healthcare reform continues to inspire many. Even more closer home, there is Dr. Fatima Ibrahim Hamza, my classmate and colleague. Anyone who knew her from the beginning would remember a hardworking young woman who left no stone unturned in her pursuit of excellence. Today, she stands tall as one of the most powerful illustrations of what African women in leadership can achieve when brilliance, discipline, and integrity are brought together.

Before I dwell into the main business for this week, let me make this serious confession. If you are a regular traveler within Nigeria like myself, especially in the last two years, you will agree that no state currently matches Kano in healthcare delivery and institutional sophistication. This transformation is not accidental. It is the result of a coordinated, disciplined, and visionary ecosystem of leadership enabled by Kano State Governor, Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf. From the strategic drive of the Hospitals Management Board under the meticulous leadership of Dr. Mansur Nagoda, to the policy direction and oversight provided by the Ministry of Health led by the ever committed Dr. Abubakar Labaran, and the groundbreaking reforms championed by the Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board under the highly cerebral Professor Salisu Ahmed Ibrahim, the former Private Health Institution Management Agency (PHIMA) boss, a man who embodies competence, hard work, honesty, and principle, the progress of Kano’s health sector becomes easy to understand. With such a strong leadership backbone, it is no surprise that individuals like Dr. Fatima Ibrahim Hamza is thriving and redefining what effective healthcare leadership looks like in Nigeria.

Across the world, from top medical institutions to global leadership arenas, one truth echoes unmistakably: when women lead with vision, systems transform. Their leadership is rarely about theatrics or force; it is about empathy, innovation, discipline, and a capacity to drive change from the inside out. Kano State has, in recent years, witnessed this truth firsthand through the extraordinary work of Dr. Fatima at Sheikh Muhammad Jidda General Hospital.

In less than 2 years, Dr. Fatima has emerged as a phenomenon within Kano’s healthcare landscape. As the youngest hospital director in the state, she has demonstrated a style of leadership that mirrors the excellence seen in celebrated female leaders worldwide, women who inspire not by occupying space, but by redefining it. Her performance has earned her two high level commendations. First, a recognition by the Head of Service following a rigorous independent assessment of her achievements, and more recently, a formal commendation letter from the Hospitals Management Board acknowledging her professionalism, discipline, and transformative impact.

These acknowledgements are far more than administrative gestures, they place her in the company of women leaders whose influence reshaped nations: New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern with her empathy driven governance, Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with her courageous reforms, and Germany’s Angela Merkel with her disciplined, steady leadership. Dr. Fatima belongs to this esteemed lineage of women who do not wait for change, they create it.

What sets her apart is her ability to merge vision with structure, compassion with competence, and humility with bold ambition. Staff members describe her as firm yet accessible, warm yet uncompromising on standards, traits that embody the modern leadership model the world is steadily embracing. Under her stewardship, Sheikh Jidda General Hospital has transformed from a routine public facility into an institution of possibility, demonstrating what happens when a capable woman is given the opportunity to lead without constraint.

The recent commendation letter from the Hospitals Management Board captures this evolution clearly: “Dr. Fatima has strengthened administrative coordination, improved patient care, elevated professional standards, and fostered a hospital environment where excellence has become the norm rather than the exception”. These outcomes are remarkable in a system that often battles bureaucratic bottlenecks and infrastructural limitations. Her work is proof that effective leadership especially in health must be visionary, intentional, and rooted in integrity.

In a period when global discourse places increasing emphasis on the importance of women in leadership particularly in healthcare, Dr. Fatima stands as a living testament to what is possible. She has demonstrated that leadership is never about gender, but capacity, clarity of purpose, and the willingness to serve with unwavering commitment.

Her rise sends a powerful message to young girls across Nigeria and Africa: that excellence has no gender boundaries. It is a call to institutions to trust and empower competent women. And it is a reminder to society that progress accelerates when leadership is guided by competence rather than stereotypes.

As Kano continues its journey toward comprehensive healthcare reform, Dr. Fatima represents a new chapter, one where leadership is defined not by age or gender, but by impact, innovation, and measurable progress. She is, without question, one of the most compelling examples of modern African women in leadership today.

May her story continue to enlighten, inspire, and redefine what African women can, and will achieve when given the opportunity to lead.

Dr. Baba writes from Kano, and can be reached via drssbaba@yahoo.com

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Opinion

Book Review: Against the Odds by Dozy Mmobuosi

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2 weeks ago

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December 4, 2025

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By Sola Ojewusi

Against the Odds is an ambitious, deeply personal, and unflinchingly honest memoir that traces the remarkable rise of Dozy Mmobuosi, one of Nigeria’s most dynamic and controversial entrepreneurs. In this sweeping narrative, Mmobuosi reveals not just the public milestones of his career, but the intimate struggles, internal battles, and defining moments that shaped his identity and worldview.

The book is both a personal testimony and a broader commentary on leadership, innovation, and Africa’s future—and it succeeds in balancing these worlds with surprising emotional clarity.

A Candid Portrait of Beginnings

Mmobuosi’s story begins in the bustling, unpredictable ecosystem of Lagos, where early challenges served as the furnace that forged his ambitions. The memoir details the circumstances of his upbringing, the value systems passed down from family, and the early encounters that sparked his desire to build solutions at scale.

These foundational chapters do important work: they humanize the protagonist. Readers meet a young Dozy not as a business figurehead, but as a Nigerian navigating complex social, financial, and personal realities—realities that millions of Africans will find familiar.

The Making of an Entrepreneur

As the narrative progresses, the memoir transitions into the defining phase of Mmobuosi’s business evolution. Here, he walks readers through the origins of his earliest ventures and the relentless curiosity that led him to operate across multiple industries—fintech, agri-tech, telecoms, AI, healthcare, consumer goods, and beyond.

What is striking is the pattern of calculated risk-taking. Mmobuosi positions himself as someone unafraid to venture into uncharted territory, even when the cost of failure is steep. His explanations offer readers valuable insights into:
• market intuition
• the psychology of entrepreneurship
• the sacrifices required to build at scale
• the emotional and operational toll of high-growth ventures

These passages make the book not only readable but instructive—especially for emerging

African entrepreneurs.

Triumphs, Crises, and Public Scrutiny
One of the book’s most compelling strengths is its willingness to confront controversy head-on.

Mmobuosi addresses periods of intense scrutiny, institutional pressure, and personal trials.

Instead of glossing over these chapters, he uses them to illustrate the complexities of building businesses in emerging markets and navigating public perception.

The tone is reflective rather than defensive, inviting readers to consider the thin line between innovation and misunderstanding in environments where the rules are still being written.

This vulnerability is where the memoir finds its emotional resonance.

A Vision for Africa

Beyond personal history, Against the Odds expands into a passionate manifesto for African transformation. Mmobuosi articulates a vision of a continent whose young population, natural resources, and intellectual capital position it not as a follower, but a potential leader in global innovation.

He challenges outdated narratives about Africa’s dependency, instead advocating for
homegrown technology, supply chain sovereignty, inclusive economic systems, and investment in human capital.

For development strategists, policymakers, and visionaries, these sections elevate the work from memoir to thought leadership.

The Writing: Accessible, Engaging, and Purposeful

Stylistically, the memoir is direct and approachable. Mmobuosi writes with clarity and intention, blending storytelling with reflection in a way that keeps the momentum steady. The pacing is effective: the book moves seamlessly from personal anecdotes to business lessons, from introspection to bold declarations.

Despite its business-heavy subject matter, the prose remains accessible to everyday readers.

The emotional honesty, in particular, will appeal to those who appreciate memoirs that feel lived rather than curated.

Why This Book Matters

Against the Odds arrives at a critical moment for Africa’s socioeconomic trajectory. As global attention shifts toward African innovation, the need for authentic narratives from those building within the system becomes essential.

Mmobuosi’s memoir offers:
• a case study in resilience
• an insider’s perspective on entrepreneurship in frontier markets
• a meditation on reputation, legacy, and leadership
• a rallying cry for African ambition

For readers like Sola Ojewusi, whose work intersects with media, policy, leadership, and social development, this book offers profound insight into the human stories driving Africa’s new generation of builders.

Final Verdict

Against the Odds is more than a success story—it is a layered, introspective, and timely work that captures the pressures and possibilities of modern African enterprise. It challenges stereotypes, raises important questions about leadership and impact, and ultimately delivers a narrative of persistence that audiences across the world will find relatable.

It is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of African innovation, the personal realities behind public leadership, and the enduring power of vision and resilience

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