By Nnabugwu Chizoba
 |
| Dr. Joseph Femi Adebisi, DG. Nigerian College of Accountancy |
The Nigerian College of
Accountancy, presently located at its permanent site at Kwall in Bassa Local Government
Area of Plateau state, is the only such College in Africa and second in the
world. The College which started with 4
students at inception, now admits thousands, including foreigners who come to
Nigeria, specifically, to study at the College. So far, the college has graduated
not less than 25,000 (twenty five thousand) students, spread across different
countries in the Globe.
In recent time, the Nigerian College
of Accountancy, has attracted the attention of world bodies, including the World
Bank and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Recall that in
2015, a crack team of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) was at
the College for facility inspection. To say that the team was marveled by what
they saw, will mean, repeating the obvious.
Pursuant to the vision of her
founders (to promote the science of Accountancy), the College has donated
Research Centers to some Nigerian Universities (Federal and state owned), to
strengthen Research and Development, and build the capacity of Nigerians, bringing
them to be at par with nationals of other clime, as issues evolve in
Accountancy and in doing so make them increasingly more relevant, robust,
productive and indeed up-to-date with their contemporaries all over the globe.
While the elected
representatives of the people build boreholes that stop running soon after construction,
(with millions of public fund) and dominate the media with stories that border
on such achievements; are honoured and celebrated; the founders of the Nigerian
College of Accountancy, who laid a solid foundation and systematically
sustained a vision of producing one of the World’s best human capacity
development centres, remain uncelebrated.
Not deterred, the
founders of the College have over the years pursued a strategic agenda that has
ensured the transformation of their idea from mere wish, desire, imagination and
hope to a very tangible product. Their undying love and unflinching faith in
their Country, Nigeria, is not a mere oxymoron, but a statement of fact. Their interest and commitment to genuinely
groom Nigeria’s Professional Accountants, who are deeply rooted in the Nigerian
economy informed their creation of a locally based, home oriented centre of
excellence, internationally recognized because of its standardized programmes
and quality of delivery.
Their sagacity and
sense of purpose made it possible for their “Project”, the only College of
Accountancy in Africa and second in the world to be actually erected and
running. Of a truth, the Nigerian College of Accountancy, Kwall, has, is and
will continually attract world bodies, national and international organizations
with interest in Human Capacity Development. Many of these institutions are
already queuing up to sign one form of partnership or collaborative relationship
or the other. The benefits of all these when viewed in terms of immediate and
future contributions to both social and economic life of Nigerians is better
imagined and can not to be quantified here.
When you consider developments in Nigeria,
the role elite-colonialism has played will immediately stare
you in the face. Some of the offspring of the monster, elite-colonialism, include,
but certainly not limited to sectionalism, religious extremism, highhandedness,
nepotism, and many other harmful and destructive tendencies and practices.
Over the years and up
to the present, the political leadership at various levels of governance in the
county, have displayed their game plans, often times aimed at deceiving the
people. True success stories that call for government recognition, honour, celebration
and pouring of encomiums, are swept under the carpet, and in contrast, the ignoramus,
occupying the position of power and authority, prefer the celebration and
promotion of mediocrity, corruptive tendencies and indolence.
Any wonder Nigerians
on daily basis, witness what many people have since described as been faced
with too many fights; fighting for daily meal or is it against daily meal? Fighting
for preventable diseases or fighting against preventable diseases? Fighting for
local government autonomy or is it fighting against the autonomy? Fighting for
EFCC Chairman or against EFCC Chairman? Fighting for the owner of millions of
Naira or dollars stashed away in Ikoyi or fighting against the owner? Fighting
for the Secretary to the Federal Government or against him? Fighting for
corruption or against corruption?
Time and time again,
season in season out, home or away, lonely or in the midst of people, I have
been arrested, consumed and controlled by one reoccurring thought, very
prominent, dominant, disturbing and pushy. My attempt to share it with friends,
acquaintances, contacts, among them, the ignoramus, elite, intelligentsia and
the dullards, have not made the nagging and highly possessive thought, reduce
its hold on me. The thought is always heightened by tales of woes,
wastefulness, destructive tendencies, avarice, and double speak, including,
deception, injustice, backbiting, and the now proven cases of kleptomania, a
word which the intellectuals around me qualify as uncontrollable desire to
steal. The cumulative effects of all these, to the Nigerian system, the
economy, and the people are too obvious to mention.
The question that has
over time fired, dominated and bugged my thought, is this:
“Can manifesting ugly situations
in Nigeria, that has given rise to unpalatable developments, such as high level
scheming and distortions, swapped mental dispositions, and maladjusted idiosyncrasies
be cited as nature’s way of punishing the country for not honouring, celebrating
and eulogizing the dogged attributes of very enterprising Nigerians and their liberating
leadership attributes, focused style, goal-oriented and emancipatory efforts. These
Nigerians, like the founders of the Nigerian College of Accountancy”, deserve
to be recognized, honoured and celebrated, to be in tune with the letters and
the spirit of the country’s National Anthem, that says:
“The labours of our heroes
past shall never be in vain”
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