Federal Govt't Dereliction of Duty

The Guardian- Nigeria

October 2nd, 2009

Federal Govt's dereliction of duty

SIR: Below is an extract of the graduating speech given by Carl Page, the father of Larry Page, co-founder of Google. His father was the best graduand at Flint Mandeville High School in 1956. Page's dad later became a professor in the University of Michigan. He died in 1996 - a year after page conceived of the idea of a universal search engine.
"...we are entering a changing world, one of automation and employment change where education is an economic necessity. We will have increased periods of time to do as we wish, as our work-week and retirement age continue to decline... We shall take part in, or witness, developments in science, medicine, and industry that we cannot dream of today... It is said that the future of any nation can be determined by the care and preparation given to its youth. If all the youths of America were as fortunate in securing an education as we have been, then the future of the United States would be even more bright than it is today."
Through Google Inc., Carl and his son, gave the world the No.1 software company in the world that has contributed immensely to both national and private life of countries and individuals even beyond the Americas. But the government of the United States was far more responsible for the success of Google by providing a conducive environment for Carl, Larry and Google in general. The government is always the pilot of national life.
We are dreaming of Vision 2020 here in Nigeria, and ASUU has been on strike for three months to protest the Federal Government's flagrant neglect of the most important sector to our national prosperity, yet the Federal Government has remained adamant to the protest. Are we cursed never to succeed? Are we bound never to excel as a nation? Must we always be the end-user of other nation's inventions? Oh, when shall we see a return of the good old days our fathers talked about; when will the Nigeria of our dreams emerge? I pity this generation; I cry for the future leaders. May the Lord please save us.
Olatunji Owolabi,
Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile-Ife, Osun State.