Oluyomi Ola-David Insights

What is the artist Doing within the box What is the homemaker Doing in the boardroom  What is the judge Doing under the tree What is the shepherd Doing by a well What is the fish Doing on dry ground What is the rooster Picking from the river What is the fierce lion Doing within the street What is the donkey Doing in the zoo What is the teacher Doing on the farm What is the tale Doing in the silence What is the carpenter Doing with a boat What is the seat Doing in the marketplace What is the eye  Doing on the ground What is the ear Doing with a plug What is the bird Doing in the cage What is the owl Doing at midday What is the fly  Doing in the house What is the star Doing in the sunlight What is the newborn Doing with bones What is the aged Doing with milk What is the table Doing on its head What is the servant  Doing in the valley   What is the money Doing with the rich What is the mantis Doing on the stove ...

As I reminisce on the brain drain Nigeria has suffered during the last five years, I am reminded of the  ancient Yoruba proverb that says "ewúré ilé k'òmo iyì ode, ajogún èwù k'òmo iyì agbádá nla".  The proverb literally means that the household-owned goat does not appreciate the kindness of the hunter and the one who inherited an expensive festival cloak on a platter does not appreciate its worth. Its English alternative would be: familiarity breeds contempt. A nation's stock of human resources is its most valuable capital, not necessarily its mineral resources. From resource curse arguments, we can observe how abundance of natural and mineral resources may translate to little or no economic development whenever underlying institutional frameworks are growth-inhibiting. This can be clearly seen in the dilapidated economies of resource-rich countries that pay limited attention to human capital development and living standards improvement.  While natural resources

I am happy to join forces with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group  (NESG) as a Senior Non-resident Fellow. At this critical  point in our nation's economic history, when the majority pass a vote of no confidence in our national systems and structures, we need a unique breed of thinkers who are peddlers of hope.  Such persons, on the one hand, would possess an indepth understanding of the root causes of our socio-economic conundrums. While, on the other hand, retaining a growing capacity to generate appropriate enterprise-driven, research-driven, and policy-driven solutions to the problems identified. For a long while now, I have retained a penchant for influencing policy from my little corner, and am glad for the learning experience  that the NESG Fellowship affords. I am very grateful to the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and its stakeholders for granting me the opportunity to be party to the reconstruction and development of the Nigerian economy. By the mercy and grace of God, I