ABC Executives lecture in Makeni
Executive Director and National Coordinator cum Second-in-Command at the Attitudinal and Behavioural Change (ABC) Secretariat, Dr. Ivan Ajibola Thomas and Madam Nanette Thomas respectively have delivered educative and interesting lectures in Makeni City on democracy, good governance, citizenship and political tolerance. (Photo: Cross sections of participants)
This took place on Monday 21st January 2013 at the School of Midwifery Hall in Makeni during the technical session in the workshop organized by the ABC Secretariat.
While Dr. Ivan Thomas primarily focused on citizenship and the role of the opposition in parliament, Madam Thomas based her lecture on good governance with special emphasis on capacity to deliver.
Dr. Ivan Ajibola Thomas lecturing on good citizenship and the role of the opposition
In his lecture, Dr. Ivan Ajibola Thomas said there will be no opposition in a country that does not practice democracy. A good citizen, he said, is one that pledges his love and loyalty to his country. He said the way the child is raised determines his future. “It is therefore good for us all to bring up our children as responsible citizens,” he advised.
To the pupils and students, he said their attitude towards education determines the future of the country. The individual, he furthered, contributes to the development of the nation by the way he prepares himself; thus the need for all to positively prepare themselves. He said everybody should be determined to make Sierra Leone grow. “You can be an illiterate and still contribute significantly towards national development,” he pointed out. He advised the audience to desist from acts of misusing the girl child.
Freedom, he said, does not give one the passport to be lawless. “Sierra Leoneans are only focused on their rights and forget about their responsibilities,” the ABC boss disclosed. He encouraged the citizens to pay their taxes as part of their responsibilities to the state.
The opposition, he iterated, is a government in waiting; thus giving it a significant role in a democratic dispensation. According to him, the opposition should always provide alternative ideas to national issues it is opposed to.
Nanette Thomas, ABC National Coordinator and Second-in-Command lecturing on good governance – Capacity to deliver
In her presentation, the ABC National Coordinator cum Second-in-Command, Nanette Thomas said the progress of the country depends on the capacity of individuals and institutions to deliver. “Capacity to deliver is part of good governance,” she said.
Turning up late for work is among the hindrances to deliver accordingly, she argued, noting that most Sierra Leoneans have the tendency to relax on the job. “Until we make up our minds to move this country forward, we will never progress as a nation,” she pointed out.
Madam Thomas called on Sierra Leoneans to take ownership of the country or face the option of remaining backward.
Corruption, she said, is among the major challenges the country is faced with, pointing out that it is a bad attitude to operate in contrast with the tenets of accountability and transparency.
She expressed optimism that Makeni city will progress rapidly in the coming years because a woman is at the helm of the leadership in that part of the country. “I look forward to the day when majority of the decision making positions are manned by women,” she disclosed, arguing that women can do it better.
Women, she said, must unite for a common goal. Failure should not be an option for any Sierra Leonean, she admonished, while encouraging all to be transparent in all they do.
Courtesy of the ABC Communications Office
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