Observing my unusual excitement for about a month now, a very close friend asked if I have secured a well paid consulting job. With more excitement I explained to him that he is correct in his observation but wrong on the possible reason. Most interestingly and on the contrary, my excitement is from doing a voluntary job- serving as a member of the selection committee for the 2019 Rhodes scholarship for West Africa. This is my second year of serving on the committee and I can with all sincerity say that it has been one of the most rewarding experiences in over 20 years. It is most rewarding not because it is an unpaid service or because of my dislike for money but for what it connotes, the potentials it exposes, the hope that it creates, the faith in Africa and Nigeria that it rekindles, the humanity that it encourages and supports, and the innate desire to serve for the common good that it instills.
Rhodes scholarship regarded as one of the most globally competitive and celebrated award to pursue postgraduate study in prestigious University of Oxford started in 1902 in honor Cecil John Rhodes, an English businessman and politician. Reserved for outstanding candidates of between 19-25 years and a desire to create global unity, it aims to create future leaders through instilling a sense and culture of civic minded leadership and moral resilience regardless of the chosen career paths of the recipients. About 100 scholars are selected from over 60 countries every year and depending on the degrees being pursued a community of about 250 Rhodes scholars is found studying in Oxford at every point in time.
With one scholarship valued at about £50, 000 (about N23 million) allocated to West Africa this year, candidates were selected not just on their outstanding academic intellect but also on their commitment to serve, moral force of character and ability to lead. Even with the very stringent criteria, about 2,948 applications were received for this year’s selection. Of the 2,948 applications and 505 that properly completed the scholarship information requirements, 244 graduated with a first class. As one scholar will be chosen, the 244 were further pruned down to 65 and then to 10 and finally to 3 and then 1, the winner- 22 years old Cyril Kofi Gunu of Ghana! After reading his application and interacting with him, I was convinced that he will emerge the winner. I read his application and references three times not because I was required to but because of the rich contents and excellence to which it was presented. With a first class degree in Government/International Affairs from Augusta University, South Dakota, US, He also obtained a Masters degree in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing China as a Schwarzman Scholar. From our interaction, his greatest concern is how he will repay humanity for all the blessings and awards he has received. He is a gracious human being with an uncommon intellect!
Let me say that serving on the selection committee creates a deep mixed feeling of sadness and joy. Sadness due to about three reasons. First are the immense but deeply unexploited exceptional talents that West Africa and Nigeria are blessed with. Second is the myriad of our socio-economic and political problems that can be solved through effective development and utilization of these talents, and third, the limited opportunities for the full development of these unique and cerebral Nigerians and Africans. Even with the mixed feelings, reading through the applications helped to dilute and replace some of my sad feelings to that of increasing joy and excitement. The candidates, even though very young, demonstrate unparalleled understanding of our socio-economic and political problems. With an infectious excitement, they exhibit an uncommon eagerness to be the change agents or contribute to a better society. Not only can they individually be described as the African renaissance, their innate humility and instant collective spirit to address our social problems gives impression that they are divinely created and born in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.
After interacting with the final 10 candidates at George Hotel Ikoyi, I had a feeling of a temporal existence in an island of moral rectitude and then thrown back to a sea of moral turpitude called Lagos. Lamentably, Nigeria was recently re-admitted among the benefiting countries after about 21 years of exclusion due to government involvement and abuse of the selection process. With an unquestionable commitment for a better society, Mr Ike Chioke, the Managing Director of Afrinvest, a Rhodes Scholar himself presently coordinates the Rhodes scholarship in West Africa. Consistently demonstrating the four criteria of selection of a Rhodes scholar (outstanding intellect, character, commitment to serve and effective leadership), he has most commendably with the assistance of many other outstanding and humane Nigerians and other Africans ensured that the selection process has been what it is- transparent, accountable, collective, intrinsically rewarding and meritocratic. With opportunities such as Rhodes scholarship and the effective leadership in the selection process, my hope in Nigeria is rekindled and my faith for a better Nigeria strengthened. But the question is how scholarships such as Rhodes can mutate and expand in Nigeria for these exceptional human beings. With human capital currently the most valued asset in a competitive global economy, it means that our focus should be on how to develop the quantum and immeasurable intellect of about 200 million Nigerians. While the fight for more oil revenue might be necessary, what is more important is how the oil revenue is utilized to develop and harness our human capital potentials. With multitude of candidates seeking elective positions especially the executive ones (President, Governors and Local Government Chairmen), it is of immense importance that we properly question them on how they intend to properly develop and utilize our human capital for our sustainable growth and development.
Franklin Nnaemeka Ngwu (PhD)
Dr. Ngwu is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy, Finance and Risk Management, Lagos Business School and a Member, Expert Network, World Economic Forum.
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