EiE Invites Citizens To Hack Nigeria’s Operating System (OS)

“There is an urgent and massive need for moral and spiritual reconstruction: the kind which will help to demolish morbid desire for naked power and domination and ensure justice, equity and fair play for all.”

– Obafemi Awolowo
(Nationalist and First Premier of the Western Region)

2020 is the 60^th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence. We have had military and democratic rule but after 60 years, we are the poverty capital of the world and insecurity is rife. Both factors contradict Nigeria’s Constitution which states that the primary purpose of government shall be the security and welfare of the people. Instead of hope, economic prosperity and a decent quality of life; poverty, despair and mass resentment thrive.

This year has also been a tumultuous one with a pandemic that has strained public health infrastructure and adversely affected the global economy. With nationalism on the rise and increasing authoritarianism, there must be a deliberate effort to reorient minds and hearts.

It is clear that Nigeria’s operating system (OS) is corrupt and the fundamentals need to be reset. Corruption is the visible outcome of a system that is not functioning as it was designed. A corrupt OS malfunctions and needs to be debugged and reset. Nigeria needs to be debugged and reset.

It is within this context that EiE announces a call for applications to “Hacking the Nigeria Code” – a nine-week online course to help connect the dots about our dear country Nigeria. The course covers a diverse set of topics including, National Questions in National Conferences; Causes & Consequences of Systemic Corruption; Historical Antecedents; and The World Around Us. The sessions will be facilitated by ten thought-leading Nigerians including Ayisha Osori, Femi Falana (SAN), Kunle Soriyan, Oby Ezekwesili and Sam Adeyemi.

Speaking on the course and what EiE hopes to achieve with it, the Executive Director, ‘Yemi Adamolekun said, “There’s a lot about fixing a country that we assume without understanding the core issues with ourselves as individuals and the nation as a system. This course will bring many of those aspects together so that participants get a deeper understanding of the fundamentals; otherwise, we will keep complaining and misdirecting efforts, while Nigeria continues to malfunction.”

When the #OfficeOfTheCitizen campaign launched in 2015, EiE began the transition from being the main driver of citizens’ action to supporting citizens to walk their talk! Over the next decade, EiE is committed to supporting citizens take action in their individual capacities with the #OnePerson campaign.

The application portal – www.eie.ng/hackngcode – opened on Wednesday, August 5^th. The registration fee is N1,000 (one thousand naira) and only 60 successful applicants will be selected to mark Nigeria’s 60 years of independence. Each successful applicant will pay an additional N50,000 (fifty thousand naira) as a commitment fee.