Like millions of Nigerians who prayed and fasted all over the
years for some kind of change in Nigeria, for some sort of leadership that will
take the collective social and economic interest of the ordinary Nigerian at
heart, and work towards a semblance of betterment of their current situation
where the distance between the classes have widened exponentially, and the
middle class completely eliminated, I was elated when the All Progressives Congress
(APC) swept the presidential and national assembly polls.
My elation is not borne out of expectation of some waving of a
magic wand by APC that will solve a myriad of problems that have long plagued
that country, or a quick succession of miraculous intervention of some high
power, partial to the APC, that will decree henceforth and it is done with
fiat; rather, it was borne out of the realization of a long hoped-for emergence
of an alternative choice for Nigerians; an offering of an opportunity for comparison
of a present with a past; a weighing and evaluation of leadership styles,
political manifestos, and deliverance on promises. This elation will not be
subdued in any form if the PDP were to regain power at the center come 2019,
because, mindful of its experience in the last general election, it will strive
to outperform its main rival in anticipation of victory 2023 general elections.
Finally, an era when political parties will survive in Nigeria based on its
performance have arrived; a throwback to the first republic years when leaders
of each of the regions struggled to outperform the other in delivery of social
services to the people
For sixteen years, Nigerians – even diehard loyalists of PDP –
have suffered under a party that appeared aloof to the yearnings and suffering
of the people; a party that did little to improve the social and economic lives
of the majority of the governed, that concentrated wealth on a mere 1% of the Nigerian
population, and distributed the nation’s resources among its members and few
friends and loyalists. The PDP elevated corruption to an institutionalized
cancerous state permeating every facet of the Nigerian society, and turned a
blind eye to the blatant excesses of the haves to the detriment of the
have-nots. To make the situation more nauseating, the president, on more than
one occasion, insisted that there was no such thing as corruption in Nigeria;
rather, what we have is stealing by thieves. This was the proverbial bale of
straw that broke the Camel’s back. With that, Nigerians had had enough of the insensitivity of the Jonathan administration, and they let the PDP know it with
their votes.
It is against this background that Nigerians have expressed
unprecedented optimism for the in-coming Buhari administration; especially,
given that over the decades Buhari has come to be seen as a “messiah” of some
sort by the rank and file, evidenced by his austere lifestyle – something alien
to former African leaders –, his projection as a champion of the poor (an Aminu
Kano with a military background), and his continuous railing against
corruption. He had further endeared himself in the hearts of many Nigerians,
and convinced them of his genuine desire to serve, in the many times he ran for
office believing that he will one day have that opportunity to let the people
weigh his actions against his utterances. That time has come, and for his
administration to succeed, these are a few things they must focus on:
1.
The new administration should focus on securing Nigeria's oil
and gas pipelines to ensure steady supply of gas to the turbines and reduce, if
not eliminate in its entirety, illegal siphoning of the crude. It is estimated
that Nigeria loses about $280,000 daily to illegal bunkering, which is about
N56m daily in revenue; a lot of money when one adds it up. Savings accruing
from the stoppage of these illegal activities could be channeled towards
developing the host communities of these pipelines, by investing them in
job-creating or skills acquisition ventures, and cleaning up oil spills.
2.
Improving power
generation by insisting that the power companies perform their responsibilities
dutifully. Government had generated a lot of revenue from the privatization of
the power industry, and that revenue should be used for upgrading and extension
of the national grid, developing of hydro, solar, and wind energy sources,
funding of new energy source research stations in some universities, and
sponsored training of selected Nigerians overseas to form the core of the
future in power generation engineering. Also, the licenses of some of the private
companies who have not made any impact should be revoked immediately. For those
who are serious, government should play an enabling role to ensure that needed
equipment is imported and cleared with ease by eliminating bureaucratic
bottlenecks.
3.
The administration should counter security problems by
adequately equipping the various security agencies- including the Nigerian
Civil Defense-, providing continuous training programs, paying them a living
wage, housing and sundry allowances, life insurance schemes, thereby making the
profession attractive for university graduates. Government should, equally, not
hesitate to make an example of any erring security personnel regardless of the
branch or rank. Though elimination of a centralized police system is
preferable, where it is not achievable, a flatter leadership structure should
be introduced to make for quicker decision-making process.
4.
On agriculture, you cannot have adequate food supply without a
functional distribution network, and you cannot have such networks without good
road and rail networks. To go with a distribution network is a safe, secure,
and strategic storage system for excess products or harvests. So, before
talking of empowering farmers, the Buhari administration must provide the means
to bring the harvests from the farms to the consumers. The cheapest form of
mass transportation of people and goods is the rail system, so this
administration must continue the rehabilitation of the railways started by the
Jonathan administration, and make efforts to extend it to commercial farming
communities. A network of quality rural roads connecting rural farming
communities to urban, high consumption, areas is very necessary for on-time
evacuation of harvests. Also, a network of interstate highways is necessary for
improved interstate commerce.
The government should, also, encourage
the creation of agricultural enterprising zones within each of the six
geo-political zones based on comparative advantage system, and invite
international agricultural giants to partner with local commercial farmers to
run such zones. It should consider further reduction in import duties for
farming equipment too. To decongest the Lagos wharf, and make it easier to
clear imports, government should fast-track the construction/rehabilitation of
Onitsha, Onne, and Calabar ports. It should also consider the dredging of the
Niger-Benue confluence so that a port can be sited there to serve the states of
the North Central
5.
On education, Nigeria does not need a wholesale reform of the
system; what the schools need are good and conducive facilities, instruction
materials, and modern technological tools to compete with the rest of the
world. Teachers and lecturers should be paid a living wage, and on time too;
however, they must also be forced to enroll in continuing education programs
every two years to maintain the currency of their teachers’ certificates at
primary and secondary school levels. A uniform academic curriculum, with a
focus towards the future and what drives it, should be developed at the state
and federal universities level. Also, government should encourage the
designation of research programs in various fields at select universities in
each of the geo-political zones. Nigeria graduates the most of university
students in Africa; unfortunately, their knowledge is more theoretical than practical.
Government should set guidelines for universities to invest more on the
practical aspect of teaching than the theoretical, in line with international
best practices. Finally, emphasis should be more on 2-year vocational and
technical education than it has been before.
6.
On healthcare, all the 774 local governments should have a
functional hospital that will serve as a hub for rural primary care clinics.
The national health insurance program should be revisited and the kinks worked
out so Nigerians can easily enroll in, and benefit from, the program.
Indigenous drug manufacturing companies should be financially supported, with a
caveat that will deter nefarious activities and corruption. Importation of
durable medical equipment should be facilitated through the waiver of
time-wasting bureaucracy, and any such company wishing to invest in Nigeria
should be granted express consideration.
An immunization program for
every child ten years and under should be free and enforced to nip some
illnesses in the bud. Government should draw up requirements and guidelines for
establishment of rural clinics and private hospitals in Nigeria, to ensure a
safe and healthy environment. Training program of healthcare workers should
meet the minimum of international acceptable standards; finally, the national
assembly should enact a law making it easier to sue healthcare workers –
especially doctors – for medical malpractice and criminal negligence.
7.
Small and medium scale businesses, being the foundation of every
nation’s employer and economic growth and development, should be encouraged by
providing low-interest loans for technology and service-oriented companies, and
tax breaks for establishing of manufacturing facilities in rural communities. An
inducement fund should be created by the ministry of commerce to encourage
research into new, safer and cheaper consumer products by universities and
other independent research facilities. Banks should be encouraged to invest in
promising inventive ideas that will benefit the society at large. The
administration should, also, encourage foreign direct investment by offering
attractive incentives such as ease of entry, movement of capital, tax breaks,
and ease of exit – where applicable. It must also encourage domestic production
by assisting in sourcing for markets for made in Nigeria products through the
ministry of commerce.
8.
On ways to decongest some major cities like Lagos, Kano, Kaduna,
Ibadan, Owerri, Port Harcourt, and Aba, governments should site needed
infrastructure and social services, like water, power, roads, effective
transportation system, and adequate security in rural areas to make it
attractive for corporations to relocate headquarters to rural areas. Some
Fortune 500 corporations in US and Europe have their headquarters in the
so-called suburbs, and the main attraction is provision of what I listed above.
Also, this administration should encourage corporations to engage in community
restoration actions to augment the efforts of local governments in stemming
migration to urban areas
9.
On solid minerals development since this requires advanced
technology and is capital intense, government should seek out and partner with
foreign companies with the necessary capital and technological expertise to extract
and develop Nigeria's solid minerals on an arrangement that will include
training of Nigerians for possible transfer of management responsibilities,
transfer of technological and technical know-how to the indigenous employees,
and creation of foreign markets for these minerals.
10. Corruption
has been diagnosed as the cause of what ails Nigeria, and the first monster
that must be tackled if any/all of the first nine suggestions are to work. The
president-elect has harped so much on corruption that one would expect
corruption, if it were a being, to be seeking a hiding place by now.
Unfortunately, corruption is not a being, it has assumed the status of a characteristic
in Nigerian state; it is now a way of life, and it has eaten into the souls of
many at every level in government. However, as the saying goes; cut off the
head of the snake and the body withers. The fight for corruption must start at
the top; it must start with the judiciary, the heads of federal parastatals,
police commissioners and their superiors, heads of financial institutions,
friends and families of the presidency. Because eradicating corruption has a
trickle-down effect, when the larger Nigerian society sees those “untouchables”
being convicted of even the smallest of crimes, the petty thieves (apologies to
President Jonathan) will get the message and mend their ways.
For the fight against
corruption to succeed, Nigerians must play a larger role than the government.
Anti-corruption agencies can only prosecute if they know of an act, if
Nigerians in the know choose to keep silent because of their complicity, or
because their kit and kin are involved, then corruption will never be
eradicated; the roads will never be built, neither the borehole, the railway
line, the transformer, the national grid, the hospitals nor clinics will see
the light of day. This means that the majority will continue to suffer, and
unnecessarily blame the government for their own refusal to carry out their
civic duties. The Buhari administration should cause the national assembly to
set up a special tribunal (akin to a military court martial), devoid of
civilian court interference, to try cases of corruption. The DSS/SSS should
collaborate with the EFCC in the investigation of corrupt practices. Finally, prosecution
must involve both the giver and recipient of bribes, and the proceeds of the
corrupt practice must be forfeited and sold off at auction as a part of the
punishment.
One thing is clear, this administration is not expected to
achieve all of these feats in four years; however, a convincing effort is what
Nigerians want to see, and they want to see it soon. Where the new
administration fails to show best effort in the first 100 days, the hope and
faith Nigerians have placed on Buhari will fade overnight. On their part,
Nigerians should exercise some patience, considering that the damage and
destruction of the Nigerian society took more than 16 years and it will take
more than that amount of time to steer the ship of state right again. What the
Buhari administration needs to do is lay a solid foundation that his successor
can continue to build on, and for that to happen, it must continue to groom a
collection of successors with the love for, and progress of, Nigeria as their
first priority of public service.
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